Over the past few decades personal development has become a huge industry, and in recent years the internet has fueled the surge of new products and programs devoted to self-improvement. Unfortunately, the tremendous growth in the industry has opened the door for scam artists hoping to make a bundle of cash before anyone realizes their products are useless.
These companies attempt to lull prospective customers into a false sense of security by littering their marketing copy with catchy phrases that sound high-tech or scientific, despite their so-called science being nothing more than made-up nonsense. You've all heard the buzzwords before. (Can anyone say "quantum"?) They fill their advertisements and web sites with pseudoscience and hope consumers will be hypnotized by the apparent magic of it all.
Yesterday someone sent me a link to a personal development web site so I could check out a video featured on the site's home page. In the video, the host explains how her company's system can release your subconscious fears and transform your life by "tapping into the quantum field", and their method is supposedly an effective cure for all your problems because "every single perception you've ever experienced is stored as images in the water molecules in the microtubules of your brain" and "those images are projecting onto the quantum field and reflecting back at you."
I'm sure neuroscientists around the world would cringe upon reading such claims. Quantum physicists probably would cringe right along with them.
Did you notice how in just a few brief sentences she managed to incorporate enough buzzwords to sway many viewers into believing her method is based in real science? Quantum fields, molecules, microtubules, she's got it all covered. In the end, what she's actually selling is nothing more than a guided visualization technique.
Another company -- this time selling brainwave entrainment MP3 files -- describes their products as featuring "the sophisticated new technology of isochronic tones" to stimulate the brain. The word "isochronic" sounds very high-tech, doesn't it? Unfortunately for them, and for anyone duped into buying their products, there is nothing new or sophisticated about isochronic tones. An isochronic tone is simply a pulsing tone in which the length of the tone and the length of the silence between each tone remain steady or repeat in a specific pattern. The same effect can be achieved with a drum or other instrument, and the method has been used in drumming sessions for many years (and likely for many centuries). High-tech, indeed.
The founder of the above mentioned company also claims to be a "Certified Brainwave Entrainment Specialist" and even includes a handy little photo of his certificate on his web site. What's the problem with his claim? There's no college, university, or regulating agency that certifies anyone as a "Brainwave Entrainment Specialist". It's a title he made up and bestowed upon himself.
Yet another company claims to be able to tune up your biofield through the use of "non-Hertzian frequencies" (conveniently deployed in the form of tiny pieces of metal jewelry selling for two to three hundred dollars each). For those unfamiliar with the term, a Hertz is the basic unit of measurement for frequency, just like a degree is the basic unit of measurement for temperature. Therefore, if you have a frequency, it can be measured in Hertz. If it can't be measured in Hertz, it's not a frequency, it's something else. To say you have a "non-Hertzian frequency" is akin to saying you have a "non-degree temperature". It's pure nonsense.
I have no problem with companies selling guided visualization techniques or personal development programs. There are some very good products out there and I even endorse a few of them. I work in this industry and have great respect for people and companies who devote their time and resources to researching the human potential. I simply don't like it when dishonest companies make a deliberate effort to bury the reality of their product in nonsensical jargon in the hopes of convincing people the product is based on some new untapped field of science. These companies aren't on the cutting edge of science. They're on the cutting edge of marketing.
That is one of the worst aspects of the situation because, while they take advantage of unsuspecting consumers and that in itself is bad enough, they also make things far more difficult for companies selling effective products that are based on legitimate scientific research. The unconscionable behavior of these companies taints the marketplace and gives the entire industry a negative reputation, making it much harder for those of us who develop legitimate products to be taken seriously.
Next time you come across a personal development product and feel tempted to buy it, stop and ask yourself whether or not your desire to purchase it is based on the legitimate research presented by the company or instead is driven by persuasive marketing copy with a bit of pseudoscience worked in.
Be an educated consumer. Do your research first and make sure the company is reputable and their product has enough real science to back it up. A few minutes of research up front can save you plenty of money, not to mention the time and effort you would've wasted on using an ineffective product in the hopes of attaining the promised results.
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Unfortunately, as with any similar businesses, there will be lots of scam artists trying to make a quick buck.
I’ve known about this for a long time now and it really bothers, since they cast shadow on possible good products. Today, it’s often hard to distinguish from a real product and a scam, since they sound alike when sold.
Pity.
the internet is great for passing along brilliant info that is out of the mainstream paradigm but equally as great for selling snake oil. thanks for the heads up.
Great post m8, looking forward to more posts like this, so i bookmarked you
It’s all common sense at the end of the day; if these things really did work, everyone would be using them.
Next time you’re tempted to buy something like this; ask yourself, is it as big as Coca-Cola? If not, it doesn’t work.
Thanks for the very informative information. Unfortunately you are correct about these scam companies selling of crap to people. I found one company that claimed they had true isochronic beats but when I went to download the product it was only about 6 megabytes for the 30 minute recording.
Now all the other ones I have are closer to 60 megabytes for 30 minutes. That is always a great way to tell how the recording was done because if it is very small amount of space then it was not recorded correctly.
Well thanks again and I look forward to reading more of your articles in the near future
I appreciate your investigating some of these companies. Yes, there are many that make claims, which are undocumented by scientific research and do not stand up to scientific scrutiny. There are, however, some companies that are legitimate, so these other companies muddy the waters, so to speak. I have used the Silva System since 1971. It works, it is replicable, teachable and has undergone much scrutiny from scientific and medical communities. Just like acupuncture, which not long ago was considered a form of voodoo is now an accepted method of practice in the medical community. I have seen brain entrainment work for individuals who have A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. Yes, not all companies are reputable, but I know that reputable systems do exist in the alternative fields. Don’t throw all alternative systems into the same category. I do, however, appreciate people posting honest, well researched criticism.
Hi Dennis,
I agree, there are definitely some good companies out there. That’s one of the things I mentioned in this post that I find so frustrating. The bad companies end up making the good companies look bad too, and then the good companies have to work extra hard to overcome the unjustified bias people have against them.
My company develops brainwave technology and I know for certain it’s effective. I’ve seen it work for thousands of people to help with everything from ADD to stress/anxiety to post-surgical recovery. We have EEG readings and data from research studies to go along with the huge amount of subjective evidence. But, even with all the evidence and even though our company is considered one of the most reputable in the industry, we still have to work extra hard to prove the value of our technology, and that’s partly due to people like the one I described in this post who used Photoshop to make a fake certificate giving him the title “Certified Brainwave Entrainment Specialist”.
~ Kris
I’ve been using brain entrainment for over 5 years, It is true that most of it is a scam. I’ve seen enough of that. Lets not forget one person BS is another persons miracle. So, just because it doesn’t work for you, doesn’t mean you have to dismiss it for everyone else. Yet when you do find something that works, you do notice a difference. Such as better memory, hightend awarness and a better out look on life.
An open mind can change your life, but it can also lead you too a lot of dead ends.
Robert
Quantum physics and Quantum mechanics, spiritual beings who descended the celestial planes to earth for an earthly experience,
Pertubation= Quantum collapse= Equilibration +, Beta Balancing, Yes pay $$$$$ for all this and you too can GET IT!
What a load of Bull s**t!
People in Australia are paying through the nose to get this garbage imprinted in their minds during a Friday to Sunday evening, intense seminar involving locked doors, controlled atmosphere, no toilet breaks, no food, no drinks, no speaking without permission, sit here, do this, shut up, and aggressive abusive verbal attacks by the leader of the seminar and his elite crew till they crumple and are ready to submit their minds, memories, and wills to his leadership.
He will then F with your memories, emotions, beliefs till you bend to what he says is reality.
He openly declares he is a former drug addict drug dealer who has been incarcerated in prison.
He tells brainwashed devotees that his MJB seminars is a cult and he is their leader, (but dont tell anyone else that).
Go out into the world now and be a lightbearer for humanity and give this wonderful gift to others by inviting them to your Graduation evening.
But dont let them know the truth about what happens or what you have been taught.
Just keep smiling and saying it is wonderful, you have to go to know what it is about.
Then the team of helpers can pressure them to sign up for a seminar $$$$$$$$$$
Wow, Joe, that sounds awful! It definitely sounds like a cult. I’m surprised the leader admits it. Usually a leader and the members will call their group a “community” or use some other more benign term to describe it even when it’s really a cult.
The seminar and recruiting method you described sound like an extreme version of the old Avatar program that was started by Harry Palmer in the 1980s. From what I’ve read about it, they followed a similar process — an expensive seminar with a controlled environment, a bit of brainwashing, and extreme pressure to recruit more members (who would in turn pay thousands of dollars for the same seminar). It sounds a lot like Scientology too.
It seems like that’s the standard process for cults now. It’s sad that so many people are susceptible to it. I guess they’re trying to fill a void in their life and they get sucked in by all the fancy marketing and the peer pressure.
~ Kris
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