Thank the Pointless Buzzing of the Universe
Penn & Teller are back. I agree with perhaps 98-99% of this review of the second season premiere of their Showtime-airing series, Bullshit!
I appreciate the fact that Penn and Teller have a definite point of view, just as much as I appreciate that they themselves use facts to make that point of view convincing. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re funny. The review, which appears in Slate, makes all those points, a few more good ones besides, and compares the show to a book promoting a similarly skeptical viewpoint by someone named Shermer. I haven’t read that book, but I disagree with the reviewer when he says:
“By refusing to take their opponents–or themselves–too seriously, the duo celebrates idiocy as much as it tries to set idiots straight. Shermer’s book, after all, is fundamentally inquisitive and corrective. He wishes people didn’t believe weird things. But Penn and Teller make themselves quite clear: They wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I’ve been a fan of Penn and Teller for about 15 years, I’ve seen their stage show three times, I’ve read their books. I’ve even seen their movie. I still treasure tape recordings of Penn’s appearances on the Alex Bennett radio show in San Francisco. To say nothing of television appearances, interviews, and other flotsam and jetsam. And I just don’t think that’s true. I think Penn and Teller would very much like to have it–well, not any other way, but a better, more rational, logical way. Wouldn’t we all? Except for those who profit from our irrational, illlogical way, that is.
