The Skeptical Inquirer the GUARDIAN ASTROLOGY STUDY a Critique and Reanalysis
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Xzz^ Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
EDITOR'S NOTE Skeptical Inquirer THE MAGAZINE I O «t SCIENCE AND REASON EDITOR Voodoo Science, and Giving Astrologers Kendrick Frazier EDITORIAL BOARD A Final Chance James E. Alcock Barry Beyerstein Thomas Casten hysicist Robert Park had already had a good career as a physics professor when Martin Gardner Phe gained some national following in the past decade among scientists and sci Ray Hyman ence writers with his weekly "What's New" electronic newsletter distributed Lawrence Jones Fridays from the Washington office of the American Physical Society. From there Philip J. Klass Paul Kurtz he has a fine vantage point for watching the foibles of those who seek to warp sci Joe Nickell ence for their own political agendas or attract public policy support for all manner Lee Nisbet of semiscientific or pseudoscientific schemes, from alternative medical fads to free- Amardeo Sarma energy machines. Now his new book Voodoo Science has thrust him into the Bela Scheiber Eugenie Scott public eye. It draws upon his knowledge of physics, understanding of Washington CONSULTING EDITORS politics, and wry outlook to explore the four aspects of what he calk voodoo Robert A. Baker science: pathological science, in which scientists fool themselves; junk science, in Susan I. Blackmore which people try to befuddle jurists or lawmakers with tortured theories of what John R. Cole Kenneth L. Feder am Id he so rather than what is so; pseudoscience, where there is no evidence but the C. E. M. Hansel language and symbols of science arc used; and fraudulent science, where honest E. C. Krupp error has evolved from self-delusion to fraud. -
UFO Film / a a AS and Psi Martin Gardners 'Notes of a Psi-Watcher'
the Skeptical Inquirer ^ *^' ) Randi's Project Alpha: Magicians in the Psi Lab American Disingenuous: Cult Archaeology Responding to Pseudoscience Bogus UFO Film / A A AS and Psi Martin Gardners 'Notes of a Psi-Watcher' VOL. VII NO. 4 / SUMMER 1983 Published by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal Skeptical Inquirer THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is the official journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Editor Kendrick Frazier. Editorial Board George Abell, Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, Philip J. Klass, Paul Kurtz, James Randi. Consulting Editors James E. Alcock, Isaac Asimov, William Sims Bainbridge, John Boardman, Milbourne Christopher, John R. Cole, C.E.M. Hansel, E.C. Krupp, James E. Oberg, Robert Sheaffer. Assistant Editors Doris Hawley Doyle, Andrea Szalanski. Production Editor Betsy Offermann. Office Manager Mary Rose Hays Staff Laurel Smith, Barry Karr, Richard Seymour (computer operations), Lynette Nisbet, Alfreda Pidgeon, Maureen Hays, Stephanie Doyle Cartoonist Rob Pudim The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal Paul Kurtz, Chairman; philosopher, State University of New York at Buffalo. Lee Nisbet, Executive Director; philosopher, Medaille College. Fellows of the Committee: George Abell, astronomer, UCLA; James E. Alcock, psychologist, York Univ., Toronto; Isaac Asimov, chemist, author; Irving Biederman, psychologist, SUNY at Buffalo; Brand Blanshard, philosopher, Yale; Bart J. Bok, astronomer, Steward Observatory, Univ. of Arizona; Bette Chambers, A.H.A.; Milbourne Christopher, magician, author; L. Sprague de Camp, author, engineer; Bernard Dixon, European Editor, Omni; Paul Edwards, philosopher, Editor, Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Charles Fair, author, Antony Flew, philosopher, Reading Univ., U.K.; Kendrick Frazier, science writer, Editor, THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER; Yves Galifret, Exec. -
Devianz Und Anomalistik. Marcello Truzzi
Zeitschrift für Anomalistik Band 5 (2005), S. 5-30 Devianz und Anomalistik: Bewährungsproben der Wissenschaft Prof. Dr. Marcello Truzzi (1935-2003) GERD H. HÖVELMANN 1 Am Nachmittag des 2. Februar 2003 starb in Great Lake, Michigan, 67jährig der amerikani- sche Soziologe Prof. Dr. Marcello Truzzi nach einem Krebsleiden, dessen er sich mehrere Jahre lang mit der ihm eigenen Willenskraft und Leidenschaft erwehrt hatte. Marcello Truzzi kann als Initiator und entscheidender Vordenker sowie als einflussreicher Moderator des Diskurszusammenhangs der „Anomalistik“ gelten. Und das ist nur eines, wenn auch kein geringes, seiner Verdienste. Eine persönliche Vorbemerkung Dem Leben und dem Wirken eines Menschen auf be- schränktem Raum in einem Nachruf gerecht zu werden, wird nicht um so einfacher, sondern um so schwieriger, je länger und besser man diesen Menschen gekannt hat und je enger man ihm verbunden war. Die Schwierigkeit dieser Aufgabe wächst zudem mit der Anzahl und Vielfalt der- jenigen Dinge, in denen der betreffende Mensch sich im Laufe seines Lebens besonders hat auszeichnen können. Die beiden Umstände, dass ich einerseits mit Marcello Truzzi ein Vierteljahrhundert lang, von 1978 bis zu seinem Tod, befreundet war und wir über Jahre hinweg trotz großer geographischer Distanz in fast täglichem Kontakt standen, und dass andererseits Marcello wahrlich in vielerlei – nicht nur in wissenschaftlichen – Hinsichten Außer-ordentliches geleistet hat, mögen dem Leser eine erste Ahnung meiner Verlegenheiten geben. Und schon diese Eingangsbemerkung ist zumindest er- läuterungsbedürftig. Häufige, mitunter tägliche Verbin- Marcello Truzzi (1935-2003) dung mit jemandem an einem beliebigen Ort der Welt zu pflegen, ist in unseren Tagen in- stantanen Email-Verkehrs zumindest kein technisches oder logistisches Problem mehr. -
Book Reviews Gullible's Travels in Psi-Land
Book Reviews Gullible's Travels in Psi-Land Mindwars: The True Story of Secret Government Research into the Military Potential of Psychic Weapons. By Ronald M. McRae. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984. 192 pp. $12.95 Philip J. Klass HE BOOK JACKET reads: "Did you know the government is spending tax Tdollars on projects like 'Madame Zodiac' and the 'First Earth Battalion'? What is the 'psychic howitzer' and can it really blast missiles out of the sky? In this controversial book, Ron McRae documents the incredible story of official research into the military uses of parapsychology. Using interviews with confi dential inside sources along with recently declassified documents, he reveals the suppressed results of long-term top-secret research into telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis carried out by the Navy, the CIA, and the nation's most prestigious research institutes. Whether or not you believe in the powers of parapsychology, you'll be convinced that Mindwars holds profound implications for the future of warfare, science and mankind." This book convinced me that, if the government opted to sue the publisher under the truth-in-labeling laws, it would win its case handily, even allowing for the customary "hype" of book jackets. The well-known columnist Jack Anderson, who wrote the book's introduc tion, offers useful background on the author: "Ron McRae knows investigative journalism from inside and out. For several years, he was one of those 'unauthor ized sources' within the government I have always depended on. In 1979, he came in from the cold and joined my staff as an intern. -
The Biography of America's Lake Monster
REVIEWS] The Biography of America’s Lake Monster BENJAMIN RADFORD obert Bartholomew and his broth- er Paul grew up near the shores Rof Lake Champlain, which not The Untold Story of Champ: A Social History of America’s only sparked an early interest in the Loch Ness Monster. By Robert E. Bartholomew. lake monster said to dwell within the State University of New York Press, lake but also steeped them in the social Albany, New York, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-4384-4484-0. and cultural context of the mysterious 253 pp. Paperback, $24.95. beastie. In his new book, The Untold Story of Champ: A Social History of America’s Loch Ness Monster, Robert, a sociologist, Fortean investigator, and former broadcast journalist, takes a fresh look at Champ, long dubbed “America’s Loch Ness Monster.” Roy Mackal, and others who con- the Mansi photo, “New Information There have only been a handful of vened a 1981 conference titled, “Does Surfaces on ‘World’s Best Lake Mon- other books dealing in any depth or Champ Exist? A Scientific Seminar.” ster Photo,’ Raising Questions,” May/ scholarship with Champ, among them The intrigue between and among these June 2013.) Joe Zarzynski’s Champ: Beyond the Leg- researchers is interesting enough to fill Like virtually all “unexplained” phe- end, and of course Lake Monster Mys- several chapters. nomena, the history of Champ is in teries: Investigating the World’s Most There are several good books about part a history of hoaxes, and the book Elusive Creatures, coauthored by Joe the people involved in the search for examines several of them in detail, in- Nickell and myself. -
Gardner on Exorcisms • Creationism and 'Rare Earth' • When Scientific Evidence Is the Enemy
GARDNER ON EXORCISMS • CREATIONISM AND 'RARE EARTH' • WHEN SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE IS THE ENEMY THE MAGAZINE FOR SCIENCE AND REASON Volume 25, No. 6 • November/December 2001 THE COMMITTEE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS OF THE PARANORMAL AT THE CENTER FOR INQUIRY-INTERNATIONAL (ADJACENT TO THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO) • AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION Paul Kurtz, Chairman; professor emeritus of philosophy. State University of New York at Buffalo Barry Karr, Executive Director Joe Nickell, Research Fellow Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow Lee Nisbet, Special Projects Director FELLOWS James E. Alcock,* psychologist. York Univ., Susan Haack, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts Loren Pankratz, psychologist. Oregon Health Toronto and Sciences, prof, of philosophy. University Sciences Univ. Jerry Andrus, magician and inventor, Albany, of Miami John Paulos, mathematician. Temple Univ. Oregon C. E. M. Hansel, psychologist. Univ. of Wales Steven Pinker, cognitive scientist. MIT Marcia Angell, M.D.. former editor-in-chief, Al Hibbs, scientist. Jet Propulsion Laboratory Massimo Polidoro, science writer, author, New England Journal of Medicine Douglas Hofstadter, professor of human under executive director CICAP, Italy Robert A. Baker, psychologist. Univ. of standing and cognitive science, Indiana Univ. Milton Rosenberg, psychologist, Univ. of Kentucky Gerald Holton, Mallinckrodt Professor of Chicago Stephen Barrett M.D., psychiatrist, author, Physics and professor of history of science. Wallace Sampson, M.D., clinical professor of consumer advocate, Allentown, Pa. Harvard Univ. Barry Beyerstein,* biopsychologist. Simon Ray Hyman,* psychologist. Univ. of Oregon medicine, Stanford Univ., editor. Scientific Fraser Univ.. Vancouver, B.C., Canada Leon Jaroff, sciences editor emeritus, Time Review of Alternative Medicine Irving Biederman, psychologist Univ. -
From Our Readers
From Our Readers The letters column is a forum for views Over the years I have seen and talked to on matters raised in previous issues. "ghosts," been visited (though not yet Please try to keep letters to 300 words or abducted) by aliens, seen three-dimen less. They should be typed, preferably sional heads floating by my bed, heard double-spaced. Due to the volume of knocks on my door (when no one else letters, not all can be published. We was in the house), and was once attacked reserve the right to edit for space and by a glowing green Doberman. These clarity. Address them to Letters to the experiences seem as real as life. Editor, SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, 3025 Palo I have never thought of these experi Alto Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111. ences as anything more than what they certainly are: my mind playing tricks on itself. The few other people I've known Hypnogogic hallucinations who have had similar experiences were all convinced that they were, in Baker's I would like to thank Robert A. Baker words, "incontrovertible proof of some for his article "The Aliens Among Us: sort of objective or consensual reality." Hypnotic Regression Revisited" (SI, These otherwise rational and intelligent Winter 1987-88). I have been plagued by people also believe that Uri Geller can hypnogogic hallucinations since child really bend spoons with his mind. Take hood, but until reading this article I didn't one hypnogogic hallucination and one know what they were called or even that fantasy-prone individual and you have other people had them. -
John Edward: Hustling the Bereaved
INVESTIGATIVE FILES JOE NICKELL John Edward: Hustling the Bereaved uperstar "psychic medium" John by a local printer. He visited dieir spook The great magician Harry Houdini Edward is a stand-up guy. Unlike show and volunteered as part of an audi- (1874—1926) crusaded against phony the spiritualists of yore, who typi- ence committee to help secure the two spiritualists, seeking out elderly mediums S mediums. He took that opportunity to who taught him the tricks of die trade. cally plied their trade in dark-room seances, Edward and his ilk often per- secretly place some printer's ink on the For example, while sitters touched hands form before live audiences and even neck of a violin, and after the seance one around die seance table, mediums had under the glare of TV lights. Indeed, of the duo had his shoulder smeared with clever ways of gaining die use of one Edward (a pseudonym: he was born John the black substance (Nickell 1999). hand. (One method was to slowly move MaGee Jr.) has his own popular show on the hands close togedier so diat die fin- die SciFi channel called Crossing Over, gers of one could be substituted for those "which has gone into national syndication JOHN EDWARD of die other.) This allowed die production (Barrett 2001; Mui 2001). I was asked by of special effects, such as causing a tin television newsmagazine Dateline NBC trumpet to appear to be levitating. to study Edward's act: was he really talk- Houdini gave public demonstrations of ing to the dead? HI the deceptions. -
The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus Free
FREE THE COMPLETE PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS PDF Nostradamus | 194 pages | 03 Dec 2013 | Createspace | 9781494324520 | English | United States Nostradamus - Wikipedia The book was first published in Nostradamus's family was originally Jewishbut The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus converted to Catholic Christianity before he was born. He studied at the University of Avignonbut was forced to leave after just over a year when the university closed due to The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus outbreak of the plague. He worked as an apothecary for several years before entering the University of Montpellierhoping to earn a doctoratebut was almost immediately expelled after his work as an apothecary a manual trade forbidden by university statutes was discovered. He first married inbut his wife and two children died in during another plague outbreak. He fought alongside doctors against the plague before remarrying to Anne Ponsarde, with whom he had six children. He wrote an almanac for and, as The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus result of its success, continued writing them for future years as he began working as an astrologer for various wealthy patrons. Catherine de' Medici became one of his foremost supporters. He suffered from severe gout toward the end of his life, which eventually developed into The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus. He died on 2 July Many popular authors have retold apocryphal legends about his life. They also point out that English translations of his quatrains are almost always of extremely poor quality, based on later manuscripts, produced by authors with little knowledge of sixteenth-century Frenchand often deliberately mistranslated to make the prophecies fit whatever events the translator believed they were supposed to have predicted. -
Clever Hans's Successors Testing Indian Astrology Believers' Cognitive Dissonance Csicon Nashville Highlights
SI March April 13 cover_SI JF 10 V1 1/31/13 10:54 AM Page 2 Scotland Mysteries | Herbs Are Drugs | The Pseudoscience Wars | Psi Replication Failure | Morality Innate? the Magazine for Science and Reason Vol. 37 No. 2 | March/April 2013 ON INVISIBLE BEINGS Clever Hans’s Successors Testing Indian Astrology Believers’ Cognitive Dissonance CSICon Nashville Highlights Published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry March April 13 *_SI new design masters 1/31/13 9:52 AM Page 2 AT THE CEN TERFOR IN QUIRY –TRANSNATIONAL Ronald A. Lindsay, President and CEO Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Bar ry Karr, Ex ec u tive Di rect or Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow www.csicop.org James E. Al cock*, psy chol o gist, York Univ., Tor on to Thom as Gi lov ich, psy chol o gist, Cor nell Univ. Robert L. Park,professor of physics, Univ. of Maryland Mar cia An gell, MD, former ed i tor-in-chief, David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and re searcher at Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of New Eng land Jour nal of Med i cine Barbara Ann Kar manos Cancer Institute and chief Astronomy and director of the Hopkins Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician; author; of breast surgery section, Wayne State University Observatory, Williams College Newton, MA School of Medicine. John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. Steph en Bar rett, MD, psy chi a trist; au thor; con sum er Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first editor, Clifford A. -
Le Bulletin De La Bipedie Initiale Bipedia Bipedia N° 24
Bipedia N°23 © C.E.R.B.I. : http://perso.wanadoo.fr/initial.bipedalism/ miroir : http://cerbi.ldi5.com/ LE BULLETIN DE LA BIPEDIE INITIALE Editée par le Centre d'Etude et de Recherche sur la Bipédie Initiale : BIPEDIA A Review from the STUDY and RESEARCH CENTER for INITIAL BIPEDALISM Pour tout renseignement complémentaire, vous pouvez contacter : M. François de Sarre, par e-mail BIPEDIA N° 24 ( Janvier 2006 ) Dédié à Helmut Loofs-Wissowa et Richard Greenwell. Sommaire : 1 - Alcuni strani adattamenti degli esseri umani alla vita sott'acqua par Sandro D'ALESSANDRO …………………………………………….... p. 2 Traduction française de Marinella Crapanzano ……………………………………………... p.10 2 - Note sur le GRAND CACHALOT à NAGEOIRE DORSALE par Robert DUMONT ……………………………………………….. p.17 3 - Note sur "LA BETE DU GEVAUDAN" de Pascal CAZOTTES par Robert DUMONT ……………………………………………….. p.27 4 - Relations entre les hommes et les plantes médicinales par Michèle AQUARON ………………………………………………………….. p.43 5 - Cadborosaurus willsi : attributive inquiry by Dr Pasquale SAGGESE ............................................................................ …………………… p.50 6 - El "origen remoto" del Homo sapiens : Una teoría alternativa de la evolución humana por Juan Luis DOMÉNECH Quesada ……………………. p.69 7 - Homo floresiensis : la petite dame de Flores redonne son "sens" à l'évolution ! par François de SARRE ……………………………… p.82 8 - Homo floresiensis : A little Woman on Flores Island gives Evolution its Right "Sense" ! ……………………….. p.96 Page 1 sur 110 Bipedia N°23 © C.E.R.B.I. : http://perso.wanadoo.fr/initial.bipedalism/ -
Psychic Vibrations
Psychic Vibrations : Barbie's Essence, Creationist Tactics, and Hyperspatial Hoax ROBERT SHEAFFER e've all heard about people the 60s and 70s," writes the editor, who channel the spirits of Barbara, who withholds her last name. WCro-Magnon warriors and "Since childhood I have been gifted Indian princesses, but a recent New with an intensely personal, growth- Age breakthrough apparently makes oriented relationship with Barbie, the it possible to receive messages from polyethylene essence who is 700 entities that never had spirits in the million teaching essences. Her influ- first place. From San Anselmo, Cali- ence has transformed and guided fornia, not far from San Francisco, the many of my peers through pre- Barbie Channeling Newsletter celebrates puberty to fully realized maturity. Her this feat. "I channel Barbie, archetyp- truths are too important to be pre- ical feminine plastic essence who packaged. My sincere hope is to let embodies that stereotypical wisdom of the voice of Barbie, my Inner name- twin, come through. Barbie's mes- sages are offered in love." No word yet on whether anything has been heard from Barbie's plastic boyfriend, Ken. Creationists everywhere will soon be flocking to the new Museum of Creation and Earth History, located on the top floor of the Headquarters Building of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) near San Diego. This new 4,000-square-foot museum has a separate exhibit representing each day of Creation Week. Other exhibits center around "The Fall and the Curse." Visitors to the museum start off with a walking tour "through the newly created universe, then the Garden of Eden, followed by entrance *3£" into the regime of sin and death." Next they enter Noah's Ark, followed by 138 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Vol.