National Capital Area ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ S○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○KEPTICAL EYE • encourages critical and scientific thinking • serves as an information resource on extraordinary Vol. 16, No. 1 claims • provides extraordinary evidence that skeptics are cool 2004

CS TV: Crime Science on Television by Walter F. Rowe, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Forensic Sciences The George Washington University

n the last few years television pro- CSI has many positive features. The pro- grams about forensic science have gram focuses on the use of physical evidence become very popular. On cable TV to solve crimes; the witnesses interviewed by channels there are documentary series police often hamper the investigations more coming events 2 such as Forensic Files, The New De- than they help them. Eyewitnesses are often Itectives, and Secrets of Forensic Science. The shown to be mistaken or lying. The problem- prez sez 3 The UFO major networks have dramas such as NBC’s atic nature of eyewitness testimony has been Evidence 4 Law & Order and Crossing Jordan and CBS’s evident to thoughtful investigators for many Precursors of CSI and CSI: Miami. CSI, (Crime Scene In- years. It is valuable to have the lay public fre- Flying Saucers 9 vestigation) now in its third season, is one of quently reminded of its many deficiencies. Lucky Day 10 the most popular programs on television. Cur- On TV and in popular culture in general, Secret Origins rently, it wins its time slot in the Nielsen ratings. educated people are sometimes portrayed as of the Bible 12 The series is set in Las Vegas and follows effete snobs who can barely function in the Bits and Pieces 19 the activities of a team of crime scene investi- real world. The CSI characters have quirks In Memoriam: gators as they investigate suspicious deaths. and hang-ups (Willows has substance abuse Doris Bloch 20 Gil Grissom (played by William Petersen) is problems in her past and Brown has a gam- the supervisor of the night shift at the Field bling problem), but they are generally pre- Service Office. Grissom has a Ph.D. in biol- sented as regular people who are highly ogy from UCLA; he specializes in forensic competent at their jobs. Each week on CSI entomology (the use of insects in forensic sci- bright, well-educated good guys ence). His team includes second-in- command beat bad guys through sci- Catherine Willows (B.S. in medical technology ence and the power from the University of Nevada—Las Vegas), of reasoning. Al- Sara Sidel (B.S. in physics from Harvard), though the CSI in- Warrick Brown (B.S. in chemistry from the vestigators Law CSI:& Order University of Nevada—Las Vegas) and Nick carry weapons Stokes (B.S. in criminal justice from Rice Uni- they rarely use Crime Scene Investigation versity). I have highlighted the college degrees them: Their provided for the CSI team members as part of critical thinking skills are Forensic Files their back stories because CSI is one of the more important than CSI: MIAMI few TV programs to emphasize the educations their pistols. And for of its characters. those who like to dwell on

continued on page 14 coming events Friday the 13th Join us for a fun-filled evening on Friday, February 13th at Mayorga Coffee in Silver Spring, MD, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Enjoy this year’s superstitious day with fellow skeptics. Future Lectures Lectures currently scheduled for 2004 are: February 21—Univ. of Maryland “Critical Thinking” course students presenting papers/projects March 27-28—Annual NCAS Weekend Workshop in Leesburg, VA. Details to follow soon. April 15—Ian Rowland, amazing entertainment. Details to follow soon. Special venue. April 17—Melissa Pollack of NSF May 15—Sally Satel from American Enterprise Institute, on PTSD as a “real” mental disorder. Lectures for the 2003-2004 year will be held at the B-CC Services Center in the Multipurpose Room. The Center is at 4805 Edgemoor Lane in downtown Bethesda, MD. Directions to the Center are at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/RSC/bcc/directions.asp. (Map to B- CC Services Center)

2003/2004 Board of Directors of the National Capital Area Skeptics at November 2003 meeting. Left to right, bottom row: Paul Jaffe, Grace Denman, Sharlene Deskins, Chip Denman. Top row: Scott Snell, Tim Scanlon, Walter Rowe, Eugene Ossa, Marv Zelkowitz, Chris Wanjek, Jim Giglio Cancelled! For more information, go to: http:// www.ianrowland.com/NewsSchedule/News&Schedule.html Helen E. Hester-Ossa

National Capital Area Skeptical Eye (ISSN 1063-2077) NCAS Board of Directors Editor/Designer is published by the National Capital Area Skeptics, Executive Committee Photographer PO Box 8428 , Silver Spring, MD 20907. Marv Zelkowitz, president Helen E. Hester-Ossa Copyright © 2004 National Capital Area Skeptics. Gary Stone, vice president Eye Coordinator Signed articles are the opinions of the authors. Grace Denman, treasurer Sharlene Deskins Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the Sharlene Deskins, secretary position of the editors, the Board of Directors, or the Paul Jaffe, past president National Capital Area Skeptics. Other Board members 24-hour phone number: 301-587-3827 Jonathan Boswell Walter Rowe e-mail: [email protected] Chip Denman Tim Scanlon Skeptical Eye input: [email protected] Jim Giglio Scott Snell Internet: http://www.ncas.org Stephen J. Goodson Jamy Ian Swiss NCAS discussion group: [email protected] Neil Langdon Inglis Chris Wanjek

Eugene Ossa recycled paper ○○○○○○ 2 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 prez sez by Marv Zelkowitz

Dear Skeptical Eye reader: i! As your new president, I guess I anonymously, I want to publicly thank those should introduce myself. I first heard responsible for its timely production: Chip Habout NCAS when Jamy Swiss and Denman produces the front side with the Chip Denman, two of NCAS’s founders and monthly lecture notice, Eugene Ossa produces current Board members, were on radio dis- the flip side with the calendar information, and cussing skepticism around 1992. Shortly Scott Snell does the printing and mailing. Jim thereafter I saw Randi at the National Institute Giglio has been coordinating speakers for each of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, monthly lecture. We all should thank them and I was hooked. I joined and within a year since the Shadow is the glue that keeps the or so I was on the NCAS Board, Secretary of organization operating. Incidentally, if you the group, and since August 1994 I was editor have recommendations for speakers, please of the monthly calendar, Shadow of a Doubt. send Jim your recommendations. (Remember In my “day job” I am Professor of Com- that our budget for this is rather meager.) In- puter Science at the University of Maryland formation to the NCAS Board can best be where I am interested in software engineering conveyed using the email [email protected]. and technology transfer—how to get new NCAS is a volunteer organization. That technology in use for producing better com- means we need volunteers from among our puter software. I was a member of NCAS for members. This in turn requires members who almost 10 years before realizing that my uni- can volunteer. As Shadow editor for many versity research and interests in NCAS are years, I saw a slow decay of our membership. really the same. At the University most of my Reversing this is my major goal as president. research is in experimentation in validating We need more volunteers to help the Board claims of grand new technologies. Does the produce programs and publications for your latest “buzzword” of my field—the Java lan- interest—monthly meetings, annual work- guage, object oriented programming, function shops, Friday the 13th socials, this Skeptical points, XML, Windows XP—really improve Eye, Shadow, and other events of interest to computer technology or is it just hype? Re- you. Putting the 1968 Condon Report on place these buzzwords with terms like home- UFOs on the web has made NCAS known opathy, alternative medicine, therapeutic internationally. We also need more members. touch, and you have a skeptical agenda. Per- So, please try to volunteer, come to our haps it is obvious to others, but I only realized events, and if you know of others with a simi- about 2 years ago that I have been a profes- lar outlook, encourage them to come to a few sional skeptic for the last 33 years. lectures and join the group. After 7 or 8 years I finally wanted to give See you at our next event! the Shadow to someone else—but no takers. It seemed like becoming president of the group Marv was the only way to get out of that task, so here I am. Since the Shadow is published

See Marv’s article, “Secret Origins of the Bible—a review” on page 12 of

this issue. ○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ 3 The UFO Evidence: Burdens of Proof by Jim Giglio and Scott Snell

This is a revision of a piece that Jim and Scott wrote for the “ufoskeptic” web page a couple of years ago. The page is maintained by Bernard Haisch, a University of California physicist; it contains articles from both sides of the UFO issue, mostly “pro.”

e start where any scientific debate submitted to the National UFO Reporting Cen- over the UFO evidence ought to ter in 1999 (who also seem to regard it as Wstart, with the 1968 University of typical and informative, since they chose to Colorado report to the Air Force, Scientific publish it) and refers to an event that allegedly Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, also occurred in 1976 near Hydes, Maryland: known as the Condon Report. That project it was dusk that day. we saw this round examined the evidence that had accumulated craft come out of the northeast over the since 1947; it was, and remains, the largest horizon. it was slowly rotating counter scientific study ever conducted in relation to clockwise. white lights only, were on the the UFO issue. The principal conclusion was outer edges. it moved slowly, maybe 30 narrowly focused and stated with considerable to 40 miles per hour. it came directly precision: over us. we were on a horse farm, laying Careful consideration of the record as on the front lawn just after dinner. this it is available to us leads us to con- craft was just below the sunlight that clude that further extensive study of was left in the sky. we could not see any UFOs probably cannot be justified in details. when it came over us, it stopped. the expectation that science will be then separated into four smaller craft. advanced thereby. then at the blink of an eye, they shot over the horizon. each ship went directly Note that the report did NOT state that north, south, east and west respectively. the hypothesis of extraterrestrial visitation had there was absolutely no sound from this been conclusively disproved, only that the evi- craft. we learned the next day that there dence accumulated up to that time in relation were sightings over peachbottom atomic to the issue had contributed nothing to science plant that day. the same direction that and showed no sign of contributing anything our craft came from. to this day, we in the future. have never spoken about this to anyone, How well has that conclusion stood the not even between ourselves. there were 6 test of time? Or to put it another way, has of us. two music teachers, a medical lab there been any change in the nature of the evi- tech, a texas instruments tech, police of- dence that might alter that judgment from ficer, [and] a kindergarten teacher. 1968? Most of that evidence consisted of re- ports from witnesses who saw As scientific evidence, this statement has things in the sky that they red flags hanging all over it. The writer, sup- could not identify; is it posedly a professional, seems not to want to any different today? bother with the standard capitalization rules for English sentences. And the statement is Witness Reliability only semi-coherent, with sentences describing Examine a witness various aspects of the incident tumbling over statement (cited by an- each other in a rush; with 23 years to think other “ufoskeptic” con- about the event, it ought to have been possible tributor as typical and to organize the description into a coherent nar- 

informative). The statement was rative. Another place in the report states that ○○○○○○ 4 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 UFO evidence continued from previous page no details of the object could be seen, yet it lights had changed markedly. was 1,000 feet in diameter and traveling 30 or Test photos taken for com- 40 miles per hour. How these size and speed parison showed that one determinations were made is unspecified, nor was taken sometime is there an explanation for an inability to re- before 11 PM and the solve details when it WAS possible to determine other taken sometime size and speed. afterward, despite the Accepting the size and speed estimates witness’s claim that both were leads to another problem. Hydes, Maryland, is taken in quick succession at about 8 PM. located near a number of heavily-traveled (At about 11 PM, skyline lighting changes sig- highways and air transportation corridors. nificantly as businesses and homes turn off Nearby observers should have numbered in their lights for the night.) The investigator the thousands and generated numerous news- then asked the witness for the photographic paper headlines; we are referred, instead, to negatives. He learned that the two photos some reports of sightings at a nuclear power were actually from different rolls of film, plant located a considerable distance away. separated by several other frames, some This kind of report is alleged to be typical. showing only the skyline, some showing only That’s quite correct; it IS typical, but worth- the peculiar “UFO” lights (This aspect of the less. Individuals and organizations adhering to report is striking in its resemblance to the the notion of ET visitation accumulate reports Colorado report’s Case #7.) like this by the thousands to support their po- At this point, a listener to the talk might sition, but there’s a logical fallacy at work have expected the investigator to conclude here, that large amounts of bad evidence that this was not a reliable case to use. The somehow add up to good evidence. They witness’s story did not match the photo- don’t. You can’t make a silk purse out of a graphic facts, and the contents of the interim sow’s ear, nor can you make one out of photos suggested experiments in trick photog- 10,000 sow’s ears. raphy. The listener would have been wrong. The Colorado investigators were right; The investigator touted this as “missing time despite their volume, reports such as this, discovered through photo analysis” (For the which had contributed nothing to science as uninitiated, the “missing time” phenomenon is of 1968, have yet to contribute anything in the a standard component of alien abduction sto- intervening 35 years. The fact that those on ries; it occurs when someone notices that the the “pro” side gives credence to such state- time on a clock or watch is considerably later ments illustrates an aspect of the UFO issue than expected; the abduction event that ought to trouble supporters of the notion that supposedly occupied this time is that this issue is a serious scientific problem. somehow erased from memory.) We refer to an apparent unwillingness, on the When questioned as to his con- part of far too many of these proponents, to clusions, the investigator apply even a modicum of critical thinking to stressed that “...the such reports. witness is a very One of us (Scott) attended a UFO confer- credible, respected ence a few years ago. At this event, a physi- member of her com- cist widely considered to be a technically munity. She would adept investigator (who shall remain nameless) not have lied about gave a presentation in which he described his it.” Apparently this analysis of photos showing peculiar lights investigator had never over the night skyline of an Arizona city. He read Colorado Case #7; showed the audience how he had compared that hoaxer was a retired the lights of the city in two different photos military officer with an that the photographer/witness claimed had “irreproachable” reputa- been taken only a few moments apart; the city

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tion. The investigator also apparently never for UFOs over the years, the majority of re- heard of Occam’s Razor, the principle that ports have been of saucers or discs, a clear states that, other factors being equal, one indication that witnesses are seeing what they chooses the simpler of two competing explana- expect to see, and reporting what others ac- tions for an observation. cept as the norm. When one is investigating a UFO incident There is also compelling evidence that the in the expectation that it might provide evi- appearance of UFO occupants, as widely ac- dence that our planet is being visited by ET’s cepted among “contact” adherents, arose out (a most extraordinary hypothesis), a high level of a particular episode of a television series. of critical thinking should be strenuously ap- Barney Hill, who was allegedly abducted by plied. But in the two examples of “pro-UFO” beings from a UFO in the early 1960s (the ini- evidence seen here, this does not appear to be tial case of this type), went into therapy and happening. The UFO reporting center, by pub- was hypnotized in the course of his treatment. lishing it, supports the flawed statement Under hypnosis, Hill described the eyes of his quoted above, and the audience at the confer- abductors as “speaking.” This peculiar phrase ence was generally accepting of this perfectly had been used by an extraterrestrial character ludicrous photo analysis. Acceptance and sup- in an episode of the ABC-TV series “The port of this kind of thing by adherents of the Outer Limits,” which had aired only days be- “pro” viewpoint, as if it were serious science, fore Hill’s hypnosis session. The episode was leads the skeptic to wonder, “If this is the “The Bellero Shield;” the alien portrayed was good, credible evidence, what does the bad, bald, essentially featureless in face and body, noncredible stuff look like?” and had swept back eyes, just as Hill sketched Actually the two kinds look very similar, under hypnosis. Although other early reports because the UFO issue can no longer (post of UFO occupants varied significantly from Colorado report) make a strong claim to being Hill’s (probably inspired by other stereotypical a scientific issue at all. It shows, instead, nu- alien images), his description is the one that merous signs of being a social phenomenon, has saturated popular culture via the media. driven by the print and electronic media; in In 1975, NBC-TV broadcast a dramatiza- fact there is strong evidence that this has been tion of Hill’s experience in a made for TV film the case all along. called “The UFO Incident.” Many millions of people watched this allegedly true story and Pop Culture Influence learned what aliens are supposed to look like. Errata: The image Go back to the begin- A couple of years later, used for the Outer ning, to the 1947 Kenneth Steven Spielberg’s “Close Limits episode is actually a generic Arnold sighting. The phe- Encounters of the Third one used by the nomenon described by Kind” became one of the Sci Fi Channel’s Arnold was a group of boo- website, a scene most popular motion pic- from an episode merang-shaped objects that tures ever made, depicting called “The Sixth moved like saucers skim- beings similar to those in Finger.” The authors ming across a water surface. Hill’s description. Public wish to acknowl- But the report was garbled in perception of the “standard edge Martin initial press reports, leading Kottmeyer, avail- model” alien was further in- able at http:// readers to believe that the fluenced by the cover of www.csicop.org/q/ alleged objects were saucer- Whitley Strieber’s 1987 book/6301967364 as the originator of shaped. Subsequent reports, best-selling book “Commun- the “Outer Limits” amplified by film and televi- ion,” an allegedly true ac-  connection to the sion, spread the “saucer” or alien archetype. “disc” image of UFOs to “The Outer Limits” season 1 people all over the world. episode,“The Bellero Shield,” airing on And while many different SciFi Channel. Photo from http:// www.scifi.com/outerlimits/episodes/

shapes have been reported classic/season1/20belleroshield.html ○○○○○○ 6 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 UFO evidence continued from previous page

count of alien contact, which sported the ex- speed limit says this can’t be pected image. Had Barney Hill’s hypnosis ses- done, so we have to ask: How sion taken place earlier, or had the ABC well-settled is the idea that network scheduled the “Bellero Shield” later, nothing travels faster than light? we would probably have a different “standard Very well indeed, actually, and model” alien. getting better established all the time. Back in 1947 when the Physical Principles UFO issue first came to promi- Let’s go on to another kind of evidence, nence, relativity and Dr. one that is piling up into a rather convincing Einstein’s speed limit were only accumulation. That’s the evidence relating to about 50 years old, and only a the impossibility of reported UFO behavior handful of experiments had under limitations imposed on us by a number been performed to test their va- of well-tested physical principles. The scien- lidity. Since then, we’ve edu- tific consensus on these limitations has be- cated several new generations come more solid over time, making the notion of physicists, many of whom that our planet is being visited by ET space- have worked at “pushing the craft less and less convincing. (We are as- envelope” of relativity. Experi- suming here that our hypothetical ETs are ments and theoretical studies physical beings traveling in physical machines have proliferated over this time, but unfortu- from place to place in the here and now uni- nately no exception has been found to this verse that we see around us. Concepts of fundamental limiting principle of physics. In NCAS board “light beings,” “interdimensional portals,” or fact, there’s not even a realistic hint pointing member Jim Giglio headed “higher vibratory planes” we relegate to the to the possibility of an exception. realm of the pseudomystical.) the project to put A counter to this argument is the claim the 1968 Crudely stated, the limitations that con- that maybe we don’t know all the physics Congressional cern us are: there is to know. Of course we don’t. But we UFO symposium 1. No object travels faster than light (the do know a lot, and for almost a century now report on the Einstein speed limit). the evidence has been accumulating that the NCAS web site. Einstein speed limit is both intractable and per- The symposium 2. No object can be made to move without report was added forcing some other object to move in the manent. Anyone who holds that the limit as a companion opposite direction (Newton’s 3rd law of might be bypassed by some “new physics” to the motion). at some time in the future, or that ETs extremely 3. No object can move through the atmo- may already have developed that phys- popular sphere at bullet-like speeds without creat- ics, has a very heavy and rapidly grow- Condon ing a sonic boom (a direct consequence ing burden of proof to bear; solid report. of the Doppler effect). and convincing evi- 4. Gravity pulls; it can’t be made to push. dence, not specula- 5. Complex living beings do not survive in- tion, is required to stantaneous accelerations from a standing support that burden. start to thousands of miles per hour, nor Moving on to the other do they survive instantaneous sharp turns limitations, it should be noted at those speeds (direct consequences of that these all apply to the stan- inertia). dard kinds of behaviors reported for UFOs in the atmosphere. Referring to limitation #1, there can be These behaviors include: little doubt that if ETs are visiting our planet, they would have to do so in vessels traveling Instantaneous or near-instanta- faster than light; sublight “generation ships” neous accelerations and decel- would in all likelihood be totally impractical erations between a dead stop (more on that idea below). But the Einstein and hypersonic speeds, Helen E. Hester-Ossa

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Instantaneous turns at those hypersonic scribe it accurately. It is also difficult to es- speeds, cape the conclusion that reliable individuals, Absence of the expected sonic booms reputable pillars of the community, pull off from these maneuvers, and UFO hoaxes with surprising frequency. Absence of the expected visible indicators Concerning the “con” evidence, it needs of a superpowerful propulsion system at to be emphasized that the various physical work (smoke, noise, exhaust blast, etc.) principles in question are approximately 100 to 400 years old, supported by enormous num- If we assume that some kind of “mother- bers of repeatable experiments and instru- ship” brought these craft here across the gulfs mented observations, all subjected to intense of space, and that this mothership complies scrutiny by generations of scientific profes- with the Einstein speed limit (requiring de- sionals who would like nothing better than to cades or centuries to make the journey), this demolish an important pillar of the scientific assumption avoids limitation #1. Unfortunately edifice. And these ideas are not just textbook it won’t avoid the other four. To do that, we material. Our real world technology abounds need such “Star Trek” notions as impulse with applications of these ideas, all developed drive, inertial damping, or antigravity. And by engineers and inventors who must cope on Scott Snell is a these are contradicted by principles that are, if a daily basis with the inconvenient limitations charter member of anything, even better established than the imposed on them by the physical world and its NCAS and serves Einstein speed limit, being rooted in nearly 400 on its board of laws. Aeronautical engineers would be de- years of classical physics. directors. He lighted if they could make gravity push rather received his Pros and Cons than pull; inconveniences such as wings and Bachelor of fuel-guzzling engines on airplanes could be Science degree in What we have, then, is a situation where physics from the the “pro” evidence consists almost entirely of dispensed with. The designers of communica- University of statements from witnesses who have ob- tions equipment and computers would be Maryland. He is served unusual phenomena in the sky and can- equally delighted to learn that Dr. Einstein’s employed as a not identify what they saw, and whose speed limit could be violated; the possibilities flight software perceptions and interpretations have been con- would be dazzling. But alas, none of this is engineer by taminated by images from popular culture, happening, and as the evidence accumulates, it Computer appears more likely than ever that it cannot Sciences while the “con” evidence (at least the stron- Corporation at gest such evidence) is a body of physical laws happen, on this planet or any other. NASA’s Goddard supported by massive amounts of experimen- Burden of Proof Space Flight tal data. In closing, a final point: The arguments Center, tending the Concerning the “pro” evidence, we know made here are not conclusive. We cannot say onboard from numerous investigations of computers of with certainty that our planet is not being vis- those witness accounts that a sub- several Earth ited. We can, however, note that those who stantial majority of them (or orbiting support the idea of ET visitation have always practically all, depending on your astronomical had a heavy burden of proof, a burden that satellites. source of information) are ex- has only grown heavier as time passes. We plainable as a mix of mundane phe- skeptics, who find this idea implausible, have nomena observed under odd a lighter burden, and it gets lighter with time. circumstances, plus a number of hoaxes. As noted above, the Colo- Notes rado report is enlightening on these points. Taking the case The “ufoskeptic” web page is located at http:// studies as a whole, it is difficult www.ufoskeptic.org/ to escape the conclusion that a The Colorado report was placed on-line by witness observing something un- NCAS in January 1999: http:// usual, even a “trained observer,” www.ncas.org/condon/ has a near-zero ability to interpret

Helen E. Hester-Ossa The National UFO Reporting Center is on the

that observation correctly and de- web at http://www.nuforc.org/index.html ○○○○○○ 8 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 More Precursors of the Flying Saucers: the Good Aliens by Richard Dengrove

hanks to science fiction, we think of world leaders. A modern personification of the extraterrestrials as being scientific or good alien. I bet the scriptwriter had reified Tpseudoscientific. But, for most of the him from the abstractions of old books. past 500 years, their existence had to be In 1952, the first UFO proven by rhetoric, a process used by the An- contactee was heard from, cients. And extraterrestrials were hallowed by George Adamski, an especially God; such was religion’s power. low-rent guru, sometimes When people first reasoned that there was reduced to flipping a good God, they inferred that the universe burgers and other me- had to be good and populated with appropri- nial tasks. His UFO ately intelligent beings, i.e., many extraterres- aliens also warned trials. This was the presumed origin of most against atomic of the 18th century extraterrestrials discussed weapons, though in my previous essay, “The Flying Saucer’s less artfully. In ad- 18th Century Precursors” (Skeptical Eye, vol. dition, they wore long hair, associated in the 14, no 1, 2002). ’50s with Christ, i.e., religion and good. Per- To make the universe even better, many haps this made Adamski’s aliens a better per- of these extraterrestrial beings were superior sonification than Klaatu. to us. The phrase most used was “the planets and This type of UFO alien still has a follow- stars had not been ‘created in vain.’” I wonder if “we ing and has come to be called the Space are not alone” means the universe is better because Brother. It plays a role in movements such as there are extraterrestrials. Unarius; the Raelian Movement; the Brazilian The first person to advocate the concept Superior Rational; and numerous, more mi- of superior extraterrestrials was Nicholas of nuscule cults. For others, it has also become Richard Cusa (1401-1464) in his book Learned Igno- something of a joke. Dengrove is the rance. All his extraterrestrials were superior to However, the real importance of these librarian for the humans. While his Moon Men may have been good UFO aliens is not in their following, but Food and “lunatics,” per their astrological attributes, that, at the turn of the last century, they paved Nutrition Service, they were still less sinful, less driven by pas- the way for bad extraterrestrials and bad UFO Department of sions than Earthmen. aliens. Agriculture. He lives with his As late as 1854, the scientist Sir David wife, Heidi, in Brewster felt attacking extraterrestrials, like Selected Bibliography Alexandria, William Whewell did, was attacking the idea Virginia. His of a good God. Crowe, Michael J. The Extraterrestrial Life ambition is to We no longer prove theories by rhetoric; Debate, 1750–1900. Dover Publica- write a history of rather by experience a la science and practical tions,1999 occult magic. men. So modern extraterrestrials have to be Guthke, Karl S. The Last Frontier. experienced to be believed. Perforce they had Cornell University Press, 1990 to be on Earth or seen from flying saucers. The inspiration for the modern, good ex- Peebles, Curtis. Watch the Skies: A traterrestrials seems to have been the film The Chronicle of the Flying Saucer Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) with Michael Myth. Smithsonian Press, 1994 Rennie as the UFO alien Klaatu. Klaatu had an anti-atomic weapons message of good to give

Helen E. Hester-Ossa ○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ 9 Lucky Day: NCAS Gathers on Friday the 13th by Sharlene Deskins

n June 13th, 2003, the National Capi- though by the continued interest of the crowd tal Area Skeptics held a happy hour at it seemed as if he were only there for a few Othe Mayorga Coffee in Silver Spring. minutes. One trick that the crowd found par- This was meant to be the first in an ongoing ticularly impressive was when Morton had a series of NCAS events to be held every “Fri- member of the crowd write his initials on a day the 13th.” It is a common superstition that card and then replace it in the deck. To the whenever the 13th day of the months falls on surprise and fascination of the onlookers, a Friday, it is unlucky. Despite great advances in fields from medicine to science, there are still many supersti- tions that continue. NCAS, in an effort to dispel the notion that Friday the 13th is un- lucky, is countering those superstitions by showing that “lucky” things happen on Fri- day the 13th, just as they do on any day of the year. Indeed, Friday the 13th proved to be

a lucky day for the photos by Helen E. Hester-Ossa Magician Brian “The crowd that came to Lies of Brian” Morton Mayorga Coffee to have coffee, a drink, and to watch the close-up magic of Brian “The Lies of Brian” Morton. Morton is a magician well known in the Washington-Baltimore area. For the past 5 years he has been performing his close-up magic at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. The NCAS crowd was im- pressed and entertained by the Sharlene Deskins variety of magic tricks that is employed by the Morton performed. as well as United States by his affable nature. Even the Department of downpour during the happy Agriculture. She hour did not dampen the spirits has a degree in of the gathered crowd. history from the Morton moved throughout University of Michigan and has the crowd entertaining every- lived in the metro one who came. D.C. area since Morton performed his

1989. card tricks for 2 hours, al- ○○○○○○ 10 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 his “blatant dishonesty in the service of wonder.” It was even more impressive that so many people came since sus- tained rain in the metro D.C. area put a damper on a number of events. Since The next Friday the event went so well, NCAS President the 13th Chip Denman stated, “Given the suc- gathering, “Superstitious cess of this happy hour, we will defi- Skeptics Social,” nitely have to do this again.” is planned for February 13, 2004, at the Mayorga in Silver Spring.

Morton then pulled the same card with the initials out of his wallet. The number of people who attended the happy hour was indeed quite auspicious for the future success of other Friday the 13th happy hours. Somewhere between 40 and 50 people attended and watched Morton perform

The author discusses the weather with Stephen Goodson. ○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ 11 Secret Origins of the Bible a review by Marvin Zelkowitz

Skeptical groups, such as NCAS, often avoid discussing religion because the existence of God is not considered a testable phenomenon. However, the artifacts of religion are physical objects, thus their properties and origins are certainly open to investigation and critical thinking. One of the most important objects in western religions is the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). It has been thoroughly studied in trying to understand who wrote it, when they wrote it, and why they wrote it.

or more than 200 years most Bible earth when they were created, in the day that scholars have believed that the Bible did the Lord God made the earth and the heav- Fnot originate with Moses, but instead, ens.” In this version, in the Garden of Eden, was written more than 600 years later around “God formed man of the dust of the ground” the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem before every beast was created and before temple in 587 BCE. The “Five Books of Eve was created out of his ribs. Moses” is thought to be composed of at least Even the early rabbis of 2,000 years ago four major sections—often called the J, E, P, recognized this contradiction. How could God and D documents—that were combined by a create the animals first and then create man redactor around 500 BCE. (See, Who Wrote and woman simultaneously in Genesis 1, yet the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman, Harper create man first and then the beasts and Eve & Row, 1987.) In Secret Origins of the Bible, later, as stated in Genesis 2? They circum- Tim Callahan goes beyond the question of vented this problem with a midrash, a story to when these books were written. He discusses explain a missing or unclear statement in the the ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, Sumerian, Bible. According to this midrash, apparently or Egyptian myths that are the bases for many the woman in Genesis 1 was not Eve, but an- of the stories in the Bible. other woman, Lilith. Lilith would not let Adam be dominant over her, so she left him and Creation Stories consorted with demons, preying on unsus- Here is one example of the many myths pecting men at night ever since. That left found in this book—creation of man. The Adam alone in Genesis 1, so God had to create book of Genesis opens with “In the beginning Eve to alleviate his loneliness in Genesis 2. God created the heavens and the earth …” and We are then faced with three creation sto- proceeds to discuss the 6 days of creation, ries—the 6 days of creation, Adam and Eve, ending on day 6 with “So God created man in and the midrash of Lilith. This is where his own image, in the image of God created he Callahan’s book is valuable. He traces each of him; male and female created he them” (Gen these stories to earlier legends circulating in 1:27). It is this passage that funda- the Semitic Near East: mentalists use to attempt to discredit For the 6 days of creation he discusses evolution. the Mesopotamian Enuma elish legend, which However, not everyone realizes became the god Marduk of Babylon around there is a second creation story be- 1400 BCE. Callahan gives a detailed account ginning with verse four in chapter of why these are all the same story; the fol- two of Genesis: “These are the gen- lowing is only one example of an analogy be- erations of the heavens and of the tween them: 

Recommended reading: Secret Origins of the Bible by Tim

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Enuma elish Genesis 1 Primeval chaos (Ti’amat) Darkness over deep Light emanates from gods God creates light Marduk defeats Ti’amat Combat myth omitted in Genesis, but alluded to elsewhere (Leviathan) Marduk creates firmament God creates firmament Marduk creates land God creates land Marduk and Aruru create humans from clay God creates man Gods rest and celebrate God rests on seventh day

For the creation story in Genesis 2, the following analogy is offered: Other cultures Genesis 2 Ptah creates man on a potter’s wheel (Egyptian) God creates man out of clay Prometheus molds people out of clay and then God breathes into man’s nostrils breathes life into them (Greek) to give him life

For the Lilith legend, he claims Lilith was most likely the Sumerian death goddess, Recommended reading: Lilitu. Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman, Harper & Row, 1987 Callahan then goes on to discuss “the fall” The book is a valuable addition to any li- (Adam, Eve, and the serpent) as well as who brary if you are interested in tracing the evolu- Eve actually represents. He believes she repre- tion of old Near East legends. The book, sents the goddess Asherah, the consort of the however, is not a first book on the topic. The Israelite God Yahweh. Judaism did not be- reader should probably read a book like the come truly monotheistic until the reigns of previously mentioned Who Wrote the Bible? kings Hezekiah and Josiah during the seventh by Friedman to understand the culture in century BCE. (Kings Saul, David, and which the Bible was written before reading Solomon and the unification of the country this excellent book by Callahan. occurred around 1000 BCE.) The Bible makes frequent references to Asherah and Yahweh as gods the Israelites worshipped during this pe- The book is a valuable addition to any riod. library if you are interested in tracing Summary the evolution of old Near East In summary, Callahan says that the vari- ous creation stories, as given in the Hebrew legends. Bible, represent “a monotheistic distillation of myths in which finite gods and goddesses cre- ated a less than perfect world. … [T]he cre- ation and fall of Genesis is part of the greater Marv Zelkowitz’ is a Professor family of mythic systems of the eastern Medi- of Computer Science at the terranean and the Near East.” University of Maryland, where In succeeding chapters Callahan goes to he’s interested in software great lengths investigating other Bible engineering and technology events—Noah and the flood; the patriarchs transfer—how to get new Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the 12 Israelite technology in use for producing better computer tribes; Moses and the exodus from Egypt; the software, validating claims of walls of Jericho; the power of Sampson; and grand new technologies. Marv many others. has been a professional skeptic for the last 33 years.

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gender equity issues, the women characters technicians document and collect evidence for are as well-educated, intelligent, and capable the laboratory analysts to analyze. At The as the men. George Washington University, we educate There are problems with CSI. Sometimes our master’s degree candidates to be investi- the forensic science in CSI is wrong. For ex- gators or laboratory examiners, but not both. ample, I have been The biggest problems with CSI are dra- struck by the fact matic: Story lines are often convoluted; they that whenever the are occasionally extremely implausible; and the CSI investigators acting is only serviceable. The problems with look at a hair with a the CSI series were on display in the fall 2002 light microscope, season opener. In this episode two deaths the audience sees a were investigated. The ‘greatest poker player false-color scanning in the world’ died of a seizure during a high- electron micrograph. stakes poker game in a Las Vegas casino. Gil Light microscopes Grissom headed this investigation. The other allow the microsco- death investigation began when a dead man pist to see inside was found on an abandoned airstrip outside

Helen E. Hester-Ossa transparent objects Las Vegas. Catherine Willows was responsible Walter F. Rowe, like hairs; scanning for this investigation. At autopsy the poker Ph.D., has been a electron microscopes only allow one to look at player was found to have brain swelling and a Professor of the surface of an object. Scanning electron retained lead bullet from an old gunshot Forensic Sciences microscopes are just not used for forensic wound. The toxicology blood screen showed at the George Washington hair examinations. I have also noted that dead a high lead level plus the presence of the vaso- University since bodies are not shown in states of advanced constrictor commonly found in eye drops. 1990. He is a decomposition (e.g., bloated and active decay) The forensic pathologist interpreted the brain frequent even when the plot would require them to be.1 swelling as lead encephalopathy. A chemical contributor to and On CSI luminol (used to detect blood traces) analysis of poker player’s drink revealed speaker at requires only one spraying for photography traces of eye drops. The CSI investigators scientific and (rather than multiple spraying during a time drew the following conclusions: skeptical exposure) and doesn’t cause fresh blood conferences. The poker player developed lead poisoning stains to run, as happens in real life. from eating special imported chocolate CSI also tends to exaggerate the capabili- candies made from chocolate contami- ties of the crime laboratory. DNA test results nated with lead from vehicle exhaust; don’t really come back the same day. Weeks a disgruntled waitress spiked his drink would be more typical. Automated fingerprint with eye drops to give him diarrhea; and identification (AFIS) systems actually take the vasoconstrictor in the eye drops trig- hours to search data bases. The Las Vegas gered the fatal seizure. crime laboratory apparently has a budget that would be envied even by the FBI. The series The screen writers missed one well- also tends to ignore the fact that scientific test known symptom of lead poisoning: drooping results can be wrong. wrists. They also ignored the dilution effect of The CSI investigators do things no real a large drink. crime scene technician would do. For ex- The second dead man turned out to be a ample, they interview witnesses, interrogate famous street racer. He was shot in the head. suspects (frequently without Miranda warn- The CSI investigators found out that the air- ings) and carry out laboratory testing. In most strip where his body was found was used by law enforcement agencies the crime scene street racers whenever it rained in the city. When recovered, the street racer’s car was 1 This may be changing. In a recent episode a found to have been refurbished and detailed; body that was supposedly lying in an apartment however, a bullet was recovered from the

is shown discolored and liquefying. car’s roof liner. Unfortunately, the bullet was  ○○○○○○ 14 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 CS TV continued from previous page

too damaged for ballistic comparisons, but it seat belt (indicating that he was unrestrained retained two different color particles of glass at the time of the crash). The body of the on its nose. Eventually, the CSI investigators company treasurer (a woman) is found five developed a suspect, a young man who used miles from the crash site. The woman’s body an insurance settlement from his mother’s re- also has no bruises or abrasions from seat cent death in a hit-and-run accident to buy a belt; she does have an elevated blood alcohol street racer. This young man then quickly concentration and her blood toxicology screen challenged the deceased to a race. Signifi- shows the active ingredient in Prozac. There cantly, the young man’s father owned a semi- are two small circular contusions on the back automatic pistol of the same type as the one of one of her hands, the significance of which that fired the fatal bullet, and the young man emerges later in the investigation. Analysis of recently replaced the front passenger side the deceased woman’s hair by gas chroma- window on his street racer. Catherine Willows tography-mass spectrometry reveals the active conducted a reenactment of the murder. Ac- ingredient in Prozac, tetrahydrocannabinol (the cording to the CSI investigators’ theory of the active component in marihuana) and massive crime, the suspect believed that the deceased amounts of the painkiller Dilaudid was responsible for his mother’s death. The (hydromorphone). suspect challenged the deceased to a race dur- The surviving company CEO initially de- ing which the suspect fired his father’s pistol nies having any memory of the events leading into the deceased’s head when their cars were up to the crash. Then he claims that the side by side. The bullet picked up glass from woman victim was drunk and during the the side windows in each car. plane’s takeoff became irrational. She opened Again the screen writers nodded off. The the aircraft’s cabin door and, despite the fatal bullet we are shown is a lead alloy bullet; CEO’s attempts to save her, jumped or fell to however, semiautomatic pistols normally fire her death. full metal jacket bullets. The screenplay fails Horatio Caine fumes the fuselage door and to explain how the bullet passed through the bulkhead with cyanoacrylate, developing fin- victim’s head and crash helmet without pick- gerprints and palm prints of the woman victim ing up additional trace evidence. How was the and the head of the company. The CEO’s fin- bullet deflected into the roof liner? How does gerprints are also found on the cabin fire ex- the bullet have enough energy after hitting two tinguisher (which was not in its bracket on the windows to inflict a perforating (through and cabin bulkhead). The CSI investigators re- through) gunshot wound of the head (and cover the aircraft’s black boxes and decipher crash helmet)? How can a race car that suf- the sounds on the cockpit voice recorder. On fers a rollover be in pristine condition just the recording, the CEO and the woman vic- days later? tim can be heard arguing, and then CSI: Miami is a spin-off of CSI. It drew the cabin door can be heard more viewers for its premier episode than any opening, followed by new show since ER in 1994. NYPD Blue a loud noise alumnus David Caruso plays lead investigator from the Horatio Caine and Kim Delaney (who also left en- starred on NYPD Blue) played DNA expert gine. Law CSI:& Order Megan Donner. CSI: Miami treads closely in As the footsteps of the original CSI—in more their Crime Scene Investigation ways than one. In the premier episode a cor- crash porate jet carrying a couple of corporate offic- investigation Forensic Files ers crashes in the Everglades. The pilot has a proceeds, the CSI: MIAMI through-and-through missile wound in his CSI investiga- chest. The company chief executive officer tors discover that (CEO) is found alive near the crashed plane; the company executives his body has no bruises or abrasions from a were en route to Washington, DC, for

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hearings before the SEC (Securities and Ex- most critically acclaimed police series on tele- change Commission) over corporate malfea- vision. The focus of the show is on the police sance. The treasurer has FedExed a report of investigators and district attorneys; forensic corporate wrongdoing to the SEC immediately science is frequently used and the medical ex- before the flight. The CSI investigators de- aminer is a recurring character. The original velop the following scenario to explain the Law and Order series has recently spun off plane crash: two other series: Law and Order: Special Vic- tims Unit and Law and Order: Criminal In- The treasurer and the CEO quarreled im- tent. Over the many years that I have watched mediately after takeoff; Law and Order and its progeny, I have en- The CEO forced the treasurer out the countered a lot of dubious forensic science. cabin door, battering her hand with the For example, police detectives frequently tes- cabin’s fire extinguisher to force her to tify to results of scientific tests. However, release her grip on the edge of the door; they aren’t experts and their testimony is hear- The woman fell from the plane, one of say. The forensic science gets downright her shoes being sucked into the left en- goofy at times: Firearms examiners talk about gine, causing it to fail and bringing down “six point” matches; they also routinely match the plane; and rifling marks made by Glock pistols (Glocks The missile wound in the pilot’s chest don’t have conventional rifling and their mark- was caused by a popped rivet. ings on bullets are almost impossible to The CSI reconstruction was never tested match); firearms examiners and document in court because the surviving CEO commited examiners qualify their results in bizarre ways suicide, which was just as well because the (“It’s only a 60% match”) despite the fact that reconstruction has serious problems. First of these are fields where no meaningful probabil- all, a rivet is too light and not properly stream- ity estimates can be made; and the DNA ex- lined to inflict a perforating wound in a man’s perts frequently also utter meaningless chest. The bruises on the woman’s hand probability statements (“The DNA is only a 90 match the fire extinguisher nozzle, but an as- to 95% match”). sailant would normally use the tank as the Despite the problems with the forensic weapon. To get a timeline for drug usage, the science in Law and Order, it remains one of hair would have to be cut into segments my favorite television shows. The screenplays (rather than dunked whole into a sample vial for all the Law and Order series are very well as we are shown). Dilaudid is a very unusual written. The acting ranges from good to ex- choice of a drug on which to overdose. An cellent. Several Tony-award-winning stage unrestrained passenger is unlikely to survive a actors have appeared in episodes as defen- plane crash. Although the CSI supervisors dis- dants or opposing attorneys. Many of the ac- cuss the use of protective suits at the crash tors who have appeared on these shows now site, none are worn (OSHA regulations ac- star in their TV own series. Just being on the tually require the wearing of such suits). series seems to bring out the best in the ac- The CSI investigators interview and then tors, such as model Angie Harmon (portraying interrogate the lone survivor. CSI investi- an assistant district attorney) and rapper Ice-T gator Megan Donner (the DNA analyst) (portraying a detective). runs the hair drug screen. Finally, the Only Law and Order has explored the un- CSI investigators examine the ‘black derbelly of forensic science. In a recent epi- box,’ not the National Transpor- sode a forensic scientist is prosecuted for tation Safety Board. deliberately overstating her conclusions to se- cure a conviction. The story line combines Cases Ripped From the Headlines . . . elements of the career of forensic chemist Joyce Gilchrist with the case of United States Law and Order is one of v. Plaza. In 2001 Gilchrist was the subject of the longest running and FBI investigation. Because she had overstated

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the strengths of her conclusions in hair and at the University fiber comparisons, the FBI recommended a of North review of all criminal cases where she linked Carolina at hair or fibers with a suspect or victim and the Greenville. She Law CSI:& Order evidence “was significant to the outcome of had stud- the trial.” Gilchrist was fired from the Okla- ied hu- Crime Scene Investigation homa City crime laboratory and, in April 2002, man feet Jeffrey Todd Pierce (who was convicted in and footprints for Forensic Files part because of Gilchrist’s testimony against many years. She CSI: MIAMI him in a rape case) brought a $75 million fed- had even studied eral law suit against Gilchrist and the Okla- the famous Laetoli homa County district attorney. Hundreds of footprints. Robbins had also Gilchrist’s cases are currently under review. published articles and a book on the forensic In United States v. Plaza, the defendant examination of footprints. At trial Cruz and challenged the admissibility of the results of a Hernandez were convicted, but conflicting fingerprint comparison. Judge Lewis Pollak expert testimony about whether Buckley’s ruled that, because of a lack of research on shoes matched the door shoeprint led to a the criteria for matching fingerprints, finger- hung jury. Prior to the retrial of Buckley, Rob- print experts could not testify that a latent fin- bins was found to be terminally ill of cancer. gerprint found at the crime scene “matched” The prosecutors asked FBI Special Agent the defendant. Although Pollak subsequently Examiner William Bodziak to reexamine the reversed his own ruling, serious doubts about shoe impression evidence (clearly expecting the science behind fingerprint comparisons that Bodziak would give the same testimony as have been raised. Robbins). However, Bodziak determined that Buckley’s shoe could not have made the im- Even Real Forensic Scientists Get pression: The class characteristics of the shoe The Science Wrong that made the impression were different from Should TV screenwriters be held to a those of Buckley’s shoes. The shoeprint had higher standard of accuracy than forensic sci- the class characteristics of a Fayva brand entists? Unfortunately, even real forensic sci- shoe, not a Payless shoe. Charges against entists crash and burn. The murder of Jeanine Buckley were dropped, but Cruz and Nicarico and the O.J. Simpson case provide Hernandez were condemned to death. Over a egregious examples of real scientists doing decade later Cruz and Hernandez were exoner- junk science: ated by postconviction DNA testing. The In 1983 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico DNA testing ultimately implicated Brian stayed home sick from school. While her par- Dugan, who had confessed to committing the ents were at work she was abducted, sexually crime in 1985. Dugan had purchased a pair of assaulted, and murdered. The murderer kicked Fayva shoes and discarded them after the crime. in the front door, leaving a shoe impression in In the O.J Simpson case Dr. Henry Lee dust on it. Investigators concluded that the examined both crime scene photographs and shoeprint was made by a Payless shoe. the crime scene in Brentwood. His testimony Rolando Cruz, Alejandro Hernandez, and was used by the defense to suggest that Stephen Buckley quickly became suspects in shoeprints were left by more than one assail- the case. Buckley had a pair of Payless shoes ant. Lee misidentified bloody textile impres- whose tread pattern resembled that of the sions and trowel marks on the sidewalk as door shoeprint. Buckley’s shoes and a photo partial shoeprints. He also failed to realize that of the shoe impression were submitted to one of the shoeprints he spent so much time noted physical anthropologist Louise Robbins, examining was actually in the concrete of the who concluded that Buckley’s shoe could sidewalk. In giving testimony about shoe im- have made the impression. At the time of the pressions, Dr. Lee was proffering expert testi- case Robbins was a professor of anthropology mony outside his scientific specialty: Lee was

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trained as a forensic serologist—not a ray analysis. In mineralogy texts As and Bs shoeprint examiner. Lee’s testimony in the are used to represent cations in shorthand ver- O.J. Simpson case seriously damaged his sions of the chemical formulas of minerals: As reputation among other forensic scientists. At are cations with large ionic radii (e.g., Ca++ the annual meeting of the American Academy and Na+), while Bs are cations with smaller of Forensic Sciences that was held immedi- ionic radii (e.g., Mg++). Evidently Deaver didn’t ately after the Simpson trial, a number of bother to actually read the text he cribbed. shoeprint examiners made a point of walking Whenever Deaver switches to didactic out of the opening session when Lee was in- mode, watch out: the BS is about to get out of hand! troduced. “‘I want a vacuum metal fingerprint unit too. And a GC-MS.’ A gas chromatograph How Does Forensic Science on TV broke down substances into their component Compare To That in Books? elements, and mass photospectrometry used TV screenwriters work on much tighter light to identify each one of them.” schedules than the authors of mystery novels I do know that a GC-MS is a gas chro- and thrillers. Authors of books have more time matograph-mass spectrometer and that gas for research, and one would expect them to chromatographs separate the molecules in do a better job of getting the forensic science mixtures, but I have not the foggiest notion of right. Unfortunately, they actually generally do what mass photospectrometry is—and I have worse. Consider Exhibit A, Jeffery Deaver’s been forensic scientist for over 30 years (and very popular book The Bone Collector. This is a chemist even longer). I also routinely use a the first book in a series featuring paraplegic GC-MS in my research and teaching. detective Lincoln Rhyme. A couple of years ago it was made into a movie starring Denzel Words of Wisdom from a Dead White Guy Washington and Angelina Jolie. Marilyn How should forensic scientists and other Stasio’s rave review of The Bone Collector viewers react to the errors in CSI and other for The New York Times Book Review is typi- forensic science TV shows? At forensic sci- cal of the praise heaped on this work: “The ence meetings many of my colleagues ridicule technology in Jeffery Deaver’s new thriller, CSI and its progeny. However, in my view, The Bone Collector, is so dazzling it makes much of their criticism is misguided. In his your eyes water. . . .” Much of the science in Poetics Aristotle pondered the relationship of The Bone Collector certainly made my eyes factual errors and logical inconsistencies to water. Early in the book one of Rhyme’s nu- broader esthetic considerations. He remarked, merous minions analyzes a critical fiber: “The “And further, correctness in politics is not the fiber was sampled in the energy-dispersive X- same thing as correctness in poetry, nor is ray unit and found to consist of correctness in any other art the same as in

A2B5(Si,Al)8O22(OH)2.” Deaver masterfully poetry, but in poetry itself error is of two packs a legion of errors into a single sentence. kinds, that which involves the art itself and Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis systems that which is incidental.” CSI and the other don’t give formulas. Apparently the fiber con- TV shows discussed are intended by their cre- tains argon (A) (an inert gas) as well as boron ators to entertain, not to instruct. They gener- (B). Now silicate fibers are asbestos, glass, or ally achieve this goal; their errors are mineral wool. These three types of fibers are incidental to this goal. In my view, the shows’ easily identified microscopically, without X- positive features outweigh the negatives.

CSI and the other TV shows discussed are intended by their creators to entertain, not to

instruct. They generally achieve this goal . . . ○○○○○○ 18 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 about NCAS Bits and Pieces The Shadow of a Doubt, NCAS’ monthly calendar, can be sent to you via email! Send an email request to [email protected] to be added to the eShadow list. NCAS has a low-volume electronic mailing list, ncas-share, where members can share news items and other things of interest. Send an email request to [email protected] to be added to the ncas-share mailing list. Visit the NCAS website to find the Condon UFO report online and many other resources at www.ncas.org Because NCAS is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, all donations you make to NCAS are fully tax deductible!

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you’ll find a renewal form above ○○○○○○○○○○ Skeptical Eye Vol. 16, No. 1 2004 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ 19 In Memoriam: Doris Bloch

CAS board member Doris Bloch, 75, a National Institutes of Health admin- Nistrator who worked to increase re- search programs in the nursing profession, died Aug. 10, 2003, at Suburban Hospital. She had a heart ailment. She was a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Public Health and the board of the National Capital Area Skep- tics. She belonged to the National League for Nursing and other professional organizations. She will be missed. Helen E. Hester-Ossa

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