Exciting news! Next Wednesday the 18th, the suborbital trial of the solar sail project sponsored by the Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios, will be launched from the Babakin Space Center on the Bering Sea aboard a Russian rocket. This test flight, launched from a nuclear submarine (?), will be a prelude to sending the full project into space, which event is planned to take place October to December of this year. The suborbital trial was postponed when an assembly error caused the whole shebang to deploy in the workshop, and everything went back to step one....
The solar sail is designed to use the pressure of sunlight as a power source. Very much like a regular sailboat, the apparatus will re-orient its segments to tack as it is driven through space by the Sun — or some other star? — on adventures that could go on literally for centuries. You can find out more about this fascinating project by going to www.planetary.org/solarsail.
The craft — pictured here — is named Cosmos 1. I hope that you thought of Carl Sagan when you read that. To quote him:
We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.
A bit of Carl will be setting sail when Cosmos 1 sets out. Damn, I miss him.
We now have averaged 1900+ persons a day looking in on this web page from all across the planet! That's very flattering, and a bit scary, when we recognize the responsibility that fact brings with it. And, as of right now, you can download any of the Internet Audio shows we've done from the sumptuous studio in the Media Room of the James Randi Educational Foundation over the past weeks, just by clicking on the archival button and then on a date. To hear the show live, get on this page Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. Florida time, click on "Listen Live," and send in your questions, comments, complaints, via radio@randi.org. I think you'll enjoy the experience!
Was it a prayer, a magic spell, a charm, or a prediction? It's difficult to say, where Uri Geller's involved. Last week he appeared on UK television, sending out his powerful vibes to assure that British tennis star Tim Henman would win the men's singles at Wimbledon. TV viewers were urged by Geller to put their hands on the TV screen (shades of Oral Roberts!) to assist this miracle. Well, despite this formidable influence, Mr. Henman lost to Croatia.
I recall that in 1997, Geller had a divine revelation that a horse named "Go Ballistic" would win the Grand National. Not only did the horse not win, it didn't even run, because the race was abandoned. Geller's psychic efforts to support football have been equally dismal. In 1998, the team in which he has an interest and acts as consultant for, Reading Football Club, was demoted to a lower league, having finished bottom of their division, right after the wizard switched on his powers. In the resulting media brouhaha, Geller was sued by the coach of the England national soccer team, for making "an extraordinary combination of lies, inaccuracies, exaggerations and misleading innuendoes" in a national newspaper, according to the coach's solicitor.
Just a thought in this regard: is it fair, or sporting, to employ supernatural powers to help a team or an athlete to win? Isn't sports a matter of strength, skill, and strategy? Since drug testing is routinely carried out in sports, should we now wave a dowsing rod over performers to see if they show signs of psychic "doping"? As we mentioned previously, football teams pray for success, so this probe should also be applied to them, I suggest.
I think that from now on, we should bet on the opposition when Uri Geller is at work. The record speaks for itself, and in science, we follow the evidence....!
We got a lot of laughs out of the "crop cylinders" item last week. Brian Todd tells us that when he first encountered these strange objects himself in fields, he assumed that he had found the location of the farm where Shredded Wheat is grown. Maybe the bite-size version can be grown in pots....?
Now witness the remarkable — though imperfect — precognitive powers of the Associated Press News Service: more than six hours before VP Dick Cheney actually arrived at the White House on his first day back at work following his recent medical procedure, AP ran an Internet story that detailed his morning activities, in the past tense. This might be an indication of how the White House — with the co-operation of the media — can conjure up news. Cheney's spokesperson Juleanna Glover Weiss was quoted as having said of his return, at 1:20 a.m. the night before, "It's a typical day."
A Reuters News story that appeared later, this one actually after the event, indicated that VP Cheney didn't arrive at the White House until 7:45 a.m., rather than at 7:30 a.m. Hey, the AP piece wasn't too bad at all — for precognition.
Just so that you can see how pseudoscience and ignorance have taken over the Internet merchandising business, I suggest that you visit www.hydrateforlife.com and try to follow the totally false and misleading pitch that the vendors make for this product, magically-prepared "Penta" water that will "hydrate" your body miraculously. A grade-school education will equip you to recognize the falsity of this claim, but it's obvious that the purveyors are cashing in on ignorance and carelessness. Just read this as an example of pure techno-claptrap:
Normally, the water you drink is in large clusters of H20 [sic] molecules. That's because its [sic] been affected by air, heat, and modern civilization. PentaTM is water that, through physics, has been reduced to its purest state in nature — smaller clusters of H2O [sic] molecules. These smaller clusters move through your body more quickly than other water, penetrating your cell membranes more easily. This means PentaTM is absorbed into your system faster and more completely. When you drink PentaTM, you're drinking the essence of water. You get hydrated faster, more efficiently, and more completely than with any other water on earth.
Folks, water is water. It's burned hydrogen, no more, no less. The molecules of H2O — not "H2O" as these quacks write — do not "cluster," under any influence of the dreadful "air, heat, and modern civilization" that you're cautioned to fear. True, water exhibits surface tension, and the molecules do "line up" to an extent, though almost any foreign substance in there disturbs this effect — soap/detergent "wets" it readily. But water molecules in "clusters"? No way! The illustrations you see here are totally wrong and fictitious. There's no such thing as "essence of water," by any stretch of scientific reasoning, or imagination. This is total, unmitigated nonsense, a pack of lies designed to swindle and cheat, to steal money, and to rob the consumer. And "through physics" has nothing to do with it.
I await objections to the above statements. There will be none, because the sellers of "Penta" know they're lying, they do it purposefully, and they know they can get away with it because of the incredible inertia of the Federal agencies that should be protecting us against such deception and thievery. Those agencies just can't do the job, and they bumble about endlessly while the public continues to pay through the nose.
But notice: the Penta people, on their web page, beneath a family picture of the founders, clearly assert that:
At first, [the Penta engineers] tested Penta on plants. They discovered that test seeds would germinate in half the time as the control seeds.
Bingo! Hallelujah! We have the means for a test! A simple, inexpensive, clearly demonstrative, test! Such a demonstration would clearly establish the claim these folks are making. Ah, but will PentaTM apply for the million-dollar prize? Dear reader, with your experience of Tice, DKL, Quadro, Josephson, Edward, and all the parade of others who have declined to be tested, I think that you expect, as I do, that PentaTM will apply as promptly as Sylvia Browne did.
The PentaTM page advises us to "Penta-hydrate — be fluid." Translation: "Believe this — be stupid."
Speaking of absent persons, it's now been 128+ days since Sylvia Browne agreed to be tested by the JREF. Did she lose our phone number, our fax number, our e-mail address, and our web page location? If so, can't she easily divine them? Isn't it strange that she hasn't pursued this opportunity to win our million-dollar prize? Isn't it just as strange that none of the "pros" even apply to win the prize? No, not really. They simply can't do what they claim they can do, and they know it. To us, that's not news.
Reader August Pamplona noted my comments on homeopathy, and my call for a definitive test of the claims. Referring to an Internet site that insists on giving theories on why homeopathy works, rather than evidence that it does work, he writes:
What's fascinating about that site, is that it gives homeopathy so many "outs." Maybe it's not working because the lunar phase is wrong, or maybe the solution is too concentrated, or maybe the solution is too dilute. It all sounds so very "cutting edge." And it sounds like, even if homeopathy could work, the chance of a practitioner ever getting it exactly right would be as minute as the dilution factors he uses. I'm guessing that the writers of that site would concur with the desirability of a definitive test but would also point to their site to show how it is way too complicated to be testable (in the meantime raising questions about its usefulness). This is a story you've probably heard many times before — I know I've seen similar arguments before.
Reader Ron Hites is alarmed (!) that TV's "Miss Cleo" may actually drop him from her mailing list. Yes, despite the obvious fact that her powers of perception mangled his first name, she sent him this scary message by post:
I was so moved by the dream, that I shared this with my psychic associates. With this knowledge our prediction powers have been heightened. I am asking you to call immediately and, if I am not available, you must speak to one of my gifted Tarot readers who will know how to use this knowledge to immediately change your future. It could be that exciting. Rom, please call right now: 1-800-340-7202. This call is absolutely FREE.
THERE IS NO RISK AND NO OBLIGATION AT ALL. I can't tell you too much here, but I will say that the experience will amaze you as much as it did me. There may be many wonderful things coming into your life very soon, in fact maybe in the next 10-14 days. You could be one very lucky person Rom.
It's not often that I get overwhelmed, especially through a dream, at the prospects of good fortune for people. So you can see why I am overjoyed about what the future holds for you. Rom, your life may drastically change for the better. Please call right now so I can share this joy with you. BECAUSE I WANT THE BEST FOR YOU, I HAVE GONE AHEAD AND SET UP A FREE TRIAL READING WHEN YOU CALL. Remember, this call is free and so is your free trial reading.
With Love and Hope, Cleo. Call Now! 1-800-340-7202.
Rom, I'm so very happy I am able to contact you. My name is Cleo, and I am a Master Tarot Psychic. I had an exciting dream last night that could affect the rest of your life!
Can you believe that some folks actually fall for this twaddle, and then spend money listening to a stream of feelgood absurdities mixed with caveats? Do they really believe that Cleo dreamed of them, and only of them, and then rushed off this personal letter? Need I tell you that Miss Cleo is never available if you call that number? Only her minions are ever free to take the call. It must be that Cleo is in front of a camera somewhere, because actually she's a professional TV actress you can catch on re-runs of Miami Vice and other series using her carefully-managed Jamaican accent to beguile. Now, what Rom/Ron is doing running about in Cleo's dreams, is best left unasked. But he'd better hurry and call her. Cleo will likely make him wealthy and save him from despair, poverty, and — maybe — even warts!
Those investigating the mysterious disappearance of intern Chandra Levy more than ten weeks ago, have been assailed by the usual mob of "psychics" who hope to get lucky. A Virginia-based "aura expert" named Rose Rosetree says she examined Levy's aura — from a photograph, no less! — and claims that her energy field is that of a person "obsessed with sexuality." Rose also claims that the aura she sees is typical of a person who is capable of desperate acts — including suicide. Wimpy, in my opinion. Nothing here about alive-or-dead, or whodunnit.
George Filer, of the Mutual UFO Group (MUFON), reports that when there's a rash of UFO sightings, a lot of folks go missing, and hints that Chandra may have been whisked aboard a saucer. If so, I'm sure that she'll write a best-seller when she comes back.
Ah, but a San Diego clairvoyant, "Dr." James Capers, asserts that Levy was kidnaped by two Mafia types who he says resemble Abbott and Costello, and that they left her body "somewhere in the desert near Las Vegas." Pin-point precision, as we would expect. But Los Angeles seer "Dr." Moshe Montgomery differs radically with Capers' vision. He says that Levy is being held captive by a jealous co-worker in an apartment somewhere Virginia. Notice, again, the precise information: some place within an area of 105,716 square kilometers. But, luckily for us, Dallas-based "singing psychic" Fran Baskerville has expressed her vision in a song titled, "I Heard It Through The Angel Grapevine." Don't wait to hear it on your radio. Fran's sure that Chandra has been kidnaped by a man she met via the Internet and that she is now in "Monterey," Mexico. There is a city named Monterrey in Mexico, 150 km. from the US border, which is probably what Fran picked up on the grapevine. Chandra sure gets around, doesn't she?
A question from a reader:
I've dug around a little on your site, and haven't found anything in your "Commentary" about this, though you may be able to point me to the relevant webpage. Have you dealt with the "science" of graphology — the determination of a person's character by analysing their handwriting? I have not encountered this here in Canada, but my recollection from reading an article in the newspaper a little while back was that it had become extremely popular in France, to the point where job-applicants were often forced to produce a handwriting sample to prospective employers. So, my question is twofold: (1) is this really a popular practice? (2) can any information about a person (besides their handedness) really be gleaned from their writing, or is this, as I suspect, merely another pseudoscience?
Yes, this is a popular delusion and a pseudoscience, and it is used not only in France, but many other European countries as well. In Israel it's popular, and in South Africa. In the USA, if it were discovered that such quackery were being used in employment procedures, I'm sure we'd have a major celebration among lawyers.
Some years ago, when I was the host of an all-night radio show in New York City, a famous graphologist, Nadya Olyanova, appeared on one of my discussion programs. Before the show she asked me for a sample of my signature, and wanted to obtain one of the famous American escape artist Harry Houdini. I told her that I could supply both, and sent my secretary Mickey to my apartment to get from my collection an autographed photo of Houdini. She was to photocopy the signature for use on that night's show, but she had no time to get to a photocopier, so she merely faked it by copying out the autograph, thereby changing it substantially in slant, style and formation.
When I showed up at the studio that night I saw the bogus Houdini autograph, along with mine, lying on the table. Recognizing that it was nothing like the real one, I left the studio to find Mickey and told her off for being so careless. Then, as now, I could not afford to be accused of playing unfairly.
As we both returned to the studio I saw that Ms. Olyanova had entered and was already studying the bogus signature. Curious, I waited to see what she would say about it, and sat transfixed as she averred that the writing clearly revealed to her the signer's ability to extricate himself from physical situations, along with his knowledge of mechanical devices such as locks. Remarkable, how all that specific information came from a set of just twelve letters....
When the radio program went "on the air" a few minutes later, I at once made it clear that I was highly doubtful of the claims of graphology. Nadya immediately became very defensive and said some pretty hard things to me. Before I could tell her about the inadvertent imposture that had occurred, she walked off the show in a huge huff with both signatures in hand. I had no notion that she intended to make use of them.
Soon afterwards, as I understand, Ms. Olyanova wrote a book which included both of those signatures along with her detailed analyses of them. Her "reading" for my signature was quite unflattering — she may have been right — while that of Houdini's — or rather, Mickey's — signature, glowed with marvelous revelations about show business and derring-do, along with references to his ability as an illusionist and escape artist. Is it any wonder that I tend to be skeptical about graphology?
On my 1991 U.K. TV series for Granada, "James Randi, Psychic Investigator," I tested the abilities of Britain's number one graphologist, Duncan McIntosh. He was to match five samples of handwriting to five women who were from very different professions — computer specialist, secretary, artist, farmer, and salesperson, after interviewing them and examining the randomized samples. Mr. McIntosh had described this as the sort of thing he could do with great accuracy. As the laws of chance alone would dictate, he got one right out of five.
John Beck, secretary of the National Society of Graphologists in the U.K. told me that there were "only 4 or 5 true graphologists" in that country. He did not say whether Mr. McIntosh was one of that select group. Said Beck, those few are so accurate that "sometimes they can tell what a person had for breakfast that morning." I fail to see the advantage in this specific feat, nor how it might show up in handwriting — except for a bit of egg-yolk on the writing paper, perhaps — but I agree that it would be an impressive accomplishment. Graphology, Beck told me, is "the most precise of the 'ologies'", but has a problem in the test that McIntosh had suggested we perform, because "99 percent of persons in the U.K. are not in the right jobs." He also told me that graphology is "a brand of psychology." If so, I will have to have another serious look at psychology.
It seems that graphologists, in common with astrologers and other similar "experts," can disagree. Mr. Beck felt that Duncan is incorrect in saying that, for example, an open "o" in handwriting signifies an open mouth, and thus a gabby person. Beck liked to think that it indicates "curiosity and shyness." My, my, but this must indeed be a difficult art to master. Perhaps impossible....?
Reader Edward Flaherty quotes from last week's statement by UFO authority George A. Filer re the testimony of over twenty government employees:
These persons have indicated they are willing to swear under oath in front of Congress that they are telling the truth. If they perjure themselves they can go to jail and forfeit all retirement pay and allowances.
Edward opines:
In addition to your comment on this quotation, I would add that those under oath on this subject face no credible fear of perjury. If they are right about the cover-up, then they have told the truth and no perjury has occurred, by definition. If they lie about a cover-up they know does not exist, then they also have no fear of a perjury conviction because it is impossible to prove the government isn't involved in a UFO cover-up, which is what it would take to show that the witness perjured himself. Thus, Mr. Filer's claim that his witnesses are credible because they are willing to risk a perjury charge is bogus because no such risk exists and therefore no credibility can flow to them from that source.
Crow-eating time. Reader Steve Metzer has pointed out — to the dismay of myself and the disappointment of Martin Gardner — that the "eleventh triangle" that we thought had been discovered by Michael P. Allen in Jaime Arbona's solution to the Ten Triangles puzzle, while certainly a triangle, is not the eleventh, because figures # 6 and #9 are identical. So, Jaime didn't miss this at all; I missed seeing what Steve just pointed out.... I responded to him: "Damn! You're exactly correct, of course....! I thought we had something going there. I could lie, and say it was a test, but it was just a garden-variety goof. Time to type up the confession. Thanks, Steve."
Please pass the crow. I'm over here still standing in the corner with Allen and the other folks.....
The match-arranging of last week brought us many correct answers. In fact, Matthew H. Fields was the first one to solve it, and he did so in the first hour of the new page going up, when the illustration had been inadvertently omitted! Way to go, Matt! Here are all three configurations — that is, the ones I expected. John S. Burns, Sr., came up with a second "4 units" solution in which the second square is taken out going up, rather than to the left! (see the 4th illustration) Several of you tried to do the "3 units" solution" by just taking out 3 squares horizontally, but that just can't be done.....!
The puzzle for this week is related. Again using 12 matches, and assigning a length of one unit to each match, arrange the matches to form a figure of two units area. No, you may not go into three dimensions by stacking them! And you can't break or omit any matches, and you have to show how you obtained the configuration. So there!
