Skeptical Inquirer — Volume 29.5
September / October 2005
Beware of Quacks at the WHO: Objecting to the WHO Draft Report on Homeopathy
by Cees N.M. Renckens, Tom Schoepen, and Willem Betz
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Special Report
Even though the World Health Organization (WHO) has no international power, it still enjoys great authority all over the world.
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Beware of Poltergeists
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Notes on a Strange World
Poltergeist is a German word that literally means "noisy ghost." It is, in fact, believed that poltergeists...
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Bill Nye Launches ‘The Eyes of Nye’
by Kim Stewart
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
Bill Nye is a 1977 graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and was taught by Carl Sagan.
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Deadly Rituals: Nun Dies During Convent Exorcism
by Ben Radford
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
An exorcism at a convent in me small Romanian town of Tanacu resulted in the death of Maricica Irina Cornici...
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The Elixir of Life: Green Tea or Red Wine?
by William H. Baarschers
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
Green tea, steeped in an ancient civilization, conquered the West because of its supposed health effects.
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Eloquent but Gloomy
by Ralph Estling
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Forum
I've always recalled with fondness the scene in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal where the knight and...
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Famous ‘Psychic Healer’ Arrested in Toronto
by Kim Stewart
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
On June 14, 2005, police in Toronto, Canada, arrested a self-proclaimed "psychic healer" named Alex Orbito.
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Gallup Poll Shows that Americans’ Belief in the Paranormal Persists
by David Park Musella
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
Despite the best efforts of CSICOP and other skeptical organizations, the results of a poll conducted June 6 through 8, 2005...
The God of Eth
by Stephen Law
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
Are the usual religious defenses of belief in God really up to the job? A dialogue.
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Isaac Newton, Astrologer?
by Ben Radford
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Skeptical Inquiree
Are astrologers correct in saying that Isaac Newton believed in, and practiced, astrology?
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Italian Skeptics Debunk Crop Circle Radiation Claim
by The Editors
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
Researchers from CICAP have published a scientific paper titled Balls of Light: The Questionable Science of Crop Circles.
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Italy’s ‘Miracle’ Relics
by Joe Nickell
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Investigative Files
In October 2004, after participating in the Fifth World Skeptics Congress in Abano Terme, Italy—near Padua, where Galileo...
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‘Jane Doe’ Recovered Memory Lawsuit Appeal
by Kim Stewart
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
SI published a two-part article in 2002 questioning psychologist David L. Corwin's use of a single case study as...
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Letters to the Editor
by The Editors
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Letters to the Editor
Responses to the May / June 2005 Skeptical Inquirer, Testing 'The Girl with X-Ray Eyes'
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Mystical Experiences: Magnetic Fields or Suggestibility?
by Joe Nickell
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
Some skeptics have embraced Persinger's studies which supposedly demonstrate that electromagnetic stimulation of the brain...
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Obesity Epidemic? Elixirs of Life? Where’s the Truth?
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
From the Editor
Are we in the midst of an obesity epidemic? And if so, what does that mean for our health, really?
Obesity: Epidemic or Myth?
by Patrick Johnson
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
New evidence shows that the obesity epidemic is not as bad as we have been led to believe.
On Problems with Near-light-speed Travel
by Dave Thomas
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
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Palm Readers, Stargazers, and Scientists: A Critique of Futurism
by Richard L. Miller and Emily Balcetis
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
Scientific Futurism is not that different from psychic futurism. It serves many of the same purposes and is subject to many...
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PBS Series Nova to Feature ‘Einstein’s Big Idea’
by The Editors
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
On Tuesday, October 11, 2005, the PBS series Nova will broadcast an episode titled "Einstein's Big Idea," which will not only...
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The Power and Perils of Metaphors in Science
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Thinking About Science
Humans apparently cannot avoid thinking, at least occasionally, by images and parallels to already known situations.
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Questioning the Obesity Myth
by Ben Radford
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Book Review
Review of The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health. By Paul Campos.
Special Relativity after 100 Years
by John Geohegan
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
Special relativity has been phenomenally successful, but its nonintuitive nature has made it difficult for us to absorb.
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Statistics of the Natasha Test: Response to Concerns and Questions
by Ray Hyman
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Follow-up
The television program The Girl with the X-ray Eyes has appeared on the Discovery Channel in Europe and Asia.
Sylvia Browne’s Latest: Ghost-Written?
by Joe Nickell
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Book Review
Review of the book by Sylvia Brown
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These Files May Be ‘Real-Life’—But Is She Really ‘Psychic’?
by Gary Posner
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Book Review
Review of A Mind for Murder: The Real-Life Files of a Psychic Investigator. By Noreen Renier with Naomi Lucks.
Tom Cruise, Scientology Bash Psychiatry; APA Fires Back
by Amanda Chesworth
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
“It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views...”
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Tom Cruise, Scientology Bash Psychiatry; APA Fires Back
by Amanda Chesworth
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
News & Comment
It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter...
The Twin Paradox
by Dave Thomas
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
Thomas explains the twin paradox of special relativity.
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An Unusual Twist in Testing Media Psychics
by Wendy Grossman
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Forum
It seemed hardly unusual to be asked to debate a psychic for a TV documentary "exploring spirituality in Britain..."
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We Can Still Learn Lessons from Einstein’s Watershed Year
by Gary L. Bennet
Volume 29.5, September / October 2005
Article
This year marks the 100th anniversary of one of the most creative years in science, a year in which five extraordinary...
