Penn and Teller are Full of Bullshit

August 11th, 2010

I’m a HUGE fan of Penn and Teller.  Love their magic act. And I love their show Bullshit.  But I watched an episode the other day that made me think that on this occasion they were full of bullshit.

It was a show they did on Feng Sui.  Now, for full disclosure, I have no strong feelings about Feng Sui. I have studied Chinese philosophy, but really don’t care much about Feng Sui one way or the other (though I do like modern-style interior decorating that maximizes space with few pieces of furniture…is that Feng Sui-lite? Anyway…).

What bothered me about the show was the way they went about “proving” that Feng Sui was bullshit.

They got 3 Feng Sui “consultants” to look at a house and then all 3 of them gave different opinions about how things should be arranged for maximum effect.

Penn says, “Hey if Feng Sui is a science then they should all give us the same answer.”

They don’t. In fact, they all give different answers.

So, Feng Sui is bullshit, right?

Let’s back up a bit.

Let’s take the subject of criticism and change it.  Let’s say I want to prove that Western medicine is bullshit.

So, I go into 3 different doctors’ offices for a pain in my stomach, and then I get 3 different diagnoses.  Hey, I thought this was “science”.  Shouldn’t I get the same diagnosis from all 3 doctors?  So, I conclude that Western medicine is bullshit!

Does that sound familiar?

Well, it should.  A lot of people who advocate “alternative medicine” use this argument all the time. “ Those doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, so I’m going to sun energy and positive thoughts to stop cancer.”

And it’s bullshit.

Just like your Feng Sui episode.

Come on, guys.  What’s up with that?

Uh-oh.  I hear it now.  Penn Jillette in that voice of his is saying

“Oh yeah, blog boy?  You think you’re so great.  Then how would you show that Feng Sui was bullshit!”

Well, Penn I’m glad you asked. Now, I’m a blogger, so I’d just write some sarcastic post called ,”Man Moves Couch; Wins Lottery–Feng Sui in Action. Baby!”

Now, if I were on TV…

I would have found some Feng Sui “mater.”  Then, I’d take him to the home of some dirt poor out of work guy.  Then have him re-arrange the poor guy’s house to bring him more “wealth” and then check back later to see how much more money the guy made as a result! I’m willing to bet the guy wold still be poor, and the “master” would be left there saying something lame like it “needs more time” or that the guy “disrupted the qi when he took a crap facing the wrong direction.”

Here’s the deal: the Feng Sui people claim you get all sorts of financial benefits from re-arranging furniture. So, make them turn around someone’s fortune by re-arranging their furniture!  If it’s true, the guy’ll win the lottery or something.

After watching the show, I think it’s just as probable that the Feng Sui “consultants” were charlatans who took an online course and decided to rake in the cash as Feng Sui gurus (wonder what other field I’ve seen that in…ahem, internet marketing, ahem)!

Watching a Feng Sui “master” try to explain why the poor guy isn’t wealthier even though he re-arranged his furniture would have been more effective and a little more honest than just having Penn rant about what bullshit Feng Sui is.  Heck, it would have been way more fun, just like when I get comments from “affirmations people” that affirmations don’t work for others because “they’re not doing it right”.  Watching them try to explain the “right way” is highly entertaining.

I usually love “Bullshit”.  But this one was lame.

Watch for yourself.  Tell me what you think

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  • elaine

    I enjoyed Bullshit in the beginning, until I realized, P&T get A LOT wrong. And they are kinda mean.

  • Anonymous

    I guess they have to be entertaining. It’s a balancing act, and I think they chose entertainment over the search for truth this time. Hence, I felt compelled to call them out on it.

  • Hippo

    To Carlon:

    I agree that Penn & Teller get A LOT wrong. But what I love about them is, they have helped me with my critical thinking skills, which were sorely lacking.

    Now, this particular Feng Shue episode, I believe they also had the bottled water, did they not? I have to say it was the funniest one I have ever seen, and I think they have been on for something like eight seasons.

    One episode they did that I disagreed with was one about conspiracy theories. I don’t remember what all they covered, I think they talked to a guy who thought the moon landing was fake, and they said that Kennedy assassination conspiracy buffs were nuts, because it WAS possible for Oswald to fire the gun three times in six seconds, whatever it was. So Penn Jillette has a similar rifle, and he fires it, without looking through the scope or attempting to aim in any way, three times in six seconds. He then claim this proves that Oswald killed Kennedy and acted alone.

    Sorry, that’s even nuttier than the conspiracy theory.

    But I love these guys, I give them points for entertaining me, and for making me think, even if I don’t agree with them.

  • Anonymous

    @Hippo

    Actually, I love Penn and Teller. I think they’re funny and I like their show. Also, I mostly agree with their views. That being said, they don’t get a free pass when they leave THEIR critical thinking at home.

    Shows like this are meant more to entertain than to educate. I find them highly amusing. Just gotta keep them honest.

    The bottled water thing WAS funny.

  • Anonymous

    @Hippo

    Actually, I love Penn and Teller. I think they’re funny and I like their show. Also, I mostly agree with their views. That being said, they don’t get a free pass when they leave THEIR critical thinking at home.

    Shows like this are meant more to entertain than to educate. I find them highly amusing. Just gotta keep them honest.

    The bottled water thing WAS funny.

  • Dale

    Carlon,

    Great post, man! Please allow me to clarify a few items for you.

    The correct term is “Feng Shui”. As a licensed Interior Designer, I can only appreciate one common denominator about the ancient practice; the basic principle of organization.

    A cluttered and messy living space is unconsciously a reflection of one’s mental space. In other words, if your house if fucked up; most likely you will be too.

    Naturally, the more organized spaces indicate more motivation and conscious effort to control your life. Pretty simple stuff really!

    But, just as in any other field, you have PLENTY of FUCKED-UP charlatans who gleefully take advantage of IDIOTS (Plenty of those around). I actually find amusement in all the BULLSHIT that surrounds us on a daily basis.

    So many poor suckers. I try to help educate the ignorant, but oftentimes IDIOTS simply have to learn their own way and continue to just bend over and bend over and bend over or try to walk on hot coals or try to buy their online success with the syndicate BULLSHIT. Hate it for ‘em.

    Out for now. Thanks and I will stay tuned!
    Dale

  • Anonymous

    Hey Dale,

    Thanks for clarifying my Romanization of 風水, or as it’s called here in Korea 풍수.
    I agree with you 100% on the clutter issue. I try to have as few things as I can in my home. People always ask me where everything is. I’m not so sure how I stand on the Feng Shui issue. Here in the East they talk about it making you healthy. But in the West they talk a lot about it making you rich. If I take it as an interior design issue, I think less clutter and more space can give you some mental clarity.

    You’re right about charlatans. My point of the post was that all Penn and Teller proved was not that Feng Shui was bullshit, but that some people might be the real deal and some might not be. But I don’t know who it is.

    Thanks for dropping by and lending your insights. Now excuse me, as I go walk over some hot coals followed by some broken glass:)

  • http://www.modernfurniturewarehouse.com/ Modern Furniture

    Feng Shui is not bullshit.

  • Anonymous

    Penn and Teller certainly didn’t prove that it is.

  • dave

    thanks for keeping it real.. I have a friend who watches their show (ironically enough) religiously. People that just soak up whatever they say are no better than the idiots they generally try to make look foolish.

    I love logical analysis of bullshit, but I hate the method in which Penn and Teller tend to go about it on their show. It’s like they’re trying make smart thinking, simpler.. does that make sense?

  • anon

    The point of the Feng Shui episode was to show that there really is no unified methodology to the practice. MDs missing diagnosis sounds similar but is actually pretty different- perhaps the doc did not take enough time to do her job right, perhaps he just wasn’t familiar with the particular disorder, etc. Moving furniture around oughta be a lot more cut and dried. Not to be a growly troll type but I also don’t think your test would be a very good one. what if the guy did strike it rich, it would be a correlative effect of the feng shit, not causal. That’s how Bullshit really “works”, is when ppl attrib sumthin that happened to it regardless of lack of merit.

  • Anonymous

    Just because I might agree with Penn and Teller’s conclusion doesn’t mean I agree with their methods. Not to defend Feng Shui, but you are making an assumption based on my non-existent test because you already feel that Feng Shui is bullshit.

    Sometimes P&T are just preaching to the choir. And this episode they did it. I mentioned MDs because I wouldn’t discount Western medicine if I got 3 different diagnoses. But many people do just that.

    You seemed to be in a rush to explain why 3 different doctors could get different diagnoses, but couldn’t the same reasons apply to Feng Shui experts? One didn’t take enough time to do her job right, not familiar enough with the particular location, etc.

    In the Feng Shui case, one of those “experts” may have been the real deal while the others were just people who took a two-hour course on the internet.

    It just proves to me how weak Penn and Teller’s “test” was. I expect better from debunkers.

  • Sonic-magicway

    they ones said  hypnose BS in a nother they said ppl use hypnoseto make ppl think think they seen thing .p.s they only show one side how would they reply to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-y_xZZxj_8

  • Anonymous

    Of course it didn’t prove anything. It was, in their own words, a bullshit experiment. A proper scientific experiment would be closer to what you proposed, but a longitudinal study would take far too much time for a TV-show to bother doing.

    I’m glad to see that you noticed some of all the bullshit there is in Bullshit! however. There is a lot of it if you bother to invest the time and energy required to take a closer look at their claims. Most episodes take a punch at simple superstisions and attack the charlatans making money out of it. That’s well and good. Unfortunately other episodes involve very large political issues, where it would seem that Penn & Teller let their political ideas triumf over science (e.g. the episode on recycling, extinct animal species and global warming).

    Penn & Teller only favour science when the science back their libertarian political views. They regulary and uncritically use sources from the libertarian think tank “The Cato Institute” (where both Penn and Teller are fellows by the way, that’s called a conflict of interest) and don’t seem to mind throwing well versed lobbyists at teen activitsts to prove a point. In the political episodes they frequently avoid the stronger scientific proponets and prefer showing activists who, although they have strong opinions, have no education in the subject.

    Basically the show should be watched for entertainment, and not used as unbiased evidence. Any real “skeptic” would do well to be skeptical of Bullshit! and the way it present information.