Re: CSICOP Fellows on Hauntings, Alt. Medicine, Psychics, UFOs,
SkeptInq@aol.com
Wed, 14 Oct 1998 12:45:44 EDT
CSICOP FELLOWS AND CONSULTANTS ON HAUNTINGS, ALT. MEDICINE, PSYCHICS, UFOS,
AND THE POWER OF BELIEF
AMHERST, N.Y.-- Fellows and consultants of the Committee for the Scientific
Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) are available for media
comment on the topics listed above as well as many others. They may be
reached through Matt Nisbet, CSICOP Public Relations Director at 716-636-1425
X219.
CSICOP is an international network of scientists, researchers and academics
devoted to the scientific investigation and evaluation of claims of the
paranormal and pseudoscience. CSICOP's current roster of fellows includes
five Nobel laureates as well as Stephen Jay Gould, Jill Tarter, Bill Nye "The
Science Guy" and Steve Allen. CSICOP publishes the highly acclaimed Skeptical
Inquirer, The Magazine for Science and Reason.
<A HREF="http://www.csicop.org/">http://www.csicop.org/</A>
**Hauntings**
Robert Baker, Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Baker
is an expert on the power of suggestion and discusses psychological reasons
for belief in ghosts.
Joe Nickell, CSICOP Senior Research Fellow. Nickell has investigated ghost
claims for more than twenty-five years and has never found a haunted place,
only haunted minds. He is author of _Entities_ and _Secrets of the
Supernatural_.
**Alternative Medicine**
Wallace Sampson MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University,
Editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, the only peer-
reviewed science journal to focus exclusively on alternative medicine.
Stephen Barrett, MD, Author or editor of more than thirty books on
alternative medicine, member of the National Council Against Health Fraud,
publisher of www.quackwatch.com a consummate web guide to alternative medicine
claims. He is also the editor of Nutrition Forum.
Barry Beyerstein, Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University.
Research focuses on why people believe in bogus therapies.
**Psychics**
Ray Hyman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon at Eugene.
Leading expert on laboratory research on psychic ability. Selected as
independent reviewer of the Defense Department's twenty year project to use
remote viewing for spying purposes.
Joe Nickell, CSICOP Senior Research Fellow, Paranormal investigator who has
tracked countless cases of psychic sleuths. Also expert on psychic mediums
like James Van Praagh and James Edward. Author or editor of fifteen books on
investigation.
Richard Wiseman, Senior Research Fellow in Psychology at the University of
Hertfordshire, England. His laboratory specializes in research of psychic
claims.
**UFOs**
Phil Klass, Washington, DC-based aerospace writer and engineer, considered
the foremost skeptical investigator of UFO claims. Author of multiple books
on the topic.
James McGaha, Retired Air Force Major and Director of Grasslands Observatory
in Tucson, Arizona. Expert on UFO sightings. Contact McGaha regarding last
year's much publicized "Phoenix lights."
Robert Sheaffer, San Joseo based Skeptical Inquirer columnist. Author of
several books on UFOs.
Robert Bartholomew, Professor of Psychology at James Cook University in
Australia, contributes a recent article to Skeptical Inquirer that looks back
on the Orson Welles "War of the Worlds" hoax.
Joe Nickell, CSICOP Senior Research Fellow. Expert on alien abduction and
alien implant claims. Contact Nickell regarding Whitley Streiber's latest
book _Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us_.
**The Power of Belief**
Paul Kurtz, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at SUNY-Buffalo and founding
chair of CSICOP. A philosopher of science and religion, Kurtz outlines
reasons for why people believe in the paranormal and traces paranormal beliefs
from Uri Geller back to pre-Biblical times. See his critically acclaimed book
_Transcendental Temptation_. Kurtz is one of the most visible leaders of
skepticism in the world.
James Alcock, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. Alcock's
research has focused on psychological reasons for belief, and he is
contributor of the classic Skeptical Inquirer article "The Belief Engine."
CONTACT:
Matthew Nisbet
716-636-1425 x219
SINISBET@AOL.COM