Asklemmy

I am an atheist and I believe the world would be much better without religions. Having said that, I don't conisder it as a scam in itslef. Instead they must have been something evolved over the time due to our ignorance, fear and helplessness. The very same factors that still keep them going.

But hell yeah, people are exploited in the name of religion. I'm from India, one of the largest so called democracies, currently under the governance of a fascist hindutva party that thrives on polarizing people in the name of religion.

BTW I was actually looking for specific instances of scams carefully plotted by known people, companies or even countries instead of broad answers like religion.

Once I made a joke online about paying for homeopathy by dipping a dollar in a jar of water and giving them the jar, and like five people I know unfollowed me lol

I have a pinched nerve. I went to many doctors, done many tests, went to months of PT and was still in pain. I went to my acupuncturist and she is able to release the muscles around the pinch enough that my right arm doesn’t feel constantly numb. I a man of science. I don’t believe in he Chi traveling my body etc but the physical result of the acuponcture cannot be denied.

I love how ruthless the wikipedia pages on these topics are, by the way. Do check them out if you get the chance.

I argue insurance in and of itself is no ponzi scheme. Working together is the basis of all civilisation. Trying to make a business out of a social service however ... that's rife for abuse, yes.

I work in the insurance industry and I 100% agree with this.

The only time it's wise to take out an insurance policy is when

A) It's legally required (though this is sometimes due to lobbying by the insurance companies themselves)

B) When you absolutely will not be able to actually pay for a potential, but necessary expense by yourself (cancer treatments and stuff like that)

So Health Insurance, Auto Insurance (even if your car is cheap and self-insurable, the car you hit may not be), Home-owners insurance and stuff like that are necessary and generally a good financial bet, even if they are crooked af.

Any "micro-insurances" though? All total scams. Travel insurance, phone insurance (or "Extended Warranties"), Apple Care, all that kind of shit is 100% going to cost you more money to have than it'll save you - unless you get really really lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it). You'd be better off spending what you'd pay on those insurance premiums on a hand of blackjack, I'll bet the odds would be slightly more in your favor that way

Additionally, that it's okay to work yourself until death, because when you die you'll actually live a new eternal life of permanent luxury.

I've never used that much. I just assumed it was to look nice since a pea sized about would look silly in a picture. I think it I used that much my mouth would be so full of foam it would be uncomfortable

Nah not really

Oh yes, I've heard about this. Thanks for reminding.

Adding more details for others:

Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists and private investors, resulting in a $10 billion valuation at its peak in 2013 and 2014. The company claimed that it had devised blood tests that required very small amounts of blood and that could be performed rapidly and accurately, all using compact automated devices which the company had developed. These claims were later proven to be false.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos

There's zero chance the SEC wasn't fully aware of what he was doing, just like they're fully aware of what Ken Griffen is doing.

https://youtu.be/zb7Bs98KmnY

I’d like to point you to this excellent video by Technology Connections.

When a scam is good enough it gets put into law.

You're free to have your own opinions. But please note that your tone is not helpful and you may be just doing what exactly you're speaking against. Let's keep the discussions civil and healthy instead of labelling people.

Cool cool what’s the right answer then?