http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg18524911.600-13-things-that-do-not-make-sense.html

Placebo effect
The horizon problem
Ultra-energetic cosmic rays
Belfast homeopathy results
Dark matter
Viking's methane
Tetraneutrons
The Pioneer anomaly
Dark energy
The Kuiper cliff
The Wow signal
Not-so-constant constants
Cold fusion

Placebo effect is easy.
I college we did this experiment for credit where we had volunteer seniors sit in the lounge at teh union hall and drink a controlled amount of rum and orange juice, and then we would take measurements of how they performed at different tasks, etc. Only they didnt know that 1/3 of the class got a drink that was strong with rum, 1/3 got a weak drink, and 1/3 got a drink that had no rum at all, only rum extract flavoring from teh grocery store.
They all got drunk or acted drunk, it was hilariuos!!

Placebo effect is easy.
I college we did this experiment for credit where we had volunteer seniors sit in the lounge at teh union hall and drink a controlled amount of rum and orange juice, and then we would take measurements of how they performed at different tasks, etc. Only they didnt know that 1/3 of the class got a drink that was strong with rum, 1/3 got a weak drink, and 1/3 got a drink that had no rum at all, only rum extract flavoring from teh grocery store.
They all got drunk or acted drunk, it was hilariuos!!


Thats is an example as to what it is, but it does not explain it.

Its mind over matter.

Its mind over matter.

I agree the mind is a very powerful tool. We can manipulate our brains to a degree. Some people have experience great recoveries and have no logical explanation other then will power and brain power. It makes you wonder what else the mind and body can do when really tested.
Look at how we can produce very high amounts of adrenalin and do extraordinary things in the face of tremendous stress and fear. Why should a saline placebo be any different, mind over matter.

It's the power of suggestion;

If you believe that the pill is going to make you feel better, then your mind and body will comply with that fervent belief.

When I was a young squirt, one of my older friends had some weed that had apparently been cut heavily with oregano or some other such benign herb. The stuff was utterly useless, 99% floor-sweepings, and would not get you high. (In fact, the fellow who had sold it to him had gotten his ass beat by a great number of customers, and owed everyone in town quite a bit of money over the whole scam.)

The holder of the faux pot decided to test the veracity of another young fellow who was quite the blow-hard, and who claimed to have experierience a great number of exotic substances while he was stationed in Europe with his military parents.

We were all together at this one guy's house, listening to Led Zeppelin records and talking bullshit. My older friend produced the baggie of oregano, and announced in a rather dramatic and sly fashion that he had some 'Maui Wowee', reputed to be some of the most potent and powerful canibis in all of creation. The young poser chimed in, and related to us his experience with the stuff while partying with some 'dudes who had just imported the stuff' from the islands. He gave it his heartfelt and considered endorsement.

We kids fired up a monster doobie, and passed it around. By this point, there was some Pink Floyd on the turntable, and the mood was just right.
Toke after toke, and pass after pass, we all took turns describing our 'high'.
None of us who were in on the prank even felt a thing, but we giddily acted very much to the contrary. "Wow, this is powerful stuff!"

Poser boy was hilarious. He got giggly, and began displaying all the classic symptoms of a really good marijuana experience. He became alternately giddy and paranoid, heavy-lidded, red-eyed, and (this is perhaps the most important part) his pupils even became widely-dilated.
The guy was legitimately high, and was not faking it one bit.

Placebo effect 101: If one thinks that one is going to experience some effect from a given substance, chances are that person is going to.

how about speciation?

how about speciation?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding has always been pretty simple. A population of a species gets geographically split apart and evolves separately in response to variation in their environments. The end result is new species are formed.

definitely doesn't make sense at all.

A population of a species gets geographically split apart and evolves separately in response to variation in their environments. The end result is new species are formed.

See if this makes sense.

Tito Jackson:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/images/2007/01/11/tito_jackson_02_350x470.jpg

MICHAEL Jackson:

http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/page/michaeljackson-33419.jpg

Simple!!
:eek:

MICHAEL Jackson:

http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/page/michaeljackson-33419.jpg

Simple!!
:eek:

That's so gay

or how about neutrinos?

scientist don't know what the hell they are, if they have mass, if they don't have mass... all they know is they can detect them when elements fuse together.

When conducting expirements to FIND neutrinos.. the results showed only one third of the mass that they expected. So what did these "pin point accurate" scientists do? They simply said.. "oh, there must be three kinds of nuetrinos, that makes up for why our numbers were off"...

and now we have that explanation as "science"..

its amazing how science and religion run hand-in-hand sometimes...