THOMAS EDISON, PARANORMALIST • RANDI REVIEWS SAGAN'S DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD • GHOSTLY PHOTOS Skeptical Inquirer r MAGAZINE FOR SCIENCE A' N D . REASON Volume 20, No. 4 • July/August 1996 I' « Investigating Traditior Chinese Medicine A Report of the Second CSICOP Delegation CSICOP at Twenty A Retrospective from Paul Kurtz • Maria's Near-Death Experience Alternative Health Education and Pseudocredentialing SPECIAL REPORT Government-Funded Grant for Therapeutic Touch Pubished by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal THE COMMITTEE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS OF THE PARANORMAL AI THf CENTER FC* INQUKY |ADJACENT TO THE STAJE UNIVERSITY Of NEW YC«tC AT BUFFAIO) • AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION Paul Kurtz, Chairman; professor emeritus of philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo Barry Karr, Executive Director and Public Relations Director Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Lee Nisbet, Special Projects Director FELLOWS James E. Alcock.* psychologist, York Thomas Gilovich, psychologist, Cornell Joe Nickell,* senior research fellow, CSI­ Univ., Toronto Univ. COP Jerry Andrus, magician and inventor, Henry Gordon, magician, columnist, Lee Nisbet* philosopher, Medaille Albany, Oregon Toronto College Robert A. Baker, psychologist. Univ. of Stephen Jay Gould, Museum of James E. Oberg, science writer Kentucky Comparative Zoology, Harvard Univ. Loren Pankratz, psychologist, Oregon Stephen Barrett, M.D., psychiatrist, C. E. M. Hansel, psychologist, Univ. of Health Sciences Univ. author, consumer advocate, Allentown, Wales John Paulos, mathematician. Temple Univ. Pa. AI Hibbs, scientist, Jet Propulsion Mark Plummer, lawyer, Australia Barry Beyerstein,* biopsychologist, Laboratory W. V. Quine, philosopher, Harvard Univ. Simon Fraser Univ., Vancouver, B.C., Douglas Hofstadter, professor of human Milton Rosenberg, psychologist, Univ. of Canada understanding and cognitive science, Irving Biederman, psychologist, Univ. of Indiana Univ. Chicago Southern California Gerald Holton, Mallinckrodt Professor of Carl Sagan. astronomer, Cornell Univ. Susan Blackmore,* psychologist. Univ. of Physics and Professor of History of Wallace Sampson. M.D., clinical profes­ the West of England, Bristol Science, Harvard Univ. sor of medicine, Stanford Univ. Henri Broch, physicist, Univ. of Nice, Ray Hyman," psychologist, Univ. of Oregon Evry Schatzman, President, French Physics Association France Leon Jaroff, sciences editor emeritus, Eugenie Scott, physical anthropologist, Jan Harold Brunvand, folklorist, profes­ 77me sor of English, Univ. of Utah executive director, National Center for Sergei Kapitza, editor, Russian edition, Science Education Vern Bullough. professor of history, Scientific American California State Univ. at Northridge Glenn T. Seaborg, University Professor of Philip J. Klass,• aerospace writer, engineer Chemistry, Univ. of California, Berkeley; Mario Bunge, philosopher, McGill Nobel Prize laureate University Marvin Kohl, professor of philosophy, SUNY at Fredonia Thomas A. Sebeok. anthropologist, lin­ John R. Cole, professor of anthropology, guist, Indiana Univ. Univ. of Mass. at Amherst Edwin C. Krupp, astronomer, director, Griffith Observatory Robert Sheaffer, science writer F. H. C. Crick, biophysicist. Salk Inst, for Elie A. Shneour, biochemist; author, Biological Studies, La Jolla, Calif; Nobel Paul Kurtz.* chairman, CSICOP director, Biosystems Research Institute, Prize laureate Lawrence Kusche. science writer La Jolla, California Richard Dawkins, zoologist, Oxford Univ. Elizabeth Loftus, professor of psycholo­ Dick Smith, film producer, publisher, L. Sprague de Camp, author, engineer gy, Univ. of Washington Terrey Hills, N.S.W., Australia Robert Steiner, magician, author. El Cornelis de Jager. professor of astro­ Paul MacCready, scientist/engineer, physics, Univ. of Utrecht, the Netherlands AeroVironment, Inc.. Monrovia, Calif. Cerrito, Calif. Bernard Dixon, science writer, London, U.K. David Marks, psychologist, Middlesex Jill Cornell Tarter. SETI Institute Polytech, England Paul Edwards, philosopher. Editor, Carol Tavris*. psychologist and author, Los Angeles, Calif. Encyclopedia of Philosophy Walter C. McCrone, microscopist, Stephen Toulmln, professor of philoso­ Antony Flew, philosopher, Reading Univ., McCrone Research Institute phy. University of Southern California U.K. Marvin Minsky, professor of Media Arts Steven Weinberg, professor of physics Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer. Foothill and Sciences, M.I.T. and astronomy. University of Texas at College, Los Altos Hills, Calif. David Morrison, space scientist, NASA Austin; Nobel Prize laureate Kendrick Frazier,* science writer, Editor, Ames Research Center Marvin Zalen, statistician, Harvard Univ. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER Richard A. Muller, professor of physics, Lin Zixin, former editor, Science and Yves Galifret. Exec. Secretary, L'Union Univ. of Calif., Berkeley Technology Daily (China) Rationaliste H. Narasimhaiah, physicist, president. Martin Gardner, * author, critic Bangalore Science Forum, India * Member. 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Albuquerque NM 87122-1306. FAX 505- address, with tbt weeks advance notice SorrtCM IKQUBJB subscriben may not speak on behalf of CSI­ 828-2080. For Guide for Authors, see page 65 of the May/Jure 1996 issue or fax request to the Editor. COP or the SunscAi INQUIUJL Articles, reports, reviews, and Icnen published in the S-KETTKAI IKQUUI represent the views aad Postmaster Send changes of address to Somcu INQCOUB. BOX 703. Amhent. NY 14226-0703. CAKL Skeptical Inquirer Randi reviews mnui reviews .-> » ^—> A x T July/August 1996 • VOL 20, NO. 4 Sagan.p.46 SAGAN REPORT mi 15 Science or Pseudoscience? Pentagon ni\io\iiui\im Grant Funds Alternative Health Study WORLD $355,225 was awarded for a 'laying over of hands.' Therapeutic Touch study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Prize-winning CARLA SELBY and BELA SCHEIBER ghost photos? p. 13 18 Traditional Medicine and Pseudo- COLUMNS science in China: A Report of the EDITOR'S NOTE .4 Second CSICOP Delegation ROM THE CHAIRMAN In this, the first of a two-part report on a 1995 CSICOP delegation CSICOP at Twenty to China, the authors discuss the historical rationale for Traditional PAUL KURTZ 5 Chinese Medicine (TCM), its involvement with the questionable NOTES OF A FRINGE-WATCHER Qigong movement, and the growing importation to the West of these practices by Western practitioners of "alternative medicine." Thomas Edison, Paranormalist MARTIN GARDNER 9 BARRY L. BEYERSTEIN and WALLACE SAMPSON INVESTIGATIVE FILES Ghostly Photos 27 Maria's Near Death Experience: JOE NICKELL 13 Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop NEW BOOKS 51 The extraordinary story of a Seattle heart patient is widely cited as powerful evidence for a near-death experience as more than a com­ ARTICLES OF NOTE 52 plex hallucination. Here is our investigation of the claim. FORUM HAYDEN EBBERN, SEAN MULLIGAN, A View from Russia: Popularization of Science and BARRY L. BEYERSTEIN as a Tool against Antiscience BORIS SHMAKIN 54 34 Wait! I've Changed My Mind ... Faith in Science Environmental doomsday models and eminent scientific and RALPH ESTLING 56 political authorities provide opportunities for teaching critical A Geologist's Enlightened Notes thinking to college students. on 'Crystal Power' PAUL NICKEL with NANCY SHELTON HANS G. MACHEL 59 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .61 39 Alternative Health Education and Pseudocredentialing The healthcare marketplace is fraught with "credentials," some legitimate, some overrated, some dubious, and some far afield The Demon-Haunted World of science. by Carl Sagan JACK RASO JAMES RANDI 46 Surfing the Himalayas by Frederick Lenz Investigating a Near-Death JOSEPH P. SZIMHART .48 Experience, p. 27 Witch-Children by Hans Sebald PETER HUSTON „ 50 Pseudocredentialing: How hard ON THE COVER: is it to get a degree? p. 39 The Great Wall of China (photo: Jock FWkk) EDITOR'S NOTE Skeptical Inquirer THE MACAZINI FOR