HomeSkepticismThe Lighter Side of Darkness

January, 2004
Being a skeptic means that you learn a lot about how people who believe in paranormal phenomena think. Rational thought is often a scarce commodity, and you will encounter more or less bizarre notions.

One of the more ridiculous ideas to pop up in WooWoo-Land is that nothing exists until somebody thinks of it. Proponents of this idea firmly believes that they - singlemindedly, one might say - each create the whole universe, on a need-to-know basis. It is very similar to what small children think: That the world around them disappears, if they are not able to see it. It's the basis of the "Peekaboo"-game all mothers play with their children. A mother hides her face behind a blanket, and the child cries, because he thinks she is gone. When she lowers the blanket, the child laughs because she is back. This can, as we know, go on for some time, until the child realizes that the mother does not disappear for real. A very valuable lesson, that - apparently - some have yet to learn.

Actress and New Age guru Shirley MacLaine is one of them. She firmly believes that she creates the universe. Sure, you can create it too, but to her, whatever she sees around her, she has created by thought alone. Her dinner, her toothbrush, the people she talks to. So, if you find yourself talking to Shirley, you must realize that you are a figment of her imagination. She constructs you, while you - her creation - simultaneously constructs her.

Let's do a test

Let us illustrate how silly this idea is. Remember the comic strip "Krazy Kat", where Ignatz Mouse constantly threw bricks at poor Krazy Kat?

Imagine that you and Shirley are standing in a field. Shirley stands 10 feet in front of you, but with her back to you. She cannot possibly know what you are doing. Do you exist to her? Sure, she has probably seen you coming out to her. So far, her theory is sound.

Unseen by her, you bend down and pick up a brick. You throw it at her, and it hits her in the back of the head, killing her instantly.

How can she die if she doesn't know that the brick is coming? Because you are creating the brick in your mind (which is created by Shirley), thereby killing her. She doesn't need to imagine the brick that kills her. Still sound.

Now, let's up the ante a bit.

Let's roll back, right until the moment where I throw the brick. Before the brick hits Shirley, I shoot myself through the head, killing myself instantly. The question is: What happens? My mind cannot create the brick anymore, so it must vanish. Ergo, Shirley isn't killed.

But this is silly: We know that people are killed from debris falling off buildings, where no "mind" is involved. Ergo, Shirley is killed.

Or what? I invite those who believe in this idea to propose what will happen. I would like to know the answer to the following question:

Will Shirley die from the brick?

Answers can be mailed here.