part of Knowledge: definitive, accepted and irrevocable. METAMAGICAL To my surprise, however, I found that the truth has to fight constantly for its life. That an idea has been discovered THEMAS and printed in a "reputable journal" does not ensure that it will become well known and accepted. In fact, usually it will have to be rephrased and reprinted About two kinds ofinquiry: "National many different times, often by many dif­ ferent people, before it has any chance Enquirer" and "The Skeptical Inquirer" of taking hold. This is upsetting to an idealist such as me, someone more dis­ posed to believe in the notion of a mono­ lithic and absolute truth than in the no­ by Douglas R. Hofstadter tion of a pluralistic and relative truth. The idea that the truth has to fight for its life is a sad discovery. The idea that the truth will not out, unless it is given a lot "Baffled Investigators and Educators food for thought: National Examiner, of help, is upsetting. Disclose ... BOY CAN SEE WITH HIS EARS" Star, Globe, Weekly World News. What A question arises in every society: Is it do you think? better to let all the different voices battle "A Cross between Human Beings and Your first reaction is probably to it out or to have just a few "official" Plants . .. SCIENTISTS ON VERGE OF CRE· chuckle and dismiss such stories as be­ publications dictate what is the case and ATING PLANT PEOPLE ... Bizarre Crea­ ing silly. But how do you know they are what is not? Our society has opted for a tures Could Do Anything You Want" silly? Do you also think that is a silly plurality of voices, for a "marketplace question? What do you think about arti­ of ideas," for a complete free-for-all of "Alien from Space Shares Woman's cles that are printed in this magazine? conflicting theories. But if it is this cha­ Mind and Body, Hypnosis Reveals" Do you trust them? What is the differ­ otic, who will ensure that there is law ence? Is it simply a difference in publish­ and order? Who will guard truth? The -Headlines from National Enquirer ing style? Is the tabloid format with answer is: CSICOP will! its gaudy pictures and sensationalistic CSICOP? What is CSICOP? Some kind of id the child you once were ever headlines enough to make you distrust cop who guards the truth? That's pretty D wonder why the declarative sen­ National Enquirer? But wait a m inute. close. cs1coP stands for Committee for tences in comic books always Is that not begging the question? What the Scientific Investigation of Claims ended with exclamation points? Were all kind of argument is it when you use the of the Paranormal. It is a rather esoteric those statements really that startling? guilty verdict as part of the case for the title for an organization whose purpose Were the characters saying them really prosecution? What you need is a way is not so esoteric: to apply common that thrilled? Of course not. Those ex­ of telling objectively what you mean sense to claims of the outlandish, the clamation points were a psychological by "gaudy" or "sensationalistic." That implausible and the unlikely. gimmick put there purely for the sake could prove to be difficult. Who are the people who form cs1coP of appearance, to give the story more and what do they do together? The or­ pizzazz. And what about the obverse of the ganization was the brainchild of Paul National Enquirer, one of this coun­ Il. coin? Is it the rather dignified, tradi­ Kurtz, professor of philosophy at the try's yellowest and purplest journalis­ tional format of Scientific American-its State University of New York at Buffa­ tic institutions, uses a similar gimmick. lack of photographs of celebrities, for lo, who brought it into being because he Whenever it prints a headline trumpet­ example-that convinces you it is to be thought there was a need to counter the ing the discovery of some bizarre, hith­ trusted? If it is, that is a curious way of rising tide of irrational beliefs and to erto unheard-of phenomenon, instead of making decisions about what truth is. It provide the public with a more balanced ending it with an exclamation point it would seem that your concept of truth is treatment of claims of the paranormal ends it (or begins it) with a reference to closely tied in with your way of evaluat­ by presenting the dissenting scientific "baffled investigators," "bewildered sci­ ing the "style" of a channel of communi­ viewpoint. Among the early fellows of entists" or similarly stumped savants. It cation, surely quite an intangible notion. CSICOP were some of America's most is an ornament put there to make the Having said that, I must admit I too distinguished philosophers (for example story seem to have more credibility. rely constantly on quick assessments of Ernest Nagel and W. V. Quine) and oth­ Or is it? What do the editors really style in my attempt to sift the true from er colorful combatants of the occult, want? That the story appear credible or the false, the believable from the unbe­ such as psychologist Ray Hyman, magi­ that it appear incredible? It seems they lievable. I could not tell yo u what crite­ cian James Randi and someone readers want it both ways: they want the story to ria I rely on without first thinking about of this column may have heard of: Mar­ sound as outlandish as possible and they it for a long time and writing many tin Gardner. In the first few meetings it want it to have the appearance of au­ pages. Even then, if I were to publish was decided that the committee's princi­ thenticity. Their ideal headline should the definitive guide (How to Tell the True pal function would be to publish a mag­ thus embody a contradiction: impossi­ from the False by Its Style of Publication), azine dedicated to the subtle art of de­ bility coupled with certainty. In short, it would have to be published to do any bunking. Perhaps "debunking" is not the confirmed nonsense. good, and its title, not to mention the term they would have chosen, but it fits. What can one make of headlines such style it was published in, would proba­ The magazine they began to publish in as the ones printed above? Or of the fact bly attract a few readers but would un­ the fall of 1976 was The Zetetic, from the tha t this publication is sold by the mil­ doubtedly repel many more. Greek for "inquiring skeptic." lions every week in grocery stores, and Well, truth being this elusive, no won­ that people gobble up its stories as vora­ der people are besieged with competing As happens with many fledgling move­ ciously as they do potato chips? Or of voices in print. When I was younger, I £1 ments, a philosophical squabble de­ the fact that when they are through with believed once something had been dis­ veloped between two factions, one more it, they can turn to plenty of other junk covered, verified and published it was "relativist" and unjudgmental, the other 18 more firmly opposed to nonsense, more the intuitive. T his paradox has existed states: "I invited various manipulators willing to go on the offensive and to at­ throughout intellectual history, but in to demonstrate their techniques-pitch­ tack supernatural claims. Strange to say, our information-rich times it seems par­ men, encyclopedia salesmen, hypno­ the open-minded faction was not so ticularly troublesome. tists, advertising experts, evangelists, open-minded as to accept the opposing In spite of such epistemological puz­ confidence men and a variety of individ­ point of view, and the rift opened wid­ zles, which are connected to its very rea­ uals who dealt with personal problems. er. Eventually there was a schism. The son for existence, The Skeptical Inquirer The techniques which we discussed, es­ relativist faction (one member) started is flourishing and provides a refreshing pecially those concerned wi th helping publishing his own journal, The Zetetic antidote to the jargon-laden journals people wi th their personal problems, Scholar, in which science and pse udosci­ of science, which often seem curiously seem to involve the client's tendency ence coexist happily. The larger faction irrelevant to the concerns of everyday to find more meaning in any situation retained the name cs1cor and changed life. In that one way the Inquirer resem­ than is actually there. Students readily the title of its journal to The Skeptical bles the scandalous tabloids. accepted this explanation when it was Inquirer. pointed out to them. But I did not feel The purpose of The Skeptical Inquirer he list of topics covered in the 17 that they fully realized just how perva­ is simply to combat nonsense. It does so T issues that have appeared so far is sive and powerful this human tendency by recourse to common sense, which remarkably diverse. Some topics come to make sense out of nonsense reall y is." means it is accessible to anyone who up only once, others come up regularly Then Hyman describes people's will­ can read English. It does not require and are discussed from various angles ingness to believe what others tell them any special knowledge or training to and at various depths. Some of the more about themselves. His "golden rule" is: read its pages, where nonsensical claims commonly discussed topics are ESP, "To be popular with your fellow man, are routinely smashed to smithereens.