Thursday, March 03, 2005

What does the rock know
This comes to us via the skeptical PZ Meyers at Pharyngula.
Does a stone carving in one of Rome’s biggest cathedrals know whether Pope John Paul II will survive his latest health crisis?

The monument to Pope Sylvester II, who ruled the Catholic Church 1,000 years ago, is said to moisten when the death of a pontiff is imminent.

On Friday, a priest touched the carving in Rome’s Basilica of Saint John Lateran and confirmed it was dry — good news for the pope, who had windpipe surgery Thursday after being rushed to the hospital with breathing problems.

Let's be perfectly clear about this: rocks do not have the power of prophecy. Oh, sure, they'll tell you they do, but they're lying. They just make stuff up that they think you want to hear. As soon as the rock gets a few lucky guesses, people start running in circles saying "oooh, what an amazing rock. It can tell the future." They don't remember all of the times the stupid rock was wrong. People are so gullible.

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