Hacker News Reader

Crystals, tarot, angels, and reiki have become practically the "default" non-religious belief in my (east coast US) social circle, particularly among women ages 18-60 not in tech fields. Often but not always mixed with bits of Christianity.

(Myself and nearly all my tech friends are atheist-raised-Judeo-Christian.)

View on HN

it's so disappointing otherwise sane people cling to that nonsense, I've seen first hand people reach for homeopathy and crystals over getting qualified physician advice (and suffering the consequences), it's sad

They are avoiding potential iatrogenic consequences.

I've never met anyone who has (openly) subscribed to homeopathy. And most use I've seen of energy methods is to treat the psyche, not physical illnesses. (Not that people don't -- it's just not something I've observed in the trend I noted.) Not too different from mainstream religions to be honest.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com