GARDNER ON EXORCISMS • CREATIONISM AND 'RARE EARTH' • WHEN SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE IS THE ENEMY THE MAGAZINE FOR SCIENCE AND REASON Volume 25, No. 6 • November/December 2001 THE COMMITTEE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS OF THE PARANORMAL AT THE CENTER FOR INQUIRY-INTERNATIONAL (ADJACENT TO THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO) • AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION Paul Kurtz, Chairman; professor emeritus of philosophy. State University of New York at Buffalo Barry Karr, Executive Director Joe Nickell, Research Fellow Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow Lee Nisbet, Special Projects Director FELLOWS James E. Alcock,* psychologist. York Univ., Susan Haack, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts Loren Pankratz, psychologist. Oregon Health Toronto and Sciences, prof, of philosophy. University Sciences Univ. Jerry Andrus, magician and inventor, Albany, of Miami John Paulos, mathematician. Temple Univ. Oregon C. E. M. Hansel, psychologist. Univ. of Wales Steven Pinker, cognitive scientist. MIT Marcia Angell, M.D.. former editor-in-chief, Al Hibbs, scientist. Jet Propulsion Laboratory Massimo Polidoro, science writer, author, New England Journal of Medicine Douglas Hofstadter, professor of human under­ executive director CICAP, Italy Robert A. Baker, psychologist. Univ. of standing and cognitive science, Indiana Univ. Milton Rosenberg, psychologist, Univ. of Kentucky Gerald Holton, Mallinckrodt Professor of Chicago Stephen Barrett M.D., psychiatrist, author, Physics and professor of history of science. Wallace Sampson, M.D., clinical professor of consumer advocate, Allentown, Pa. Harvard Univ. Barry Beyerstein,* biopsychologist. Simon Ray Hyman,* psychologist. Univ. of Oregon medicine, Stanford Univ., editor. Scientific Fraser Univ.. Vancouver, B.C., Canada Leon Jaroff, sciences editor emeritus, Time Review of Alternative Medicine Irving Biederman, psychologist Univ. of Sergei Kapitza, former editor, Russian edition. Amardeo Sarma, engineer, head of dept. Southern California Scientific American at T-Nova Deutsche Telekom, executive Susan Blackmore, psychologist. Univ. of the Philip J. Klass,* aerospace writer, engineer director, GWUP, Germany. West of England, Bristol Edwin C. Krupp, astronomer, director, Griffith Evry Schatzman. former president. French Henri Broch, physicist. Univ. of Nice, France Observatory Physics Association Jan Harold Brunvand, folklorist, professor Paul Kurtz,* chairman, CSICOP Eugenie Scott physical anthropologist, execu­ emeritus of English, Univ. of Utah Lawrence Kusche, science writer tive director. National Center for Science Vern Bullough, professor of history, California Leon Lederman, emeritus director, Fermilab; Education State Univ. at Northridge Nobel laureate in physics Thomas A. Sebeok, anthropologist Mario Bunge, philosopher, McGill University Scott Lilienfeld. psychologist, Emory Univ. John R. Cole, anthropologist, editor, National linguist, Indiana Univ. Lin Zixin, former editor. Science and Robert Sheaffer, science writer Center for Science Education Technology Daily (China) Frederick Crews, literary and cultural critic, Elie A. Shneour, biochemist, author, Jere Lipps, Museum of Paleontology, Univ. of professor emeritus of English, Univ. of director, Biosystems Research Institute, California, Berkeley California. Berkeley La Jolla, Calif. Elizabeth Loftus, professor of psychology, Dick Smith, film producer, publisher. Terrey F. H. C Crick, biophysicist Salk Inst, for Univ. of Washington Hills, N.S.W.. Australia Biological Studies. La Jolla. Calif; Nobel Prize Paul MacCready, scientist/engineer, laureate Robert Steiner, magician, author, AeroVironment, Inc., Monrovia, Calif. Richard Oawkins, zoologist. Oxford Univ. El Cerrito. Calif. John Maddox, editor emeritus of Nature Cornelis de Jager, professor of astrophysics, Jill Cornell Tarter, astronomer, SETI Institute, David Marks, psychologist City University. London. Univ. of Utrecht, the Netherlands Mountain View, Calif. Walter C. McCrone, microscopist, McCrone Paul Edwards, philosopher, editor, Carol Tavris, psychologist and author, Los Research Institute Encyclopedia of Philosophy Angeles, Calif. Mario Mendez-Acosta, journalist and Kenneth Feder, professor of anthropology. David Thomas, physicist and mathematician. Central Connecticut State Univ. science writer, Mexico City, Mexico Peralta. New Mexico Antony Flew, philosopher, Reading Univ., U.K. Marvin Minsky, professor of media arts and Stephen Toulmin, professor of philosophy, Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer. Foothill College, sciences, M.I.T. Univ. of Southern California Los Altos Hills, Calif. David Morrison, space scientist. NASA Ames Kendrick Frazier.* science writer, editor, Research Center Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and direc­ tor, Hayden Planetarium, New York City SxtpncAi INQUIRER Richard A. Muller, professor of physics, Univ. Yves Galifret vice-president Affiliated of Calif.. Berkeley Marilyn vos Savant Parade magazine con­ Organizations: France H. Narasimhaiah, physicist, president, tributing editor and CBS News correspondent Martin Gardner, • author, critic Bangalore Science Forum, India Steven Weinberg, professor of physics and Murray Gell-Mann, professor of physics, Santa Dorothy Nelkin, sociologist. New York Univ. astronomy, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Nobel Fe Institute; Nobel Prize laureate Joe Nickell,* senior research fellow, CSICOP Prize laureate Lee Nisbet* philosopher, Medaille College Thomas Gilovich. psychologist, Cornell Univ. Richard Wiseman, psychologist. University of Bill Nye, science educator and television host, Henry Gordon, magician, columnist Toronto Hertfordshire Stephen Jay Gould, Museum of Comparative Nye Labs Marvin Zelen, statistician, Harvard Univ. Zoology, Harvard Univ. James E. Oberg, science writer Saul Green, PhD. biochemist president of 20L Irmgard Oepen, professor of medicine * Member, CSICOP Executive Council Consultants. New York, NY (retired), Marburg, Germany (Affiliations given for identification only.) Visit the CSICOP Web site at http://www.csicop.org The SKEPTICAL INQUIRER (ISSN 0194-6730) a published bimonthly by the Committee for the Anicles. reports, reviews, and letters published in the SKEPTICM. INQUIRER represent the Scientific Investigation of Qaims of the Paranormal, 1310 Sweet Home Rd.. Amherst. NY views and work of individual authors. Their publication does not necessarily constitute an 14228. Printed in U.SA Pcnodicali postage paid at Buffalo, NY. Subscription prices; one year endorsement by CSICOP or its members unless so stated. (six issues), S35; two yean, $58; three yean, $81; single issue. $495. Canadian and foreign orders: Copyright ©2001 by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claim* of the Payment in U.S. hinds drawn on a U.S. bank must accompany orders; please add US$10 per year Paranormal. All rights reserved. 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COLUMNS Skeptical Inquirer EDITOR'S NOTE 4 November/December 2001 • VOL. 25, NO. 6 NEWS AND COMMENT Accreditation Commission Approves Astrology School / Astrology in Seattle: Kepler College Looks to the Stars, But It Is Not Accredited / Was the 'Rare Earth' Hypothesis Influenced by a ARTICLES Creationist? / Bogus Nostradamus Prophecies Circulate Following Terrorism / Hardly a Prayer on ABC's 'Downtown' / 'Psychic Flies' Feed on Levy Disappearance / Nothing But Trouble in Miss Cleo's 26 A Critique of Schwartz et al.'s Tarot Cards S After-Death Communication Studies NOTES OF A FRINGE-WATCHER Ernest Hemingway and Jane Studies with mediums by Gary Schwartz and colleagues MARTIN GARDNER 16 have been widely reported in the media as scientific proof of life after death. But their experiments did not employ blind INVESTIGATIVE FILES judging, used an inappropriate control group, and had John Edward: Hustling the Bereaved insufficient safeguards against sensory leakage. JOE NICKELL 19 RICHARD WISEMAN and CIARAN O'KEEFFE PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS Conspire This! 32 Magical Thinking in ROBERT SHEAFFER 23 Complementary and Alternative Medicine NEW BOOKS 64 Homeopathy and other popular therapies demonstrate SCIENCE BEST SELLERS 65 ancient and universal principles of magical thinking ARTICLES OF NOTE 65 which some recent research suggests