North Texas Skeptic - Vol 12 No 03 - 1998

Magazine Overview

Title: The Newsletter of The North Texas Skeptics
Issue: Volume 12 Number 3
Date: March 1998
Publisher: The North Texas Skeptics
Website: www.ntskeptics.org

This issue of The Newsletter of The North Texas Skeptics features a skeptical examination of the popular phenomenon known as 'The Bible Code,' alongside other miscellaneous reports on paranormal and unusual events.

A Skeptical Look at The Bible Code

This section, written by Danny Barnett, details a lecture presented by Dr. Greg Aicklen, who holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. Aicklen's presentation critically analyzes 'The Bible Code,' a book by reporter Michael Drosnin that claims a special coding sequence within the Torah hides numerous prophecies. Drosnin's book, based on a five-year investigation, suggests that these hidden prophecies are proof of divine guidance, despite Drosnin himself being an atheist.

The premise behind the search for hidden codes, according to Aicklen, is the belief that the Torah contains 'literally all truth' waiting to be discovered. The article explains that the occult Jewish tradition of Kabbalah posits 84 coding schemes in the Torah, one of which Drosnin's book explores. The advancement of computer technology has made such 'number-crunching' feasible.

The specific code discussed is Equidistant Letter Sequencing (ELS), reportedly discovered by Eliyahu Rips and detailed in a paper co-authored with Doron Witzum and Yoav Rosenberg, titled "Equidistant Letter Sequences in the Book of Genesis" (published in Statistical Science, August 1994).

Aicklen illustrates ELS using an English sentence: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." By removing spaces and punctuation, and then applying ELS, specific words can be identified. For example, the Latin word 'bono' (good) can be found with a skip of 2 (every second letter), and 'pore' with a skip of 3. The researchers applied this to the original Hebrew text of the Torah, arranging it in two-dimensional matrices. They acknowledged that 'enormous quantities' of words and expressions could be generated mathematically and that many might occur by chance. However, they also claimed that natural language tends to place related words together, allowing for the testing of 'hidden information' by defining 'distance' between letter sequences.

The process involves defining the 'distance' between words, creating statistics for word proximity, selecting sample word pairs, determining if they are 'unusually close,' and comparing with a control. Witzum, Rips, and Rosenberg reportedly used this method to analyze the Torah against Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' as a control, examining 32 famous personalities from the Encyclopedia of Great Men in Israel. They claimed the death and birth dates found in the Torah were too close to be coincidental, and the results for 'War and Peace' were poorer.

However, Aicklen highlighted criticisms from skeptics like Brendan McKay, Barry Simon, and Dror Bar-Natan. These skeptics argued that ELS is not exclusive to Hebrew and can be found in many languages. They also suggested that Witzum, Rips, and Rosenberg had prior knowledge of successful search parameters and may have 'massaged' their data. McKay, Simon, and Bar-Natan's own attempts using the same methodology reportedly yielded results similar to the Torah for 'War and Peace,' leading them to question if Tolstoy could be considered a prophet.

Further undermining the claims, an audio recording revealed Rips discussing an ELS/Bible Code experiment in May 1985 involving 20 rabbis, 15 of whom were used in the later experiment. Aicklen suggested this constituted 'loading the dice,' tainting the list of names from a statistical viewpoint.

Michael Drosnin's 1997 book, 'The Bible Code,' is criticized for disregarding scientific methodology and dropping many names. Even Witzum, Rips, and Rosenberg reportedly agree that Drosnin's assertions are groundless. Drosnin, however, famously stated in Newsweek, "When my critics find a message about the assassination of a prime minister encrypted in Moby Dick, I'll believe them."

Brendan McKay accepted Drosnin's challenge and found ELS sequences in 'Moby Dick' that appeared to predict the assassinations of Indira Gandhi (India) and Rene Moawad (Lebanon), as well as sequences pointing to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (USA).

An anecdote from the meeting describes an audience member claiming to find ELS sequences for 'clinton, sex, and mon' in an article by Pat Reeder, potentially predicting a scandal involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

Aicklen also presented a hypothetical experiment involving license plate assignments, similar to the Bible Code methodology, to question the randomness and potential for pattern-finding in seemingly random data.

In conclusion, Aicklen stated that evidence for a true Torah code is dubious, that genuine code researchers consider Drosnin's work nonsense, and that the existence or lack of a Torah code does not prove or disprove the existence of God.

The third eye

This column, written by Pat Reeder, covers a variety of miscellaneous news items and observations.

Asteroid Near-Miss: Reeder reports on news that an asteroid predicted to destroy Earth in 2028 was inaccurately reported. NASA calculations later showed the asteroid would miss Earth by 600,000 miles, highlighting the role of accurate math.

Skeptics in the Press: The column notes that skeptics received national press coverage, with people from the Skeptical Inquirer performing symbolic acts (throwing away chain letters, walking under a ladder, smashing mirrors) to promote rational thought.

Scientology: The article mentions a story in George magazine suggesting President Clinton intervened on behalf of Scientologists in Germany. The White House denied this. Reeder also recounts reading a defense of Scientology by Jenna Elfman in US magazine, who advised critics to "read a book" and claimed ignorance about harassment of those leaving the group.

Alien Abduction Special: Reeder discusses the rerun of a UPN special on alien abductions, which presented 'new footage' from 'The McPherson Tapes.' The footage was originally shot for a made-for-TV movie, with actors rehearsing for two weeks, and was later passed off as a documentary.

Loch Ness Monster: News of new photographs of the Loch Ness Monster taken by Richard White is mentioned, with a group of British bookmakers awarding him a prize for the images.

Taiwanese Cult: A group of Taiwanese cultists who moved to Garland, Texas, to await God's arrival in a flying saucer are reported to be law-abiding and making an effort to 'fit in' by wearing cowboy hats.

Princess Diana Miracle: The first claim of a Diana-induced miracle is reported, involving fashion editor Liz Tilberis, who attributed her recovery from ovarian cancer to a phone call from Princess Diana. Two more such miracles would be needed for her to be declared a saint.

Weirdness Index: The column concludes by referencing the 'Weirdness Index' compiled by the British paranormal magazine, the Fortean Times. The index tracks paranormal stories, and the year 1997 was noted as particularly weird, with events like the Heaven's Gate suicides, Princess Diana conspiracy theories, cloned sheep, and increased UFO sightings. Reeder predicts that 1998 will surpass 1997's record.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The North Texas Skeptics, through this newsletter, consistently adopts a skeptical and evidence-based approach to claims of the paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscientific. The primary article on the Bible Code exemplifies this stance by dissecting a popular phenomenon with critical analysis and scientific methodology. The 'Third Eye' column, while covering a range of unusual stories, often frames them with a touch of humor and underlying skepticism, questioning the validity of claims ranging from asteroid predictions to alleged miracles and UFO footage. The editorial stance promotes rational thought, reason, evidence, and logic, as highlighted by the mention of the Skeptical Inquirer's activities. The publication aims to inform its readers about these topics while encouraging a critical perspective.