Gun Violence | Climate Conversation | Missiles and Saucers | Searching for Yowie

GMO Labeling | Humboldt’s World | Gallows Ghosts | Conspiracy Claims | New CFI CEO

the Magazine for Science and Reason Vol. 40 No. 3 | May/June 2016

Toward a Taxonomy Scientific Reasoning of Belief in the Unreal at the US Air Force Academy The Gene-Editing Revolution: Belief A SPECIAL REPORT Masquerading as Science INTRODUCTORY PRICE U.S. and Canada $5.99 How Not to Do Science

Published by the Center for Inquiry in association with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Robyn Blumner, 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 Fellows James E. Al cock*, psy chol o gist, York Univ., Tor on to David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and re searcher at Barbara Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of Mar cia An gell, MD, former ed i tor-in-chief, Ann Kar manos Cancer Institute and chief of breast surgery Astronomy and director of the Hopkins New Eng land Jour nal of Med i cine section, Wayne State University School of Medicine. Observatory, Williams College Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician; author; Newton, MA Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first editor, John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. The Skeptic magazine (UK) Steph en Bar rett, MD, psy chi a trist; au thor; con sum er ad vo cate, Clifford A. Pickover, scientist, au thor, editor, IBM T.J. Watson Sus an Haack, Coop er Sen ior Schol ar in Arts and Al len town, PA Re search Center. Willem Betz, MD, professor of medicine, Univ. of Brussels Sci en ces, professor of phi los o phy and professor Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy, Ir ving Bie der man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of South ern CA of Law, Univ. of Mi ami City Univ. of New York–Lehman College Sus an Black more, vis it ing lec tur er, Univ. of the West of Harriet Hall*, MD, physician; investigator, Puyallup, WA Eng land, Bris tol David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, Stev en Pink er, cog ni tive sci en tist, Harvard Univ. Columbia Univ. Sandra Blakeslee, science writer; author; New York Times Mas si mo Pol id oro, sci ence writer; au thor; ex ec u tive science correspondent Terence M. Hines, prof. of psychology, Pace Univ., di rect or of CI CAP, It a ly Pleasantville, NY. Mark Boslough, physicist, Sandia National Laboratories, James L. Powell, geochemist, author, professor; executive direc- Albuquerque, NM Doug las R. Hof stad ter, pro fes sor of hu man tor, National Physical Science Consortium; retired college and un der stand ing and cog ni tive sci ence, In di ana Univ. Hen ri Broch, phys i cist, Univ. of Nice, France museum president, Buellton, CA Ger ald Hol ton, Mal linc krodt Pro fes sor of Phys ics and pro fes sor Jan Har old Brun vand, folk lor ist; pro fes sor emer i tus of his to ry of sci ence, Har vard Univ. Anthony R. Pratkanis, professor of psychology, Univ. of CA, of Eng lish, Univ. of Utah Ray Hy man*, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Or e gon Santa Cruz Mar io Bunge, phi los o pher, McGill Univ., Montreal Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist emeritus; Donald R. Prothero, paleontologist/geologist, Natural History Robert T. Carroll, emeritus professor of philosophy, science advisor to Center for Inquiry Office of Public Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA Sacramento City College; writer Policy, Washington, DC Sean B. Carroll, molecular geneticist; vice president for science Benjamin Radford, investigator; research fellow, Committee Barry Karr, executive director, Committee for education, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Madison, WI for Skeptical Inquiry Skeptical Inquiry, Amherst, New York Thomas R. Casten, energy expert; founder and chairman, James “The Amazing” Randi, magician; CSICOP founding Recycled Energy Development, Westmont, IL Law rence M. Krauss, foundation professor, School member; founder, James Randi Educational Foundation of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics Dept.; John R. Cole, an thro pol o gist; ed i tor, Na tion al Mil ton Ro sen berg, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Chic a go Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion director, Origins Initiative, Arizona State Univ. Am ar deo Sar ma*, chairman, GWUP, Ger ma ny K.C. Cole, science writer; author; professor, Univ. of Southern Harry Kroto, professor of chemistry and California’s Annenberg School of Journalism biochemistry, Florida State Univ.; Nobel laureate Richard Saunders, president, Australian Skeptics; educator; John Cook, climate communication research fellow for Ed win C. Krupp, as tron o mer; di rect or, investigator; podcaster; Sydney, Australia the Global Change Institute at the Univ. of Queensland, Grif fith Ob ser va to ry, Los Angeles, CA Joe Schwarcz, director, McGill Office for Science and Society Law rence Kusche, sci ence writer Australia. Eu ge nie C. Scott*, phys i cal an thro pol o gist; chair, advisory Fred er ick Crews, lit er ary and cul tur al crit ic; pro fes sor emer i tus Le on Le der man, emer i tus di rect or, Fer mi lab; council , Na tion al Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion of Eng lish, Univ. of CA, Berke ley No bel lau re ate in phys ics Rich ard Dawk ins, zo ol o gist, Ox ford Univ. Stephan Lewandowsky, psychologist, School of Experimental Rob ert Sheaf fer, sci ence writer Ge of frey Dean, tech ni cal ed i tor, Perth, Aus tral ia Psychology and Cabot Institute, Univ. of Bristol, UK Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute, Cor nel is de Ja ger, pro fes sor of as tro phys ics, Univ. of Utrecht, Scott O. Lil i en feld*, psy chol o gist, Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA Mountain View, CA the Neth er lands Lin Zix in, former ed i tor, Sci ence and Tech nol o gy Dai ly (Chi na) Simon Singh, science writer; broadcaster; UK Dan i el C. Den nett, Aus tin B. Fletch er Pro fes sor of Phi los o phy Je re Lipps, Mu se um of Pa le on tol o gy, Univ. of CA, Berke ley Dick Smith, entrepreneur, publisher, aviator, adventurer, and di rect or of Cen ter for Cog ni tive Stud ies, Tufts Uni v. Eliz a beth Loft us*, pro fes sor of psy chol o gy, Univ. of CA, Ir vine Terrey Hills, N.S.W., Australia Ann Druyan, writer and producer; CEO, Cosmos Studios, Daniel Loxton, author, editor of Junior Skeptic at Skeptic maga- Keith E. Stanovich, cognitive psychologist; professor of Ithaca, NY zine (US), artist, Vancouver, B.C., Canada human development and applied psychology, Uni v. of Sanal Edamaruku, president, Indian Rationalist Da vid Marks, psy chol o gist, City Univ., Lon don Toronto Association and Rationalist International Mar io Men dez-Acos ta, jour nal ist and sci ence writer, Mex i co City Karen Stollznow*, linguist; skeptical investigator; writer; Edzard Ernst, professor, Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, Brown Univ. podcaster Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Exeter, UK Da vid Mor ri son, space sci en tist, NA SA Ames Re search Cen ter Jill Cor nell Tar ter, as tron o mer, SE TI In sti tute, Moun tain View, CA Ken neth Fed er, pro fes sor of an thro pol o gy, Rich ard A. Mul ler, pro fes sor of phys ics, Univ. of CA, Berke ley Car ol Tav ris, psy chol o gist and au thor, Los Ange les, CA Cen tral Con nec ti cut State Univ. Joe Nick ell, sen ior re search fel low, CSI Da vid E. Thom as*, phys i cist and math e ma ti cian, Socorro, NM Krista Federspiel, science journalist, expert on complementary Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Waalre, Neil de Gras se Ty son, as tro phys i cist and di rect or, The Netherlands and alternative medicine, Vienna, Austria. Hay den Plan e tar i um, New York City Lee Nis bet, phi los o pher, Med aille Col lege Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, SE Louisiana Univ. Indre Viskontas, cognitive neuroscientist, tv and podcast host, An drew Fra knoi, as tron o mer, Foot hill Col lege, Los Al tos Hills, CA Steven Novella*, MD, assistant professor of neurology, Yale Univ. School of Medicine and opera singer, San Francisco, CA Kend rick Fra zi er*, sci ence writer; ed i tor, S    I   Bill Nye, sci ence ed u ca tor and tel e vi sion host, Nye Labs Stuart Vyse, psychologist, former Joanne Toor Cummings Christopher C. French, professor, Department ’50 professor of psychology, Connecticut College; author of Psychology, and head of the Anomalistic Psychology James E. Oberg, sci ence writer Research Unit, Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London Irm gard Oe pen, pro fes sor of med i cine (re tired), of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition Julia Galef, host of the Rationally Speaking podcast; Mar burg, Ger ma ny Ma ri lyn vos Sa vant, Pa rade mag a zine con trib ut ing ed i tor cofounder, Center for Applied Rationality, Berkeley, CA Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics, director of the Vaccine Educa- Stev en Wein berg, pro fes sor of phys ics and as tron o my, Univ. of Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di Pavia (Italy); tion Center, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Tex as at Aus tin; No bel lau re ate research fellow of CICAP, the Italian skeptics group Naomi Oreskes, geologist and professor, departments of the E.O. Wil son, Univ. pro fes sor emer i tus, organismic and evolu- Maryanne Garry, professor, School of Psychology, Victoria History of Science and Earth and Planetary Sciences, tionary biology, Har vard Univ. Univ. of Wellington, New Zealand Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA Mur ray Gell-Mann, pro fes sor of phys ics, San ta Fe In sti tute; Lor en Pan kratz, psy chol o gist, Or e gon Health Rich ard Wis e man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Hert ford shire, England No bel lau re ate Sci en ces Univ. Benjamin Wolozin, professor, Department of Pharmacology, Thom as Gi lov ich, psy chol o gist, Cor nell Univ. Robert L. Park, professor of physics, Univ. of Maryland Boston Univ. School of Medicine * Mem ber, CSI Ex ec u tive Coun cil (Af fil i a tions giv en for iden ti fi ca tion on ly.) The S    I   (ISSN 0194-6730) is pub lished Director, CSI, P.O. Box 703, Am herst, NY 14226-0703. Tel.: au thors. Their pub li ca tion does not nec es sa ri ly con sti tute an bi month ly by the Center for Inquiry in association with 716-636-1425. Fax: 716-636-1733. Email: bkarr@center- en dorse ment by CSI or its mem bers un less so stat ed. the Com mit tee for Skeptical Inquiry, P.O. Box 703, Am- forinquiry.net. Cop y right ©2016 by the Center for Inquiry and the Com mit- herst, NY 14226. Print ed in U.S.A. Pe ri od i cals post- Man u scripts, let ters, books for re view, and ed i to ri al in- tee for Skeptical Inquiry. All rights re served. age paid at Buf fa lo, NY, and at ad di tion al mail ing of- quir ies should be sent to Kend rick Fra zi er, Ed i tor, S    Sub scrip tions and chan ges of ad dress should be ad- fi ces. Sub scrip tion pri ces: one year (six is sues), $35; I  , EMAIL: [email protected]. Mail: 944 dressed to: S    I  , P.O. Box 703, Am herst, NY two years, $60; three years, $84; sin gle is sue, $5.99. Deer Drive NE, Al bu querque, NM 87122. Be fore sub mit ting 14226-0703. Or call toll-free 1-800-634-1610 (out side Cana dian and for eign or ders: Pay ment in U.S. funds drawn any man uscript, please con sult our Guide for Au thors for the U.S. call 716-636-1425). Old ad dress as well as new on a U.S. bank must ac com pa ny or ders; please add US$10 style and ref er en ce requirements and submittal instruc- are nec es sa ry for change of sub scrib er’s ad dress, with six per year for ship ping. Cana dian and for eign cus tomers are tions. It is on our website at www.csi cop.org/publications/ weeks ad vance no tice. S    I   sub scrib ers may en cour aged to use Vi sa or Mas ter Card. guide. not speak on be half of CSI or the S    I  . In quir ies from the me dia and the pub lic about the work Ar ti cles, re ports, re views, and let ters pub lished in the Post mas ter: Send chan ges of ad dress to S    of the Com mit tee should be made to Barry Karr, Executive S    I   rep resent the views and work of in di vid u al I  , P.O. Box 703, Am herst, NY 14226-0703. Skep ti cal In quir er May/June 2016 | Vol. 40, No. 3

FEATURES COLUMNS FROM THE EDITOR 32 Paranormal’s Creators…and Some of Creators of the Paranormal Its Present Promoters...... 4 A handful of twentieth-century figures “created” the modern concept of the paranormal and its SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT leading topics, transporting fantasy, myth, or Center for Inquiry, Dawkins Foundation speculation into a kind of believable “reality.” Merging; Robyn Blumner CFI’s New CEO Most proved to be a chimera. / Ronald A. Lindsay: ‘A Momentous Event’ / Note to SI Readers from New CEO JOE NICKELL Robyn Blumner ...... 5 NEWS AND COMMENT 40 Lumosity Fined Over False ‘Brain Game’ Dissociation Claims / Alan Alda to Receive NAS Public Welfare Medal / Scientists Urge Supreme and Paranormal Beliefs Court: Reject Pseudoscientific Testimony Toward a Taxonomy of for Texas Abortion Case / Italian Court Belief in the Unreal Acquits Six Convicted Seismologists MATTHEW J. SHARPS, SCHUYLER W. LIAO, / Mathematical Model Debunks Conspiracies ...... 7 AND MEGAN R. HERRERA INVES TI GA TIVE FILES Gallows Ghosts? 45 Mystery at Brisbane’s Tower Mill Scientific Reasoning at JOE NICK ELL ...... 12 the USAF Academy: An PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS Examination into New X-Files Renews Cover-Up Titanium-Treated Necklaces Conspiracy Claims ROBERT SHEAFFER ...... 14 CRAIG A. FOSTER, CHRISTOPHER K. MCCLERNON, AND RICHARD F. REICH NOTES ON A STRANGE WORLD Theresa Caputo: The Fake Long Island Medium 51 MASSIMO POLIDORO ...... 16 Stick It In Your Ear! THE SCIENCE OF How Not To Do Science SCIENCE COMMUNICATION Don’t Fear a Franken Public Ear acupuncture claims to relieve sore throats. MATTHEW NISBET ...... 18 A new study seeming to support that idea is so poorly done that it provides a textbook SKEPTICAL INQUIREE example of how to distinguish between U.K. Viral ‘Ghost Photo’ Explained good and bad science. BENJAMIN RADFORD ...... 22 HARRIET HALL NEW AND NOTABLE ...... 61

54 LET TERS TO THE ED I TOR ...... 64 A Testament of Belief Masquerading as Science THE LAST LAUGH ...... 66 Need there be a conflict between science REVIEWS and religion? Francis S. Collins thinks not, The Nature of ‘Nature’ but his “evidence for belief” disintegrates PAUL BROWN ...... 58 under scrutiny, revealing instead a personal testament of belief. The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf MICHAEL J. REYNOLDS Hallucination or Revelation? HARRIET HALL...... 60 SPECIAL REPORT 24 God: An Autobiography by Jerry L. Martin CRISPR-Cas9: The Art and Science of the Scam: Implications for Skeptics Not Just Another SCOTT O. LILIENFELD ...... 62 Scientific Revolution The Confidence Game: Why We Fall KENNETH W. KRAUSE for It…Every Time. by Maria Konnikova Committee for Skeptical Inquiry ™ “... promotes scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use Skep ti cal In quir er of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.” THE MAG A ZINE FOR SCI ENCE AND REA SON EDI TOR Kend rick Fra zi er DEPUTY EDI TOR Ben ja min Rad ford MANA GING EDI TOR Julia Lavarnway [ FROM THE EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR Nicole Scott ART DIRECT OR Chri sto pher Fix PRODUC TION Paul E. Loynes The Paranormal’s Creators . . . and WEBMASTER Matthew Licata Some of Its Present Promoters PUBLISH ER’S REPRE SENT A TIVE Bar ry Karr EDI TO RI AL BOARD James E. Al cock, Harriet Hall, Ray Hy man, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Elizabeth Loftus, Joe ne of the intriguing things about pseudoscience and the paranormal is that Nickell, Steven Novella, Am ar deo Sar ma, Eugenie C. Scott, Karen Stollznow, David E. Thomas, each field has been initiated and championed by just a handful of propo- Leonard Tramiel Onents and promoters. Mainly through popular books and articles (today CONSULT ING EDI TORS Sus an J. Black more, Ken neth L. Fed er, Barry Karr, E.C. Krupp, it would be blogs, infomercials, and cable TV shows), of varying credibility and Jay M. Pasachoff, Rich ard Wis e man quality, they’ve made their impassioned appeals for the public’s attention. Sci- CONTRIB UT ING EDI TORS D.J. Grothe, Harriet Hall, Kenneth W. Krause, David Morrison, James E. Oberg, ence has its famous heroes, but it doesn’t work the same way. Collegiality and Massimo Pigliucci, Rob ert Sheaf fer, David E. Thomas cooperation (and peer competition) mark all science, and any new scientific field quickly expands to dozens or hundreds of people working on the problems and Published in association with ferreting out errors. Advocates of pseudoscience and the paranormal work more in isolation, and so those who have been successful (popularly if not scientifically) CHAIR Edward Tabash become closely identified with their “specialties.” CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Robyn Blumner For this issue’s cover article, “Creators of the Paranormal,” Joe Nickell aban- PRESIDENT Ronald A. Lindsay Barry Karr dons his usual case-by-case investigatory style to survey the people who created CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER CORPO RATE COUNSEL Nicholas J. Little, our modern concept of the paranormal and its main topics. Joe nimbly portrays Brenton N. VerPloeg such people as “unexplained collector” Charles Fort, first ghost hunter Harry BUSINESS MANA GER Pa tri cia Beau champ Price, UFO “inventor” Raymond A. Palmer, ESP “discoverer” J.B. Rhine, cryp- FISCAL OFFI CER Paul Pau lin tozoology father Bernard Heuvelmans, Bermuda “Triangulator” Vincent H. SUBSCRIPTION DATA MANAGER Jacalyn Mohr COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Paul Fidalgo Gaddis, ancient astronaut huckster Erich von Däniken, and other famous/no- DIRECT OR OF LIBRAR IES Tim o thy S. Binga torious characters. Each, he says, took a concept—a fantasy, myth, or specula- DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Martina Fern tion—and transformed it into a kind of “reality.” Their motives varied. Some, DIRECTOR, COUNCIL FOR SECULAR HUMANISM Nickell notes, were credulous but principled. Some were out to make a buck. Tom Flynn DIRECTOR, CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Others “wished to stir things up and enjoy the fray.” Their creations proved Debbie Goddard popular, some enormously so, but they have turned out to be, almost without DIRECTOR, AFRICAN AMERICANS FOR HUMANISM Debbie Goddard exception, scientifically barren. BOARD OF DIRECTORS R. Elisabeth Cornwell, That article is followed by a scholarly look at paranormal beliefs and the role Brian Engler, Kendrick Frazier, Barry A. Kosmin, Edward Tabash (chair), Leonard Tramiel. subclinical psychological “dissociation” plays in their acceptance. In his third (Honorary): Rebecca Goldstein, Susan Jacoby, SI article on these subjects, psychology professor Matthew J. Sharps—and two Lawrence Krauss. colleagues—describes research showing that the tendency to believe in the para- normal is associated with a tendency toward subclinical (no, they’re not crazy) dissociation. They also show that the best way to get believers to be more critical of claims about the unreal is to confront them with very specific, detail-centered questions. Then U.S. Air Force Academy psychology professor Craig Foster and two colleagues use a classroom experiment at the Academy to test one very spe- cific claim that might be considered paranormal: that so-called Phiten titani- um-treated necklaces improve the wearer’s emotional well-being. They did con- trolled experiments and . . . well, I’ll let you read the outcome. “SkepDoc” Harriet Hall returns to our pages with a lively look into another specific area: ear acupuncture. (Yes, really!) Hall turns her pesky knowledge and irreverent wit to demolish a new published study that found ear acupuncture useful in treating sore throats. What was wrong with the study? “Practically A handful of twentieth-century figures “created” the everything,” Hall says, and she tells us why. modern concept of the paranormal and its leading topics, transporting fantasy, myth, or speculation There’s much more in this issue. I think you’ll enjoy it. into a kind of believable “reality.” Most proved to be a chimera. See page 32. —K F

[ SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Center for Inquiry, Richard Dawkins Foundation Merging; Robyn Blumner CFI’s New CEO

A year-long effort to find a successor to the Center for Inquiry’s outgoing president and CEO, Ronald A. Lindsay, came to a successful conclusion earlier this year with a big double-whammy announcement: the new president and CEO of CFI will be Robyn Blumner, president and CEO of the Richard “Both organizations share a vital common Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science mission, and together we can accomplish (RDFRS), and the RDFRS would be merging much more. And, of course, CFI looks for- with CFI. The new organization will be the ward to the benefit of close collaboration largest secularist and skeptic organization The merged organization with Richard Dawkins, indisputably one of in the United States and will bear the name will be the largest in the the preeminent public intellectuals of our Center for Inquiry, with the Richard Dawkins time.” (Also see, “Ronald A. Lindsay: ‘A Mo- Foundation for Reason & Science becom- United States with a mentous Event,’” next page.) ing a division of CFI. mission of promoting “Secularism is on the ascendency in The Center for Inquiry, a nonprofit ed- the United States and beyond,” Robyn ucational, advocacy, and research orga- secularism and science. Blumner observed. “Science has proven to nization, is home to our Committee for be the engine of human progress. Bringing Skeptical Inquiry and S  I more resources and ambition to promoting magazine and the Council for Secular Hu- these forces of reason is what this merger The January 21 announcement (http:// manism and Free Inquiry magazine. Now is about. I am thrilled to be tapped to lead www.centerforinquiry.net/newsroom/ it will also be home to the RDFRS and its this joint effort and expand on what Ron cfi_dawkins_merger/) said CFI and RDFRS programs. Lindsay has built.” (Also see her note to SI planned to begin unified operations im- Blumner became CEO of the combined readers, next page.) entity on January 25, 2016. Lindsay re- mediately, although the merger will not For his part, Richard Dawkins said this: tains the title of president until the merger become final until later this spring after is complete and will work closely with necessary legal and regulatory approval. I am very pleased that my foundation Blumner during the transition period. The merged organization will be the larg- is about to join forces with the Center est in the United States with a mission of for Inquiry. CFI is the biggest player Before heading up the RDFRS, Blumner, in the secular/nonreligious/skeptical a lawyer, had been a syndicated columnist promoting secularism and science, with an world, and I like to hope that RDFRS annual budget in excess of $6 million and will have something to add to its already for the Tampa Bay Times and the head of a staff of about forty-five employees. flourishing enterprise. In turn, among statewide affiliates of the American Civil our projects which will benefit from a Liberties Union in Florida and Utah. CFI will maintain its main headquarters larger team of professionals are Openly Dawkins, the noted evolutionary biol- in Amherst, New York. Both CFI and RDFRS Secular and the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES). I look for- ogist and author, will become a member have executive offices in Washington, D.C., ward to adding my voice to CFI’s focus of the CFI Board of Directors, along with and these will be combined. CFI branches on promoting secular humanism and the two other directors of RDFRS, once the in Los Angeles and other cities will be re- fighting the proliferation of pseudosci- ence. I am also especially delighted merger is complete. He has long been a tained. that Robyn Blumner, the present CEO fellow of the Committee for Skeptical In- “I am absolutely delighted that I’m of RDFRS, is to become the President quiry and a prominent advocate for good closing out my tenure at CFI by helping to and CEO of the whole organization. Ron Lindsay is truly (forgive the cliché) a science and opponent of pseudoscience in bring about a merger between RDFRS and hard act to follow. If anyone can do it, all its forms. CFI,” Lindsay said in the announcement. Robyn can.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 5 Center for Inquiry and that their president Note to SI Readers from and CEO, Robyn Blumner, will be the new CEO of the combined organizations, which New CEO Robyn Blumner will work under the name of the Center for Inquiry. I know what you must be thinking: An CFI and RDFRS both seek to make the atheist, ACLU-loving lawyer, and writer world a better place for all, religious and known for legal and ideological battles nonreligious alike, by untangling faith and with Mormons in Utah and evangelicals in pseudoscience from government, pro- Florida, what can she know about science moting critical thinking and skepticism, and skepticism? and advocating for science and reason in And you would have a point. all areas of public life. Each organization My chosen profession and, to be frank, brings unique strengths to the table, and my skill set lean toward the humanities. given the similarity in their missions, these But science fills me with awe. I come from two organizations are an excellent match. a family in which science was held in the This is a momentous event not only for highest esteem. My dad graduated from Ronald A. Lindsay: our organization but for the entire secular the Bronx High School of Science, and had his love for soccer not interfered—he ‘A Momentous Event’ and skeptic movement. This new Center for Inquiry is now the largest freethought played semi-pro for a time—he would have organization in the United States, and the gone into biology as a career. Instead, he Ron Lindsay posted this blog entry on the taught public school and shared his pas- combined talents, resources, and passion CFI website January 21, 2016: sion for science (and soccer) with genera- of CFI and RDFRS will allow the Center for tions of students. As you might recall, last year I announced Inquiry to have a greater impact than ever. that I would be stepping down as pres- We begin working together as one unified ident and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, organization beginning right now. to make way for new leadership in 2016 And I can’t wait for you to get to know “I am thrilled and honored [see “The Future of CFI,” S  I, Robyn Blumner. An extremely accom- to be CEO of the Center September/October 2015]. I said then that plished and deeply respected lawyer, ac- I wanted to give the CFI board of directors tivist, journalist, and nonprofit executive, for Inquiry, a place where ample time to find a highly qualified new Robyn has lifted RDFRS to new heights. evidence matters.” chief executive. Consistent with my hopes There is no one better at this time to lead and expectations, the board has found a the Center for Inquiry. She will formally be- talented, experienced leader for CFI. come CFI’s CEO on Monday, January 25. Even before my connection to the Rich- As for Richard Dawkins himself, CFI is ard Dawkins Foundation, I was an avid Each organization brings thrilled to be associated with one of the reader of Richard Dawkins’s books. Like preeminent public intellectuals of our time, Carl Sagan, Richard is a master commu- unique strengths to the and we’re all eager to take full advantage nicator of science to a lay audience. For table, and given the of his wisdom, intelligence, and eloquence me, these men provided a window into the as perhaps the world’s foremost communi- workings of the evidence-based world. similarity in their cator of science and secularism. As to the work of the Center for Inquiry, missions, these two For me, I will retain the title of president some may see skepticism and secularism of CFI for a brief period during the transi- as distinct and separate endeavors. I see organizations are an tion. I will do all I can to ensure that this them as overlapping and reinforcing. They excellent match. new CFI gets off to a smooth and success- derive from the same source: a willingness ful start. to put truth claims to the test. And when Surely you will have a lot of ques- that happens, humanity benefits in pro- What I could not have expected, but I tions, and we’ll do our best to answer found and tangible ways. am delighted to share with you now, is that them. For now, you can get more in- I am thrilled and honored to be CEO in finding a wonderful new CEO, CFI has formation about this merger at our of the Center for Inquiry, a place where also made an unprecedented move to be- F.A.Q. at this link (http://www.center evidence matters, and the truth gets puts come stronger and more effective than ever. forinquiry.net/pages/cfi_dawkins_faq/). through its paces for the good of us all. I am delighted to tell you today that the And please join me in warmly welcom- Thank you to everyone for the kind and Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason ing Robyn Blumner, Richard Dawkins, and generous welcome. & Science has agreed to merge with the all at RDFRS to the Center for Inquiry.

6 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer [ NEWS AND COMMENT

Lumosity Fined Over False Alan Alda to Receive ‘Brain Game’ Claims NAS Public Welfare Medal

B R

In early January the company consumer testimonials featured Actor Alan Alda may be most famous for his behind Lumosity, the popular on [its] website had been solic- character Hawkeye Pierce on the classic TV “brain training” program adver- ited through contests that prom- series M*A*S*H, but since then Alda has devoted tised as helping prevent cogni- ised significant prizes, including much of his career to television programs and tive impairment, “agreed to set- a free iPad, a lifetime Lumosity other forums promoting and advocating for tle Federal Trade Commission subscription, and a round-trip science. (FTC) charges alleging that to San Francisco.” The company In recognition of his “extraordinary applica- they deceived consumers with was also fined $50 million but will tion of the skills honed as an actor to commu- unfounded claims that Lumosity only have to pay $2 million in re- nicating science on television and stage, and by games can help users perform dress and notify its clients of the teaching scientists innovative techniques that better at work and in school, and FTC action. allow them to tell their stories to the public,” the reduce or delay cognitive impair- National Academy of Sciences is presenting its ment associated with age and “Lumosity preyed 2016 Public Welfare Medal to Alda, whom the other serious health conditions,” Academy described as an actor, director, writer, according to a press release from on consumers’ fears and science communicator. The medal is the the FTC. about age-related Academy’s most prestigious award, established in The company sold subscrip- cognitive decline.” 1914 and presented annually to honor extraordi- tions to its “brain building” prod- nary use of science for the public good. ucts and services, with options —The FTC “Through so many different venues, Alan ranging from monthly ($14.95) to Alda has been a tireless advocate for science, in- lifetime ($299.95) memberships. viting millions of people to engage in the thrills “Lumosity preyed on consumers’ Medical researchers have been of scientific discovery,” said Susan Wessler, fears about age-related cognitive skeptical for many years about home secretary of the Academy and chair of the decline, suggesting their games the efficacy of “brain training” selection committee for the award. “His ability to could stave off memory loss, de- products such as those marketed help researchers find their own voices about their mentia, and even Alzheimer’s under brand names including Lu- work is unparalleled.” disease,” said Jessica Rich, direc- mosity and Brain Gym. In 2014, “Alan Alda is a gifted communicator, but just tor of the FTC’s Bureau of Con- the Stanford Center on Longevity as impressively, he has generously shared his tal- sumer Protection. “But Lumosity and the Berlin Max Planck Insti- simply did not have the science to tute for Human Development back up its ads.” Count II of the asked leading cognitive psychol- FTC’s complaint states: ogists and neuroscientists to ex- Defendants have represented, amine evidence for the efficacy of directly or indirectly, expressly brain games and programs. They or by implication, that training issued a statement saying in part with the Lumosity Program that “We object to the claim that reduces cognitive impairment associated with health condi- brain games offer consumers a tions, including Turner syn- scientifically grounded avenue to drome, post-traumatic stress reduce or reverse cognitive decline disorder, attention deficit when there is no compelling sci- hyperactivity disorder, trau- matic brain injury, stroke, and entific evidence to date that they side effects of chemotherapy. do.” The best medical research The representations . . . are shows that simple—and free— false or were not substantiated physical exercise is the best way at the time the representations to maintain cognitive function were made. throughout life and into old age. The FTC also accused Lu- mosity of misleading consumers Benjamin Radford is the deputy edi- by “failing to disclose that some tor of the S  I.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 7 ents by training thousands of scientists Scientists Urge Supreme Court: to share their research with the public in Reject Pseudoscientific Testimony ways that build lasting connections,” said National Academy of Sciences President for Texas Abortion Case Ralph J. Cicerone. “We are pleased to present him our highest award.” P F Alda’s acting career on television, film, and stage spans more than five de- Eminent scientists and public intellectuals are backing the Center for Inquiry (CFI) cades. His role as science communicator in a brief to the Supreme Court criticizing the state of Texas’s onerous restrictions is equally distinguished, noted the Acad- on abortion providers. CFI’s brief argues that the alleged expert scientific testimony emy. As host of PBS’s Scientific American used to justify the restrictions is flawed pseudoscience and the Court cannot con- Frontiers from 1993 to 2005, Alda in- stitutionally rely on it. terviewed hundreds of researchers about In Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole , plaintiffs argue that restrictions on abortion pro- new discoveries in science, technology, viders passed in Texas in 2013 impose an undue burden on women’s constitutionally and medicine. He also hosted two mini- protected right to end a pregnancy. Since only a few clinics are able to meet the law’s series for PBS: The Human Spark , which strictures, it will result in mass clinic closures and sharply restricted access to abortion explored what makes humans unique, services in the state. and Brains on Trial , which examined how The CFI brief argues that Texas’s claim that the regulations protect women’s health neuroscientific data from brain mapping is contrary to the science and facts. As it explains, Vincent Rue, a long-discredited technology could be used as evidence anti-abortion partisan with no relevant medical credentials, coordinated the testimony in to inform the court system. On Broad- support of the state’s claim. Yet in every case in which Rue has coordinated testimony to way, Alda appeared in QED as physicist defend regulations requiring abortion doctors to have hospital admitting privileges—such Richard Feynman. He also wrote the as those at the heart of this case—the evidence presented has been discounted by the play Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie trial court. and Dear Albert , a reading for the stage of Federal trial courts have found that the unqualified Rue substantially ghostwrote Einstein’s letters. By the spring of 2016, the testimony of alleged expert witnesses in a number of cases. His efforts are agen- Dear Albert will have been presented in da-driven pseudoscience that seeks to manufacture controversy, the CFI brief says. New York City, Moscow, and Brisbane. Nicholas Little, legal director of the Center for Inquiry, said: Alda’s passion for helping scientists This case will affect the medical well-being of millions of women, and it is communicate with the public led to the unthinkable that the Supreme Court of the United States might make such a establishment in 2009 of the Alan Alda monumental decision based on such flawed testimony, that offers only misrep- resentation and misdirection. While the Center for Inquiry as an organization Center for Communicating Science wholeheartedly supports women’s abortion rights, for this case we come to the at Stony Brook University’s School of Court purely as advocates of science and reason. Justice Kennedy, in the last Journalism, where he is also a visiting abortion case to reach the Court, made clear that the Supreme Court has a professor. Alda and the Center have duty to independently examine the facts of cases where constitutional rights are trained thousands of scientists through at issue. The Court has wisely rejected fabricated, pseudoscientific evidence in previous cases, and we strongly urge the justices to do the same here. workshops at universities and other sci- ence-oriented institutions around the “We hope the Court is able to put abortion politics aside and focus on the illegiti- country. macy of the medical claims propping up the restrictions,” said Robyn Blumner, president Alda is a member of the board for and CEO of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science and CEO of the the World Science Festival and has won Center for Inquiry. “When science claims are used to infringe a constitutional right they numerous awards, including the 2010 had better be valid, but that’s not the case here.” Kavli Science Journalism Award, the The brief argues that the state’s testimony, as coordinated by Rue, “fails to demon- National Science Board’s Public Service strate even a rational relation between the restrictions and the State’s legitimate interest Award, the Scientific American Lifetime in women’s health sufficient to overcome the burden that these restrictions create for Achievement Award, and the Ameri- women in Texas who are in need of essential and legally protected medical care.” can Chemical Society Award for Public The amicus brief, filed by the Center for Inquiry, was signed by the Richard Dawkins Service. In 2014, he was named a fellow Foundation for Reason & Science, along with over forty individual scientists and experts of the American Physical Society for his in reason and critical thinking, including psychologist Steven Pinker, anthropologist Eug- work in helping scientists improve their enie C. Scott, physicist Lawrence Krauss, skeptic icon James Randi, social psychologist communication skills. Carol Tavris, astrophysicist Jill Tarter, and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. The Public Welfare Medal will be The complete brief can be downloaded at www.centerforinquiry.net/TexasAbor- presented to Alan Alda on May 1 during tionAmicus. the Academy’s 153rd annual meeting. The case was argued before the Supreme Court March 2, 2016.

8 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer [ NEWS AND COMMENT Italian Court Acquits Six Mathematical Model Debunks Convicted Seismologists Conspiracies

B R B R

One of the hallmarks of conspiracy theories is that those involved must keep silent about it. After all, it’s not much of a conspiracy if people in the know share their knowledge. But this leads to a thorny problem for believers: How could these con- spiracies remain intact year after year and decade after decade? Is it plausible that the world’s governments have successfully colluded over the past half-century (across multiple presidents and administrations) to hide evidence of alien contact? Is it rea- sonable to think that oil companies have successfully prevented the public from learning about engines that run on air or water? In late November 2015, the Italian Supreme Court In this Internet age, could these secrets really remain hidden? formally and finally overturned the convictions of six scientists who had been charged with manslaughter for failing to adequately warn of the dangers of an Many conspiracy theories claim that those April 2009 earthquake that left 309 people dead. The seismologists had participated in a meeting a week involved in the cover-up have gone out of before the earthquake to discuss the dangers of recent their way to announce and describe their smaller tremors in the town of L’Aquila. The original judge had found that their risk assessment of the evil plans to the world. threat of a larger earthquake had been superficial and inadequate, resulting in townspeople being wrongly reassured that they would be safe in their homes when the earthquake struck. A new study published January 26, 2016, in the online The complicated case began in 2010 when the six open-access journal PLoS ONE (see http://tinyurl.com/ scientists were investigated and charged, resulting in z5ps7ke) examined how likely it would be that a given con- six-year prison sentences handed down in 2012; the spiracy of silence could be maintained over time. The study, by convictions were appealed and overturned in 2014. David Robert Grimes of the University of Oxford, notes: That appeal was itself appealed by prosecutors who Historical examples of exposed conspiracies do exist and it may asked that the convictions be reinstated. This final be difficult for people to differentiate between reasonable and ruling by the Supreme Court puts an end to the mat- dubious assertions. In this work, we establish a simple mathe- ter for all involved. matical model for conspiracies involving multiple actors with The five-judge panel acquitted the scientists but time, which yields failure probability for any given conspiracy. upheld the conviction of Bernardo De Bernardinis, at Failure, in this case, means that the conspiracy is exposed and the time an official in Italy’s civil protection depart- verified for all the world to see. ment. The judges determined that De Bernardinis Grimes examined four popular conspiracy theories (that un- had in fact wrongly reassured the public, while the six safe vaccinations are being covered up; that the moon landings seismic scientists had simply stated that the chance of were faked; that Big Pharma is hiding a cure for cancer; and a major earthquake remained the same and thus had that climate change is a fraud), then estimated how many peo- neither raised undue alarm nor downplayed the risk ple would have to be involved to maintain a cover-up for each of the quake that soon followed. De Bernardinis’s jail scenario, and finally calculated how long it would take for the time was reduced to two years. truth to be made public—in other words, for the conspiracy The case was widely watched—and condemned— to be broken. Grimes calculated that all of these conspiracies by scientists around the world concerned about being would have been revealed in less than four years. For compari- criminally charged for not accurately predicting in- herently unpredictable natural disasters such as son, Grimes examined three true, real-life conspiracies. earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. The double Grimes concluded: tragedy of the earthquake and its fallout highlights The analysis here predicts that even with parameter estimates the difficulty scientists have in trying to communicate favorable to conspiratorial leanings that the conspiracies ana- absolute and relative risk to the general public. lyzed tend rapidly towards collapse. Even if there was a con- certed effort, the sheer number of people required for the sheer

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 9 Take action with us.

You can help promote science, reason, and secular values. Imagine a world where religion and pseudoscience do not influence public policy—a world where religion no longer enjoys a privileged position. The Center for Inquiry is working toward these goals and educating the public to use science, reason, and secular values rather than religion and pseudoscience to establish public policy. The Center for Inquiry advances its mission through advocacy, education, and outreach programs. No other organizations advance science and secularism on as many fronts as CFI and its affiliates, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science.

Donate today. When you make a donation to CFI, you become a member of a worldwide movement of humanists, skeptics, atheists, and freethinkers—all working together to promote the secular worldview and give voice to your values. Our major goals include: I Protecting the rights of nonbelievers I Advocating for science-based medicine I Sustaining and expanding the secular movement Make your most generous gift today, or request information on planned giving or making a bequest. To receive a brochure elaborating on what we are doing to achieve our important goals and how you can help, please complete and return the attached card or contact us at: Center for Inquiry Development Office PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226 for Reason & Science 1.800.818.7071

[email protected] for Reason & Science www.centerforinquiry.net/donate [ NEWS AND COMMENT

scale of hypothetical scientific deceptions would inextricably involved in the cover-up have gone out of their way to an- undermine these nascent conspiracies. For a conspiracy of nounce and describe their evil plans to the world. They say even only a few thousand actors, intrinsic failure would arise within decades. For hundreds of thousands, such failure all the signs are there; it’s all laid out in front of you, if you would be assured within less than half a decade. just understand how to interpret the clues and signs. For ex- ample, the Denver airport is the center of several conspiracy Think of all the people who would have to be involved theories, ranging from some Nazi connection to being over a (bribed, threatened, silenced, or even killed) to maintain a labyrinth of top-secret underground bunkers for the world’s cover-up of an event on that scale. The 2012 Sandy Hook 1 percenters to survive a nuclear war. As evidence of these elementary school shooting—which some conspiracy theo- claims, believers point to murals in the airport depicting rists claim did not happen but was instead an elaborate hoax World War II–era genocide and environmental degradation, staged as a pretext to confiscate America’s guns—is a good along with a message of global unity, peace, and hope. All the example. As a practical matter, such an event would be essentially clues you need to understand the conspiracy are right there impossible to fake. Not only would dozens or hundreds of in the artwork—if you just know how to read the symbols. eyewitnesses, police officers, “crisis actors,” and others be Similarly, those involved in the alleged conspiracy to hide involved (and somehow silenced), but there’s the (presum- the fact that Paul McCartney died in the 1960s cleverly left ably) undeniable deaths of real people. If the whole thing was clues in various Beatles album cover art that revealed the faked, that means that the twenty students and six teachers truth to those who knew what to look for. There were dozens killed in the event never really existed—that all the employ- of references to McCartney’s demise in photos and lyrics, all ment, school, medical, and other records dating back decades cited as proof and evidence of the conspiracy. It was convinc- were faked, along with their friends and families pretending ing to many people—and, of course, wrong. to have known them. Conspiracy theorists believe that this Grimes’s calculations confirm something known for cen- scenario is somehow more plausible than the unheard-of no- turies: Conspiracies are most effective when they involve a tion that one mentally ill kid with a gun attacked the school. small number of people. As Benjamin Franklin sagely noted, Paradoxically, many conspiracy theories claim that those “Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.”

There’s much more available on our website! Skep ti cal In quir er Here’s just a sample of what you’ll find: Good News for Grouches: Happiness Is Overrated Psychologist Stuary Vyse takes a closer look at the widely accepted belief that happiness is crucial to a fulfilling life: “Many of the purveyors of happiness point to research showing that happy people live longer, with the clear implication that, if you want to extend your life, you should go out and find more bliss,” he writes. But is it true? Newborn Babies Don’t Have Sex, So Why Do We Vaccinate Them for a Sexually Transmitted Disease? Harriet Hall, the “SkepDoc,” examines a seemingly simple question about the need to vaccinate children: Babies don’t have sex, abuse drugs, or share razors. And mothers can be tested for the Hepatitis B virus; if they don’t have it, there is no risk of them transmitting it to their babies. So what are the valid reasons to vaccinate newborns?

For more online columns, features, and special content, visit www.csicop.org.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 11 [ INVESTIGATIVE FILES JOE NICKELL Joe Nickell, PhD, is CSI’s senior research fellow. A former stage magician and private detective, he is author of numerous books, including The Science of Ghosts (2012).

Gallows Ghosts? Mystery at Brisbane’s Tower Mill

ccording to The Ghost Guide to of a survey party, including a number Australia (Davis 1998, 224), one of convicts, awoke at their bush camp Aor perhaps both of the ghosts of some thirty kilometers south of Mount two Aborigines—convicted of murder Lindesay. Surveyor Granville Stapy- and hanged at Tower Mill in Brisbane lton—who exhibited a low regard for in 1841—may still be seen there. indigenous people—sent five convicts Residents in the neighborhood in the to clear a passage over a creek while he mid-twentieth century reported that remained at camp with several Aborig- “sometimes when they looked up at inal men and two other convicts, Wil- the small window facing the street they liam Tuck and James Dunlop (Dawson could see a faint glow and a figure inside 2009, 12). the tower, swinging gently from side to Soon three of the Aborigines left side.” No sources are given, but vari- camp but returned with another, all now ous online sites repeat the claims (e.g., armed with spears. Two went to Sta- “Tower Mill Ghost” 2016), and Tower pylton’s tent and two to Tuck’s, while Mill is a stop—sometimes even a point yet another knocked the observing of origin—for ghost tours. Dunlop senseless with a waddy (a club). I became acquainted with the old Figure 1. Brisbane’s historic Tower Mill is reportedly When the work party returned from the tower (Figure 1) in October 2015 when haunted. (Sketch by Joe Nickell) creek about noon, they found Stapylton I stayed for several days at a hotel just and Tuck murdered. Abandoning the down the street from the historic site. (I was dismantled. injured Dunlop, they fled back toward was there to speak at the annual Austra- From its inception as a grist mill, the Brisbane. A group of thirty or so Ab- lian Skeptics National Convention, Oc- four-story structure became (at one time original men meanwhile returned to the tober 16–18, 2015, spending some two or another) a signal station, a fire tower, scene to strip the bodies and loot the weeks in Australia and New Zealand first home of the Queensland Museum, camp. One Aboriginal man came to and conducting several investigations.) a radio-experiment site, a pioneer televi- Dunlop’s aid, and he later managed to Here is my solution to the mystery of sion broadcasting tower, and (presently) crawl into the bush. The next evening, the ghosts in the tower. a weather observatory (“Old Windmill” exhausted and hungry, he ran into a 2015; Dawson 2009, 22). Once, of search party that had been alerted by the Background course, it briefly served as a gallows. fleeing convicts (Dunlop 1840). Tower Mill is the oldest remaining Murder A gruesome scene awaited the search- building in Brisbane. Constructed of ers. Tuck’s body had been stripped and sandstone blocks and brick in 1828, it There had been conflicts between the partially burned, while Stapylton’s was was at that time encircled (about a third Aborigines and British occupants of found so “torn and mangled” (possibly of the way up) by an exterior balcony. the penal colony of Moreton Bay since by the marauders’ dogs) that it could not The tower was built as a windmill for the 1800s. However, with the seizure of be legally identified. Three of five iden- grinding grain, especially corn. That was hundreds of square miles of Aboriginal tified Aboriginal suspects were captured. the main staple of the diet of convicts, land and the arrival of squatters in One died before trial, but two others, who were transported from Britain to 1840, the native people began a coordi- named Mullan and Ningavil, faced the Australian penal colonies (beginning nated response, largely involving attacks Sydney Supreme Court in May 1841. with Sydney in 1788). on livestock. To this powder keg, sur- The prosecution focused on the murder The mill was outfitted with veyors came waving firebrands. They of Tuck whose body had been identifi- wind-powered sails, but when these were intruding on Aboriginal land filled able, but, since it was impossible to say proved unreliable a treadmill, powered by with cultural sites (Dawson 2009, 4–6; who struck the death blow, the accused convicts, was installed. When the convict Chambers 1999, 131–139). were tried as accessories. They pro- settlement closed in 1842, the treadmill On Sunday, May 31, 1840, members claimed their innocence, but—although 12 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Dunlop swore they were not the at- 1993, 250) that “frequently protrudes located inside the structure, the source tackers—other convicts claimed to have from the mouth” (Spitz 1993, 463). This is typically not an interior one at all. seen them in the vicinity, and they were confirms reports of the “short drop” of Rather, as explained (with examples) in wearing clothes stolen from the camp. the hanging. my The Science of Ghosts, it is a celestial They were convicted and sentenced to It also casts further doubt on the or terrestrial light being reflected by the death (Dawson 2009, 12–20, 27). hanging-ghost story. Not only is that window glass (Nickell 2012, 113–114). This illusion has fooled many. Hanging often-repeated tale effectively discred- ited by the historical error of placing I conducted experiments at Tower The tower served as an improvised gal- the hanging inside the tower, but (and Mill on two successive nights. Various lows for the men’s hanging on Saturday this is a more subtle point) there was no effects are possible, such as the glow ap- morning, July 3, 1841. While ghost mention of the hanging ghost having parently emanating from the window in raconteurs more than a century later grotesque features—as did at least one of question shown in Figure 2, but are actu- would claim people had seen through the two executed Aborigines. Moreover, ally a reflection of a nearby light. a window a hanged man swinging back the description of the ghost does not give These experiments, along with his- and forth, it seemed to me unlikely the any indication that it was Aboriginal, torical research on the execution of two hanging was carried out inside the tower. and only a single ghost is mentioned. convicted murderers at the site, indicate That it stood on a hill suggested the that the reported ghostly phenomena at hanging was to be a very public display, Tower Mill are part of this—and not I not one hidden from view. some supernatural—world. I investigated and found that this Acknowledgments was indeed the case. The hanging was I am exceedingly grateful to John and Mary Frantz exterior to the tower, and a large crowd for their financial assistance, which helps make many of my investigations possible. I also thank gathered, including a hundred or so Ab- Ross Balch, president of Brisbane Skeptic Society, origines. The Foreman of Works in the for inviting me to Australia, and both Cassandra Brisbane settlement, Andrew Petrie, Perryman of Rainbow Beach, Queensland, and Tim Binga, CFI Libraries director, for crucial provided a strong round beam that he research assistance. extended from an upper window. The rope was hung from this beam, its noose References Figure 2. Experimental photograph recreates a dangling to the balcony. Possibly a trap- ghostly glow reported in one of the tower’s windows. Chambers, John H. 1999. Australia: A Traveller’s door was put in the floor, or, more likely, (Photo by Joe Nickell) History. Gloucestershire, Great Britain: The Windrush Press. the prisoners may have been dispatched Davis, Richard. 1998. The Ghost Guide to Australia. by pushing them off the balcony (Knight I suspect that the ghost tale—or Sydney, NSW, Australia: Bantam Books. 1892; Dawson 2009, 23). In any case, someone’s apparitional experience that Dawson, Christopher. 2009. The Hanging at the Brisbane Windmill. Fairfield Gardens, the drop was a short one, resulting in the inspired it—was prompted by knowl- Queensland, Australia: Boggo Road Gaol condemned being slowly strangled to edge of the fact of a hanging at the Historical Society. death. (In later executions a “long drop” tower, while, at the same time, that Dunlop, James. 1840. Deposition of June 7; cited in Dawson 2009, 13. was employed as a humane measure, knowledge was factually limited. Thus, Geberth, Vernon J. 1993. Practical Homicide allowing the body to fall far enough to like many other apparitional experiences Investigation, 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC create a force sufficient to break the per- that have the ghost supposedly returning Press. Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. 2000. The Encyclopedia son’s neck.) “to reenact its death” (Guiley 2000, 150), of Ghosts and Spirits, 2nd ed. New York: A ten-year-old boy who watched the the Tower Mill tale is based on a false Checkmark Books. gruesome event was foremen Petrie’s re-creation and is therefore itself obvi- Knight, J.J. 1892. In the early days–XI. The Queenslander (Brisbane), February 27, 402– son, Tom. A convict led him by the hand ously false: apparently the work of some 403. Available online at http://nla.gov.au/ to one of the dead men’s coffins where he percipient’s faulty imagination or the cre- nla.news-article19821754; accessed January saw the man’s face. As Tom Petrie’s own ation of a writer of fakelore. 19, 2016. Nickell, Joe. 2012. The Science of Ghosts: Searching daughter would later write (Petrie 1904, Light in the Tower for Spirits of the Dead. Amherst, NY: 245), “The eyes were staring, and the The other element of the alleged Prometheus Books. open mouth had the tongue protruding The Old Windmill, Brisbane. 2015. Available Tower Mill apparition, we recall, is the online at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_ from it. The horror of the ghastly sight accompanying glow—seen allegedly Old_Windmill,_Bristane; accessed October so frightened the child that it set him 12, 2015. by unspecified eyewitnesses who had Petrie, Constance Campbell. 1904. Tom Petrie’s crying, and he could not get over it nor “looked up at the small window facing reminiscences of early Queensland. Brisbane, forget it for long afterwards.” the street.” A light-in-the-window motif Australia: Watson and Ferguson. Quoted in Hanging Specter Dawson 2009, 28. is common in ghostlore. Spitz, Werner U. 1993. Spitz and Fisher’s The dead man’s features that so trauma- The usual explanation for such lights Medicolegal Investigation of Death, 3rd ed. tized young Tom Petrie are consistent is a simple illusion. While the glow or Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Tower Mill Ghost. 2016. Available online at with a strangulation death. Such a vic- apparent light source (such as a supposed www.brisbanehistory.com/ghosts_of_ tim will often bite his tongue (Geberth ghost lantern) does indeed appear to be Brisbane.html; accessed January 7, 2016.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 13 [ PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS ROBERT SHEAFFER Sheaffer’s “Psychic Vibrations” column has appeared in the S  I for forty years; its highlights were published as a book (Create Space, 2011). Sheaffer blogs at www.BadUFOs. com, and his website is www.debunker.com.

New X-Files Renews Cover-Up Conspiracy Claims

s just about everybody knows by Fox Mulder would love to use to try On the other hand, many skeptics feel now, the phenomenally successful and persuade others of the existence that this kind of pandering to conspir- ATV series The X-Files, which ran of extraterrestrial activity. We also acy theorists is not appropriate for a pulled five documents we think his from 1993–2002, was relaunched in skeptical partner, Agent Dana Scully, government agency, especially for one 2016 with mostly the same cast and could use to prove there is a scien- with the gravitas of the CIA. many of the same themes. In a typi- tific explanation for UFO sightings. “Podesta” is of course John Podesta, cal episode, FBI Special Agents Dana (https://www.cia.gov/news-infor- who was Chief of Staff to President Bill Scully and Fox Mulder trace down mation/blog/2016/take-a-peek-in- Clinton and a counselor to President to-our-x-files.html) tantalizing evidence of extraterrestrial Obama. He is currently the chairman or other bizarre happenings but never of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential quite secure proof. (As if the FBI campaign. He is well known as a UFO would be on the outside of a conspiracy proponent, and on February 13, 2015, involving UFOs and such, trying to People obviously have not Podesta tweeted, “Finally, my biggest find out what is happening, instead of yet had their fill of UFO failure of 2014: Once again not secur- quietly pulling strings from the inside.) ing the #disclosure of the UFO files.” The new episodes follow closely the and conspiracy tales. At a campaign stop in Conway, New tried-and-true conspiracy themes of Hampshire, on December 29, 2015, the original series; people obviously Hillary Clinton was asked about UFOs have not yet had their fill of UFO and by Daymond Steer, a reporter for the conspiracy tales. Conway Sun. She replied, “I think we So strong is the interest in the new While it was clearly stated that may have been (visited already). We series that on January 21 the CIA actu- these files were first released back in don’t know for sure.” ally announced a special package of re- 1978, that fact escaped many reporters leased documents pertaining to UFOs. Clinton also said she would like to who wrote that the CIA has “just re- look into Area 51, a secret military The CIA Blog says: leased” them. However, the fact of the base in Nevada that has long been Take a Peek Into Our “X-Files” announcement is being interpreted by rumored to contain aliens. At first, some as highly significant. UFO author she called it Area 54 and then cor- The CIA declassified hundreds Grant Cameron wrote on the Facebook rected herself. Hillary Clinton added that the chairman of her campaign, of documents in 1978 detailing group UFO Updates: the Agency’s investigations into John Podesta, is a huge fan of UFO Unidentified Fly ing Objects (UFOs). Obama seems to have asked for lore. She said he enjoys a sci-fi The documents date primarily from them to be highlighted in a positive show on the FX network. “He has the late 1940s and 1950s. light because of X-files, the same made me personally pledge we are as he allowed Chase Brandon to going to get the information out,” To help navigate the vast amount of come out with a book reviewed 8 said Clinton. “One way or another. data contained in our FOIA UFO times by the CIA security people Maybe we could have, like, a task collection, we’ve decided to high- to tell us Roswell was real and their force to go to Area 51.” light a few documents both skeptics [sic] were bodies which happened on and believers will find interesting. the 65th anniversary of the Roswell However, her husband, the former Below you will find five documents crash. Podesta may have requested president, was asked about Area 51 we think X-Files character Agent the favor. when he appeared on the late-night 14 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Jimmy Kimmel Show in 2014. He said, “There are no aliens there.” Grant Cameron admits to prodding Steer to ask the UFO question of as many presidential candidates as possible. A few weeks later Steer had a chance to ask the question of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. Cameron wrote that Steer told him, “Bernie had no inter- est in the UFO question and gave me a flippant response.” On the Republican side, John Kasich told Steer that he did not believe in UFOs, while Ted Cruz answered that, if elected, he might check into Area 51. Cameron noted that can- didate Mike Huckabee already went ing us that this nonexistent object is “on 17, 2015, astronomer and UFO skep- on the record on the UFO question a crash course with the earth.” A piece tic James McGaha was surprised to in the 2008 campaign: “I believe by an anonymous author (whose gram- receive an email from another astron- in G.O.D. not U.F.O.” (http://goo. gl/51hmjo) mar could use some improvement) on omer asking him if he was familiar Beforeitsnews.com (February 3, 2016) with an alleged image of Nibiru taken A closing note about The X-Files: warns that “NIBIRU will hit EARTH on an all-sky camera at Grasslands series creator Chris Carter was the lun- at MARCH 2016—Important NASA Observatory, the private observatory cheon speaker at CSICOP’s Twentieth Employee confirms the NIBIRU ex- in southern Arizona that McGaha Anniversary World Skeptics Confer- istence.” If this prediction is correct, operates along with Dr. Tim Hunter. ence in 1996 in Amherst, New York. then you won’t be reading this, because He was not. Many observatories, even It turned out to be an extremely pop- you’ll be dead. some very small ones, operate all-sky ular event. A few months before that, Survivalist David Hines, also known cameras that post an image to the Episode 20 of Season 3 of The X-Files as “Doomsday Dave,” reminds us “sim- Internet every few minutes. (This is aired on April 12, 1996. It took place ply surviving the Planet X flyby is key.” another reason most astronomers are in “Klass County.” The two fake alien He notes: pilots were named “Jacques Sheaffer” so skeptical about UFO sightings: the What can we do to take shelter once and “Robert Vallee.” The M.P. who big, detailed UFOs that people keep Planet X arrives and it rains meteors? reporting have an amazing ability to later arrested them was Sgt. Hynek. I The only thing that I can suggest is, think most of our readers can figure out if you have a cold cellar, that would avoid these cameras.) A YouTube video where those names come from! be the strongest part of your home, (since removed) was posted on the so you might be advised to make a channel of “The Freak’s Lair,” pur- * * * shelter out of that. Those of you who porting to show Nibiru on Grassland’s live in high-rises or condominiums, I all-sky camera as the sun was rising— Watch out: 2016 is claimed to be am sorry to say, you are screwed. The only suggestion is, if you have an craters and all! What was it? That big, another year in which the supposed underground parking spot, then that round white spot was just a patch of destructive planet Nibiru encounters would offer some protection, but if frost from dew that had frozen on Earth, threatening to wipe out civili- your building takes a direct hit, then the dome that covers the lens. As the zation. Also known as “Planet X,” it is you stand the risk of being trapped sun rose, “Nibiru” melted away, which said to come into the inner solar system under all the rubble, so it is a gamble, but what else can you do? was interpreted as it fading away into every 3,600 years or so, wreaking havoc Obviously, with the debris raining the daylight sky. How Nibiru could be in its wake. The last time we were down from the tail of Planet X, there visible only at Grasslands—and not to threatened by Nibiru was May 2003, will be many properties that will catch according to a woman named Nancy fire, so what I did is purchase a couple everybody else in the region—was not of fire extinguishers, not expecting to Lieder who supposedly channels extra- explained. put out a large house fire, but it may But Exopolitics guru Alfred Lam- terrestrial messages from the Zetas and be enough to get you out of whatever has acquired a lot of followers. Some building you reside. If I survive this bre ment Webre takes a positive view people posted photos of pretty much apocalypse, I still have to eat, so I of the supposed impending encounter. anything in the sky and claimed it was decided to buy a bunch of mason jars He suggested in 2013, “What if an up- so I can pickle eggs and beets, etc.; coming flyby of Planet X/Nibiru that Nibiru. When Nibiru did not show up they will last a long time. (http://goo. and the predicted “pole shift” and other gl/tdndqP) newly released data is suggesting will Earth changes did not occur, Leider start in 2016 is in fact a catalyst for pos- promised it would be coming soon. These days Nibiru is turning up itive change, rather than a ‘Destroyer’?” I Conspiracy theorists are now warn- in the strangest places. On December (http://goo.gl/pgE0GF).

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 15 [ NOTES ON A STRANGE WORLD MASSIMO POLIDORO Massimo Polidoro is an investigator of the paranormal, lecturer, and cofounder and head of CICAP, the Italian skeptics group. His website is at www.massimopolidoro.com.

Theresa Caputo: The Fake Long Island Medium

heresa Caputo, a self-proclaimed Caputo, in fact, seems to be the These are techniques that undoubtedly psychic whose Italian origins next evolutionary step of contemporary require a quick mind, ready to grasp any Tare quite evident (she was born mediums after the likes of Rosemary information coming from the sitter and Theresa Brigandi), has been a celebrity Altea, John Edward, Sylvia Browne, convincingly sell it back to believers as for quite some time now thanks to her and James Van Praagh: performers if it came from the spirits. reality TV show Long Island Medium. who, from the stage, point to members Caputo, however, has taken a step However, all of her apparently para- of the audience and claim to receive forward. Instead of taking risks with normal demonstrations are perfectly communications from the dead on their straight cold reading—guessing and in- explainable and, interestingly, most of behalf. In the cases of Altea, Edward, evitably making mistakes—she prefers them would not have been possible Browne, or Van Praagh, the use of old to come well prepared to her shows. only a few years ago. cold reading techniques is quite clear. To begin with, Caputo places in

PQ.

16 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Converting the ‘Skeptics’ the front rows those who she already Award for Performance from the James knows, for whom she already has per- Karen Stollznow, a linguist, author, Randi Educational Foundation. formed in the past and about whom she and skeptical investigator, wrote about Today mediums really have an easy has already learned everything there is Caputo’s exaggerated displays of emo- life. One wonders what Margery Cran- to know. But her great idea (or perhaps tion: don, D.D. Home, Eusapia Palladino, that of her staff) was to take full ad- There is rarely a scene where she isn’t and all of the famous mediums of the vantage of what modernity has to offer. in tears or claiming empathetic abil- past would have given for a chance In particular, it is thanks to the infor- ities, such as, “I could feel your tears to amaze their clients in such an easy mation found on Facebook and other running down my cheek.” In one episode she announces that the spirit way, instead of risking every night to social media that she can astound her of a deceased six-year-old boy has be proven wrong by tipping tables with public. become “attached” to her. Convinced their legs or exuding ectoplasm gauze. Thanks to an exposé by magician that the only way to free the spirit is It all seems very silly, in the end, but and skeptical investigator Mark Ed- ward (2012), who worked on a “sting operation” on Caputo for Inside Edition, her methods are now quite clear. “In combination with selling seats through Caputo’s great idea was to take full advantage Ticketmaster and the use of credit of what modernity has to offer. In particular, it is cards, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and all the rest of the latest places peo- thanks to the information found on Facebook and ple post private information, our own other social media that she can astound her public. egocentric fascination with ourselves makes it easy for the techie-smart agent or producer to make seeming miracles happen,” explains Edward. “Like the old days when the gypsy only needed to tell her sitters what they wanted to hear to meet with his mother, she tracks it is quite distressing to look at the ef- down the woman whose details she about themselves, we are now in an era fect that banalities of this kind can have when anyone can tell you more about happens to have in an appointment book. Caputo appears to be greatly on the grieving. People get emotional; yourself than you might ever want to distraught by the little boy’s con- they start to cry and seem to be willing know.” stant presence, but she is strangely to give Caputo everything they have in Edward relates several such episodes, unavailable for a session until the order to speak again with their loved revealing how absurd this can get: “At following week. She spent this week ones. Instead of helping the grieving one point Theresa asked a woman, ‘. . . in apparent spiritual agony, yet still had time to have lunch with friends, Why am I picking up baby clothes?’ To accept their loss and go on with life, all the while complaining about her such “performers” keep them stuck in which the woman replied, ‘Oh, that’s invisible friend. (Stollznow 2012) weird. I just put up a bunch of pictures their sad situation, preventing their of baby clothes on my Facebook page!’ Another of her specialties is con- healing. The only consolation is that Not weird at all, really.” fronting and converting “skeptics.” As she won’t last long, as this is the fate It is enough for her to have a few Stollznow notes: that awaits all self-styled psychics. “Ca- similar bits of information placed be- During a live interview for Long puto,” admonishes James Randi, “is just forehand on a seating chart of the Island radio station KJOY a line of one more of the myriad faux seers who show. Her staff can then cue her to eight “skeptics” are pitted against her. have stepped into the TV spotlight for Visibly stressed at first she asks the the right spots, since all seats are num- group, “Who lost a sister?” A woman their turn, and though her exuberant bered and far apart. She really can’t acknowledges this question, and the shtick rather outdoes the others, she’ll miss. Even the casual encounters that medium quickly finds her stride, do her number along with Van Praagh, she seems to have on the street during achieving perceived “hits” with her John Edward and ‘Psychic Sally’ until staple “validations” about clothing her “reality” program are carefully cho- someone with a newer novelty elbows and personal letters. Caputo had I reographed. “In classic mentalist style,” emotionally disarmed the woman her offstage” (Randi 2012). continues Edward, “everyone must sign who was taken in by what a real References a pre-show waiver or agreement to have skeptic would readily recognize as a their image used on television. It’s only classic cold reading. Skillful editing Edward, Mark. 2012. Is Caputo kaputo yet? a standard form to those folks. Why seems to have ironed out any misses Skepticblog (November 9). and genuine skeptics. Stollznow, Karen. 2012. Long Island medium: A would they suspect anything? They tall story. JREF Swift Blog (June 27). should. All the staff needs is a laptop, a It is no surprise, then, that in 2012 Randi, James. 2012. The “medium” is not the name, an address and a willing victim.” Theresa Caputo received a Pigasus messenger. Wired (September 4).

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 17 [ THE SCIENCE OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION MATTHEW NISBET Matthew Nisbet is associate professor of communication at Northeastern University and a Committee for Skeptical Inquiry scientific consultant. From 1997 to 1999, he was public relations director for CSI.

Don’t Fear a Franken Public The Surprising Reasons Why We Should Label Genetically Modified Food

n January 2016, Campbell Soup gen- erated headlines by announcing that Iit would voluntarily label its products containing genetically modified (GM) corn, soy, beets, and other crops. Like most food industry leaders, about three quarters of Campbell Soup products contain such ingredients. The company’s announcement came in advance of a summer deadline set by Vermont requiring the labeling of GM foods sold in the state. Legislatures in more than twenty states have consid- ered similar requirements. Food industry groups have lobbied for congressional legislation preempting any state require- ments, encouraging voluntary disclosure. But Campbell Soup is notable for break- ing with this strategy, calling instead for mandatory labeling (Strom 2016). Contrary to the claims of “Franken- food” opponents, research shows that encounter GM labels on almost all pro- nizations, GM foods in comparison to Americans have not turned against the cessed foods, the ubiquity and apparent other food products do not pose sub- promising technology. Most remain un- safety of such foods may actually bolster stantial risks to human health. Thus, aware of the debate. If asked directly, public trust and confidence, quelling federal regulators, experts, and industry Americans voice support for labeling, but controversy and opening the door to a members argue that there is no sci- these opinions are neither deeply held nor next generation of GM food products entific or legal justification for special that offer enormous benefits. top of mind. labeling. In this context, Campbell Soup’s Yet a few discredited studies provide strategy is a shrewd gamble that could Science vs. Movement Politics just enough rhetorical fodder for activ- lead to several counterintuitive yet wel- According to the U.S. Food and Drug ists to falsely claim that the technology come outcomes. If Americans were to Administration and other expert orga- poses a health threat. In the face of such

18 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer uncertainty, they argue that precaution and Horizon. In 2014, U.S. consump- should be the rule. Therefore, consum- tion of organic fruits, vegetables, dairy, ers have a “right to know” if they are breads, meat, and other foods gener- consuming GM ingredients. ated an estimated $35 billion in sales, For these activists, the debate over more than triple the amount from a the scientific justification for labeling decade ago (USDA n.d.). is a smokescreen that clouds deep- The growth in the organics industry er-rooted grievances. In this sense, and local food economies has created a no amount of scientific evidence will formidable alliance of farmers, entre- soften their opposition. The origin of preneurs, and activists who bring con- these grievances can be traced to the siderable money, influence, and voice rise of America’s local food movement. to the debate over labeling. For this During the early 2000s, looking alliance, corporate controlled, “unnat- across survey findings, researchers urally” produced GM food is perceived concluded that most Americans were as a direct threat to their livelihood unaware of GM food products, lacked and preferred way of life. basic knowledge of the science or policy specifics involved, and had yet to form strong opinions about the issue (Shana- han et al. 2001). But among a smaller segment of consumers, the issue was emerging as a chief concern, correlated with a cluster of other food-related attitudes. Those Simmering at the grassroots level for years, few Americans who said they actively in 2012 the labeling of GM food exploded into looked to buy GM-free food also said that they preferred their food to be prominence as a hotly debated political issue. organic, vegetarian, natural, locally produced, not processed, and without artificial colors or flavors (Bellows et al. 2010). These consumers were early adopt- when asked in a 2013 Rutgers Univer- Labeling: Not a Big Deal? ers of many of the beliefs and pref- sity survey about the matter, only 44 erences that constitute today’s local Simmering at the grassroots level for percent of Americans said they were food movement. The origins of the years, in 2012 the labeling of GM food aware of such foods, and only 26 per- movement date back to the 1980s and exploded into prominence as a hotly cent believed that they had ever eaten a series of food safety controversies. debated political issue. In successive any food with GM ingredients (Hall- Since then influential activists, food years, California, Washington, Oregon, man et al. 2013). writers, and documentary filmmakers and Colorado residents considered and A majority of Americans in 2013 have argued the connections between eventually voted down proposals to said they know very little or noth- industrial food production, agricultural label GM food products. In these bat- ing at all about GM foods, and 25 policy, and problems such as obesity, tles, the food industry is estimated to percent said they had never heard of income inequality, food-borne illness, have spent more than $100 million to them. Even among those who an- and the decline of community life (Pol- block labeling efforts, while activists lan 2010). In doing so, they have con- swered they were aware of the issue, a and organic industry members spent tributed to a new food politics, help- majority mistakenly believed that GM ing a diversity of groups unify behind tens of millions promoting the mea- tomatoes, wheat, and chicken prod- a movement pushing for food system sures. ucts were being sold in supermarkets reforms. These battles across Western states (Hallman et al. 2013). Specific to la- From Portland, Maine, to Portland, generated considerable national media beling, if asked directly, 80 percent of Oregon, many regions have rebuilt coverage. Yet despite the attention, the public said that it was either “very their economies and identities around carefully designed survey research sug- important” or “somewhat important” to locally owned, mostly organic farms, gests that broader public awareness know whether a product contains GM restaurants, and artisanal foods. These remains remarkably low. For at least a food. Yet these labeling preferences are local efforts are complemented by the decade, the great majority of processed weakly held. In the 2013 Rutgers sur- popularity of well-known national or- foods sold in grocery stores have con- vey, when respondents were asked in an ganic brands such as Stonyfield Farms tained ingredients from GM crops. But unprompted way “What information

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 19 [ THE SCIENCE OF COMMUNICATION MATTHEW NISBET

would you like to see on food labels that To test these assumptions, econ- more willing to pay a premium for un- is not already on there?” only 7 percent omists Marco Costanigro and Jayson labeled apples and Cheerios. In other said GM food labeling. Moreover, only Lusk designed a series of experiments words, though GM labels are unlikely one in four Americans knew that fed- that asked a sample of American adults to raise undue alarm among consumers, eral regulations do not currently require to choose among apples and Cheerios such labels may indirectly help boost such labels (Hallman et al. 2013). that were either labeled as genetically sales of organic food products (Costan- Given the public’s ambivalence modified or were unlabeled. To sim- igro and Lusk 2014). about labeling, economists have long ulate the price differences for these Citing this research and other evi- questioned claims that labeling would products, those marked as genetically dence that labels are not likely to scare deter the great majority of consumers modified were priced at half the cost the public, some experts have argued from purchasing GM food products. of their unlabeled counterparts. Across that if the food industry were to follow For most Americans, cost and brand conditions, the economists did not ob- the lead of Campbell Soup and support preference rather than labeling drives serve any significant impact of labeling a mandatory labeling law, the strategy their food choices. To the extent that on risk perceptions or concern. Subjects would help to restore public trust in the most organic foods today cost 50 to 100 rated GM apples and Cheerios just as food industry while defusing contro- percent more than their GM counter- safe as their non-modified counterparts. versy. “People are getting increasingly parts, this price difference is likely to The economists, however, did find that scared of [GM food] precisely because override any impact of labels. a GM label made consumers somewhat the industry is fighting a rearguard bat- tle not to tell people which foodstuffs contain them,” argues author and writer Mark Lynas (2013). “This has to be the To continue to battle against labeling rules is also worst PR strategy ever: can you think of a single analogy where an industry risky business, lending credibility to claims by uses every media tool, every electoral activists that the industry has an undue, and legal avenue possible to stop peo- ple knowing where their own products corrupting influence on the political process. are used?” As David Ropeik (2013), a risk communication consultant, argued in an open letter to the food industry: Even if you win the vote, you will lose the war . . . because the war isn’t about labeling. It’s about the public’s lack of trust in you, and therefore their opposition to the technology that is so important to your suc- cess. Your company’s opposition to labeling is hurting you far more than it’s helping. It is time for a new approach.

Defusing Controversy Certainly if the food industry were to support mandatory GM labeling, the precise impact on consumers remains unkown. But to continue to battle against labeling rules is also risky busi- ness, lending credibility to claims by activists that the industry has an undue, corrupting influence on the political process. In contrast, the labeling of GM food may have only a limited impact on consumer buying habits, while doing little to alarm the public about the safety of the technology. Putting an end to the labeling controversy is also likely

20 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer to benefit public debate over the next Activists have moved quickly to Why we need to move biotech out of the generation of genetically engineered oppose such “Frankenfish,” pressur- shadows. The Breakthrough.org (October 23). Available online at http://thebreak- foods, ensuring that scientists, univer- ing major grocery store chains and through.org/index.php/programs/conser- sities, and companies have the freedom restaurants to refuse to sell the sus- vation-and-development/its-time-to-label- to pursue breakthrough technologies. tainability-friendly product. Apart gmos. These innovations are aimed directly from unsupported claims about envi- Pollan, M. 2010. The food movement, rising. ronmental and health risks, their chief New York Review of Books (June). Available at helping the world meet a 70 percent online at http://www.nybooks.com/arti- increase in food demand by 2050. complaint is that the fish would not cles/2010/06/10/food-movement-rising/. Some crops have been engineered to be labeled. As the case of engineered Ropeik, D. 2013. GMO labeling: An open counter deficiencies in vitamin A and salmon suggests, as important high- letter to BigAgTech CEOs. The Huffington iron among populations in developing tech crops and farming practices are Post (November 6). Available online at brought to market in coming years, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david- countries. Other GM crops are able to ropeik/gmo-labeling_b_4224023.html. survive under conditions of drought, the chief strategy of GM food oppo- Saletan, W. 2015. Don’t fear the Frankenfish. extreme heat, or unfavorable soil condi- nents to appeal to the public’s “right to Slate.com (November 20). Available online tions (Wohlers 2013). After many years know” can be removed from the table at http://www.slate.com/articles/health_ by pushing for a smart, mandatory la- and_science/science/2015/11/genetically_ of evaluation, in 2015 a genetically I beling policy. engineered_aquabounty_salmon_safe_fda_ engineered salmon became the first decides.html. modified animal approved for human References Shanahan, J., D. Scheufele, and E. Lee. 2001. consumption by the U.S. government. Trends: Attitudes about agricultural bio- Bellows, A.C., G. Alcaraz, and W.K. Hallman. technology and genetically modified organ- The small company that pioneered the 2010. Gender and food, a study of attitudes isms. The Public Opinion Quarterly 65(2): high-tech salmon says that they can in the USA towards organic, local, US grown, and GM-free foods. Appetite 55(3): 267–281. be grown in half the time and using 540–550. Strom, S. 2016. Campbell labels will disclose 25 percent less small wild fish as feed. Costanigro, M., and J.L. Lusk. 2014. The G.M.O. ingredients. The New York Times The system recycles 95 percent of the signaling effect of mandatory labels on (January 7). Available online at http://nyti. genetically engineered food. Food Policy 49: water used and reduces harmful waste. ms/1ORR7EN. 259–267. USDA n.d. Organic market overview. United The all-female sterile fish are raised in Hallman, W.K., C.L. Cuite, and X.K. States Department of Agriculture. Available landlocked tanks, making escape into Morin. 2013. Public perceptions of online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/ labeling genetically modified foods. natural-resources-environment/organic-ag- the wild unlikely. Currently produced Working Paper 2013-01. Rutgers Uni- in Panama, the plan is for the fish to be versity. Available online at http://sebsn- riculture/organic-market-overview.aspx. Wohlers, A.E. 2013. Labeling of genetically grown close to large U.S. urban areas, jaesnews.rutgers.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2014/06/RU-GM-labelingper modified food: Closer to reality in the reducing the energy costs associated ception-white-paper-2013.pdf. United States? Politics & Life Sciences 32(1): with transportation (Saletan 2015). Lynas, M. 2013. It’s time to label GMOs: 73–84.

For in-depth interviews with the most fascinating minds in science, religion, and politics, join Point of Inquiry cohosts Lindsay Beyerstein and Josh Zepps at pointofinquiry.org. JOSH ZEPPS LINDSAY BEYERSTEIN

Josh Zepps (cohost) is a new media Lindsay Beyerstein (cohost) is an pioneer; a journalist serving as a found- award-winning investigative journalist ing host and producer at the online talk and staff writer for In These Times. Her network HuffPost Live, following hosting work has appeared in places such as stints with such outlets as Bloomberg The New Republic, Reuters, Slate, Salon, TV, the Discovery Channel, and as an an- Ms. Magazine, and The New York Press. chor for CBS’s Peabody Award-winning Wait to see what stories she tells with Channel One News. her guests on Point of Inquiry.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 21 [ SKEPTICAL INQUIREE BENJAMIN RADFORD Benjamin Radford is a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and author or coauthor of seven books, including Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment.

U.K. Viral ‘Ghost Photo’ Explained

Have you seen this latest ghost photo from England? There seems to be some sort of mysterious figure in a window, and it was even : on Good Morning America. Q —D. Marks

A “ghost photo” taken by a British woman named Natasha Oliver : circulated in the news media and social media A in late July 2015. It de- picted about a dozen friends on a lawn and what appears to be a human head and torso in an un- finished building in the background. The form is too dark and fuzzy to be identified, but some have claimed it looks like a ghostly mother and baby. Oliver’s photo was taken in 2010 but recently got widespread attention after she commented on a Facebook post about a ghost picture she thought was fake—and offered her own. The story was featured on Good Morning America on July 30 under the ghostly figure, the boys climbed up that the photo was faked—partly be- headline “‘Ghost Woman and Her the scaffolding to see what was up cause a famous ghost photo from the there thinking maybe someone was Baby’: Photo Shows Mysterious Fig- watching us,” Oliver said. “But there same town claimed to be of a little ure in Window” (at http://tinyurl.com/ was nothing up there. There were no girl killed in a fire was revealed to be a p5rv8r6). According to the story by floorboards or anything there. The hoax—a misunderstanding seems more Avianne Tan: house wasn’t finished being built yet likely in this case. at the time.” Oliver said she and her friends I noticed that there were only two, “freaked out” after they saw the While everyone loves a good ghost nearly identical, photographs provided photo on her digital camera back in story, I immediately detected several by Oliver, taken two minutes apart (at 2010, taken when they were hang- ing out on the lawn in front of the reasons to be skeptical that a phan- 21:20 and 21:22). If, as she claimed, unfinished home still being built tom photobombed their party picture. the group immediately noticed that an at the time. “When we saw the Though there was some speculation odd figure seemed to be in the window

22 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer behind them and a few friends were tion that “there was nothing up there” was presented on Good Morning Amer- dispatched to investigate, it seems odd also could not be accurate. ica and other news media could not be that there aren’t more photos of it from There are two second-story win- accurate. A more likely explanation is a closer point of view. Instead it seems dows visible in the ghostly photograph; that Oliver simply misremembered the that no one in the group even tried to in another photo later in the series, one circumstances of that photo five years get a better photo of it. A surprised ex- of Oliver’s friends can be seen on scaf- after it was taken, and that mistake clamation of “Look! Is that a ghost?” folding in front of one of the windows. spawned a ghost mystery. during a review of a digital photograph Since the ghost wasn’t discovered until So what is the light gray, vaguely taken moments before might be ex- months later, he was not (and could not humanlike figure? It could have been a pected to result in a dozen cell phone cameras being produced to get their own photographic “proof” of the para- normal, but that did not happen. In fact, the additional photographic evidence provided by Oliver casts doubt Just because the general shape looks vaguely like on her explanation; because the photos a head and chest doesn’t mean it is; the human are time-stamped, and because she uploaded dozens of photographs from brain is hardwired to look for humanlike patterns. that June 18, 2010, event to Facebook, This is a psychological phenomenon called there is a photographic record of what “pareidolia,” in which people see faces and the group did after the “ghost photos” were taken. The last image that shows figures in ambiguous forms, from clouds to stains. the “ghost” was taken at 21:22, and is followed by twenty-six other photos depicting what the group did between that time and 21:52 that evening. There is not a single photograph that shows Oliver or any of her friends searching have been) searching for the ghostly in- trick of light, a piece of plastic or tarp for a ghost—or even reacting to the dis- truder; instead he is posing and hold- from the construction site behind the covery that they may have been in the ing a beer about half an hour after the group, wooden planks propped up in presence of an undead spirit. Instead “ghost” photo was taken. the window, or any number of other the two dozen photos show the group He may have looked in the window things. Just because the general shape laughing, acting goofy, and enjoying an and saw nothing—but a closer look re- looks vaguely like a head and chest alcohol-fueled footballer party. veals he is at the wrong window. The doesn’t mean it is; the human brain is That part of the mystery was solved ghost was photographed in the other hardwired to look for humanlike pat- by a closer look at the photos, which window, on the right of the photo- terns. This is a psychological phenom- reveals that four months had elapsed graph. What may have happened is enon called “pareidolia,” in which peo- before anyone noticed the ghostly fig- that he told Oliver (months later) that ple see faces and figures in ambiguous ure. I discovered that the photo was when he had been up there he hadn’t forms, from clouds to stains. It’s com- first noted on October 4, 2010, by one seen anything odd and that there was mon and harmless and has caused many of Oliver’s friends commenting on her nothing in that window, and he (or of the “ghost photos” I’ve investigated Facebook photo. Therefore her quoted she) misunderstood which window he (see, for example, “The Cockington claim that “When we saw the ghostly was referring to. There’s no evidence Church Ghost Photo” in the January/ figure, the boys climbed up the scaf- that anyone even looked in the window February 2015 SI). folding to see what was up there think- where the “ghost” was photographed to It’s impossible to know what was in ing maybe someone was watching us” see what was there. that window five years after the photo could not be true, since no one in her Perhaps Oliver was misquoted and was taken; the building has been fin- group saw the figure at the time, which meant to suggest that, four months ished and all the scaffolding and con- explains why her photos show no inves- after the photo was taken, they re- struction debris long since removed. tigation. Since there was no investiga- turned to search for a cause of the fig- All we are left with is a ghost story and tion at the time—and therefore no one ure. But by then the construction would photo. Ghosts may or may not exist, trying to figure out what the strange have likely been completed, the scene but in this case psychology—not the form might be—the claim that looking changed dramatically, and the scaffold- paranormal—provides the best expla- I for the ghost yielded the creepy revela- ing removed. Either way, the story as it nation.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 23 [ SCIENCE WATCH SPECIAL REPORT CRISPR-Cas9: Not Just Another Scientific Revolution Poised to transform the world as we know it, a new gene-editing system has bioethicists wringing their hands, physicians champing at the bit, and researchers dueling with demons.

KENNETH W. KRAUSE

s it possible to overstate the potential of a new technology that efficiently example, typically employs a vector, and cheaply permits deliberate, specific, and multiple genomic modifications often a virus, to somewhat haphazardly Ito almost anything biological? What if that technology was also capable of deliver a healthy allele somewhere in altering untold future generations of nearly any given species—including the one the patient’s genome, hopefully to per- responsible for creating it? And what if it could be used, for better or worse, to form its desired function wherever it rapidly exterminate an entire species? settles. Alternatively, RNA interference Certain experts have no intention of veiling their enthusiasm—or their unease. selects specific messenger RNA mol- Consider, for example, biologist David Baltimore, who recently chaired an inter- ecules for destruction, thus changing national summit dedicated primarily to the technology’s much-disputed ethical the way one’s DNA is transcribed. implications. “The unthinkable has become conceivable,” he warned his audience Interference occurs, however, only so in early December. Powerful new gene-editing techniques, he added, have placed long as the damaging agent remains us “on the cusp of a new era in human history.” within the cell. If so, it might seem somewhat anti- tions to the clinical setting, geneticists climactic to note that Science magazine across the globe are quickly developing dubbed this technology its “Break- improved molecular components and through of the Year” for 2015, or that methods to increase the technology’s its primary developers are widely con- accuracy. In case you haven’t heard, a sidered shoo-ins for a Nobel Prize— truly profound scientific insurrection is in addition, that is, to the $3 million well underway. Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences already earned by two such research- Adapting CRISPR-Cas9 ers. All of which might sound trifling “Think about a film strip. You see a partic- compared to the billions up for grabs ular segment of the film that you want to following imminent resolution of a replace. And if you had a film splicer, you would go in and literally cut it out and piece now-vicious patent dispute. Contemporary editing techniques, it back together—maybe with a new clip. Although no gene-editing tool has on the other hand, allow biologists to Imagine being able to do that in the genetic ever inspired so much drama, the new actually alter DNA—the “code of life,” code, the code of life.”—Biochemist Jennifer technology’s promise as a practical as Doudna suggests—and to do so with Doudna (CBS News 2015) remedy for a host of dreadful diseases, specific target sequences in mind. The including cancer, remains foremost in three major techniques have much in researchers’ minds. Eager to move be- Genetic manipulation is nothing new, common. Each involves an enzyme yond in vitro and animal model applica- of course. Classic gene therapy, for called a “programmable nuclease,” for

24 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer example, which is guided to a particular article, consists of clustered regularly a subsequent invader’s double helix. nucleotide sequence to cleave it. interspaced short palindromic repeats In other words, in its native setting, Then, in each case, the cell’s machin- (CRISPR) and a CRISPR-associated CRISPR-Cas9 is the system a certain ery quickly repairs the double-stranded protein-9 nuclease (Cas9). Introduced bacterium uses to recognize and dis- break in one of two ways. Non-homol- as an exceptionally precise editing tech- able common biological threats. Unlike ogous end joining for gene “knock out” nique in 2012 by Doudna at the Uni- ZFN and TALENs, CRISPR-Cas9 results when reconstruction—usually versity of California, Berkeley, and mi- does not rely on the F. okeanoites cut- involving small, random nucleotide ting domain and, as such, can cleave deletions or insertions—is performed both strands of an interloper’s double only by the cell. Here, the gene’s func- helix simultaneously with a single Cas9 tion is typically undermined. By con- enzyme. trast, homology-directed repair for gene But what makes the But what makes the CRISPR system “knock in” occurs when the cell copies so special, in part, and so adaptable to a researcher’s DNA repair template de- CRISPR system so the important task of gene-editing, is livered along with the nuclease. In this special, in part, and its relative simplicity. Only three com- case, the cleaved gene can be corrected, so adaptable to the ponents are required to achieve site-spe- or a new gene or genes can be inserted cific DNA recognition and cleavage. (Corbyn 2015). important task of Both a CRISPR RNA (crRNA) and But in other ways, the three editing gene-editing, is its a trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA) techniques are very distinct. Devel- are needed to guide the Cas9 enzyme oped in the late 1990s and first used in relative simplicity. to its target sequence. What Doudna human cells in 2005, zinc-finger nu- and Charpentier revealed four years ago, cleases (ZFN) attach cutting domains however, were the seminal facts that derived from the prokaryote Flavobac- an even simpler, two-component sys- terium okeanokoites to proteins called tem could be developed by combining “zinc fingers” that can be customized to crobiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier the crRNA and tracrRNA into a syn- recognize certain three-base-pair DNA at the Max Planck Institute for Infec- thetic single guide RNA (sgRNA), and codes. Devised in 2010, transcrip- tion Biology in Berlin, CRISPR-Cas9 that researchers could readily modify a tion activator-like effector nucleases is actually the bacterium Streptococcus sgRNA’s code to redirect the Cas9 en- (TALENs) fuse the same cutting do- pyogenes’ adaptive immune system that zyme to almost any preferred sequence mains to different proteins called TAL confers resistance to foreign elements, (Jinek et al. 2012). Today, a biologist effectors. For both ZFN and TALENs, such as phages and plasmids. wanting to edit a specific sequence in two cutting domains are necessary to CRISPR thus refers to short bits an organism’s genome can quickly and cleave double-stranded DNA (Max- of DNA seized from invading viruses cheaply design an sgRNA to match that men 2015). and stored in the bacterium’s own ge- sequence, order it from a competitive The third and most revolutionary nome for future reference, and Cas9 is manufacturer for $65 or less, and have editing technique, and subject of this the enzyme S. pyogenes uses to cleave it delivered in the mail (Petherick 2015).

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 25 None of which is to suggest that a Even so, CRISPR research con- be rendered incapable of producing CRISPR system is always the best tool tinues to progress at breakneck speed. dystrophin, a vital protein that protects for the gene-editing job, at least not yet. In 2014, the number of gene-editing muscle fibers. Absent sufficient dystro- Critically, CRISPR-Cas9 is relatively kits ordered from Addgene, a supplier phin, both skeletal and heart muscle easy to program and remains the only based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will deteriorate. Patients usually end up technique allowing researchers to “mul- for research using ZFN and TALENs confined to wheelchairs and dead be- tiplex,” or edit several genomic sites si- totaled less than 1,000 and less than fore the age of thirty. multaneously. But TALENs have the 2,000, respectively. During that same Traditional gene therapy, stem cell longest DNA recognition domains and, year—only two years after the new treatments, and drugs have proven thus, tend so far to result in the fewest technology was introduced—the num- mostly ineffective against DMD. Sci- “off-target effects,” which occur when ber of kits ordered for CRISPR re- entists have corrected diseased cells in nucleotide sequences identical or sim- search totaled almost 20,000 (Corbyn vitro, or in a single organ—the liver. ilar to the target are cut unintention- 2015). More important, rapidly in- But treating muscle cells throughout ally. And ZFNs are much smaller than creasing orders seem to have translated the body, including the heart, is a far either TALENs or CRISPR-Cas9, into significant results. As 2015 ended more daunting task, because they can’t all be removed, treated in isolation, especially the most popular version de- and a new year began, new studies an- and then replaced. And given current rived from S. pyogenes, and are therefore nouncing the creation of smaller guide ethical concerns, most researchers are more likely to fit into the tight confines RNAs and, especially, the reduction of prohibited from even considering the of an adeno-associated virus (AAV)— off-target effects began to dominate possibility of editing human embryos currently the most promising vector for science headlines. for clinical purposes. the delivery of gene-editing therapies. Breaking Barriers As such, researchers here decided to “This is now the most powerful system employ CRISPR-Cas9 technology to we have in biology. Any biological pro- excise faulty dystrophin gene exons in cess we care about now, we can get the both adult and neonatal mice by deliv- These experiments comprehensive set of genes that underlie ering it directly into their muscles and marked the very first that process. That was just not possible bloodstreams using non-pathogenic before.” adeno-associated viruses. AAVs, how- instances of using —Biochemist David Sabatini (Yong 2015) ever, are too small to accommodate the CRISPR to successfully relatively large S. pyogenes Cas9, so each team opted instead to deploy a more treat genetic disorders CRISPR-Cas9, of course, is only one petite Cas9 enzyme found in Staphylo- in fully developed living among many prokaryotic CRISPR sys- coccus aureus. tems that could, at some point, prove Neither group’s interventions re- mammals. useful for any number of human pur- sulted in complete cures. But dystro- poses. Use of Cas9 variations, however, phin production and muscle strength has already resulted in successes far too were restored, and little evidence of numerous to review liberally here. Even off-target effects was observed, in so, two recent applications in particular treated mice. One lead researcher later reveal the extraordinary, yet strikingly suggested that although clinical trials simple, means by which researchers could be years away, up to 80 percent have achieved previously unattainable of human DMD victims could benefit outcomes. from defective exon removal (Kaiser In the first application, three dif- 2015). ferent teams confronted Duchenne Remarkably, each of the three teams muscular dystrophy (DMD), a terri- obtained results comparable to those of fying disease that affects about one in the others. Perhaps most impressively, every 3,500 boys in the United States however, these experiments marked the alone (Long et al. 2015; Nelson et al. very first instances of using CRISPR to 2015; Tabebordbar et al. 2015). DMD successfully treat genetic disorders in typically stems from defects in a gene fully developed living mammals. containing seventy-nine protein-cod- But an ever-growing population ing exons. If even a single exon suffers needs to protect its agricultural prod- a debilitating mutation, the gene can ucts too. Plant DNA viruses, for exam-

26 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer SPECIAL REPORT]

ple, can cause devastating crop damage ited crops. Will nations eventually clas- and economic crises worldwide, but sify them as GMOs or, alternatively, as especially in underdeveloped regions organisms capable of developing in na- including sub-Saharan Africa. More ture? Will applicable regulations focus specifically, the tomato yellow leaf curl on the processes or products of mod- virus (tomato virus) is known to rav- ification? Regardless, one can hardly age a variety of tomato breeds, causing ignore these commodities’ potential stunted growth, abnormal leaf develop windfalls, especially for those in dire ment, and fruit death. need. Like DMD, the tomato virus has Given recent innovations in speci- proven an especially intractable prob- ficity, for example, CRISPR-based dis- lem. Despite previous efforts to control ease research will likely continue to ad- it through breeding, insecticides target- vance quickly toward clinical and other ing the vector, and other engineering more practical applications. So long as techniques, we currently know of no it affects only non-reproductive somatic effective means of managing the virus. cells, such interventions should remain Edward Lanphier Undeterred, another group of biologists largely uncontroversial. Human gam- decided to give CRISPR-Cas9-medi- etes and embryos, on the other hand, template designed to affect the inser- ated viral interference a try (Ali et al. have once again inspired abundant de- tion of new DNA. Of the seventy-one 2015). bate and bitter division among experts. that survived, fifty-four embryos were In this study, the investigators chose tested. A mere twenty-eight were suc- to manipulate a species of tobacco Moralizing Over Science cessfully spliced and, of those, only four plant, well-understood as a model or- “Genome editing in human embryos exhibited the desired additions. Rates of ganism, that is similarly vulnerable to using current technologies could have off-target mutations were much higher tomato virus infection. The experiment unpredictable effects on future genera- than expected too, and the group would was completed in two fairly predict- tions. This makes it dangerous and ethi- likely have discovered additional unin- able stages. First, the group designed cally unacceptable.” tended cuts had they examined more sgRNAs to target certain tomato virus —Edward Lanphier et al. (2015) than the protein-coding exome, which coding and non-coding sequences and represents less than 2 percent of the en- inserted them into different, harm- “To intentionally refrain from engaging in tire human genome. less viruses of the tobacco rattle vari- life-saving research is to be morally respon- In all fairness, however, the em- ety. Second, they delivered the newly sible for the foreseeable, avoidable deaths bryos’ abnormality might have been re- loaded rattle viruses into their tobacco of those who could have benefitted.” sponsible for much of the total off-tar- plants. After seven days, the plants —Bioethicist Julian Savulescu et al. (2015) get effect. And, of course, Huang was were exposed to the tomato virus and, unable to take advantage of many after ten more days, they were analyzed specificity-enhancing upgrades to the for symptoms of infection. The results of the first (and, so far, The group agreed that the CRIS- only) attempt to edit human embryos CRISPR system yet to be designed at PR-Cas9 system had reliably cleaved using CRISPR-Cas9 was published by the time of his investigations. In any and introduced mutations to the to- a team of Chinese scientists on April case, his team acknowledged that their mato viruses’ genomes. Fortuitously, 18 of last year (Liang et al. 2015). Led results “highlight the pressing need to every plant expressing the system had by Junjiu Huang, the group chose to further improve the fidelity and speci- either abolished or significantly atten- experiment on donated tripronuclear ficity” of the new technology, which in uated all symptoms of infection. The zygotes—nonviable early embryos con- their opinions remained immature and investigators concluded further that the taining one egg and two sperm nuclei— unready for clinical applications. technique was capable of simultane- neither intended nor suitable for clinical Nevertheless, the Chinese experi- ously targeting multiple DNA viruses use. Their goal was to successfully edit ment ignited a brawl among both sci- with a lone sgRNA, and that other endogenous β-globin genes that, when entists and bioethicists over the pros- transformable plant species, including mutated, can cause a fatal blood disorder pect of human germline modification tomatoes, of course, would be similarly known as β-thalassemia. with the most powerful and accessible affected. By his own admission, Huang’s gene-editing machinery ever conceived. One can only guess, at this point, outcomes were less than spectacu- Similar quarrels had accompanied the how certain interests might receive lar. Eighty-six embryos were injected proliferation of technologies involv- these and other types of genome-ed- with the Cas9 system and a molecular ing recombinant DNA, in vitro fertil-

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 27 phier et al. 2015). Calling for a “volun- research (Church 2015). Responding tary moratorium” on all human germ- to Lanphier and Collins, he argues as line research, Lanphier first expressed well that, without obtaining consent, Once decried as morally concerns over potential off-target ef- parents have long exposed future gen- unacceptable, vacci- fects and the genetic mosaicism that erations to mutagenic forces—through could result, for instance, if a fertilized chemotherapy, residence in high-alti- nations, transfusions, egg began dividing before all intended tudes, and alcohol intake, for example. artificial insemination, corrections had occurred. He also We have also consistently chosen to organ transplants, found it difficult to “imagine a situation enhance our offspring and future gen- in which use of human embryos would erations through mate choice, among and IVF have all proven offer therapeutic benefits over existing many other things. Church also points “unexceptional boons to and developing methods,” suggesting out that PGD during the IVF proce- as well that pre-implantation genetic dure is incapable of offering solutions human well-being.” diagnosis (PGD) and in vitro fertiliza- to individuals possessing two copies tion (IVF) were far better options than of a detrimental, dominant allele, or CRISPR for parents carrying the same to prospective parents who both carry ization, gene therapy, and stem cells, mutation for a genetic disease. In any two copies of a harmful, recessive al- for example. But never had the need case, he said, with so many unanswered lele. Moreover, in most instances, PGD to address our capacity to reroute the questions, clinicians remained unable cannot be used to avoid more complex evolution of societies—indeed, of the to obtain truly risk-informed consent polygenic diseases, including schizo- entire species—seemed so real and im- from either parents looking to modify phrenia. Nor can we presume that new mediate. their germlines or from affected fu- technology costs will al ways create Leading experts, including Balti- ture generations. Finally, Lanphier treatment or enhancement inequities. more and Doudna, had previously met implied that even the best intentions In fact, according to Church, the price in Napa, California, on January 24, could eventually lead societies down a of DNA sequencing, for example, has 2015, to discuss the bioethical implica- “slippery slope” toward nontherapeu- already plummeted more than three tions of rapidly emerging technologies. tic genetic enhancement and so-called million fold. Finally, germline editing is In the end, they “strongly discouraged “designer babies.” probably not irreversible, Church con- . . . any attempts at germline genome Francis Collins, evangelical Chris- tends, and certainly not as error-prone modification for clinical application in tian and director of the National Insti- at this point as many have suggested. humans,” urged informed discussion tutes of Health (which currently refuses “Senseless” bans, he concludes, would and transparent research, and called for to fund human germline research), only “put a damper on the best medical a prompt global summit to recommend expressed similar views regarding the research and instead drive the practice international policies (Baltimore et al. sufficiency of PGD and IVF, the im- underground to black markets and un- 2015). A surge of impassioned litera- possibility of informed consent, and controlled medical tourism.” ture ensued. nontherapeutic enhancement (Skerrett Taking a slightly different tack, Har- A small group led by Sangamo Bio- 2015). In addition, Collins worries that vard cognitive scientist Steven Pinker Sciences president Edward Lanphier access to the technology would be de- censures bioethicists generally for get- was one of the first to weigh in (Lan- nied to the economically disadvantaged ting bogged down in “red-tape, mor- and that parents might begin to con- atoria, or threats of prosecution based ceive of their children “more like com- on nebulous but sweeping principles modities than precious gifts.” For the such as ‘dignity,’ ‘sacredness,’ or ‘social director, given the “paucity of compel- justice’” (Pinker 2015a). Imploring the ling cases” in favor of such research, and bioethical community to “get out of the the significance of the ethical counter- way” of CRISPR, Pinker reminds them arguments, “the balance of the debate that, once decried as morally unaccept- leans overwhelmingly against human able, vaccinations, transfusions, arti- germline engineering.” ficial insemination, organ transplants, On the other hand, Harvard Med- and IVF have all proven “unexceptional ical School geneticist George Church boons to human well-being.” Further, urges us to ignore pleas for artificially the specific harms of which morato- imposed bans, “encourage the inno- rium proponents warn, including can- vators,” and focus more on what he cer, mutations, and birth defects, “are Harvard Medical School geneticist George Church deems the obvious benefits of germline already ruled out by a plethora of ex-

28 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer SPECIAL REPORT] isting regulations and norms” (Pinker 2016, the first attempt to edit healthy CRISPR controversy. Some, for ex- 2015b). In the end, he advises, both human embryos with the CRIS- ample, warn of the creation of danger- scientists and everyday people need PR-Cas9 system. The application was ous pathogens and biological warfare and deserve a well-diversified research filed last September by developmental (Greely 2016). But many others, in- portfolio. “If you ban something, the biologist Kathy Niakan of the Fran- cluding Doudna, urge that we quickly probability that people will benefit is cis Crick Institute in London. Niakan address “other potentially harmful ap- zero. If you don’t ban it, the probability intends to use CRISPR to knock out plications . . . in non-human systems, is greater than zero.” one of four different genes in a total of such as the alteration of insect DNA to Such were among the arguments 120-day-old, IVF-donated embryos to ‘drive’ certain genes into a population” considered by a committee of twelve investigate the roles such genes play in (Doudna 2015). biologists, physicians, and ethicists early development. during the December 2015 Interna- Her research could help identify tional Summit on Human Genome genes crucial to early human growth Driving DNA Editing, organized by the U.S. Na- and cell differentiation and, thus, lead “Clearly, the technology described here is tional Academies of Sciences and Med- to more productive IVF cultures and not to be used lightly. Given the suffering icine, the Royal Society in London, and more informed selection practices. It caused by some species, neither is it obvi- the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The could also reveal mutations that lead to ously one to be ignored.” —Evolutionary Summit was chaired by David Balti- miscarriages and, one day, allow parents geneticist Austin Burt (2003) more. Doudna and Charpentier, win- to correct these problems through gene ners of the $3 million Breakthrough therapy. Following careful observation, In broad terms, a “gene drive” can be Prize in Life Sciences, attended with Niakan intends to destroy her embryos characterized as a targeted contagion synthetic biologist Feng Zhang—a now by the time they reach the blastocyst intended to spread through a population much-celebrated trio considered front stage on the seventh day. Under British with exceptional haste. Burt pioneered runners for a Nobel Prize, though also law, experimental embryos cannot be the technology through his study of entangled through their institutions in used to establish pregnancy. transposable elements—“selfish” and a CRISPR patent dispute potentially But the human germline is not the often parasitic DNA sequences that worth billions of dollars. only, or even most pressing, subject of exist merely to propagate themselves. After three days of discussion, the Summit’s organizing committee issued a general statement rejecting calls for a comprehensive moratorium on germline research (National Academies of Science 2015). The members did, however, ad- vise without exception against the use of edited embryos to establish pregnancy. “It would be irresponsible to proceed,” they added, “with any clinical use of germline editing” until safety and effi- cacy issues are resolved and there exists “a broad societal consensus about the appropriateness of the proposed appli- cation.” In conclusion, the committee called for an “ongoing forum” to har- monize the current global patchwork of relevant regulations and guidelines and to “discourage unacceptable activi- ties.” This forum, the members judged, should consist not only of experts and policymakers but of “faith leaders,” “public interest advocates,” and “mem- bers of the general public” as well. Wasting little time, the UK’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority approved on February 1,

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 29 Today, researchers sort potential gene drives into two major groups. Re- placement drives seek only to displace natural with modified populations. Suppression drives, by contrast, attempt to reduce or even eradicate populations. At this point, no drives have been re- leased into the wild. Nevertheless, re- searchers have lately designed one of each type to affect mosquitos carrying the deadly human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The first study was led by microbiol- ogist Anthony James, who collaborated on the project with Gantz and Bier (Gantz et al. 2015). Focusing on the prevention of disease transmission, this If you care about your group engineered Anopheles stephensi mosquitos, highly active in urban India, safety and the safety to carry two transgenes producing an- of your loved ones, the sequence of the selfish element. In tibodies against the malaria parasite, a newly fertilized egg, the endonuclease a CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene drive get rid of your guns. Evolutionary geneticist would likewise convert the other par- and a marker gene. Because the very Burt Austin believes ent’s DNA and, eventually, drive itself lengthy payload rendered insertion a we can use gene drives into the genomes of nearly 100 percent challenging process, James was able to of the population. isolate only two drive-bearing males to weaken or even Burt believes we can use gene drives among 25,000 larvae. But when mated eradicate mosquito- to weaken or even eradicate mosqui- with wild-type females, these and sub- to-transmitted diseases such as malaria sequent transgenic males spread their transmitted diseases and dengue fever. If scientists engi- anti-malaria genes at an impressive rate such as malaria and neered just 1 percent of a mosquito of 99.5 percent. Transgenic females, dengue fever. population to carry such a drive, he cal- on the other hand, processed the drive culates, about 99 percent would possess quite differently and passed it on at it in only twenty generations. In fact, near-normal Mendelian ratios. Burt announced five years ago that he Despite its overall success, James Importantly, transposons can circum- had created a homing endonuclease doesn’t imagine that his team’s replace- vent the normal Mendelian rules of capable of locating and cutting a mos- ment drive could eliminate the malaria inheritance dictating that any given quito gene (Windbichler et al. 2011). parasite independently. Instead, he en- gene has a 50 percent chance of being However, his elements were difficult to visions its use to reduce the risk of in- passed from parent to offspring. program for precise application. fection and to complement other strat- Thirteen years ago, Burt envisioned Enter CRISPR-Cas9. As we’ve seen, egies already being employed. Even the use of a microbial transposon-like Cas9 is an eager endonuclease, and so, because such drives would not ex- element called a “homing endonu- guide RNAs are easy to program and terminate P. falciparum or its mosquito clease” for humanity’s benefit. When can be quickly synthesized. In April of vector, they would potentially allow the inserted into one chromosome, the last year, biologists Valentonio Gantz parasite to one day evolve resistance to endonuclease would cut the matching and Ethan Bier revealed that they had their transgene components. chromosome inherited from the other used CRISPR-Cas9 to drive color vari- The second study’s goal was quite parent. The cell would then quickly ation into Drosophila fruit flies (Gantz different. Here, molecular biologist repair the cut, often using the first and Bier 2015). Though they labeled it Tony Nolan, along with Burt and oth- chromosome as a template. As such, a “mutagenic chain reaction” at the time, ers, first identified three genes in the the assailed sequence in the second it was the first gene drive ever deployed Anopheles gambiae mosquito, active in chromosome would be converted to in a multicellular organism. sub-Saharan Africa, that when mutated

30 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer SPECIAL REPORT]

References cause recessive infertility in females 2015. Postnatal genome editing partially restores dystrophin expression in a mouse (Hammond et al. 2016). Second, they Ali, Z., A. Abulfaraj, Ali Idris, et al. 2015. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated viral interfer- model of muscular dystrophy. Science DOI: designed a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive ence in plants. Genome Biology 16: 238 10.1126/science.aad5725. to target and edit each gene. Follow- DOI:10.1186/s13059-015-0799-6. Maxmen, A. 2015. Three technologies that changed genetics. Nature 528: S2–S3. ing insertion, they bred their transgenic Baltimore, D., P. Berg, M. Botcham, et al. 2015. A prudent path forward for genomic National Academies of Science. 2015. mosquitos with wild-types and found engineering and germline gene modification. International Summit Statement. Available Science 348(6230): 36–38. online at http://www8.nationalacademies. that nearly all female offspring were org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?Recor- born infertile. In a subsequent experi- Burt, A. 2003. Site-specific selfish genes as tools for the control and genetic engineering of dID=12032015a; accessed January 2, 2016. Nelson, C.E., C.H. Hakim, D.G. Ousterout, et ment, Nolan released 600 vectors—half natural populations. Proceedings of the Royal al. 2015. In vivo genome editing improves Society B 270: 921–928. transgenic, half wild-type—into a cage. muscle function in a mouse model of CBS News. 2015. Could Revolutionary Gene- Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Science DOI: After only four generations, 75 percent editing Technology End Cancer? Available 10.1126/science.aad5143. of the population carried the mutations, online at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ Petherick, A. 2015. Nature outlook genome crispr-jennifer-doudna-gene-editing-tech- exactly what one would expect from an editing. Nature 528: S1. nology-diseases-dangers-ethics/; accessed Pinker, S. 2015a. The Moral Imperative for effective gene drive. January 25, 2016. Bioethics. Available online at https://www. A suppression drive like Hammond’s Church, G., 2015. Encourage the innovators. bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/07/31/ Nature 528: S7. could, in theory, eliminate a parasite’s the-moral-imperative-for-bioethics/ Corbyn, Z. 2015. Biology’s big hit. Nature 528: JmEkoyzlTAu9oQV76JrK9N/story.html; primary vector. In such a scenario, the S4–S5. accessed February 2, 2016. Doudna, J. 2015. Embryo editing needs scrutiny. parasite might find another means of ———.2015b. Steven Pinker Interview. Nature 528: S6. conveying the disease to humans; more Available online at https://www.ipscell. Esvelt, K., G. Church, and J. Lunshof. 2014. “Gene com/2015/08/stevenpinker/; accessed than 800 species of mosquito inhabit Drives” and CRISPR Could Revolutionize February 2, 2016. Ecosystem Management. Available online Africa alone, for example. But it might Savulescu, J., J. Pugh, T. Douglas, et al. 2015. at http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest- The moral imperative to continue gene edit- not. The loss would also substantially blog/gene-drives-and-crispr-could-revolu- alter the relevant ecosystem. But despite ing research on human embryos. Protein Cell tionize-ecosystem-management/; accessed 6(7): 476–479. other methods of controlling the disease, February 6, 2016. Skerrett, P. 2015. First Opinion. A Debate: Gantz, V.M., and E. Bier. 2015. The mutagenic malaria still claims more than a half mil- Should We Edit the Human Genome? chain reaction: A method for converting het- Available online at http://www.statnews. lion lives every year, mostly among chil- erozygous to homozygous mutations. Science com/2015/11/30/gene-editing-crispr-germ- dren under five. 348(6233): 442–444. line/; accessed February 2, 2016. Gantz, V.M., N. Jasinskiene, O. Tatarenkova, Even in theory, no gene drive is a Tabebordbar, M., K. Zhu, J.K.W. Cheng, et et al. 2015. Highly efficient Cas9-mediated al. 2015. In vivo gene editing in dystrophic panacea. They function only in sexually gene drive for population modification of the mouse and muscle stem cells. Science DOI: reproducing species, and best in species malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi. 10.1126/science.aad5177. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that reproduce very rapidly. Nor would Windbichler, N., M. Menichelli, P.A. Papa- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1521077112. thanos, et al. 2011. A synthetic homing their effects be permanent—most trans- Greely, H.T. 2016. Are We Ready for Genetically endonuclease-based gene drive system in genes would prove especially vulnerable Modified Animals? Available online at the human malaria mosquito. Nature 473: http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/ 212–215. to evolutionary deselection, for example. are-we-ready-for-genetically-modified-ani- Yong, E. 2015. The New Gene-editing But neither would they turn out as prob- mals; accessed February 3, 2016. Technique that Reveals Cancer’s Weak Hammond, A., R. Galizi, K. Kyrou, et al. lematic as some might imagine. They nesses. Available online at http://www.the- 2016. A CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system atlantic.com/science/archive/2015/11/a-rev- can be easily detected through genome targeting female reproduction in the malaria olutionary-gene-editing-technique-re- sequencing, for instance, and are un- mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae. Nature veals-cancers-weaknesses/417495/; accessed Biotechnology DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3439. on January 30, 2016. likely to spread accidentally into domes- Jinek, M., K. Chylinski, I. Fonfara, et al. 2012. ticated species. And if scientists sought A programmable dual-RNA-guided DNA for whatever reason to reverse the effects endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity. Science 337: 816–821. of a previously released drive, they could Kaiser, J. 2015. CRISPR Helps Heal Mice With Kenneth W. Krause probably do so with the release of a sub- Muscular Dystrophy. Available online at is a contributing http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/12/ editor and “Science sequent drive. crispr-helps-heal-mice-muscular-dystrophy; As Church and others have recently accessed January 30, 2015. Watch” columnist suggested, it “doesn’t really make sense Lanphier, E., F. Urnov, S.E. Ehlen, et al. 2015. for the S  Don’t edit the human germline. Nature 519: I and The to ask whether we should use gene 410–411. drives. Rather, we’ll need to ask whether Liang, P., Y. Xu, X. Zhang, et al. 2015. Doting Skeptic at it’s a good idea to consider driving this CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in http://thedoting- human tripronuclear zygotes. Protein Cell particular change through this particular skeptic.wordpress.com. He may be con- I 6(5): 363–372. population” (Esvelt et al. 2014). Long, C., L. Amoasii, A.A. Mireault, et al. tacted at [email protected].

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 31 A handful of twentieth-century figures “created” the modern concept of the paranormal and its leading topics, transporting fantasy, myth, or speculation into a kind of believable “reality.” Most proved to be a chimera.

JOE NICKELL

uch of what is called “the paranormal” today has intrigued mankind since the most ancient times. The term refers to those things that are supposedly beyond the normal range of science and human experience—ghosts, strange lights in the sky, psychic phenomena, and the like. It includes the super- Mnatural but also things such as monsters that—if they exist—might be quite natural. With the advent of modern spiritualism in 1848, launched by the Fox Sisters’ hoaxed messages from the ghost of a murdered peddler (Nickell 2004, 31–32), the paranormal began to proliferate and to attract advocacy groups such as the British Society for Psychical Research. Founded in London in 1882, it was concerned with alleged psychic phenomena and the supposed survival of consciousness following bodily death (Guiley 2000, 304). The paranormal grew increasingly throughout the twentieth century with various “new” (either substantially new or newly refocused-on) topics being expanded by individual gurus and groups of enthusiasts, and many cross-correspondences developing (say, between UFOs and Bigfoot). This article is a discussion of the “creation” of the paranormal by a series of major figures, each of whom took a concept—some fantasy, myth, or specula- tion—and transformed it into “reality” (Keel 2001b). (I have, of course, excluded a long list of topics—from astrol- ogy to zombies—whose origins are ancient.)

In the early twentieth century, Charles Fort (1874– CHARLES FORT: 1932) began the work that led one biographer to call PROPHET OF THE him the “Prophet of the Unexplained” (Knight 1970). UNEXPLAINED Having come into an inheritance that permitted him to engage in armchair endeavors, Fort spent his last twenty-six years scouring old periodicals for reports of alleged occurrences that science was supposedly unable to explain: UFOs (be- fore there was such a term), archaeological oddities, mystery creatures, ghosts, rains of fish, and other anomalies—what would come to be called “fortean phe- nomena.” Fort was not himself an investigator, and his anecdotal evidence left much to be desired (Nickell 2004, 335–337). Nevertheless, Fort was a major innovator. In an excellent biography of him, Jim Steinmeyer (2008, xv) states, “What Fort invented was our modern view of the paranormal.” Others had pointed out strange occurrences and asked why they happened, but Charles Fort championed their significance and accused science of being too conventional to care. Many of today’s paranormal claims can be traced to Fort’s writings.

32 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Supposed communication with spirits of the dead is at least as old as the Biblical “Witch HARRY PRICE: of Endor” who, at the behest of King Saul, al- THE ORIGINAL legedly conjured up the ghost of Samuel (I Sam- uel 28). From the first century CE came a proto- GHOST HUNTER typical chain-rattling ghost at a house in Athens investigated by one Athenodorus who allegedly observed the specter and laid it to rest (Nickell 2012a, 17–18). This is an early example of what folklorists call a “legend trip”: a visit to a site to test a legend there (Brunvand 1996, 437–440). As spiritualism developed in the mid-nine- teenth century, photography was soon adopted to make “spirit photos”—first faked by William Mumler in Boston in 1862 (Nickell 2012a, 298–300). The instigator of today’s ghost-hunting craze was England’s Harry Price (1881–1948), who was among the first to use “modern technology” to detect spirits of the dead and for that purpose famously had a “ghost-hunting” kit (see Price 1936, photo facing p. 32). He employed such devices as a camera with infrared filter and film (for photographing in the dark), “an electronic signaling Along with instrument” (for detecting an object’s movement from anywhere in a house), and a notebook, “a sensitive transmitting thermograph” (to measure temperature variations). Along with a notebook, flashlight, and other utility items, he included a flask of flashlight, brandy in case anyone fainted (Price 1940, 107). and other Having married an heiress, Price could indulge his interests in psychical re- utility items, search beginning in the 1920s. Although he was a member of the Society for Psychical Research, the organization’s skepticism of much physical phenomena Harry Price led him to found his own lab. He combined the use of gadgetry with mediums included a flask and séances but was never able to prove the reality of ghosts. Worse, he re- mains suspected of trickery in some of his own investigations, including that of of brandy in case the Borley Rectory, the subject of his The Most Haunted House in England (1940). anyone fainted. Although he posed as a scientist, Price was a school dropout whose use of sci- entific methods was an act, and he sought only to prove his ideas—not rigorously test them (Morris 2006, xv; Guiley 2000, 299; Nickell 2012a, 261–263). Nevertheless, Price was followed by huckster Hans Holzer (1920–2009), who cranked out books about his visits to supposedly haunted houses with psychics in tow—in one instance earning him a scathing assessment from the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research . More recently, television’s Ghost Hunters and their countless imitators have taken mystery mongering to new lows. Besides the dubious legends and pseudoscience, it appears they are often merely de- tecting themselves (Nickell 2012a, 263–264, 275–280).

Whether or not the label is “exagger- ated,” as UFO historian Jerome Clark (1998, 2: 695) finds, many knowledge- RAYMOND A. PALMER: able persons regard Ray Palmer as “the THE MAN WHO man who invented flying saucers” (Keel ‘INVENTED’ UFOS 2001a, 536). Certainly, the idea of air- ships was a much earlier one stemming from science-fiction writers, such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Expectations aroused by science fiction no doubt helped spark the “Airship Wave”—the aerial-phenomena hysteria that plagued the United States between November 1896 and May 1897, preceding the modern wave of reports that began half a century later. After World War I, Charles Fort, the previously mentioned “Prophet of the Unexplained,” included unidentified objects in the sky among his discussions of mysterious phenomena, earning him the further appellation “the world’s first UFOlogist” (Clark 1992, 21–23), by suggesting the objects indicated visits from space aliens. Enter Raymond A. Palmer (1910–1977). Although a childhood accident left him a hunchback of short stature, Palmer’s runaway imagination and audac-

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 33 ity—including his unrelenting self-promotion—made him “something of a giant,” says Clark (1998, 2: 695). Obsessed with science fiction, Palmer created in 1933 the Jules Verne Prize Club. In 1938, he became editor of the first science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories (founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1926), its wild action tales prompting critics to label it “space opera.” He was cofounder of Fate in 1948 and publisher of other magazines, including Other Worlds, which evolved into Fly- ing Saucers, during the 1950s. He also published other writers’ books on flying saucers, so-called “contactees” (those supposedly chosen to receive the wisdom of the “Space Brothers”), and other topics (Clark 1998, 2: 694–696; see also the biography of Palmer [Nadis 2013]). Today largely forgotten, Palmer played a huge role in UFOlogy. He filled Amazing Stories with tales and articles hyping the “Shaver Mystery.” Based on one Richard S. Shaver, this featured a race of freakish creatures called “Deros” who lived in the hollow Earth. Palmer bought reams of material from Shaver, rewrote it, and added stories he penned himself under various pseudonyms. Responses poured in from readers who told of seeing strange objects in the sky and encountering alien beings (Keel 2001b). On the back cover of Amazing Stories’ August 1946 issue were depicted flying discs that, less than a year later, would launch the era of “flying Palmer saucers” (Clark 1998, 2: 695; Nickell 2014). On June 24, 1947, private pilot Ken- answered, neth Arnold saw nine objects in a five-mile-long formation moving like “a saucer skipped across water”—probably a phenomenon called “mountain-top mirages” “What would (McGaha and Nickell 2014). you say if I told In any case, Ray Palmer latched onto the “flying saucer” witness. About a month after Arnold’s sighting, Palmer hired him to investigate another saucer case in you the whole Washington State, though unfortunately the credulous Arnold was taken in by thing was what is now known as the Maury Island Hoax (Sachs 1980, 191–192; Clark 1998, 2: 612–614). When the premier issue of Palmer’s Fate magazine first appeared in a joke?” the spring of 1948, its cover story was by Kenneth Arnold, and it gained national attention. In 1952, Arnold wrote, with Palmer, a book titled The Coming of the Sau- cers. By then UFOs—that is, meteors, stars and planets, balloons, various aircraft, and other mundane phenomena, sometimes seen under unusual conditions such as temperature inversions—were beginning to become “real” presumed extrater- restrial craft. While Jerome Clark (1998, 2: 695) insists, “The UFO phenomenon is the creation not of one man but of tens of thousands of UFO sightings,” this is rather like observing that the Wright Brothers did not create the aircraft industry. To the extent that one man “invented” UFOs—that is, more than any other single person transformed them from fiction to seeming reality—that man was Raymond A. Palmer. Once in 1965, my late friend James W. Moseley (himself a saucer sati- rist) asked Palmer what he thought about flying saucers. Palmer answered, “What would you say if I told you the whole thing was a joke?” (Sachs 1980, 238).

The term extrasensory perception (ESP) re- fers to the alleged ability to acquire informa- DR. J.B. RHINE: tion by means other than through the known THE ‘DISCOVERER’ OF ESP senses, and it would include telepathy (mind reading), clairvoyance (remote viewing), precognition (future knowledge), and retro- cognition (paranormal knowledge of past events). Together with psychokinesis (PK, mind over matter), it constitutes what parapsychologists refer to as “psi” to describe two seemingly closely related phenomena. In fact, however, “psi” has never been proven, and, despite extensive research over many decades, there is still a lack of both scientific evidence and theory for its existence (Alcock 1996). Although there were ancient seers and psychics, the modern interests in such phenomena paralleled rapid developments in science (such as the discoveries of X-rays and radio waves) and scientific reasoning (such as Darwin’s theory of evolu- tion). Interest was also stimulated by the mid-nineteenth century spiritualist craze. When, in 1882, in London, a small band of scientists and spiritualists founded the

34 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Society for Psychical Research (SPR), unfortunately, their credulity, even outright gullibility, did not serve them well—and some members such as Harry Price, the ghost hunter, found the society too skeptical (Alcock 1996; Nickell 2012a, 21–22, 195–199, 261). Despite the SPR’s work, it fell to a botanist, Dr. J.B. Rhine (1895–1980), to attempt to establish psi as a scientific reality. He and his wife, Louisa, wished to establish that the soul existed and hoped to use psychical research (soon called “parapsychology”) to link religion and science. Unfortunately, in 1929, the credulous Rhines were taken in by a “mind-reading” horse named Lady Wonder. Lady appeared to be telepathic, nudging levers to activate alphabet cards and spell out answers to queries, but she was in fact responding to subtle cues from her trainer (Nickell 2004, 279–280). Nevertheless, Rhine’s parapsychology laboratory at Duke University—founded in 1940—pioneered in ESP research. His card tests—involving a subject’s guessing the sequence of symbols on a special deck of cards—seemed to begin to offer proof of a phenomenon for which he had coined the term Extra-Sensory Perception (as the title of a monograph in 1934). However, the tests were plagued with criticisms that subjects were allowed to handle the cards, that cheating was possible and not adequately guarded against, that the statistical analyses were flawed, and so on. Moreover, when Rhine tightened the controls, the scores went down. Rhine died having never convinced mainstream science that either ESP or psychokinesis was real (Alcock 1996; Hansel 1966). Even so, Rhine became the most famous parapsychologist in America, his name almost synonymous with ESP. He dominated the field until his death, and even then left an indelible mark on it.

The term cryptozoology—the study of unknown or “hidden” creatures (i.e., BERNARD HEUVELMANS: cryptids)—has been found in use as early ‘FATHER OF CRYPTOZOOLOGY’ as 1941 (Loxton and Prothero 2013, 16). It applies to such purported creatures as sea serpents, the Loch Ness mon- ster, the Yeti, Bigfoot (each discussed here in turn), and many others. Although sea serpents are reported from ancient times, it was British hydrog- rapher and author Rupert T. Gould (1890–1948) who presented them seriously to readers, beginning in 1930 with his book The Case for the Sea-Serpent. (This was followed by Bernard Heuvelmans’s In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents in 1968.) Gould went on to also promote river and lake creatures in articles, radio broadcasts, and his 1934 book, The Loch Ness Monster and Others (Keel 2001b). Such creatures typically prove to be the misidentification of known creatures (such as otters swim- ming in a line), or other mundane phenomena, or hoaxes (Nickell 1995, 238–243; 2013a). Another cryptozoologist was Ivan T. Sanderson (1911–1973), whose important writings on the subject included There Could Be Dinosaurs (1948) and Investigating the Unexplained: A Compendium of Disquieting Mysteries of the Natural World (1972). His 1961 Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life helped turn the Yeti into sup- posed evidence for Bigfoot. For example, a footprint many believed to be that of a Himalayan Yeti (but more likely an animal track altered and enlarged by melting snow) helped set the stage for the appearance of giant footprints in 1958 at Bluff Creek in northern California, leading to the creature being dubbed “Bigfoot.” In 2002, the tracks were revealed as a hoax by Ray Wallace (Nickell 2011, 68). In 1967, Bigfoot enthusiast Roger Patterson set out to film the creature at Bluff Creek and returned with footage showing what was more recently revealed as Pat- terson acquaintance Bob Heironimus wearing a gorilla suit bought from costumer Phil Morris and modified (Nickell 2011, 68–72). Meanwhile, books on the man-beast The “Minnesota Iceman” had begun to proliferate, including Patterson’s Do Abominable Snowmen of Amer- hoax—supposedly a ican Really Exist? (1966) and John Green’s Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us (1978). Sasquatch or a Neanderthal Many Bigfoot sightings are attributable to what I call the “Bigfoot Bear”—that is, man frozen in ice. any bear standing upright and even walking on its hind legs—such lookalikes typi-

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 35 cally being found in bear country and engaging in bearlike activity (Nickell 2013b). Despite all these paranormal claims, the man usually designated the “Father of Cryptozoology” is Bernard Heuvelmans (1916–2001) (Coleman and Clark 1999, 161). Another claimant for the title would be his friend, the previously mentioned Ivan T. Sanderson; both were taken in by the “Minnesota Iceman” hoax—suppos- edly a Sasquatch or a Neanderthal man frozen in ice but actually the work of a Disneyland model maker (Nickell 2011, 87–90). However, it was actually Heuvel- mans who did the most to create the field of cryptozoology, first with his serious 1955 book, Sur la Piste des Bêtes Ignorées (republished in English, On the Track of Unknown Animals, 1958, 1962), then with his many additional books, his founding a Center for Cryptozoology in 1975 and being elected first president of the Inter- national Society of Cryptozoology at its founding in 1982 (Coleman and Clark 1999, 105–108). The concept of an area of the Atlantic where ships and planes mysteriously disappear VINCENT H. GADDIS: can be traced to a Miami Associated Press (AP) writer, E(dward) V(an) W(inkle) Jones. THE BERMUDA TRIANGULATOR His article appeared in the Miami Herald, September 17, 1950, and was accompanied by an AP map showing Bermuda, Miami, and Puerto Rico partially connected by dashed lines approximating a triangle. Jones (1950) vaguely referred to a “misty limbo of the lost.” Two years later, writing in Fate magazine, George X. Sands (1952) expanded Jones’s article (without citing him or other sources), and added the word triangle and a heavy dose of mystifi- cation. Others also began to get onto the little bandwagon started by E.V.W. Jones, and soon there was a caravan. The flying saucer hucksters fell in behind (e.g., Morris Jessup with The Case for the UFO, 1955, and Donald Keyhoe with The Flying Saucer Conspiracy, 1957), as did writers of the “strange” genre (including Frank Edwards with Stranger Than Science, 1959) and others. It remained for Vincent Gaddis (1913–1997)—a writer who once made up “filler” stories for Raymond Palmer as “a matter of livelihood” (Gaddis 1991, 16–17)—to get out in front and lead the burgeoning effort. His article in the February 1964 Argosy landed on major American newsstands and gave the mystery area a de- finitive name and ominous tone: “The Deadly Bermuda Triangle.” Gad- dis followed a year later with a book on sea mysteries, Invisible Horizons (1965), in which a chapter gave an alternate, even more ominous name for the area, “The Triangle of Death.” Many joined Gaddis with books of their own. John Wallace Spencer’s 1969 self-published book borrowed its title from E.V.W. Jones but pretended otherwise, referring to an area “that I call the ‘Limbo of the Lost.’” (Spencer loaded his auto with books that he then promoted on talk shows, until Bantam Books transformed the work into a bestselling paperback in 1973 [Kusche 1996, 104].) In fact there was no clear “triangle,” and writers proposed greatly varying sizes and even different shapes, including a rough square called “The Hoodoo Sea” and another very large configuration, “Devil’s Trape- zium” (Nickell 2007, 5). Worse, reports authority Lawrence David Kusche (1996, 102), “Many of the losses that are credited to the Bermuda Triangle Map of the “Bermuda actually occurred nowhere near it, but near Ireland, Newfoundland, in the Triangle” and some other such alleged regions. Pacific Ocean!” Ivan Sanderson took things further into the ridiculous, discovering (Map by Joe Nickell) there to be not just one jinx area but a dozen, his article for the pulp Saga (October 1972) being titled “The 12 Devil’s Graveyards Around the World.” (Reprinted in Ebon 1975.) Some were over land, Sanderson opined, and he called their shapes “Lozanges” (Sanderson 1975, 15–25). Much of the information on which these “Vile Vortices” were based was false or imaginary (Kusche 1996, 114). Still other writers

36 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer followed, notably Richard Winer with his The Devil’s Triangle and Charles Berlitz with his The Bermuda Triangle—both bestsellers published in 1974. Meanwhile, the impressive investigation by Kusche—The Bermuda Triangle Mys- tery—Solved (1975)—used original records and detective work to take the mys- tery from the mystery mongers. Kusche provided prosaic explanations—severe weather, human error, and equipment failure among them—to case after misrep- resented case. For example, the 1963 “disappearance” of the S.S. Marine Sulphur Queen was instead an accident caused by structural weakening due to the removal of bulkheads to accommodate vats containing tons of molten sulfur; wreckage was found, including the name board reading “ARINE SULPH” between its shattered ends (Kusche 1975, 206–216). Still, of course, the claims continued. (I have myself responded to some of them, including for an episode of National Geographic Tele- vision’s Is It Real? [2006; see also Nickell 2007]. Kusche revisited the subject in his recent SKEPTICAL INQUIRER cover article on the fortieth anniversary of his book, calling the “mystery” of the Bermuda Triangle “one of the most widespread frauds that has ever been perpetrated” (Kusche 2015, 36).

The modern ancient-astronauts craze was sparked in 1968 with the publication of Erich ERICH VON DÄNIKEN: von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods?—a book that consistently underestimates the abil- CHARIOTEER OF THE GODS ities of ancient peoples and assigns many of their impressive works to visiting extra- terrestrials. Von Däniken (b. 1935) wrote several other books capitalizing on the worldwide success of his first—works that scholars and scientists label pseudo- history and pseudoarchaeology—and other writers followed suit. Von Däniken did not invent the idea of ancient astronauts; it has its beginnings as far back as the nineteenth century. Also, in 1919, Charles Fort speculated in his Book of the Damned about archaeological indications for early extraterrestrial visitation. Such speculation was also common to pre–von Däniken saucer writers such as Morris K. Jessup (Clark 1998, 1: 75–86). Nevertheless, von Däniken did create modern worldwide interest in the notion in his books. Again and again, however, he misrepresents the archaeological facts. For example, he suggests that the Egyptians could not have built the pyramids, that they lacked the means of quarrying the stones, transporting them (having neither rope nor wood for rollers), or lifting them in place (von Däniken 1971, 74–80). In fact, the quarries are still extant (one of them being the hollow area in which the Sphinx stands); the “nonexistent” rope is displayed in quantities in museums; the Egyptians left a drawing showing how they transported a colossal statue of many times greater weight than any pyramid stone using rope and a wooden sledge; and traces still exist of the great earthen ramps (progressively lengthened as neces- sary to lessen the steepness) that were used to raise the stones (Nickell 1995, 187–188). Von Däniken again overstates the difficulty of making the famous Nazca lines and giant ground drawings that are etched across thirty miles of Peruvian desert. Lines and figures, he opines, could have been “built according to instructions from an aircraft” (von Däniken 1971, 17). In fact, using sticks and knotted cord, I twice recreated Nazca geoglyphs: the giant condor (in 1982 on a Kentucky landfill) and the great spider (in 2006 on a California ranch for filming by National Geographic Television). No flying saucer was required to make the figures, whose lines are believed to be used for ritual processions (Nickell 1983; 2012b, 121–125; Aveni 2000, 212–222). As to the “chariots” in the title of von Däniken’s first book, they refer to the fiery spaceships he imagines had landed anciently, witnessed by awed primitives. He sees the large drawings as “signals” and the longer and wider lines as “landing strips” (von Däniken 1971, 17; 1972, 105). However, Maria Reiche, the German-born mathe-

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 37 matician who mapped and studied the markings, had a ready rejoinder. Noting that the earth there is quite soft, she quipped, “I’m afraid the spacemen would have got- ten stuck” (quoted in McIntyre 1975, 718).

As early as 1978, mysterious, swirled pat- DOUG BOWER AND terns began to appear in southern English DAVE CHORLEY: fields—most often in wheat and other cereal CROP CIRCLE MAKERS crops, or “corn” as the British say. They inspired countless articles and a spate of books, no fewer than three in 1989. Circles- mystery enthusiasts were now called “cereologists” (after Ceres, the Roman goddess of vegetation), and “circlemania” was in full bloom (Nickell with Fischer 1992, 177–178). The phenomenon was essentially new. An attempt to link it with a circle that had appeared in a field of oats in Hertfordshire in 1678—then attributed to witchcraft— fails because that circle was cut, not bent down in a swirled pattern. Although reports of such circles have surfaced in modern times, such as those of reeds in Australia in 1966 and a burned circle of grass in Connecticut in 1970, few had the flattened swirl feature and few were well documented at the time. All were sup- posedly suggestive of flying-saucer landing spots, such as circles shown in tall grass in a Swiss village by a man claiming to be regularly visited by extraterrestri- als (Nickell with Fischer 1992, 183–184). As investigation showed, several factors pointed to hoaxing as the most likely explanation: Suspiciously, crop circles were more prevalent in southern England, had proliferated as media reports increased, were becoming more complex each season, and exhibited a “shyness” effect (that is, the mechanism avoided being seen in operation). Then two retired artists—Doug Bower and Dave Chorley—con- fessed they had pioneered in the making of the patterns using planks and cord. They proved their ability by fooling cereologist Pat Delgado, who had declared a pattern they had produced for a British tabloid to be genuine. Soon, others came forward to admit that they too had made circles, helping it become a copycat phe- nomenon (Nickell with Fischer 1992, 177–210). “Doug and Dave,” as they became known, were not only the originators of the modern phenomenon, they kept at it and were responsible for many of the giant grain-field patterns made over the years. Although they wrote no articles or books, they demonstrated their circle-making technique for television crews—for exam- ple, for ABC-TV’s Good Morning America (September 10, 1991)—and their pro- claimed hoax gained worldwide publicity. Those who did write the articles and books—and who therefore certainly helped promote the mystery of the phenomenon—were much less the “creators” of crop circles than they were its victims. Among them were Terence Meaden (author of The Circles Effect and Its Mystery, 1989), who had postulated that the crop circles were due to wind vortexes, but, as he kept modifying his theories to fit the evidence on the ground, the patterns continuously changed to keep one step ahead. Pat Del- gado and Colin Andrews (authors of Circular Evidence, 1989, and other books) were major promoters, but they were fooled by Doug and Dave and their imitators, and, as other hoaxes were revealed, they were left foolishly holding their dowsing rods. Many other circles promoters were likewise fooled, but there were die-hards such as Eltjo H. Haselhoff, PhD (2001), who were undaunted by “self-proclaimed” hoax- ers and soldiered on, as the circles became ever more elaborate, morphing into mathematical formations, pictograms, and even rectilinear designs that seemed a spoof of the very term “crop circles.” * * *

38 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer One wonders what these several “creators of the paranormal” would today think of what they had wrought. No doubt most felt their cause important. Some were credulous but principled (Bernard Heuvelmans and J.B. Rhine); some were out to make a buck (Harry Price, Vincent Gaddis, and Erich von Däniken); and still others wished to stir things up and enjoy the fray (Charles Fort, Raymond Palmer, and Doug Bower and Dave Chorley). Perhaps each was rewarded in his own way. Despite some side benefits (our learning more about such things as waking dreams, misperceptions, the will to believe, etc.) the paranormal has proved largely a chimera—that fire-breathing, lion-headed, goat-bod- ied, serpent-tailed monster of ancient mythology. Nevertheless, it still lurks at the com- mon boundary of superstition and science, endlessly chasing its scorched tail. I

References Morris, Richard. 2006. Harry Price: The Psychic Alcock, James E. 1996. Extrasensory perception. In Detective. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton. Stein 1996, 241–254. Aveni, Anthony F. 2000. Nasca: Eighth Wonder of the Nadis, Fred. 2013. The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer’s World? London: British Museum Press. Amazing Pulp Journey. New York: Tarcher/ Brunvand, Jan Harold. 1996. American Folklore: An Penguin. Encyclopedia. New York: Garland. Nickell, Joe. 1983. The Nazca drawings revisited. Clark, Jerome. 1992. UFO Encounters. Lincoln wood, SKEPTICAL INQUIRER 7(3) (Spring): 36–44. Illinois: Publications International. ———. 1995. Entities: Angels, Spirits, Demons and Other ———. 1998. The UFO Encyclopedia, in two vols. Detroit, Alien Beings. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. MI: Omnigraphics. ———. 2004. The Mystery Chronicles. Lexington: University Coleman, Loren, and Jerome Clark. 1999. Press of Kentucky. Cryptozoology A to Z. New York: Fireside. ———. 2007. The Bermuda Triangle and the ‘Hutchinson Ebon, Martin. 1975. The Riddle of the Bermuda Effect.’ Skeptical Briefs (September): 5–7. Triangle. Scarborough, Ontario, Canada: The New ———. 2011. Tracking the Man-Beasts. Amherst, NY: American Library of Canada. Prometheus Books. Gaddis, Vincent. 1965. Invisible Horizons: True ———. 2012a. The Science of Ghosts. Amherst, NY: Mysteries of the Sea. New York: Chilton Books. Prometheus Books. ———. 1991. Interview by Mark Chorvinsky. Strange ———. 2012b. CSI Paranormal. Amherst, NY: Inquiry Magazine 7 (April): 14–18, 54–55. Press. Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. 2000. The Encyclopedia of ———. 2013a. Scotland mysteries—part 1: The silly Ghosts and Spirits. New York: Checkmark Books. Ness monster. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER 37(2) (March/ Hansel, C.E.M. 1966. ESP: A Scientific Evaluation. New April): 20–22. York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. ———. 2013b. Bigfoot lookalikes. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Haselhoff, Eltjo H. 2001. The Deepening Complexity of 37(5) (September/October): 12–15. Crop Circles. Berkeley, CA: Frog, Ltd. ———. 2014. Era of the flying saucers. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Is It Real? “Bermuda Triangle.” 2006. National 38(6) (November/December): 16–18. Geographic Channel, aired September 25. Nickell, Joe, with John F. Fischer. 1992. Mysterious Jones, E.V.W. 1950. Sea’s puzzles still baffle men in Realms. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. pushbutton age. Miami Herald (September 17): 6F. Price, Harry. 1936. Confessions of a Ghost Hunter. Keel, John A. 2001a. The man who invented flying London: Putnam. saucers. Fortean Times 41 (Winter): 52–57. ———. 1940. The Most Haunted House in England: Ten ———. 2001b. The Shaver mystery. In Story 2001, Years’ Investigation of Borley Rectory. London: 536–546. Longmans Green. Knight, Damon. 1970. Charles Fort: Prophet of the Sachs, Margaret. 1980. The UFO Encyclopedia. New Unexplained. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. York: Perigee Books. Kusche, Lawrence David. 1975. The Bermuda Triangle Sanderson, Ivan. 1975. World-wide seas of mystery. Mystery—Solved. New York: Warner Books. In Ebon 1975. ———. 1996. The Bermuda Triangle. In Stein 1996. Sands, George X. 1952. Sea mystery at our back door. ———. 2015. The Bermuda Triangle mystery delusion: Fate (October): 11–17. Looking back after forty years. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Stein, Gordon, ed. 1996. The Encyclopedia of the 39(6) (November/December): 28–37. Paranormal. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. Loxton, Daniel, and Donald R. Prothero. 2013. Steinmeyer, Jim. 2008. Charles Fort: The Man Who Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, Invented the Supernatural. New York: Tarcher/ and Other Famous Cryptids. New York: Columbia Penguin. University Press. Story, Ronald D., ed. 2001. The Encyclopedia of McGaha, James, and Joe Nickell. 2014. Mount Extraterrestrial Encounters. New York: New Rainier: “Saucer magnet.” SKEPTICAL INQUIRER 38(3) American Library. (May/June): 34–39. Von Däniken, Erich. 1971. Chariots of the Gods? New McIntyre, Loren. 1975. Mystery of the ancient Nazca York: Bantam. Lines. National Geographic (May). ———. 1972. Gods from Outer Space. New York: Bantam.

Joe Nickell, CSI’s senior research fellow, is one of the world’s leading investigators into claims of the paranormal. His many books include Ad- ventures in Paranormal Investigation, The Real-Life X-Files, The Science of Ghosts, Tracking the Man-Beasts, and The Mystery Chronicles.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 39 Dissociation and Paranormal Beliefs Toward a Taxonomy of Belief in the Unreal In a normal population, dissociative tendencies contribute to many types of paranormal thinking. Psychological dissociation, even at a subclinical level, is an important factor in the cognitive processing that leads to belief in the unreal.

MATTHEW J. SHARPS, SCHUYLER W. LIAO, AND MEGAN R. HERRERA

irtually all known human cultures possess beliefs in ghosts), but it also predisposed them to see these things. In a study in which we the paranormal. This may at first seem maladap- used Internet pictures of “paranormal” V tive—how could belief in the unreal be sufficiently creatures and objects (Sharps 2012), the dissociated tended to see them as real. advantageous that it would have survived the rigors of Where everybody else saw a teenager human evolution in the all-too-real world of past ages? in a Halloween gorilla suit with extra monkey hair, those with subclinical Such beliefs may have yielded evolu- uals to paranormal thinking. In earlier dissociation saw Bigfoot. Odd lights tionary advantages. Although the inter- research (Sharps et al. 2006; 2010), in the sky (a helicopter with a broken action of culture and human evolution we showed that subclinical levels of landing light, for example) readily be- is complex, it is certainly possible that depression were important for belief in came UFOs for the dissociated. In shared paranormal beliefs within any ghosts and extraterrestrial aliens. This short, those with subclinical dissoci- given culture, such as shared venera- is presumably because the depressed ation tended to see the prosaic as real tion of ancestral spirits or god-kings, would prefer to be in an environment evidence of the paranormal. might have yielded a coalescent group where things might be better; and It is crucial to emphasize the word loyalty that would be useful, physically things might be better in the afterlife subclinical. People with dissociative and politically, in dealings with other represented by ghosts, or perhaps on characteristics are emphatically not competing cultures. This might very another, nicer planet where extraterres- “crazy.” All human beings experience well have resulted in a selective bias to- trials might live. some levels of dissociation in their ev- ward dissociative processes, leading to Subclinical tendencies toward at- eryday life without clinical significance. success in those cultures that indulge in tention deficit hyperactive disorder But those with more of these tenden- such beliefs. (ADHD) predisposed people to belief cies tend to see their world in vastly But even if this is the case, a signifi- in extraterrestrial aliens and cryptids more paranormal terms. They not only cant psychological question arises—one such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness believe in these things; they see them in especially true for the modern world, in monster. Why? Aliens and monsters stimuli that other people would imme- which access to scientific information are cool, and finding them in the woods diately perceive as nonparanormal in is effectively unparalleled historically— and bodies of water takes us away from nature. How are such beliefs maintained in the the mundane reality that those with Subclinical dissociation was also minds of individuals, within any given ADHD tendencies frequently find ex- important in the 2012 Mayan “end of culture? Why do individual people har- cruciatingly dull. the world” fiasco, in which an ancient bor bizarre beliefs? However, in these studies, the most Mayan god was (depending on which important of the characteristics predis- interpretation you believed) literally ex- Experimental Psychology posing us to paranormal thinking was pected to surf ashore on a raft of very and the Paranormal dissociation. Not only did subclinical old (but presumably waterproof) sacred Previous laboratory research has demon- levels of dissociation predispose peo- snakes and establish a New Order of strated the importance of psychological ple to beliefs in everything paranormal peace and so forth. characteristics that predispose individ- (whether UFOs, aliens, cryptids, or Not terribly likely, right?

40 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer What Exactly Is Dissociation? We were privileged to publish two experience. The world may appear to be articles in the S I Unfortunately, the term dissociation “not quite real or . . . diffuse” (Cardena (Sharps et al. 2013; 2014) concerning has many uses and definitions. In our 1997, 400). This is emphatically not the psychological factors that made it usage, we emphatically do not refer “mental illness.” However, the discon- possible for modern human beings to to psychiatric concepts of dissociative nection with immediate physical reality believe in this type of baseless nonsense. identity disorder, or to a psychotic that occurs with subclinical dissociation We found that disturbingly high num- level of dissociation. We refer to sub- might incline many normal people to bers of university students held very in- clinical dissociative tendencies, of the view highly improbable things with coherent, but very positive, beliefs in the sort probably experienced from time more credulity (see DePrince and Freyd “Mayan end of the world.” Almost half to time by most people. Those with 1999; also Sharps et al. 2013; 2014). of our research respondents thought it subclinical dissociative tendencies see Compulsory education does not might happen; 10 percent were effec- prosaic reality as potentially fraught cure this sort of thing. College students tively certain that it was going to hap- with supernatural meaning. For the frequently engage in superstitious or pen, and 10 percent thought it was still dissociated, the facades of buildings, “lucky” behaviors when approaching inevitable even after it didn’t happen. seen in everyday context on the street, examinations and tests in their classes, When one considers the requisite phys- might hide vast conspiracies or alien especially when the consequences are ical details (Mayan god, waterproof autopsies or Bigfoot. perceived as particularly important snakes, etc.), one rather wonders what This type of dissociation may lead (Rudski and Edwards 2007). Almost these students, exposed on a daily basis to a diminished critical assessment of half of our college students (Sharps et to modern science, were majoring in. reality; as discussed in earlier S- al. 2013; 2014) thought that the Mayan Yet they bought it, and the number one  I articles (Sharps 2012; apocalypse might happen, and 10 per- factor producing this deeply bizarre set Sharps et al. 2013; 2014), there may cent were sure that it would. of beliefs was subclinical dissociation. be anomalous perceptions of individual So, we know that dissociation con-

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 41 tributes to paranormal beliefs and per- standard Duke University Religion ity of communication with the dead ceptions. But how pervasive is it? What Index (e.g., Koenig and Bussing 2010), (β = .185), with belief in reincarnation a types of paranormal thinking and per- which deals with religious behaviors re- close second (β = .164). Belief in astral ception are associated with dissociative lated to the supernatural (e.g., church projection fell a distant third, β = .064. tendencies? attendance). Finally, psychic powers were endorsed This was the focus of our present The items of the RPBS were sorted most strongly in mental “object mov- study, which used standardized instru- according to their subject areas. The ing,” β = .224, although psychokinesis, ments to address the question. twenty-six items of this scale were effectively a synonym, was endorsed sorted into the following indices: be- less strongly (β = .109; see below). Experimental Framework liefs in Religiosity, Magic, Luck, Fu- Two additional items of the RPBS ture Prediction, Cryptids (i.e., the Forty-one male respondents (mean age tested DES scores against modern Loch Ness monster), Fate of the 19.37 years, SD = 1.73) and sixty-three scientific perspectives. The first, a be- Soul, and Supernatural Powers. The female respondents (mean age 19.21 lief that “mind reading cannot occur,” overall score on the RPBS, and the years, SD = 1.37) participated in this was nonsignificant against dissociative score of each respondent on each of study. These respondents completed tendencies. However, the second, that these beliefs, was computed and com- the Dissociative Experiences Scale there may be life on other planets, was pared with scores on the DES, and (DES; Carlson and Putnam 1986). endorsed more strongly and signifi- then on the Duke Index, by means β This is a standard instrument for the cantly by the dissociated, = .231. of linear regression. The results were assessment of dissociative tendencies, Interestingly, no significant relation- quite revealing. used previously in a number of our ship was found between dissociation and the scales of the Duke University Results Religion Index, which at first appears So, we know that The relationship of overall scores on the to conflict with the significant relation- RPBS to dissociation in this non-di- ship of the DES to the Religiosity scale dissociation contributes agnosed, normal population was sig- of the RPBS; but wait. to paranormal beliefs nificant (linear regression), R2 = .171, β Discussion and perceptions. F(1,101) = 21.70, p < .001, = .423. Especially interesting is the fact that all Dissociation, as measured in this sub- But how pervasive is it? factors identified as paranormal were clinical population by the DES, was What types of significantly (p < .05) related to dissoci- significantly associated with every index ation as measured by the DES. In other of paranormal thinking measured. Those paranormal thinking words, tendencies toward subclinical with dissociative tendencies were more and perception are dissociation, in this normal, non-diag- likely to believe in heaven/hell, witch- associated with nosed population, were strongly related craft, the danger of black cats, astrol- to all forms of paranormal beliefs. ogy, the Loch Ness monster, commu- dissociative tendencies? In terms of relationship to subclin- nication with the dead, reincarnation, ical dissociation, Religiosity was most and psychic powers. strongly related by beliefs in heaven β However, belief in the Abominable and hell ( = .281). Magic was most Snowman, specific instances of witch- strongly endorsed by beliefs in witch- craft, and psychokinesis were not as experiments, including those published β craft ( = .167), although beliefs in strongly related to dissociative tenden- in the S I (e.g., specific cases of witchcraft was an- cies. Why not? Sharps 2012; Sharps et al. 2013; 2014). other matter; see below. Luck was most The DES deals with empirically ver- strongly endorsed by a fear of black cats Gestalt and Feature-Intensive Processes ified everyday experiences that relate (β = .268). Future Prediction was most strongly to dissociation, the focus of strongly endorsed by a belief in astrol- Previously (Sharps 2003; 2010; Sharps the current research. ogy (β = .270). (Belief in cryptids, for et al. 2013; Sharps and Nunes 2002), The respondents also completed the this scale, dealt only with the Abom- we presented a continuum in human Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS; inable Snowman and the Loch Ness information processing, in what is Tobacyk 2004). This scale addresses monster; Bigfoot and his allies were called the Gestalt/Feature-Intensive paranormal beliefs of various types, ad- conspicuously absent from this instru- Processing theory. This continuum dressing beliefs in such areas as the soul, ment). Nessie was strongly endorsed, ranges from feature-intensive process- magic, and cryptids. This standardized β = .420, while the Snowman was not. ing, in which the specific details of a instrument addresses, on an empirical We address this important dichotomy concept are given specific consideration basis, many of the paranormal beliefs below. in depth, to gestalt processing, in which current in Western culture. Fate of the Soul was most strongly a given concept is considered without Finally, respondents completed the supported by belief in the possibil- detailed analysis, with relatively uncrit-

42 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer ical acceptance of the given idea as a a decided backseat to Bigfoot and his tern is clear: when broad, noncritical whole. cronies. The Abominable Snowman gestalt processes are involved, the dis- We suggest here a relationship be- is historically an earlier concept, less sociated tend more toward paranormal tween dissociative tendencies and gestalt “available” to modern thinking in Tver- beliefs. When analytical, skeptical, fea- processing, the relatively uncritical, de- sky and Kahneman’s terms. Thinking ture-intensive processes are required, tail-free consideration of given phe- about this older concept would require paranormal beliefs recede, at least to nomena. In 2012, enormous attention more feature-intensive concepts to con- some degree. was given to the Maya prophecies in sider, more in-depth thinking about a media and in other sources. This, ac- relatively unfamiliar idea. When broad, noncritical cording to the availability heuristic of The Loch Ness monster, on the Tversky and Kahneman (1973), made other hand, is seen in TV “documen- gestalt processes are these prophecies relatively salient to taries” all the time. Even with its his- involved, the dissoci- the entire population. These proph- torical provenance, it is therefore a ecies were relatively available, to ev- modern concept, relatively “available” ated tend more toward erybody, in various media sources and in Tversky and Kahneman’s terms, paranormal beliefs. were therefore immediately salient for more amenable to modern thinkers, When analytical, skep- people thinking about these issues. and hence more readily processed in ge- However, for most people, there stalt, feature-free terms. Therefore, the tical, feature-intensive would have been some feature-inten- dissociated tend to endorse Nessie rela- processes are required, sive consideration of these prophecies; tively freely. The Snowman takes more feature-intensive analysis tells us that work, more feature-intensive analysis, paranormal beliefs ancient societies, such as the Mayans, and is therefore less readily endorsed. recede, at least to lacked modern scientific understand- We saw the same effect with astrol- some degree. ing, and so their prophecies might not ogy and astral projection. Astrology is be right. Also, a serious, feature-in- a still-current, relatively available con- tensive consideration of an ancient cept, requiring little feature-intensive What about the Duke Religion Index? Mayan god surfing ashore on a raft of analysis. Astral projection, a concept No significant relationships were long-suffering, six-hundred-year-old whose televised and Internet popu- found between dissociative tendencies waterproof snakes becomes immedi- larity has waned, would require more and the scales of the Duke Index. Is ately ridiculous. feature-intensive analysis, and would this an exception to the considerations However, those exhibiting sub- require less detail-free gestalt consider- discussed above? clinical levels of dissociation, with ation for easy acceptance. The answer is no, although this sit- consequent gestalt processing tendencies, The same effect applies to “object uation opens important avenues for fu- would not engage in the necessary fea- moving” and “psychokinesis.” Mental ture research. The Duke scales predom- ture-intensive thinking; they would not object moving requires no analysis at a inantly assess religious activities, not think about the time involved, or the feature-intensive level; it is eponymous. beliefs. This index addresses tendencies snakes, and would thereby credulously “Psychokinesis,” although effectively a to engage in church attendance and re- entertain the Mayan “prophecies.” In synonym for “mental object moving,” lated activities rather than specific ideas our previous research (Sharps et al. is an earlier, currently less available about theological phenomena. 2013; 2014), that’s exactly what they concept, which requires additional Church attendance and such are pre- did. The ludicrous, feature-intensive thought, activating feature-intensive cisely the activities that would have al- details would be lost in favor of a ge- processing. Thus, mental “object mov- lowed one to adhere to local standards in stalt, an idea something like “the god ing” was endorsed with its automatized, the vastly more religious ancient world. will return.” This gestalt processing eponymously gestalt characteristics, Whether you believe or not, these activ- would necessarily result in a consequent whereas the more feature-intensive, but ities allow you to insert yourself more strength of belief in a god-ridden “New synonymous, concept of psychokinesis firmly into a religious community, a Age,” without the bothersome concerns was not. crucial factor in the tribal societies of the engendered by feature-intensive, scien- Finally, the same phenomenon was ancient world. tific, appropriately skeptical analysis. observed in the endorsement of “witch- Human evolution has fostered the These considerations are under- craft” as a general, gestalt phenomenon, tendency to fit into society. Ancient so- scored by the exceptions to this pat- but in the absence of statistically signif- cieties, those in existence through the tern we noted earlier. More dissoci- icant endorsement of specific instances majority of human evolutionary time, ated individuals believed in the Loch of witchcraft, which would require tended to hold specific sets of beliefs. If Ness monster than in the Abominable more feature-intensive thinking. The you demonstrated your beliefs accord- Snowman. Why? general phenomenon was endorsed; the ingly, you were accepted; if not, you The Snowman is little seen today in specific instances were not. were ostracized, frequently with fatal televised and Internet accounts, taking From all of these instances, the pat- consequences.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 43 The potential adaptive significance, feature-intensive analysis and think- 2010. Paranormal encounters as eyewitness the evolutionary advantage, is obvious. ing. Potential believers in paranormal phenomena: Psychological determinants of atypical perceptual interpretations. Current In any given ancient society, as long phenomena are most likely to question Psychology 29(4): 320–327. as you demonstrated your beliefs, re- these erroneous beliefs if provided with Sharps, M.J., and M.A. Nunes. 2002. Gestalt gardless of internal cognitive processes, solid, feature-intensive educational en- and feature-intensive processing: Toward a you were an acceptable member of the vironments in which they must con- unified theory of human information pro- cessing. Current Psychology 21(1): 68–84. society. If you did not do so, you were front such supposed phenomena as ex- Tobacyk, J.J. 2004. A revised paranormal belief ostracized or killed. traterrestrial aliens, cryptids, and ghosts scale. International Journal of Transpersonal Thus, we see a potentially important in very specific terms. Studies 23(1): 94–98. Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman. 1973. dichotomy between actual gestalt and Summary Availability: A heuristic for judging fre- feature-intensive beliefs, and a demon- quency and probability. Cognitive Psychology stration of the importance of apparent Our latest research shows that those 5(2): 207–232. conformation to these beliefs in socially who exhibit subclinical tendencies Matthew J. Sharps toward paranormal beliefs also tend acceptable venues. Those who engaged is professor of psy- toward subclinical dissociation. These in the appropriate religious rituals were chology at California tendencies may best be countered by most likely to succeed in most of the State University, detail-specific, feature-intensive, scien- societies that preceded the modern era. Fresno, California, Those who did not were ostracized or tific education. Hopefully, these con- siderations may inform education at and serves on the killed. This was true regardless of the adjunct faculty of internal cognitive processes of thinking the primary, secondary, and collegiate levels to reduce paranormal beliefs in Alliant International or belief. University in psychology. He specializes in Therefore, religious activities, as favor of scientifically legitimate think- eyewitness phenomena and related areas opposed to beliefs and as measured by ing needed to develop realistic science I in forensic cognitive science. He is a diplo- the Duke Index, would not be expected and technology. mate and fellow of the American College of to be influenced, substantially or sig- References nificantly, by subclinical dissociative Forensic Examiners and is author of more Cardena, E. 1997. Dissociative disorders: than 180 publications and professional pa- tendencies. The more successful, less Phantoms of the self. In S.M. Turner and dissociative individuals would histori- M. Hersen, eds., Adult Psychopathology and pers, including the 2010 book Processing Diagnosis, third edition, 400. New York: Under Pressure: Stress, Memory, and De- cally be suggested to have engaged in Wiley. religious activities to the same degree Carlson, E.B., and F.W. Putnam. 1986. cision-Making in Law Enforcement (www. as everybody else, and we would antic- Development, reliability, and validity of a LooseleafLaw.com; 2nd edition in prepara- dissociation scale. Journal of Nervous and tion, 2016). He has consulted on eyewit- ipate this tendency to have continued Mental Disorders 174: 727–735. into the modern world. However, the DePrince, A.P., and J.F. Freyd. 1999. ness issues in numerous criminal cases. beliefs involved would be more likely to Dissociative tendencies, attention, and mem- ory. Psychological Science 10(5): 449–452. be endorsed by the dissociated; that is Koenig, H.G., and A. Bussing. 2010. The Schuyler W. Liao exactly what was demonstrated by the Duke University Religion Index: A five-item teaches cognitive and present results. measure for use in epidemiological studies. Religions 1(1): 78–85. abnormal psychology In summary, our present results in- Rudski, J.M., and A. Edwards. 2007. Malinowski at California State dicate: goes to college: Factors influencing students’ University and serves 1. Subclinical dissociative tenden- use of ritual and superstition. Journal of General Psychology 134: 389–403. cies predispose people to paranormal on the adjunct faculty Sharps, M.J. 2003. Aging, Representation, and of Fresno City College. beliefs. Thought: Gestalt and Feature-Intensive 2. Those paranormal systems that Processing. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction. His research focuses ———. 2010. Processing Under Pressure: Stress, on the interaction of cognitive and affec- require only gestalt cognition are Memory, and Decision-Making in Law more likely to result in the endorse- Enforcement. Flushing, NY: Looseleaf Law. tive processes in forensic psychology. ment of such beliefs, as opposed ———. 2012. Eyewitness to the paranormal: The experimental psychology of the “unex- to those that require more intense, plained.” S I 36(4): 39–45. Megan R. Herrera is feature-intensive thinking, which do Sharps, M.J., S.W. Liao, and M.R. Herrera. a doctoral candidate not. 2013. It’s the end of the world, and they don’t feel fine: The psychology of December in forensic clinical 3. These dynamics are more likely 21, 2012. S I 37(1): 34–39. psychology at Alliant to be observed in the realm of para- ———. 2014. Remembrance of apocalypse past. International Uni- normal or religious thinking rather S I 38(6): 54–58. Sharps, M.J., J. Matthews, and J. Asten. 2006. versity, Fresno. Her than in the realm of locally approved Cognition, affect, and beliefs in paranor- research focuses on activities (e.g., church attendance). mal phenomena: Gestalt/feature intensive the interaction of cog- The best way to counter such para- processing theory and tendencies toward ADHD, depression, and dissociation. Journal nitive, affective, and perceptual processes normal beliefs is to make use of ed- of Psychology 140(6): 579–590. ucational interventions that involve Sharps, M.J., E. Newborg, S. Van Arsdall, et al. in forensic psychology.

44 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Scientific Reasoning at the USAF Academy: An Examination into Titanium-Treated Necklaces We used a classroom experiment at the United States Air Force Academy to examine whether necklaces infused with microscopic-particle titanium, such as those sold by Phiten Corporation, improve emotional well-being.

CRAIG A. FOSTER, CHRISTOPHER K. MCCLERNON, AND RICHARD F. REICH

edding bands typically feature a particular metal such as gold, silver, platinum, or in some cases, Wtitanium. There is no scientific reason to believe that the substance of the metal (e.g., the titanium) has any direct influence on a person’s physical health or emotional well-being. Now, imagine dissolving that same metal in water so the resulting microscopic-sized particles could be infused into an item that could be worn or kept in close proximity. Would the resulting item provide a health ben- notes that there are over 130 Phiten re- efit where the solid mass could not? tail locations in Japan and that Phiten started officially in Southern California That is the essence of the claim These “Aqua Metals” include ti- in 1998. The Phiten USA timeline also made by Phiten Corporation (Phiten), tanium, silver, platinum, palladium, refers to several well-known athletes a Japanese company that distributes and gold. They are incorporated into who have served as Phiten representa- products worldwide. Phiten offered the several products such as necklaces, tives (including Jennie Finch, Carmelo following summary on the English ver- bracelets, tape, lotions, athletic sup- Anthony, Josh Hamilton, and Hideki sion of its corporate webpage (see www. ports, garments, sleeping goods, and Matsuyama). Phiten was a corporate phiten.com): “relaxation equipment.” Phiten also partner of University of Hawaii Ath- offers a “Phiten Room” where micro- letics for several years and has had for- All Phiten products incorporate scopic-particle titanium (MPT) can be a novel form of technology that mal relationships with Major League involves metals broken down into permeated into wall surfaces to enhance Baseball (MLB), the National Basket- microscopic particles dispersed in relaxation. ball Association (NBA), and the Na- water. This process underlines [sic] Those who are not familiar with tional Hockey League (NHL). Phiten the technologies of a variety of Phiten might be surprised at the pop- recently developed a baseball cleat with unique materials we possess. By uti- ularity of its products. The Phiten New Balance, a well-known athletic ap- lizing the property of each material webpage currently offers a robust list parel company. Phiten’s products usually to a maximum extent, we are able of global contacts that, at present, incorporate MPT, which is sometimes to realize customers’ potentials in a variety of extents that leads to restore includes locations in Europe, Asia, called “Aqua Titan” or “Aqua-Tita- normal relaxation status of custom- Australia, North America, and South nium.” Phiten’s titanium-treated neck- ers. This is the technology that sup- America. The United States subsidiary, laces seem to be particularly popular in ports more comfortable daily life. Phiten USA (www.phitenUSA.com), baseball.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 45 Claims and Evidence Surrounding MPT this benefit; if at least some of the re- even Phiten-funded researchers report We were interested in the claim that views on Amazon.com are to be trusted, that the mechanism between MPT and MPT, even when located externally to a many people believe that Phiten neck- improved health “remains unclear” (Aoi person, can influence emotional well-be- laces alleviate pain or influence emo- et al. 2012, p. 17). Third, the variety ing (e.g., wearing an MPT-infused tional well-being. The second source of purported benefits associated with necklace). The presence of MPT could of support comes from a small number MPT might resemble pseudoscience in influence well-being through a placebo of publications promoting the potential terms of sounding extraordinary (e.g., effect, and MPT, when infused in a tape health benefits of MPT. The Aoi et al. Hines 2003). Even the single impli- or garment, could exert some influ- (2012) examination into the influence cation that MPT can diminish the ence simply by keeping people warmer of MPT-treated surroundings pro- ever-present problem of stress would vides the clearest implication that the likely be the psychological discovery external presence of MPT somehow of the decade. Fourth, the theory that influences emotional well-being. Aoi externally located MPT provides ben- Microscopic-particle et al. randomly assigned office work- efits appears to be constructed so that titanium appears ers to sleep for five nights in quarters it can only be confirmed (e.g., Hans- where the walls and floors were or were son 2013). This seems evident in the similar to other exter- not infused with MPT. According to small necklace packaging disclaimer nally worn accessories Aoi et al., their results “suggest that that states, “Not all users will experi- with health-related sleeping in a room containing titanium ence the intended benefits of Phiten lowers physiological and psychological products, and individuals must try it claims that science stress” (2012, p. 13). for themselves to see whether it works generally deems as There are several reasons to be skep- for them.” This disclaimer suggests tical of this type of claim. One cause for that positive results can be attributed pseudoscientific: concern is that research supporting the to the necklaces while negative results crystals, copper potential benefits of MPT is typically cannot. Fifth, MPT appears similar to bracelets, and funded by Phiten, has an author who other externally worn accessories with lists Phiten as the institutional affilia- health-related claims that science gen- magnetic bracelets. tion, or both. The only exception was erally deems as pseudoscientific: crys- one article where the authors declared tals, copper bracelets, and magnetic that there was no conflict of interest. bracelets. This type of collaboration is not by it- self improper, but it is possible that this Classroom Experiment: Phiten Necklaces corporate-research synergy could gen- versus All-Purpose Clothesline (see Rowlands et al. 2014). However, erate collectively biased results. Phit- Phiten has clearly cultivated the notion en-supported researchers might be less We examined the potential influ- that being in the presence of MPT aggressive in publishing unflattering ence of Phiten necklaces in a United can directly improve emotional well-be- results, possibly creating a “file drawer States Air Force Academy (USAFA) ing through some mysterious process. problem.” They might also knowingly classroom experiment. We needed an Consider Phiten’s description regarding or unknowingly overlook potential experiment with two groups to create a its necklaces and bracelets: problems in their research methodolo- subsequent demonstration of inferen- Simply by wearing these prod- gies. At the very least, it seems fair to tial statistics for pedagogical purposes. ucts, your body can feel relaxed suggest that the scientific community Our deeper motive was to support the and refreshed. Our necklaces are will have difficulty embracing the pur- USAFA Officer Development mission an indispensable item for relieving by reinforcing the intertwined values stress and fatigue in our modern ported benefits of MPT without sup- lives. . . . In all aspects of life—from port from researchers who are clearly of empiricism and scientific reasoning. everyday activities to athletics—our independent from Phiten. Military professionals should value products can help maximize your Another concern is that Phiten’s empiricism to prevent the military potential energy and strength. This is promotion of MPT and other Aqua from investing in products and ser- why so many top athletes use Phiten products. (http://www.phiten.com/ Metals simply sounds like pseudosci- vices that do not provide any real ben- english/products/index.html) ence. The term pseudoscience can be efit. Military professionals should also used unfairly, so let us offer specific learn to supplement intuition, when Support for the theory that exter- examples. First, support for Phiten’s possible, with well-reasoned evidence. nally located MPT influences emo- products is largely anecdotal (Shermer This is seen perhaps most dramatically tional well-being can be linked to two 2002). Second, there is no clear mecha- among pilots. When the experience sources. The first is people who claim nism to explain how one variable influ- of in-cockpit flight disrupts the ves- that MPT-treated products provide ences another (see Thagard 1993), and tibular system, pilots can experience

46 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer a psychologically powerful motivation rarily (e.g., for athletic practices or ping that portion of the necklace with to navigate based on their dysfunc- showering) and, if this were the case, white Duct Tape (see Figure 1 where tional perception, possibly resulting to document when this was necessary. one cadet is wearing a Phiten necklace in fatal impact. Pilots are therefore Finally, the instructor encouraged ca- and the other a “Clothesline” necklace). trained to rely on decades of accumu- dets to participate fully and seriously in It is quite unlikely that any cadet would lated evidence demonstrating that they order to support the scientific process attempt to identify a necklace due to should at these moments “trust their and overall learning experience. concerns about honor and simply being instruments” and navigate in a man- Cadets were then presented sequen- busy. The uncommon white duct tape ner that feels tremendously danger- tially with a large bin from which they was nonetheless used as an additional ous. This interplay between intuition could remove a tape-covered necklace. safeguard to discourage any cadet who and science also occurs in other areas. The bin contained a mixed assortment might be tempted to remove it to iden- Officers can manage in ways that feel correct but stand in contrast to empir- ically supported theories. Officers presumably benefit from considering evidenced-based theories regarding effective peace support or wartime operations to facilitate their own sit- uation-based judgment. Our impres- sion was that cadets value empiricism and scientific reasoning as textbook definitions but overlook these values in everyday application. We therefore designed a classroom experiment that would allow cadets to experience an examination into a seemingly outland- ish claim rather than just read about it. We asked cadets who were in the second semester of a year-long course sequence about statistics and research methods in the behavioral sciences to participate. These cadets were typi- cally in their third year at the USAFA. Cadets were not required to partici- pate, and a small percentage of cadets Figure 1. Two cadets wearing the necklaces used in the experiment. It is impossible to tell which declined participating. Forty-eight one is sporting the Phiten necklace. USAFA cadets (thirty-three female, fifteen male) chose to participate. An instructor (Foster) told partic- of two different necklaces. Half of the tify his or her necklace. Finally, it is ipating and non-participating cadets included necklaces were Phiten’s Clas- important to note that we judged the that we wanted to examine prod- sic Titanium Necklaces (in orange or necklaces to be exceptionally simi- ucts that reportedly improve personal burnt orange) purchased using the lar in appearance and feel, and we are well-being. He explained that the re- Phiten USA webpage (Phiten Condi- certain that they created an effective search involved wearing necklaces that tion). The other necklaces were seg- double-blind study—the cadets did not were covered in tape to conceal their ments of Everbilt’s 3/16 Inch All-Pur- know what kind of necklace they were nature. Cadets were asked to wear the pose Clothesline in White (Clothesline wearing, and the class instructors could necklaces until the next class meet- Condition) purchased from The Home not tell either. Some cadets might have ing, which occurred forty-eight hours Depot. We chose the clothesline be- suspected that there was more than one later. Cadets were instructed, for safety cause it closely approximated the size kind of necklace, but we doubt they purposes, not to wear their respective and weight of the Phiten necklaces. were overly concerned in this regard. necklaces when sleeping but to instead We removed the clasps from the Phiten Cadets completed a survey at the wrap them around a wrist, put them necklaces to create straight twenty-six- next class meeting, which created an under a pillow, or place them next to inch segments. We cut the pieces of experimental trial of approximately for- their person. The instructor also ac- clothesline to be the same length. We ty-eight hours. The survey began with knowledged that some of them might then wrapped all necklaces in masking three questions: Do you feel relaxed? need to remove the necklaces tempo- tape and connected the ends by wrap- Do you feel angry? Do you feel ener-

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 47 (at which time it should have been next damentally disprove the notion that to their person). We revealed the nature externally located MPT puzzlingly of the experiment and a corresponding promotes emotional well-being. Failing laboratory assignment after the survey to detect a relationship between an responses were collected.1 independent variable and a dependent variable does not mean the relation- Results ship does not exist; it just means the researcher was unable to detect it. Cadets in the Phiten Condition After all, USAFA cadets, like all peo- reported feeling trivially less Relaxed ple, experience situational factors that (M=5.62, SD=2.02) than did cadets in could influence their levels of relax- the Clothesline Condition (M=5.67; ation, anger, and energy (e.g., academic SD=1.99). Cadets in the Phiten responsibilities, required or voluntary Condition reported feeling less Angry exercise, interpersonal concerns, sleep (M=2.12; SD=1.42) than did cadets in deprivation, and so forth). This type the Clothesline Condition (M=2.71; of random error is omnipresent in SD=1.88). Cadets in the Phiten research with human participants, so Condition reported feeling less Energetic it does not invalidate our research. (M=4.96; SD=2.05) than did cadets in Nevertheless, in the spirit of good sci- the Clothesline Condition (M=5.46; ence, we do need to acknowledge that SD=1.59). We conducted indepen- if MPT necklaces were to influence dent samples t tests comparing the emotional well-being, it is possible that Phiten Condition and the Clothesline these extraneous influences could have In sum, we believe Condition for each dependent variable. hidden that effect. None of the three results revealed dif- that our classroom Those who believe in the power of ferences between the conditions that externally located MPT might examine experiment provided would be deemed as statistically sig- the tangible differences between our nificant at the standard expected in the a legitimate conceptual experiment and the Aoi et al. (2012) behavioral sciences (i.e., all three tests experiment. The MPT-treated sur- replication of the had corresponding probability values roundings surely contained greater greater than 0.05). To be additionally research provided amounts of MPT, but our necklaces mindful, we identified three subsets were presumably in closer proximity by Aoi et al. of participating cadets based on their to the participants’ bodies. We assume survey responses: (a) three cadets who that MPT proponents would agree wrote that they had been ill during the that proximity must matter; otherwise trial (one in the Phiten Condition); MPT-treated necklaces would exhibit (b) one cadet who forgot to wear the their alleged benefits whether worn necklace on the final morning and or remaining unpurchased in a distri- therefore completed the survey with- bution center. The Aoi et al. trial oc- out it (Clothesline Condition); and (c) curred over five days, but the treatment getic? We used these three dependent six other cadets who appeared to have was suspended during the day. Our trial variables based on the claims associated spent more than eight hours without lasted only two days but the treatment with necklaces and bracelets on the wearing their necklace or having it was generally continuous. The Aoi et Phiten webpage as well as the results next to them while sleeping (one in the al. experiment used twenty-four par- provided by Aoi et al. (2012). Each Phiten Condition). We repeated the ticipants, whereas our experiment had item was followed by a scale ranging comparisons between the Phiten and forty-eight. Finally, Phiten adherents Clothesline Conditions after omitting from 1 (No) to 9 (Yes). The survey also might be tempted to argue that we re- all possible combinations of these three solicited which class section cadets were duced the MPT effect by covering the subjects. The obtained results again did in (there were three sections), their sex, necklaces with tape. If so, we do not not reveal any statistically significant and whether they knew what type of understand why masking tape and a lit- differences between conditions. necklace they were wearing (none re- tle duct tape would reduce an effect that ported knowing). Finally, the survey in the case of the Aoi et al. experiment asked cadets to document any time that Implications somehow passes through rubber (or they had removed the necklaces other The results of our classroom-based flooring material), air, and the exterior than when showering or when sleeping experiment do not by themselves fun- of the human body. In sum, we believe

48 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer that our classroom experiment provided (A detailed technical report is available a legitimate conceptual replication of upon request.) We asked Phiten for the research provided by Aoi et al. the mass weight percent of titanium This leads to a nagging question. in their necklaces, but they politely re- Why would Aoi et al. (2012) obtain sig- sponded that it was a corporate secret. nificant findings when we failed to do The results demonstrate a remark- so? The Aoi et al. results might appear able irony. It seems that many baseball legitimate on the surface, but they can players are purchasing Phiten necklaces also be explained in another way. Aoi to receive the purported benefits of MPT et al. point to improvements that were when they are routinely performing, pre- significant in the Titanium Condition sumably unbeknownst to them, on playing but not in the Placebo Condition. This fields that contain titanium. Titanium is improper because two effects can be might be perceived as rare because it is similar even though one effect crosses costly and associated with highly tech- the threshold of statistical significance nological products. Titanium is actually whereas the other effect falls short of the ninth most-abundant element on doing so. When the Aoi et al. results the planet (Donachie Jr. 2000), mak- are examined with this in mind, one can ing the Earth, conceptually speaking, Figure 2. Coauthor Craig Foster and Security Ser- see that there is no compelling evidence a titanic ball of titanium. Titanium is vice Field’s head groundskeeper taking soil sam- that participants in the Titanium Con- so common in soil that researchers can ples from the field to test the amount of titanium dition exhibited emotional well-being examine titanium in animal feces to occurring naturally in the soil. improvements above and beyond those estimate soil ingestion. This procedure in the Placebo Condition from the be- was used, for example, by researchers ginning to the end of the experiment. examining mule deer soil ingestion One final issue involves the amount near Denver, Colorado (Arthur III of titanium that exists naturally. We and Alldredge 1979). This suggests are reluctant to develop this point be- that if titanium were to exert positive This suggests that if cause we do not believe that externally influences on emotional well-being as titanium were to exert located titanium in any form exerts an Phiten claims, it might be possible to influence on well-being. We neverthe- gain those benefits by sleeping next to positive influences on less looked for titanium in four “field” a sufficiently large bag of Colorado deer emotional well-being as samples obtained from Security Service poop. Field in Colorado Springs, home of Phiten fans could argue that the ti- Phiten claims, it might the Colorado Springs Sky Sox Triple tanium in soil or deer feces is different be possible to gain A baseball team. We pulled samples than the MPT provided in a Phiten from (a) the warning track, (b) the soil necklace. We do not know what per- those benefits by sleep- (with a little grass) in centerfield, (c) centage of titanium in our field sam- the infield mix approximately where ples existed as elemental titanium (Ti), ing next to a sufficiently the second baseman would stand, and if any, or in a different form such as large bag of Colorado (d) the pitcher’s mound (see Figure titanium dioxide (TiO2). Also, tita- 2). The head groundskeeper explained nium, in any form, might not resemble deer poop. that each of these samples would have the nanoscopic-sized particles Phiten a fundamentally different composition. claims go into their necklaces. Such straightforward answer, based on the We conducted a variety of steps to dis- arguments raise more puzzling ques- existing evidence, is that titanium in solve our four field samples. We then tions: Why would titanium dioxide any form, when located externally to analyzed the resulting solutions for work differently than titanium? Why the human body, does not exert any titanium using an inductively coupled do the titanium particles need to be direct influence on personal well-being plasma optical emission spectrometer. nanoscopic? From our viewpoint, these outside of more sensible explanations We used these processes to estimate the questions, such as potential questions (e.g., a placebo effect). mass weight percent of the titanium for about proximity and the covering of each sample (i.e., elemental titanium necklaces with masking tape, are puz- Conclusion mass/total mass). The estimated tita- zling because the relationship between nium mass weight percents were as fol- externally located MPT and well-be- Science and technology thrive on new lows: Centerfield = .000652%; Warning ing is theoretically vacuous and the ideas, and seemingly radical theories Track = .000242%; Pitcher’s Mound = evidence supporting this extraordinary occasionally end up appearing to be .0000907%; Second Base = .0000694%. claim remains unconvincing. The most true. We therefore do not take issue

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 49 with peculiar claims. Our concern is be genuinely harmful in other contexts. nium on biological systems: Implications for human health and performance. Journal of that such claims should be supported For many individuals, $20 is a consid- Functional Biomaterials 5(1): 1–14. by strong scientific evidence before erable sum, and Phiten offers a variety Thagard, P. 1993. Computational Philosophy of consumers purchase corresponding of products that are far more expensive. Science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. products and journal editors publish Individuals frequently invest in simi- corresponding research. A willingness larly dubious products or services, such Craig A. Foster is to accept poorly substantiated claims as faith healing or clairvoyance, which a professor in the can cause consumers to waste resources can cause physical, emotional, or finan- Department of Be- and scientists to waste valuable time. In cial challenges. Thus, our classroom ex- havioral Sciences this case, the externally located MPT periment should reinforce lessons that and Leadership at theory is inconsistent with the known are broader than MPT. We hope that the United States laws of physical science, the common our cadets and others learn to be ef- Air Force Academy. natural presence of titanium, and now, fective in detecting scientifically ques- He received his doc- the results associated with a classroom tionable claims, and they evaluate such toral degree in social psychology from the experiment that removed the potential claims with a healthy consideration for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I placebo effect associated with Phiten the existing evidence. He currently serves as his department’s necklaces. Director of Assessment and is the course Acknowledgments director for their year-long statistics and We thank the Warfighter Effectiveness Research research methods sequence. He also Center (WERC), which is affiliated with the conducts research in the areas of scien- Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the United States Air Force Academy, for their tific reasoning and pseudoscience. Email: The externally located support. [email protected]. MPT theory is incon- sistent with the known Note Lt. Col. Christopher K. 1. The survey also included an open-ended McClernon (PhD) is a item that provided cadets the option of writing a behavioral scientist laws of physical testimonial about how the necklaces made them science, the common feel. This item followed the three dependent in the USAF with eigh- variables. This item did not reveal any themes teen years of Human that were inconsistent with the quantitative natural presence of results. Thus, we only used this item to help Factors Engineering titanium, and now, identify participants who reported having an experience. He is cur- illness during the experimental trial. rently serving as an the results associated Academy Associate Professor and director with a classroom References of the Warfighter Effectiveness Research Aoi, W., T. Kamata, Y. Ishiura, et al. 2012. Center (WERC). experiment that Titanium-treated surroundings attenuate psychological stress associated with auto- Lt. Col. Richard F. removed the potential nomic nerve regulation in office workers with daily emotional stress. Physiology & Behavior Reich (PhD) is an placebo effect 108: 13–18. analytical chem- Arthur III, W.J., and A.W. Alldredge. 1979. ist in the USAF with associated with Soil ingestion by mule deer in Northcentral Colorado. Journal of Range Management twenty years of re- Phiten necklaces. 32(1): 67–71. search experience. Donachie Jr., M.J. 2000. Titanium: A Technical nd He is currently an Guide (2 Edition). Materials Park, OH: ASM International. associate professor Hansson, S.O. 2013. Defining pseudosci- and the director of Faculty Research for ence and science. In M. Pigliucci and M. Boudry (Eds.), Philosophy of Pseudoscience: the Chemistry Department at the U.S. Air The claims surrounding MPT are Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem. Force Academy. University of Chicago Press (pp. 61–77). at least, for the most part, benign. An Hines, T. 2003. Pseudoscience and the Paranormal MLB player taking a chance on a $20 (2nd Edition). Amherst, NY: Prometheus The views expressed in this article are necklace is not likely to cause any harm. Books. Shermer, M. 2002. Why People Believe Weird those of the authors and do not necessar- Besides, the placebo effect might cause Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and ily reflect the official policy or position of the necklaces to “work” due to their Other Confusions of Our Time (Revised and psychological power rather than their Expanded). New York, NY: St. Martin’s the United States Air Force Academy, the Griffin. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or magical power. The obvious problem Rowlands, D., S. Shultz, T. Ogawa, et al. is that this type of pseudoscience can 2014. The effects of uniquely-processed tita- the U.S. government.

50 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Stick It In Your Ear! How Not To Do Science Ear acupuncture claims to relieve sore throats. A new study seeming to support that idea is so poorly done that it provides a textbook example of how to distinguish between good and bad science.

HARRIET HALL

ave a sore throat? No worries! No need for lozenges, doesn’t matter whether you use needles at all. In one study, simply touching the medicines, or home remedies. All you need to do is skin surface with a toothpick worked Hlet someone stick needles in your ear! According to just as well as penetrating the skin with a needle (Cherkin et al. 2009). There a recent study, ear acupuncture relieves sore throats. Do was even a study where subjects were you believe that? I don’t. That’s one of those extraordi- given a “phantom limb” illusion that a nary claims that would require extraordinary evidence, but rubber hand was their own hand, and they got similar results from acupunc- the researchers didn’t even provide ordinary evidence. The turing the rubber hand! (Chae et al. study is a great example of how not to do science. 2015). The main thing that seems to matter is whether the patients believe Acupuncture theory is based on a acupuncture will work. If they get a prescientific vitalistic concept: an un- sham procedure but think they got the measurable, undetectable energy called real thing, they will think it worked. If “qi” supposedly flows through meridi- they get the real thing but think they ans and can be accessed at acupoints, got a sham procedure, they will think where needle stimulation is supposed to it didn’t work. It has been pretty well somehow unblock the flow of qi, which established that acupuncture is nothing is somehow supposed to relieve pain more than a theatrical placebo (Col- and improve health. Qi, meridians, quhoun and Novella 2013). and acupoints are imaginary, but that The Center for Inquiry issued a po- doesn’t necessarily mean acupuncture sition paper on acupuncture that con- can’t possibly work. It’s not implausi- cludes: ble that sticking needles into the skin It is becoming increasingly clear might have some physiologic effects, that the placebo effect accounts for so it is reasonable to do scientific stud- much of the optimistic research on ies—and thousands of studies have acupuncture published between the been done, some better than others. 1970s and 1990s. With the devel- The results have been disappointing. opment of sham needles during the past decade—needles which retract It is not reasonable to conclude from like stage knives—researchers have the existing published studies that acu- tion and the surrounding rituals, and since been able to more accurately puncture works. the effects are too small in magnitude assess the therapeutic effects of Some people believe acupuncture to have any clinical importance. The acupuncture. The result has been is an effective way to relieve pain, but most rigorous studies have shown that a complete unraveling of nearly all acupuncture claims. . . . The bulk the evidence from scientific studies and sham acupuncture works just as well as of recent research strongly tends systematic reviews is mixed. Any posi- “real” acupuncture. It doesn’t matter towards the hypothesis that acu- tive effects can be attributed to sugges- where you put the needles, and in fact it puncture’s positive effects are mainly

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 51 due to a built-in expectation. . . . anatomy. They transposed human dia- five short needles that are left in place (Slack 2010) grams onto animals without any testing to eventually fall out on their own; the When The Medical Letter reviewed for validity; the acupuncture diagram method is taught to non-acupuncturists acupuncture in 2006, it concluded for horses, for example, shows gallblad- in a four-hour workshop. The authors “Acupuncture alone has not been shown der meridians. Horses don’t have gall- claim that there is research supporting bladders. ear acupuncture, but they admit that in rigorous, duplicated studies to bene- There are many different systems of there is only “limited data” regarding fit any defined medical condition.” Our acupuncture, some involving needles the modified technique. You’d think own CSI fellow, Steven Novella, coau- and some involving various kinds of that before they forged ahead to use it thored the paper that concluded acu- stimulation of acupoints through in- on wounded soldiers on the battlefield, puncture was nothing more than a the- tact skin (with electricity, light, heat, they’d want convincing evidence that it atrical placebo (Colquhoun and Novella and other modalities). The number of worked. There isn’t any. 2013). Medical ethicists unanimously meridians and acupoints varies among Ear acupuncture isn’t as silly as tong agree that doctors should not prescribe the different systems. In traditional ren, but it’s still pretty silly. It was in- placebos. So why are some doctors still acupuncture, there were originally 365 vented by a Frenchman, Dr. Paul No- recommending acupuncture? acupoints to symbolically correspond to gier, in 1957. He invented it all by him- the days of the year; now there are over self—not through science but through 2,000. In Korean acupuncture, there are intuition and epiphany. He looked at 300 acupoints, all on the hand. In other the external ear, the pinna, and imag- systems, they are found only on the ear, ined that it looked sort of like a fetus scalp, tongue, or foot. With all those curled up in its mother’s womb. I can different acupoints in all those different tell you he had a much better imagina- systems, is there any spot on the body tion than I do; I can’t see the resem- The Air Force doctors that isn’t an acupoint in some system? blance. He arbitrarily assigned a spot on clearly have drunk the Yes, there is: no system uses points the ear to correspond to the part of the on the male genitalia. Draw your own imagined fetus, tried inserting needles Kool-Aid, because they conclusions! A variant called “tong ren” in ears, and confirmation bias kicked allege that points on the doesn’t use acupoints at all; the patient in to convince him that it worked on rhythmically taps an acupuncture doll the corresponding part of the body. He ear correspond to areas with a metal hammer. The online video originally used thirty points; now ear on the body and stimu- of tong ren (https://www.youtube. acupuncturists claim to have identified com/watch?v=_I4r3FrzFBc) has to be 120. The ear is pretty small to accom- lating them “balances seen to be believed: Is there no limit to modate 120 acupoints, and anyway human gullibility? As far as I know, no there are no connections between the the flow of the body’s one has ever thought to try testing one ear and those other parts of the body. energy or qi.” system of acupuncture against another The study, “Ear Acupuncture for to find out which one is superior. For Acute Sore Throat: A Randomized that matter, no one has ever thought Controlled Trial,” (Moss and Craw- to test homeopathy, chiropractic, acu- ford 2015) was published in the Journal puncture, and Reiki against each other. of the American Board of Family Medi- Alternative medicine simply doesn’t cine. The fact that the editors did not think that way. Anything goes. reject the study is both surprising and The sore throat study didn’t use tra- disappointing. ditional acupuncture. It used ear acu- Moss and Crawford studied fif- puncture—and not even standard ear ty-four patients who presented to an Air Unfortunately, there are many doc- acupuncture but a simplified version. Force family medicine clinic with pain tors who lack critical thinking skills and Why? Because the researchers were from sore throat. They were random- don’t really understand science or the Air Force doctors, and the Air Force ized into two groups: one got standard psychology of cognitive errors. They has been teaching ear acupuncture as treatment (ibuprofen, plus antibiotics don’t all read S I or “battlefield acupuncture” to its doctors when indicated); the other got standard the Science-Based Medicine blog. They under the guidance of Col. Richard treatment plus ear acupuncture. There should. Niemtzow. They clearly have drunk was no blinding and no sham acupunc- The history of acupuncture research the Kool-Aid, because they allege that ture control group. They didn’t even is revealing. There were never any con- points on the ear correspond to areas standardize the treatment: they placed trolled studies to verify the alleged loca- on the body and stimulating them “bal- “up to 10” needles. Unblinded research tion of meridians and acupoints or their ances the flow of the body’s energy or associates assessed the results by phone alleged connections to other parts of the qi.” Their modified procedure involves interview. Patients in the acupuncture

52 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer group reported significantly less pain at and produce analgesia too, so sham boost their spirits? We can predict that fifteen minutes and twenty-four hours acupuncture wouldn’t be a placebo, it those would have “worked” too, maybe after the procedure, although at for- would actually be a treatment! If that equally well or better. That’s why prag- ty-eight hours there was no difference were true, it would mean that acu- matic studies such as this are useless. from the control group. Acupuncture puncture’s whole treatment rigmarole It’s an ill wind that blows nobody patients reported taking fewer ibupro- is unnecessary. There would be no rea- any good. This study is astonishingly fen pills. There was no difference be- son to specify acupoints: you might as poor science. It should not have been tween the groups in time missed from well just stick needles anywhere, and no done, and it should not have been work. training would be needed to administer published; it didn’t give us any useful What’s wrong with this study? Prac- the treatment. The authors didn’t even information about acupuncture. But it tically everything. It is a typical exam- think of comparing a usual treatment can serve as a bad example to help us ple of the “pragmatic trial” favored by learn to distinguish between good and I alternative medicine. Instead of asking bad science. whether acupuncture works better than References placebo to relieve pain, they gave ev- eryone standard treatment and added Chae, Y., I.S. Lee, W.M. Jung, et al. 2015. Psychophysical and neurophysiological acupuncture to one group. When you responses to acupuncture stimulation to incor- add anything to the usual treatment, porated rubber hand. Neuroscience Letters 691 you are practically guaranteed to get (March 30): 48–52. When you add anything Cherkin, Daniel C., Karen J. Sherman, Andrew positive results. Patients respond to L. Avins, et al. 2009. A randomized trial the extra attention and to suggestion. to the usual treatment, comparing acupuncture, simulated acupunc- They expect to feel better, so they do. ture, and usual care for chronic low back you are practically pain. JAMA Internal Medicine 169(9): 858– In this case, the needles were left in the 66. Available online at http://archinte.jama- ear as a continuing reminder that they guaranteed to get network.com/article.aspx?articleid=414934. had received special treatment. Pain is Colquhoun, David, and Steven P. Novella. 2013. subjective, and suggestion is powerful; Acupuncture is theatrical placebo. Anesthesia positive results. & Analgesia 116(6): 1360–63. Available that’s why we kiss our children’s minor online at http://journals.lww.com/anesthesia- injuries. Of course the acupuncture sub- analgesia/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2013 jects reported less pain; that’s exactly &issue=06000&article=00025&type=Full- text. what we could have predicted. Moss, David A., and Paul Crawford. 2015. Pragmatic studies test the real-world Ear acupuncture for acute sore throat: A practical performance of treatments. randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 28: 697– They have their place. A treatment that 705. Available online at http://www.jabfm. has been proven to work in a research org/content/28/6/697.full. setting with a select group of subjects Slack, Robert. 2010. Acupuncture: A science- group to an acupuncture group; both based assessment. Center for Inquiry, Inc. and carefully controlled methods might groups got the usual treatment. And (June). Available online at http://www. not work as well in a real-world setting why on Earth didn’t they blind the re- centerforinquiry.net/uploads/attachments/ Acupuncture_Final_Paper.pdf. with patients who might have other ill- search assistants who did the telephone nesses or be on other medications, or interviews? That would have been so where the providers might not be as simple to do, and it would have elim- Harriet Hall, MD, is rigorous in following treatment guide- inated any suspicion that they might a retired Air Force lines. Pragmatic studies can’t establish have subtly influenced the results in physician and flight whether a treatment works better than some way. surgeon who writes placebo, and they were never intended They got positive results, but they and educates about to be done on treatments that had not questionable med- already been proven to work. would have gotten positive results if ical claims. She is That’s why studies must have a they had added any other intervention an editor of the blog convincing control group. These re- to the usual treatment for sore throat. Science-Based Medicine, author of Women searchers could have used a sham acu- What if they’d offered massages, or Aren’t Supposed to Fly: Memoirs of a Fe- puncture control where they used re- training in meditation or relaxation male Flight Surgeon, and coauthor of the tractable needles or put the needles in exercises, or a warm scarf to wrap 2012 textbook Consumer Health: Guide the “wrong” spots, in the ear or in other around the neck, or therapeutic touch to Intelligent Decisions. She is an SI con- parts of the body. But they rejected to “balance their human energy fields,” tributing editor and a fellow and member the whole idea of a sham acupuncture or funny movies to take their mind off of the Executive Council of the Committee control. Their amazing rationale: sham the pain? Or even a gift certificate for for Skeptical Inquiry. acupuncture can stimulate “C” fibers a shopping spree at the local mall to

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 53 A Testament of Belief Masquerading as Science Need there be a conflict between science and religion? Francis S. Collins thinks not, but his “evidence for belief” disintegrates under scrutiny, revealing instead a personal testament of belief.

MICHAEL J. REYNOLDS

n a recent study funded by the John Templeton Founda- didn’t he cut to the chase? Current an- thropological evidence indicates that tion and published in the journal Public Understanding of humankind, in its modern anatomical IScience, researchers found: form, arrived on the scene no more than 200,000 years ago. Thus, for 99.998 percent of the life of the universe, Col- Zoologist Richard Dawkins’s [author of The God Delusion] in- lins’s God has had to do without his fluence as a public intellectual . . . does not persuade new read- desired fellowship with human beings. ers that science and religion are in conflict, [while] . . . biolo- “The Moral Law still stands out for gist Francis Collins [author of The Language of God: A Scientist me as the strongest signpost to God” Presents Evidence for Belief] . . . could persuade audiences that (Collins 2007, 218), writes Collins after science and faith can be compatible. (Fahy 2015, 5) twenty-eight years as a believer. For Collins, this concept, deriving from the How does Collins’s assertion of compatibility stand up writings of Christian apologist C.S. to scrutiny? Lewis, is key “evidence for belief.” Al- though Lewis was a man of significant Francis S. Collins’s The Language of his review, “Francis Collins, eminent accomplishments, the many arenas in God offers a wealth of excellent science, scientist, tells us why he is also a be- which he made his reputation did not but does the book do what it says on liever”? In short, not “evidence” but a extend to science. Nor was Lewis with- the cover and present “evidence for be- personal testimony of faith. Collins is out his critics. Philosopher John Bev- lief?” Or is Archbishop Desmond Tutu careful to couch his concept of God in erslui writes in the introduction to his closer to the mark when he writes in conjectural terms, but one is left in no critique of Lewis’s work: doubt about what sort of deity lies at The apparent cogency of [Lewis’s] the heart of his belief. For Collins, it arguments depends on his rhetoric seems, the universe serves one primary rather than on his logic… Once his purpose: to satisfy God’s desire for arguments are stripped of their pow- erful rhetorical content, their appar- personal fellowship with humankind. ent cogency largely vanishes and “If God is the creator of the universe, their apparent persuasiveness largely if God had a specific plan for the ar- evaporates. The reason is clear: it is rival of humankind on the scene, and if not the logic, but the rhetoric that is He had a desire for personal fellowship doing most of the work. (Beversluis 2008, 20) with humans . . .” (Collins 2007, 230). Collins, a prominent biologist (a Collins writes that “. . . the concept Nobel laureate and director of the of right and wrong appears to be uni- National Institutes of Health) and an versal among all members of the human evangelical Christian, accepts the cur- species . . .” and, “it thus seems to be rent consensus concerning the age of a phenomenon approaching that of a the universe—approximately fourteen law, like the law of gravitation or of billion years. So, if God created the special relativity” (Collins 2007, 22). universe in order that he might have To support this startling assertion, fellowship with human beings, why Collins offers an extensive quote from

54 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Lewis—but little more—asserting that the deity wishes them to be guided? 3: “The Big Bang itself seems to point a thorough reading of The Encyclopedia In his chapter “The Origins of the strongly toward a Creator, otherwise of Religion and Ethics will find demon- Universe,” Collins sets out his argu- the question of what came before is left strated a common acceptance, across a ments for God as the creator of the uni- hanging in the air” (77). This assertion wide array of cultures and communi- verse, writing “The Big Bang cries out prompts the question, “What came be- ties, of what constitutes moral “rights for a divine explanation. It forces the fore the Creator?” and wrongs” (24). Thereafter, Collins conclusion that nature had a defined be- As implausible as Collins may find treats the existence of the Moral Law ginning. I cannot see how nature could Scenario 2, according to renowned the- pretty much as a given. The problem have created itself. Only a supernatu- oretical physicist Lawrence Krauss: for the Moral Law is that differences in ral force that is outside space and time Given everything we know and every moralizations, across cultures and com- could have done that” (67). In support measure we made about the universe, munities and over the course of human it’s plausible that the universe came history, have been and are real. The problem with from nothing: no time, no space, If Collins is right, however, it would no particles and no radiation. A Collins’s use of this universe that did come from noth- seem reasonable to expect the exercise ing, by known laws of physics and of the Moral Law to engage some spe- and other quotes is some reasonable extrapolations from cific aspect or aspects of human physi- that the reader is them, would have the characteristics ology. The cerebrum—the cerebral cor- of our universe. (Nogueira 2015, 13) tex with its various subdivisions—is the left with the mistaken In concluding that “the God hypothe- most likely arena in which the Moral impression that sis solves some of the deeply troubling Law would play out. As Steven Pinker questions about what came before the puts it, “The neuroanatomy suggests Penzias and other Big Bang, and why the universe seems that in Homo sapiens primitive impulses scientists offer to be so exquisitely tuned for us to be of rage, fear, and craving must contend here” (Collins 2007, 81), Collins goes a with the cerebral restraints of prudence, support for Collins’s long way out on a limb with little or no moralization, and self-control” (Pinker evidential support. Collins goes on to 2011, 502). Whether these “restraints” God-hypothesis. marshal an array of scientific notables, constitute the workings of Collins’s quoting them in support of his God- Moral Law is open to question. Pinker hypothesis. For example, he quotes goes on to describe the work of psy- of this view, Collins zeroes in on the Arno Penzias: “The best data we have chologist Adriane Raine: “fine-tuned universe”—the proposition are exactly what I would have pre- In one experiment, Raine com- that “the existence of the universe as we dicted had I nothing to go on but the pared the brains of prisoners who know it rests upon a knife-edge of im- five books of Moses, the Psalms, and had committed an impulsive mur- probability” (73). The “improbability” the Bible as a whole” (Collins 2007, der with those who had killed with derives from the fact that, according 76). Collins’s context implies Penzias’s premeditation. Only the impulsive to cosmologists, there are six (Collins murderers showed a malfunction in support for Scenario 3, i.e., that the their orbital cortex, suggesting that asserts fifteen) dimensionless physical universe is the work of a supernatural the self-control implemented by this constants that, if varied by infinitesimal creator. part of the brain is a major inhibitor amounts, would preclude the formation Recourse to the full New York Times of violence. (Pinker 2011, 505) of our sort of universe. article tells a different story, however. In Raine’s studies of the brains of So how did the universe come to be In the interview, Penzias is discuss- prisoners convicted of premeditated “fine-tuned” as it is? Collins consid- ing whether the universe is “open” or murder, the lack of shrinkage in the ers three scenarios: 1) the existence of “closed.” Given that Genesis describes orbital cortex would seem to indicate an infinite number of diverse, parallel a beginning for the universe but is silent that these individuals may have turned universes giving rise to the likelihood on its ultimate fate, Penzias’s remark a deaf ear to the Moral Law’s prompt- of one like ours (the multiverse hypoth- clearly relates to the “closed vs. open” ings, whereas, for the impulsive mur- esis); 2) pure, blind luck; and 3) the debate, and not at all to the matter of derers, a malfunction in the orbital agency of a supernatural entity. Collins how the universe came into being in cortex would seem to indicate that they then goes on to assess the probability of the first instance. The problem with were denied full access to the Moral each scenario. Collins’s use of this and other quotes is Law from the outset. Why would a Collins dismisses Scenario 2 as the that the reader is left with the mistaken “loving, logical and consistent” (Collins least plausible of the three, although, impression that Penzias and other 2007, 177) god allow some individuals apart from stating that it is “wildly scientists offer support for Collins’s with whom he desires fellowship to suf- improbable” (Collins 2007, 74), he ad- God-hypothesis—support that, when fer a deficiency the effects of which are vances no reasons for so doing. Scenario the quotes are examined in context, ap- likely to reduce or nullify access to the 1 he views as straining credulity (76). pears weak or nonexistent. operations of the Moral Law by which Not unexpectedly, he opts for Scenario When arguing for the possibility of

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 55 miracles and defending his preference teaching the neighbor a much-needed God said, Let us make man in our for the Creator Scenario, Collins puts lesson, should be considered justifiable. image, after our likeness . . .” and “So forward illustrative parables: one his Rare indeed would be the jury that God created man in his own image, in own—the 52-Ace-of-Spades deck of would acquit on the grounds of such a the image of God created he him . . .”? cards (49); and one from philosopher defense, yet this scenario, in its essence, No mention there of “rusty containers.” John Leslie—the firing squad that is what Collins advances to exculpate In his chapter “Option 4: BioLo- misses its target (77). The difficulty his deity in the light of a horrific cir- gos,” Collins sets out, in six stages, his with such parables lies in the fact that cumstance visited upon a member of preferred version of events from the the parable spinner can set the initial his family. Commenting upon Collins’s big bang to the advent of Homo sapiens conditions so as to weight the parable response to such a tragic personal event (200). Although it is generally known in favor of a preferred conclusion. In runs a serious risk of causing offense. as Theistic Evolution (TE), Collins, both these instances, the initial condi- Yet Collins himself uses this deeply finding the label unsatisfactory, re- tions are set in such terms that the like- regrettable incident to illustrate his an- christens the concept “BioLogos.” He lihood of the outcome in each situation swer to the question “Why would a lov- writes, “It [BioLogos] is intellectually ing God allow suffering in the world?” rigorous; it provides answers to many What of the suffering (Collins 2007, 42) otherwise puzzling questions and it Collins distinguishes “moral evil”— allows science and faith to fortify each inflicted on mankind that inflicted by mankind upon man- other like two unshakeable pillars hold- in the name of religion kind—from “physical evil” (44)—that ing up a building called Truth” (210). which arises from natural phenomena Stages 1 through 5 of Theistic Evo- and morality? Collins’s beyond mankind’s control. Collins at- lution/BioLogos more or less follow view can only be tributes the “moral evil” to human be- the path of the mainstream scientific ings, in the exercise of their free will, consensus. Stage 6, however, makes a described as “coy” choosing to ignore the promptings of significant departure. Collins writes: the Moral Law. Collins writes concern- —laying responsibility 6. But humans are also unique in ing “physical evil”: “If at the beginning ways that defy evolutionary explana- on the frailty of of time God chose to use these forces tion and point to our spiritual nature. [i.e., natural phenomena] to create This includes the existence of the human beings. human beings then the inevitability of Moral Law (the knowledge of right these other painful consequences was and wrong) and the search for God that characterizes all human culture also assured” (45). throughout history. (200) being due to chance appears highly im- As with the parable of the man who probable, thus directing the reader to- sought, through murder, to teach his Collins rests this claim on two previ- ward the conclusion that the outcomes neighbor a lesson, one is prompted to ous arguments, only weakly established are a result of agency. ask, could not an all-powerful god have if at all. Consider another parable (not of found less drastic ways to lead his chil- Collins’s robust endorsement of Dar- Collins’s devising): A man is arrested dren to grace? Collins acknowledges winian evolution poses a conundrum for for hiring a hit man to kill his neigh- the difficulty this conundrum poses but BioLogos, which Collins rather strains to bor’s devoted wife. At his trial, he en- writes: “. . . if God is loving and wishes address. The conundrum arises from the ters a plea of “not guilty” due to exten- the best for us, then perhaps His plan inherently “random, potentially heartless uating circumstances. He tells the court is not our plan” (Collins 2007, 45)—a and inefficient” (Collins 2007, 204) na- that, over many years, he has watched “fudge” behind which the evangeli- ture of the evolutionary process. In the his neighbor take the murdered woman cal community retreats when circum- face of such randomness, what certainty more and more for granted. Day after stances, moral or physical, visit suffer- could God have had that Homo sapiens’s day, he has seen her evident devotion ing upon the innocent. evolutionary pathway would not have to her husband go unacknowledged. What of the suffering inflicted on been expunged by some random extinc- He has spoken to the neighbor, but mankind in the name of religion and tion event? his interventions have been met with morality? Collins’s view can only be de- Collins holds that the solution to this indifference. What better way, then, scribed as “coy”—laying responsibility conundrum is “readily at hand,” writing: to bring the neighbor to a realization on the frailty of human beings—those “If God is outside of nature, then He is of how the poor woman’s devotion has “rusty containers” into which is poured outside of space and time. In that context, enhanced his life than to deprive him of the “pure, clean water of spiritual truth” God could in the moment of creation of her. Although the accused man admits (40, 164). Historically, much of the re- the universe also know every detail of the to being aware of the shock, anguish, ligiously inspired suffering visited upon future.” And, “In that context, evolution and pain that the neighbor might expe- mankind has arisen from conflicting could appear to us to be driven by chance, rience as a result of his wife’s murder, he interpretations of what constitutes the but from God’s perspective the outcome tells the court that the contract-killing, “pure, clean water of spiritual truth.” would be entirely specified” (205). But undertaken as it was in the interest of And what of Genesis 1: 26–27 “And this “solution” opens up yet another co-

56 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer nundrum. If Collins’s deity is capable of pear that such a faculty might not be understanding of nature and its works; knowing “every detail of the future” and as unique to humans as Collins would and, through empirical evidence, aug- the outcome of his creation is “entirely have us believe. While this possibility ment confidence (but never certainty) specified,” where then fits free will? has emerged since Lewis wrote, Lewis in that understanding. It would not be It becomes hard to resist the conclu- remains true to form in failing to ad- unreasonable to view archaic attempts sion that Collins’s “ready at hand” solu- vance any supporting evidence for his to understand and to define nature— tion to the unpredictability of Darwinian whimsical suppositions. attempts most of which long predate evolution suggests that free will is little Collins acknowledges that “BioLo- scientific methodology (as imperfectly more than an illusion—a sleight-of-hand gos is not intended as a scientific the- practiced upon unwitting humankind by ory. Its truth can be tested only by the begun by Aristotle and his fellow a Cosmological Trickster who, as Collins spiritual logic of the heart, the mind, Greeks)—as “hypotheses” founded on claims in an earlier chapter, knows “in and the soul” (204). One is led to won- observation and deduction valid for the advance the thoughts and actions” (87) of der, therefore, what the concept—and time of their devising. Difficulties arise, the creatures with whom he supposedly Collins’s attendant arguments for it—is however, when such “hypotheses” don seeks fellowship. doing in a book subtitled “A Scientist the mantle of sanctity, rendering them To account for the “unique” human Presents Evidence for Belief.” impervious to any challenge from fresh attributes that BioLogos asserts “defy Collins writes: “The theistic evo- observation and deduction. Where evolutionary explanation,” Collins lution perspective cannot, of course, faith consistently rides to the defense turns to the biblical story of Adam prove that God is real, as no logical ar- of its “hypotheses,” science ever seeks and Eve. The scientist in him inclines gument can fully achieve that. Belief in opportunities to tear down its own edi- Collins toward the view that Genesis God will always require a leap of faith” fices as new evidence emerges. 2, rather than being a literal render- (45). As a believer, Collins displays One is left wishing that Collins ing of prehistoric events, is “a symbolic great grace in making this admission. allegory of the entrance of the human In science, most paradigm-break- had, from the outset, acknowledged soul into a previously soulless animal ing propositions require a leap of faith that The Language of God is, in the end, kingdom” (207). Collins apparently when initially advanced. The key word a personal testament of faith to which considers what he calls “the entrance in Collins’s admission about “belief in he is fully entitled but which, with his of the spiritual nature (the soul) and God,” however, is “always.” To science claim that it presents “evidence for the Moral Law into humanity” to have a belief that “always requires a leap of belief,” risks diminishing his standing been a literal event that took place at faith” is anathema. Science is about in the eyes of much of the scientific I some specific point along Homo sapi- building structures of empirical evi- community. ens’s evolutionary journey. In support dence that inexorably reduce the leap References of this assertion, Collins turns again to required to reach belief. C.S. Lewis. Francis S. Collins enjoys a well- Beversluis, John. 2008. C.S. Lewis and the Lewis spins his own fanciful ren- earned and much-deserved reputation Search for Rational Religion. Amherst, NY: dering of Genesis 2 with a casual nod as a distinguished scientist and re- Prometheus Books. Collins, Francis S. 2007. The Language of God: in the direction of Darwinian evo- searcher. Further, he emerges from the A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New lution but climaxing thus: “Then, in pages of The Language of God as a thor- York: Free Press (Simon & Schuster). the fullness of time, God caused to oughly decent, sincere, and compas- Fahy, Declan. 2015. Dawkins, Collins, and the descend upon this organism both on sionate individual. Regrettably, how- science-religion debate: A new sociological its psychology and physiology, a new study. S I 39(5): 5–6. ever, his effort is unlikely to contribute Nogueira, Felipe. 2015. To better understand kind of consciousness which could say greatly to his desire to bring about science and the universe. Skeptical Briefs ‘I’ and ‘me’ which could look upon it- peace between the “warring” camps of 25(3). self as an object” (Collins 2007, 208). faith and science. Despite his explicit Pinker, Steven. 2011. Better Angels of Our Nature: This reads suspiciously like the advent intention to present “evidence for be- The Decline of Violence in History and Its Causes. London: Penguin Books. of self-recognition: a characteristic lief,” both Collins’s God-hypothesis that may emerge in an organism once and his BioLogos (Stage 6) are, by his a given threshold of neurological com- own admission, untestable hypotheses Michael J. Reynolds, plexity is crossed. Research using the and cannot, therefore, be considered a Canadian living Mirror Self-Recognition Test (MSR) scientific. in Somerset in the suggests that, as well as humans, some While applicable perhaps to faith, United Kingdom, is an elephants, dolphins, orcas, the Eur- Collins’s metaphor “. . . two unshake- actor by profession asian magpie, and, of course, other able pillars holding up a building called and an avid reader of great apes (the gorilla excepted) appear Truth” cannot not be applicable to sci- scientific and skepti- to have crossed this threshold. While ence, as science does not seek “Truth.” cal literature. His early life experiences this finding is not without controversy, Rather, science seeks, through occa- gave him an intimate acquaintance and self-awareness may be weakly ex- sionally giant but typically small, in- pressed in other species, it would ap- cremental steps to expand humankind’s with the evangelical mind-set.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 57 [ REVIEWS

PAULThe BROWN Nature of ‘Nature’

o just what is the nature of nature? The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s Andrea Wulf’s book is a spright ly New World. By Andrea Wulf. Alfred A. Knopf, Sscientific and personal biography New York, 2015. ISBN 978-0-385-35066-2. of Alexander von Humboldt, a sadly 472 pp. Hardcover, $30. forgotten giant of the Enlightenment. He was a man who traveled widely, measured rigorously, partied hard, thought deeply, influenced almost ev- eryone, and stumbled onto a highly original and enduring way of thinking about that introductory question. Von Humboldt’s story should ap- peal to skeptics and humanists firstly of Prussia’s Frederick the Great. From life-forms fit together. because it is intrinsically interesting. the bare facts of his story, it’s apparent That’s no small scientific break- Wulf’s book tells the absorbing tale of a that the ambitions his mother and her through, though. Our original ques- major Enlightenment figure: someone society constructed for young Alex- tion, writ very large, is “What is the who charmed artists and poets such ander weren’t ones he shared. He was nature of all of nature?” Prior to the as Goethe and Schiller; set an alpine compelled to attend schools of account- adventuresome Alexander, questions ascent record; rubbed shoulders with ing and mining. He chose to wander his such as this in the West had been dis- political leaders Simon Bolivar, Napo- family’s estate collecting and cataloging missed with—surprise, surprise—reli- leon, and Thomas Jefferson; discovered leaves and insects. gious bromide or else sentimentality. an ocean current (and not even the one Alexander’s emancipation came The Greeks, of course, cared about named after him!); collaborated with with his mother’s death. She passed, what was what but their thinking im- scientists such as Joseph Banks, Henry he inherited, and our suddenly wealthy bued the natural world with human Cavendish, and Pierre-Simon Laplace; young man’s fancy turned to . . . a sci- values to the extent that books such as organized a global program for mea- entific expedition to South America! So Plato’s Timeas read like an extended suring Earth’s geomagnetic variations; he roamed over what is now Venezuela, indulgence in the naturalistic fallacy. lionized the literary salon’s of Paris; Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba The Universe was “obviously” good, and still had time to publish prolifically. for four years, with a side trip to Wash- “obviously” all designed and put there Wulf’s book is also fascinating for the ington to meet Thomas Jefferson just as for the benefit of just one species. So story it tells about the early develop- Jefferson’s Corps of Discovery departed “obviously” to study the natural world ment of what today are loosely grouped St. Louis for all points west. Along the was to particularize each aspect of its into the “earth sciences”—geology, bot- way he foraged the world’s best collec- goodness. any, meteorology, oceanography, ecol- tion of South American plants and ani- Everywhere, human beings occupied ogy, and so on. mals, drew detailed and accurate maps, the central position in nature. In China, Alexander Humboldt (not a “von” filled log books with meteorological botany was framed as an herbalist ques- by birth—he was ennobled later) lived a measurements, acquired contempt for tions about how plants contributed to long, extraordinary life. Born in Berlin the institution of slavery, and developed human health, while zoology was all in 1769, he came of age in the artistic his enormously insightful ideas about about animal husbandry. The Western and diplomatic hurly-burly of the court how all of nature’s many and varied mind was enthralled to the Bible’s in-

58 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer junction to “go forth and multiply” and in turn led him to a description of the Humboldt so much of a polymath, with God’s word that all of nature was there world in terms of its biogeography. his thought leaping from idea to idea, for us to name and to exploit. As Alex- How influential was von Humboldt? that his ability to bear down with inten- ander began his scrabbling in the dust, It’s telling that fully a third of Wulf’s sity on any one problem was compro- mud, and blood, the dominant ratio- book is devoted to descriptions of what mised? Did von Humboldt’s gregarious nalist model of how the world worked others made of his writing, not all of it and sociable nature embroil him in too was Descartes’s, who held that plants scientific. Von Humboldt’s new vision many soirees, in contrast to Darwin’s and animals were mere machines; each of nature had a certain moral and aes- post-Beagle retreat into a rural, hearth- individual independent in its operation, thetic appeal, especially to generations and-home-centered life? Or did von each constructed of divisible sub-mech- born into the wilder landscape of the Humboldt’s lifelong commitment to a anisms, each species unconnected to new world. The impact of von Hum- tolerant deism and creationism blind others. boldt’s writings underlines how true it is him to deeper truths about the natural Alexander’s new understanding that the past is another country. During world implicit in his science? of the natural world was so obvious, the early nineteenth century, scientific yet so profound, that it swept all that advances had the potential to alter the came before it aside. He inverted the way entire societies viewed their world. human-centered view of nature and Much of what von Humboldt inspired Of special interest to emphasized instead the interconnect- was pretty inchoate, of course. For edness of organisms, species, and geog- every John Muir, who opened his travel many readers will be raphy. Today, von Humboldt’s holistic journals boldly “asserting his place in the extensive parallels and integrated view of nature is thor- Humboldt’s cosmos” and dedicated oughly conventional. His genius was to his life to protecting at least some of it between the lives and establish it as fact through careful ob- from the impact of humanity, there’s a work of von Humboldt servation. Even the fundamental tenet Henry David Thoreau and the incoher- of the conservation movement, some- ent mysticism of his transcendentalism. and Charles Darwin. thing we think of as very modern, was Of special interest to many readers something von Humboldt established will be the extensive parallels between with his observations of rainfall, water the lives and work of von Humboldt levels, and soil fertility on colonial plan- and Charles Darwin. Both were born tations. Human activity, von Humboldt into upper middle-class privilege. Each Our hero died in May 1859, aged determined, measurably changes the opted initially into an unsuitable occu- ninety. He never had the chance to natural world. pation. Both lives were shaped by ex- read Darwin’s book, which was pub- It was Alexander von Humboldt peditions in and around South Amer- lished in England in November of that who first articulated self-evident ideas ica, where their assumptions about the year. This was a pity. What Andrea such as “the web of life” and “climate,” placidity of the Earth and the benefi- Wulf’s remarkable book makes clear is and pointed out that human beings are cence of nature were upended by earth- how much Darwin owed this Prussian embedded within the natural world, for quakes. Both made enormous (indeed, giant, and the intellectual relationship good or ill. seminal) contributions in a broad va- between them reminds us that sci- Details about how, where, and riety of fields. Indeed, reading Hum- ence, like nature, is a “tangled bank” why Alexander came to his revelation boldt today, it’s possible that he came of interleaving observation and theory. are well explained in Wulf’s book, as very close to an evolutionary explana- Hopefully her book will help resurrect is his extensive catalogue of lesser yet tion for the diversity of life. Many of the reputation of Alexander von Hum- still scientifically important insights. his observations about bio geography boldt, to whose singular efforts we owe For example, von Humboldt came up pre-dated Wallace’s. Darwin repeat- so much of the wallpaper of how we with the concept of the lines of equal edly brought Humboldt’s writing and think about the natural world and our barometric pressure (called isobars) scientific thought up in his diaries and place in it. n and temperature (called isotherms) cited him in his published works. Dar- that today decorate nightly TV weather win’s famous “tangled bank” paragraph maps. Only in von Humboldt’s fertile at the end of On the Origin of Species is a Paul Brown is a computer scientist spe- mind they see additional service as a succinct reiteration of von Humboldt’s cializing in building data management means of organizing the entire globe core ideas. programs for very large-scale science into climate zones, which he saw as So why no evolutionary theory from projects. He has previously reviewed for SI intertwined with the geographic dis- Alexander von Humboldt? Wulf’s book books by Daniel Dennett, Nate Silver, and tribution of plants and animals, which invites a reader’s speculation. Was von Daniel Kahneman.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 59 [ REVIEWS

Hallucination or Revelation? HARRIET HALL

erry Martin was raised as God: An Autobiography. By Jerry L. Martin. a Christian but had been an Caladium Publishing Co., Doylestown PA, 2016. Jagnostic ever since college. Then ISBN 978-0-9967253-1-6. 287 pages, $9.99 kindle. one day God spoke to him. He was in the throes of new love with the woman who is now his sec- ond wife, and he was so ecstatically happy he suddenly felt the need to give thanks in prayer. When he prayed for the third time and asked for guidance, a fountain appeared. Then a voice spoke. It sounded like his own voice. understands me as few do.” How very companionship. He needs to be wor- His wife was sitting next to him at the flattering! He is special because God shipped. Why? Because “that is the ap- time, but she heard nothing and saw talks to him, and he has a wife who is propriate response to Me.” nothing. In other words, he experienced special too. Reincarnation is true, Martin is told, visual and auditory hallucinations. At one point, Martin decided to but it’s not what we think it is. Each He kept hearing the voice. At first it contact Jesus’s mother, Mary, to ask her of the different religions has part of the gave him trivial commands like “Don’t advice about what present to give his truth; each has insight into an aspect of eat yet” or “Sit in a different chair.” wife for Valentine’s Day. He prayed, God’s nature. The voice has him read This progressed to an ongoing dialogue and she spoke to him. Her presence in which the voice identified itself as about Christianity, Judaism, Islam, God, directed him to read books about was accompanied by fragrances and soft polytheism, Hinduism, Buddhism, philosophy and religion, answered his pastel lights and an intense feeling of Zoroastrianism, ancient Egyptian be- questions, explained away apparent love and joy. They had a conversation, liefs, ancient Chinese beliefs, and the contradictions in the Bible and between but in his excitement he forgot to ask Tao, as well as the works of many phi- different religions, and asked him to her about the present. He doesn’t say losophers; and they have long, involved write God’s autobiography. He ques- whether he ever tried praying to her discussions about the details of what tioned whether the voice was divine, again. He ended up getting his gift ad- he has read. The voice tells him that but he thought of Pascal’s wager and vice from a terrestrial friend. there is to be a new project to develop made the conscious choice to believe. The voice consistently comes to him a holistic world theology, fitting all the Eventually, he also talked to Jesus. whenever he prays, and he converses separate religious traditions together in Jesus first appeared to him as a nebu- with it without speaking out loud. The a meaningful way. And guess who has lous image through the windshield of voice explains that God is not exactly been chosen to start on that project as his car when he was stopped at a traffic omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevo- soon as he finishes writing God’s auto- light. At one point he asked Jesus if the lent, or unchanging. It describes how biography? crucifixion hurt. Jesus answered, “Of God felt as he created (and was him- The voice tells him that his doubts course.” One day Jesus appeared to him self created by) the big bang; he had no about the voice’s identity are only nat- and kissed him on the lips; it was erotic, plans at that point. God is still primi- ural but that he mustn’t let doubts in- as if Jesus were making love to him. He tive and undeveloped today (after four- terfere with faith. He is confused by worried about whether to tell his Jewish teen billion years?) and he is still trying a number of apparently irreconcilable wife about his experiences with Jesus, to learn “how to be effective in bringing discrepancies; for instance, one time the but the voice said not to worry: “Ab- man forward.” God is slowly evolving, voice tells him God loves all humans, igail is a special friend of mine. She and he suffers and needs people for and another time it tells him God only

60 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer NEW AND NOTABLE] Listing does not preclude future review.

THE FOLKLORESQUE: Reframing Folklore in a Popular Culture loves sinners. When he asks for clarifica- World. Edited by Michael Dylan Foster and Jeffrey A. Tolbert. tion, the voice tells him not to get hung Foster and Tolbert, both folklorists at Indiana State University, up on details, to stop thinking, and stop discuss the product created when popular culture appropri- asking rational questions. It reminds him ates or reinvents folkloric themes, characters, and images. “Folkloresque,” as described in the book, is “popular culture’s that he already believes in things he can’t own (emic) perception and performance of folklore. That is, it see. He believes that other people have refers to creative, often commercial products or texts that give minds, so he argues it is just as reasonable the impression to the consumer that they derive directly from to believe that God exists. existing folkloric traditions” (p. 5). Chapters include folkloric It struck me as strange that Martin’s representations in a variety of popular culture media includ- interactions with the voice were inter- ing video games (such as the ghost-themed Fatal Frame series), Neil Gaiman’s books, films, comic books, anime, and even popular science writing, all of which commonly rupted at least twice. He stopped praying draw on basic folklore genres. With many paranormal subjects imbued with folklore for a year when he was ill and again for (urban legends, ghost stories, UFO lore, etc.), this book provides insight into how folk- six months when some of the voice’s ideas lore is used in these commercial and mass-market contexts. Utah State University began to distress him. I also found it in- Press, 2015, 265 pp., $27.95. teresting that the voice was not politically correct; it used “man” in the older sense SUGGESTION AND ITS ROLE IN SOCIAL LIFE. V.M. Bekhterev. inclusive of men and women. Originally published in 1908, this book by pioneering Rus- sian neurologist, psychiatrist, and psychologist Vladimir The language Martin uses often sounds Bekhterev reviews and explains the many conflicting posi- vague, mystical, Deepak-Chopra-ish and tions in the social and scientific thought concerning the na- New Agey, and sometimes even incoher- ture and power of suggestion. He differentiates the process ent. Just a few examples: from persuasion and hypnosis and discusses suggestion and autosuggestion in the waking state, examining their ef- • “Being facing Being, not necessarily fectiveness on feeling, thought, and behavior. Perhaps the speaking but simply facing, is what book’s most relevant chapters to skeptics are “Suggestion in personhood is.” the Hypnotic State” (chapter 4), “Collective or Mass Illusions • Gravity is a kind of love. and Hallucinations” (chapter 10), and “Witchcraft and Dev- • The universe is one great act of love. il-Possession Epidemics” (chapter 15). Though some sections of the book show undue credulity (toward telepathy, for instance, perhaps partly because the discussion is • Subjectivity desires to objectify itself. over a century old), the book provides an interesting look at the topic from an earlier God says, through Martin, that some perspective. Transaction Publishers, 2016, 199 pp., $29.95. diseases have a spiritual cause, and virtu- THE HANDBOOK OF ATTENTION. Edited by Jonathan Fawcett, ally all diseases have a mental or spiritual Evan Risko, and Alan Kingstone. Laboratory research on component that can be healed with the human attention has often been conducted under conditions right relation to God. Miracles happen all that bear little resemblance to the complexity of our everyday the time. They are dismissed because they lives. Although this research has yielded interesting discover- are outside the scientific paradigm, even ies, few scholars have truly connected these findings to nat- when there are reputable witnesses. They ural experiences. This book bridges the gap between labora- happen within the laws of nature; we just tory and life by bringing together cutting-edge research using traditional methodologies with research that focuses on at- don’t yet understand those laws. The voice tention in everyday contexts. Attention, of course, lies at the tells him it’s possible to talk to the dead, heart of eyewitness perception and reliability and is therefore and he is impressed when his dead brother an important factor in understanding the psychology of anomalous experiences and appears to him in a dream to apologize for skeptical investigation. Heavily referenced, much of the book is technical and aimed at the suffering his death caused. I’m not cognitive psychologists. Several chapters are of special interest to skeptics, including clear on when the dead stay around to talk those on everyday visual attention, eyewitness memory, attention and misdirection, and the link between stress and attention. All chapters present their topics in the same to the living rather than being immedi- overall format: historical context, current research, the possible integration of labora- ately recycled into reincarnations. tory and real-world approaches, future directions, and key and outstanding issues. The Martin’s story can help us better under- MIT Press, 2015, 696 pp., $65. stand the psychology of religious prophets —Benjamin Radford throughout history. What it can’t do is establish that God is real or that Martin actually had conversations with him. He admits to a fear that he is just somehow making all this up, but he chooses to ig- nore that possibility and just believe.

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 61 [ REVIEWS

The book is just what you might expect from a highly intelligent be- The Art and Science of liever who was raised as a Christian and trained to argue as a philosopher. the Scam: Implications It is a tour de force of imagination for Skeptics and rationalization. His experiences SCOTT O. LILIENFELD require no supernatural explanations; we know enough about neurology and psychology to have at least a gen- eral understanding of how a person The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It…Every Time. can hallucinate, deceive himself, and By Maria Konnikova. New York: Viking, 2016. ISBN: 978- succumb to an elaborate delusion. 0525427414. 352 pp. Hardcover, $28. There is no reason to attribute to God the words that could very well have come from Martin’s own brain. Hallucinations are not necessarily a sign of mental illness; Oliver Sacks wrote a whole book about that. Hal- lucinations can be very convincing and very powerful. They have led people to commit crimes and even e’re all suckers. Well, to be more falsehoods, even though we’re sure we kill their own children. precise, we’re all suckers at least do. Other research shows that we are How could anyone ever know Wsome of the time. Research con- often sorely mistaken about potential for sure that they were hearing a ducted in 1996 by social psychologist cues to lying. For example, surveys of true message from God rather than Bella DePaulo, then at the University laypersons suggest that most people a hallucination produced by their of Virginia, demonstrates that decep- regard shifty eyes as a bellwether of own brain? I don’t think the individ- tion is part-and-parcel of everyday dishonesty, even though research indi- ual has any reliable way to tell. But life. She asked participants to keep a cates that this cue is well-nigh useless others can use critical thinking skills diary of their fibs and discovered that as a deception indicator (psychopaths, to reject stories such as Martin’s for most people lie about twice a day; for example, tend to stare their vic- lack of evidence. The human brain they lie in about one-fifth of brief tims straight in the eyes while duping is inexhaustibly inventive, and there interpersonal interactions (of course, them). As a consequence, pathological have always been people able to fool one might be tempted to ask whether liars can run roughshod over the rest themselves into believing six im- some of them were lying about their possible things before breakfast just of us. Of course, most lies are innocu- lying, but that’s another matter). No like Lewis Carroll’s White Queen in ous, as when we tell our friend that we Through the Looking Glass. wonder the English language con- adore his hideously ugly new haircut. Hallucination or divine revela- tains an estimated 112 words refer- But some lies can lead us to fall prey tion? I think hallucination is much ring to lies or variants thereof: bluff, to dangerous fads, even blatant pseu- more likely. And I don’t think there deceit, deception, exaggeration, fable, doscience. is any evidence that would prove me fib, fiction, jive, mendacity, misrepre- In her engaging and eminently wrong. n sentation, prevarication, spin, untruth, readable new book, The Confidence whopper, and so on. Game: Why We Fall for It Every Time, We lie, and lie frequently, for two New Yorker magazine science journalist Harriet Hall, MD, a retired physician prime reasons. First, we lie because Maria Konnikova explores the science and Air Force flight surgeon, writes and we have something to hide, some- underlying one particularly malignant educates about pseudoscientific and thing to gain, or someone to impress. species of lie: the con. As she reminds so-called alternative medicine. She is Second, we believe that we can get us, the term con is short for confidence, a fellow and member of the Executive away with it. This belief is usually and probably originated in 1849 during Council of the Committee for Skeptical justified. Classic laboratory research the New York City trial of William Inquiry, a S  I contrib- by University of California, San Fran- Thompson, who became the prototype uting editor, and an editor of the blog cisco, psychologist Paul Ekman in- of the con artist in film and literature Science-Based Medicine. dicates that most of us don’t perform (Herman Melville apparently modeled much better than chance at detecting the central character in his 1857 novel

62 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer The Confidence-Man after Thompson). festo for skepticism in everyday life and ball readers, and tarot card readers. Yet The charming Thompson would rou- a cautionary tale regarding the perils of Konnikova accords short shrift to the tinely approach passersby in Manhat- excessive trust. It is also something of a possibility that many purveyors of the tan and unnerve them with a request: “how to” instructional manual on how paranormal are sincerely self-deceived. “Have you confidence in me to trust to fool others—and how to avoid being The Peter Popoffs of the world may be me with your watch (or ten dollars, fooled. a distinct minority. Behaviorists have or whatever) until tomorrow?” Many In other chapters, Konnikova takes long recognized that a great deal of our strangers, taken aback by Thompson’s us on a tour of the techniques of con psychological repertoire is acquired by earnestness and prepossessing nature, artists, linking their tricks of the trade means of progressive “shaping” of be- would part ways with their possessions, to well-established psychological tools haviors using repeated reinforcement. only never to see them—or Thomp- of persuasion. Among other methods, Many psychics have surely learned that son—again. she describes the well-known “foot-in- their tried-and-true techniques of cold Konnikova’s book should be of in- the door” technique, whereby we are reading “work” in that they persuade terest to readers of the S I- more likely to agree to a large request customers that they have remarkable  for one key reason: gullibility after agreeing to a small one, and the capacities of insight and precognition. can be dangerous, even disastrous. In “mere exposure effect,” whereby we After a while, the psychics themselves several chapters, Konnikova describes prefer stimuli that we’ve experienced may become convinced too. An in- the brazen exploits of fortune-tellers many times to those that are novel. triguing hypothesis that has yet to be and other psychics who capitalize on She also recounts a variety of well-es- the good will of vulnerable victims to tablished pitfalls in thinking, such as deprive them of their hopes and re- confirmation bias (the tendency to sources. In Chapter 2 (“The Put-Up”), seek out information that supports our Behaviorists have she tells the tale of Debra Saalfield, a beliefs and to ignore or distort the in- professional dancer and dance instruc- formation that doesn’t) and positivity long recognized that tor who sought out a psychic, Sylvia bias (the tendency to assume that our Mitchell, in Greenwich Village after futures will turn out well), that pre- a great deal of our losing her job and boyfriend in a matter dispose most or all of us to fall prey to psychological repertoire of two days. Desperate to understand scams from time to time. Needless to what befell her and why, Saalfield un- say, both biases—and a host of others is acquired by means derwent a palm-reading, costing her discussed in the book—can lead people of progressive $1,000. Soon after, Mitchell persuaded desperate for simple answers to com- Saalfield that she had been a beautiful plex life problems to embrace astrolo- “shaping” of behaviors and rich Egyptian princess in a previ- gers, fortune-tellers, and other peddlers using repeated ous life, accounting for her excessive of the paranormal. materialism in her present life. To con- Each chapter follows a similar tem- reinforcement. quer her undue attachment to money, plate. It begins with a remarkable and Mitchell informed her, Saalfield would often disconcerting case of a real-world need to deposit $27,000 into Mitchell’s swindle and then uses the case to illus- bank account. She could of course have trate distinct components of the con. the money back whenever she wanted, Although the narrative eventually be- but it would be a good psychological comes slightly repetitive (toward the adequately explored is that self-de- exercise nonetheless. In a moment of end of the book, I had a difficult time ceived psychics may actually be more weakness, Saalfield went along with keeping all the villains straight, because persuasive than outright charlatans, the scheme, even though she could their modus operandi all bore a strong because they are genuinely convinced barely afford it. When she returned to family resemblance), it lends the book of their extrasensory powers. New York City to reclaim her money, a powerful coherence. The result is a Second, Konnikova’s focus is over- Mitchell was nowhere to be found, and vivid portrait of how con artists ply whelmingly on the psychology of the her repeated calls to Mitchell went un- their trade. victims, rather than the perpetrators, answered. At the same time, the book is of swindles. In an early chapter, she Elsewhere, Konnikova offers a brief marked by a few noteworthy omis- touches briefly on the scientific litera- history of mysticism and efforts to de- sions. First, in her discussion of psy- ture concerning psychopathic personal- bunk it, introducing us to Harry Hou- chics in particular, Konnikova focuses ity (psychopathy), a condition marked dini’s skeptical exploits and James Ran- almost exclusively on scam artists. To by extreme dishonesty and shallowness di’s famous psychic financial challenge. be sure, the world is chock full of bla- of conscience. Nevertheless, her cover- In many respects, her book is a mani- tantly dishonest fortune-tellers, crystal age is rather superficial and, like many

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 63 authors, she treats psychopathy as a ical thinking. Konnikova describes Will- dence Game is a great read. It is an largely monolithic condition. As a con- helm Wundt as “one of the founders of eye-opening and fascinating glimpse sequence, she misses the opportunity the Gestalt movement” in psychology into a dark underworld that most of us to discuss recent research suggesting when in fact Wundt was a structuralist, only dimly grasp. Skeptics will appre- that psychopathy, rather than being a not a Gestaltist. (If anything, the Ge- ciate the book’s penetrating analysis of uniform entity, is a paradoxical config- stalt movement originated in response the psychology of the trickster and of uration of diverse attributes comprising to Wundt’s emphasis on decomposing the hazards of maladaptive gullibility. superficial charm, poise, and affability human experience into basic elements.) And I’m not pulling one over on you— on the one hand and guiltlessness, cal- In addition, she contends that early be- really. Trust me. n lousness, and poor impulse control on haviorists, such as John B. Watson and the other. The psychopath is thus a B.F. Skinner, maintained that behavior hybrid creature, appealing on the out- “could largely be accounted for by almost Scott O. Lilienfeld is professor of psychol- side yet malevolent on the inside. This purely cognitive reactions to discrete, ogy at Emory University in Atlanta and deceptive cocktail of traits is precisely identifiable environmental stimuli.” This coauthor of Brainwashed and 50 Great what makes the prototypical psycho- could hardly be further from the truth. Myths of Popular Psychology. He is a fel- path such an effective con artist. He Watson disowned thinking entirely and low of the Association for Psychological or she is the human equivalent of the Skinner, while not denying the existence Science and a fellow and member of the Venus flytrap. of cognitive reactions, viewed them as Executive Council of the Committee for There are also a few major slip-ups nothing more than covert behaviors. with respect to the history of psycholog- These criticisms aside, The Confi- Skeptical Inquiry.

[ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

polygraph tests, and researchers interventions of then-Senators training run in the bamboo for- ought to have access to that data. Domenici and Bingaman led to ests of Japan, where he is hunted Perhaps it is easy to surmise why a dramatic reduction in poly- by deadly giant hornets, dehy- these agencies haven’t released graph testing. drated from running without any of it. water (eventually quenched with Second, fine civil servants Alan P. Zelicoff, MD a vending machine purple sports lose their security clearances Professor of Environmental drink), and driven to hypother- and thus their careers every year and Occupational Health mia by a sudden weather change to the vagaries of “the box.” I and Epidemiology, Institute from hot and humid to dark get several calls a year from for Biosecurity with violent lightening. During high-ranking federal govern- College for Public Health and this run, Inman finds the an- ment employees who have failed Social Justice swer to the questions “Why am their polygraphs and are looking St. Louis University I alive? Why am I here? What’s to redress the horrific personal St. Louis, Missouri the point of me?”: Polygraphs as impacts (let alone the waste in “Forget the why. You are in discarding of experienced in- a raging forest full of beauty and Junk Science dividuals). I know of no case The Science of Meaning agony and magical grapey bev- where a security clearance was Dr. Morton Tavel has done the erages and lightning storms and restored once lost to the stochas- Tsipursky asks in “The Science scientific community a great demon bees. This is better than tic judgment of polygraphers. of Meaning” (January/February service with his highly readable the why.” Finally, it is striking that even 2016), can one create a personal Welcome to the Church of review of polygraph junk science and rich sense of purpose in life at the DOE national laboratories the Ultramarathon! (January/February 2016). I’d scientific evidence impacted the without belonging to a faith- like to add three observations. behavior of senior administrators based community? For me, the Paul Drumheller First, neither law enforce- not at all. When I aided a fellow most profound answer to the Flagstaff, Arizona ment nor national security scientist threatened with un- questions “What is the meaning agencies have shared even their employment after a failed poly- of life? Why are we here?” did I found Gleb Tsipursky’s article very old data that might pro- graph, my supervisor (obviously indeed come from a faith-based on the importance of finding vide some insight into the actual at the behest of the then-Sandia community, but not of the kind “meaning and purpose” in life utility of the polygraph. After president) forced me out of my you’d expect! lacking in insight. I regard at- millions of tests in both crimi- job. My father taught me that Matthew Inman, creator of taining meaning and purpose nal and employment-screening you can’t reason someone out of the Internet comic series “The solely as a means to an end based settings, there surely is enough a position they haven’t been rea- Oatmeal,” wrote a semi-auto- on reason, tolerance, and com- information to inform on the soned into in the first place. In biographical book The Terrible passion, and not, as Tsipursky polygraph’s sensitivity and spec- the case of Sandia’s manager-sci- and Wonderful Reasons Why I implies, as an end in itself. There ificity. Taxpayers have shelled entists, they manifested no rea- Run Long Distances. In one panel are all too many examples of out billions of dollars to pay for son a priori. Only the political of cartoons, Inman recounts a people throughout history who

64 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer have found meaning and purpose the Earth revolves around the throughout the article, there is the scientific approach and para- through abhorrent theocratic and Sun, not rotates. The Earth ro- little mention of what positive normalists’ reliance on “evidence” secular ideologies. Think of the tates on its axis. evidence might look like. It is that is essentially nonexistent, not until the first paragraph of exultant homicidal members Perhaps this can be forgiven non-verifiable, non-testable, and the conclusion that it is implied of the Khmer Rouge, ISIS, and of a psychologist, but I would non-admissible. Not only that, Boko Haram, the populations hope that this fundamental error that an “actual flying saucer or but it is used to promote the para- who cheerfully embraced Na- would be discovered and reme- extraterrestrial pilot” would con- normal by suggesting (in a mys- tional Socialism and Fascism, died prior to publication. That stitute positive evidence of extra- tery-mongering way) that because and the clerics of the Inquisi- would be best for your journal’s terrestrial beings having visited something is unexplained it must tion, to cite just a few examples. credibility, and our cause. Earth. But would it? You would Should we envy them for having still need to somehow show that therefore be paranormal (the illogic Steve Mimnaugh found “meaning and purpose”? the object did in fact have ex- of an “argument from ignorance”). [email protected] In a world being ravaged by war, traterrestrial origins. Since the We wisely avoided the snare climate change, superstition, and characteristics of extraterrestrial of trying to say what positive evi- overpopulation, we need people Charles Reichardt replies: spaceships are unknown, you dence would look like, since para- cannot test the object against normal claims are widely diverse, whose meaning and purpose in The common-place, dictionary any known properties. The only variously defined, and rife with life consists of recognizing, con- definition of “rotate” fits perfectly procedure we can use in trying imagination and even fantasy. fronting, and solving these crit- well, it seems to me (with “re- to determine the likely origin We note that Mr. Gasbarro, more ical issues. volve” listed as a synonym), al- of the object would be to test it sympathetic to the plight of para- though I believe the letter writer Dennis Middlebrooks against hypotheses of all known normalists than we, also has diffi- is correct that “revolve” is the more Brooklyn, New York terrestrial origins. It’s only neg- culty trying to offer a simple guide common usage among astronomers. ative evidence, but it’s the only It certainly would have been wiser to authenticating unknowns. Gleb Tsipursky responds: type of evidence at our disposal We are confident that if, for of me to have used “revolve,” but when we try to validate a hitherto example, an alien spacecraft or I agree with Dennis Middlebrooks I’m not sure “rotate” counts as a unknown phenomenon. bigfoot carcass actually presents that it would be wonderful if peo- literal error. The criticism against support- itself for examination, scientists ple found their meaning and pur- ers of UFOs and other such “un- will be able to verify its authentic- pose in dealing with war, climate explained” phenomena should change, superstition, and overpop- Whatever one might think about ity. (Some miracle claims, alleged not be that they tend to use nega- ulation. However, this article sim- the state of scientific knowledge tive evidence to try to prove their spontaneous human combustion ply looked at the science of meaning among our general population, existence. It’s that the quality of cases, and others are more problem- and purpose and conveyed what the state of religious literacy is that evidence is so poor. When atic.) Meanwhile, proponents not the science suggested. While we much worse. After all, children you rely on unsubstantiated and only have “bad” evidence, but they may wish for science to provide us have had up to twelve years of conflicting accounts, it’s rela- attempt to make negative evidence with the kind of answer we desire, science lessons using textbooks tively easy to dismiss all known seem positive, and they attempt this is not what the research sug- approved by some panel of sci- rational explanations for a partic- to switch the burden of proof. We gests. When we talk about science, ence readers. Churches have en- ular phenomenon and conclude wanted to expose this pseudoscien- we need to be vigilant about stick- ergetically refused to teach any that it’s unexplainable and there- tific approach for what it is. ing only to the answers provided historical-critical information fore of unearthly origin. The by the science. about the scriptures or church history, and have often blocked conclusion that is based on such [FEEDBACK such teaching from taking place evidence is extremely weak to the in our public schools. point of being entirely dismissi- The letters column is a forum on Scientific Knowledge I propose that in giving sur- ble. But it’s not simply because matters raised in previous issues. Charles S. Reichardt wrote an vey exams at the level of the fol- negative evidence was used—it’s Letters should be no longer than informative and pertinent scien- lowing would result in massive because it was bad negative evi- 225 words. Due to the volume numbers of wrong choices: dence. of letters we receive, not all can tific article “Trends in Scientific be published. Send letters as Knowledge, Education, and Re- Jesus was a: (a) Christian, (b) Tom Gasbarro email text (not attachments) to ligion,” in the January/February Pharisee, (c) Jew, (d) Ebionite Brooklyn, New York [email protected]. In the subject 2016 issue. Islam is divided into two line, provide your surname and in- I have been an ER doctor main socio-cultural groups, the formative identi fication, e.g.: “Smith for thiry-five years, and I’m no Sunni and the: (a) Sufi, (b) Alevi, Joe Nickell and James McGaha Letter on Jones evolution article.” In- astronomer; Dr. Reichardt says, (c) Druze, (d) Shia. respond: clude your name and address at the end of the letter. You may also mail “Educational attainment in Sharon Scholl We thank Tom Gasbarro for his your letter to the editor to 944 Deer America has increased ... knowl- Atlantic Beach, Florida compliment even though he goes Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87122. edge of many standard scientific on to suggest our entire concern facts has not.” Negative Evidence was misplaced. Truthfully yet ironically, he We did not wish only to discuss then goes on to expose our more Just a quibble about Joe Nickell evidence that is “bad” (a smudged scientifically ignorant Americans and James McGaha’s excellent fingerprint for instance) but to as “unaware of the fundamental article “The Search for Negative provide much-needed insight into Copernican reality that the Earth Evidence” (November/Decem- how paranormal claimants oper- rotates around the sun . . . etc.” ber 2015): Although the use of ate. We insisted on pointing out I and many others know that negative evidence is disparaged the qualitative differences between

Skeptical Inquirer | May/June 2016 65 [ THE LAST LAUGH BENJAMIN RADFORD, EDITOR

SKEPTICAL ANNIVERSARIES by Tim Farley

May 1, 1776: A secret society called “The Illuminati” is founded in Bavaria. It has become a staple element of various conspiracy theories. May 3, 1926: The 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service is awarded to the Columbus (Georgia) Enquirer-Sun for (among other things) its opposition to the enactment of a law that would ban the teaching of evolution. May 13, 1956: In Parade magazine, American psychic Jeane Dixon predicts a tall, young, blue-eyed Democrat will be elected president in 1960 and die in office. She would often later cite this as a correct prediction of the JFK assassination—ignoring her many other errors. May 14, 1796: Edward Jenner invents the first vaccine by injecting a boy with cowpox, resulting in his immunity to smallpox. The disease would later be eradicated via vaccine. May 18, 1996: The New York Times gives front-page coverage to Alan Sokal’s hoax paper published in the journal Social Text. The controversy over the “Sokal Hoax” grows as a result. May 18, 1926: Harry Houdini testifies before Congress concerning an anti–fortune-telling bill. The hearing ends when an argument erupts between Houdini and attending mediums. May 29, 1976: Science News covers the founding of CSICOP on its cover, provoking “more letters to the editor than about any previous Science News article in memory.” June 28, 2011: The United Nations declares the animal disease Rinderpest eradicated—the second disease eradicated via vaccines. June 30, 1906: The U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act becomes law, making patent medicines illegal. June 30, 1981: Sandra Mansi’s photo of the alleged Lake Champlain monster “Champ” is published in the New York Times, increasing media attention to it.

Tim Farley is the creator of the website whatstheharm.net and blogs at skeptools.com. He is a past fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation.

66 Volume 40 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer Scientific and Technical Consultants CENTERS FOR INQUIRY www.centerforinquiry.net/about/branches Gary Bauslaugh, Univ. of California at Berkeley Richard H. Lange, Tim Printy, writer and editor, MD, Mohawk Valley Physician amateur astronomer, UFO skeptic, former Luis Alfonso Gámez, Victoria, B.C., Canada Health Plan, Schenectady, NY Navy nuclear reactor operator/division chief, TRANSNATIONAL science journalist, Bilbao, Spain Manchester, NH 3965 Rensch Road, Amherst, NY 14228 Richard E. Berendzen, William M. London, Sylvio Garattini, Tel.: (716) 636-4869 astronomer, Washington, DC California State Univ., Los Angeles Daisie Radner, director, Mario Negri Pharmacology AUSTIN prof. of philosophy, SUNY Buffalo Martin Bridgstock, Institute, Milan, Italy Rebecca Long, PO Box 202164, Austin, TX 78720-2164 senior lecturer, School of Science, nuclear engineer, president of Geor gia Robert H. Romer, Susan Gerbic, Tel.: (512) 919-4115 Griffith Univ., Brisbane, Australia Council Against Health Fraud, Atlanta, GA prof. of physics, Amherst College founder and leader of the Guerilla Skepti- CHICAGO Richard Busch, cism on Wikipedia (GSoW) project John R. Mashey, Karl Sabbagh, [email protected] magician/mentalist, Pittsburgh, PA computer scientist/executive (Bell Labs, then journalist, Richmond, Surrey, England Laurie Godfrey, INDIANAPOLIS Silicon Valley), analyst of climate-change Shawn Carlson, anthropologist, Univ. of Massachusetts Robert J. Samp, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN 46202 denial, contributor to DeSmogBlog and Society for Amateur Scientists, assistant prof. of education and Tel.: (317) 423-0710 Gerald Goldin, Skeptical Science, East Greenwich, RI medicine, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison LOS ANGELES mathematician, Rutgers Univ., NJ Portola Valley, CA Roger B. Culver, Steven D. Schafersman, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90027 Donald Goldsmith, prof. of astronomy, Colorado State Univ. Thomas R. McDonough, asst. prof. of geology, Miami Univ., OH Tel.: (323) 666-9797 astronomer; president, Interstellar Media astrophysicist, Pasadena, CA MICHIGAN Felix Ares de Blas, Chris Scott, Alan Hale, 3777 44th Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512 prof. of computer science, James E. McGaha, statistician, London, England astronomer, Southwest Institute for Space Univ. of Basque, San Sebastian, Spain astronomer, USAF pilot (ret.) Tel.: (616) 698-2342 Research, Alamogordo, NM Stuart D. Scott Jr., NEW YORK CITY Nahum J. Duker, Joel A. Moskowitz, associate prof. of anthropology, Clyde F. Herreid, 33-29 28th St. Astoria, NY 11106 assistant prof. of pathology, director of medical psychiatry, Calabasas SUNY Buffalo prof. of biology, SUNY Buffalo Mental Health Services, Los Angeles SAN FRANCISCO Temple Univ. Erwin M. Segal, Sharon Hill, email: [email protected] Taner Edis, Matthew C. Nisbet, prof. of psychology, SUNY Buffalo geologist, writer, researcher, creator and TAMPA BAY Division of Science/Physics associate professor of communication editor of the Doubful News blog studies, public policy, and urban affairs at Carla Selby, 4011 S. Manhattan Ave. #139, Tampa, FL 33611-1277 Truman State Univ. anthropologist /archaeologist Tel.: (813) 505-7013 Gabor Hrasko, Northeastern University Barbara Eisenstadt, chairman of the European Council of Skepti- Steven N. Shore, WASHINGTON, DC psychologist, educator, clinician, Julia Offe, cal Organizations (ECSO), president neurobiologist, science journalist, creator prof. of astrophysics, Univ. of Pisa, Italy 1020 19th Street., NW, Suite 425 East Greenbush, NY Washington, DC 20036 of Hungarian Skeptics of German Science Slam Waclaw Szybalski, William Evans, tel.: (202) 629-2403 Michael Hutchinson, John W. Patterson, professor, McArdle Laboratory, Univ. prof. of communication, ARGENTINA author; SKEPTICAL INQUIRER prof. of materials science and of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Creative Media Buenos Aires, Argentina representative, Europe en gineering, Iowa State Univ. Sarah G. Thomason, Bryan Farha, [email protected] Philip A. Ianna, prof. of linguistics, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA prof. of behavioral studies in James R. Pomerantz, www.cfiargentina.org assoc. prof. of astronomy, prof. of psychology, Rice Univ. education, Oklahoma City Univ. Tim Trachet, CANADA Univ. of Virginia journalist and science writer, honorary John F. Fischer, Gary P. Posner, 55 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 307 I.W. Kelly, chairman of SKEPP, Belgium forensic analyst, Orlando, FL MD, Tampa, FL Toronto, Ontario, M4P 1G8, Canada prof. of psychology, Univ. of Saskatchewan, David Willey, CHINA Eileen Gambrill, Canada physics instructor, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA China Research Institute for Science Popularization, prof. of social welfare, NO. 86, Xueyuan Nanlu Haidian Dist., Beijing, 100081 China Tel.: +86-10-62170515 EGYPT Affiliated Organizations | United States 44 Gol Gamal St., Agouza, Giza, Egypt FRANCE ALABAMA D.C./MARYLAND MISSOURI Association for Rational Thought (ART) Dr. Henri Broch, Universite of Nice, Faculte des Alabama Skeptics, Alabama. Emory National Capital Area Skeptics NCAS, Skeptical Society of St. Louis (SSSL) Cincinnati. Roy Auerbach, president. Sciences, Parc Valrose, 06108, Nice cedex 2, Kimbrough. Tel.: 205-759-2624. 3550 Maryland, D.C., Virginia. D.W. “Chip” St. Louis, Missouri. Michael Blanford, Tel: (513)-731-2774, Email: raa@cinci. Water melon Road, Apt. 28A, Northport, Denman. Tel.: (240) 670-6227. Email: President. Email: [email protected]. rr.com. PO Box 12896, Cin cinnati, OH France Tel.: +33-492-07-63-12 AL 35476 [email protected]. PO Box 8461, Silver Spring, 2729 Ann Ave., St. Louis, MO 63104 45212. www.cincinnati skeptics.org GERMANY MD 20907-8428 http://www.ncas.org www.skepticalstl.org Arheilger Weg 11, 64380 Rossdorf, Germany ARIZONA OREGON Tel.: +49-6154-695023 Tucson Skeptics Inc. Tucson, AZ. James FLORIDA St. Joseph Skeptics Oregonians for Science and Reason Mc Gaha. Email:[email protected]. Tampa Bay Skeptics (TBS) Tampa Bay, P.O. Box 8908 (O4SR) Oregon. Jeanine DeNoma, INDIA 5100 N. Sabino Foot hills Dr., Tucson, Florida. Rick O’Keefe, contact person. St. Joseph MO, 64508-8908 president. Tel.: (541) 745-5026; Email: 46 Masi garh, New Friends Colony New Delhi 110025 AZ 85715 Tel.: 813-505-7013; Email: NEVADA [email protected]; 39105 Military Rd., [email protected]. c/o O’Keefe, Tel.: 91-9868010950 Phoenix Area Skeptics Society (PASS) Reno Skeptical Society, Inc., Monmouth, OR 97361. www.04SR.org 4011 S. Manhattan Ave. #139, Tampa, LONDON http://phoenixskeptics.org Brad Lutts, President. PENNSYLVANIA FL 33611-1277. www.tampabayskept Email: [email protected] Tel.: (775) 335-5505; Philadelphia Association for Critical Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, ics.org Email: [email protected]. 18124 London WC1R 4RL, England Phoenix Skeptics, Phoenix, AZ. Michael Think ing (PhACT), Bob Glickman Pres- ILLINOIS Wedge Parkway #1052 Reno, Nevada NEPAL Stack pole, P.O. Box 60333, Phoenix, ident. 653 Garden Road Glenside PA Rational Examination Association 89511. www.RenoSkeptics.org Humanist Association of Nepal, AZ 85082 19038. 215-885-2089 E-mail: Presi- of Lincoln Land (REALL) Illinois. Bob NEW MEXICO [email protected]. Website: www.phact.org PO Box 5284, Kathmandu Nepal CALIFORNIA Ladendorf, Chairman. Tel.: 217-546- New Mexicans for Science and Reason TENNESSEE Tel.: +977-1-4413-345 Sacramento Organization for Rational 3475; Email: [email protected]. PO (NMSR) New Mexico. David E. Thomas, NEW ZEALAND Thinking (SORT) Sacramento, CA. Ray Rationalists of East Tennessee, East Box 20302, Springfield, IL 62708 www. President. Tel.: 505-869-9250; Email: email: [email protected] Spangenburg, co-founder. Tel.: 916-978- Ten nessee. Carl Ledenbecker. Tel.: reall.org [email protected]. 801 Fitch Ave., 0321; Email: [email protected]. PO Box (865)-982-8687; Email: Aletall@aol. NIGERIA Chicago Skeptics Jennifer Newport, Socorro, NM 87801. www.nmsr.org 2215, Carmichael, CA 95609-2215 http:// com. 2123 Stony brook Rd., Louis ville, PO Box 25269, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria contact person. Email: chicagoskeptics@ home.comcast.net/~kitray2/site/ NEW YORK TN 37777 Tel.: +234-2-2313699 gmail.com. www.chicagoskeptics.com New York City Skeptics Michael Feldman, PERU Bay Area Skeptics (BAS) San Fran- TEXAS LOUISIANA president. PO Box 5122 New York, NY cisco—Bay Area. Eugenie C. Scott, North Texas Skeptics NTS Dallas/Ft D. Casanova 430, Lima 14, Peru Baton Rouge Proponents of Rational 10185. www.nycskeptics.org President. 1218 Miluia St., Berkeley, CA Worth area, John Blanton, Secretary. email: [email protected] Inquiry and Scientific Methods 94709. Email: [email protected]. www. Tel.: (972)-306-3187; Email: skeptic@ POLAND (BR-PRISM) Louisiana. Marge Schroth. Central New York Skeptics (CNY Skeptics) BASkeptics.org ntskeptics.org. PO Box 111794, Carroll- Lokal Biurowy No. 8, 8 Sapiezynska Sr., Tel.: 225-766-4747. 425 Carriage Way, Syracuse. Lisa Goodlin, President. Tel: ton, TX 75011-1794. www.ntskeptics.org 00-215, Warsaw, Poland Independent Investigations Group (IIG), Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (315) 636-6533; Email: info@cnyskeptics. Center for Inquiry–Los Angeles, 4773 org, cnyskeptics.org PO Box 417, Fayett- VIRGINIA ROMANIA MICHIGAN Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027. ville, NY 13066 The James Randi Educational Fundatia Centrul pentru Constiinta Critica Great Lakes Skeptics (GLS) SE Michi- Foun dation. James Randi, Director. Tel.: (40)-(O)744-67-67-94 Tel.: 323-666-9797. www.iighq.com OHIO gan. Lorna J. Simmons, Contact person. 2941 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 105 email: [email protected] Sacramento Skeptics Society, Sacra- Tel.: 734-525-5731; Email: Skeptic31 Central Ohioans for Rational Inquiry Falls Church, VA 22042 RUSSIA mento. Terry Sandbek, President. 4300 @aol.com. 31710 Cowan Road, Apt. (CORI) Central Ohio. Charlie Hazlett, Email: [email protected] Auburn Blvd. Suite 206, Sacramento CA 103, West land, MI 48185-2366 President. Tel.: 614-878-2742; Email: Telephone: 571-318-6530 Dr. Valerii A. Kuvakin, 119899 Russia, Moscow, 95841. Tel.: 916 489-1774. Email: terry@ [email protected]. PO Box 282069, Vorobevy Gory, Moscow State Univ., Tri-Cities Skeptics, Michi gan. Dr. Gary sandbek.com Columbus, OH 43228 Science & Reason, Hampton Rds., Philosophy Department Peterson. Tel.: 989-964-4491; Virginia. Lawrence Weinstein, Old SENEGAL San Diego Asso ciation for Rational Inquiry e-mail: [email protected]. Dominion Univ.-Physics Dept., Norfolk, PO Box 15376, Dakar – Fann, Senegal (SDARI) President: Tom Pickett. Email: www.tcskeptics.blogspot.com Cleveland Skeptics Joshua Hunt, VA 23529 [email protected]. Program/ Tel.: +221-501-13-00 MINNESOTA Co-Organizer, www.clevelandskeptics.org general information 619-421-5844. WASHINGTON St. Kloud Extraordinary Claim Psychic www.sdari.org. Postal ad dress: PO Box 623, South Shore Skeptics (SSS) Cleveland Seattle Skeptics Teaching Investigating Community La Jolla, CA 92038-0623 and counties. Jim Kutz. Tel.: 440 942- www.seattleskeptics.com (SKEPTIC) St. Cloud, Minne sota. Jerry 5543; Email: [email protected]. PO CONNECTICUT Mertens. Tel.: 320-255-2138; Email: Box 5083, Cleveland, OH 44101 www. New England Skeptical Society (NESS) [email protected]. Jerry Mer- southshoreskeptics.org New England. Steven Novella M.D., Presi- tens, Psychology Department, 720 4th dent. Tel.: 203-281-6277; Email: board@ Ave. S, St. Cloud State Univ., St. Cloud, theness.com. 64 Cobblestone Dr., Ham- MN 56301 den, CT 06518 www.theness.com

C Y E The organizations listed above have aims similar to those of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry but are independent and autonomous. N I R T U E Q Representatives of these organizations cannot speak on behalf of CSI. Please send updates to Barry Karr, P.O. Box 703, Amherst NY 14226-0703. R F O R I N International affiliated organizations listed at www.csicop.org.

IRY QU N I R O F

R

E

T

N

E C