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the Skeptical Inquirer THE ZETETIC Effects of Dehoaxing UFO Hoax / UFOs and the CIA Claims of Space Ancestors Don Juan and Piltdown Published by the Committee tor the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal VOL IV NO. 3 SPRING 1980 Editorial Board George Abell Martin Gardner Ray Hyman Philip J. Klass Paul Kurtz James Randi Editor Kendrick Frazier Assistant Editor Doris Hawley Doyle Consulting Editors James E. Alcock Isaac Asimov William Sims Bainbridge John Boardman Milbourne Christopher John R. Cole Richard de Mille Eric J. Dingwall C. E. M. Hansel E. C. Krupp James Oberg Robert Sheaffer Production Editor Betsy Offermann Business Manager Lynette Nisbet Staff Mary Rose Hays Kitty Turner THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER (formerly THE ZETETIC) is the official journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP, Inc.). Manuscripts, letters, books for review, and editorial inquiries should be addressed to The Editor, THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, 3025 Palo Alto Dr., N.E., Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111. Subscriptions, changes of address, and advertising should be addressed to: THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, BOX 29, Kensington Station, Buffalo, N.Y. 14215. Old address as well as new are necessary for change of subscriber's address, with six weeks advance notice. Inquiries from the media about the work of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal should be made to the Executive Office, 1203 Kensington Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14215. Tel.: (716) 834-3223. Copyright © 1980 by The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, 1203 Kensington Ave., Buffalo, New York 14215. Application for permission to quote from this journal should be addressed to the Executive Office. Subscription rates: Individuals, libraries, and institutions, $15 a year; sustaining subscribers, $100 or more; back issues, $5.00 each (vol. 1, no. 1, through vol. 2, no. 2, $7.50 each). Postmaster: THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER is published quarterly—Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Printed in the U.S.A. Second-class postage paid at Buffalo, New York, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send changes of address to THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, BOX 29, Kensington Station, Buffalo, N.Y. 14215. the Skeptical Inquirer THE ZETETIC • TUP 7ETPTir Journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal Vol. IV, No. 3 ISSN 0194-6730 Spring 1980 2 NEWS AND COMMENT UFOs and the CIA, Psychic surgery, Faith healer, Scientology, CSICOP meeting, Hoax letter, On Chris Evans, Captain Light Ray, TV and the paranormal, Psychic prediction? 15 PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS ARTICLES 18 Believing in ESP: Effects of Dehoaxing, by Scot Morris 32 Controlled UFO Hoax: Some Lessons, by David I. Simpson 40 Don Juan vs. the Piltdown Man, by Richard de Mille 42 Tiptoeing Beyond Darwin, by J. Richard Greenwell 55 Conjurors and the Psi Scene, by James Randi BOOK REVIEWS 60 C. E. M. Hansel, Science and Parapsychology: A Critical Re-evaluation (Martin Gardner) 62 Charles J. Cazeau and Stuart D. Scott, Jr., Exploring the Unknown: Great Mysteries Reexamined (Kendrick Frazier) 65 Milbourne Christopher, Search for the Soul (James Randi) 66 Fred Soyka, The Ion Effect (Warner Clements) 69 David C. Knight, UFOs: A Pictorial History from Antiquity to the Present (Philip J. Klass) 74 FOLLOW-UP Jule Eisenbud and James Randi discuss tests of Susie Cottrell News and Comment UFOs, the CIA and the New York Times For many years the New York Times dars, perhaps a "Cosmic Pearl Harbor" has been sharply criticized by those who was in prospect and alleged efforts to seek to promote public belief in uniden­ suppress news of such intrusions (if tified flying objects,' because of the true) would indeed amount to a "Cos­ paucity of its coverage of the subject. mic Watergate." Now the Times is being hailed by these One would have expected the former critics, and with good reason. Times to have promptly formed a team UFO promoters are praising the of its best investigative reporters for a New York Times Magazine for its journalistic assault on what appeared to October 14, 1979, feature by free-lance be the biggest story of all time. Yet, so writer Patrick Huyghe, which was head­ far as I can determine, news officials at lined "UFO Files: The Untold Story," the Times simply ignored the Huyghe with a subhead that read "Though offi­ article. cials have long denied that they take Similar "journalistic oversight" 'flying saucers' seriously, declassified occurred many months earlier at the documents now reveal extensive Gov­ Washington Post, whose investigative ernment concern over the phenomenon." efforts had exposed the original Water­ If news officials of the Times gate scandal. The January 19, 1979, believed the thrust and contents of the issue of the Post carried a front-page Huyghe article, clearly the situation feature, by Ward Sinclair and Art Har­ must be a "Cosmic Watergate"coverup, ris, recounting the same SAC-base as UFO-lecturer Stanton Friedman has UFO incidents under the headline so often characterized it. For example, "What Were Those Mysterious Craft?" the article began by highlighting a series The syndicated article, which was car­ of UFO reports from U.S. Air Force ried by major newspapers around the SAC air and missile bases that occurred country, began: "During two weeks in four years earlier, in the fall of 1975, 1975, a string of the nation's supersensi­ that suggested that these vital installa­ tive nuclear missile launch sites and tions were being visited by craft of bomber bases were visited by unidenti­ unknown origin. If extraterrestrial craft fied, low-flying and elusive objects, were reconnoitering our key military according to Defense Department re­ facilities, having penetrated national air ports." Yet in the many months since space undetected by air and defense ra­ this ominous-sounding article appeared. 2 THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER "UFO" (right-center) photographed from cockpit of a Canadian Air Force F-86 in 1956 while fly­ ing over an intense thunderstorm over Canadian Rockies. The object is believed to be a giant electrical plasma, similar to "ball lightning," a freak atmospheric electrical phenomenon. the Post's news officials also seem to reconnaissance missions, it would seem have been derelict about digging into to be a "helluva story." this apparent coverup. (Although my more than 13 years When 1 later talked with Sinclair of investigating famous, seemingly mys­ about his article, he admitted that when terious UFO incidents have made me a he wrote it he was not aware that a skeptic, as a senior editor of Aviation major feature-story about the same Week & Space Technology magazine, 1 SAC-base incidents had been published decided that the SAC-base incidents did only a month earlier in the December warrant further investigation. The re­ 10, 1978, issue of Parade magazine, the sults of my investigation, which will be popular Sunday supplement distributed detailed in a book now in progress, indi­ with the Washington Post. The Parade cated that neither extraterrestrial nor article, written by Michael Satchell, car­ foreign aircraft were involved in the ried the headline "UFOs vs. USAF: incidents.) Amazing (but true) Encounters." Curi­ Huyghe's article in the Times Mag­ ously, the essence of Satchell's article azine also covered the contents of the had been published a year earlier by the once-classified government files dealing National Enquirer, in its December 13. with UFOs. principally from the Cen­ 1977, issue, under the headline "UFOs tral Intelligence Agency, which were Spotted at Nuclear Bases and Missile made public in December 1978 through Sites." the Freedom of Information Act. Huyghe Considering the readership of the reported: "Official records now availa­ National Enquirer, Parade, the New- ble appear to put to rest doubts that the York Times Magazine, and the Wash­ Government knew more about UFO's ington Post, as well as other major than it has claimed over the past 32 newspapers that also carried the Times years." Having personally studied the and Post articles, it is curious that there nearly one thousand sheets of UFO- were no investigative reporters, eager to related material released by the CIA in win a Pulitzer Prize and achieve world late 1978 (only a third of which were of fame, who were smart enough to recog­ import). I can vouch for the accuracy of nize the "Cosmic Watergate" implica­ this statement. tions of these articles—(/they believed Yet shortly after these files were what they read. Even ifthe"UFOs"over made public, the New York Times, in SAC bases were not extraterrestrial their January 14, 1979. issue, carried a craft, as the articles implied, and were long news story quoting William Spauld- "only" Soviet or Cuban aircraft on ing. the head of a national UFO organi- Spring 1980 3 zation, who claimed that the CIA files mid-January 1953 to consider the most revealed that "the Government has been impressive UFO incidents then in the lying to us all these years." The article USAF's files. After examining these said that, according to Spaulding, "after "best cases," the panel concluded that reviewing the documents. Ground Saucer none were "attributable to foreign arti­ Watch believes that UFO's do exist, facts capable of hostile acts." they are real, the U.S. Government has Prior to the meeting of the Robert­ been totally untruthful and the cover-up son panel, once-secret CIA papers is massive." revealed that some agency officials had Huyghe was grossly inaccurate when been anxious to have the National he wrote that newly released files showed Security Council authorize the CIA to that "the [UFO] phenomenon has initiate a major UFO investigation. aroused much serious behind-the- Such an authorization would be needed scenes concern in official circles.
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