SKEPTICAL INQUIRER V01.16, No
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SKEPTICAL INQUIRER V01.16, No. 3 Spring 1992/$6.25 Myths of Subliminal Persuasion the Paranormal MM THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER (ISSN 0194-6730) 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, Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, Philip J. Klass, Paul Kurtz. Consulting Editors Isaac Asimov, 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. Audio Technician Vance Vigrass. Librarian, Ranjit Sandhu. Staff Leland Harrington, Alfreda Pidgeon, Kathy Reeves, Elizabeth Begley (Albuquerque). 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 (partial list) James E. Alcock, psychologist, York Univ., Toronto; Isaac Asimov, biochemist, author; Robert A. Baker, psychologist, Univ. of Kentucky; Irving Biederman, psychologist, University of Minnesota; Susan Blackmore, psychologist, Brain Perception Laboratory, University of Bristol, England; Henri Broch, physicist, University of Nice, France; Mario Bunge, philosopher, McGill University; John R. Cole, anthropologist. Institute for the Study of Human Issues; F. H. C. Crick, biophysicist, Salk Institute 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, executive officer, Astronomical Society of the Pacific; editor of Mercury; Kendrick Frazier, science writer. Editor, THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER; Yves Galifret, Exec. Secretary, l'Union Rationaliste; Martin Gardner, author, critic; Murray Gell-Mann, professor of physics, California Institute of Technology; Henry Gordon, magician, columnist, broadcaster, 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 University; Ray Hyman, psychologist, Univ. of Oregon; Leon Jaroff, sciences editor, Time; Lawrence Jerome, science writer, engineer; 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, Buffalo, N.Y.; 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 University. Joe Nickell, author, technical writing instructor, University of Kentucky; Lee Nisbet, philosopher, Medaille College; James E. Oberg, science writer; John Paulos, mathematician, Temple University; Mark Plummer, lawyer, Australia; W. V. Quine, philosopher, Harvard Univ.; Milton Rosenberg, psychologist. University of Chicago; Carl Sagan, astronomer, Cornell Univ.; Evry Schatz- man. President, French Physics Association; Eugenie Scott, physical anthropologist, executive director, National Center for Science Education, Inc.; Thomas A. Sebeok, anthropologist, linguist, Indiana University; Robert Sheaffer, science writer; Dick Smith, film producer, publisher, Terrey Hills, N.S.W., Australia; Robert Steiner, magician, author. El Cerrito, California; Carol Tavris, psychologist, UCLA; Stephen Toulmin, professor of philosophy, Northwestern Univ.; Marvin Zelen, statistician. Harvard Univ. (Affilia tions given for identification only.) 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 to Periodical Literature. Copyright ©1992 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. Postmaster: THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is published quarterly. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Printed in the U.S.A. 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. f\ SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Vol. 16, No. 3, Spring 1992 ] ISSN 0194-6730 Journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal SPECIAL REPORT 254 The Maharishi Caper: JAMA Hoodwinked (But Just for a While) Andrew Skolnick MYTHS OF SUBLIMINAL PERSUASION The Cargo-Cult Science of Subliminal Persuasion Anthony R. Pratkanis 260 Subliminal Perception: Facts and Fallacies Timothy £ Moore 273 Subliminal Tapes: How to Get the Message Across Brady J. Phelps and Mary £ Exum 282 ARTICLES The Avro VZ-9 "Flying Saucer" William B. Blake 287 Two 19th-century Skeptics: Augustus de Morgan and John Fiske Milton A Rothman 292 NEWS AND COMMENT 229 NAS Scientists Highly Skeptical / Altering Mental States / Astrology Disclaimer Update / Liquefying Blood / Orgonomists Convene / 1991 Psychic Predictions Fizzle / Big Foot Cemetery / Scientology Loses in Norway / For the Record NOTES OF A FRINGE-WATCHER The Sad Story of Professor Haldane Martin Gardner 244 PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS Crashologists and Conspiracy-ologists Robert Sheaffer 249 REVIEWS Marshall McKusick. The Davenport Conspiracy Revisited; Stephen Williams. The Wild Side of North American Prehistory John Whittaker 299 Eugene F. Mallove, Fire from Ice: Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor Steven N. Shore30 1 T. M. Luhrmann. Persuasions of the Witch's Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England Robert £ McGrath 303 Michael Talbot, Your Past Lives Peter Huston 306 Tom Corboy, The New Believers (Video) Jeff Walker 309 NEW BOOKS 311 ARTICLES OF NOTE 312 FORUM 315 Credibility in Science and the Press / Spooky Presidential Coincidences Contest LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 324 Cover illustration by Bruce Adams. Friday (continued) 2:00 - 5:00 P.M.: GENDER ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND PSEUDOSCIENCE Moderator: James Alcock, professor of psychology, Glendon College, York University, Toronto Susan Blackmore, psychologist, University of Bristol, U.K. Carol Tavris, psychologist, University of California, Los Angeles Additional speaker to be announced. 5:00 - 8:00 P.M.: Dinner Break 8:00 P.M.: KEYNOTE ADDRESS Richard Dawkins, professor of zoology, Oxford University, and author of The Blind Watchmaker and The Selfish Gene Saturday, October 17 8:00 - 9:00 A.M.: Registration 9:00 A.M. - 12 NOON: FRAUD IN SCIENCE Moderator: Elie Shneour, Director, Biosystems Research Institute Speakers to be announced. 12 NOON - 2:00 P.M.: CSICOP Luncheon Sergei Kapitza, editor of Russian edition of Scientific American; member Russian Academy of Sciences Evry Schatzman, former president, French Physics Society; member French Academy of Science 2:00 - 5:00 P.M.: Two Concurrent Sessions Session 1. CRASHED SAUCERS Moderator: Philip J. Klass, leading investigator of UFO claims and former senior editor of Aviation Week and Space Technology Robert Young, education director, Harrisburg Astronomical Society James McGaha, Major, U.S. Air Force (ret.), Tucson, Arizona Additional speaker to be announced. Session 2. THE PARANORMAL IN CHINA Moderator: Paul Kurtz, CSICOP Chairman and professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo Guo Zheng-yi, Shen Zhen-yu, Weng Shi-da, Dong Guang-bi, and Zhong Hong-Lin, members of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology (Continued on next page.) Saturday (continued) 6:00 - 7:00 P.M.: Reception (cash bar) 7:00 - 10:00 P.M.: Awards Banquet Entertainment by Steve Shaw, mentalist, magician and "Project Alpha"