Psychic Experiences Explained
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
The Myth of Alpha Consciousness
The Myth of Alpha Consciousness Alpha brain-waves are marketed as a way to produce relaxation, healing, and meditative or occult states. In fact, they are related to activity in the visual system and have no proven curative or paranormal powers. Barry Beyerstein SYCHOPHYSIOLOGY SEEKS to understand how mechanisms in the nervous system mediate consciousness and behavior. Over Pthe years this hybrid field has seen many newly discovered brain processes reportedly linked with unique psychological states only to have further research reveal that the relationship is far more complex than suspected. Correcting these misinterpretations takes time, even in the pro fessional literature. Beyond the lab, it is even more difficult to retire obsolete notions about brain-behavior relationships when the popular press, profit motives, and a host of quasitheological beliefs conspire to perpetuate them. Alpha brain-waves and biofeedback are two areas in which such misapprehensions are legion: In the late 1960s a reawakened interest in altered states of conscious ness was buoyed by claims that patterns in the electroencephalogram (EEG) called "alpha waves" were indicators of meditative or psychic states. This, plus the understandable attraction of anything offering quick relief from anxiety and stress, spawned a multimillion-dollar industry aimed at teach ing people to maximize EEG alpha through a technique called biofeedback. This occurred despite a growing realization among psychophysiologists that the alleged benefits were based upon unsupported assumptions about alpha and despite growing reservations about the efficacy of biofeedback in general. Barry Beyerstein is in the Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia. 42 THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Vol. -
Clear Thinking and the Forces of Unreason
COMMENTARY Clear Thinking and the Forces of Unreason KENDRICK FRAZIER here is a new need for rational- still a dangerous world out there, but about. We no longer can indulge such ity and reason—as well as their warnings had fallen on mostly distractions. courage and resoluteness—in deaf ears. We were too distracted with I think in the short term at least we T living the good life. Now, suddenly, no are going to see less nonsense. Psychic defense of freedom and democracy and the highest values of civilization. Since one is distracted. abilities failed to warn us of the September 11 the world has changed, Much the same could be said for rJiose September 11 attacks, and now it and a previous pop culture of superfi- of us toiling on behalf of science and rea- should be clear to all but the most com- ciality, self-absorption, self-indulgence, son and scientific skepticism. Paul Kurtz mitted or muddle-headed that such and self-satisfaction has gone out the and CSICOP and many others in the powers just don't exist. The attacks were window with it. A several-decades skeptical movement have regularly been soon followed by bogus Nostradamus period of relative innocence and chided over die years for even raising the "predictions" and other inevitable clap- naivete' has ended. Things are serious possibility that forces of unreason could trap, but those were quickly countered now, and we need all our wits about us. actually threaten our modern democratic by anti-hoax, urban legend Web sites Intelligence and wisdom are called for. -
Off the Pedestal, on the Stage: Animation and De-Animation in Art
Off the Pedestal; On the Stage Animation and De-animation in Art and Theatre Aura Satz Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London PhD in Fine Art 2002 Abstract Whereas most genealogies of the puppet invariably conclude with robots and androids, this dissertation explores an alternative narrative. Here the inanimate object, first perceived either miraculously or idolatrously to come to life, is then observed as something that the live actor can aspire to, not necessarily the end-result of an ever evolving technological accomplishment. This research project examines a fundamental oscillation between the perception of inanimate images as coming alive, and the converse experience of human actors becoming inanimate images, whilst interrogating how this might articulate, substantiate or defy belief. Chapters i and 2 consider the literary documentation of objects miraculously coming to life, informed by the theology of incarnation and resurrection in Early Christianity, Byzantium and the Middle Ages. This includes examinations of icons, relics, incorrupt cadavers, and articulated crucifixes. Their use in ritual gradually leads on to the birth of a Christian theatre, its use of inanimate figures intermingling with live actors, and the practice of tableaux vivants, live human figures emulating the stillness of a statue. The remaining chapters focus on cultural phenomena that internalise the inanimate object’s immobility or strange movement quality. Chapter 3 studies secular tableaux vivants from the late eighteenth century onwards. Chapter 4 explores puppets-automata, with particular emphasis on Kempelen's Chess-player and the physical relation between object-manipulator and manipulated-object. The main emphasis is a choreographic one, on the ways in which live movement can translate into inanimate hardness, and how this form of movement can then be appropriated. -
Yjyjjgl^Ji^Jihildlitr-1 What's That I Smell? the Claims of Aroma .••
NOVA EXAMINES ALIEN ABDUCTIONS • THE WEIRD WORLD WEB • DEBUNKING THE MYSTICAL IN INDIA yjyjjgl^ji^JiHildlitr-1 What's That I Smell? The Claims of Aroma .•• Fun and Fallacies with Numbers I by Marilyn vos Savant le Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal THE COMMITTEE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS OF THE PARANORMAL AT IHf CENIK FOR INQUKY (ADJACENT IO IME MATE 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 and Public Relations Director Lee Nisbet. Special Projects Director FELLOWS James E. Alcock.* psychologist, York Murray Gell-Mann. professor of physics, H. Narasimhaiah, physicist, president, Univ., Toronto Santa Fe Institute; Nobel Prize laureate Bangalore Science Forum, India Jerry Andrus, magician and inventor, Thomas Gilovich, psychologist, Cornell Dorothy Nelkin. sociologist. New York Univ. Albany, Oregon Univ. Joe Nickell.* senior research fellow, CSICOP Robert A. Baker, psychologist, Univ. of Henry Gordon, magician, columnist. Lee Nisbet.* philosopher, Medaille College Toronto Kentucky James E. Oberg, science writer Stephen Barrett. M.D., psychiatrist, Stephen Jay Gould, Museum of Loren Pankratz, psychologist, Oregon Comparative Zoology, Harvard Univ. author, consumer advocate, Allentown, Health Sciences Univ. Pa. C. E. M. Hansel, psychologist, Univ. of Wales John Paulos, mathematician, Temple Univ. Barry Beyerstein,* biopsychologist, Mark Plummer, lawyer, Australia Simon Fraser Univ., Vancouver, B.C., AI Hibbs, scientist, Jet Propulsion Canada Laboratory W. V. Quine, philosopher. Harvard Univ. Irving Biederman, psychologist, Univ. of Douglas Hofstadter, professor of human Milton Rosenberg, psychologist, Univ. of Chicago Southern California understanding and cognitive science, Carl Sagan, astronomer. -
CFI-Annual-Report-2018.Pdf
Message from the President and CEO Last year was another banner year for the Center the interests of people who embrace reason, for Inquiry. We worked our secular magic in a science, and humanism—the principles of the vast variety of ways: from saving lives of secular Enlightenment. activists around the world who are threatened It is no secret that these powerful ideas like with violence and persecution to taking the no others have advanced humankind by nation’s largest drugstore chain, CVS, to court unlocking human potential, promoting goodness, for marketing homeopathic snake oil as if it’s real and exposing the true nature of reality. If you medicine. are looking for humanity’s true salvation, CFI stands up for reason and science in a way no look no further. other organization in the country does, because This past year we sought to export those ideas to we promote secular and humanist values as well places where they have yet to penetrate. as scientific skepticism and critical thinking. The Translations Project has taken the influential But you likely already know that if you are reading evolutionary biology and atheism books of this report, as it is designed with our supporters in Richard Dawkins and translated them into four mind. We want you not only to be informed about languages dominant in the Muslim world: Arabic, where your investment is going; we want you to Urdu, Indonesian, and Farsi. They are available for take pride in what we have achieved together. free download on a special website. It is just one When I meet people who are not familiar with CFI, of many such projects aimed at educating people they often ask what it is we do. -
Investigation of the Marfa Lights
Forward The word “investigation” is defined as “a searching inquiry for ascertaining facts; detailed or careful examination.” The key word here is “facts”. Do ghosts exist? No, it has not been proven. Therefore are no facts to investigate. What we do have is the testimony of the witnesses and this is where an investigational process will work. Investigations are often viewed as a skeptical activity because the main goal is trying to determine what the witness actually saw. Is it explainable or not? This is done through critical thinking and an event replication process developed by SGHA. This is an important concept because what defines a haunting or ghost sighting is “Multiple witnesses reporting unusual phenomena over a period of time”. If these phenomena can be explained, the witness reports are no longer validating paranormal activity as a cause and thus there is no ghost or haunting. Additionally historical research may be done in an attempt to validate facts. It is important to understand that the goal of an investigation is not to find evidence of the paranormal but to attempt to identify any natural or manmade causes of the reported phenomena Definition of Terms Investigation Status: Unsolved investigations will have either an open or closed status. An investigation is given an “Open” status if: The investigators were unable to replicate all of the witness events. Something significant remains that is still unsolved. It is important to understand that an “open” investigation does not mean that the unsolved facts are paranormal in nature. It simply means that we have exhausted our resources and cannot solve the “open” items/events. -
802 Transcript
"BEYOND SCIENCE?" SHOW 802 Teaser Episode Open Water, Water Everywhere Aliens Have Landed New Energy Age Paper Personality Healing Touch TEASER ALAN ALDA I'd like you to meet a new acquaintance of mine. Some people think he, or she, or it, just recently arrived from outer space. Others aren't so sure. On this edition of Scientific American Frontiers, we're going to try to find out what's real in science, and what's not. ALAN ALDA (Narration) We'll ask if balancing a patient's energy pattern can lead to healing. We'll challenge dowsers to find water, and to try our rigorous test. We'll see if, by putting pen to paper, we give ourselves away. And we'll look for zero point energy -- is it real, or is it a dream? ALAN ALDA I'm Alan Alda, join me now as we venture into the realm of pseudoscience. back to top INTRO ALAN ALDA (Narration) We've asked DIANNA PAZ to visit a palm reader. She doesn't know it, but the reader -- who's a University of Oregon psychology professor -- says palm reading is pure fiction. And Dianna doesn't believe in it herself. But something strange is about to happen -- Dianna's going to become a believer. RAY HYMAN You have a hard time hanging onto money. You have spaces between your fingers and... ALAN ALDA (Narration) Ray Hyman gently raises common topics, like money or career, on the lookout for give-away responses -- a nod here, or a word there. RAY HYMAN .. -
A Rebuttal of the EMBLA 2002 Report on the Optical Survey in Hessdalen
Italian Committee for Project Hessdalen Comitato Italiano per il Progetto Hessdalen A rebuttal of the EMBLA 2002 report on the optical survey in Hessdalen MATTEO LEONE Italian Committee for Project Hessdalen (CIPH) scientific advisor e-mail: [email protected] Abstract – On August 2002, a scientific expedition to the Hessdalen valley (Norway) – code-named EMBLA – aimed at investigating on an unidentified atmospheric light-phenomenon, was carried out by the physics section of an Italian team of scientists. According to the EMBLA 2002 physics report, the evidence collected point at an unknown atmospheric light phenomenon “able to produce a luminous power of up to 100 kW”. The photometrical and spectroscopical data collected by the team of scientists on August 2002 are analysed and reasons for rejecting the suggested conclusions are presented in this paper. Furthermore, it is proposed an explanation that satisfactorily explains the evidence in terms of a known phenomenon. In spite of this negative findings, the anecdotal evidence collected by this author at Hessdalen suggests that clearly-defined, specific studies into the field of anomalous aerial phenomena should be supported. 1. Introduction Hessdalen is a valley stretching over 12 km of a thinly populated area (Bygdekatalog, 2000) of central Norway, south-east of Trondheim and near the Swedish border (Dalsbygda, 1992; Haltdalen, 1995). As from November 1981 a series of unidentified lights had been reported by the residents of the valley. According to the sighting reports the lights were seen hovering or moving around at various speed. These lights could be anywhere. Sometimes they were reported to be just above the roof of the houses, or just above the ground. -
Kayla Marie Swanson
What the Puck? The Gentle Wind Project, a Quasi-Religious New Age Alternative Healing Organization by Kayla Marie Swanson A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Religious Studies University of Alberta © Kayla Marie Swanson, 2015 ii Abstract The quasi-religious space is important for examining groups and organizations that exhibit qualities of both the sacred and the secular, particularly when groups have a vested interest in being perceived as either secular or sacred. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the Gentle Wind Project, a quasi-religious, New Age alternative healing movement, and to demonstrate how the group fit the category of quasi-religious. First I examined the category of quasi-religion, using Scientology and Transcendental Meditation as two examples of it, followed by examining the religious and secular aspects of Gentle Wind. As part of the examination of Gentle Wind as a quasi-religion, this thesis also briefly explores the role of the internet for Gentle Wind and critics, as well as examines one of the main lawsuits in which the group was involved. Gentle Wind ultimately sued former members and critics over statements made about the group online, and the results of this lawsuit have implications for a long-standing debate within the sociology of religion. This debate revolves around the reliability of former member testimony regarding groups with which they were previously affiliated. In order to conduct my analysis, I followed two research methods. First, I relied heavily on primary source material regarding the Gentle Wind Project, which required me to use an archival methodology. -
Opening Shots from the Center for Inquiry R ••••J3J1 \\\\\W
News Opening Shots from the Center for Inquiry A milestone in the 19-year history of Center for Inquiry—shared by the the Committee for the Scientific Council for Democratic and Secular Investigation of Claims of the Humanism—features a library com Paranormal was the grand opening plex for 50,000 volumes, offices, and June 9, 1995, of the new Center for meeting/seminar rooms. Many notable Inquiry building near the State speakers offered congratulations to the University of New York at Buffalo organization for meeting this ambi campus in Amherst, New York. The tious goal. Author, entertainer, and media pioneer Steve Allen co-chaired the "Price of Before the Center for Inquiry's dramatic Reason" campaign and gave a special Nobel Laureate Herbert Hauptman scalloped windows, a capacity crowd performance to celebrate the opening. lectured on "Defending Reason in an hears 77me Science Editor Emeritus Leon He also delighted attendees with droll Irrational World." Jaroff extol the virtues of critical thinking. remarks after cutting the ribbon to open the new Center for Inquiry. Center for Inquiry-West Opens in Los Angeles July 7, 1995. marked yet another stage in the I expansion of CSICOP's outreach. Entertainer I Steve Allen joined CSICOP Chair Paul Kurtz, [ Executive Director Barry Karr, Senior Research Fellow Joe Nickell, and many others to dedicate CSICOP's new Los Angeles r ••••J3J1 \\\\\W branch office, the Center for Inquiry-West. CFI-West will serve as a regional office I for the states of California, Oregon. I Washington, and Nevada. Most important, it will offer new and more direct access to the nation's media centers in the Los Angeles area. -
Red Internacional Escéptica
RED INTERNACIONAL ESCÉPTICA EUROPA European Council of Skeptical Organizations pour I’Etude des Phenomenes Paranormaux.Mer- PORTUGAL: CEPO; Contacto: Ludwig Krippahl, Praceta Pero (ECSO). Presidente:Amardeo Sarma.Arheilger Weg 11, lin Gerin. RGE/A2 38050 Grenoble Cedex. Union Ra- Escobar, N 2 R/c Dto 2675-599 Odivelas. Correo-e: 64380 Rossdorf.Alemania. Fax: +49 6154 695022.Tel.: tionaliste. Contacto: Jean-Paul Krivine. 14, Rue de l’E- [email protected] +49 6154 695023. Correo-e: [email protected]. cole Polytechnique. 75005 París. REINO UNIDO: Association for Skeptical Enquiry ALEMANIA: Society for the Scientific Investigation of HUNGRÍA: Hungarian Skeptics.Gyula Bencze.Termes- (ASKE),P.O. Box 5994 Ripley DE5 3XL. Fax.: +44 114 Para-Science (GWUP).Presidente:Amardeo Sarma.Ar- zet Vilaga. PO Box 25. Budapest 8, 1444. Fax: 011- 221 7319. Correo-e.: [email protected]. The Skep- heilger Weg 11, 64380 Rossdorf.Tel.: +49-6154695021. 3611187506. tical Inquirer: Representante: Michael J. Hutchinson. 10 Fax: +49-6154695022. Correo-e.: [email protected]. IRLANDA: Irish Skeptics.Contacto: Peter O’Hara. St. Jose- Crescent View. Loughton. Essex 1G10 4PZ. Correo-e.: BÉLGICA: Committee Para. Presidente: J. Dommanget. ph’s Hospital, Limerick. [email protected]. ‘The Skeptic Magazine’: Editores: Observatoire Royal de Belgique.Avenue Circulaire 3. B- ITALIA: Comitato Italiano per il Controllo delle Toby Howard y Steve Donnelly. PO Box 475. Manchester 1180 Brussels. SKEPP.Secretario:W. Betz. Laarbeeklaan Affermazioni sul Paranormale (CICAP). Contacto: M60 2TH. Correo-e.: [email protected]. 103. B1090 Brussels. Fax: 32-2-4774701. Massimo Polidoro, editor Scienza & Paranormale.PO Box REPÚBLICA CHECA: Czech Club of Skeptics.Contac- ESTONIA: Contacto: Indrek Rohtmets. -
Caught in a Web of Deception Have Experienced the Phenomenon First Hand
seem to reflect poorly on their attempts to legitimize UFOs the bastard science of Ufology. One would also need to include in this group, those serious investigators who Caught in a Web of Deception have experienced the phenomenon first hand. A group of men and women who would much rather have lived This paper was originally presented at the out their days without adding an mib encounter to their Gulf Breeze UFO Conference, catalogue of life–experiences. Gulf Breeze Florida, February 12, 1994 Many relegate the mib question to some dusty men- © R. W. Boeche, 1994 All Rights Reserved tal shelf where they like to hide all of the oddball data they would rather not have to deal with in developing Today I intend to address the phenomenon of UFOs gen- theories regarding the UFO phenomena. This is the erally, by addressing an often-ridiculed, little-explored, shelf where they think they can safely put all of the real- subset of the UFO phenomenon. This area, known as ly wacky stuff. the Men-in-Black1 or mib phenomenon contains some This “really wacky stuff” has changed over time. Once, of the strangest and most bizarre events in the annals such things as UFO landings and sightings of UFO occu- of UFO research. And before anyone asks, I don’t mean pants were ignored by the ‘serious’ investigators for years. the Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones movies. And then there is the problem of the contactees3: those What are UFOs? Some 85–95% of sightings have mun- chosen few who — beginning in the late 1940’s — were dane explanations.