Gwyneth Paltrow is feeling a slight irritation despite being cosseted away in her airy palace of privilege and pretense, raking in money for peddling quackery. She’s challenging critics to “bring their A-game”; her work is such lazy crap that I doubt that is necessary, but I’m also confident she’ll continue to skate along, skimming cash from her fellow rich white women until, of course, the Revolution.
Anyway, she has also pissed off Jen Gunter. Goopy Gwyneth is in trouble, although she doesn’t know it yet. Eventually, if you continue to blithely babble anti-scientific nonsense like this:
More and more scientists will start exposing you.
Gwyneth doesn’t need to worry, though. Like Chopra or Dr Oz or the Health Ranger, she’ll continue to get rich in a material sense, because there is no shortage of rubes out there with more money than sense. She’s just going to lose dignity and self-respect, ironically, those spiritual things she claims to value so much.
Even the copper sulphate ones I made with my chemistry set, aged 8? Perhaps it was a chemistry and time travel set.
Sounds like Gwyneth read these as a child.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Singer
Oh, but you don’t understand, dear mortal. A person needs these crystals to accentuate their $1,500 boomerang. Duh!
I better throw out the honey it is way old.
Living in La La Land, I’ve known quite a few people who were “into” crystals, amethyst being a popular one for it’s healing properties…also, it’s fairly common apparently and reasonably priced. You know, voodoo seems to go where the money is. There was a crystal store near where I lived in the Haight for many years called “Bones of Our Ancestors.” Nice rocks, quirky sort of folk. Of course, none of the people I knew who spent money on crystals were particularly rich, and some were quite poor. So the fact that she pitches this line to multi-millionaire Hollywood types doesn’t bother me. It’s the people who spend a $1,000 on a rock to purify their apartments, rather than make their rent, that concerns me.
I knew someone that succumbed to suicide. She was obsessed with what she thought was an incurable candida infection and took to warning everyone about candida. I’m aware that this was probably a symptom of a greater struggle with depression and anxiety but still I feel these peddlers of bullshit medical advice are partially responsible.
Many yonks ago several colleagues of mine were “into crystals” and making all sorts of absurd claims. The incident I particularly recall is one such rock-for-brains claimed that putting some in your car’s petrol tank did something. Which, of course, it does, albeit not whatever it was the eejit was claiming (which I don’t now recall). As another colleague of mine, who was a motorhead,† pointed out, doing that would ensure the mechanic had work to do, your money, and a therapeutic yell at you.
† The motorhead was also one of the company’s best engineers. And female, which is apropos as the eejit who made the claim was a general arsehole with, as I now recall / recognise, some misogynic tendencies.
@blf #7:
That’s interesting. What sort of crystals did he use? Sugar crystals?
@robro #5:
Had they considered opening a window occasionally?
So, by forming miles underground, as water permeates cracks in the hot rocks, extracting minerals from those rocks and then finally solidifying deep underground amidst the heat and the pressure, crystals are somehow able to retain information about the weather on the surface of the planet or ancient ceremonies from people who don’t even exist yet?
That is even loonier that religious beliefs.
My sister-law buys into this nonsense. The latest book she bought was ‘Water and Salt’ by Hendel and Ferreira. She wanted me to read it because she knew I liked “sciency” stuff. I scanned the book and found it total quackery. My sister-in law who is 56 has no savings for retirement because she’s been busy contributing to the likes of Hendel and Ferreira.
Ms. Paltrow, I served with Steven Universe. I knew Steven Universe. Steven Universe was a friend of mine. Ms. Paltrow, you’re no Steven Universe.
Paltrow has followed the path left by Shirley MacLaine. A successful actress has her work increasingly overshadowed by her promotion of silly nonsense. Because this is the 21st Century it’s even easier to hear about Paltrow’s nonsense, since we don’t have to wait between move PR junkets and books to hear what’s interested her lately, just go to the Goop website.
Don’t worry, PZ – you’re not a crystallographer, but here’s some exciting clickbaity evo-psych nonsense for you to get your teeth into:
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/05/19/homosexual-behaviour-in-women-only-developed-because-of-men-new-controversial-scientific-study-claims/
I have to admit, I love me some big chunky crystals, particularly quartz.
Shinies!
feels like the battle for reason was lost for this millennium.
say hi to the new dark ages.
A lot like homeopathic — or as I prefer to call it, homeopathetic — woo-woo: Nothing there so it must work!
Continuing the quoted observation, meteorite crystals most be even more potent as they are (probably) older, formed further away — not on the Earth — and have possibly been zapped by assorted cosmic radiation at extremely cold temperatures in micro-gravity!!
And… on a whim, using Generalissimo Google™ I searched for “meteorite crystal healing” (sans quotes) and got way too many hits. Apparently it is a thing. Quoting a page I won’t link to:
You get the dribble. Geesh!