Amateur Time, More Astrological Problems, Last Week's God-Message, More Desperate Data-Fitting, An Update, Last Week's Assignment, To Arms!, Praise Where Due, Strange Pride, A Centurt Out of Tune, More On Astro Timing, Tune In, Attention Norway, In Closing.
I heard from Mr. Arash Irani, who notified me about yet another grubby who has attempted – dishonestly – to attack my integrity from his lofty position as a homeopath. Mr. Irani wrote:
Dr. Masud Naaseri, an Iranian scientist and researcher, is one of the supporters and theorists of Homeopathy and he has written a book about it in Persian... He also has written a book in English titled “Study of Relationships in the Fractal Matrix of Spacetime.”
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ANSWERS FROM AN IVORY TOWERI heard from Mr. Arash Irani, who notified me about yet another grubby who has attempted – dishonestly – to attack my integrity from his lofty position as a homeopath. Mr. Irani wrote:
Dr. Masud Naaseri, an Iranian scientist and researcher, is one of the supporters and theorists of Homeopathy and he has written a book about it in Persian... He also has written a book in English titled “Study of Relationships in the Fractal Matrix of Spacetime.”
I just wanted to know what your idea is about this. First, to be correct and in line with recognized scientific standards, I must comment that the Horizon tests did not “show that Homeopathy is not a scientific remedy and it works only because of the Placebo Effect,” as Mr. Irani states. They only showed that on this occasion, a comprehensive set of tests conducted by responsible, knowledgeable, experts, did not support the claims of the homeopathic community. That’s the most we can claim; a repetition of these tests – if the results were the same or similarly negative – would fortify the conclusion that Mr. Irani suggests. I immediately answered Mr. Irani:
Mr. Irani: I hasten to respond to your inquiry: Please note that this learned man, Dr. Masud Naaseri, took the low road by impugning my ability to handle a rather simple and direct experimental design by saying that it was “not proper” of Horizon to have a magician do the investigating. Sir, it was the Royal Society – a body of very properly learned persons – who investigated the claim, not I. My function was only to detect and specify the faults of the original Benveniste experimental protocol – a task that I assure you was not beyond my abilities – and I was supported in that task by Walter Stewart of the US National Institutes of Health, and no less than Sir John Maddox, editor-in-chief of Nature Magazine. And I will tell you that at a meeting I attended of the Royal Society some years ago, a prominent UK scientist similarly impugned my observational skills, referring to me from the floor as, “a mere magician.” To this I responded – to the amusement of that august body – “John, I am, it’s true, a magician. But ‘mere’? Never!” And what are Dr. Naaseri’s own qualifications, while we’re on that sensitive subject? I’ll send readers to www.naaseri.com, to read the paragraph beginning “Today’s mathematics…” That will clearly show how out of touch this man is with reality, even though he holds academic degrees in mathematics... For his information, and to spare him further embarrassment, I’ll inform him that mathematics is the most exact of all the sciences. |
MORE ASTROLOGICAL PROBLEMSReader Francisco Garcia says, re last week’s item at tinyurl.com/4y9v9z:
In regards to the problems faced by astrology in regards to minute-by-minute clock accuracy, I think the concern is entirely misplaced. Such minor discrepancies of time would not be expected to have any significant effect compared to the huge systematic error introduced by the fact that the constellations have moved by an entire sign, as viewed from Earth, due to the very gradual change of Earth's rotational position relative to its revolutional position, over the centuries since the present astrology system was devised! Astrologers don't seem to be aware of this, however. Very true, of course. The change that Mr. Garcia refers to is known as “precession of the equinoxes,” and actually, the constellations have – relatively – moved about 1.2 signs away since astrology first arrived, to add to the confusion of our species. Thus, anyone not born within the first few days of any recognized date-span of a sign, was actually born well within the next – or even the next! – astrological sign. Astrologers are very well aware of this; they just choose to ignore the ugly problem, only one of many under which their pseudoscience labors... Then, reader Garcia adds, surprisingly: Also, do you ever do any tricks besides bend spoons and other things that Geller does? I would assume so, since you were, allegedly, a conjurer before you started chasing woo-woo, but I'm having trouble finding evidence you've ever done anything else! Umm, would three world tours – theaters, cabaret – several TV series and specials, 22 jail-breaks as an escape-artist, and a few world records, impress you, Mr. Garcia...? I’ll bet that a very shallow Google search could have relieved your anxiety in this regard... |
LAST WEEK’S GOD-MESSAGEReader “Aaron” notes, re the mystical underlining that was appearing in the text typed by a puzzled reader – “click to enlarge” – as described last week at tinyurl.com/5foalt: The Case of the Mysterious Underliner. I wonder if the cosmic underliner that underscored a bunch of words in the gibberish candidate's letter you showed was either Microsoft Word or Firefox, both of which tend to underline misspelled words if you let them. Sounds like an excellent solution, to me, Aaron. Several other readers suggested the same idea… But count on it, the deluded man will still see divinity and his special status, in a grammar suggestion. |
MORE DESPERATE DATA-FITTINGI received an interesting – and naïve – press release that asked, “Will Jesus Christ return to Earth in the year 2015?” I have no hesitation in replying, “no,” but I’m sure that the faithful out there will be – yet again – titillated by this suggestion. And, when that year comes and goes with the result I expect, they will merely sigh and look about for the next miraculous promise. The press release followed that question with another: And can studying NASA's website provide evidence for such a scenario? All this nonsense was brought about when Mark Biltz, the pastor of El Haddai in Bonney Lake, Washington, came up with a crackpot theory that an upcoming series of eclipses due in 2014/15 could herald the long-anticipated "Second Coming" of Jesus Christ. This was promised back in the New Testament, where in the book of Matthew, chapter 24, verses 29-30, it says: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. With his superior insight to this ancient document, pastor Biltz finds meaning and present-day significance that is obviously far beyond my comprehension. You see, he says that he’s taken advantage of modern science – astronomy – to discover via the NASA website that there will be eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon in 2014/15. Biltz chose to focus on these eclipses, sometimes called "blood moons" simply because the Moon often takes on a dark reddish color due to expected diffraction and color-scattering effects that of course have nothing to do with blood. On the NASA site he noted the astronomical phenomenon known as a “tetrad” – four consecutive total lunar eclipses – and his excitement became obviously uncontrollable, since these folks can find significance just about anywhere… Now, tetrads occur at least six times during any century, but Biltz points out that the only upcoming string of four consecutive blood moons that will coincide with Passover – in the spring – and the feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) – in the Fall – occurs between 2014 and 2015! Wow! But he then goes on an orgy of data-searching – a popular aid to effective self-delusion with all these folks – and discovers that some other dates of significant events related to Israel – he provides the re-capture of Jerusalem, and Israel becoming a nation, as examples – also occurred during similar astronomical configurations. However, he opts not to mention that other dates of great import to Israel were not similarly indicated by astronomical phenomena. This is always the way with data-searching, folks. During an interview, pastor Biltz was presented with Bible quotes that state that Jesus' return will be a complete surprise. Chapter 25 in Matthew features a parable where Jesus coyly likens his kingdom to ten virgins all waiting for the arrival of their bridegroom, and he is quoted as saying: Ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. And, in Matthew 24, referring to the same event, we read: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Biltz is ready for this with his superior rationalizing skills. He says that we must examine the “virgin” quote “in its proper context”: When [Jesus] says you don't know the day or the hour, he's speaking to the foolish virgins, not the wise virgins. Oh. How could we have missed that subtlety? It appears that pastor Biltz knows about virgins and their varieties. However, to me, his rationalizing of the “knoweth no man” quote suggests that he has ignored a very plainly-stated quotation from Holy Writ, surely a major sin calling for the application of brimstone, and various other unpleasant penalties. I’ll quote from Isaiah, chapter 47, verse 12: Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Yes, I know that has nothing to do with pastor Mark Biltz, but it’s one of the few Biblical quotes I know. I used it to close my first book, “The Truth About Uri Geller”… |
AN UPDATELast week, at randi.org/swift-may-9-2008-2.html#i5 we discussed efforts by a local “psychic” to find a missing girl. Reader Monty Musgrave, as did a few others, provided an update: The body of Cori Baker was found by chance many miles from where the searches directed by Mr. Baker were conducted. Yes, skeletal remains have now been found in a wooded area in Creek County, and have been identified as those of Tulsa teenager Cori Baker – no relation to the “psychic,” Jeff Baker. She’d been missing since last November. The local Medical Examiner's office confirmed that those remains were indeed those of Cori. Returning to the area with cadaver dogs, searchers found more remains, and also discovered two articles of clothing. Presently, police believe Marquis Bullock, the former boyfriend of Cori's sister, to be a prime suspect. Stains found in his vehicle and on Bullock’s shoes have tested positive for blood. Bullock is now charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder. Tulsa police said that they have done searches in the past based on psychics, but, they also say that none of those searches have ever been successful. In this case, the “psychic” had reported speaking with the ghost of Cori, and said that she gave specific directions to the location of her body. Said Jeff Baker, “She gave us everything that we needed basically.” Well, apparently she told him she was at “Floral Haven Cemetery.” Then it was in “Broken Arrow.” Hundreds of volunteers slogged through mud, pulling back tree branches, looking for any signs of the missing girl. Some had dogs, others just carried shovels, but all were hopeful that something would turn up. The “psychic” was simply wrong. Why are we not at all surprised…? And, as one reader commented: As you might guess, local media, who ran stories about the Psychic's arrival, and even aired clips of his press conference, did not follow up regarding his abject failure to deliver. |
LAST WEEK’S ASSIGNMENTWhen I suggested that readers go to tinyurl.com/4kqcjn and consider the intricate physics of rolling metronomes, I was hardly ready for the results. I asked for it, and I got it! One source of an explanation said:
The metronomes start out of phase. When the board is placed on the cans, the board can move side-to-side – not possible on the table, given those conditions. I was also informed by a couple of readers that the “coupling phenomenon” has even been observed to work with pendulum clocks mounted on the same wall, a discovery which was made by Christiaan Huygens. This remarkable individual – 1629/1695 – was a Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He was no slouch when it came to original thinking. Among his accomplishments are these: he discovered the wave characteristic of light, worked on the development of modern calculus, discovered Titan – a moon of Saturn, formulated in quadratic form what is now known as the Second Law of Motion of Isaac Newton, wrote the very first book on probability theory, and invented the pendulum clock! While involved in the latter project, he also observed that two pendulums mounted on the same beam will eventually come to swing in opposite directions, an observation he referred to as “odd sympathy” but which is now known as, “resonance.” Way to go, Christiaan! As I rather expected, I have become over-informed on this subject. From reader Ken Fischer comes this very comprehensive analysis:
What follows below is an explanation of the “Dancing Metronomes” per today’s SWIFT. The synchronization of the metronomes is an illustration of “Entrainment” – also called “mode-locking”– which was [probably] first called “odd sympathy” by Christiaan Huygens in 1665 when he observed essentially the same phenomena via clock pendulums swinging in harmony. If you care to do some internet searches with those terms you’ll find that this phenomenon is observed in a lot of disparate fields, biology, electronics, some social behavior, etc. Well, that was 900+ words that should satisfy the most rabid puzzle-solver, and we thank the contributor, Ken Fischer, to whom I will certainly turn if and when any other pendulum problem should present itself… |
TO ARMS!It’s about time that something was done to bring a certain individual to public attention to explain his behavior. We’re all accustomed to experiencing the disdainful isolation sometimes shown by academics when their decisions are questioned by those they chose to ignore. The “mere magician” reference I cited earlier on this SWIFT will serve as an example. In the case I’m about to discuss, however, we have the editor of a scientific journal – one that deals with a subject of vital importance to our species and to the well-being of half the world’s human population – choosing to ignore a basic duty and responsibility to right a serious error. Readers of SWIFT will certainly be aware of the ongoing efforts of Dr. Bruce Flamm to resolve the situation described at randi.org/swift-april-25-2008-2.html#i1. He needs some assistance to remedy this flagrant disregard for the readers of this journal. Dr. Flamm writes: As you probably know, Kwang Cha's lawsuit against me was thrown out of court on April 21, 2008. On May 9th 2008, Daniel Wirth, the man who designed and allegedly conducted Cha's "pregnancy by prayer study" was released from federal prison. Astoundingly, their absurd and physics-defying "research" has never been retracted from the peer-reviewed Journal of Reproductive Medicine. Why not? I urge you to ask Dr. Lawrence Devoe, Editor-in-chief of the JRM, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 314-991-4440. I ask readers to contact Dr. Devoe and ask him about retracting the infamous Cha/Wirth article, which has been shown to be without merit… |
PRAISE WHERE DUEReader Eric Cline writes:
This email was prompted by the May 9 "From a Different Viewpoint" entry on SWIFT regarding the Denver museum. |
STRANGE PRIDEFrom reader Dr. Steven Rigatti:
In last week's SWIFT you posted a piece on a famous New Age "Healer" who claimed to have cured herself of cervical cancer. Dr. Rigatti reminds me of the major reason that victims of various scams resist admitting that they’ve been deceived: they just can’t admit that they’re vulnerable. Or wrong… |
A CENTURY OUT OF TUNEIsraeli reader Lior Dagan tells us:
Last week a new commercial advertisement was aired in Israel. |
MORE ON ASTRO TIMINGFrom reader Matthew Wright comes this comment on last week’s item at randi.org/swift-may-9-2008-2.html#i8: In the last two SWIFTs you mentioned the problem of assigning an accurate birth time to an astrological reading. One astrologer, Wendy Stacey, has apparently thought of a way around that: assume the time of birth is inaccurate and correct it until the chart matches known events in the subject's life! As she puts it in a recent article in the Astrological Journal, which can be read on her website at www.wendystacey.com/birth_time.html:
Folks, this is exactly the same as firing an arrow at the side of a barn, then painting a bulls-eye around the arrow where it hit the barn... But such thinking is not at all foreign to woo-woo artists. To them, such a procedure is quite legitimate, and they’re puzzled why anyone with any common sense can question it! Matthew continues: Ms Stacey is also concerned about the effect of interventions at birth such as Caesarean sections on birth time http://www.wendystacey.com/caesarean.html. She writes:
Randi comments: If this makes sense to any of my readers, I suggest a cold shower, a few laps around the block, another cold shower, and then reading excerpts from Bertrand Russel or Richard Dawkins to clear the brain. Matthew: Sad to say she stops short of offering a testable prediction of what observable effects will be increased as a result of the increase in Caesareans. Sad, yes… |
TUNE INOur good friend Bill Baird alerts us that he will be on VH1, May 12th at 10pm in "Sex: The Revolution." It will also air at some point on the Sundance Channel. Bill deserves kudos for his valiant battle against the woo-woos who inveigh against women’s right to decide. He’s the founder of the Pro Choice League, and he established the nation’s first abortion referral center and the first birth control and abortion center on a college campus. Bill was sent to jail for teaching birth control and distributing abortion literature in New York and New Jersey, and was once sentenced to six months for his pro-choice activities |
ATTENTION NORWAYReader Are Thunes Samsonsen, in Norway, alerts us:
I have just set up a Norwegian-language skeptic forum (general flim-flam as well as reliogion and superstition) and would be very grateful if you could help me point interested parties in its direction. If you have any Scandinavnian or other Norwegian-speaking members, I would appreciate it if you would let them know that www.faenskap.no is now up and running. |
IN CLOSING...A matter of interest: the current balance of the James Randi Educational Foundation Prize Account held by Goldman Sachs is: US$1,106,144.62. |