New Age Energy
An examination of energy, as new agers use the term.
Filed under Fads, General Science, Paranormal
| Skeptoid #01 October 03, 2006 Podcast transcript | Listen | Subscribe Also available in Japanese | French |
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By Brian Dunning, Skeptoid Podcast
Episode 01, October 03, 2006
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4002
I'm feeling a little low today, so let's tap into a source of energy from a neighboring dimension as a quick upper.
Faith in pseudoscience is rampant. Everywhere you turn, intelligent people fully accept the existence of anything from psychic phenomena, to angels, to new age healing techniques, to ancient health schemes based on mysterious energy fields not understood by science. Most of these paranormal phenomena rely on "energy," and when the performers are asked to explain, they'll gladly lecture about the body's energy fields, the universe's energy fields, Chi, Prana, Orgone, negative energy, positive energy, and just about anything else that needs a familiar sounding word to explain and justify it. Clearly, there are too many loose interpretations of the word energy, to the point where most people probably have no idea exactly what energy really is.
I believe that if more people had a clear understanding of energy — and it's not complicated — there would be less susceptibility to pseudoscience, and more attention paid to actual technologies and methods that are truly constructive and useful.
A friend told me of her ability to perform minor healings, and her best explanation was that she drew energy from another dimension. She had recently rented What the Bleep Do We Know, so she was well prepared to explain that alternate dimensions and realities should be taken for granted, since science doesn't really know anything, and thus those things cannot be disproven. That's fine, I'll concede that she can make contact with another dimension: after all, the latest M theories posit that there are probably ten or eleven of them floating around, and I'll just hope that my friend's is not one of those that are collapsed into impossibly small spaces. What I was really interested in was the nature of this vaguely defined energy that she could contact.
I asked what type of energy is it, and how is it stored? Is it heat? Is it a spinning flywheel? Is it an explosive compound? Is it food? These are examples of actual ways that energy can be stored.
In popular New Age culture, "energy" has somehow become a noun unto itself. "Energy" is considered to be literally like a glowing, hovering, shimmering cloud, from which adepts can draw power, and feel rejuvenated. Imagine a vaporous creature from the original Star Trek series, and you'll have a good idea of what New Agers think energy is.
In fact, energy is not really a noun at all. Energy is a measurement of something's ability to perform work. Given this context, when spiritualists talk about your body's energy fields, they're really saying nothing that's even remotely meaningful. Yet this kind of talk has become so pervasive in our society that the vast majority of Americans accept that energy exists as a self-contained force, floating around in glowing clouds, and can be commanded by spiritualist adepts to do just about anything.
There is well known authority for the simple, concrete, scientific definition of energy. Take Einstein's equation, E=mc2, that every schoolchild knows but so few spend the 30 seconds it takes to understand. Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. Simplify it. Mass can be expressed in grams, and speed can be expressed in meters per second. Thus, an object's energy equals the amount of work it takes to move a few grams a few meters in a few seconds. Energy is a measurement of work. If I lift a rock, I'm inputting enough potential energy to dent the surface of the table one centimeter when I drop it. The calories of chemical potential energy that my bloodstream absorbs when I eat a Power Bar charge up my muscles enough to dig two hundred pounds of dirt in my garden. Nowhere did Einstein discuss hovering glowing clouds, or fields of mystical power generated by human spirits.
When spiritualists discuss energy, don't blindly accept what they're saying simply because energy is a word you're familiar with, and that sounds scientific. In many cases, their usage of the word is meaningless. When you hear the word "energy" casually used to explain a mystical force or capability, require clarification. Require that the energy be defined. Is it heat? Is it a spinning flywheel?
Here's a good test. When you hear the word "energy" used in a spiritual or paranormal sense, substitute the phrase "measurable work capability." Does the usage still make sense? Are you actually being given any information that supports the claim being made? Remember, energy itself is not the thing being measured: energy is the measurement of work performed or of potential.
Take the following claim of Kundalini Yoga as an example: "The release and ascent of the dormant spiritual energy enables the aspirant to transcend the effects of the elements and achieve consciousness." This would be a great thing if energy was indeed that shimmering cloud that can go wherever it's needed and perform miracles. But it's not, so in this case, we substitute the phrase "measurable work capability" and find that the sentence is not attempting to measure or quantify anything other than the word "energy" itself. We have a "dormant spiritual measurable work capability," and no further information. That's pretty vague, isn't it? For this claim to have any merit, they must at least describe how this energy is being stored or manifested. Is it potential energy stored in the chemistry of fat cells? Is it heat that can spread through the body? Is it a measurable amount of electromagnetism, and if so, where's the magnet? In any event, it must be measurable and precisely quantifiable, or it can't be called energy, by definition.
There's a good reason why you don't hear medical doctors or pharmacists talking about energy fields: it's meaningless. I think it's generally good policy to remain open minded and be ready to hear claims that involve energy, but approach them skeptically, and scientifically. The next time you hear such a claim, substitute the phrase "measurable work capability" and you'll be well equipped to separate the silly from the solid.
© 2006 Skeptoid Media, Inc.
References & Further Reading
CEC. "Energy Story. Chapter 1. What is Energy?" Energy Quest. California Energy Commission, 22 Apr. 2002. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. <http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter01.html>
Duff, M. The world in eleven dimensions: supergravity, supermembranes and M-theory. Bristol: Institute of Physics Publishing, 1999. 1-4.
Hoffman, F., Bailey, W. Mind and Society Fads. Binghamton: The Haworth Press, 1992. 198-201.
Kurtz, P., Stenger, V. Skeptical Odysseys: Personal accounts by the world's leading paranormal inquirers. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2001. 363-374.
Sanatan Society. "Raising Kundalini energy with Kundalini Yoga through the chakras." Kundalini Yoga. Sanatan Society, 8 Apr. 2004. Web. 13 Dec. 2009. <http://www.sanatansociety.org/chakras/kundalini_yoga.htm>
Reference this article:
Dunning, B.
"New Age Energy." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, Inc.,
3 Oct 2006. Web.
19 Jun 2013. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4002>
Discuss!
10 most recent comments | Show all 120 comments
Comparing different types of therapies' (whether bogus or not) effectiveness for the same complaint, in this case gunshot wound, is a distorted argument.
I've mentioned that before in my discussions on acupunture. Nobody in their right mind would seek acupunture when they need urgent surgery for appendicitis.
Macky, Auckland
January 28, 2013 11:36pm
Here is a way to end the arguments:
"Everything is relative"
AND
"We'll never understand the mysteries of the universe because we ourselves it part of it"-Eric
This basically means that everything that the world perceive is correct or law is relative to the people that observe or take part in it.
So this "energy" is probably the closest thing to defining all the unknown mechanisms that exists and runs the universe. Everything else is a specialized version of it based on experiments and perceptions of peers and measurements and calculations based on time which only exists in our perception.
We can go on and on about it but all that matters is that if it works, it is useful, and thus can be applied to make life better (even if it is just a pseudoeffect (though it has been clearly proven that the mind has a significant impact on the body.)
Eric, Calgary
January 31, 2013 12:04pm
Eric, It matters a great deal to frauds and the public they can isolate and fleece.
Maybe you arent sucked in by the woo, but there is a goodly population that pays dearly for its ignorance.
Mud, sin city, Oz
January 31, 2013 2:04pm
Why should frauds and scams be the indicator of whether a certain complementary therapy is valid or not ?
We've got frauds in this country who are supposed to be GP's, prescribing psychotropic drugs to children for such things as sore knees.
Does that make the medical profession and drug therapy in general, woo ?
Macky, Auckland
February 09, 2013 11:38pm
sentence one; Because people love doing it. Viz the new age etheric.
sentence 2, yes well it is new zealand. We accidentally imported one of their death quacks in the late seventies and South Africa imported an NZ genocidal death quack in the last 15 years.
sentence 3, Yep, there are lots of woo artists practicing woo. But your example is something I am unfamiliar with.
Could it be you or the reporter has misrepresented something? The former is now established on skeptoid comments
Moral Dolphin Back in Mud Suit, Greenacres by the sea Oz
June 05, 2013 3:14pm
"But your example is something I am unfamiliar with."
Not surprising.
"Could it be you or the reporter has misrepresented something? The former is now established on skeptoid comments"
Post some examples.
Macky, Auckland
June 11, 2013 1:47am
No, clearly I am unfamiliar with the practice of the woo artist you have made an example.
Please, your posts are becoming ragged..
There is no such thing as complementary medicine when it comes to woo. The woo is all fraud.
Thats why its called woo..
But i did post
sentence one; Because people love doing it. Viz the new age etheric.
sentence 2, yes well it is new zealand. We accidentally imported one of their death quacks in the late seventies and South Africa imported an NZ genocidal death quack in the last 15 years.
sentence 3, Yep, there are lots of woo artists practicing woo. But your example is something I am unfamiliar with.
Could it be you or the reporter has misrepresented something? The former is now established on skeptoid comments
Moral Dolphin Back in Mud Suit, Greenacres by the sea Oz
June 05, 2013 3:14pm
Magnanamous Dinoflagellate, sin city, Oz
June 12, 2013 1:53am
"But your example is something I am unfamiliar with."
Sure ok. Which example are you referring to, just to clarify ?
Macky, Auckland
June 12, 2013 2:48am
When the skeptic movement has its targets set on New Age, its latent virtues begin to shine. We may have profound disagreements, Brian Dunning, but bravo on this article. You not only clearly and concisely refuted 'Energy Healing' mumbo-jumbo, you also touched on a fundamental truth that so-called philosophers of science often miss; the concepts/laws/definitions of modern physics refer to quantitative measurements of things. New Agers aren't the only ones confusing the map with the territory.
Orangebookbag, Rochester, NY
June 16, 2013 6:25pm
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a) there is no distorted argument against complementary medicine. You only need a look at theit syllabi for their professional training. Universities close down their complementary noodling programs for one reason, no out put, no forseeable output and obviously the same reason, no possible output. Complemantary medicine is for the market place of religion.
b) theargument for new age energy always is, look, science may find a new one.
This is the "hopeful BS fallacy". If physics doesnt find a new energy now (as it may well have) a fairy/angel person will never do so.
c) crystal healing is another astrology. All bunk and damn racist.
∆
Mud, At (actually Pho's gulag) virtually missing point, NSW, OZ,
January 28, 2013 10:13pm