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Beer Monkey

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,308
My friend who lets a chiro crack her toddler's neck.

My friend who takes her highly allergic child to a chiro to cure his allergies.

Both very expensive.

Distant third: Audio accessory companies that sell special wooden blocks to rest your speaker cables on so they don't touch the floor, and where the wooden blocks focus the midrange frequencies etc. Monster cables are dirt cheap compared to this magic horseshit.
 

motherless

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
2,282
Reiki. My parents went through a phase of this when I was little. Creepy group of friends they had that do this. Glad the phase eventually ended.
 

joecanada

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,651
Canada
Chiropractic can definitely give some actual relief to a lot of people in regards to various types of pain. However anyone that says they can cure deafness/blindness/chronic illnesses/cancer is fucking with you and is probably a shit chiro too.

There's actually no evidence that chiropractors do anything. And anything they do in addition can be done by an actual massage therapist cheaper or by a physiotherapist trained to teach you about body mechanics. Listen to science vs. Podcast - chiropractors and they (chiropractors) admit this, that adjustments have no verifiable proof.

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-end-of-chiropractic/
 
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Zoc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,017
Oh I wish I was just gay. I mean, I would still be kinda bummed that I would never be able to have biological kids with my partner, but that's something I could still deal with and live a happy and functioning life otherwise.

But I absolutely cannot handle and reconcile being transgender. It has completely crippled my life and if there was a pill that would alter my brain structure/chemistry to make me cis I would take it in a heartbeat.

Well, you have me at least wishing you luck. I hope you come to terms with it.
 

Deleted member 31133

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 5, 2017
4,155
Brexit. What a crock of shit. Boris Johnson really did a number on us. It was all a ruse to better his position. He sold the public lies, such as Turkey coming into the EU and how many millions of Turks would then flood the UK, but then after the Brexit vote he was saying how Turkey should be allowed in the EU.

The lies couldn't stop spilling from his lips. The man was a EU supporter, right before he saw a chance to become PM and then stabbed Cameron in the back.

Boris Johnson is master of selling snake oil.

*Yes, I'm still bitter that Leave won the EU vote and will be for a long time*
 

Keldroc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,978
The PetCo homeopathic section. It infuriates me to see people buying literal useless water for their dog's ear infection and shit like that. Selling useless garbage to idiots is one thing, but potentially harming animals via those same idiots' ignorance is a different game entirely.
 

KillLaCam

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,383
Seoul
Beats by dre
Gluten free water
Fit Tea
anything "Dr." Oz or Gwyneth Paltrow endorses


Working as an English teacher in Asia, my previous boss was pretty crazy. One of her students was a 'quantum therapist', who crazy boss later hired or subcontracted to perform her magic on other students. The therapy involves lying down while the practicioner does some healing hands nonsense, which may involve stroking of the ears or no physical contact whatsoever. Somehow this was meant to make you feel more relaxed, or improve your English speaking, or whatever you wanted it to do. Hilariously, crazy boss believed this worked remotely, so sometimes she would lie down in bed while the quantum therapist performed OVER SKYPE. What wasn't so funny was that she believed one of the English teachers didn't have a 'big enough voice' and forced him to undergo the therapy if he still wanted to get lessons. He only had to pay half price though, what a bargain!
Wow.... First time ive heard of a 'quantum therapist', that is an impressive scam.
 

Oilvomer

Banned for use of an alt-account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
775
My wife after a bad birth could not walk, we went to a healer who charged £35 and did not touch her just held her hands about 2inches above my wife's hips lol... after 3 mins he said it would take 20 sessions at £35 each....

Needless to say we did not return, went to a proper physiotherapist and after 1 hour she was walking again
 

EYEL1NER

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,774
The big thing I was disappointed to find out was bullshit recently was snake repellents for your lawn. I'm moving into a house really soon after being a long-term apartment leaser. People at work were talking about snake repellents for their lawn. One person was like "Yeah, my landscaper charges me for it. Every couple months, or after a big rain, he lays down the repellent along the edge of my property. A snake will smell it and turn right away." Another person started talking about what chemicals and powders they use and it spun out from there. Not knowing anything about lawn care or property maintenance, it sounded like a good idea to me. The piece of mind of knowing my lawn had no snakes in it was something I'd spend some good money on?

I started researching snake repellents about two weeks ago and found out that they were too good to be true. I didn't know what the powders my coworkers were talking about were made of but it seems like a common repellent people use in powder form is sulfur. There are some other chemicals people can buy, but they also have electronic devices that are supposed to put out some kind of sonic wave that repulses snakes. There are a lot of biologists and researchers though who have talked about why none of that stuff works. My favorite was a video (that I didn't watch, because I try not to look at snakes if I can help it, but I did read the description and it made me laugh) where a dude pours a big ring of sulfur onto the ground and drops a snake into the middle of it, and the snake slithers right on out of it like he doesn't give a fuck.
 

Pellaidh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,164
So many things regarding a audiophiles really bother me. Not in the sense that they're dangerous (like homeopathy is, for example). But because a lot of them, particularly when it comes to digital music, seem to be based on incredibly fundamental misconceptions of super simple math.

The first one is sampling rates. Some people seem to think that digital sampling just works something like this image:

Sony_digital_audio_stairsteps.jpg

Where a digital signal will have "steps" between samples, so higher sampling rates mean better sound with smaller steps. This is just not how sampling works, at all. And while there might be some advantages to sampling at a rate higher than 44kHz when recording sound, it's not nearly as important as audiophiles claim, and I haven't seen any real evidence that people can tell the difference in blind tests.

The other thing is the misunderstanding about how bits work. Bits are either 1 or 0. You either transmit a bit correctly, or you don't. And if you don't, the errors will be immediately noticeable. There's no real way to make a digital signal sound better by using things like super expensive cables, or by doing things like polishing your CD with God knows what. It will either work, or not.

Similarly, CDs and digital files are a perfectly fine storage media that are superior to vinyl in theory (disregarding things like mastering, or simply preferring how the imperfections of vynil sound).

And then there are just the absurd things some people buy into. Expensive power cables. The PS1 being the best audio player ever created (but only one very specific model of it). Magical $100 rocks (that's per rock. It's actually more of a small pebble, really) you put in the corner of your room or tape onto your cable. Burning in your headphones. And so many more.
 

CaviarMeths

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,655
Western Canada
Every time I see someone wearing one of those vitality bracelet things I interpret it is "I'm a bit of a moron, but a probably nice person."

Also audiophiles are the source of a lot of hilarity. They would pay a thousand bucks for bagged farts to stuff in their walls if someone told them it improved audio quality by 2%.

Oh I wish I was just gay. I mean, I would still be kinda bummed that I would never be able to have biological kids with my partner, but that's something I could still deal with and live a happy and functioning life otherwise.

But I absolutely cannot handle and reconcile being transgender. It has completely crippled my life and if there was a pill that would alter my brain structure/chemistry to make me cis I would take it in a heartbeat.
This hurts my heart and I hope you can find someone to help you through this.
 

MCN

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,289
United Kingdom
Also audiophiles are the source of a lot of hilarity. They would pay a thousand bucks for bagged farts to stuff in their walls if someone told them it improved audio quality by 2%.

The higher-density gas aids in the transmission of the soundwaves within the walls, creating a high-quality resonance chamber which increases sound quality and volume.
 

Deleted member 3534

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,537
There's sooo much shit that's marketed to women it's ridiculous. The hair and skincare aisles are a beacon of snake oil.
 
Oct 25, 2017
13,126
when I went to christian school, there was this doctor named doctor mark that tons of the students went to who used to sell all types of crazy shit in his office. he had bars that he claimed would make you lose weight, foot baths that would take all of the toxins out of your feet because the water would change color.

the only real thing he did was tell me I shouldn't drink milk bc I was lactose intolerant. I later found that out to be true.
 

Irminsul

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,034
I have a colleague who believes homeopathy can be good for some things. He's got a PhD and usually argues evidence-based, just not on that topic. It can get quite maddening. But at least he doesn't believe homeopathy can cure cancer.

So many things regarding a audiophiles really bother me. Not in the sense that they're dangerous (like homeopathy is, for example). But because a lot of them, particularly when it comes to digital music, seem to be based on incredibly fundamental misconceptions of super simple math.

The first one is sampling rates. Some people seem to think that digital sampling just works something like this image:

Sony_digital_audio_stairsteps.jpg

Where a digital signal will have "steps" between samples, so higher sampling rates mean better sound with smaller steps. This is just not how sampling works, at all. And while there might be some advantages to sampling at a rate higher than 44kHz when recording sound, it's not nearly as important as audiophiles claim, and I haven't seen any real evidence that people can tell the difference in blind tests.

The other thing is the misunderstanding about how bits work. Bits are either 1 or 0. You either transmit a bit correctly, or you don't. And if you don't, the errors will be immediately noticeable. There's no real way to make a digital signal sound better by using things like super expensive cables, or by doing things like polishing your CD with God knows what. It will either work, or not.

Similarly, CDs and digital files are a perfectly fine storage media that are superior to vinyl in theory (disregarding things like mastering, or simply preferring how the imperfections of vynil sound).

And then there are just the absurd things some people buy into. Expensive power cables. The PS1 being the best audio player ever created (but only one very specific model of it). Magical $100 rocks (that's per rock. It's actually more of a small pebble, really) you put in the corner of your room or tape onto your cable. Burning in your headphones. And so many more.
Yeah, this. Although I'd go one step further than you: No one outside recording studios needs 24-bit / 192 kHz recordings. That's just simple maths. To perfectly sample a tone of a certain frequency, you need a sample rate of twice that frequency. Meaning all tones up to 22.05 kHz can be reproduced with CD-level sample rates. That's the edge of human hearing. What more would anyone want? In studios, it can come in handy depending on the things you do with audio tracks, because it gives you headroom to perform lossy operations. But just for playing songs, it's utterly unnecessary. The same goes for the bit depth too. 16 bit gives you a maximum possible signal-to-noise ratio of 96 dB. 24 bit would increase that to 144 dB, which, if played as such, would be far above the threshold of discomfort. Again, it's useful for studios, but that's above it.
 
Dec 2, 2017
20,600
My GSCE art teacher claimed she had a homemade remedy that would cure cancer and tried to push it on this girl in my year at school who had cancer, in class and all.
 

Sadora

Member
Oct 29, 2017
205
My mom was on an emu oil kick.
I don't think it does anything outside of sponge money.
I felt bad for the emus.
 

Deleted member 7130

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,685
Psychologists or therapists who've tried to convince me to connect with theistic or spiritual practice. I had one recomend The Secret and Deepak Chopra.
 

Rassilon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,584
UK
There's a specific breed of scams in the creative industry.

For example: Competition briefs for professionals that require a fee to enter.
I appreciate that it can be entertaining to submit work for competitions for the sake of practice, but I seriously believe that companies use them to harvest free ideas from the thousands of entrants.

One also find a lot of commissions that ape the competition format; i.e do all this work for free and we'll pick a winner who gets paid later.

Would a builders be expected to complete a house first, only for the best out of them to get paid? No.

Just to be clear, this is different from pitching work and submitting portfolios. In those cases, one isn't literally being exploited to work for free, it's more akin to job interviews.

The snake oil aspect is something called 'exposure'. Companies often hark on about 'exposure' as more valuable than actual payment. It's a form of currency they use to convince uncertain creatives that if they complete said unpaid brief, that perhaps another potential client will see this work and hire them.

i.e. 'Hey plumber, I'm not going to pay you, but I will recommend you to all of my friends and maybe one of them will pay you.'
 

Deleted member 2809

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
25,478
My company is pushing sophrology sessions and calling it a scientific thing. Aight.

Also gwyneth paltrow. Trash person. Can't wait for her character's death in MCU.
 

Sblargh

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,926
Psychologists or therapists who've tried to convince me to connect with theistic or spiritual practice. I had one recomend The Secret and Deepak Chopra.
Yeah, I am doing therapy right now and the therapeut is into that stuff. I make it very clear that I find it all bullshit and she is respecting that, but I always have this sensation that it is right in the corner, just waiting.

I mean, even her jungian drifts is already close enough to the border for me.
 

Wackamole

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,932
I had constant pain between my shoulder-blades (just bad posture and sitting behind the computer all day every day). Nothing worked. I tried everything (aside from improving my posture) but the weirdest thing i tried was an alternative ... woman who measured my iQ (a different iQ than the normal one) and asked me questions while holding my wrist. She could tell by feeling my wrist whether my answers to the questions would be good for me as an energy. In the end the pain from my shoulders was the result of the guilt i carried from my ancestors. She told me not to feel responsible about what ancestors did in the past. I kept the tapes. She taped the entire session. I have no idea where those tapes are but i should listen to it again. However fucking stupid that was, she was also pretty good at making me talk about myself. She was an intelligent lady who conned her way into making a living. She noticed that i was a bit too rational for her bullshit and the conversation that followed was very insightful.


I also think a lot of religious stuff is downright evil. People knowingly brainwash kids with he biggest nonsense on earth.
It's a crime. (not talking about all od religion here, by the way. But i think a lot of higher placed religious people or tv preachers know damn well that it's they're selling a fucking lie.
 
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GestaltGaz

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,991
The Clever Little Clock is a battery-powered travel clock that's been modified using a number of highly specialized techniques. The Clever Little Clock does not plug into the wall and has no influence on house wiring, audio components, cables, interconnects, power cords or acoustic waves in the room. Yet the Clever Little Clock has a pronounced affect on the sound in the room. In addition, the picture quality any video system will be improved - the video picture will be clearer, with better color saturation and contrast, with blacker blacks, more realistic skin tone and fabric texture, etc

From here, only $299!
https://www.machinadynamica.com/machina41.htm

Oh and don't forget your 'brilliant pebbles' too.
 

Subpar Scrub

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,576
My prescription glasses have the blue light filter and it helps a lot with eye strain while working.

I mean, there's programs that do the same thing as those glasses for free.

For me, I had an old schoolmate try to push healing crystals on me when I was in the hospital with blood poisoning. This was the last straw in a spate of this shit, so I told her she was a fucking idiot and never spoke to her again. I got dragged into a healing crystal store by the same friend like 5 years ago at a market and asked the owner why I couldn't just visit every day and get healed by standing in the store. The owner said "obviously they haven't been activated through spring water and a full moon yet, don't be rude to me." Lmao
 

Maledict

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,084
acupuncture
it's legitimized like it's a real thing. I'm pretty sure my work offers medical coverage for it.

Bizarrely, it is.

Even professional take down scientists like Ben Goldacre will tell you - acupuncture has a demonstrated, measurable effect in terms of pain relief. We don't really know why (and I for one certainly am never doing it!) but out of all the 'alternative medicines' it's the only one that does seem to have a measurable positive impact in some cases.

That's why it's offered by medicinal insurers (or the nhs in the uk).
 

Verelios

Member
Oct 26, 2017
14,876
Natural water that makes you more intelligent, confident and charasmatic.

Motherfucker just say it's cocaine.
 

Jack Remington

User requested permanent ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,083
Fox News.

They sell an alternate reality that some people strangely prefer over our actual one.
 

boredandlazy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,303
Australia
My former best mate tried to get me in on a pyramid scheme once. He was a really smart guy, in the top 1% for university entrance scores and he still didn't even realize what it was. When I said no because I didn't want to join a pyramid scheme he didn't believe me.
 

Ribs

Member
Dec 10, 2017
487
Vitamin Water.

It took forever for people to actually read ther bottle and realize they're just drinking tons of sugar.
 

theaface

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,149
Glasses that cut down blue light when you are using screens or "Gamer glasses".

I've used anti-glare glasses for a little while know after I was getting ocular migraines from prolonged screen exposure, and I haven't had one since. My eyes feel less strained as well. For £10 on Amazon, I've got to say they've done a pretty good job.

My pick would be an ab-toner; one of those vibrating belts with sticky pads. It's horseshit.