DOCSLIB.ORG

Scientific Report on Bial Fellowship 36/08 Theoretical Background

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Scientific Report on Bial Fellowship 36/08 Theoretical Background Scientific Report on Bial Fellowship 36/08 Theoretical background and study overview In sympathetic magical belief, objects are deemed to possess an affinity of power through their resemblance or connection to individuals by the ‘Law of Similarity’ (Frazer, 1922). Early belief in these laws underpin folk herbal remedies, alchemy and voodoo witchcraft, but also trigger magical notions in modern scientifically literate adults (e.g. Rozin & Nemeroff, 1990). One of the most dramatic examples of belief in sympathetic magic is the concern that damage to a representation can somehow harm the real-world person or object it is representing (Behrand, 2003). In our pilot studies, we have demonstrated that adults who do not think that they will be upset by cutting up a photograph of their childhood sentimental object will show significantly elevated arousal as measured by their galvanic skin response. Following the destruction they reported no awareness of increased arousal. This suggests that there may be latent emotional responses to perceived destruction that are suppressed. We predict that this reflects suppression of amygdala fear activation by inhibitory dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPC) networks. The rationale for this frontal inhibitory effect is the recent demonstration that activation of the DLPC and anterior cingulate is associated with unwanted prejudicial responses to Black faces by White participants (Richeson et al, 2003; Cunningham et al, 2004). These studies on prejudice are consistent with the idea that it is possible to control spontaneously activated negative attitudes. The current body of work examined whether the same network might be implicated in sympathetic magical reasoning. Sixty-seventy percent of Western children form a strong emotional attachment to a specific toy which they then treat as invaluable and irreplaceable (Lehman et al., 1995). Many adults retain their childhood attachment objects soothing (Hood, 2009). To examine sympathetic magical belief in scientifically rational adults we focused on measuring participant’s explicit and implicit responses when destroying a photo of their childhood attachment object or watching a video of their attachment object being destroyed. Stage 1 Three experiments with 82 participants established that scientifically literate adults experience implicit arousal when cutting up photos of their childhood attachment objects relative to other objects they own or control objects. This was the case when they were and were not being observed by the experimenter and when the picture of their attachment object bore little resemblance to the object itself. These results are taken as evidence for a tacit acceptance of sympathetic magic even in those individuals who explicitly stated that they would not be upset. This suggests that sympathetic magical belief is an implicit reasoning bias that is suppressed. This work was accepted for publication in the Journal of Cognition and Culture (2010) and is attached in Appendix A. Stage 2 Having established an implicit response to destruction of a picture of an attachment object, it was necessary to change the protocol to make it appropriate for conducting an fMRI scanning experiment. Participants in the scanner cannot move to cut up the pictures, as they did in Stage 1, so a series of videos were created in which the participant saw their attachment object or a range of control objects (their phone, a toy that looked similar to their attachment object, an empty box), being placed in a box and then the box being destroyed in 6 different ways (burning, exploding, chain-sawing, being driven over, squashed and skewered). These were contrasted with a video in which the box was not harmed (it was stroked) to ensure participants did not become habituated to the destruction scenarios. Piloting with 10 participants revealed significantly greater electrodermal response 1 when presented with a destruction video involving their attachment objects relative to all of the other controls. The degree of electrodermal response was comparable to that shown in Stage 1 where participants themselves cut up pictures of their attachment objects and controls. Stage 3 A primary hypothesis was that the degree to which sympathetic magical beliefs are expressed would be modulated by individual differences in reasoning style, paranormal belief and attachment style. These were measured using the following instruments: The Rational-Experiential Reasoning Scale (Pacini & Epstein, 1999) – a 41-item scale that establishes along two orthogonal scales whether individuals prefer to reason experientially (e.g. in line with their gut reactions) or rationally (e.g. though conscious analysis). Revised Paranormal Beliefs Scale (Tobyack, 2004) – a 26-item questionnaire on which respondents score a range of common paranormal beliefs as true or false. Global Attachment Style Questionnaire (Fraley, Waller & Brennan, 2000) – a 36-item questionnaire to establish whether respondents form anxious or avoidant social attachments. Explicit measures In addition we also asked participants to rate how emotionally significant their attachment object was to them and, on a scale of 1-10, where 1 was the worst thing that could ever happen, how upset they thought they would be about watching a video of their attachment object being destroyed, knowing it was pretend. Participants Thirty-two adult participants (6 male) aged between 20 and 55 years (mean age = 27 years). All of the participants obtained their attachment object before 5 years of age and the majority (88%) obtained it in their first year of life. All of the attachment objects had a face (though in some cases the face was no longer visible due to wear and tear.) Results & Discussion Experiential reasoning correlated significantly with paranormal beliefs and anticipated distress seeing the destruction video. This suggests that individual differences in reasoning style predicts explicit sympathetic magical beliefs. Self-rated emotional significance of the attachment object also correlated significantly with how upset participants predicted that they would be which provides confirmation that the explicit measures are consistent. Attachment style did not correlate significantly with any of the other measures. Stage 4 All of the participants who had completed Stage 3 (N = 32) were then placed into an MRI scanner. The primary objective of this experiment was to establish whether the amygdala, associated with low-level threat detection (e.g. Whalen, 1998), is differentially activated when a representation of the participant’s attachment object is destroyed as compared to objects that have personal financial but no sentimental value. The second objective of this experiment was to determine whether those participants who claim they will be least distressed by destruction of a representation of their attachment object show significantly greater activation of dorso-lateral pre-frontal lobe networks associated in previous literature with inhibition of pre-potent responses. Correlations were explored between strength of frontal lobe response and participants’ scores on the Experiential-Rational Reasoning Scale (Pacini & Epstein, 1999), the Revised Paranormal Beliefs Scale (Tobacyk, 2004) and anticipated perceived distress. 2 Acquisition All data were acquired on a GE 3 Tesla HDx system. BOLD FMRI data were obtained using a gradient echo EPI sequence with the following parameters: Repetition time (TR) = 3000ms; echo time (TE) = 35ms; field of view = (240mm)2; data matrix = 64x64; 44 slices with thickness 2.8mm and 1.0mm gap; parallel imaging (ASSET) factor = 2. Slices were acquired with an oblique-axial angulation, aligned to the participants’ anterior commissure- posterior commissure line. A T1-weighted 3D structural scan (FSPGR) was acquired during the same session for registration purposes, with the following parameters; TR/TE=7.9/3.0 ms, TI=450ms, Flip angle=20deg, 1 average, data matrix 256x256x176, field of view 256x256x176 mm3 . Statistical Analysis Data preprocessing and analysis were performed using the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) Software Library (www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/ fsl). Spatial smoothing was applied using a full-width half-maximum Gaussian kernel of 5 mm. Preprocessing and analysis was performed using FEAT (fMRI Expert Analysis Tool, version 5.63). To remove low- frequency artifacts, each functional run was temporally filtered using a high-pass cutoff of 100 s. FMRIB Brain Extraction Tool (Smith, 2002) was used to remove non- brain data, and motion correction was applied using 3-dimensional co-registration of each image to the middle image of the time series with MCFLIRT (Jenkinson, Bannister, Brady & Smith, 2002). Registration of the functional data followed a two-stage process using FLIRT, initially the EPI data were registered to the participant’s a high resolution T1-weighted FSPGR image (7 degrees of freedom), and then registered to the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) 152 standard template anatomical image (12 degrees of freedom). Each trial type (attachment object, AO; control object, CO; familiar object, FO; empty box, EB) was modeled as a 15s block, with onset time at the beginning of the video. For the first level analysis, four event types were modeled – the ‘destruction’ videos for attachment object, control object, familiar object (mobile phone) and empty box. Six contrasts were set up to investigate differences in neural activity when viewing the destruction of
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Amazing Meeting 5
    The Amazing Meeting 5 Per Johan Råsmark James Randi är känd för de flesta skeptiker. Det finns knappast någon som inte vid något till- fälle i en diskussion nämnt hans utmaning, där den som kan visa upp en paranormal förmåga under kontrollerbara former kan få $ 1 000 000. För knappt ett år sedan var vi nära att förlora honom då han drabbades av en allvarlig hjärtattack, men tack vare modern medicinsk veten- skap överlevde han. Den 18 januari 2007 var han så närvarande när det femte ”The Amazing Meeting” (TMA) inleddes i Las Vegas. Dessa möten, av vilka det första hölls i Florida och de övriga har varit i Las Vegas, arrangeras av ”James Randi Educational Foundation” (JREF). Denna gång hölls konferensen på Riviera eftersom Stardust där man varit de två senaste åren håller på att för- vandlas till enbart ”dust” i den ständiga omvandlingen av staden. Konferensen har hela tiden ökat i popularitet och detta år tyckte drygt 800 personer att det var värt att resa till ett kallt Las Vegas. Enligt arrangörerna gör detta konferensen till världens största någonsin för skeptiker och det ska också vara den med procentuellt sett flest kvinnor och flest ungdomar. (För att vara sunt skeptisk vill jag påpeka att jag inte har kontrollerat de uppgifterna.) Temat för årets möte var ”Skepticism and the Media”, något som inte alla talarna höll sig till eftersom det är en stor konferens, men som kunde ses på antalet mediepersonligheter bland de inbjudna gästerna. Att man inte helt höll sig till konferensens tema märktes redan den första dagen som inled- des med två workshops.
    [Show full text]
  • When Entertainment Meets Science: Summit Boosts Innovative Education JAMES UNDERDOWN
    SI May June 11 CUT_SI new design masters 3/25/11 10:01 AM Page 5 [ NEWS AND COMMENT When Entertainment Meets Science: Summit Boosts Innovative Education JAMES UNDERDOWN Can the entertainment media, with their formidable skills, help educate young people about science? That was just one of the hopes as the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) hosted the unusual Summit on Science, En ter - tainment, and Education at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, Cal- ifornia, on February 4, 2011. The all-day symposium featured a top- shelf lineup of speakers from all over the United States on the status and direction of science education today. Each of its From left: Superstring theorist Brian Greene, writer/director/producer Jerry Zucker, and educator Tyler Johnstone three categories (science, entertainment, discuss ways to attract students to the world of science. and education) was well represented by in- novators in their respective fields with rel- her students to testify how they are drawn tainment who need help with content. evant knowledge and experience. toward science. In this day and age of Thanks to a $225,000 grant from the From the world of science, luminaries myriad distractions, catching the eye of Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, such as Ralph Cicerone, NAS president; students is more of a challenge than ever. the Ex change “is seeking proposals to es- Sean B. Carroll, biologist; and Charles But the program didn’t begin and end tablish collaborative partnerships among Vest, president of the National Academy with a group of experts bemoaning the scientists, entertainment industry profes- of Engineering and president emeritus of failures of the education system and sionals, and educators to develop educa- the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pointing fingers at Hollywood schlock tional products or services that effectively were present.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Editor Skep Ti Cal Inq Uir E R™ the MAG a ZINE for SCI ENCE and REA SON
    SI Sept/Oct pgs_SI MJ 2010 7/23/10 12:41 PM Page 4 From the Editor Skep ti cal In quir e r™ THE MAG A ZINE FOR SCI ENCE AND REA SON ED I TOR Kend rick Fra zi er ED I TO RI AL BOARD James E. Al cock Martin Gardner and the Skeptical Movement Today Thom as Cas ten Ray Hy man Joe Nick ell Am ar deo Sar ma artin Gardner’s passing and the latest successful skeptic’s conference are both causes for Benjamin Wolozin Mreflection on where the skeptical movement Gardner helped found stands now. CON SULT ING ED I TORS I begin these comments as I depart The Amazing Meeting 8 (TAM8), the James Randi Sus an J. Black more Ken neth L. Fed er Educational Foundation’s big skeptics conference in Las Vegas. Martin Gardner’s legacy was much Barry Karr in evidence, and indeed Gardner received a moving tribute from Randi at the beginning of a late- E. C. Krupp Scott O. Lil i en feld afternoon panel on the origin of the skeptics movement. Randi, Ray Hyman, and Paul Kurtz— Da vid F. Marks three giants who, with Gardner, were present at the beginning—and I talked about the events that Jay M. Pasachoff Eu ge nie Scott led to the creation of CSICOP (now our Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) in 1976. Ray’s, Randi’s, Rich ard Wis e man and Paul’s reminiscences also lead off this special Martin Gardner Tribute Issue of the SKEPTICAL CON TRIB UT ING ED I TORS INQUIRER , pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Jennifer Forester, Faculty Mentor
    Pics or It Didn’t Happen: Sexist Hyperskepticism in the Modern Skeptical Movement Author: Jennifer Forester, Faculty Mentor: Clark Pomerleau, Ph.D., Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences Department and College Affiliation: Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences Pics or It Didn’t Happen 2 Bio: Jennifer Forester graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in English with a specialization in writing and rhetoric. Jennifer was a member of the Honors College. She presented her research at University Scholars Day in April 19, 2013. She is proud of her service in the United States Marine Corps where she was a Corporal (Bandsman, Armorer) in Cherry Point, North Carolina. She is a mother of two brilliant, if often unruly, children. Her current plan is to find gainful employment, but promises that she will eventually return to college and obtain her doctorate in rhetoric with a particular focus on the ways that rhetorical studies can be applied to social justice. Pics or It Didn’t Happen 3 Abstract: In the skeptical community, there is an ongoing conflict over what—if any—actions are necessary to make the movement more welcoming to the growing numbers of women in its ranks. This conflict has brought a great deal of antifeminist sentiment to the surface, to include rape and death threats against prominent women who speak affirmatively on feminist issues within organized skepticism. The origins of this problem can be found in the grounding of skeptical dialogue on the superiority of a traditionally masculinized ideal of science and reason, which excludes the feminized personal narratives that serve as evidence for mistreatment of women within the community.
    [Show full text]
  • Canadian Atheist: Set XVI
    1 2 In-Sight Publishing 3 Canadian Atheist: Set XVI 4 IN-SIGHT PUBLISHING Publisher since 2014 Published and distributed by In-Sight Publishing Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada www.in-sightjournal.com Copyright © 2020 by Scott Douglas Jacobsen In-Sight Publishing established in 2014 as a not-for-profit alternative to the large commercial publishing houses who dominate the publishing industry. In-Sight Publishing operates in independent and public interests rather than in dependent and private ones, and remains committed to publishing innovative projects for free or low-cost while electronic and easily accessible for public domain consumption within communal, cultural, educational, moral, personal, scientific, and social values, sometimes or even often, deemed insufficient drivers based on understandable profit objectives. Thank you for the download of this ebook, your consumption, effort, interest, and time support independent and public publishing purposed for the encouragement and support of academic inquiry, creativity, diverse voices, freedom of expression, independent thought, intellectual freedom, and novel ideas. © 2014-2020 by Scott Douglas Jacobsen. All rights reserved. Original appearance in Canadian Atheist. Not a member or members of In-Sight Publishing, 2020 This first edition published in 2020 No parts of this collection may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized, in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented or created, which includes photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher or the individual co-author(s) or place of publication of individual articles. Independent Cataloguing-in-Publication Data No official catalogue record for this book, as an independent endeavour.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Do We Go from Here? Has Classic Skepticism Run Its Course? by Daniel Loxton, 2007
    Where Do We Go From here? Has classic skepticism run its course? by Daniel Loxton, 2007 antasy and sci-fi fans may recall an Emmy organizations to whom media could turn; they Award-nominated musical episode of the television published an extensive body of literature probing Fseries Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which the heroes the validity of pseudoscientific assertions; they sadly sing lyrics posing the key existential question: engaged in watchdog activism; they tracked the evolution of claims and contributed to the scientific The battle’s done, and we kinda won understanding of belief and anomalous experience. So we sound our victory cheer. Where do we go from here?1 This took no small effort. Skeptical leaders like Randi, Kurtz and Shermer have racked up heroic mileage, and Looking around the skeptics movement over the no shortage of bumps and bruises along the way. And, for last few years, it’s seemed to me that everyone some skeptical trailblazers, at long last, the battle’s finally is asking this same question. I’d like to suggest done. Some of the early titans, like Martin Gardener, have an answer: we should return to basics. retired. Others, like Asimov and Sagan, have passed away. When skeptics first organized, the landscape was in some Still others are just sick of this crap. ways very different. Pseudoscientific fads that have since faded back somewhat into the fringe — from Uri Geller to After all, in a world where Peter Popoff can once again flying saucers to Von Däniken’s ancient astronauts — were make a sweet fortune performing miracles — Popoff, for then sweeping the culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Autism, Cults Young Skeptics & the Right Approach
    SKEPTICI S M . SCIENCE . SOCIETY Vol. 30, No 3. September 2010 tics kep eak S p S AUTISM, CULTS young SKEPTICS & the right approach FAITH HEALING j GALILEO j ASTROLOGY Australian Skeptics . www.skeptics.com.au Skeptic_Cover_Sep10.indd 1 3/9/10 9:45:40 AM The Skeptic September 10 Skeptical Groups in Australia Australian Skeptics Inc – Eran Segev Queensland Skeptics Association Inc – Bob Bruce www.skeptics.com.au PO Box 1388 Coorparoo DC 4151 PO Box 20, Beecroft, NSW 2119 Tel: (07) 3255 0499 Mob: 0419 778 308 [email protected] Tel: 02 8094 1894; Mob: 0432 713 195; Fax: (02) 8088 4735 Hear Bob on 4BC Paranormal Panel - 9-10pm Tuesdays [email protected] Sydney Skeptics in the Pub – 6pm first Thursday of each Meeting with guest speaker on the last Monday of every month month at the City Hotel, corner of Kent & King Streets at the Red Brick Hotel, 81 Annerly Road, South Brisbane. Dinner in the city (meeting upstairs) from 6pm, speaker at 7.30pm. See our web site for details: www.qldskeptics.com Dinner meetings are held on a regular basis in Chatswood Next dinner: Sept 25 - guest speaker business analyst John Smyrk. Bookings online or contact [email protected] Canberra Skeptics – Michael O’Rourke & Pierre Le Count PO Box 555, Civic Square, ACT 2608 Tel: (02) 6121 4483 [email protected] (general inquiries), Hunter Skeptics Inc – John Turner [email protected] (Canberra Skeptics in the Pub). Tel: (02) 4959 6286 [email protected] Monthly talks usually take place on the 13th of each month at We produce a 4-page e-newsletter six times a year; contact the the Innovations Theatre at the ANU.
    [Show full text]
  • CURRICULUM VITAE: Lawrence M. Krauss Born: May 27, 1954
    CURRICULUM VITAE: Lawrence M. Krauss Born: May 27, 1954; New York City Citizenship: U.S.A., Canada Married: 1980-2012 to Katherine Kelley 2014- to Nancy Dahl Children: Lillian, born Nov. 23, 1984 Santal (step-daughter), born Aug. 14, 2000 Current Address and Position: Foundation Professor, Director, Origins Project Co-Director, Cosmology Initiative School of Earth and Space Exploration and Department of Physics Arizona State University PO Box 871404, Tempe AZ 85287-1404 Research office: 480-965-6378 Email: [email protected] Education B.Sc. First Class Honours, Mathematics and Physics Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, 1977 Ph.D. Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1982 Honorary Degrees and Fellowships: 1998 Fellow, American Physical Society 2001 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science 2003 D.Sc. Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada Employment: Teaching and Research (since 1982) 1982-85 Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, and Physics Dept., Harvard University 1985-88 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Physics, Yale University 1985-86 Visiting Scientist, Boston University 1985-89 Visiting Scientist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics 1986-88 Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Yale University 1988-93 Associate Professor, Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Yale University 1993- 2008 Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics and Astronomy and chair (thru 2005), Dept. of Physics, Case Western Reserve University 2005 Director, Office of Science, Public Policy, and Bio- Entrepreneurship, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine 2002-2008 Director, Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics 2006-7 Visiting Professor, Vanderbilt University 2008- Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration & Physics Dept.
    [Show full text]
  • CFI Calls on FDA to Label Homeopathic Drugs As Untested and Unproven
    [ NEWS AND COMMENT CFI Calls on FDA to Label Homeopathic Drugs as Untested and Unproven Consumers spend $3 billion a year on homeopathic drugs, yet most remain unaware that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not evalu- ated them for safety and effectiveness. In comments filed with the FDA the week of August 17, the Center for Inquiry (CFI) urged the FDA to sub- ject homeopathic drugs to the same testing requirements as conventional drugs. Failing that, CFI urged the FDA to at least require homeopathic prod- ucts to be clearly labeled as untested and unproven. Homeopathy is a centuries-old pseudoscience, developed before the discovery of disease-causing pathogens, based on the false beliefs that “like cures like” and that the more an ingredient is diluted the more potent it is, due to water’s “memory” of the diluted ingre- for not distinguishing between effec- tive remedies and pseudoscience Homeopathy is a centuries-old dient. As CFI stated in its comments, from the 1700s if both products “By its own definition, homeopathy share the same store shelves, and pseudoscience, developed cannot work.” Yet for historical reasons there is no labeling on homeopathic relating to the passage of the original drugs to indicate they are given a before the discovery of Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938 pass by the FDA. Clear labeling on disease-causing pathogens. (which had a homeopathic practitioner homeopathic products, that catches consumers’ attention and informs as a key sponsor), homeopathic prod- them that the FDA does not evalu- can result in people becoming sicker or ucts can be marketed even though they ate these products for safety or effec- even dying for lack of real, scientifically are not subject to the rigorous testing tiveness, is an easy way to ensure that for safety and effectiveness that conven- people looking to treat their illnesses proven treatments.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloads/Why-Is-There-A-Skeptical-Movement.Pdf, 66
    URI GELLER AND THE RECEPTION OF PARAPSYCHOLOGY IN THE 1970S by JACOB OLDER GREEN B.A. The University of Chicago, 2009 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (History) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) July, 2018 © Jacob Older Green, 2018 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: URI GELLER AND THE RECEPTION OF PARAPSYCHOLOGY IN THE 1970S submitted by Jacob Older Green in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Examining Committee: Joy Dixon, History Supervisor Robert Brain, History Supervisory Committee Member Alexei Kojevnikov Additional Examiner ii Abstract This paper investigates the controversy following the publication of work by scientists working at the Stanford Research Institute that claimed to show that the extraordinary mental powers of 1970s super psychic Uri Geller were real. The thesis argues that the controversy around Geller represented a shift in how skeptical scientists treated parapsychology. Instead of engaging with parapsychology and treating it as an incipient, if unpromising scientific discipline, which had been the norm since the pioneering work of J.B. Rhine in the 1930s, parapsychology's critics portrayed the discipline as a pseudoscience, little more than an attempt by credulous scientists to confirm their superstitious belief in occult psychic powers. The controversy around Geller also led to the creation of The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), one of the first skeptical organizations specializing in investigating supposed instances of paranormal phenomena.
    [Show full text]
  • Earth System Science Center (ESSC)
    Renewal Proposal for the Penn State Earth System Science Center, 2020 1. Name of Center: Earth System Science Center (ESSC) 2. Director: Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science with joint appointments in EESI and Department of Geosciences (CV attached) 3. Participants: There are currently 23 faculty and research staff affiliates of the ESSC as listed below: Director: Michael Mann (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science; joint appointments in Dept. of Geosciences and EESI) Associate Director: Daniel J. Brouillette (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Affiliates: Richard Alley (Dept. of Geosciences) Sridhar Anandakrishnan (Dept. of Geosciences) Timothy Bralower (Dept. of Geosciences) Robert Crane (Dept. of Geography/AESEDA) Ken Davis (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Jenni Evans (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science; Director, Institute for CyberScience) Steve Feldstein (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, EESI) Chris Forest (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Kate Freeman (Dept. of Geosciences) José Fuentes (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Bernd Haupt (EESI) Gregory Jenkins (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Jim Kasting (Dept. of Geosciences) Klaus Keller (Dept. of Geosciences) Lee Kump (Dept. of Geosciences) Sukyoung Lee (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Paul Markowski (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Ray Najjar (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) David Pollard (EESI) Yvette Richardson (Dept. of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science) Tim White (EESI) 4. Rationale for Center: The Penn State Earth System Science Center (ESSC) serves to nurture, develop, and publicize Penn State’s historic strength in the area of earth-system science. ESSC interests emphasize climate dynamics, paleoclimate, climate-change research, and public outreach and education.
    [Show full text]
  • The Timeline Here
    5/12/2018 Timeline of harassment and sexual assault allegations against Michael Shermer - Lousy Canuck (switch to...) Mock The Movie {advertisement} Timeline of harassment and sexual assault allegations against Michael Shermer September 12, 2014 | Jason Thibeault | atheism, gender, harassment, humanism, Michael Shermer, privilege, pseudoscience, timeline Today’s a big news cycle in movement skepticism and movement atheism. My old timeline is woefully incomplete and drastically altered by new revelations, now, thanks to Mark Oppenheimer’s article on the state of misogyny in the atheist and skeptic movements over on Buzzfeed. So, I’m pulling out the relevant links and pullquotes and revamping this timeline. It’s going to be largely intact from the old one, only maybe expanded to provide more context to each individual point. As with previous timelines this will be a living document — it’s as likely new links will be added or intermixed as I have time, but you’re more than welcome to contribute links in the comments. June 19, 2008 Alison Smith At The Amazing Meeting, Alison Smith, then-JREF employee through August 2010, and founder of the now defunct Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society (down) (cached copy), alleges that Michael Shermer plied her with alcohol to the point of losing time and memory, then brought her to his hotel room and had non-consensual sex with her. (This is known, in legal circles and to us Social Justice Warriors and feminazis, as rape.) September, 2008 Pamela Gay Gay has recounted in several places, without naming names, a story that while being introduced to Michael Shermer at Dragon*Con in 2008, he made a drunken lunge at her breasts instead of shaking her hand.
    [Show full text]