News and Comment Academy Proposes Science stand the "big ideas" of science. used in conjunction with all elements Education Overhaul The draft also proposes broaden- of the program and the draft warns ing the learning experience of the stu- that "the standards cannot be used A new direction for science education dent to include what it calls "minds-on effectively if only a subset of these stan- that places greater emphasis on "under- experience." This entails a shift from dards is used standing" and less on "facts" has been teachers presenting information to stu- Around 30,000 copies of the draft proposed by the National Research dents learning science through inquiry- are being circulated as part of an exten- Council, the operating arm of the oriented investigations, interaction sive consultation process. Recipients National Academy of Sciences (NAS). with peers, and active involvement in are asked to complete a review and In a lengthy draft issued in early group discussions. comment form that rates the docu- December of last year, the authors pre- Richard Klausner, a senior cell ment and its individual sections on sent ambitious standards that the docu- biologist at the National Institutes of clarity, consistency, and appropriate- ment says arc intended to "guide the Health who chaired the committee ness. According to Angelo Collins, science education system toward its responsible for the draft, said that the director of the science education stan- goal of a scientifically literate citizenry." proposals are not an attempt to create dards project staff, 1,400 individual Included are comprehensive programs federal standards and establish unifor- reviews and 120 group reviews had for all students—from kindergarten mity but are meant to be "grass-root been returned as of March 3. through twelfth grade—that call for standards for the people who make the teaching of a broad range of key decisions [on education] at the local —Tom Genoni, Jr. principles and concepts rather than level." just facts and equations. The content standards in the doc- The Geller Case Ends: Bruce Alberts, president of the ument propose eight categories of study academy, believes the traditional teach- to be taught to all pupils of all ages. In 'Psychic' Begins Court- ing methods of science are simply inef- life sciences for example, children in Ordered Payment of Up fective. "We tail to convey what science grades K through 4 should learn the to $120,000 to CSICOP is, and we kill off the curiosity of kids," "characteristics of organisms." Grades 5 said Alberts. through 8 are expected to learn about The four-year legal battle is finally To combat this, the document "reproduction and heredity" and "pop- over. Self-proclaimed "psychic" Uri calls for greater participation of chil- ulations and ecosystems." Grades 9 Geller has paid the Committee for the dren in the learning process with less through 12 should be taught about "the Scientific Investigation of Claims of cell" and "biological evolution." emphasis on memorization. Although the Paranormal (CSICOP) the first this will involve a trade-off in the num- Other areas of study include sci- $40,000 of up to $120,000 as p a n of a ber of scientific "facts" a child can learn, ence as inquiry, science and technolo- settlement agreement to a court- the authors believe that this teaching gy, and the history and nature of sci- described "frivolous complaint" made approach will allow students to under- ence. The standards are intended to be by Geller against CSICOP CSICOP announced the court settlement and totto ncerning Science Educatio first payments by Geller March 6. The settlement ends a lengthy bat- Science should become a core subject like reading, writing, and math in grades de in the Washington, D.C., courts through 12 At all levels the material taught should be interesting to both students and teachers!. that began with Geller filing a $15- Science teaching must become attractive as a profession that is possible to do million suit against CSICOP and without superhuman effort. magician James ("The Amazing") The scientific community must accept responsibility for achieving these three goals. Randi, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, and tortious interference with —Bruce Alberts, President, National Academy of Sea American Association for the Advancement of Science prospective advantage. Geller filed suit nual meeting. Atlanta. Feb. 19, 1995 because Randi had stated in an April 9, 1991, interview with the International SKEPTICAL INQUIRER • MAY/JUNE 1995 3 Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked ed, in part, to investigating claims of Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of even reputable scientists" with tricks psychic phenomena, such as those CSICOP and ordered almost $ 150,000 that "are the kind that used to be on made by Geller, was not charged with in sanctions against Geller. the back of cereal boxes when I was a any specific conduct. CSICOP main- In efforts to overturn the sanc- kid. Apparently scientists don't eat tained throughout that the suit was a tions award, Geller then lost two cornflakes anymore." frivolous action brought by Geller to motions for reconsideration in the CSICOP, a not-for-profit scientific harass the organization. On July 27, District Court, followed by a 3-0 loss and educational organization dedicat- 1993, the U.S. District Court in in the U.S. Court of Appeals on December 9, 1994 (SI, March-April 1995), and most recently another loss in the appeals court when his petition for rehearing was denied on January 25, 1995. The settlement agreement calls for Geller to pay CSICOP $70,000 in cash over three years plus the first $50,000 of any sums recovered by Geller in a new action he is bringing against his former attorneys. In addi- tion, Geller must also drop another suit against book publisher Prometheus Books and other skeptics filed in London, England. In an earlier suit that Geller had brought against Prometheus Books, Victor Stenger, and Paul Kurtz, in Miami, Florida, Geller was compelled by the court to pay Prometheus Books an additional $20,000 in legal fees. "Although we settled for some- Kirk Borne (Space Telescope Science Institute) and NASA. what less than the entire $150,000 New Eye on Nature awarded to us as sanctions for the friv- olous suit," commented Barry Karr, A rare and spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies appears in this CSICOP executive director, "we are NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Cartwheel Galaxy, located 500 mil- very pleased with this victory. Prior to lion light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. The new details of star birth resolved by Hubble provide an opportunity to study how extremely massive stars filing suit, Geller, an Israeli citizen liv- are born in large fragmented gas clouds. ing in England, placed his assets in The striking ringlike feature is a direct result of a smaller intruder galaxy—pos- trust, rendering uncertain our ability sibly one of two objects to the right of the ring—that careened through the core to collect. Instead of spending thou- of the host galaxy. Like a rock tossed into a lake, the collision sent a ripple of ener- sands more in legal fees to pierce the gy into space, plowing gas and dust in front of it. Expanding at 200,000 miles an trust in London, we decided it was best hour, this cosmic "tsunami" leaves in its wake a firestorm of new star creation. to end it now." Hubble resolves bright knots that are gigantic clusters of newborn stars and Paul Kurtz, CSICOP chairman, immense loops and bubbles blown into space by exploding stars (supernovae) going off like a string of firecrackers. said: "When the principles upon The Cartwheel Galaxy presumably was a normal spiral galaxy like our Milky which CSICOP was founded are at Way before the collision. This spiral structure is beginning to re-emerge, as seen stake, we are prepared to do battle all in the faint arms or "spokes" between the outer ring and bull's-eye shaped nucle- the way if it should prove necessary. us. The ring contains at least several billion new stars that would not normally We believe deeply in a free press, free- have been created in such a short time span and is so large (150,000 light-years dom of speech, and scientific inquiry, across) our entire Milky Way Galaxy would fit inside. and the importance of dissent." He Hubble's new view does not solve the mystery as to which of the two small galaxies at the right might have been the intruder. The lower galaxy of the two is characterized the Geller suit as the disrupted and has new star formation, which strongly suggests it is the interloper. "kind of suit being used as a means of However, the smoother-looking companion has no gas, which is consistent with silencing debate on significant scien- the idea that gas was stripped out of it during passage through the Cartwheel tific issues." Galaxy. This image was taken October 16, 1994, and issued January 10, 1995. —Barry Karr SKEPTICAL INQUIRER • MAY/JUNE 1995 overpower the Coriolis force, which is If nothing else, the Coriolis refer- Update caused by the rotation of the earth. ence generated some viewer interest. In the March-April issue we reprinted (The water drains the way a torna- On the Internet forum alt.rv.x-files.- excerpts of the recent District of Columbia do—and a hurricane—spins, which is creative, a fan in Vancouver, B.C., Court of Appeals decision in Uri Geller v s . counterclockwise north of the Equator asked if Mulder's reference was scientif- James Randi and CSICOP.