We want our magick, and we want it now:

Barbara Ehrenreich: I’m an Atheist, But Don’t Rule Out “Mystical Experiences”

Barbara Ehrenreich, the best-selling author of Nickel and Dimed: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream, is generally known for reportage on subjects such as the minimum wage and the rights of workers. But this month she has released a new book that is less a change of pace than a step in an entirely different direction.

Living With a Wild God: A Nonbeliver’s Search for the Truth About Everything is Ehrenreich’s personal story of mystical experiences that she says first occurred when she was a girl. It is also a critique of science for failing to adequately investigate experiences like her own. The book has aroused controversy and discussion, in part because it comes from such an unexpected source.

[…]

IC: So there is no difference between perceiving a spirit and perceiving a chair? I am confused.

BE: It takes work to even perceive the world that you and I share. Protons travel to my eyes but the brain has to do a lot of work to say, “desk, chair, table.”

[…]

Perhaps Ms. Ehrenreich might want to stop staring along the beam route at CERN?

Moving on:

[…]

IC: Well, there is no end to the number of things that might be there.

BE: That’s right.

[…]

IC: I agree with you. But there isn’t evidence for spiritual figures in the room either.

BE: Well, we need to find out.

This is like a textbook entry on fallacies.