Connection: Tarot reading has become more and more popular over the past decade. The person performing the reading will turning over a series of cards from a tarot deck in order to predict a client's future or answer questions they have about their lives. However, most of the time, the reader will do all of this at a price. It is their job so needing you to believe in their abilities is a priority to sell you their product. Often, tarot readers can take advantage of a vulnerable population by promising answers in the face hardship at a cost. They attribute their abilities to paranormal sources that are not rooted in actual explainable science.

Connection: The article I have provided discusses monks that practiced Shugendo, a sect of Japanese Buddhism. They would undergo live mummification - eating only pine bark, crystals, seeds, chestnuts, pine cones, and pine needles for thousands of day before entombing themselves in an underground chamber or coffin until death. They would then be dug up, dried with charcoal and incense, and placed in shrines. They were convinced and conveyed to others that through this practice they could achieve "a deep state of meditation that could put them beyond the bounds of life and death. It was believed that deeps act of suffering such as this contained power and could bring about miracles. Many monks entered the practice for altruistic reasons under the belief that it would heal their loved ones from sickness or help their village win battles. There is no concrete evidence proving that this acts conjured the power to do these things but these monks willingly endured this suffering due to their deep belief or faith.

the steps of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD to verify the hypothesis. Any experiments that are conducted cannot actually be measured and do not yield similar results if repeated. You cannot confirm the accuracy of the information that is .presented and therefore, it is unreliable and not necessarily based on facts.

Connection: The article I shared was put together by Buzzfeed and consists of personal stories from multiple audience members who have experienced ghostly encounters. It claims that it can turn the harshest skeptics into complete believers. The article mainly consists of ANECDOTES which are unreliable or biased and do not produce measurable facts. There is no way of repeating any of the stories to yielding similar results. Several stories are also provided by anonymous sources so they cannot be verified. Overall, these paranormal encounters are not matched with any hard evidence.

Connection: The picture I provided is of an EMF(electromagnetic field) reader. Traditionally, it would be used to detect or measure electromagnetic fields in an area which are mainly present around phones, WIFI, heating units, generators and other devices that involve the movement of electrically charged particles. Ghost hunters will use an EMF meter to detect anomalies which seemingly cannot be explained. They will make claims that spirits are present because their energy creates a disturbance in the electromagnetic field. These big scientific sounding words are used as proof of paranormal presence. However, in the context of ghost or spirits, these words don't actually mean anything as there is no proof that ghost can contribute to EMF readings. They are simply taking scientific words and using them in unscientific scenario's to prove a point.

Connections: The article I have chosen discusses the evidence on autism and vaccines and how the discussion started. To DEFINE the CLAIM: Vaccines can cause autism.

Essentially an article was published by a reputable doctor from a hospital in London, along with several co-authors, that claimed that the MMR vaccine caused autism. However, after publication, most of the authors pulled their name from the article and several experiments that were conducted following the SCIENTIFIC METHOD were released, DEBUNKING the claim. It was also revealed that the doctor had cherry picked cases instead of taking random sample in an attempt to gain notoriety. The original claim raised quite a bit of controversy when it first came out and still sparks heated debates especially within far right political parties. It is used as pillar in the anti-vaccination to further their agenda. However, they did not take the time EVALUATE THE SOURCE before using it's information to push their narrative and continue to ignore the REPUTABLE SOURCES disapproving their ideals.

Connection: I have included a picture of the moon landing because it is still a major conspiracy theory circling the internet. The idea is that America faked the first moon landing because they were in a race with Russia to see who would get there first. This competitiveness dates back to the cold war which still to this day perpetuates noticeable tension between the two countries. Conspiracy theorists promote the idea that the government is trying to hide this truth to maintain their reputation which feeds the public's amusement especially with the innate need to challenge authority. There is evidence that the moon landing took place but there are multiple different theories of how they could have forged or faked it. There isn't one theory to complete a defined claim of how the landing was faked. There are also no accurate sources or evidence to disprove the claim leaving theorists without a full SUMMARY CONCLUSION to tie their ideas together.

Connection: The classic story for explaining correlation vs causation is when, for a brief period, there was an assumption that ice cream caused drowning. In the summer, both cases of drowning and ice cream sales would sky rocket. They happened seemingly around the same time so people assumed that eating ice cream would increase the chances of drowning. However, in reality, there was no DEMONSTRABLE VALIDITY to the claim. They ended up being unrelated; there were more drownings because people go out swimming more in the summer and there were more ice cream sales because it was hotter and people craved ice cream more.

Connection: The article that I have shared discusses the use of healing crystals and stones and how their use dates back to ancient civilizations. It lists similarities across several cultures such as Indian, Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Indigenous cultures, to push the idea that healing crystals are a very widespread idea and have lasted the test of time. However, there are no studies or scientific evidence that prove that they actually do anything. There are several articles circulating the internet, stores that have popped up, and entire sub cultures, around promoting the use of crystals using 'ancient wisdom'. It has created a DISTORTED VIEW OF TRUTH for many people because they assume that being an older idea while being prevalent in modern society must imply some sort of truth.

Connection: Climate change is ongoing issue and as time goes on, there is more and more pressure on the government to do something about it before the earth become irreparable. However, there is a claim that climate change isn't real and that it is just a ploy by left-wing politicians to control the economy and restrict freedom. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence from the science community but it is combatted with political values to justify belief. They use this type of influence to paint any SKEPTICISM as a secret political agenda instead of a tool to pursue the truth which is a huge red flag.

Connection: Astrology predictions or readings are based off a zodiac sign that is assigned to you based off of your birthday. A lot of these reading are vague and therefore can be applied to most people's lives. For example, a reading could say you will be able focus better on completing your task or chores this week. Most people have everyday task and chores to complete and the rate at which they complete them varies so this reading could apply to almost anyone.

People can read these predictions and because, they pertain well to their lives, automatically believe that astrology can make accurate predictions about their lives. They don't have an explanation at the top of their heads to explain the accuracy so they may automatically buy into the phenomenon. Also, LACK OF PRACTICE with critical thinking can stop them from questioning the phenomenon further because they may not even know to do so and the urge to quickly solve the unexplained may take priority.

Connection: Magicians perform tricks that to the naked eye look like magic. Most of the time they are slide-of-hand tricks, optical illusions, or have some sort of explanation using special equipment. However, the way the audience observes the performance can alter their perception. They can only form opinions on what they have seen and, if they other preconceived notions about the paranormal, can make the jump to the idea of magic. A BARRIER TO CRITICAL THINKING, at a magic show is the reaction of other audience members as well. It is known as GROUP-THINK which in this case means that you might not continue to question what you are seeing if the people around you are also in awe or lack a logical explanation.

Connection: The object I provided is a picture of Ouija board which symbolizes the fascination with communicating with the dead. A Ouija board is one tool that can be used; Another avenue is consulting with medium which someone who is said to be able to access the beyond or 'spirit world'. People who have experienced the death of a loved on will often pursue these methods to deal with their loss. They desperately seek that reconnection because of their grief which can convince that subtle results have some truth to them. For example, a common DEBUNKED trick that a medium will use to 'prove' a spirit is present is asking for a sign. The client will often hear a knock (triggered by a hidden button push on the mediums side of the table). The medium might also present generic claims about the spirit to prove their identity. For example, they could say that the spirit is wearing a green dress but they could've taken the likeness from an obituary image. A client could ignore the CRITICAL THINKING process and avoid EVALUATING EVIDENCE to force belief to cope with their loss.