Science & Skepticism | Randi’s Escape Part II | Martin Gardner | Monster Catfish? | Trent UFO Photos the Magazine for Science and Reason Vol. 39 No. 1 | January/February 2015 Why the Supernatural? Why Conspiracy Ideas? Modern Geocentrism: Pseudoscience in Astronomy Flaw and Order: Criminal Profiling Sylvia Browne’s Art and Science FBI File More Witch Hunt Murders INTRODUCTORY PRICE U.S. and Canada $4.95 Published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry C I Ronald A. Lindsay, President and CEO Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Bar ry Karr, Ex ec u tive Di rect or Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow www.csicop.org James E. Al cock*, psy chol o gist, York Univ., Tor on to David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and re searcher at Astronomy and director of the Hopkins Mar cia An gell, MD, former ed i tor-in-chief, Barbara Ann Kar manos Cancer Institute and chief Observatory, Williams College New Eng land Jour nal of Med i cine of breast surgery section, Wayne State University John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. School of Medicine. Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician; author; Clifford A. Pickover, scientist, au thor, editor, Newton, MA Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first editor, IBM T.J. Watson Re search Center. Steph en Bar rett, MD, psy chi a trist; au thor; con sum er The Skeptic magazine (UK) Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy, ad vo cate, Al len town, PA Sus an Haack, Coop er Sen ior Schol ar in Arts and City Univ. of New York–Lehman College Willem Betz, MD, professor of medicine, Univ. of Sci en ces, professor of phi los o phy and professor Brussels of Law, Univ. of Mi ami Stev en Pink er, cog ni tive sci en tist, Harvard Univ. Ir ving Bie der man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Harriet Hall*, MD, family physician; investigator, Philip Plait, astronomer; lecturer; writer South ern CA Puyallup, WA Mas si mo Pol id oro, sci ence writer; au thor; ex ec u tive Sandra Blakeslee, science writer; author; New York David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, di rect or of CI CAP, It a ly Times science correspondent Columbia Univ. Anthony R. Pratkanis, professor of psychology, Sus an Black more, vis it ing lec tur er, Univ. of the West Terence M. Hines, prof. of psychology, Pace Univ., Univ. of CA, Santa Cruz Pleasantville, NY. of Eng land, Bris tol Benjamin Radford, investigator; research fellow, Mark Boslough, physicist, Sandia National Laborato- Doug las R. Hof stad ter, pro fes sor of hu man Committee for Skeptical Inquiry un der stand ing and cog ni tive sci ence, In di ana Univ. ries, Albuquerque, NM James “The Amazing” Randi, magician; CSICOP Hen ri Broch, phys i cist, Univ. of Nice, France Ger ald Hol ton, Mal linc krodt Pro fes sor of Phys ics and pro fes sor of his to ry of sci ence, Har vard Univ. founding member; founder, James Randi Jan Har old Brun vand, folk lor ist; pro fes sor emer i tus Educational Foundation Ray Hy man*, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Or e gon of Eng lish, Univ. of Utah Mil ton Ro sen berg, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Chic a go Mar io Bunge, phi los o pher, McGill Univ., Montreal Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist emeritus; Wal la ce Sam pson, MD, clin i cal pro fes sor of med i cine, Robert T. Carroll, emeritus professor of philoso- science advisor to Center for Inquiry Office of Stan ford Univ.; ed i tor, Sci en tif ic Re view of phy, Sacramento City College; writer Public Policy, Washington, DC Al ter na tive Med i cine Sean B. Carroll, molecular geneticist; vice president Barry Karr, executive director, Committee for for science education, Howard Hughes Medical Skeptical Inquiry, Amherst, New York Am ar deo Sar ma*, chairman, GWUP, Ger ma ny Institute, Madison, WI Law rence M. Krauss, foundation professor, School Richard Saunders, president, Australian Thomas R. Casten, energy expert; founder and of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics Dept.; Skeptics; educator; investigator; podcaster; chairman, Recycled Energy Development, director, Origins Initiative, Arizona State Univ. Sydney, Australia Harry Kroto, professor of chemistry and Westmont, IL Joe Schwarcz, director, McGill Office for Science biochemistry, Florida State Univ.; Nobel laureate John R. Cole, an thro pol o gist; ed i tor, Na tion al and Society Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion Ed win C. Krupp, as tron o mer; di rect or, Eu ge nie C. Scott*, phys i cal an thro pol o gist; ex ec u tive K.C. Cole, science writer; author; professor, Grif fith Ob ser va to ry, Los Angeles, CA Univ. of Southern California’s Annenberg Law rence Kusche, sci ence writer di rect or, Na tion al Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion School of Journalism Le on Le der man, emer i tus di rect or, Fer mi lab; Rob ert Sheaf fer, sci ence writer Fred er ick Crews, lit er ary and cul tur al crit ic; pro fes sor No bel lau re ate in phys ics El ie A. Shne our, bi o chem ist; au thor; president and emer i tus of Eng lish, Univ. of CA, Berke ley Scott O. Lil i en feld*, psy chol o gist, Emory Univ., research director, Bi os ys tems Re search In sti tute, Richard Dawkins, zo ol o gist, Ox ford Univ. Atlanta, GA La Jol la, CA Ge of frey Dean, tech ni cal ed i tor, Perth, Aus tral ia Lin Zix in, former ed i tor, Sci ence and Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute, Cor nel is de Ja ger, pro fes sor of as tro phys ics, Tech nol o gy Dai ly (Chi na) Mountain View, CA Univ. of Utrecht, the Neth er lands Je re Lipps, Mu se um of Pa le on tol o gy, Univ. of CA, Simon Singh, science writer; broadcaster; UK Dan i el C. Den nett, Aus tin B. Fletch er Pro fes sor Berke ley Dick Smith, film pro duc er; pub lish er; Ter rey Hills, of Phi los o phy and di rect or of Cen ter for Cog ni tive Eliz a beth Loft us*, pro fes sor of psy chol o gy, N.S.W., Aus tral ia Stud ies, Tufts Uni v. Univ. of CA, Ir vine Keith E. Stanovich, cognitive psychologist; Ann Druyan, writer and producer; CEO, Da vid Marks, psy chol o gist, City Univ., Lon don Cosmos Studios, Ithaca, NY professor of human development and applied Mar io Men dez-Acos ta, jour nal ist and sci ence writer, psychology, Uni v. of Toronto Sanal Edamaruku, president, Indian Rationalist Mex i co City Association and Rationalist International Karen Stollznow*, linguist; skeptical investigator; Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, writer; podcaster Edzard Ernst, professor, Complementary Medicine, Brown Univ. Jill Cor nell Tar ter, as tron o mer, SE TI In sti tute, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter Marv in Min sky, pro fes sor of me dia arts and sci en- and Plymouth, Exeter, UK ces, M.I.T. Moun tain View, CA Ken neth Fed er, pro fes sor of an thro pol o gy, Da vid Mor ri son, space sci en tist, NA SA Ames Re- Car ol Tav ris, psy chol o gist and au thor, Los Ange les, CA Cen tral Con nec ti cut State Univ. search Cen ter Da vid E. Thom as*, phys i cist and math e ma ti cian, Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, Rich ard A. Mul ler, pro fes sor of phys ics, Univ. of CA, Socorro, NM SE Louisiana Univ. Berke ley Neil de Gras se Ty son, as tro phys i cist and di rect or, An drew Fra knoi, as tron o mer, Foot hill Col lege, Joe Nick ell, sen ior re search fel low, CSI Hay den Plan e tar i um, New York City Los Al tos Hills, CA Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Waalre, Indre Viskontas, cognitive neuroscientist, tv and pod- Kend rick Fra zi er*, sci ence writer; ed i tor, The Netherlands cast host, and opera singer, San Francisco, CA S I Lee Nis bet, phi los o pher, Med aille Col lege Christopher C. French, professor, Department Ma ri lyn vos Sa vant, Pa rade mag a zine Steven Novella*, MD, assistant professor con trib ut ing ed i tor of Psychology, and head of the Anomalistic of neurology, Yale Univ. School of Medicine Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths Stev en Wein berg, pro fes sor of phys ics and as tron- Bill Nye, sci ence ed u ca tor and tel e vi sion host, College, Univ. of London Nye Labs o my, Univ. of Tex as at Aus tin; No bel lau re ate Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di Pavia James E. Oberg, sci ence writer E.O. Wil son, Univ. pro fes sor emer i tus, organismic and (Italy); research fellow of CICAP, evolutionary biology, Har vard Univ. the Italian skeptics group Irm gard Oe pen, pro fes sor of med i cine (re tired), Rich ard Wis e man, psy chol o gist, Univ. Maryanne Garry, professor, School of Psychol- Mar burg, Ger ma ny ogy, Victoria Univ. of Wellington, New Zealand Lor en Pan kratz, psy chol o gist, Or e gon Health of Hert ford shire, England Mur ray Gell-Mann, pro fes sor of phys ics, San ta Fe Sci en ces Univ.