Experts Debate Self-Help Phenom ‘The Secret’

August 15th, 2008 | by admin |

James Arthur Ray, author of “The Science of Success” and Psychology Professor John Norcross disagree on whether the hit self-help program “The Secret” actually works. Harry Smith moderates their discussion.

Duration : 0:4:36


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  1. 25 Responses to “Experts Debate Self-Help Phenom ‘The Secret’”

  2. By avalonvision on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    The actual Secret …
    The actual Secret is saying to
    THINK IT (verbalize it, visualize it, draw it etc)
    FEEL GOOD (feel positive, love, happy, creative, have faith etc)
    and RECEIVE IT (to actually be ready for it, to be aligned to get what we wish for, cause if we second doubt it will never happen)

    IF YOU DON’T GET RESULTS THAT MEANS THAT YOU DO SOMETHING WRONG IN THE PROCESS (and i am not saying consciously) OR NOT TRULY BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO DO IT

  3. By AlIord on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Bravo! This is …
    Bravo! This is truly a good debate. Regardless of content, it is well structured and the moderator retains control without being totally biased one way or the other. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good one on TV.

    Oh yes, and the guy arguing for the Secret has a weak argument based on a definition of science that cunningly ignores having real, long-term tests with control groups. It’s difficult to take anyone seriously without scientifically proven fact.

  4. By samuelmorrison on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    the secret–what a …
    the secret–what a load of B.S.

  5. By dcoled on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Besides, it is …
    Besides, it is always peculiar to me when people can be so nasty about a message so loving and beautiful, even if it isn’t “true”!

  6. By dcoled on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    It is easy to be a …
    It is easy to be a critic. But only a visionary can explore an idea that’s different or apparently irrational. Many of the greatest minds in history, some presented in The Secret, were visionaries, yet not necessarily respected by their contemporaries. I bet none of you who have made negative comments about James Ray’s words here have even tried any of the Secret principles.

  7. By dcoled on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Anyone can be a …
    Anyone can be a critic, a skeptic, or a cynic. Healthy skepticism is ok, but it doesn’t take much to be stuck to your own or popular ideas about the way things work. Only visionaries have the courage to try something unfamiliar. Besides, there is something curious about people who can be so nasty about such a positive, loving message, even if it is not “true”.

  8. By ReductioAdAbsurdum on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    “the scientists i …
    “the scientists i can’t stand”

    I hope you’re not referring to Ray as a scientist. He’s a snakeoil salesman, claiming anecdotal evidence is science.

    If he wants to be viewed as a scientist, then he must do legitimate research, do experiments with controls, publish in scientific journals so that sharp, critical minds can review your data/process and try to reproduce your results. Anything less than that is *not* science.

  9. By ReductioAdAbsurdum on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    “James Arthur Ray” …
    “James Arthur Ray” definition of science is completely clueless.

  10. By suckshit on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    What the are …
    What the are you talking about? I for one would be willing to go on TV and say, “all you people think God is real? Show me proof then.” And the guy never said anything about things happening to him being random.

  11. By zorro157 on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Yeah, god has a …
    Yeah, god has a plan for all those children who die of leukemia, he can’t stand to be without them so he insists on killing them in a heinous manner so that he can “consort” with all the children of the world,… wait a second…

  12. By meg1955 on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you for …
    Thank you for posting this interesting debate! These things need to be pointed out and these questions need to be asked.

  13. By ElNoah on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    That’s pretty …
    That’s pretty interesting.

  14. By DavidKabuki on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Hey DannyA74, you …
    Hey DannyA74, you sound like the kinda person dumb enough to shell out $39.95 for “The Secret.” Years ago you would have been buying snake oil. And how would you begin to have a clue to the “Psych Guy’s” religious beliefs? Because he has common sense?

  15. By blahinhawaii on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Much more research …
    Much more research is needed re: concentration ability, pyschedelics, and the placebo effect, suggestibility mechanics. Double blind studies have shown suggestion removes warts. So they did another placebo controlled double blind study putting suggestion up agains salicylic acid and hypnosis is more effective. It physically alters the skin.

  16. By blahinhawaii on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    We know that some …
    We know that some people are more suggestible than others and that there is a huge rang in levels of hypnotizability. We know that the beliefs of the clinician administering a placebo greatly effects results.

  17. By dcipoornima on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    James Randi would …
    James Randi would be happy to give out a million dollars if the secret can be shown to work

  18. By dcipoornima on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    goog
    goog

  19. By dcipoornima on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    good one
    good one

  20. By bigjstokes on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    what’s wrong with …
    what’s wrong with asking for evidence of the existance of God?

  21. By maphler on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    I have been waiting …
    I have been waiting for this kind of debate ever since I saw “The Secret”. I kept searching on the internet and I was like “Hey, where are the skeptics?” cause I couldn’t find any. Thanks for posting the video online! (I don’t have access to American television like many other Europeans)

  22. By abc7536 on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    The secret works, …
    The secret works, but it never makes the claim of curing caner. It only changes your outlook as you deal with cancer, and that does help. The scientist thinks it is a “cure all” but he dosn’t take time to actually look at it.

  23. By DannyA74 on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    You know…I wonder …
    You know…I wonder if that Psych guy would be willing to come on TV and say “we need reliable scientific evidence that GOD EXISTS!” I mean, he said that…just switched up the wording a little. I feel bad for him. He believes what happens to him is random…that’s too bad.

  24. By marsh210 on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    Great debate!
    Great debate!

  25. By g111y on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    i love science. …
    i love science. it’s the scientists i can’t stand.

  26. By Nintendo2k on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

    It is kind of crazy …
    It is kind of crazy charging money for that. I hope people only use it to be inspired and perhaps even learn about believing and hoping or whatever.

    Curing cancer with faith alone is ludacris. But it can give you the extra edge and will to go the extra mile as far as treatment go.

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