North Texas Skeptic - Vol 09 No 01 - 1995

Magazine Overview

Title: The Skeptic
Issue: Volume 9 Number 1
Date: January 1995
Publisher: The North Texas Skeptics
Country: USA
Language: English

This issue of The Skeptic, the newsletter of The North Texas Skeptics, focuses on two distinct articles that explore common misconceptions and the application of skeptical inquiry to unusual claims.

Article 1: Heavy Boots

Author: John Blanton

This article, forwarded from the Internet, highlights a perceived decline in science education, particularly concerning basic physics principles. The author, John Blanton, expresses concern that a story he received indicates a significant lack of understanding among students.

The core of the article revolves around a series of informal surveys and quizzes conducted by a group of Teaching Assistants (TAs) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The TAs were reportedly dismayed by the responses they received regarding fundamental concepts of gravity and motion on the Moon.

The "Heavy Boots" Quiz:

The TAs devised a two-part quiz. The first question asked respondents what would happen if they let go of a pen on the Moon: a) float away, b) float where it is, or c) fall to the ground. Later, they asked the same group why the APOLLO astronauts didn't float away while walking on the Moon.

Alarmingly, many respondents displayed a lack of understanding. For the pen question, a significant portion did not choose 'fall to the ground.' When asked about the astronauts, common incorrect explanations included "heavy boots" or that they were "anchored" or wearing "lead-weighted boots." Some even suggested the Moon had a weak atmosphere providing minimal gravity.

Further Investigations:

Undeterred, the TAs extended their inquiry to their own physics classes. In a physical science class, out of 18 respondents, 8 thought the pen would float away, 5 thought it would float where it is, and 5 said it would drop. Explanations for why astronauts didn't float away included being "anchored to their hip with a rope" or that the Moon had a "certain amount of atmosphere" providing a "minute gravitational effect."

Even in a physics class (Physics 324 – Modern Physics for Engineers), students responded that the Moon's gravity was "negligible" and, being a vacuum, the pen would "float where it is." Another physics class (Physics 221 – First Semester Calculus-based Introductory Physics) stated that "external forces" would attract the pen and that there "isn't gravity on the moon as there is on earth so the pen won't drop."

The author laments that this lack of understanding, which should be grasped in grades four through six, persists into university. He attributes this to a societal reliance on received knowledge from entertainment and authority figures, rather than rigorous independent thinking.

Science-by-Mail Program:

John Blanton also briefly mentions his involvement with the Science-by-Mail program, an initiative that connects science mentors with local schools. He finds it a valuable experience for both students and mentors and encourages others to look into it.

Quiz Answers:

The article concludes by providing the correct answers to the quiz:
1. The pen would fall to the ground (on the Moon's surface).
2. The question of how astronauts got back to Earth is posed as a follow-up to the flawed reasoning presented.

Article 2: Is Raw Meat Conscious?

Author: Bernard Leikind
Reprinted from: Skeptic, the magazine of the Skeptics Society

This article details a personal experiment conducted by Dr. Bernard J. Leikind, a member of the Skeptic Board and known for his investigations into unusual phenomena, including firewalking.

The Firewalking Experiment:

Dr. Leikind participated in a week-long program at Tolly Burkan's Firewalking Institute for Research and Education in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The program involved various demonstrations of "mind over matter," including bending steel rebar and driving needles through flesh, which the author describes as "cheap tricks and self-mutilation."

The climax of the program was firewalking. Participants walked across beds of hot embers. Dr. Leikind himself walked across the coals for a television series called "Forces Beyond."

The Steak Test:

To scientifically test the proposition that firewalkers protect themselves through mental preparation, Dr. Leikind proposed an experiment. Tolly Burkan suggested that Dr. Leikind be blindfolded and walked across the embers. Dr. Leikind declined, suggesting Burkan do it himself, which Burkan also declined.

Ultimately, Dr. Leikind decided to strap two top round steaks to his feet. The steaks were warmed to body temperature by firewalking ladies carrying them under their clothes for an hour to simulate a "cooling" effect. The experiment aimed to determine if the steaks, through some form of "mental preparedness," could prevent burns.

Results and Conclusion:

The steaks, despite their trek across the fiery embers, emerged "uncooked and unmarked." The author sarcastically concludes that this demonstrates the steaks had "sufficient consciousness and confidence to protect themselves from the heat." He humorously notes that he will leave this experiment off his resume.

An editor's note clarifies that "beef steaks are not the same as human feet."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

This issue of The Skeptic strongly advocates for critical thinking, scientific literacy, and a skeptical approach to extraordinary claims. The "Heavy Boots" article serves as a stark warning about the erosion of basic scientific understanding, even at the university level, and the dangers of accepting information passively. The "Is Raw Meat Conscious?" article exemplifies the skeptical method by subjecting a pseudoscientific practice (firewalking) to a controlled, albeit unconventional, experiment. The magazine's stance is clearly in favor of evidence-based reasoning and the rigorous application of logic, even when dealing with seemingly absurd propositions. The overall tone is one of concern for the state of public understanding of science, coupled with a commitment to debunking pseudoscience and promoting rational thought.