I am very tired of stupid people making this stupid argument:
The vast majority of Rishonim and Acharonim agree that Sheidim, magic, and astrology are real. Were they blind, stupid, incompetent or all of the above?
The answer: They weren't blind. They were simply men of their time, and men of their time beleived in those things. Likely they also believed that the world was flat, that no new land masses would be discovered, and that everything consisted of the four elements: Earth, Wind, Water and Fire.
Yes, they claimed a belief in magic and the rest, but so what? If we can't duplicate their observations what compels us to accept that they are true? Nothing.
Anyway, I don't ever see the purveyors of this stupid argument ever taking it seriously in their own lives. When they're sick do any of them rely on Talmudic medicine? Of course not. Only when the stakes are low do these morons* wave the flag of superstition.
*No mussar about name calling. There's a fine tradition of insulting people who believe in magic. Both the Rambam and the Ibn Ezra call them fools, simple minded and worse.
