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Martin Gardner's Last Column | Our Neandertal Cousins | Nostradamus | an Unlikely Séance

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Martin Gardner's Last Column | Our Neandertal Cousins | Nostradamus | an Unlikely Séance SI Sep/Oct 2010 v1_SI JF 10 V1 7/22/10 4:24 PM Page 1 MARTIN GARDNER'S LAST COLUMN | OUR NEANDERTAL COUSINS | NOSTRADAMUS | AN UNLIKELY SÉANCE THE MAG A ZINE FOR SCI ENCE AND REA SON Vol ume 34, No. 5 • September / October 2010 A Tribute & Celebration Ray HYMAN James RANDI Paul KURTZ James ALCOCK Kendrick FRAZIER Joe NICKELL Robert SHEAFFER ADDITIONAL TRIBUTES FROM Robert CARROLL TreatingTreating Heart Bryan FARHA Disease & Stroke: John Allen PAULOS A Skeptic’s Evaluation Scott O. LILIENFELD Christopher C. FRENCH Neil DEGRASSE TYSON Should ChiropractorsChiropractors Jay PASACHOFF TreatTreat Children? Martin BRIDGSTOCK Luis Alfonso GÁMEZ Benjamin RADFORD Timothy BINGA SI Sept/Oct pgs_SI MJ 2010 7/22/10 4:40 PM Page 2 FORMERLY THE COMMITTEE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS OF THE PARANORMAL (CSICOP). AT THE CEN TER FOR IN QUIRY /TRANSNATIONAL. A Paul Kurtz, Founder Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Richard Schroeder, Chairman Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Ronald A. Lindsay, President and CEO Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow Bar ry Karr, Ex ec u tive Di rect or Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow James E. Al cock, psy chol o gist, York Univ., Tor on to Thom as Gi lov ich, psy chol o gist, Cor nell Univ. Robert L. Park, professor of physics, Univ. of Maryland Mar cia An gell, M.D., former ed i tor-in-chief, New Eng land Jour - Sus an Haack, Coop er Sen ior Schol ar in Arts and Sci en ces, pro- Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy and nal of Med i cine fessor of phi los o phy and professor of Law, Univ. of Mi ami director of the Hopkins Observatory, Williams College Kimball Atwood IV, M.D., physician, author, Newton, MA Harriet Hall, M.D., family physician, investigator, Puyallup, WA John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. Steph en Bar rett, M.D., psy chi a trist, au thor, con sum er ad vo cate, C.E.M. Han sel, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Wales Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy, City Univ. of Al len town, PA David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, Columbia Univ. New York-Lehman College Willem Betz, M.D., professor of medicine, Univ. of Brussels Doug las R. Hof stad ter, pro fes sor of hu man un der stand ing and Stev en Pink er, cog ni tive sci en tist, Harvard Ir ving Bie der man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of South ern Cal i for nia cog ni tive sci ence, In di ana Univ. Philip Plait, astronomer, lecturer, and writer Sus an Black more, Vis it ing Lec tur er, Univ. of the West of Ger ald Hol ton, Mal linc krodt Pro fes sor of Phys ics and pro fes sor Mas si mo Pol id oro, sci ence writer, au thor, ex ec u tive di rect or, Eng land, Bris tol of his to ry of sci ence, Har vard Univ. CI CAP, It a ly Hen ri Broch, phys i cist, Univ. of Nice, France Ray Hy man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Or e gon James “The Amazing” Randi, magician, CSICOP founding Jan Har old Brun vand, folk lor ist, pro fes sor emer i tus of Eng - Le on Jar off, sci en ces ed i tor emer i tus, Time member, founder, James Randi Educational Foundation lish, Univ. of Utah Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist emeritus, science Mar io Bunge, phi los o pher, McGill Univ. advisor to Center for Inquiry Office of Public Policy, Mil ton Ro sen berg, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Chic a go Robert T. Carroll, emeritus professor of philosophy, Washington, D.C. Wal la ce Sam pson, M.D., clin i cal pro fes sor of med i cine, Stan - Sacramento City College, writer Ser gei Ka pit za, former ed i tor, Rus sian edi tion, Sci en tif ic Amer i can ford Univ., ed i tor, Sci en tif ic Re view of Al ter na tive Med i cine Sean B. Carroll, molecular geneticist, vice president for science Law rence M. Krauss, foundation professor, School of Earth Am ar deo Sar ma*, chairman, GWUP, Ger ma ny education, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Madison, and Space Exploration and Physics Dept., director, Origins Ev ry Schatz man, former pres i dent, French Phys ics As so ci a tion Wisconsin Initiative, Arizona State Univ. Eu ge nie Scott, phys i cal an thro pol o gist, ex ec u tive di rect or, John R. Cole, an thro pol o gist, ed i tor, Na tion al Cen ter for Sci - Harry Kroto, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Florida Na tion al Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion ence Ed u ca tion State Univ.; Nobel laureate Rob ert Sheaf fer, sci ence writer K.C. Cole, science writer, author, professor, Univ. of Ed win C. Krupp, as tron o mer, di rect or, Grif fith Ob ser va to ry Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism. El ie A. Shne our, bi o chem ist, au thor, president and research Paul Kurtz, professor emeritus of philosophy, SUNY at Buffalo Fred er ick Crews, lit er ary and cul tur al crit ic, pro fes sor emer i tus director, Bi os ys tems Re search In sti tute, La Jol la, CA of Eng lish, Univ. of Cal i for nia, Berke ley Law rence Kusche, sci ence writer Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute, Mountain Rich ard Dawk ins, zo ol o gist, Ox ford Univ. Le on Le der man, emer i tus di rect or, Fer mi lab; No bel lau re ate in phys ics View, CA Ge of frey Dean, tech ni cal ed i tor, Perth, Aus tral ia Scott Lil i en feld, psy chol o gist, Emory Univ. Dick Smith, film pro duc er, pub lish er, Ter rey Hills, N.S.W., Aus tral ia Cor nel is de Ja ger, pro fes sor of as tro phys ics, Univ. of Utrecht, Rob ert Stein er, ma gi cian, au thor, El Cer ri to, CA The Neth er lands Lin Zix in, former ed i tor, Sci ence and Tech nol o gy Dai ly (Chi na) Dan i el C. Den nett, Univ. pro fes sor and Aus tin B. Fletch er Pro - Je re Lipps, Mu se um of Pa le on tol o gy, Univ. of Cal i for nia, Berke ley Vic tor J. Sten ger, emer i tus pro fes sor of phys ics and as tron o my, fes sor of Phi los o phy, di rect or of Cen ter for Cog ni tive Stud ies Eliz a beth Loft us, pro fes sor of psy chol o gy, Univ. of CA, Ir vine Univ. of Ha waii; ad junct pro fes sor of phi los o phy, Univ. of CO at Tufts Uni v. Da vid Marks, psy chol o gist, City Univ., Lon don Jill Cor nell Tar ter, as tron o mer, SE TI In sti tute, Moun tain View, CA Ann Druyan, writer and producer, and CEO, Cosmos Studios, Mar io Men dez-Acos ta, jour nal ist and sci ence writer, Mex i co Car ol Tav ris, psy chol o gist and au thor, Los Ange les, CA Ithaca, NY City, Mex i co Da vid Thom as, phys i cist and math e ma ti cian, Per al ta, NM Ken neth Fed er, pro fes sor of an thro pol o gy, Cen tral Con nec ti cut Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, Brown Univ. Steph en Toul min, pro fes sor of phi los o phy, Univ. of South ern CA State Univ. Marv in Min sky, pro fes sor of me dia arts and sci en ces, M.I.T. Neil de Gras se Ty son, as tro phys i cist and di rect or, Hay den Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, SE Louisiana Univ. Da vid Mor ri son, space sci en tist, NA SA Ames Re search Cen ter Plan e tar i um, New York City An drew Fra knoi, as tron o mer, Foot hill Col lege, Los Al tos Hills,CA Rich ard A. Mul ler, pro fes sor of phys ics, Univ. of Ca lif., Berke ley Ma ri lyn vos Sa vant, Pa rade mag a zine con trib ut ing ed i tor Kend rick Fra zi er*, sci ence writer, ed i tor, SKEP TI CAL IN QUIR ER Joe Nick ell, sen ior re search fel low, CSI Christopher C. French, professor, department of psychol- Stev en Wein berg, pro fes sor of phys ics and as tron o my, Univ. of Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Waalre, The ogy, and head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Tex as at Aus tin; No bel lau re ate Netherlands Unit, Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London. Lee Nis bet, phi los o pher, Med aille Col lege E.O. Wil son, uni ver si ty pro fes sor emer i tus, Har vard Univ. Yv es Gal i fret, executive secretary, l’Union Rationaliste Steven Novella, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, Rich ard Wis e man, psy chol o gist, Uni ver si ty of Hert ford shire Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di Pavia (Italy), and Yale Univ. School of Medicine Benjamin Wolozin*, professor, department of pharmacology, research fellow of CICAP, the Italian skeptics’ group Bill Nye, sci ence ed u ca tor and tel e vi sion host, Nye Labs Boston Univ.
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