Are countries other than the USA also plagued by incredible beliefs and claims of quackery, pseudoscience, and magic?
Oh, yes. It’s difficult to determine or define a “silliness factor” for any culture, but we can say that all parts of the Earth are currently getting deeper and deeper into such nonsense. Though the “flavors,” languages, and costumes of the beliefs may vary, they are all there in full bloom. In one place, medieval medical notions may be in full effect, while in another location the populace is enamored — at the moment — with summoning up spirits. And, it’s not getting any better. Quite the contrary.A few years ago in Padua, Italy, I attended the annual convention of CICAP — the Comitato Italiano per il Controllo delle Aftermazioni sul Paranormale (Italian Committee for Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal). Having thereby attained a bit of a profile in the local press, I became the subject of some angry questions and accusations. One fierce-looking woman approached me festooned with beads and crystals, hair awry and determined to slap me down with The Big Question. Through an inte
