Bruce Lipton and Steve Bhaerman are a pair of names I’m running across more frequently on the New Age bullshit circuit. They’re a couple of seriously ignorant people. Here, for example, is an example from an interview on a “progressive” political site. (Leftish politics has a soft spot for New Age religion.)

In the current vision of scientific materialism, belief in matter is primary. The Newtonian belief that the universe is a physical machine takes our attention away from the invisible realm. We focus on material acquisition as a representation of how well we’re doing in our lives. We take the earth and the environment apart seeking more matter. The more matter you have, the more effective you are in this world. He who dies with the most toys wins.

Over 100 years ago, quantum physics said, “The invisible realm you ignore is actually the primary shaper of the physical realm.”

Aaaaargh!

Let’s see. Quantum physics does not go back over a hundred years; the 1920’s is the first decade where you see serious developments. And the New Age trope that quantum mechanics underwrites a holistic, spiritual vision of the universe is bloody nonsense. It’s seriously annoying to just about every working physicist who puts quantum mechanics to real use.

Speaking about New Age tropes, I also have to be appalled at how they quickly pass from scientific materialism to aquisitive materialism.

Sigh. There’s no hope, really. There’ll always be tons of New Agers, creationists, and pseudoscientists. And the bullshit they push will always be more popular than real science. After all, according to them, one way or the other, the deep structure of reality reflects their moral preoccupations.