The Skeptic

Magazine Overview

Title: The Skeptic
Issue: Volume 6, Number 12
Date: December 1992
Publisher: The North Texas Skeptics
Country: USA
Language: English

This issue of The Skeptic, the newsletter of the North Texas Skeptics, presents a diverse range of articles examining various aspects of skepticism, pseudoscience, and media criticism. The issue includes a report on a local radio appearance by a skeptic, a detailed account of the 1992 CSICOP conference, an in-depth critique of homeopathy, and a review of a pessimistic environmental book.

A Skeptic Makes a Ripple in the Dallas Airwaves

By John Thomas, this article recounts the author's experience hosting a "skeptic's hour" on KGBS radio in Dallas. Initially invited to discuss faith-healing, psychic powers, astrology, and graphology, Thomas's appearances became a weekly feature. He covered topics like astrology, cold reading, and creationism. The segment was cut short when the station replaced the local morning show with Morton Downey Jr. Thomas reflects on talk radio's role in shaping societal conversations and the challenge of injecting skeptical viewpoints into this popular medium. He notes that while audiences tune in for entertainment, there is a place for intelligent debate if issues are presented in an understandable way, focusing on why people believe certain things rather than just technical implausibility.

Conference Report

Special to The Skeptic, by Jim Lippard, this report details the 1992 CSICOP conference, "Fairness, Fraud, and Feminism: Culture Confronts Science," hosted by the North Texas Skeptics. The conference featured panels on multicultural approaches to science, gender issues, fraud, crashed saucers, and the paranormal in China. Paul Kurtz, CSICOP chairman, discussed different forms of skepticism. The "Multicultural Approaches to Science" panel, moderated by Eugenie Scott, included speakers like Diana Marinez, who argued for the importance of multicultural education in science to make it more relevant and motivate students, and Joseph Dunbar, who debunked "Myths of Melanin." Bernard Ortiz de Montellano critically examined the "African-American Baseline Essays," a collection of Afrocentric claims about ancient Egyptian science and paranormal abilities.

An unofficial session featured Ole Anthony, a critic of televangelists, who spoke about legal tactics used by Robert Tilton against him and his group's efforts to change FCC rules regarding verifiable claims on broadcast media. Anthony stated that fraud is not protected by the Constitution.

Healthy Skepticism: Medical "Pathies"

By Tim Gorski, M.D., this is the first in a series on "alternative medicine." Gorski critically examines homeopathy, calling it a pseudoscience invented by Samuel Hahnemann. He explains its core principles: diseases are recognized as symptoms of 'psora' (an itch), like cures like, and extreme dilutions of substances are used as remedies. Gorski highlights the scientific implausibility of homeopathic remedies, particularly the idea that a substance can have an effect when no molecule of it is likely present, and the reliance on "energies" or "vibrations" transmitted through "succussion" (shaking). He dismisses studies showing statistically significant effects as potentially due to chance and notes that other trials show no benefit over placebo.

The article also discusses the "Remembering Water" Caper, referring to Jacques Benveniste's controversial 1988 claim that extreme dilutions of an antibody could affect cells, which was later refuted. Gorski points out that even if Benveniste's claims were true, they would not support homeopathy's core principles. He criticizes the FDA's recognition of the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, which has allowed homeopathic "drugs" to be sold without rigorous safety and efficacy testing, effectively making homeopathy medical quackery.

Pro-Quackery Bill Now Law

This section reports on the passage of Utah Senator Orrin Hatch's Health Freedom Act of 1992. Drafted with the help of the health food industry, this legislation is seen as effectively ending the FDA's ability to protect consumers from fraudulent health products, giving "quacks" more freedom to promote their "natural and nutritional" products with claims of "scientific evidence."

The Third Eye

By Pat Reeder, this humorous piece begins with a confession about strange occurrences around November 21st, attributing them to his appearance on Glen Mitchell's talk show on KRLD. Reeder played the 1974 Uri Geller album, which he describes as consisting of Geller's poetry and orchestral tracks, and which supposedly could induce listeners to bend forks and make watches tick. Reeder jokingly blames himself for any such occurrences, noting that the album's liner notes disclaim responsibility. He concludes that listening to the record is more likely to cause brain melting than fork bending.

The article then shifts to a report from the Weekly World News about a politically active space alien who allegedly gave Bill Clinton a four-minute flying saucer ride to Washington. The report quotes "UFO expert Nathaniel Dean."

Up a tree: a skeptical cartoon

By Laura Ainsworth, this cartoon depicts a bird reading about a successful "animal psychic" who claims to read parrots' minds telepathically. The bird's thought bubble expresses that if the psychic could truly know what it was thinking, it would be "highly insulted."

The End of Affluence

Reviewed by R. A. Dousette, this section critiques Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich's 1974 book, "The End of Affluence." The reviewer finds the book, initially boring, to be a "comic work" in retrospect due to its numerous failed predictions. Ehrlich's book presents a pessimistic view of the future, predicting global disasters due to overpopulation and resource scarcity, and offering advice for survival. The review highlights Ehrlich's specific predictions, such as protein shortages by the 1970s/1980s, energy shortages before 1985, and a massive die-off from starvation. It also criticizes his views on the economy, political power, and his advocacy for an "odd-day - even-day gas distribution" and stockpiling of birth control pills.

The reviewer points out "innumeracies" in the book, such as unspecified percentage increases in oil company profits and a misleading statistic about income disparity in Brazil. Ehrlich's critique of nutritional and medical claims is noted, with the reviewer ironically observing that Ehrlich fails to apply his own advice to his own claims. The review concludes that the book is a catalog of failed predictions, with potential problems magnified into certain disasters, and that Ehrlich's pessimistic vision has been updated and postponed in later works.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue of The Skeptic revolve around the critical examination of pseudoscientific claims, the role of media in disseminating information (and misinformation), and the importance of scientific literacy. The newsletter consistently promotes a skeptical viewpoint, debunking claims in areas like alternative medicine, psychic phenomena, and unsubstantiated scientific theories. The editorial stance is clearly in favor of evidence-based reasoning and critical thinking, as demonstrated by the detailed critiques of homeopathy, the discussion of multicultural pseudoscience, and the review of Paul Ehrlich's predictive failures. The newsletter aims to inform its readers about the prevalence of such claims and provide them with the tools to evaluate them skeptically.