M8G - Yeah, all of that bizarre information is stored in my head. Hey, anyone can do it; it just takes practice. I think that my ability to retain snippets of unrelated trivia and combine them into theories and hypotheses was formulated as I was entering puberty (possibly with the help of the increased levels of testosterone surging through my body at this period of my life).

It was between ages 11 and 13 that I used to memorize the week to week goals-against averages of all the goaltenders in the NHL, including the back-ups. I would then calculate save percentages (this wasn't routinely done in the early 1970s) to see who the best goaltenders really were. I had to do these caculation by hand, as pocket calculators were the size of Palm Pilots and cost about the same.

Also, at that time I was really into UFO conspiracy theories (only 30 years too early). I read everything by Frank Edwards and George Adamski. In the end I realized that these guys really needed a life, so they invented one.

Put both of these passions together (mathematics and a faith in believing the obviously unbelievable) and you get someone who can spew off inane facts all afternoon (especially when stting on a barstool).

As for using logic and facts to refute your friend's beliefs; it ain't gonna work. It is nearly impossible to refute the faith one has in their convictions (eg. religious extremists of any "faith", "War on Drugs" advocates, those abducted by aliens, Vancouver Canuck fans, etc.).

All I can say about high colonics is, "EEEUUUWW!!!" I'm sorry, but their are things that people (like your friend) do in private that they really shouldn't make public knowledge . This includes the little games we all play in the bedroom with chocolate sauce, french fries and a chicken .... .

You can never win an argument with someone who is in a manic state. - Cam

<font color=blue>"Humility: timidity of the slave or hypocracy of the schemer?</font color=blue>