Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[SkeptInq@aol.com]

CSICOP in the NEWS

 April 20, 2000

 IN THIS ISSUE:

 March 25, 2000, Sentinel, Orlando, FL (syndication) "Power of prayer or
medicine?"
 March 31, 2000, Arkansas Times, Little Rock, AR "The Arkansas Reporter:
Exposing the crazy therapies"
 April 2, 2000, Parade Magazine "Ask Marilyn"
 April 4, 2000, National Post, Canada "How ideas are like viruses"
 April 10, 2000, Morning News, Dallas, TX "Is the Truth Out There?"

 Power of prayer or medicine?

 March 25, 2000--Sentinel, Orlando, FL

 The Philadelphia Inquirer's David O'Reilly reports on the "miraculous cure"
of Amy Wall, a young girl deaf from birth until her family prayed to Mother
Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia nun deceased for 38 years and recently
approved for sainthood in by Pope John Paul II.

 In this now syndicated article, O'Reilly turns to Joe Nickell for his expert
opinion on the validity of miracle claims:

 "Conjecture is the problem with all apparent 'miracles,' argues Joe Nickell,
a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine and the author of In Search of a
Miracle (Prometheus Press, paperback edition, 1998), in which he scrutinizes
a variety of alleged miracle claims, but finds none that he can
satisfactorily attribute to divine intervention.

 "To assign a causal link between prayers to a saint and a medical cure, said
Nickell, a scientist would have to set time limits for possible healings,
examine the rate of cure among those for whom no prayers were said, 'and
demonstrate that such cures never happen to people who don't pray to Catholic
saints.'"


 The Arkansas Reporter: Exposing the crazy therapies

 March 31, 2000--Arkansas Times, Little Rock, AR

 Reporter Doug Smith writes on the work of Dr. Jeffery M. Lohr, professor of
psychology at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Lohr is president
of the Science and Pseudoscience Review Special Interest Group of the
Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy. Lohr and his group are
fighting what is described as a 'rearguard action' against pseudoscientific
practices in the mental health field. (Visit the group's web site at
www.pseudoscience.org.)

 In his article, Doug Smith cites the fact that the Lohr is co-author of an
article on Thought Field Therapy (TFT) in the March April issue of SI, "which
calls itself 'the magazine for science and reason,' and is published by an
international organization, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of
Claims of the Paranormal."

 Ask Marilyn

 April 2, 2000--Parade Magazine

 A writer from New York, NY asks Marilyn "How come we only use a small
percentage of our brains?" Marilyn assures us that it's nonsense, and quotes
Skeptical Inquirer's own Benjamin Radford to close the case: "…Radford,
writing for the Skeptical Inquirer, sums it up very well: 'Have you ever
heard a doctor say, '…but luckily, when the bullet entered his skull, it only
damaged the 90% of his brain he didn't use?' Of course not.'"

 All this goes to show that amount of the grey matter we use in thinking is a
matter of choice, not necessity.

 How ideas are like viruses

 April 4, 2000--National Post, Canada

 Writer Michel LeGault cites Skeptical Inquirer in his story on the new field
of memetics, an investigation of human culture based on the theory that bits
of culture-memes-evolve, replicate and compete in ways roughly analogous to
genes.

 LeGault notes that "A recent article in Skeptical Inquirer mentions memes as
a possible cause for panic beliefs, such as Y2K and the millennium anxiety."

 As the creationists like to say, "Be fruitful and multiply."

 Is the Truth Out There?

 April 10, 2000--Morning News, Dallas, TX

 Science  writer Alexandra Witze covered the skeptical side of the American
Physical Society's March Meeting in Minneapolis. Witze quotes Bob Park and
Joel Achenbach, and William Iacono all of whom participated in the APS press
conference on pseudoscience trends.

 CSICOP's Joe Nickell gets the last word in Witze's article: "Joe
Nickell…noted that science is all about answering difficult questions. 'We
think mysteries are not to be dismissed or fostered,' he said, 'but carefully
investigated.'"

 Well, OK, Joe didn't exactly get the last word. Witze mentions websites one
can go to for information on this topic-including CSICOP's web site,
www.csicop.org.

 030

 Kevin Christopher
 Public Relations Director
 CSICOP/Skeptical Inquirer
 (716) 636-1425 ext. 224
 SIKevinC@aol.com