There are an infinite number of flavors of this sort of nonsense, from astrology to homeopathy, from the antivaccination movement to global warming denial. While you might think some of these are harmless, they all have very serious ramifications: they lead to magical thinking. They tell people it’s OK to stop putting their trust in reality and science, and instead abandon it for nonsense.
Sometimes the outcome isn’t a big deal. And sometimes hundreds of people die when you reject science and buy fraudulent bomb detectors.
Believing in nonsense can get people killed. History books are filled to the brim with such stories.
Next time I visit Landers, I hope to see Giant Rock
Giant Rock IS pretty cool (I wouldn’t recommend making a special trip to see it, but if one is already close by… ) . About 20 years ago it split and there was/is supposedly an local American Indian belief that if it ever split that would hold a particular meaning (I don’t remember the details). Last century, a guy dug under it and lived there for years.
The road to it (it’s been a few years since I was there) is unpaved and not necessarily accessible by all vehicles b/c of erosion from rains.
Supposedly, the Integretron is located over the confluence of “three underground rivers”. On the surface its location is at/near the combination of 3 dry washes (of different sizes).
Land is cheap out there. Close by (in Twentynine Palms), hear the NE entrance to Joshua Tree National Park, is Sky’s The Limit Observatory https://www.skysthelimit29.org/ )
