SI moster cover_SI JF 10 V1 9/30/10 11:46 AM Page 1 The Misunderstood Placebo | Climate Change Controversy | Relics of the Cross Vol. 34 No. 6 | November/December 2010 THE MAGAZINE FOR SCIENCE & REASON Published by The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry SI New Nov Dec pages_SI new design masters 9/24/10 2:27 PM Page 2 AT THE CEN TERFOR IN QUIRY /TRANSNATIONAL www.csicop.org Paul Kurtz, Founder Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Richard Schroeder, Chairman Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Ronald A. Lindsay, President and CEO Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow Bar ry Karr, Ex ec u tive Di rect or Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow James E. Al cock, psy chol o gist, York Univ., Tor on to Sus an Haack, Coop er Sen ior Schol ar in Arts and Lor en Pan kratz, psy chol o gist, Or e gon Health Mar cia An gell, MD, former ed i tor-in-chief, Sci en ces, professor of phi los o phy and professor Sci en ces Univ. New Eng land Jour nal of Med i cine of Law, Univ. of Mi ami Robert L. Park,professor of physics, Univ. of Maryland Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician, author, Harriet Hall, MD, family physician, investigator, Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of Newton, MA Puyallup, WA Astronomy and director of the Hopkins Steph en Bar rett, MD, psy chi a trist, au thor, con sum er C.E.M. Han sel, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Wales Observatory, Williams College ad vo cate, Al len town, Pa. David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. Willem Betz,MD, professor of medicine, Univ. of Brussels Columbia Univ. Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy, Ir ving Bie der man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Doug las R. Hof stad ter, pro fes sor of hu man City Univ. of New York–Lehman College South ern Cal i for nia un der stand ing and cog ni tive sci ence, In di ana Univ. Stev en Pink er, cog ni tive sci en tist, Harvard Sus an Black more, Vis it ing Lec tur er, Univ. of the West Ger ald Hol ton, Mal linc krodt Pro fes sor of Phys ics and Philip Plait, astronomer, lecturer, and writer of Eng land, Bris tol pro fes sor of his to ry of sci ence, Har vard Univ. Mas si mo Pol id oro, sci ence writer, au thor, ex ec u tive Hen ri Broch, phys i cist, Univ. of Nice, France Ray Hy man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Or e gon di rect or CI CAP, It a ly Jan Har old Brun vand, folk lor ist, pro fes sor emer i tus Le on Jar off, sci en ces ed i tor emer i tus, Time James “The Amazing” Randi, magician, CSICOP of Eng lish, Univ. of Utah Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist emeritus, founding member; founder, James Randi Mar io Bunge, phi los o pher, McGill Univ., Montreal science advisor to Center for Inquiry Office of Educational Foundation Robert T. Carroll, emeritus professor of philosophy, Public Policy, Washington, D.C. Mil ton Ro sen berg, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Chic a go Sacramento City College, writer Ser gei Ka pit za, former ed i tor, Rus sian edi tion, Wal la ce Sam pson, MD, clin i cal pro fes sor of med i cine, Sean B. Carroll, professor of molecular genetics, Sci en tif ic Amer i can Stan ford Univ., ed i tor, Sci en tif ic Re view of Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison Law rence M. Krauss, foundation professor, School Al ter na tive Med i cine John R. Cole, an thro pol o gist, ed i tor, Na tion al of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics Dept., Am ar deo Sar ma*, chairman, GWUP, Ger ma ny Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion director, Origins Initiative, Arizona State Univ. Ev ry Schatz man, former pres i dent, K.C. Cole, science writer, author, professor, Harry Kroto, professor of chemistry and French Phys ics As so ci a tion Univ. of Southern California’s Annenberg biochemistry, Florida State Univ.; Nobel laureate Eu ge nie Scott, phys i cal an thro pol o gist, ex ec u tive School of Journalism. Ed win C. Krupp, as tron o mer, di rect or, di rect or, Na tion al Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion Fred er ick Crews, lit er ary and cul tur al crit ic, pro fes sor Grif fith Ob ser va to ry, Los Angeles, CA Rob ert Sheaf fer, sci ence writer emer i tus of Eng lish, Univ. of Cal i for nia, Berke ley Paul Kurtz, professor emeritus of philosophy, El ie A. Shne our, bi o chem ist, au thor, president and Rich ard Dawk ins, zo ol o gist, Ox ford Univ. SUNY at Buffalo research director, Bi os ys tems Re search In sti tute, Ge of frey Dean, tech ni cal ed i tor, Perth, Aus tral ia Law rence Kusche, sci ence writer La Jol la, CA Cor nel is de Ja ger, pro fes sor of as tro phys ics, Le on Le der man, emer i tus di rect or, Fer mi lab; Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute, Univ. of Utrecht, The Neth er lands No bel lau re ate in phys ics Mountain View, CA Dan i el C. Den nett, Univ. pro fes sor and Aus tin B. Scott Lil i en feld, psy chol o gist, Emory Univ. Dick Smith,film pro duc er, pub lish er, Ter rey Hills, Fletch er Pro fes sor of Phi los o phy, di rect or of Lin Zix in, former ed i tor, Sci ence and N.S.W., Aus tral ia Cen ter for Cog ni tive Stud ies at Tufts Uni v. Tech nol o gy Dai ly (Chi na) Rob ert Stein er, ma gi cian, au thor, El Cer ri to, CA Ann Druyan, writer and producer, and CEO, Je re Lipps, Mu se um of Pa le on tol o gy, Univ. of CA, Vic tor J. Sten ger, emer i tus pro fes sor of phys ics Cosmos Studios, Ithaca, NY Berke ley and as tron o my, Univ. of Ha waii; ad junct pro fes sor Ken neth Fed er, pro fes sor of an thro pol o gy, Eliz a beth Loft us, pro fes sor of psy chol o gy, of phi los o phy, Univ. of CO Cen tral Con nec ti cut State Univ. Univ. of CA, Ir vine Jill Cor nell Tar ter,as tron o mer, SE TI In sti tute, An to ny Flew, phi los o pher, Read ing Univ., U.K. Da vid Marks,psy chol o gist, City Univ., Lon don Moun tain View, CA Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, Mar io Men dez-Acos ta, jour nal ist and sci ence writer, Car ol Tav ris,psy chol o gist and au thor, Los Ange les, CA SE Louisiana Univ. Mex i co City, Mex i co Da vid Thom as, phys i cist and math e ma ti cian, An drew Fra knoi, as tron o mer, Foot hill Col lege, Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, Per al ta, NM Los Al tos Hills,CA. Brown Univ. Steph en Toul min, pro fes sor of phi los o phy, Kend rick Fra zi er*, sci ence writer, ed i tor, Marv in Min sky, pro fes sor of me dia arts and sci en ces, Univ. of South ern CA SKEP TI CAL IN QUIR ER M.I.T. Neil de Gras se Ty son, as tro phys i cist and di rect or, Christopher C. French, professor, department Da vid Mor ri son, space sci en tist, NA SA Ames Re search Hay den Plan e tar i um, New York City of psychology, and head of the Anomalistic Cen ter Ma ri lyn vos Sa vant, Pa rade mag a zine Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths Rich ard A. Mul ler, pro fes sor of phys ics, Univ. of CA., con trib ut ing ed i tor College, Univ. of London Berke ley Stev en Wein berg, pro fes sor of phys ics and as tron o my, Yv es Gal i fret, executive secretary, Joe Nick ell, sen ior re search fel low, CSI Univ. of Tex as at Aus tin; No bel lau re ate l’Union Rationaliste Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Waalre, E.O. Wil son, uni ver si ty pro fes sor emer i tus, Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di Pavia The Netherlands Har vard Univ. (Italy), research fellow of CICAP, Lee Nis bet, phi los o pher, Med aille Col lege Rich ard Wis e man, psy chol o gist, Uni ver si ty the Italian skeptics’ group Steven Novella, MD, assistant professor of Hert ford shire Maryanne Garry, professor, School of Psychology, of neurology, Yale Univ. School of Medicine Benjamin Wolozin*, professor, department of Victoria Univ. of Wellington, New Zealand Bill Nye, sci ence ed u ca tor and tel e vi sion host, pharmacology, Boston Univ. School of Medicine Mur ray Gell-Mann, pro fes sor of phys ics, San ta Fe Nye Labs Marv in Zel en, stat is ti cian, Har vard Univ. In sti tute; No bel lau re ate James E.