On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 08:14:16 -0600, "Nunya" wrote:

Is it just me or is anybody else sick of seeing the Moller Skycar on
magazine covers and on TV shows with exuberent hosts giggling in the front
seat? How does he get so much good PR with such miserable results to show
for so many millions spent? I just don't get it...
-Tom in Colorado

I think it's largely a cross-promotion thing. I was flabbergasted to
see the Mythbusters do it. Sure, I know they're not exactly
scientists, but they seem mostly practical-minded, and I didn't expect
they'd be willing to trash their credibility over something that's
obviously little more than hucksterism. I'm guessing that they were
well aware of the controversy, but happy to play along in the hope of
increased ratings.

One can see a parallel with the press and dowsing. For example, I
recently watched a Survivorman special about off-grid living. Somewhat
naive overall, but entertaining nonetheless. Unfortunately it featured
a dowser, literally white-knuckled from holding back a forked stick
against the "magnetism" of underground water. The host got right into
it, and wouldn't you know it, he too could barely contain the force of
the stick. He gushed that dowsing "worked", even though the results
seemed unsuccessful, and his thinking laughably illogical. Meanwhile,
he frequently commented about not being able to afford to do things
the way he'd have preferred, such as drilling a proper well, a $10,000
expense in his case. The irony is that there's a standing offer of a
million bucks for anybody who can pass a simple test of their dowsing
ability. http://www.randi.org/library/dowsing/ If the dowser truly
believes what he professed on-camera, then why isn't he off enjoying
his free million instead of earning peanuts by marching around with a
stick? And if the host believes that he too can dowse water, then why
isn't he filming a show where he grabs the million? Particularly since
he must well know that a demonstration of the paranormal would be a
much bigger draw than off-grid living. Anyway, it's easy to imagine
that the allure of wealth and fame encourages TV personalities to
promote a more interesting reality snorf, but what drives the
thousands of viewers who get sucked in for free? :-)

Since we're on the topic, anyone who enjoys watching scams play out
should read up on the ongoing Suncube saga. Start here
http://seekingalpha.com/article/6908...lags-at-emcore. One would
think that a principal who has a history with a failed perpetual
motion device http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMOT might have had
credibility problems from day one, but nooooo! :-)

Wayne