- Skeptic
Classification Scheme List Archive
- A couple of weeks ago, I ran an item about the Skeptic Classification Scheme List,
a new e-mail list operated by Kjetil Kjernsmo, webmaster of the Norwegian skeptics. The list was formed to
discuss the creation of a method for classifying, organizing, and locating skeptic
resources on the web. The intent is to create something like the equivalent of a
"Dewey Decimal System" for skeptical topics. One possible application of this
would be to create a Yahoo-like automated search engine, which would allow the user
interested in a particular topic to locate relevant documents scattered on numerous sites.
Now that a couple of weeks have passed, the discussion has begun in earnest. If you
haven't joined the e-mail list, you might want to check the archives -- and then join the
list!
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- Tampa
Bay Skeptics' $1,000 Challenge Accepted by Virginia Levy
- The Tampa Bay Skeptics will be
testing the the "psychometry" powers (reading vibrations from objects) of
Titusville "psychic/prophet" Virginia Levy on Saturday, September 19, in Tampa,
Florida. Check their site for details.
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- Mass Media Funk - Psychic Dog Fails ESP Test; Spontaneous Human Combustion Explained
- The Skeptic's Refuge,
in the Mass Media Funk column, briefly summarizes two recent news items. In the first,
Jaytee, a "clairvoyant" terrier, is tested to see whether he knows when his
owner is about to return home. (If Jaytee won Randi's million dollar challenge, how would
he spend the money?) In the second, researchers test the "wick effect," in which
a body's fat fuels the flames. How nice.
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- New from Prometheus Books - Spring/Summer 1998 and Fall 1998/Winter 1999
- The Prometheus Books site now
lists their newest releases. Yes, it's true -- in some places, people read about skeptic
topics using paper and ink technologies rather than the Internet! Actually, I just bought
two books from Prometheus the other day -- The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal and
The Encyclopedia of Unbelief. I think those 1,650 pages ought to keep me occupied
for awhile.
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- FMSF Newsletter, September Issue
- The September issue of FMS Foundation Newsletter, the newsletter of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, is now online.
(The date in the header is July/August, but it really is the September issue.) Feature
articles in this issue are ... well, too numerous to list! You can be sure, however, that
if you have an interest in false/repressed memories, you'll want to read every issue.
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- Indian Skeptic, Volume 2
- Gerald Huber of the Indian Skeptic
sent me an e-mail message saying, "Indian Skeptic has now uploaded most of
the contents of Volume 2. (Volume 1 and Volume 3 are still in progress.)" Originally
I thought his message meant a single issue, but when I looked at the site, I found that he
said what he meant -- 12 issues, published between May 1989 and April 1990. That's quite a
bit of reading for us! Thanks for the news, Gerald! Be sure to let us know when you've
posted more.
Hmmm... The Indian Skeptic, hosted on a server located in Germany, is being
reported here on a server located in the U.S. That's one aspect of operating the Skeptic
News that I've found quite interesting -- the opportunity to read about skeptic
activities all over the world! Since nearly one out of every five visitors to the site is
from outside of the U.S., I suspect the international flavor (flavour?) will continue.
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- Darwin's Precursors and Influences
- The Talk.Origins Archive has updated this
article. "It is sometimes claimed by those who wish to denigrate the achievements of
Charles Darwin that he was little more than a 'serial plagiarist.' This essay aims to show
that Darwin, like any scientist, had influences, but that he was honest in his theoretical
development."
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- King Tut's Curse 'A Killer Bug'
- The Australian Skeptics have posted another
new Media Watch article. "Can King Tut's Curse be explained by hibernating
microscopic spores? Two media reports arrived on the same day regarding this matter, one
from London, one from South Australia."
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- Duped by Flying Saucery
- The Australian Skeptics have posted a new
Media Watch article. In this one, "Professor Paul Davies reports upon a flurry of UFO
activity over the last few weeks, some of it in the sky, but mostly on TV."
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- One Month Anniversary!
- It just occurred to me -- yesterday was the one-month anniversary of the Skeptic
News going online! So far, not a day has gone by without at least one news item being
posted. Well isn't that special?
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- FMSF Looking for a Volunteer
- Another item from the FMSF-News mailing list of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. "The FMS
Foundation is looking for a member who could volunteer for a 3 month period to set up and
maintain a special web site for media." Check the FMSF-News archives for the details.
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- Next on Jerry Springer: "I Have 15 Personalities"
- The FMSF-News mailing list of the False Memory
Syndrome Foundation reported yesterday morning that on the topic of that day's Jerry
Springer show: "Kim says her mother constantly beat her, allowed adult men to
sexually abuse her and forced her to drop out of high school at age 16 to support the
family. Kim says she developed her 15 personalities to protect herself from the horror of
life with her mother. Kim hasn't seen her mother, Judy, in one year and is here today to
confront her." Quality television, eh? Check the FMSF-News archives for the details.
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- Letters from REALL
- There's a new feature on the website of the Illinois-based Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (of
which I am webmaster). Letters sent by our chairman to various newspapers, magazines, and
others will be posted there. Topics of current letters include the death of
"psychic" Greta Alexander, repressed memories, alternative medicine, and the
origin of the universe.
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- CSICOP On-line is the Sci-Fi Weekly Site of the Week
- The Sci-Fi channel's Sci-Fi Weekly
on-line magazine picked CSICOP's web site as the
Sci-Fi Site of the Week for August 10, 1998. With so many news and documentary programs
promoting the paranormal, it's ironic that a science fiction channel would promote
skepticism. Congratulations, CSICOP!
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- Alternative Medicine: A Public Health Perspective
- Dr. Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch has posted
another new article, this one written by William Jarvis, which examines a variety of
alternative medicine claims and myths.
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- Lyme Disease: Questionable Diagnosis and Treatment
- Dr. Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch has posted an
article about lyme disease. Topics include malariotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy
(HBOT), colloidal silver, intravenous antibiotics, "herxing", and the political
aspects of the disease.
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- Has Science Proven the "Divine" Health Benefits of Religion?
- The Secular Web has posted an article by Gary
Posner, responding to an article that appeared in the July 25 edition of USA Today.
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- Cosmology for Beginners
- The Secular Web has posted two reviews written by
Finngeir Hiorth. One is a review of The Universe for Beginners, by Felix
Pirani and Christine Roche. The other is a review of Stephen Hawking for Beginners,
by J. P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate.
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- Mass Media Funk: Teacher Charged with False Channeling
- Robert Carroll has posted a new article on The Skeptic's Refuge
in the Mass Media Funk column. "An Associated Press story out of Concord, New
Hampshire, today reports that Bill Morse has sued teacher Lucille Corriveau
on charges 'she caused him and his wife great emotional distress and invaded their privacy
when she handed them a letter purporting to contain a message from their dead son.'"
Yikes!
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- Philosophical Skepticism
- Robert Carroll has posted a new entry on The Skeptic's Dictionary.
"Philosophical Skepticism is a critical attitude which systematically questions the
notion that absolute knowledge and certainty are possible, either in general or in
particular fields. ... Philosophical Skepticism should be distinguished from ordinary
skepticism, where doubts are raised against certain beliefs or types of beliefs
because the evidence for the particular belief or type of belief is weak or lacking."
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- Doubting Thomas, August/September Issue, Full Text
- Keith Lankford sent me a second bit of news
today: "The latest issue of the Sagan
Society's newsletter, Doubting Thomas,
can now be read in full in an all-text format." Thanks again, Keith!
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- Dr. Ed Larson to Speak at Sagan Society Meeting
- Keith Lankford, editor of Doubting Thomas, sent me this item:
"The Sagan Society has just confirmed Dr.
Ed Larson (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Summer for the Monkeys) for a speaking
engagement at its December 2 meeting. Dr. Larson will speak on his research into science
and religion, especially his two articles that have appeared in Nature."
Follow the link for additional details about Dr. Larson and the meeting. Thanks for the
report, Keith!
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- The Skeptic, August Issue
- A new issue of the newsletter of the North
Texas Skeptics is now available. Articles in this issue include "A skeptical view
of exorcism and deliverance (part II)," "The third eye,"
"Pseudoscience in France," "Has science found God?," and "Tenured
fruitcakes should go."
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- Two Broken Links
- Oh, bother. Two links that I posted recently to news stories apparently don't work.
The August 20 story, "Sham Cancer Healer Gets 2½ Years," was a link to an
article on the Associated Press Wire. Although the story
is still there, the link won't work. Apparently their software prevents other web sites
from linking to their stories directly. If you still want to read the story, got to the
Associated Press Wire, then do a search on "sham cancer healer."
The August 19 story, "Reuters: Tapes Raise New Doubts About 'Sybil'
Personalities," was a link to an article on the New
York Times. Apparently they only allow free access to stories on the day the story is
posted. Accessing anything from the archives requires a fee.
Ah, well. Live and learn.
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- Duchovny Blasts X-Files
- This is only tangentially related to skepticism, but given the the CSICOP vs. X-Files
controversy, I think it's appropriate. Tom Genoi sent me this one, saying, "You might
find this interesting. It's a BBC story detailing
David Duchovny's apparent hate for the X-Files: 'X-Files star David
Duchovny has admitted he hates the sci-fi hit - and wishes he could leave the show.'"
The bit that I found most interesting was that Duchovny "thinks the plots are
far-fetched and 'full of holes'." Could he be a closet skeptic? Perhaps he could host
a TV show afterwards, something like "Unsolved Mysteries" with a skeptical
viewpoint. My suggestion for a title would be The Oh! Files. Thanks for the
report, Tom!
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- Sham Cancer Healer Gets 2½ Years (broken link removed))
- This is from the Associated Press Wire. "A man
convicted of mail fraud for selling worthless concoctions that he claimed cured 3,500
cancer and AIDS patients was sentenced Wednesday to 2½ years in prison."
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- The Two Dr. Spiegels and "Sybill"
- The FMSF-News mailing list of the False Memory
Syndrome Foundation reports that "ABC's newsmagazine Primetime Live, Wednesday,
10pm Eastern, will rebroadcast its segment from March 5 on multiple personality. It was
most memorable for Dr. David Spiegel's defense of the popularity of MPD (or DID as he
renamed it). Towards the end of the segment another Spiegel appears." The second
Spiegel is Dr. Herbert Spiegel, his son. The latter feels that MPD is overdiagnosed. In
addition, he was discussed in the recent Associated Press story reporting the finding of
tape recordings of sessions with 'Sybil,' one of the most famouse cases of MPD. Check the
FMSF-News archives for the details.
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- A.P.: Sybil's personas not real; Reuters: Tapes Raise New Doubts About 'Sybil' Personalities (broken
link removed)
- This was in the papers the other day, but I'll include it here for those of you who
missed it. An Associated Press news story reports that "A psychologist says tape
recordings that lay forgotten in his desk for 25 years show the popular story of Sybil,
the woman with 16 personalities, is bogus. In a bestselling 1973 book, later made into a
movie, Sybil was portrayed as developing alternate personalities who did things without
her knowledge. The account blames the problem on abuse Sybil suffered as a child and says
she overcame it with therapy. The newfound tapes suggest these personalities were actually
created during therapy through suggestions to a highly pliable young woman, says
psychologist Robert Rieber of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York."
The first link is to the San Jose Mercury News.
The second link is to the Reuters version on the New
York Times site.
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- Skeptical Links Project Updated to Version 9
- What more is there to say, really? Well, just this: If you haven't already made use of
this massive list of links, compiled by the Australian
Skeptics, you've been missing out on a great resource.
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- Angels, Aliens Battle For Imagination Of American People
- Donn Patton pointed this one out to me. Says Donn, "Just for fun. The struggle for
belief reaches a new low. Angels and aliens battle for the minds of the credulous. So
reports the satirical e-zine The Onion.
Who will sell the most books and t-shirts? God only knows, or perhaps the inhabitants of
Beta Centauri." Thanks for the report, Donn! And one word for those of you who aren't
familiar with The Onion -- "satire."
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- Skeptical Skroundrels' Face on Mars Criticism Criticized
- Shaun Cronin of the Skeptical
Skoundrels sent me e-mail saying, "G'day, Just to let you know that another page
has been added. It is a reader criticism regarding our views concerning the Face on Mars.
Cheers, Shaun" Don't you just love that Australian accent? It's amazing how clearly
you can hear it through e-mail! Thanks for the news, Shaun! (I'll be sure to show it to
Anne.)
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- Mass Media Funk -- Dr. Bennett Braun
- The Skeptic's Refuge,
in the Mass Media Funk column, briefly summarizes the recent news of Dr. Bennett Braun,
repressed memory proponent.
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- "Detoxification" with Pills and Fasting
- Quackwatch has posted a new article by Frances
M. Berg, MS, about "detoxification." What's that, you ask? Here's an excerpt:
"It's an irrational concept, yet an intriguing idea, that modern life so fills us
with poisons from polluted air and food additives that we need to be periodically
"cleaned out" ("detoxified"). ... The elaborate, manipulative hoax of
"detoxification" is gaining ground. Many people sincerely believe that their
intestines, colon, and blood stream are subject to "clogging" by undigested
foods and poisons."
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- Ask the Answer Man
- Patrick Fitzgerald, webmaster for CSICOP, told me
about a new feature of their web site -- the Answer Man. "Do you have a question
about a paranormal or fringe-science topic? Submit your question to the
Answer Man." Sounds like a good idea! (Is it just a coincidence that he looks
like one of the Men in Black?) Thanks for the report, Patrick!
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- Thirteenth Annual New Zealand Skeptics Conference
- This is somewhat late news, but the New
Zealand Skeptics have posted information about their upcoming conference, to be held
on August 28-30 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Also, be sure to check the Skeptic News Calendar periodically for additional scheduled
events.)
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- Four Articles from Magonia
- The Fortean folks at Magonia have
made four more articles available.
Abduction Watch #10:
"Digging up the pavement on the road to hell. Includes the latest research on the
Nazi UFO question."
Communion Cups and Crashed
Saucers pt 3: "And the holy grail of ufology is...the holy grail. Peter
Brookesmith reveals all."
Conspiracy update:
"Roger Sandell asseses the state of the conspiracy, 1983"
Satanism update:
"Roger Sandell examines satanic scares of the early 90s."
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- Skeptic Classification Scheme
- Kjetil Kjernsmo, webmaster for the Norwegian
Skeptics, is seeking assistance for a new project, the Skeptic Classification Scheme,
an effort to classify online skeptical material in appropriate categories. Says Kjetil,
"To be able to classify documents well in a subject tree, a good, elaborate
classification scheme is necessary. To be able to correctly classify documents is
important so that documents have a stable URL, that the document is not placed in a
directory it doesn't belong. It is also important for search engines, documents can be
placed automatically in a correct category. Such a scheme that can cover all the subjects
skeptics are involved in needs to be developed."
The intent is to create something like the equivalent of a "Dewey Decimal
System" for skeptical topics. One possible application of this would be to create a
Yahoo-like automated search engine, which would allow the user interested in a particular
topic to locate relevant documents scattered on numerous sites. Kjetil has created an
e-mail discussion list for those interested in learning more about the project and helping
to shape it. I think it sounds like a very interesting, albeit extremely daunting,
project! I know that there are other sites out there that have manually gathered large
collections of links (such as the Australian Skeptics' Skeptical Links Project,
a great resource, by the way). However, developing a way to classify the links
and automate their collection could, if successful, be quite useful.
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- Hawaii Rational Inquirer, August 7 Issue
- Articles in the most recent issue of Victor Stenger's Hawaii Rational Inquirer
include "Olsen Gets Last Word," "Congressman Shows Way to Toilet," and
"Notes on Alternative Medicine from the World Skeptics' Congress."
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- Two Accounts of Visits to the Institute for Creation Research Museum
- The Talk.Origins Archive has some new items
about the creation/evolution struggle. Two articles, one by Steve Linke and one by Karen
Bartelt, describe their separate visits to the Institute for Creation Research Museum.
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- How Many Health Benefits Can Fit in a Bottle of Ghee?
- Dr. Stephen Bennett's Quackwatch has posted a
new article, this time about something called "Ghee." So, what is it? "Ghee
is a semiliquid form of butter from which the water and milk solids have been removed by
heating and straining. Since the principle ingredient in ghee is fat, and since high-fat
diets are known to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, I was surprised to see an
ad promoting ghee as a health food. The ad pictured below was distributed in 1998 by
Maharishi Ayur-Ved Products International, a prominent marketer of ayurvedic
products." They never run out of new ones, do they?
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- Dr. Bennett Braun - New Legal Action
- Here's a bit of noteworthy news from the FMSF-News mailing list of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Yesterday the
Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune ran stories reporting that "The
state agency that regulates doctors moved Wednesday to strip the medical license of Dr.
Bennett Braun, an internationally recognized Chicago-area psychiatrist specializing in
multiple-personality disorder and repressed memory therapies. ... In settling a civil
lawsuit last October, Braun and Rush paid $10.6 million to [Patricia] Burgus -- among the
highest ever in a false memory case." Check the FMSF-News archives for the details.
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- Doubting Thomas, August/September Issue
- More new information on the Doubting
Thomas site -- the table of contents and selected articles from Doubting
Thomas #2 (Special E.T. Edition) are now online. The selected articles include
"God and Stuff," "Are we Being Visited? Not Quite...," by Dr.
Jean-Pierre Caillault, "Skeptics & True Believers: The Exhilerating Connection
Between Science and Religion," reviewed by Keith Lankford, and "Strom Thurmond
Has the Holy Grail," a letter to the editor.
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- Michael Shermer to speak at the University of Georgia
- Keith Lankford, Chief Editor of Doubting Thomas (The Sagan Society's
official newsletter) and Vice-President of the Sagan
Society, submitted this bit of news. Keith says, "The Sagan Society of the
University of Georgia is pleased to announce that it will be hosting Dr. Michael Shermer
on November 4 on the UGA campus. Dr. Shermer is Publisher of Skeptic magazine,
Director of the Skeptics Society, and the author of Why People Believe Weird Things.
Please check back with us for a specific time and place for this event." I heard
Michael Shermer speak when he passed through Illinois while on his book tour and
thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks for the news, Keith!
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- DielectroKinetic Laboratories LifeGuard; A Dowsing Rod by Any Other Name...
- Perhaps you've heard of the Quadro Tracker? Well, this sounds similar. Robert Carroll,
creator of the world famous Skeptic's Dictionary and operator of The Skeptic's Refuge,
posted an article about the DKL LifeGuard, a
"human presence detector." Supposedly it can detect a human being through any
material (a useful tool for locating trapped victims in a collapsed building, for example,
or for law enforcement officers trying to locate a hiding suspect). In January, he posted
a response to a
Washington Post article that praised the device. In April, Sandia National
Laboratories posted
the results of a double-blind test they had conducted in which the device failed to
succeed better than predicted by chance. End of story, right? Nope. This week Robert
received several
messages from a DKL investor, which you can read with his replies.
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- The 'Big Bang' Argument for the Existence of God
- The Internet Infidels Secular Web has posted this
article by Theodore Schick, Jr. From the abstract: "Some believe that evidence for
the big bang is evidence for the existence of god. Who else, they ask, could have caused
such a thing? In this paper, I evaluate the big bang argument, compare it with the
traditional first-cause argument, and consider the relative plausibility of various
natural explanations of the big bang."
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