SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Vol
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Vol. 18. No. 4 THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is the official journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, an international organization. Editor Kendrick Frazier. Editorial Board James E. Alcock, Barry Beyerstein, Susan J. Blackmore, Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, Philip J. Klass, Paul Kurtz, Joe Nickell, Lee Nisbet, Bela Scheiber. Consulting Editors Robert A. Baker, William Sims Bainbridge, John R. Cole, Kenneth L. Feder, C. E. M. Hansel, E. C. Krupp, David F. Marks, Andrew Neher, James E. Oberg, Robert Sheaffer, Steven N. Shore. Managing Editor Doris Hawley Doyle. Contributing Editor Lys Ann Shore. Writer Intern Thomas C. Genoni, Jr. Cartoonist Rob Pudim. Business Manager Mary Rose Hays. Assistant Business Manager Sandra Lesniak. Chief Data Officer Richard Seymour. Fulfillment Manager Michael Cione. Production Paul E. Loynes. Art Linda Hays. Audio Technician Vance Vigrass. Librarian Jonathan Jiras. Staff Alfreda Pidgeon, Etienne C. Rios, Ranjit Sandhu, Sharon Sikora, Elizabeth Begley (Albuquerque). The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal Paul Kurtz, Chairman; professor emeritus of philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo. Barry Karr, Executive Director and Public Relations Director. Lee Nisbet, Special Projects Director. Fellows of the Committee James E. Alcock,* psychologist, York Univ., Toronto; Robert A. Baker, psychologist, Univ. of Kentucky; Stephen Barrett, M.D., psychiatrist, author, consumer advocate, Allentown, Pa. Barry Beyerstein,* biopsychologist, Simon Fraser Univ., Vancouver, B.C., Canada; Irving Biederman, psychologist, Univ. of Southern California; Susan Blackmore,* psychologist, Univ. of the West of England, Bristol; Henri Broch, physicist, Univ. of Nice, France; Jan Harold Brunvand, folklorist, professor of English, Univ. of Utah; Vern Bullough, Distinguished Professor, State Univ. of New York; Mario Bunge, philosopher, McGill University; John R. Cole, anthropologist, Inst, for the Study of Human Issues; F. H. C. Crick, biophysicist, Salk Inst, for Biological Studies, La Jolla, Calif.; L. Sprague de Camp, author, engineer; Cornelis de Jager, professor of astrophysics, Univ. of Utrecht, the Netherlands; Bernard Dixon, science writer, London, U.K.: Paul Edwards, philosopher, Editor, Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Antony Flew, philosopher, Reading Univ., U.K.; Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, Calif.; Kendrick Frazier,* science writer, Editor, THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER; Yves Galifret, Exec. Secretary, l'Union Rationaliste; Martin Gardner,* author, critic; Murray Gell-Mann, professor of physics, Santa Fe Institute; Thomas Gilovich, assoc. professor of psychology, Cornell Univ.; Henry Gordon, magician, columnist, Toronto; Stephen Jay Gould, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard Univ.; C. E. M. Hansel, psychologist, Univ. of Wales; Al Hibbs, scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Douglas Hofstadter, professor of human understanding and cognitive science, Indiana Univ.; Gerald Holton, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Professor of History of Science, Harvard Univ. Ray Hyman,* psychologist, Univ. of Oregon; Leon Jaroff, sciences editor, Time; Sergei Kapitza, editor, Russian edition, Scientific American; Philip J. Klass,* science writer, engineer; Marvin Kohl, professor of philosophy, SUNY at Fredonia; Edwin C. Krupp, astronomer, director, Griffith Observatory; Paul Kurtz,* chairman, CSICOP; Lawrence Kusche, science writer; Paul MacCready, scientist/engineer, AeroVironment, Inc., Monrovia, Calif.; David Marks, psychologist, Middlesex Polytech, England; David Morrison, space scientist, NASA Ames Research Center; Richard A. Muller, professor of physics, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley; H. Narasimhaiah, physicist, president, Bangalore Science Forum, India; Dorothy Nelkin, sociologist, Cornell Univ. Joe Nickell,* author, technical writing instructor, Univ. of Kentucky; Lee Nisbet,* philosopher, Medaille College; James E. Oberg, science writer; Loren Pankratz, psychologist, Oregon Health Sciences Univ.; John Paulos, mathematician, Temple Univ.; Mark Plummer, lawyer, Australia; W. V. Quine, philosopher, Harvard Univ.; Milton Rosenberg, psychologist, Univ. of Chicago; Carl Sagan, astronomer, Cornell Univ.; Wallace Sampson, M.D., clinical professor of medicine, Stanford Univ.; Evry Schatzman, President, French Physics Association; Eugenie Scott, physical anthro pologist, executive director, National Center for Science Education; Thomas A. Sebeok, anthropologist, linguist, Indiana Univ.; Robert Sheaffer, science writer; Dick Smith, film producer, publisher, Terrey Hills, N.S.W., Australia; Robert Steiner, magician, author. El Cerrito, Calif.; Jill Cornell Tarter, SETI Institute; Carol Tavris, psychologist and author, Los Angeles, Calif.; Stephen Toulmin, professor of philosophy, University of Southern California; Marvin Zelen, statistician, Harvard Univ. Lin Zixin, former editor Science and Technology Daily (China). (Affiliations given for identification only.) *Member, CSICOP Executive Council Manuscripts, letters, books for review, and editorial inquiries should be sent to Kendrick Frazier, Editor, THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, 3025 Palo Alto Dr., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111. (FAX 505-293-2757). For Guide to Authors, see Spring 1994 issue or fax request to editor. Subscriptions, changes of address, and advertising should be addressed to: THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Box 703, Buffalo, NY 14226-0703. Old address as well as new are necessary for Change of subscriber's address, with six weeks advance notice. Subscribers to THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER may not speak on behalf of CSICOP or THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. Inquiries from the media and the public about the work of the Committee should be made to Paul Kurtz, Chairman, CSICOP, Box 703, Buffalo, NY 14226-0703. Tel.: (716) 636-1425. FAX: 716-636-1733. Articles, reports, reviews, and letters published in THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER represent the views and work of individual authors. Their publication does not necessarily constitute an endorsement by CSICOP or its members unless so stated. THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is indexed in the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. Copyright ©1994 by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, 3965 Rensch Road, Buffalo, NY 14228. All rights reserved. THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is available on 16mm microfilm, 35mm microfilm, and 105mm microfiche from University Microfilms International. THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER (ISSN 0194-6730) is published quarterly. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, $25.00 a year, by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, 3965 Rensch Rd., Buffalo, NY 14228-2713. Printed in Canada. Second-class postage paid at Buffalo, New York, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send changes of address to THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Box 703, Buffalo, NY 14226-0703. <% SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Vol. 18. No. 4, Summer 1994 Journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal THE PARADOX OF NIKOLA TESLA 'Extraordinary Science' and the Strange Legacy of Nikola Tesla Jeff Johnson 366 Nikola Tesla: Genius. Visionary, and Eccentric Jeff Johnson 368 ARTICLES Pollens on the 'Shroud': A Study in Deception Joe Nickell 379 Do Televised Depictions of Paranormal Events Influence Viewers' Beliefs? Glenn G Sparks. Tricia Hansen, and Rani Shah 366 Synchonicity and the Archetypes Ernest Gallo 396 The Synthetic Mind Clashes with the Reductionist Text Frank Reuter 404 NEWS AND COMMENT 338 Most Famous 'Nessie' Photo a Hoax / Time Zaps John Mack / APA Warns Therapists / Shroud Research Raises More Questions / Coast Guard Sails into the New Age |—~~l CSICOP NEWS 345 c RESEARCH REVIEW Psi in Psychology Susan Blackmore 351 NOTES OF A FRINGE-WATCHER Eyeless Vision Martin Gardner 356 PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS Unreal with Rael, Brazel's Real Find Robert Sheaffer 363 BOOK REVIEWS Larry Dossey, The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine Gary P. Posner 408 Nick Herbert. Elemental Mind Gerald Huber 410 David J. Hess. Science in the New Age Lee Loevinger 413 NEW BOOKS 417 ARTICLES OF NOTE 419 FOLLOW-UP The Spectrum of the False Memory Debate G. W. Lea 421 Confusion Over Delphi Silver-Futures Keith Harary 431 FORUM The Scalp-Tinglin'... Science Show Ralph Estling 428 A Skeptic's Near-Death Experience Laura Darlene Lansberry 431 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 434 ON THE COVER: Illustration by Bruce Adams. News and Comment After 60 Years, the Most Famous of All the 'Nessie' Photos Is Revealed as a Hoax ince the first reported sighting of Over the years, the image had with a "huge fish" back in 1868, a stood rigorous scientific examination. S debate, fueled by eyewitness Explanations ranging from tree accounts and fuzzy photographs, has trunks to wishful thinking have been continued over whether a giant mon offered, but no one has been able to ster roams the murky waters of Loch settle the matter conclusively. Ness, Scotland. Believers in the mon Now two Loch Ness researchers ster legend have often cited the 1934 have established that the famous "surgeon's photograph" as the best shadowy silhouette was merely a evidence for the animal's existence. plastic wood model attached to a toy The 1934 "surgeon's photograph" of the "Loch Ness monster." 338 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Vol. 18 From left: a 1992 photo of Wetherell's stepson Christian Spurling; Duke Wetherell and Colonel Robert Wilson, photographed in 1934. submarine. Their revelations were 90 and in poor health, he was able to first reported in