May 16, 2003

Football Fantasy Fails, Minerals in Detergent?, The Nature of Claims, Novel DNA!, Quack Panic Down Under, Horoscopes for Employment in Japan, Vaughan Flops, Astrology Doomed in Denmark, Morality Again, Definitions of Intelligence, and Crystal "Bomb" Found!

In the UK, the proud Devon football club, Exeter City, has lost its status in the Football League after 83 years, and in its centenary year, no less. The team was "relegated," which means that it's been dropped to a lesser league. Apparently their association with Uri Geller, Michael Jackson and an assortment of hangers-on had done them no good when it came to the harsh reality of life in the Third Division. Upon the announcement, Geller was quoted as saying, "I am devastated. This is the low point of my life. The only time I've felt like this was when I killed a man in war. I was a young soldier and when I realized I'd shot another man dead, it was the worst moment I have known. . . . I love this club with a burning passion. I'll stay with Exeter until the day I die."

Well, we're glad to see that Geller has such empathy....

For a club (team) that had Michael Jackson, Darth Vader, and Uri Geller plugging for it, it must have been a shock to Exeter Football Club to find itself banished. Hold on; Darth Vader? Yes, and it's a rather weird story. Last May Geller decided to invest in a soccer club. No, he didn't stick with Reading, a team which he'd worked for previously, but then saw sink almost out of sight. The new receivers chosen for his massive powers were Exeter City Club. We're told that Geller's 21-year-old son, Daniel, had built a shrine to Exeter in his bedroom. Geller (who claims to be 55 but will be 57 this year) told the media that he believes his son, who promptly became the club's vice-chairman, had lived in Exeter in a previous life. How could anyone doubt that? Geller invited Michael Jackson to visit the team, perhaps as a Visiting Witch, so the King of Pop was escorted from London for what, it soon became obvious, was his very first taste of football. As the train pulled away, Jackson told reporters, "I know nothing about your sport, but I believe you." (?)

Obviously as a result of his football expertise, Jackson was made an honorary director of the team by Geller, who also named David Prowse, the British actor who played Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" films, to the same position. You see how it all fits in? But we must wonder: with all this potent talent working for them, how could Exeter have come to such a state? We're told that the club will be evicted from its offices next week by debt collectors, and that it has a £2,000,000 debt to settle.

It appears that even devout soccer fan Geller may not know much about the sport, at least not in the direction of prognostication. It was he who predicted for Sports Illustrated before the 1998 World Cup that the Americans would reach the second round and beyond. The U.S. team went 0-3. As we "go to press," it's now revealed that Geller was never really a director of the Exeter club, in any case, since his lawyer had forgotten to file the papers! Such details never bother the Spoon Bender, who announced to the press that he has now resigned from that position.

Geller’s investment in Exeter turns out to be a whopping £25,000. And, Exeter City’s chairman, John Russell, has just been arrested by Fraud Squad detectives probing alleged financial irregularities at the club. How could all this have not been easily foreseen – by any of the UK psychics, but particularly by Uri?

So a club backed by The Gloved One, the Dark Side of The Force, and a man who claims that he healed soccer star David Beckham's foot with mind power, was dropped out of its league! It was moping at the bottom of the Third Division and has now lost its battle to avoid relegation from the prestigious Football League. As one UK reporter warned, "Geller had best be careful. In the 17th century, the people of Exeter had a notorious habit of burning witches."

Gimme that Old Time Religion! Matches, anyone?


While on the subject, reader Andy Bajorinas writes:

I just noticed something on Uri Geller's web site that I thought might amuse you (or your readers). Uri Geller looks a lot like Bruce Campbell, the comedic actor most known for the "Evil Dead" series and other Sam Rami films. In fact, the primary difference I can see between Uri and Bruce is that Bruce is funny on purpose.

I'll let readers decide for themselves....


Reader Magnus Malmborn (now, there's a name for you!) offers:

In a commercial this week I stumbled upon a novel product I think may interest you. Naturopathic pseudoscience has been ravaging the health-care business for years, but this week it entered the realms of household care: Colgate-Palmolive released the naturopathic detergent "Ajax Minerals." In a commercial relying heavily on digitally-warped images, it was presented as the "natural" solution for reviving a lifeless house and making it shining fresh. (They actually used the word "lifeless.") Furthermore, we were told, it had an "advanced formula containing essential minerals."

According to their website, Minerals does not appear to be sold in the USA or Canada, but at the Swedish site I found a nice article questionably labeled "newstext" (the word doesn't exist in Swedish either) that roughly translates to:

Are you searching for a mix of science and naturalness, but don't want to sacrifice effectiveness and fragrance while cleaning? New Ajax Minerals will meet these expectations. Ajax Minerals is a general-purpose detergent addressing the latest natural trend in cleaning. Ajax Minerals cleans easily and effectively, and will make your home bright. The unique and advanced formula with essential minerals contains cleaning agents that will make your home shining fresh. AJAX MINERALS — the natural source of a clean home.

"Essential minerals." What is that? I know that we need trace amounts of some elements, e.g. iron or selenium, and that these usually are collectively referred to as "minerals," but what good these will do to my floor and bathtub is beyond my horizon.

It feels like knowledge and reason are on the losing side.

Yes, Magnus, but back to the barricades, and man the cannons. Colgate-Palmolive already has "herbal toothpaste" on sale in Europe. What's next? Homeopathic deodorants? Vibrating hair gel? The possibilities are endless, and the market for nonsense is infinite....


A would-be applicant has written me, puzzled about the fact that I place homeopathic claims into the "paranormal" class, for purposes of the JREF challenge. I explained to him as follows:

Homeopathic claims are paranormal claims, for these six reasons of similarity and the close parallels they illustrate:

1. Supporters claim that the phenomena are real, but no real evidence exists to verify that claim.

2. The phenomena are said to "work" by means that are not possible, based on what we already know with great certainty, about the real world.

3. The evidence for the phenomena presented is anecdotal, not scientific, and none of the "scientific" findings made by supporters have been independently replicated.

4. When attempted independent replications of the phenomena fail, supporters invoke special conditions and exceptions for their claims, and often state that these cannot be tested by "ordinary" science.

5. Supporters of the claims invoke such words as, "vibrations," memory," "quantum," "spiritual," and "infinite," without knowledge of, or respect for, the actual meanings of such terms.

6. The claimed discovery is of such a nature and scope, that if true, it would have radically changed the face of science, our way of life, and our perception of the real world: that has not happened.

So, homeopathic claims are paranormal claims, as are claims of "free energy" or perpetual motion.


Reader Tony writes:

I recently left a large NC hospital, North Hanover Regional Medical Center. The condoning and encouragement of Therapeutic Touch there, left me amazed. When I questioned the management, I was told to contact the nursing service and that's where I really hit a brick wall. I also have been in hospital rooms when cleaners have been praying over comatose patients. My question is, when one meets this level of pseudo-medicine what can one do? The local newspaper is a big booster of the Hospital, so no dice there. My frustration is that I could do nothing to change this. Tell me again why otherwise competent people believe this crap. One of the otherwise competent Lab Techs also believed that her granddaughter had been abducted by aliens and that she had an extra strand of DNA. I'm not a nut Randi, but logic fails when applied to this stuff.

Let's get real here. If that lab tech's granddaughter is thus equipped DNA-wise, I see a Nobel Prize looming! How is it that people can make such preposterous claims, yet ignore the fame and wealth that could be theirs if the claims are true? Again, education doesn't make you smart; it only makes you educated....


The news from Australia is pretty exciting. This last two weeks, I've received dozens of comments and notices about the following development. I'll let reader Ian Evans, who describes himself as, "just a regular attempted independent thinker living in Australia," describe what's up:

A pharmaceutical company here, Pan Pharmaceuticals, deals in the joyous subject of complimentary medicine. It manufactures herbal remedies, vitamins and the like, and Pan was caught doing an extraordinarily stupid and dangerous thing — namely, falsifying research in order to meet regulatory specifications, products substituted for others (their shark cartilage was found to contain beef cartilage), and quality control was shot to hell and back and forth again.

According to Dr. John McEwen, head researcher of the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA — the regulatory body), in a sample of one of it's products — Travacalm — they found that even within one packet the amount of active ingredient varied very much between tablet and tablet. Some in a packet had no active ingredient in them. Others had about the right amount, and in one instance, a tablet had seven times the dose of hyocine that it should have had.

Research on export vitamins was found to be fabricated, the manufacturing equipment hadn't been cleaned since May 2002 (even when it was used to make different types of tablets), many raw materials of the remedies were never tested at all, and it has been made quite clear that this deception was deliberate. The status of 270 different raw materials in the company's databases was changed from "quarantine" to "pass," without any scientific reason. So far, 219 individual product lines have been recalled — but that number is set to sky-rocket.

Thankfully, Pan doesn't make prescription drugs, mainly herbal remedies, vitamin supplements, and some paracetomol and aspirin products. The problem is, Pan-made products are not just sold under Pan's name. 70% of all complimentary medicine drugs in Australia are made by Pan.

The whole thing came to light after Travalcalm, a travel-sickness tablet, was investigated. Many users suffered some sort of hyocine (hydrobromide) poisoning. After several users began suffering hallucinations and literally trying to throw themselves off boats and planes, it was looked into. It was found that the assay results had been manipulated. This is why we need regulatory bodies, preferably ones who are not afraid to regulate now and then. We're lucky in Australia, some of our agencies are not afraid to stand up when this sort of thing is spotted.

Pan Pharmaceuticals is, of course, doomed. Its license has been revoked for six months, and it may be restored. Stocks dropped 19.5% before trade was suspended, and now Pan must deal with the massive recall of almost every product it has come in contact with in the last 11 months.

Pan the Greek God, thus the Greek word panikos, thus the French word panique, thus the English word panic. It all makes sense now...

Old friend and Aussie skeptic Mark Plummer wrote:

The story made front page headlines today and victims came forward to tell of horrific stories re the alleged travel sickness tablets. The Company made 70% of the Australian alternative drugs and exported hundreds of products overseas. Many of those must have gone to the US. It was wonderful to go into the local health food store to see all those empty shelves. I will keep you informed.

Aussie reader Brendon Brewer adds:

. . . there have been some encouraging comments from the NSW [New South Wales] Premier, Bob Carr, who has said, "This scandal ought to be an opportunity to assess some of the exploitation of gullible people that takes place under the guise of alternative therapy and complementary medicine, among other things. . . . There should be a proper scientific assessment of some of the things being touted as alternative therapies. [Referring to homeopathy] What is the scientific basis for saying a bit of water is going to cure all your ailments? There's been a lot of hype going on here for a long time."

And from Aussie skeptic Barry Williams:

[The Pan company] stuffed up the quality control in such a way that . . . various vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbal preparations and other quack nostrums that make Australia second only to the US as (often self-prescribed) users of unproven "complementary" medicines [were taken from the shelves].

Hello? Washington? Take a look at this situation Down Under and wonder whether we should wait until someone dies to get aware and active in this respect.


Reader Lewis E. Haymes notes an ad for an English teacher from an English language magazine in Japan, Kansai Scene:

KOBE TEACHER WANTED. A relaxing, fun English school in Kobe seeks part time native teachers. Kobe/Nishinomiya area teachers preferred. Please send a detailed resume along with availability, visa status, and astrological sign. EMAIL: info@perkinsandco.com

Asked Mr. Haymes, "I wonder if the proper 'sign' outweighs academic qualifications?" Well, I wondered, too, so I fired off an inquiry to the school. I asked, "I've been informed that you recently ran an ad in Kansai Scene, which asked for the applicants' zodiac sign. Is this assertion correct, please?" The reply, from "Perkins and Company," was: "What may I ask is the purpose of your message?" To which I replied, "I'd like to know whether or not this report was true. I do not have access to the Kansai Scene periodical. I am writing an article that requires this information, and I am merely checking my sources."

That was weeks ago. I've not heard more from the Perkins folks....


At the site http://ideashappen.com, 12 prizes of $25,000 are offered for "inspired ideas" from the 18-29 year-old crowd, giving them an opportunity to launch their ideas by submitting a short essay. Four winners are chosen in each of three categories — entrepreneur, community, and self expression. A "John" from St. Johns, MI, submitted this idea:

The self generating fan saves energy. As the fan turns the motion of the fan is converted into energy. On the rear of the fan is the motor and on the front of the fan is a small generator that converts the motion of the fan into electrical energy which goes back to the motor giving it power so the fan takes less electricity. If the fan is battery powered it would run a lot longer on a set of batteries. This will save plenty of energy and money and can be easily applied to anything running on an electric motor.

Well, John, this is the oldest perpetual-motion idea in modern history. The generator-running-the-motor-running-the generator is pretty obvious, and also obviously a very bad idea... The ideashappen site boasts an "Expert Panel" consisting of three persons: "impresario, composer, record producer, artist, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, TV producer, record company executive, television station owner, magazine founder, multi-media entrepreneur and humanitarian, Quincy Jones, plus a software engineer and a pilot/balloonist. I dearly hope that the panel had nothing to do with approving this application.

Yes, John may be just 18 years old, but I fear for the state of science education if he's undergone any instruction in that art...


Alan Vaughan was a psychic who claimed, among other wonders, to have prophetic dreams. He was a celebrated performer at the Dream Laboratory at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, which was in operation from 1962 to 1974. Subjects were asked, while asleep, to experience dreams that might have been suggested by a "target" such as a photograph or a drawing. Usually, these targets were of highly emotional events or scenes, full of detail and objects. That, in my opinion, made it more likely that a connection might be made between a dream and a target.

For the now-defunct "Omni" magazine I conducted a test at their 6th Avenue office of what Alan said he could do with ease: discover in which of ten film-canisters an object or substance was located. Alan claimed that he could do this by "channeling the higher self, the God-part of us that exists in another dimension beyond space and time and has wisdom gained from past lives." The stunt, though accomplished differently, was originated by Uri Geller at the Stanford Research Institute (now, "Institution") back in the 70's.

Ah, but there's more to be told. Apparently Alan's "higher self" had determined that my own powers were so strong, I could use them to defeat his psychic abilities just by being present at the tests! After seeing clear evidence of these forces at work — he failed repeatedly when I was in the same room — he insisted that I had to be at least a mile away, so that the Law of Inverse Squares would protect him from my vibrations. Oddly, he failed to recognize that this basic law of physics, as is the case with so many others, does not apply to paranormal powers — or so it is claimed.

I promptly left Manhattan and drove to Red Bank, New Jersey, phoned from there to tell them to proceed, and they did. I was some 26 miles from the Omni office, that is to say, 26 times his suggested minimum separation, and about 23,000 times further than I'd been when I witnessed the first tests. According to the Law of Inverse Squares, my powers at that position would have been reduced to a 530-millionth of the former situation. You see here a photo of Alan doing the final test. Need I mention that his results were quite what pure chance dictated?

That was the last I ever saw of Alan....


On the 21st of July last year, a loud noise was heard in the sky over most of the kingdom of Lesotho, South Africa, and in the village of Boqate Ha Sofonia, objects began to fall on the roofs of houses. One of the villagers saw a large stone smash into the low-walled cooking area in front of her house, knocking over and cracking a plastic container. She attributed this to a "thokolosi" — a poltergeist — and wisely sprinkled holy water around her house and on the stone. Perhaps as a result of this prompt action, no more stones fell. Neighbors also experienced this rain of rocks, and began gathering up the material from the skies.

Now the actual cause of the mystery rocks has been determined. No ghost here, but a spectacular meteor shower. The original mass, which could have weighed a ton or so, probably had been circling the Sun for some five billion years, and finally intercepted another body in the Solar System — the Earth. A newspaper account said that it had arrived at perhaps 50 to 100 times the speed of sound, though that's more likely to be about 30 times the velocity of sound. In any case, hitting the atmosphere at that speed, it exploded into thousands of pieces, which had fallen to Earth over nine different villages in that area. That sure beats remaining in one chunk, which would have been much more noticeable...

A team from the National University of Lesotho went to investigate, and with the help of schoolchildren and local residents collected over 400 different stones ranging from just a few grams to over a kilogram. The Thuathe meteorite, as it has been christened, has put Lesotho on the map as a place to hunt for meteorites.


While we're on the subject of rocks, a federal judge in Little Rock has ordered Harry Potter books back onto an Arkansas school district's library shelves, rejecting a local school board's claim that tales of wizards and spells could harm school children.

The district's board drew wrath from national free-speech groups for its decision last June to require students to obtain parental permission to check out the sinful books. The 3-2 decision overruled a unanimous decision by the district's library committee that was made after an alarmed parent complained about the books. Plaintiffs Billy and Mary Nell Counts said they feared their daughter Dakota would be stigmatized if she were identified as someone who read books the district considered "evil." Yep, she'd be put down as a gal with a sense of humor, and we can't have that.

Reader Jim Kutz, who alerted us to this dire situation, says that one neighbor kid is still trying to levitate a marble by saying "levitas." Jim suggested he try to make it roll first, an instructive experiment. He said, "Cool, what's the spell?" An observant wizard would know, Jim pointed out, that every Hogwarts spell is the closest Latin word — "rise," "light," "petrify," and so on — and the correct Latin word can be summoned from the library. Hey, the kid already had an authentic Harry Potter wand, so he was half-way there....


We're now told that the TV series in Denmark conducted by Øjvind Kyrø, "Fornemmelse for snyd" ("A Sense of Deceit"), has resulted in much excitement and wailing among the astrologers there who are faced with a monumental collapse of their claims. Several astrologers, none of them actually members of the Danish Association of Astrologers, have demanded the resignation of the chairman of that Association, Pierre François Bitsch, after his appearance in the TV show resulted in his failure to prove that astrology works.

On that show, François interpreted the horoscopes of four people based, as he required, on their time, date, and place of birth, and he made 38 guesses about their past history. Only two were correct. A certain Leif von der Wehl, who says both that astrology can, and cannot, be tested, and that crop circles are real, bleated, "What has happened is a catastrophe. A person who represents the Association of Astrologers as chairman, should not deal with frivolous blind-horoscopy." Here we have the ultimate retreat-position adopted by the astrologers: actual testing of their claims should not be done, and their claims should be accepted blindly.

Another debater, an astrologer calling himself Eskild, ridiculed chairman Bitsch because he wasn't able to see the calamity coming. That's another well-known and most awkward quality of astrology: it can't do anything really useful, especially when people are looking.... Eskild claims he wants to be tested by skeptics, but does not see the need for a really well-designed test. That seems appropriate; he himself has yet to make a prediction that came true.

But chairman Bitsch has refused to resign. Instead, he is now hunting down the four test subjects to go over the results again, in an attempt to data-search until he can find some significance in his decisions. Typical. He now criticizes the conditions under which the test was conducted, even though the program clearly showed that he himself was instrumental in deciding those conditions. Said he:

I feel that I have been treated in an unfair manner, that the show was edited very poorly, and I have realized that knowledge about astrology cannot be explained in such a short time.

Just how long is needed, Mr. Bitsch? It's been a couple thousand years now, and we're getting impatient! Even the unsinkable astrologer Karen Boesen, who fearlessly defends what she calls "business astrology" (which is a little like a surgeon consulting bird-entrails before opening up a human patient), said that Mr. Bitsch had hurt astrology. "He just bombed," she said. Karen! You yourself, as part of that same show, were asked to select an appropriate manager for a hypothetical travel agency by casting horoscopes for certain selected persons, not knowing that the birth data you were given really belonged to Danish convicts serving long prison sentences. Karen, you chose, as the most qualified manager, a retired garbage collector who had killed his wife while drunk! And then, as an alibi, you explained on the show that murderers and those qualified as top managers often have the same planetary constellations in their horoscopes. What do you suppose that proves, Ms. Boesen?

Following that embarrassment, Ms. Boesen, who is known for her vicious attacks on her critics — but is not known for her dedication to truth — declined to participate in a proposed test of her astrological powers, before a panel of judges. Other astrologers, very well known in Denmark, also — wisely — refused. Ole Giber is the current darling of the Danish jetset and is still in the process of living down the fact that he was once given the horoscope of notorious Nazi mass-murderer Josef Mengele, and based on his horoscope, described him as a nice man, good at working with other people. Christian Borup is well- known from the TV game show "The 6th Sense" where he guesses the identity of celebrities. This feat dims somewhat when we know that he gets the birth data days in advance and has ample access to birth records and biographical sources. Gee, I think that I could do that, too, Mr. Borup! Both these intrepid astrologers joined Karen in her decision not to be tested.

Now, in the old tradition of executing the messenger who brings bad news, producer Øjvind Kyrø is described on Karen's web site as a devious, manipulating liar. I'm only referred to as a "tryllekunstneren" (magician). And, as usual in such matters, none of the participating astrologers, clairvoyants, "face readers," or dowsers who failed the tests, believe that their own claimed abilities are imaginary. It is ever thus: no amount of contrary evidence can ever convince the true believers, no matter how strong that evidence is, nor how abundant.

I must explain that Karen and I had a misunderstanding, and we're not corresponding. Back in January of 1998, I specified a simple test of her abilities, offered her the million-dollar prize, and got what we can only describe as a succinct reply: "Do not contact me again!! Karen Boesen."

Okay. I can take a hint. Is that a declination? But maybe Karen can still sue me while I'm silent? Let's try! Incidentally, though I'm forbidden to contact her, she regularly sends me notes. You see? She still cares!

For the information about this latest astrological brouhaha, I must thank Claus Larsen of www.skepticreport.com and our regular correspondent Mogens Winther. And, of course, TV host and investigator Øjvind Kyrø, who continues to weather the storm he has created with the "A Sense of Deceit" series in Denmark.


A correspondent signed only as "Alexander" seems to be having difficulty understanding some basics about the JREF. He says we should write up all the applications and what resulted, plus charging the applicants for handling their request. He also suggested that publishing all this "might help to avoid people trying to do the same test again that has already failed in the past." I responded to him:

Nothing would help an applicant avoid doing the same test. Each thinks he/she is the real thing, and cannot fail. And, we can't charge: it's against our mandate. Applicants even bitch that we won't pay the costs of their coming to Florida to be tested. Again, each and every applicant is thoroughly convinced of his/her powers, and will remain so even after failing any number of tests.

He also wants "a list of what tests have been conducted, who the challengers were and contact details or links." Sure, so long as you'll come to Florida and spend a few months getting it together. This task would be huge, involving months of full-time work and the resulting costs to the JREF. As we've repeated many times, the records are available to anyone who wants to come here and go through drawers and cartons of records and thousands of computer files.

Alexander also wrote that this investment of labor and money "would make [our] site seem more respectable and less like the crazies that [we] complain about." His perception is ridiculous. We've received wide approval and acceptance for our site — which currently receives some 85,000+ page views a day, internationally. I'll rest on that record.


Reader Fabio Meneghetti, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, writes:

I am also an atheist and also a sociologist (which, in Brazil, means studying a lot of philosophy too). I am writing about your repeatedly stating that your reaction to the infamous question "why would an atheist act morally" makes you angry. I do not think it is a question that is unimportant, for these reasons. First, because the "morality" of the Western world is deeply founded in Judaism/Christianity whether a person believes in god or not, and whether a person is afraid of hell or not. Second, because in a certain way, it does make sense. Okay, you have a certain set of references that guide your actions and that come from your upbringing and choice, but ultimately you have nothing to stop you from just acting as you please.

Dostoyevsky stated this issue in "Crime and Punishment": "If God does not exist, everything is allowed!" and it is an important question both for philosophy and for social sciences. The way I would tackle this question would be to answer with empirical evidence: "The fact is, atheists do act morally all the time. Can you explain why?" I could digress on what I think the answer is, but it would take too much space.

Either way, it is worth looking it up. What answers have philosophy and social sciences given to that question? It will probably help you to understand your own behavior and explain to others. I do not recommend a person who wants to debate beliefs, but shrugs to the question.

Never any shrugging here, Fabio. I understand quite well why I act morally, and I've expressed it here previously. I don't find it difficult, at all. Your question about atheists acting morally "all the time" might be a trick question depending on the individual definition of "moral." If one thinks that stealing is moral, then it is....!

Those of us who attended The Amazing Meeting back in January, had the privilege of hearing Michael Shermer expound on his theme that morality is a part of the evolutionary process. I found his argument compelling. Incidentally, the next Amazing Meeting will take place next year in Las Vegas....


Reader Alan Kellogg gets carried away:

From Simon Young in Fortean Times: "The 'desire factor' is the extent to which a given individual would find it exciting to experience something, independently of whether that 'something' is true or not."

Simon was talking about those who were convinced that the Welsh had gotten to America long before Columbus, and had established a native tribe or two, a favorite being the Mandan of the Missouri River Valley. I decided to pass it on because it applies as well to other subjects, astrology, mediumship, problematic primates, among numerous others.

I'll be honest, I'd love to be the one to "discover" the sasquatch. But the one who does (officially) discover it, will be put through the wringer. To some, the subject has all the appeal of a corpse filled with maggots. The very idea there might be such a creature is not to be considered lest the saints of science damn one to the pits reserved for creationists. So we can see that Mr. Young's words can also be applied to those who deny something despite the evidence for it.

Along with the desire factor you also have a desire to belong, to be part of a group that knows something special, something secret. That's the appeal of astrology, magick, and (sad to say) skepticism. Yes, there are people who take up skepticism because it makes them feel superior to the unwashed masses out there. All too many forget that ignorance is not equivalent to stupidity, that people can learn, if you don't alienate them by acting superior.

Astrologers have secret knowledge, dowsers have secret knowledge, scientists have secret knowledge.... okay, those scientists convinced they belong to an elite fraternity that one must pass a special initiation (known as the doctoral thesis) to join. Without that secret knowledge you can't join the special brotherhood.

Then along come such as, well, you (among others) who dare to take a hard look at the secret knowledge and announce that, not only is the emperor naked, but he's had hernia surgery too. I'm sure you can see where some folks would find that discomforting.

To those I say, good. I hope you suffer a lot. The universe was not made to please us, it just happens to be the universe we evolved in. So it'll have things that make us uncomfortable. Death, violence, greed, problematic primates, ignorance of what the future holds, all can make us uneasy. So some seek out anything that will give them a heads-up, and/or put them in a special group that knows "The Truth." And while they hold themselves superior to the masses because they know "The Truth", the universe goes on with no consideration for their beliefs.

Part of growing up is learning to deal with the world as it is, not as we would like it to be. Those who espouse astrology, magick, dowsing, homeopathy, etc. refuse to grow up. They refuse to deal with the real world. You can't really do much for them, unless and until something happens to open their eyes. But you can show the majority of people. Show them there is more to the universe than the shallow superstitions embraced by some, more to this reality than the verities acknowledged by the high poohbahs of academia.

I must confess (yep, another one), I didn't expect this to get so long. Sometimes I get to philosophizing and get a bit carried away. And I forgot to mention the nearly overwhelming desire some folks have to find life (or evidence of past life) on Mars. If that's not an example of the 'Desire Factor' at work, then Oliver is a chimpanzee with numerous birth defects.

I surrender. The "Oliver" reference escapes me....


Kelly Wright:

I'm not sure I agree with all of the comments you shared with us from Alexander Sharp's letter. Mr. Sharp said: "50% of the British population is of below average intelligence [like all populations everywhere], probably the same 50% that put their lives in the hands of the witch doctors."

While I'd prefer to think that the people who believe in alternative treatments do so because they aren't intelligent, I just don't think that's true. I have several acquaintances, all perfectly intelligent people, who inexplicably fall for these scams, and who become offended and defensive if I try to dissuade them. These are not dumb people. I don't know what causes such beliefs (I'd wager it has a lot to do upbringing and education, though I'm certainly not an authority on the matter), but whatever the cause, I don't think it's correct to say that intelligence, or lack thereof, is what causes some of us (too many of us!) to believe in pseudosciences.

It's too easy for skeptical thinkers to tell ourselves that we're smarter than everyone else, to develop a smug sense of superiority because we seek the truth while others wallow in ignorance. This is counterproductive. If we have such a low opinion of less-skeptical thinkers, not only do they pick up on our condescension, thus limiting our ability to rationally debate with them and try to change their opinions; we also can become less concerned with the welfare of these people and the damages done to them by the "witch doctors" and such. We cease to try to open their minds, and instead we reinforce our feeling that we're better than they are.

Mr. Randi, please be assured that I do not accuse you, or Mr. Sharp, of such behaviors. I just strongly believe that this is a pitfall all skeptics need to watch out for. We cannot begin to believe that our skepticism makes us more intelligent or superior to others. All rational people can become skeptics, and it is our duty to help them on that path.

Kelly, I think there's a matter of definitions involved here. Perhaps "intelligence" is the key word. I've often said that an education only makes you educated, not smart. By "smart" I mean the ability to live in and handle the real world -- which also takes courage and determination. Being intelligent — by whatever standard — implies that you have the means to think courageously and rationally about things, but does not say that you will choose to do so. That ability — of being equipped to think — can be suppressed for various reasons. I've also often said that some people who believe in irrational matters, need to believe that way, not merely want to. That can drive them to actions and attitudes that they cannot defend adequately, and that fact alone causes them to dig their heels in and resist offered arguments.

And, I must comment on that mathematical statement, "50% of the British population is of below average intelligence." Perhaps correct, in fact, probably correct. But if the word "median" replaced the word "average," the statement would — by definition — be correct. A few readers brought that to my attention.


In Livingston, Montana, Sheriff Clark Carpenter alerted the FBI to an object found on the ground near a Park Electric substation, a cardboard toilet paper tube capped with duct tape and packed with paraffin wax and thin metal shavings. He called the FBI because of homeland security concerns, since any suspicious devices found near power stations must be thus reported. The FBI had not yet retrieved the device when an article about it ran in the local paper. That prompted a local citizen to tell a Park Electric employee that he built the device and that it was harmless.

Note that he didn't add, "useless." He said it had a "crystal" inside that would draw in "negative" energy transmitted by power lines and turn them into "positive" energy. A deputy dismantled the device and found a small white opaque crystal in the center. Case closed.


I must thank Hal Bidlack for subbing for me last week. I didn't change a word of his contribution, since I wanted to let him say his piece directly and without interference. I might have taken out the "resounding" he used, but I left it in. All I'll say is that we agree substantially on the matter he discussed, but not totally. A few rather interesting comments came in, and have been submitted to Hal for responses. I'll be posting some here, probably next week.