I hate to sound ignorant, but I can perhaps explain the layman side of things.

Before I even heard of HBers and BABBers, all I had was a limited education on reality. I was very naïve. I actually believed a lot of what I read in the newspapers or viewed on TV.

I thought the paranormal was real. I don’t anymore. I thought people claiming to be psychic were really psychics. I don’t anymore. It was just easier to believe these things were true, because no one in the ‘mainstream’ ever said they were not.

It’s like there is a bigger conspiracy to keep the majority of the population ignorant (non-scientific side). I guess because this makes more money for big businesses. For example, my mother bought Earthquake Insurance. She lives in Indiana. Odds of her ever needing to collect are slim to none. Yet, when the news aired such a story after the minor tremble a few years back, people jumped all over it.

I would like to see a magazine, like the tabloids out now, with folks like the BA debunking the woo woo’s. It would seriously have to be filled with the same gaudy photos and headlines to catch the layman’s attention at the newsstand.

Same for some sort of TV program starring George Clooney, for example, debunking the stories that seem believable.

Gee, after 6 months of being deprogrammed, I am starting to understand what I am writing. I hope you do.

After I saw the BA’s talk, I was amazed why I never saw this prior to the BABB. The BABB is really opening my eyes to the misleading stories I see everyday.

I now question everything I hear (at work and school) that has the ring of woo woo to it. It’s sometimes a daily event. I'm making enemies by making others have to think. For example, when I ask questions like where did you get your information from or can you explain in detail what you specifically mean? If they can't answer me with legitimate responses, I reply with "Well, I can't quite agree with you, until you can site me a reference." I haven't got to the point where I have to say credible reference, since, the conversation never goes any further.

Even my co-worker's son, 18, doesn’t believe we landed on the Moon. I bought him a copy of the BA’s book, but I can’t make him read it.