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Raising the Bar for Investigating Paranormal Claims ROBERT CARROLL SI Sept/Oct pgs_SI MJ 2010 7/22/10 4:42 PM Page 56 B O O K R E V I E W S Raising the Bar for Investigating Paranormal Claims ROBERT CARROLL Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries. By Benjamin Radford. Rhombus Publishing Co., Corrales, New Mexico, 2010. 311 pp. Softcover, $16.95. n a chapter on how not to investigate Scien tific Paranormal Investigation would the paranormal in his new book, be a valuable addition to the library of IScientific Paranormal Investigation, every journalist and skeptic. But the thou- Benjamin Radford jokes that the entire sands of people who investigate weird or chapter could consist of just two words: mysterious things and the millions of watch television. He could have advised readers and viewers who follow their in - the reader to pick up almost any book vestigations would benefit the most. on ghosts, demons, spirits, aliens, lake I won’t relieve the lazy reader of the monsters, crop circles, the chupacabra, obligation to read Radford’s book by or other “strange and bizarre” things. summarizing the principles of a proper The bar for paranormal investigation in scientific investigation. Here I will sim- the popular media has been set very low, ply note that the goal of a proper inves- as evidenced by the overall poor quality tigation of the paranormal is neither to of work produced so far. Radford hopes prove nor disprove any particular claim. to raise the bar by clarifying and exem- Radford puts it this way: “Good science plifying the standards that should guide regularly reports on his field investiga- is not about advocacy; while all scien- a scientific investigator. tions and other skeptical topics in the tists have their biases and pet theories, Fortunately, not all paranormal in - SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. He is SI’s manag- their ultimate loyalty should be to the vestigations have been of poor quality. ing editor and a Committee for Skep - truth.” If you set out to prove or dis- Radford, Joe Nickell—the dean of scien- tical Inquiry research fellow.) prove the existence of a ghost at a par- tific paranormal investigation—and sev- Radford tells the reader that his book ticular location, you are not doing a sci- eral others have been exemplars for those “focuses on the practical aspects of entific investigation. If the show you are who wish to properly investigate paranor- applied skepticism . powerful, real- watching or the book you are reading mal claims. A special feature of Radford’s world ideas for critically examining does not consider alternative hypothe- book is that it consists largely of case everything from crime scenes to psychic ses, it is not conducting scientific inves- studies he has personally investigated. powers to personal decisions.” These tigation. If an author claims that the The reader can see how the principles of ideas have been drawn “largely from the subject of his attention or investigation investigation are applied to actual para- scientific process, psychology, criminal is “beyond science,” you’re dealing with normal claims. But the main value of investigation techniques, and logic.” As mysticism, not mysteries. Paranormal Radford’s book is that he lays out what such, the ideas Radford explores in the claims may mystify us, but if they are should and should not be done in a first few chapters have valuable applica- truly beyond science then they are proper scientific investigation. (Radford tions be yond paranormal investigations. beyond our ability to know or under- 56 Volume 34, Issue 5 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER SI Sept/Oct pgs_SI MJ 2010 7/22/10 4:42 PM Page 57 B O O K R E V I E W S stand them. A book or film on such top- may have good intentions, but the road to tific gadgets is not as important as knowl- ics would be very short, unless it con- error is paved with good intentions. edge of the subject, knowledge of psy- tains much speculation and storytelling. Having the right tools is essential, but as chology, good logical reasoning skills, and Paranormal claims are investigated pre- Radford makes painfully clear, you can’t an open mind. cisely because they both mystify us and buy the most important tools you need. Radford’s book does what a scientific paranormal investigation should do: it present themselves as mysteries we can You can’t pick them up in a weekend helps the reader distinguish the real thing hope to solve. training session. It takes years of hard from the fake. Unfortunately, too many people who work to develop the knowledge and skills ! try to investigate rather than validate or needed to be a scientific paranormal Robert Carroll is emeritus professor of philoso- debunk paranormal claims are unpre- investigator. Contrary to what you might phy at Sacramento City College and creator of pared to do a proper investigation. They see on television, an abundance of scien- The Skeptic’s Dictionary Web site. handles this neatly by saying that this is A Gifted Writer and a a question science can’t help with. He refers readers to their “family, friends, Book Worth Giving and community leaders.” (He avoids HARRIET HALL mentioning rabbis, imams, priests, or Flying Spaghetti Monsterologists.) Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be. Loxton has a wonderful knack for By Daniel Loxton. Kids Can Press, Toronto, 2010. simplifying without condescending and ISBN: 978-1554534302. Hardcover, $18.95. for challenging young readers to grapple with complicated concepts. The book is t’s hard to believe that we still have Loxton covers the basics of evolu- aimed at eight–to thirteen-year-olds, so many evolution deniers among tionary theory; tells the story of Darwin, but it could be useful to even a sophisti- us. Understanding evolution is es - the Beagle, and the finches; and answers cated old coot. Some of his examples I might come in handy in your next dis- sential to understanding modern biol- the questions people commonly ask: ogy as well as a host of other subjects. “But have we ever actually seen a new cussion with an intelligent design be - We need to get to young minds before species evolve?” Yes, both in the wild liever or a fence sitter. I loved his illus- tration of how evolutionary change is their neurons have a chance to congeal and in the lab. not a totally random process but builds into unscientific ideologies. Now we have “Where are the transitional fossils?” on patterns that were already there. He just the book to reach them. Everywhere. describes how hot-rod builders can lift a Daniel Loxton is the editor of the “Didn’t they find some human foot- car, drop it, chop the roof, and slap on “Junior Skeptic” section of Skeptic maga- prints together with dinosaur foot- new paint, but they are still stuck with zine, where he makes skepticism and prints?” No, they made a mistake. the basic pattern of a body and four critical thinking accessible and entertain- “How could evolution produce some- wheels (not two or seventeen). ing to the younger set. He has expanded thing as complicated as my eyes?” Lox - If you have children or grandchil- one of his “Junior Skeptic” subjects into ton shows us how complex eyes gradu- dren, this book would be a great way to a superb new book on evolution. ally developed from simple light-sensi- introduce them to the theory of evolu- The illustrations are colorful, infor- tive cells. tion. If you don’t, you still might want to mative, and whimsical. Loxton intro- “How could walking animals turn buy a copy, read it yourself, and donate it duces us to a blue bird that compro- into flying animals?” Perhaps from grad- to the local public or school library. mises on a tail that is “not too long, not ual alterations in tree-dwelling, gliding I hope Loxton will write many more too short,” some cute “Zooks” that animals. books like this on a wide variety of skep- move away and eventually lose the inter- Then the hard questions: “How did tical subjects. He has a gift, and we are est and ability to mate with the others, a life start in the first place?” Evolution fortunate that he is sharing it with us. ! boy overrun with bunnies that have doesn’t explain the origin of life, just reproduced without anything to limit how it changed over time. We don’t survival of the offspring, and some really know how life got started, but scientists Harriet Hall is a physician and SI contributing cool dinosaurs. They’re a joy to the eye, are working on it. editor who writes prolifically about pseudo- and the text is a joy to the mind. And “What about religion?” Loxton science and questionable medical practices. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Se pte mbe r / Octobe r 2 0 1 0 57.
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