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Issue-03-14.Pdf SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Vol. 17. No. 3 Spring 1993/$6.25 FACILITATED COMMUNICATION ? Miracle or Mirage? Al Gore: Education tor Science Richard Dawkins: The 'Awe' Factor Evry Schatzman: A Threat to Science Martin Gardner: E Prime and Isness Donald Tarter: Sale Science with SETI CSICOP Dallas Conference Published by the Committee for the Scientific investigation of Claims of the Paranormal THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is the official journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, an international organization. Editor Kendrick Frazier. Editorial Board James E. Alcock, Barry Beyerstein, Susan J. Blackmore, Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, Philip J. Klass, Paul Kurtz, Joe Nickell, Lee Nisbet. Consulting Editors Robert A. Baker, William Sims Bainbridge, John R. Cole, Kenneth L. Feder, C. E. M. Hansel, E. C. Krupp, David F. Marks, Andrew Neher, James E. Oberg, Robert Sheaffer, Steven N. Shore. Managing Editor Doris Hawley Doyle. Contributing Editor Lys Ann Shore. Business Manager Mary Rose Hays. Assistant Business Manager Sandra Lesniak. Chief Data Officer Richard Seymour. Computer Assistant Michael Cione. Production Paul E. Loynes. Art Linda Hays. Audio Technician Vance Vigrass. Librarian Jonathan Jiras. Staff Elizabeth Begley, Ron Nicholson, Alfreda Pidgeon, Ranjit Sandhu, Sharon Sikora, Glen Winford. Cartoonist Rob Pudim. The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal Paul Kurtz, Chairman; professor emeritus of philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo. Barry Karr, Executive Director and Public Relations Director. Lee Nisbet, Special Projects Director. Fellows of the Committee James E. Alcock,* psychologist, York Univ., Toronto; Robert A. Baker, psychologist, Univ. of Kentucky; Stephen Barrett, M.D., psychiatrist, author, consumer advocate, Allentown, Pa. Barry Beyerstein,* biopsychologist, Simon Fraser Univ., Vancouver, B.C., Canada; Irving Biederman, psychologist, Univ. of Southern California; Susan Blackmore,* psychologist, Univ. of the West of England, Bristol; Henri Broch, physicist, Univ. of Nice, France; Jan Harold Brunvand, folklorist, professor of English, Univ. of Utah; Vern Bullough, Distinguished Professor, State Univ. of New York; Mario Bunge, philosopher, McGill University; John R. Cole, anthropologist, Inst, for the Study of Human Issues; F. H. C. Crick, biophysicist, Salk Inst, for Biological Studies, La Jolla, Calif.; L. Sprague de Camp, author, engineer; Cornelis de Jager, professor of astrophysics, Univ. of Utrecht, the Netherlands; Bernard Dixon, science writer, London, U.K.: Paul Edwards, philosopher, Editor, Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Antony Flew, philosopher, Reading Univ., U.K.; Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, Calif.; Kendrick Frazier,* science writer. Editor, THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER; Yves Calif ret. Exec. Secretary, I'Union Rationaliste; Martin Gardner,* author, critic; Murray Gell-Mann, professor of physics, California Inst, of Technology; Henry Gordon, magician, columnist, Toronto; Stephen Jay Gould, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard Univ.; C. E. M. Hansel, psychologist, Univ. of Wales; Al Hibbs, scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Douglas Hofstadter, professor of human understanding and cognitive science, Indiana Univ.; Ray Hyman,* psycholo­ gist, Univ. of Oregon; Leon Jaroff, sciences editor, Time; Lawrence Jerome, science writer, engineer; Sergei Kapitza, editor, Russian edition, Scientific American; Philip J. Klass,* science writer, engineer; Marvin Kohl, professor of philosophy, SUNY at Fredonia; Edwin C. Krupp, astronomer, director, Griffith Observatory; Paul Kurtz,* chairman, CSICOP; Lawrence Kusche, science writer; Paul MacCready, scientist/ engineer, AeroVironment, Inc., Monrovia, Calif.; David Marks, psychologist, Middlesex Polytech, England; David Morrison, space scientist, NASA Ames Research Center; Richard A. Muller, professor of physics, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley; H. Narasimhaiah, physicist, president, Bangalore Science Forum, India; Dorothy Nelkin, sociologist, Cornell Univ. Joe Nickell,* author, technical writing instructor, Univ. of Kentucky; Lee Nisbet,* philosopher, Medaille College; James E. Oberg, science writer; Loren Pankratz, psychologist, Oregon Health Sciences Univ.; John Paulos, mathematician, Temple Univ.; Mark Plummer, lawyer, Australia; W. V. Quine, philosopher, Harvard Univ.; Milton Rosenberg, psychologist, Univ. of Chicago; Carl Sagan, astronomer, Cornell Univ.; Wallace Sampson, M.D., clinical professor of medicine, Stanford Univ.; Evry Schatzman, President, French Physics Association; Eugenie Scott, physical anthropologist, executive director. National Center for Science Education; Thomas A. Sebeok, anthropologist, linguist, Indiana Univ.; Robert Sheaffer, science writer; Dick Smith, film producer, publisher, Terrey Hills, N.S.W., Australia; Robert Steiner, magician, author, El Cerrito, Calif.; Carol Tavris, psychologist and author, Los Angeles, Calif.; Stephen Toulmin, professor of philosophy. Northwestern Univ.; Marvin Zelen, statisti­ cian, Harvard Univ. Lin Zixin, former editor Science and Technology Daily (China). (Affiliations given for identification only.) *Member, CSICOP Executive Council Manuscripts, letters, books for review, and editorial inquiries should be addressed to Kendrick Frazier, Editor, THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. 3025 Palo Alto Dr., N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87111. Subscriptions, change of address, and advertising should be addressed to: THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Box 703, Buffalo, NY 14226-0703. Old address as well as new are necessary for change of subscriber's address, with six weeks advance notice. Subscribers to THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER may not speak on behalf of CSICOP or THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. Inquiries from the media and the public about the work of the Committee should be made to Paul Kurtz, Chairman, CSICOP, Box 703, Buffalo, NY 14226-0703. Tel.: (716) 636-1425. FAX: (716)-636-1733. Articles, reports, reviews, and letters published in THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER represent the views and work of individual authors. Their publication does not necessarily constitute an endorsement by CSICOP or its members unless so stated. THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is indexed in the Readers' Guide la Periodical literature. Copyright e1993 by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, 3965 Rensch Road, Buffalo, NY 14228. All rights reserved. THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is available on 16mm microfilm, 35mm microfilm, and 105mm microfiche from University Microfilms International. Subscription Rates: Individuals, libraries, and institutions, $25.00 a year; back issues, $6.25 each. THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER (ISSN 0194-6730) is published quarterly. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Printed in Canada. Second-class postage paid at Buffalo, New York, and additional mailing offices. Send changes of address to THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Box 703, Buffalo, NY 14226-0703. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Vol. 17, No. 3. Spring 1993 I 1 ISSN 0194-6730 Journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal CSICOP DALLAS CONFERENCE Scholars Focus on Cultures in Collision, In and Out of Science Elena M. Watson 227 The 'Awe' Factor Richard Dawkins 242 free Speech and SLAPP Suits Andrew Skolnick 244 ARTICLES Anguished Silence and Helping Hands: Autism and Facilitated Communication J. A Mulick J. W. Jacobson and F. H. Kobe 270 Facilitated Communication, Autism, and Ouija Kathleen M. Dillon 281 Treading on the Edge: Practicing Safe Science with SETI Donald £ Tarter 288 Education for Science Al Gore, Jr. 297 A Threat to Science Evry Schatzman 302 Charles Honorton's Legacy to Parapsychology Susan Blackmore 306 FROM THE CHAIRMAN A Center for Inquiry Research Library 250 NEWS AND COMMENT 252 Electromagnetic Esoterica / Channeling Woes / Bruton Parish Follow-Up / fizzled Predictions / Ig Noble Laureates NOTES OF A FRINGE-WATCHER E-Prime: Getting Rid of Isness Martin Gardner 261 PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS Levitated Linda, Ear Coning, and Arkeology Robert Sheaffer 267 BOOK REVIEWS Colin Wilson and Damon Wilson, Unsolved Mysteries Robert A Baker 309 Barry L Beyerstein and Dale F. Beyerstein, The Write Stuff Elver A Barker 312 Kenneth Ring, The Omega Project Gordon Stein 315 E. Fuller Torrey, Freudian Fraud Terence Hines 317 NEW BOOKS 319 ARTICLES OF NOTE 324 FOLLOW-UP Colorado Board of Nursing Continues to Support Therapeutic Touch 327 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 331 ON THE COVER: Illustration by Bruce Adams. HELP US DEFEND SKEPTICISM AGAINST HARASSING SUITS CSICOP LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION n the Winter 1992 issue of the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER we outlined the Idifficulties that the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is experiencing because of harassing lawsuits filed against skeptics. We feel confident that these suits will eventually be dismissed. Still, we suspect that the lawsuits were brought for reasons other than the redress of alleged grievances. For what do these suits mean? They mean that the pro- paranormalists think they have finally found a way to strike below the belt of scientists and skeptics. For years they have been unable to prove their claims of miraculous abilities. They've grown tired of hearing our challenges. Now they have turned to intimidation by lawsuit in an effort to silence their only persistent critics. It doesn't necessarily matter if the plaintiff wins or loses the suit. Their purpose is to waste their opponents' resources and to intimidate and silence them—in effect, depriving individuals or organizations of their
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