To Debate or not to Debate, Passing the Test, Perpetual Emotion, Notice!, An Adventure in Falling, Geller in the News, News Update, Excorcism Excercise & Exhortation Experts, and in Closing...
Reader Joe Wilkins comments on the wisdom of debating those who might be more experienced in that tricky procedure…
The essence of the argument is this: debating is a sport in which representatives of opposing viewpoints perform in front of judges and an audience in order to determine who has better defended their position. In the intercollegiate sport of debating, a particular team might be "pro" on one occasion and "con" on another and be able to win the argument in either case simply through their superior debating skills. Science, on the other hand, is a system of testing hypotheses in order to gain some predictive knowledge of the physical world.
The ability to debate in a public forum has absolutely nothing to do with science – just as creationism and intelligent design have nothing to do with science. So, entering into a public debate on a scientific topic with a non-scientist is a little like is like determining political policy through individual combat or deciding whether Newton's laws of physics have any validity through the medium of arm wrestling.
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TO DEBATE OR NOT TO DEBATEReader Joe Wilkins comments on the wisdom of debating those who might be more experienced in that tricky procedure… Once again, let me say I love your website and your commentaries. I understand your support for the Australian Rationalists in posting the info regarding their upcoming debate with a creationist representative, but after listening to an interview on Freethought Radio libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=204299# with Lori Lipman Brown, the only full-time secular lobbyist in Washington, I wonder if this kind of debate is a good idea. Her official stance on the subject is that scientists and rationalists should not debate creationists. This may seem counterintuitive, but she presents a pretty compelling argument for why this is so. Perhaps, Joe, so I suggest that those who do not have appropriate skill in debating, should stay out of that arena. No one forces them to enter the Coliseum… |
PASSING THE TESTReader John Armstrong answers a survey: I was quite interested in the bit on Natural Health College (July 13th SWIFT) so I followed the link to their web page to take their survey to see if I should consider enrolling. Before beginning the survey, I noted that NHC suggests that the “education” they offer will prepare you “to work in the best Spas, Health Centres, Fitness Centres, Beauty Salons and Cruise Ships in the World.” Aside from the typical Gratuitous Capitalization, the pages were filled with a number of grammatical miscues; nothing egregious, but amusing nevertheless. The payoff came from the survey itself, which I answered truthfully:
After clicking the “continue” link, I was greeted with:
So even though I don’t believe in what they teach or have an interest in obtaining a degree from them or have any desire to take part in the potential professional outcomes of a NHC education – in spite of all of this – I somehow still have what it takes to be a Natural Health Practitioner! Not to worry, John. You can surely learn another trade, like shoplifting, forgery, or income-tax evasion. There are just so many possibilities for an ambitious guy… |
PERPETUAL EMOTIONOur good friend Donald Simanek writes re last week’s item at randi.org/jr/2007-07/071307tricks.html#i6: I just read your comments using the Leupold wheel as an example. My web site has a partial history of perpetual motion, titled "Perpetual Futility" at tinyurl.com/gx645, and, of course Leupold is featured. He didn't invent that wheel, and he didn't believe it would work. For your convenience I excerpt that section from my web page [below]. It includes a translation from Leupold's book, perhaps the only translation into English available on the www, done by Hans-Peter Gramatke and myself last June. Leupold is forthright about the futility of this wheel, and about the ineptitude of the perpetual motion inventors he knew. From Donald’s book: Jacob Leupold (1674 –1727): Jacob Leupold's interests and talents focused on "mechanical things." He was a maker of instruments for experimental physics, a scientist, mathematician, educator and economist. His very popular and influential book, Theatrum Machinarum Generale (Leipsic, 1724) was a collection of mechanisms and machines of many kinds, and has been called the first systematic analysis of mechanical engineering. It included a design for a high pressure non-condensing steam engine, much like those built nearly a century later. As with most book collections of mechanisms, he analyzed a common perpetual motion wheel, unfortunately known today as "Leupold's wheel" though Leupold didn't invent it, and was very clear in declaring that it wouldn't work, based on careful analysis. On this same item, reader Ted Vriezen sends us this fascinating quotation from Leonardo da Vinci: O speculators about perpetual motion, how many vain chimeras have you created in the like quest? Go and take your place with the seekers after gold. Says Ted Leonardo makes it clear that he didn't believe in perpetual motion, but he sketched different forms of perpetually rotating wheels to illustrate his arguments. Ted also sends us to www.grand-illusions.com/acatalog/info_81.html, where we find the interesting toy shown in this illustration. Comments Ted: This design uses off-centre weights or masses. The idea is that the weights are further from the centre on one side of the wheel, and therefore cause it to turn. In fact the reason the wheel turns is quite different, and nothing to do with perpetual motion. This educational kit was developed by Middlesex University in partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was designed to accompany the exhibition: Leonardo da Vinci: Experience, Experiment and Design. The toy uses two quite different principles of operation, cleverly combined. The balls-in-wheel setup does nothing to contribute to the motion, but the entire wheel is actually rolling down an incline, right-to-left, due to the tapered axle and the converging upper edges of the track… It goes for $40 – a good price! Then Donald continues, on yet another subject: To my surprise there was a newspaper piece about you [Randi] in this weekend's "Lock Haven Express," way out here in the boondocks of Pennsylvania. Remember that 2-pound British coin you showed me? [see www.randi.org/jr/04-04-2000.html] Here's a 2007 update from Darren Dowling in England:
A nice answer but one that I would call "arty farty wiffle waffle" (actually I would use other words but that is a more polite version). Would it not have been nice to represent the development of technology by applying some basic physics and engineering and seeing if the damn thing worked first? I am pretty sure that is how we managed such a technological revolution. Interesting and succinct ideas stand for little in physics if they clearly incorrect. I’d say that this is an insufficient answer, and the term, “strictly speaking” is redundant. The cogged-wheel system would not work at all… |
NOTICE!I know that you readers can’t keep up with all of the news, but it should not have escaped your attention that at firethegrid.com/ the End of the World, or some sort of “surge of creation energy,” which sounds fatal, to me, was announced. That occurred on July 17, 2007 at 11:11 Greenwich Mean time. If any of you noticed stars disappearing or graves opening, please let me know, so that SWIFT can be updated… |
AN ADVENTURE IN FALLINGReader Shannon Woods sends us this adventure: I came upon your work, initially, because a friend's paranormalist rantings led me to random Google searches for skepticism and rationalism. I wanted some citable material to prove him wrong. It was "The Faith Healers" that hooked me. Shannon, I’d not put much stock in the “electric shock device,” though such things have been used for this purpose, particularly by a certain rabbi in Brooklyn, many years ago. I think that you were suggestible, young, and a bit awed by the surroundings, and I recall that even I – in disguise as a bewigged elderly cane-toting invalid, had a hard time resisting Angeley’s firm push when I attended a healing session in Akron, Ohio… Thank you for sharing this with us. |
NEWS UPDATEFollowing up on the item last week at randi.org/jr/2007-07/071307tricks.html#i8, reader Paul Roberts in the UK writes: Just to update you, on 12 July “Dr” Joyce Pratt was found guilty of professional misconduct by the General Medical Council, and banned from practicing for six months. Not for being a witchdoctor, which was not proven, but for lack of co-operation with the authorities investigating the complaint. |
EXORCISM EXERCISE & EXHORTATION EXPERTSReader Yair Hollander writes: I thought the following link would make your day: http://tinyurl.com/3ako9o. To quote from it:
Evil as in telling parents their loved ones are dead when in fact they are alive? Or vice versa taking all hope from parents when the real situation is that their children are still out there alive and waiting to be found? I just cannot picture 330 of these weird people all in one place. Where is Federico Fellini when such an opportunity presents itself…? |
IN CLOSINGFrom Reed Esau comes this item of interest: SkeptiCamp is a skeptics’ conference where attendees themselves provide the content. It's based upon the wildly successful BarCamp, intense gatherings featuring discussions, demos and interaction from participants. Where BarCamp is tech-oriented, SkeptiCamp instead focuses on themes of science, critical thinking, and the dozens of topics of interest to skeptics. Who can participate? It's open to everyone and asks each attendee to either give a short presentation or to volunteer in some way. For details, including the upcoming event in Denver, see barcamp.org/SkeptiCamp Or call Reed at 303-215-0672(h) or 303-824-0847(w). The New York City Skeptics Association was founded in May of 2007 for the purpose of promoting skeptical inquiry, critical thinking, and science education in the greater New York City metro area. Their first meeting will be held on Saturday July 28 at 3:00PM at The Malibu Diner in New York City, located at 163 West 23rd St. between 6th and 7th Avenues. All interested persons are welcome to attend! Jamy Ian Swiss will be a member of this new group! For more information please visit http://www.nycskeptics.org. If you’d like to join their mailing list and receive updates about NYCSA activities, please send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with "join mailing list" in the subject or body of the e-mail. |