Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 10-12-99
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Tue, 12 Oct 1999 10:06:57 EDT
Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 10-12-99
Visit the CSICOP and Skeptical Inquirer Magazine website at
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In this week's SI DIGEST:
--CFI WEST Sponsors Lecture by The X-Files' "The Smoking Man"
--NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW: The Science of The X-Files
--SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: The Science of Polygraphs
--SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: The False Crisis of Science Education
--NPR: Science Friday Interviews John Horgan
--NY TIMES: Health Business Thrives on Unproven Treatments
--NY TIMES: Can Neurobics Do for the Brain What Aerobics Does for the Lungs?
--NY TIMES: Israel's Y2K Problem
--TIME: The End of Neuroscience? New Books Says No.
--LA TIMES: New Mexico Approves "Evolution Only"
--NY TIMES: What Fuels Progress in Science? Sometimes a Feud.
CFI WEST SPONSORS LECTURE BY X-FILES' 'THE SMOKING MAN'
X-FILES STAR TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST PARANOIA AND THE PARANORMAL
The X-Files actor William B. Davis, who plays the sinister
"Cigarette-Smoking Man" in the hit TV series, is to criticize public
gullibility and paranoia in a special meeting at the University of Southern
California, on Thursday, October 21, at 7.30 p.m. Davis' talk, titled "A Look
at Skepticism through X-Files Eyes," will be delivered to a joint meeting of
the Center for Inquiry and the student CFA group at the University of
Southern California. The meeting, in room 123 of the Seeley G. Mudd Building,
is open to the public and will cost $6, or $3 with valid student I.D.
The X-Files has been criticized for its role in promoting belief in
government conspiracies and cover-ups of alien invasions and paranormal
phenomena. At the center of all The X-Files' conspiracies is "The
Cigarette-Smoking Man." Despite his role as the most famous "conspirator" in
America, Davis will speak about the dangers of uncritical belief in
conspiracies, pseudo-science and the paranormal. He will examine whether
television, and The X-Files in particular, should be blamed for the public's
increasing hostility to critical thinking and orthodox science.
Matt Cherry, executive director of the Center for Inquiry, commented, "The
X-Files has generated a tidal wave of belief in the paranormal, at the same
time as creating a paranoid fear about our own government. Davis will explain
how critical thinking and the scientific method can help us find a happy
medium between gullibility and paranoia."
William B. Davis is a distinguished actor and director. In addition to
numerous TV and film appearances, Davis is the former Artistic Director of
the National Theatre School (in Canada) and of the Vancouver Playhouse Acting
School. He is currently the director of The William Davis Centre for Actor's
Study.
NY TIMES BOOKS REVIEW: THE SCIENCE OF THE X-FILES
THE REAL SCIENCE BEHIND THE X-FILES
Microbes, Meteorites, and Mutants.
By Anne Simon.
318 pp. New York:
Simon & Schuster. $25.
Reviewed by Jerry A. Coyne, professor of ecology and evolution at the
University of Chicago.
...''The Real Science Behind the X-Files'' uses specific episodes as
springboards for broader discussion. Many of Simon's lessons begin with
questions about plausibility. Can science possibly enable humans to
regenerate their heads, successfully freeze, rethaw and cure the terminally
ill or produce smallpox-containing pollen that when eaten by bees turns them
into lethal flying syringes? Although each question involves forays into
several fields of science, Simon manages to deliver a palatable and
surprisingly large dose of information with each episode. Many of her
examples, in fact, are more compelling than the series' convoluted plots.
It's scary to imagine aliens inhabiting our bodies, but consider the
authentic tale of a parasitic flatworm mentioned by Simon.
To read the full article, go to
http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/10/10/reviews/991010.10coynet.html
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCE--THE SCIENCE OF POLYGRAPHS
October 1999
Tim Beardsley
IN FOCUS
A polygraph screening program raises questions
about the science of lie detection
In earlier centuries, claims of witchcraft may have led to a witch-hunt.
Today, in the U.S., the sequence has been reversed. Demands in Congress that
someone pay the price for supposedly allowing China to steal nuclear secrets
from Los Alamos National Laboratory have prompted the Department of Energy to
institute polygraph screening to detect spies at three national laboratories
that work on nuclear weapons. The screening will cover Sandia and Lawrence
Livermore national laboratories as well as Los Alamos and may extend to as
many as 5,400 employees. Testing started during the summer for federal
workers and some volunteers employed by the contractors who run the labs.
Routine testing of contractors deemed to have access to critical information
was scheduled to start in October, after a series of public hearings.....
For the full text of the article, go to
http://www.sciam.com/1999/1099issue/1099infocus.html
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: THE FALSE CRISIS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION
Sci Am senior writer W. WAYT GIBBS and freelancer DOUGLAS FOX argue for
skepticism of the recent TIMSS survey that found American students ranking
behind the rest of the world in science and math.
"...The false crisis in science education masks the sad truth that the vast
majority of students are taught science that is utterly irrelevant to their
lives--and that "scientists are a major part of the problem; many think that
the system is a good system because it produced them," argues William F.
McComas of the University of Southern California. 'There is plenty of time
after high school for the scientists-to-be to learn the minute facts of
science,' he says. What they need from the schools, Hurd elaborates, are the
higher-order thinking skills 'to distinguish evidence from propaganda,
probability from certainty, rational beliefs from superstitions, data from
assertions, science from folklore, credibility from incredibility, theory
from dogma.' And opportunity from crisis."
For the full text of the article, go to
http://www.sciam.com/1999/1099issue/1099gibbs.html
NPR: SCIENCE FRIDAY INTERVIEWS JOHN HORGAN
Listen to the RealAudio of the Sept. 24 Science Friday interview with "The
End of Science?" author John Horgan. Go to:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/1999/Sep/hour2_092499.html
Here is a description from the Science Friday web site:
Hour Two: A Conversation with John Horgan
In 1997, writer John Horgan created a stir in the scientific community with
his book "The End of Science." In it, he argued that many of the "pure
science" fields such as particle physics and cosmology were on the wane -
that most of the big discoveries had already been made. Now, in his new book,
"The Undiscovered Mind," Horgan poses another controversial challenge to
science. Neurologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists will ultimately fail
in their quests to understand the inner workings of the brain, Horgan says --
because the brain is complex beyond our ability to comprehend. But what about
recent advances, like the PET scans that allow scientists to monitor the
workings of different areas of the brain? What about researchers in genetics
who constantly seem to be announcing the discovery of another gene that ties
into memory, learning, or behavior? What about new drugs like Prozac? And
what about the computer scientists trying to develop artificial intelligence?
Is brain science a bust? Join Ira Flatow for a conversation with the
ever-controversial John Horgan on this hour of Science Friday.
NY TIMES: HEALTH BUSINESS THRIVES ON UNPROVEN TREATMENTS
Sunday, Oct. 3, 1999
By Gina Kolata and Kurt Eichenwald
...An increasing number of untested treatments are being sold to desperate
patients with ailments like cancer, heart failure and Parkinson's disease.
Today, experimental procedures can be purchased outright from community
hospitals, university medical centers and even from publicly traded
companies. To better understand the workings of this system, The New York
Times examined one of the most widely offered procedures -- bone marrow
transplants for solid tumor cancers like breast cancer. The examination found
that this procedure entered the medical marketplace in the 1980's before
studies to test its effectiveness had even begun. By the time testing was
under way, the business had taken on a life of its own. Patients were
unavailable and tests were delayed for years or had to be abandoned. The
issue arises because medical procedures, like the bone marrow transplants or
new surgical techniques, are not regulated, reflecting the Government's usual
reluctance to interfere with doctors' practice of medicine. By contrast,
Federal rules require that new drugs or devices like a heart valve be proven
safe and effective before being sold to the public.
For the full article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/health/100399cancer-test.html
NY TIMES: CAN 'NEUROBICS' DO FOR THE BRAIN WHAT AEROBICS DOES FOR LUNGS?
Sunday, Oct. 3, 1999
By Abby Ellin
Contending that managers need to make use of "intellectual capital," Dottino
has created what he calls a comprehensive mental literacy program to help
employees unleash their creative energies. "The human being has unlimited
creativity if focused and nurtured properly," he said. And he is far from
alone. Although some neuroscientists dismiss the trend, business people are
increasingly using pop neurology or "neurobics" -- brain teasers, puzzles and
cognitive exercises -- in the belief that mental workouts enhance job
performance, just as aerobic workouts build fitness. "Baloney," said Dr.
Michael Gruber, director of neuro-oncology at New York University Medical
Center, adding there was no scientific evidence to support neurobics.
For the full article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/sunday/100399personal-brain.html
NY TIMES MAGAZINE: ISRAEL'S Y2K PROBLEM
Sunay Oct. 3, 1999
"The fight for Jerusalem isn't just about controlling the history of the
past as a way to justify the present. It's about controlling the history of
the future."
By Jeffrey Goldberg
There are Jews who want to seize the Temple Mount by any means necessary.
And Christians who want to see the Jewish Temple rebuilt — and destroyed to
bring on Armageddon. And Muslims who will never give up the Dome of the Rock.
Will the peace process be stalled by the apocalypse?
For the full text of the article, go to
http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/19991003mag-israel-2000.html
LA TIMES: NEW MEXICO APPROVES "EVOLUTION ONLY."
Sat., October 9, 1999
From LA Times Wire Reports
The New Mexico board of education voted in Santa Fe to head off biblical
creationism teachings by changing the language of state guidelines to make
clear that only evolution belongs in science classes. The board voted, 10 to
1, to take the action, which sponsoring member Marshall Berman said was
needed after a Kansas school board decision in August that opened the door
for creationism by removing evolution as a key concept in the state's
required science curriculum. "What we did here today on teaching good science
was instrumental," Berman said after the vote. New Mexico school board
leaders said this week that they wanted to clarify the curriculum's language
on evolution because some people felt it was too vague and left the door open
for religious alternatives.
For the full story go to:
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/SCIENCE/SCIENCE/topstory.html
TIME: THE END OF NEUROSCIENCE? NEW BOOK SAYS NO.
October 18, 1999 VOL. 154 NO. 16
Mystery Of Consciousness
After years of probing damaged brains, a neuroscientist defines the mind's
awareness
By J. Madeleine Nash
In a new book titled _The Feeling of What Happens_ (Harcourt Brace; $28),
noted neuroscientist Dr. Antonio Damasio not only argues that human
consciousness is comprehensible but also offers an arrestingly original
explanation of its workings. What makes his views so noteworthy is that
they're grounded not in theoretical musings but in years of clinical research
on patients who are epileptic or have suffered brain damage through strokes,
disease or traumatic injuries.
For the full story, go to
http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,32273,00.html
NY TIMES: WHAT FUELS PROGRESS IN SCIENCE? SOMETIMES A FEUD.
September 14, 1999
By James Glanz
...Though you would never know it from the textbooks, beneath the flapping
banners of feuding scientific ideas, as often as not there are feuding
scientists. "You'd think that scientists would have a degree of saintliness
that would be almost unbearable," said Dr. Leon Lederman, a Nobel
Prize-winning physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. "It
doesn't work that way. The competition goes on at all levels -- the
international, the national, the institutional, and finally the guy across
the hall." Like the unhappy families of Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina," which
were all unhappy in different ways, no two scientific rivalries have
precisely the same causes and consequences.
For the full text of the article, go to
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/091499sci-scientific-debate.ht
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