Firebug Poltergeists | Living on Air? | Smart Pills? | Skepticism in Brazil | Climate Tribalism | Sheeple America?

THE MAGAZINE FOR SCIENCE AND REASON Vol. 44 No. 1 | January/February 2020

Dubious Claims
in Youth
Psychotherapy
Millennials
and Post-Millennials:
Dawning of a New
Age?

Electrohypersensitivity:
Syndrome or Phobia?

Religious Belief
from Dreams?

God Plays
with Atoms

RNA and the

Prebiotic World

Published by the Center for Inquiry with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
 Committee for Skeptical Inquiry www.skepticalinquirer.org
www.csicop.org
Robyn E. Blumner, President and CEO Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow
Barry Karr, Executive Director Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow

Fellows
James E. Alcock,* psychologist, York Univ., Kevin Folta, molecular biologist, professor Scott O. Lilienfeld,* psychologist, Emory Univ., Anthony R. Pratkanis, professor of psychol-
Toronto and chair of Horticultural Sciences Atlanta, GA ogy, Univ. of CA, Santa Cruz
Marcia Angell, MD, former editor-in-chief, Department, University of Florida Lin Zixin, former editor, Science and Donald R. Prothero, paleontologist/geolo-
New England Journal of Medicine Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, SE Technology Daily (China) gist, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician; author; Louisiana Univ. Jere Lipps, Museum of Paleontology, Univ. of County, Los Angeles, CA
Newton, MA Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer, University of California, Berkeley Benjamin Radford, investigator; research
Banachek, professional magician/mentalist, San Francisco Elizabeth Loftus,* professor of psychology, fellow, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
magic consultant/producer Kendrick Frazier,* science writer; editor, Univ. of California, Irvine James “The Amazing” Randi, magician;
Stephen Barrett, MD, psychiatrist; author; Daniel Loxton, author; editor of Junior Skeptic CSICOP founding member; founder, James
consumer advocate, Pittsboro, NC Christopher C. French, professor, De- at Skeptic magazine (US); artist, Vancouver, Randi Educational Foundation
Robert Bartholomew, sociologist, investigative partment of Psychology, and head of the B.C., Canada Milton Rosenberg, psychologist, Univ. of
journalist, Auckland, New Zealand Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Chicago
Willem Betz, MD, professor of medicine, Univ. Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London Atmospheric Sciences and director of the Earth Amardeo Sarma,* chairman, GWUP, Germany
of Brussels Julia Galef, host of the Rationally Speaking Systems Sciences Center, Pennsylvania State Richard Saunders, Life Member, Australian
Irving Biederman, psychologist, Univ. of podcast; cofounder, Center for Applied University Skeptics; educator; investigator; podcaster;
Southern California Rationality, Berkeley, CA David Marks, psychologist, City Univ., London Sydney, Australia
Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di Joe Schwarcz, director, McGill Office for
Susan Blackmore, visiting lecturer, Univ. of Mario Mendez-Acosta, journalist and science
Pavia (Italy); research fellow of CICAP, the Science and Society
the West of England, Bristol writer, Mexico City
Italian skeptics group Eugenie C. Scott,* physical anthropologist;
Sandra Blakeslee, science writer; author; New Maryanne Garry, professor, School of Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, chair, advisor y council , National Center for
York Times science correspondent Psychology, Victoria Univ. of Wellington, Brown Univ. Science Education
Mark Boslough, physicist, Albuquerque, NM New Zealand David Morrison, space scientist, NASA Ames Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI
Henri Broch, physicist, Univ. of Nice, France Research Center Institute, Mountain View, CA
Susan Gerbic, founder and leader of
Jan Harold Brunvand, folklorist; professor Richard A. Muller, professor of physics, Univ. Simon Singh, science writer; broadcaster; UK
Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW)
emeritus of English, Univ. of Utah of California, Berkeley Dick Smith, entrepreneur; publisher; aviator;
project
Mario Bunge, philosopher, McGill Univ., Joe Nickell, senior research fellow, CSI adventurer, Terrey Hills, N.S.W., Australia
Thomas Gilovich, psychologist, Cornell Univ.
Montreal Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Keith E. Stanovich, cognitive psychologist,
David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and re- professor of applied psychology, Univ. of
Sean B. Carroll, molecular geneticist; vice Waalre, the Netherlands
searcher at Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer
president for science education, Howard Lee Nisbet, philosopher, Medaille College Toronto
Institute and chief of breast surgery section,
Hughes Medical Institute, Madison, WI Steven Novella,* MD, assistant professor of Karen Stollznow,* linguist; skeptical inves-
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Thomas R. Casten, energy expert, neurology, Yale Univ. School of Medicine tigator; writer; podcaster
Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first Jill Cornell Tarter, astronomer, SETI Institute,
Hinsdale, IL editor, The Skeptic magazine (UK) Bill Nye, science educator and television host,
John R. Cole, anthropologist; editor, National Nye Labs Mountain View, CA
Susan Haack, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts Carol Tavris, psychologist and author,
Center for Science Education James E. Oberg, science writer
and Sciences, professor of philosophy, Los Angeles, CA
K.C. Cole, science writer; author; professor, University of Miami Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics, director of
Univ. of Southern California’s Annenberg the Vaccine Education Center, the Children’s David E. Thomas,* physicist and mathemati-
Harriet Hall,* MD, physician; investigator, cian, Socorro, NM
School of Journalism Hospital of Philadelphia
Puyallup, WA
John Cook, Center for Climate Change David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, Naomi Oreskes, geologist and professor, Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and
Communication, George Mason University, Departments of the History of Science and director, Hayden Planetarium, New York City
Columbia Univ.
Virginia. Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard Univ., Indre Viskontas, cognitive neuroscientist; TV
Frederick Crews, literary and cultural critic; Terence M. Hines, prof. of psychology, Pace
Univ., Pleasantville, NY Cambridge, MA and podcast host; opera singer,
professor emeritus of English, Univ. of CA, San Francisco, California
Douglas R. Hofstadter, professor of human Loren Pankratz, psychologist, Oregon Health
Berkeley Stuart Vyse, psychologist, former Joanne Toor
understanding and cognitive science, Indiana Sciences Univ.
Richard Dawkins, zoologist, Oxford Univ. Cummings ’50 professor of psychology, Con-
Univ. Robert L. Park, emeritus professor of physics,
Geoffrey Dean, technical editor, Perth, Aus- Univ. of Maryland necticut College
tralia Gerald Holton, Mallinckrodt Professor of
Physics and professor of history of science, Jay M. Pasachoff, professor of astronomy Marilyn vos Savant, Parade magazine con-
Cornelis de Jager, professor of astrophysics, emeritus, Harvard University and director of Hopkins Observatory, tributing editor
Univ. of Utrecht, the Netherlands Williams College Steven Weinberg, professor of physics and
Deborah Hyde, skeptic, folklorist, cultural an-
Daniel C. Dennett, Austin B. Fletcher Profes- thropologist, Editor in Chief, The Skeptic (U.K.) John Paulos, mathematician, Temple Univ. astronomy, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Nobel
sor of Philosophy and director of Center for Clifford A. Pickover, scientist; author; editor, laureate
Cognitive Studies, Tufts Univ. Ray Hyman,* psychologist, Univ. of Oregon
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. E.O. Wilson, Univ. professor emeritus, organis-
Ann Druyan, writer and producer; CEO, Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist mic and evolutionary biology, Harvard Univ.
Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy,
Cosmos Studios emeritus
City Univ. of New York–Lehman College Richard Wiseman, psychologist, Univ. of Hert-
Barry Karr, executive director, Committee for
Sanal Edamaruku, president, Indian Rational- Steven Pinker, cognitive scientist, Harvard Univ. fordshire, England
Skeptical Inquiry, Amherst, NY
ist Association and Rationalist International Massimo Polidoro, science writer; author; Benjamin Wolozin, professor, Department
Edwin C. Krupp, astronomer; director, of Pharmacology, Boston Univ. School of
Edzard Ernst, former professor of complemen- executive director of CICAP, Italy
Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA Medicine
tary medicine, University of Exeter James L. Powell, geochemist; author ; ex-
Kenneth Feder, professor of anthropology, Lawrence Kusche, science writer ecutive director, National Physical Science
Central Connecticut State Univ. Stephan Lewandowsky, psychologist, School Consortium *Member, CSI Executive Council
of Experimental Psychology and Cabot Insti- (Affiliations given for identification only.)
Krista Federspiel, science journalist, expert
on complementary and alternative medicine, tute, Univ. of Bristol, UK
Vienna, Austria.

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Skeptical Inquirer January/February 2020| Vol. 44, No. 1

FEATURES COLUMNS

36 FROM THE EDITOR

The Magnificent Quest .................................... 4
Dubious Claims
in Psychotherapy for Youth NEWS AND COMMENT
Part I: Neurodevelopmental Issues It’s the Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Theater:
A Gala Event in Los Angeles / European
STEPHEN HUPP, JASON TRAVERS, Experts Demand Consistent Proof of Tradi-
LORI MARINO, SCOTT O. LILIENFELD, tional Chinese Medicine / Whither National
CHRISTIAN JARRETT, INDRE VISKON- Geographic? SI Letter Protests Its Natural
TAS, GRANT RITCHEY, CLAY JONES, Healing Remedies Books / Cosmos: Pos-
AND HENRY HUPP sible Worlds to Premier March 9, 2020
/ Science, Philosophy, and a Lifetime of
Reason: A Mario Bunge Centenary Fest-
42 schrift / Carl Zimmer Wins NASW Science
Millennials and Post-Millennials Book Award / IIG Test Report: From Just
—Dawning of a New Age? a Photo, Can Someone Tell If a Person Is
Dead or Alive? / More Americans Report-
Greta Thunberg’s clarion call at the United
Nations offers hope that emerging generations
ing No Religious Affiliation ........................... 5
will use science and reason to address our
planet’s urgent problems. INVESTIGATIVE FILES
Firebug Poltergeists
JOE NICKELL ..................................................... 14
JEANNE GOLDBERG
NOTES ON A STRANGE WORLD
Living on Air? The Crazy Ideas and
47 Consequences of Breatharians
MASSIMO POLIDORO ........................................ 18
Advocacy for a Cognitive
Approach to Electrohypersensitivity REALITY IS THE BEST MEDICINE
Syndrome Smart Pills? Beware the PIED Piper
HARRIET HALL ................................................... 19
Electrohypersensitivity syndrome may have
little to do with actual exposure to electromag-
BEHAVIOR & BELIEF
netic radiation. It instead may be better
Skepticism Blooms in Brazil
understood as a phobia explained by
STUART VYSE..................................................... 22
anxiety disorder mechanisms.

SÉBASTIEN POINT THE SCIENCE OF SCIENCE

COMMUNICATION
Against Climate Change Tribalism:
51 We Gamble with the Future by
Dehumanizing Our Opponents
Religious Belief from Dreams? MATTHEW C. NISBET.......................................... 26
Of the several hypotheses about the origins of re-
ligious belief, dreams and the content of dreams SKEPTICAL INQUIREE
seem to be highly likely sources of such belief. Is America a Sheeple Factory?
BENJAMIN RADFORD......................................... 29
DAVID ZEIGLER
NEW AND NOTABLE ......................................61
INTERVIEW
56
Creationist Funhouse, Episode 32 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR........................... 65
Three: God Plays with Atoms Skepticism about Cancer Screening:
To reconcile inconvenient scientific findings, the REVIEWS
An Interview with
creationists’ god had to make sedimentary rock Scamming the Public by Direct Mail
layers nice and smooth and had to tamper with
Dr. H. Gilbert Welch
TERENCE HINES ..........................................60
atoms to nullify the results of radiocarbon dating. FELIPE NOGUEIRA
A Deal with the Devil by Blake Ellis
STANLEY RICE and Melanie Hicken

What Does It Feel Like to Die?

HARRIET HALL ..........................................................63
RESEARCH REVIEW FORUM What Does It Feel Like to Die? Inspiring

12 59 New Insights from the Experience of Dying

by Jennie Dear
New RNA Research Demonstrates he Climate inside
Prebiotic Possibility Tom Brady’s Pajamas
DAVID W. BALL CRAIG A. FOSTER
 Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Skeptical Inquirer ™

“. . . promotes scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use TH E MAG A ZI N E F OR S C I E N C E AN D RE A S ON

of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.”

EDITOR Kendrick Frazier
DEPUTY EDITOR Benjamin Radford

[ FROM THE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Julia Lavarnway

ASSISTANT EDITOR Nicole Scott

The Magnificent Quest ART DIRECTOR Christopher Fix

WEBMASTER Marc Kreidler

P erhaps it’s the season. Perhaps it’s the start of a new year, a new decade.
Whatever the reason, I find myself full of gratitude.
It sometimes may seem as if everyone has gone bonkers and that fake news,
factless assertions, disinformation, and misinformation have taken over our public
discourse. It’s hard to disagree. We suffer from far too much systematic disregard
PUBLISHER’S REPRESENTATIVE Barry Karr

EDITORIAL BOARD James E. Alcock, Harriet Hall,

Ray Hyman, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Elizabeth Loftus,
Joe Nickell, Steven Novella, Amardeo Sarma,
Eugenie C. Scott, Karen Stollznow, David E. Thomas,
Leonard Tramiel
CONSULTING EDITORS Susan J. Blackmore,
of facts and evidence. But what I am thankful for is that there are still huge legions Kenneth L. Feder, Barry Karr, E.C. Krupp,
of science-minded people out there who strongly resist that trend: They do good Jay M. Pasachoff, Richard Wiseman

science and scholarship themselves, or they support it. They may be motivated by CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Harriet Hall, David Morrison,
Matthew C. Nisbet, Massimo Pigliucci, David E. Thomas,
the curiosity that drives all science. But they know how essential are good infor- Stuart Vyse
mation and skeptical, evidence-based critical thinking to our democratic processes.
Published in association with
They crave a return to a time when reason and rationality were respected as a tool
to decision-making in the public sphere.
CHAIR Edward Tabash
You—our readers, subscribers, and supporters—are primary among them. You
PRESIDENT AND CEO Robyn E. Blumner
seek the scientific perspective on claims and assertions boldly advanced. You treasure CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Barry Karr
skeptical inquiry. You appreciate the nuances in all honest appraisals of competing CORPORATE COUNSEL Nicholas J. Little,
evidence. You value the efforts we all make to sift out the sense from the nonsense Brenton Ver Ploeg

and present it all to you in a clear way to help us all make better judgments. I am SUBSCRIPTION DATA MANAGER Jacalyn Mohr
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Paul Fidalgo
so grateful to all of you.
DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES Timothy S. Binga
I am also grateful to our authors and contributors. And to skeptics and scientific
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RICHARD DAWKINS FOUNDA-
thinkers everywhere. You research, report, investigate, test, analyze, critique, explain, TION FOR REASON & SCIENCE Robyn E. Blumner
and educate. This is not easy, and it comes with few rewards. Our authors do what- DIRECTOR, DIGITAL PRODUCT AND STRATEGY
Marc Kreidler
ever is necessary to ascertain the facts and to help us all understand the realities and
DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
complexities of nature and human behavior. It is a magnificent quest. It is a crucially Jason Lemieux
important quest. I am so grateful to everyone who participates in it and shares the SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
Cody Hashman
results with us. Thank you.
DIRECTOR, TEACHER INSTITUTE
*** FOR EVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE
Bertha Vazquez
The authors in this issue epitomize what I say above. I have space to mention only
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edward Tabash (chair),
two. Jeanne Goldberg, a retired radiologist and writer, previously wrote on our un- David Cowan, Richard Dawkins, Brian Engler,
founded fears of radiation and the politicization of scientific issues. She returns to Kendrick Frazier, Barry A. Kosmin, Y. Sherry Sheng,
Julia Sweeney, J. Anderson Thomson Jr., Leonard
our pages here with a mostly sympathetic examination of millennials and post-mil- Tramiel. Honorary: Rebecca Newberger Goldstein,
Susan Jacoby.
lennials (Generation Z), considering how they might approach all the issues we
are concerned about. Millennials are well-educated (women especially so) digital STAFF Pat Beauchamp, Melissa Braun, Matthew
Cravatta, Lauren Foster, Roe Giambrone, Melissa
natives, who have been strongly affected by both the Great Recession and the forces Myers, Alexander Nicaise, Paul Paulin, Michael Powell,
of globalization and technology. They tend not to be joiners. They tend not to be Vance Vigrass
religious. They are concerned about the environment. They generally like science.
How will this all play out for our future? That’s the big question, but Goldberg sees Firebug Poltergeists | Living on Air? | Smart Pills? | Skepticism in Brazil | Climate Tribalism | Sheeple America?

much reason for hope.

THE MAGAZINE FOR SCIENCE AND REASON Vol. 44 No. 1 | January/February 2020

Unfounded fad psychotherapies for young people abound. Many of them are Dubious Claims
ineffective or even untested; some are harmful. Psychology professor Stephen Hupp in Youth
Psychotherapy

has published a book about these pseudosciences, and in this issue he begins a three- Millennials
and Post-Millennials:
Dawning of a New

part series in which he shares the skeptical insights into them he and his fellow
Age?

Electrohypersensitivity:
Syndrome or Phobia?

contributors have amassed. I am grateful to him for bringing into our pages all these Religious Belief
from Dreams?

scholars and investigators—many familiar to S I readers, some God Plays
with Atoms

new to us—with a series of short takes on everything from craniosacral therapy to RNA and the
Prebiotic World

brain balancing. Just another part of our quest.

—K F
Published by the Center for Inquiry with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

CFI Mission: The Center for Inquiry strives to foster a secular society based on reason, science, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values.
Our Vision: A world where people value evidence and critical thinking, where superstition and prejudice subside, and where science and compassion guide public policy.
Our Values: Integrity, Courage, Innovation, Empathy, Learning, and Wonder.
 [ NEWS AND COMMENT

It’s the Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Theater: A Gala Event in Los Angeles
K F

Leading lights in the worlds of science,

skepticism, and the arts celebrated the
grand opening of the Center for Inquiry
(CFI) West and the inauguration of its
new theater, named for Carl Sagan and
Ann Druyan, in a standing-room-only
event the evening of October 21, 2019.
The theater at CFI West’s new building
in Los Angeles was officially unveiled as
the Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Theater.
Druyan spoke movingly about sci-
ence, reason, truth, her late husband and
collaborator, Carl, and “this great honor”
bestowed by CFI on the two of them. Jim Underdown and Ann Druyan after the unveiling of CFI West’s Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Theater. “Carl would have loved it,”
she told the overflow audience. “Another candle in the dark!” Photo credit: Russell Orrell
The newly remodeled building is
at 2535 W. Temple Street, a few miles
northwest of downtown Los Angeles just Druyan said it was better be done correctly. “None of them
can be B.S.”
off the Hollywood Freeway (U.S. 101). empowering “to be She said the 2020 Cosmos series will
Jim Underdown, executive director of
CFI West, hosted the ceremonies. CFI surrounded by people “depict the awesome beauty” and power
of science, and she hopes it will inspire
CEO and President Robyn Blumner to whom it matters a new generation to appreciate science’s
and CFI Board Chair Eddie Tabash also
spoke, and the center’s bookstore was what’s true.” wonders and values.
formally unveiled as the Eddie Tabash That very day, the New Yorker had
Bookstore. Richard Dawkins and several published online a feature article (it ap-
nels and then in the summer of 2020 on peared in the October 28 printed issue)
other CFI board members attended, as
did actor John de Lancie of Star Trek: Fox channels. It’ll ultimately be shown in that explored the rising appeal of astrol-
The Next Generation fame and comedian 180 countries. Druyan has also written ogy to a younger generation of Ameri-
the companion book for that series. cans looking for meaning in an uncertain
Matt Walsh of Veep.
Sagan gave keynote speeches at two world. There was no skepticism in it.
Sagan and Druyan have long had close
CSICOP conferences, and both talks be- Druyan found this discouraging. “As-
connections to CFI, its Committee for
came cover articles in the S I- trology is another form of prejudice,” she
Skeptical Inquiry (dating back to when
. SI has also published numerous said. “It judges a person on some things
it was CSICOP), and the S
other articles by both Sagan and Druyan. that are completely meaningless.”
I. Both were elected fellows of
“I was a huge admirer of Carl,” Rich- She ended by returning to the mem-
CSI. Druyan was Sagan’s collaborator on
ard Dawkins said from the audience at ory of her husband, Carl. He too was a
the epic thirteen-part 1980 PBS televi-
the October 21 inaugural festivities. “Carl person to whom it mattered deeply “what
sion series Cosmos as well as on their 1997
was a modern Shakespeare.” was true.” She said she misses him every
movie Contact, based on his 1985 novel,
Druyan, in her remarks, thanked day “with every beat of my heart.” She
and coauthor with him of Comet (1985)
Dawkins for that tribute and referred to takes comfort from realizing that “his
and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1992).
Dawkins, in “this dark time” when science influence is even greater now than when
She created the reborn Cosmos series with
he was alive.”
the 2014 season Cosmos: A Spacetime Od- and reason are under attack, as “a shining
“This theater—he would have loved
yssey (which won twelve Emmy nomi- light in the darkness.”
it. Another candle in the dark! Here’s to
nations and three Emmys) and is writer, Druyan said it was empowering “to be
CFI. What an inspiring organization!
director, and executive producer of the surrounded by people to whom it matters
From the bottom of my heart, I thank
forthcoming Cosmos: Possible Worlds (both what’s true.” She said, “Science delivers
you for this great honor.”
narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson). That the goods. You can’t lie yourself to Mars.”
thirteen-part series is to begin March 9, Space missions, she noted, require hun- Kendrick Frazier is editor of the Skeptical
2020, on the National Geographic chan- dreds of thousands of steps, and all had Inquirer.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 5

European Experts Demand Consistent Whither National Geographic?
Proof of Traditional Chinese Medicine SI Letter Protests Its Natural
E E
Healing Remedies Books
K F
The Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM) and
the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council issued a Readers will recall that the lead article in our recent “Health
joint statement on November 7, 2019, urging the World Health Wars” special issue (September/October 2019) critiqued a
Organization (WHO) to clarify how traditional Chinese medicine series of six newsstand books or “book-azines” on natural
(TCM) and other so-called alternative medicines (SCAMs) should healing remedies published by National Geographic. Our
be used. cover article, by California physician Victor Benson, found
The WHO has included TCM diagnoses in the International they were full of claims “that lack scientific evidence, are
Classification of Diseases (ICD). (See “Quackery at WHO: A Chi- inconsistent and internally contradictory, and don’t reach
nese Affair,” SI, September/October 2019.) The WHO claim this minimal scientific standards.” A second article, a more
is not an endorsement, but experts point out that the move will specific review by physician and SI contributing editor
promote TCM and mislead the public into thinking that TCM is and columnist Harriet Hall, evaluated the most recent
safe and effective. Thus, consumers might use it as an alternative and largest of the books, Nature’s Best Remedies (2019, 318
for effective treatments of serious conditions, in which case they pages, $35). She found that the information in the book
would endanger their lives. is “biased, incomplete, unscientific, and sometimes even
Prof. George Griffin, the president of FEAM, was quoted saying: dangerous. … A bitter disappointment.”
We don’t give drugs and surgical treatments unless there is real
evidence that they work and do no damage and basically the
feeling is that most of the traditional Chinese medicine drugs
are unregulated. They are not tested properly for toxicity. They
probably vary greatly between batches produced, for example
National Geographic magazine
seaweed, which is the latest, and they may be harmful. The itself still seems to exhibit its
other side of the equation is that they may be deluding patients
into thinking they are taking appropriate therapies for serious usual high editorial standards.
disease.

“Multiple risks of harm from herbal ingredients have been

documented,” the joint statement warns. Sometimes herbal rem-
edies have been adulterated with chemicals. Interaction with Both our authors, and I in my editor’s column intro-
conventional drugs can be a serious threat. And acupuncture, ducing the issue, expressed disappointment that such a
they will say, “is not necessarily harmless.” A review in 2017 as cherished and usually responsible and fact-based organi-
well as numerous papers discussed on my blog found injuries to zation as the National Geographic Society had issued and
vital organs, infections, and other adverse reactions. marketed these publications.
Although those who use SCAM are being misled into thinking Credits listed in the books are minimal at best, but after
of it as originating from small-scale enterprises, globally it is big our special issue came out, we sent copies of it to four top
business. “The production and delivery of TCM has become a officials at the National Geographic Society, including
large industry with estimates of $60 billion a year and an annual Susan Goldberg, whose title is “Editorial Director and
growth rate above 10%,” says the statement. Editor, National Geographic.”
The statement authors “urge the European Commission and After calling their attention to our main critiques, I
member states to do more to ensure that all medical products wrote (on August 17):
and procedures are subject to an appropriate level of evaluation We all treasure the National Geographic Society and
for quality, safety, and efficacy consistent with standardized test- National Geographic. As I say in my editor’s note, National
ing procedures.” Geographic’s articles and photographs cover the world
For more details, see the website edzardernst.com or the full with great insight. What are we to make, then, of these six
statement at easac.eu/publications/. books and book-azines? They fall far short of your usual
high scientific and journalistic standards.

I ended this way:

Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, is emeritus professor at Exeter Univer-
sity, UK, and author of such books as SCAM: So-Called Alterna- May I respectfully request that you and your col-
tive Medicine and More Harm Than Good? He’s the recipient of leagues carefully consider the criticisms in these articles.
The books seem out of character for the distinguished
the John Maddox Prize 2015 and the Ockham Award 2017, and
National Geographic Society that we respect so much.
he is a CSI fellow. We urge you to reconsider their further promotion and

6 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 [ NEWS AND COMMENT

dissemination. That could limit the with those six books and book-azines, book-azines on newsstands include
damage they cause with their scien- but if that is the case my message asked history, marijuana, and genes. And the
tifically misleading and even pseudo- her to forward our concerns to the ap-
scientific claims and assertions.
National Geographic television chan-
propriate person for reply. Without nel (along with Fox TV channels) aired
Two months later no response had hearing their side, we can only speculate Ann Druyan’s 2014 renewal of the Cos-
been heard, so on October 23, 2019, I what’s going on. mos series and plans to do the same for
emailed Goldberg, including the orig- Some readers pointed to the fact that the second season (both hosted by Neil
inal letter and a new request and invi- in September 2015 the National Geo- deGrasse Tyson), forthcoming in 2020.
tation: graphic Society entered into a $725 In 2016, Bloomberg reported that rather
million business arrangement in a new
than the National Geographic channel
partnership headed by 21st Century Fox
being pushed toward tabloid fare, it
(which owned the famous movie studio,
has been given “a radical makeover in
the Fox television network, and Fox
Perhaps the non- News Channel) controlled by media
scientific books on nat- giant Rupert Murdoch. This new “Na-
tional Geographic Partners” got control
ural healing remedies of 73 percent of the society’s assets (in-
Looking at National
were an aberration; cluding the magazine, book, map, and Geographic’s recent
other media assets), with the remaining
most likely they were 27 percent held by the National Geo-
output in total, I see
a purposeful graphic Society. Then in March 2019, less reason to fear that
The Walt Disney Company acquired
money-making 21st Century Fox, including its share in
the National Geographic
operation. National Geographic Partners. So now brand is in danger of
the president of National Geographic
Partners reports directly to the Walt
becoming tainted.
Disney Television chairman.
Having heard no response, I now National Geographic magazine itself
intend to publish my letter or key (now “published monthly by National
excerpts from it, in the News and Geographic Partners,” not the National the opposite direction” with millions of
Comment section of our next issue dollars invested in highbrow entertain-
… deadline next Monday [October Geographic Society) still seems to ex-
hibit its usual high editorial standards. ment, “a kind of HBO for science and
28]. We want to give you the oppor-
tunity to present your reaction to Some past issues deserve particular adventure programming.” The chan-
the criticisms we published. I ask for acclaim by science-minded people: Its nel’s 2018 ten-part flagship series One
your response. March 2015 “The War on Science” Strange Rock, the story of life on earth
We stand strongly for science and special issue, which reported on attacks from the perspective of eight astronauts
reason and evidence-based think- on climate science, vaccinations, evo- (narrated by a genuinely amazed Will
ing, and we have always assumed lution, the moon landing, and GMOs, Smith), was compelling fare.
the National Geographic Society was briefly highlighted in our May/June So we are hardly giving up on Na-
(or corporation) and its publica-
tions were on that side as well. Do 2015 issue. Its January 2017 special issue tional Geographic. Perhaps the nonsci-
you have any response to our pub- the “Gender Revolution” (“Can science entific books on natural healing rem-
lished criticisms? Were we unfair? help us navigate the shifting landscape edies were an aberration; most likely
Are the books we critiqued anoma- of gender identity?”) was courageous in they were a purposeful money-making
lies? Does National Geographic still educating the public about all the new
stand for good science and factual operation started when the organiza-
and perplexing gender-identity issues; tion was strapped for funds. Looking at
evidence? What can we expect in
the future? it provided high-quality, science-based National Geographic’s recent output in
information, all of it sensitively written.
I told her we would like to include total, I see less reason to fear that the
Its current issue as I write (November
her response with this planned news National Geographic brand is in danger
2019) is a special issue on “Women: A
article: “I am sure our readers would of becoming tainted. Will it remain the
Century of Change,” its first in which,
appreciate hearing your views.” as Goldberg writes, “all contributing reliable source of solid scientific infor-
What are we to make of this non- writers, photographers, and artists are mation it has been throughout most of
response? It is possible that as National female.” The issue includes two insight- its history? Let’s hope.
Geographic magazine’s editor in chief, ful articles on women in science. Kendrick Frazier is editor of the Skeptical
Goldberg may not be directly involved Topics of the company’s current Inquirer.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 7

Cosmos: Possible Worlds Science, Philosophy, and a Lifetime
to Premier March 9, 2020 of Reason: A Mario Bunge
Centenary Festschrift
K F

Philosopher of science Mario Bunge

has been honored with the publi-
cation of Mario Bunge: A Centenary
Festschrift, an 827-page volume with
forty-one chapters by scholars from
sixteen countries written to honor him
on his 100th birthday (September 14,
Cosmos: Possible Worlds will debut on National Geo- 2019). Bunge is a longtime fellow of
graphic channels March 9, 2020, and on Fox channels in the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
Summer 2020, it was announced in November. Skeptical and has written several key articles
Inquirer readers may remember we were allowed to visit on science and pseudoscience for
the set for part of the filming at Santa Fe Studios in 2018 S I.
(September/October 2018). Born in Buenos Aires and trained as a physicist with a doc-
torate in mathematical physics, Bunge eventually emigrated
first to Europe and then to Montreal, Canada, where in 1966
he joined the philosophy department at McGill University, with
Cosmos: Possible Worlds will which he has been affiliated ever since. Bunge was the Froth-
debut on National Geographic ingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at McGill until his
retirement in 2011 and is now professor emeritus of philosophy.
channels March 9, 2020. He is the author of more than eighty books and some 540
articles, many of them devoted to his task of achieving a synthe-

This is the long-awaited sequel to the 2014 Cosmos:

A Spacetime Odyssey, the thirteen-part television series
created by Ann Druyan and narrated by Neil deGrasse Mario Bunge is the author of more
Tyson. than eighty books and some 540
Druyan cowrote the original 1980 Cosmos series
with Carl Sagan, whom she married in 1981, and also articles, many of them devoted to
spearheaded the 2014 version. She is writer, co-exec- his task of achieving a synthesis of
utive producer, and codirector of the 2020 series, again
narrated by Tyson. Druyan’s 352-page companion book of rationalism and empiricism.
the same title is due out February 25.
Patrick Stewart, Viggo Mortensen, and Judd Hirsch will
portray scientists in the series, and Seth MacFarlane (also sis of rationalism and empiricism. Such works as Foundations of
executive producer) will join the cast as President Truman. Physics (1967), Philosophy of Science (1998, two volumes), and his
Author Sasha Sagan, daughter of Druyan and Carl Sagan, massive eight-volume Treatise on Basic Philosophy (1974–1989)
will portray Carl Sagan’s mother in a recurring role. defended conceptions of materialism and humanism.
“This third season of Cosmos: Possible Worlds is our The contributions in the new book in his honor, published
boldest yet,” Druyan said in a statement. “The ‘Ship of the by Springer International, aim to show the value of Bunge’s
Imagination’ will carry us places we never dared to venture science-informed philosophy and his systematic approach to
before: lost worlds and worlds to come, deep into the fu- philosophical problems. The chapters explore what Editor
ture and straight through that hole in the curtain masking Michael R. Matthews of the University of New South Wales,
other realities—and all of it rigorously informed by science Sydney, calls “the exceptionally wide spectrum of Bunge’s con-
and made real by lavish VFX.” tributions.” They deal with the philosophy of science, of math-
ematics, of psychology, of physics, of social sciences, of biology,
and of medicine as well as with metaphysics and the method-
ology and philosophy of science broadly.

8 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 [ NEWS AND COMMENT

In his scholarship, Matthews writes, Bunge’s unifying not, medicine is firmly based on the philosophical prin-
thread is “the constant and vigorous advancement” of En- ciples of materialism, systemism, realism, scientism, and
lightenment thinking “and criticism of cultural and academic humanism. In her review in our January/February 2014
movements that deny or devalue” its core planks, “namely issue, physician and SI contributing editor Harriet Hall
naturalism, the search for truth, the universality of science, called it “full of insight and wisdom” and “a mind-stretch-
rationality, and respect for individuals. … At a time when ing book.”
specialization is widely decried …, it is salutary to see the James Alcock reviewed Bunge’s 500-page memoir,
fruits of one person’s pursuit of the ‘Big’ scientific and phil- Between Two Worlds, in our March/April 2017 issue. He
osophical picture.” pointed out that “staunch opposition to pseudoscience”
In an emailed note to colleagues about the book, Alfonso has been a constant factor throughout Bunge’s academic
Lizarzaburu, a Paris-based Peruvian educator, philosopher, career and that Bunge has always embraced “methodolog-
and UNESCO consultant, says Bunge is “curious, open- ical rather than absolute skepticism.” “Methodological
minded, critical, creative, courageous, lucid, insightful, rigor- skeptics, he tells us, doubt only the insufficiently sub-
ous, and systemic to whom nothing human is alien. At the stantiated claims, reject the groundless ones, and suspend
age of 100, he continues to make his life his masterpiece, and belief on untested propositions.” The memoir “reveals a
he impels us to push the limits of our ignorance and courage man of exceedingly high confidence who has lived his
in order to live a good life.” life guided by strong principles about truth, science, and
justice.”

Bunge’s unifying thread is

“the constant and vigorous
advancement” of Carl Zimmer Wins NASW Science Book
Enlightenment thinking. Award

Carl Zimmer, who spoke at

Lizarzaburu calls the number of publications Bunge has
CSICon 2018 and subsequently
produced in such a wide variety of fields “astonishing.” And
published a well-received arti-
he adds, “I agree with what Laurent Jodoin asserts on Mario
cle “Seven Big Misconceptions
Bunge: He is undoubtedly one of the greatest sciences phi-
about Heredity” in the May/
losophers of the twentieth century. And he has everything
June 2019 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER,
needed to be in the present century.”
has won the 2019 Science in
Among Bunge’s essays on science and pseudoscience is
Society Journalism Award in the
“The Philosophy of Pseudoscience” (S I,
book category from the National
July/August 2006). In it he points out that science and
Association of Science Writers
pseudoscience each have philosophical ideas behind them.
(NASW). The award is for his
But they are totally different ideas and “orthogonal” to each
book She Has Her Mother’s
other, totally at odds. When we published it in SI, I wrote
Laugh: The Powers, Perversions,
that in my view “it provides a comprehensive, explanatory,
and Potentials of Heredity, pub-
intellectual, philosophical framework for virtually every
lished by Dutton. Winners receive
issue we address in the S I.” Bunge argues
a $2,000 cash award.
that his “exercise in border patrolling” can help distinguish
The NASW judges called
between good and bogus science and reveal why research
Zimmer’s book “a deep and ma-
guided by the wrong philosophy is likely to fail.
ny-layered dive into the science
Decades earlier, Bunge wrote “What Is Pseudoscience?”
of heredity and a well-woven his-
(SI, Fall 1984), another seminal essay that listed and de-
tory of our understanding of the
scribed several attitudes and activities by which to compare
term.” The judges called it “a very
scientists and pseudoscientists. It provoked some contro-
humane book” that is “astonish-
versy but still stands up well.
ing in its comprehensiveness.”
Bunge’s 2013 book Medical Philosophy, Bunge said, was
the first that “analyzes and systemizes all the general ideas of
medicine.” He pointed out that whether doctors realize it or

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 9

IIG Test Report: From Just a Photo, Can Someone Tell If a Person
Is Dead or Alive?
L H  S W

The Independent Investigation Group run consecutively because after they had and then back to the laptop and showed
(IIG) has had a standing offer of been printed and numbered, it turned Janchevski the photo, announcing the
$100,000 to anyone who can demon- out that some photos were not usable. status again. He then put the photo into
strate they have a paranormal power However, a chart was constructed on a stack on his left. This procedure was
under controlled conditions.1 In which the presentation order and photo used for all twenty photos.
October 2018, Mirko Janchevski, a numbers were written, for instance: 1, After Janchevski was shown a photo,
man of about sixty from Kumanovo, #23; 2, #4, etc. he looked down and concentrated. At
Macedonia, applied for our challenge. first, we did not understand the rea-
He claimed to be able to tell if some- son for this, but at one point his right
one is alive or dead by looking at a hand was high enough that we could
photograph of the person. He claimed see it moving. After the demonstra-
an accuracy of “around 90%–100%” and tion was completed, discussion among
said “there are no limitations to my A man of about sixty the audience indicated that most of
power.” from Macedonia them thought he was using a pendu-
Our negotiator Stan West and Mr. lum to make his decisions. (Later, this
Janchevski spent about six months applied for the IIG deduction was verified, as mentioned
working out a protocol for the demon- challenge. He claimed below.) Janchevski’s first eight or nine
stration. This is a typical timeframe for determinations were all “dead.” Several
negotiations, especially for a test that to be able to tell if members of the audience wondered if
will happen via internet. someone is alive or he was going to continue this in hope
On Saturday, May 18, 2019, at our of winning by the off chance that all the
monthly meeting, Janchevski appeared dead by looking at photos were of dead people.
via Skype as scheduled, with his daugh- a photograph of After the last photo was identified, a
ter to translate for him when necessary. sealed envelope was opened. This con-
We told the daughter that once the test the person. tained a duplicate set of photos, identi-
started, she would need to remain visi- fied by the same numbers as the first set,
ble. She asked why, and West explained showing the status of the person in the
that this was to prevent the use of any photo. Underdown showed Janchevski
“super duper Google search ability” to both the photo he originally identi-
find photos of the subjects and deter- The photos were printed in black and fied and the previously marked photo,
mine if they were alive. She understood white on a (U.S.) standard 8.5 x 11 inch while asking our scorekeeper whether
and agreed to stay visible, which she did. piece of paper, with a border around Janchevski had identified the person’s
The entire session was recorded using them, one photo to a page. Underdown status correctly. This allowed Janchevski
the built-in capability of Skype; audio displayed each photo for ninety seconds to verify that we weren’t switching pho-
was recorded separately on a sound re- or until Janchevski declared the status tos and that both photos depicted the
corder, and the session was videoed on a of the person, whichever was shorter. same person.
camera that pointed at the laptop. When Underdown displayed the photo To pass the initial demonstration,
Jim Underdown, founder and chair via the camera in the laptop, he held a Janchevski had to correctly determine
of the IIG and executive director of the piece of cardboard behind the paper so the status of eighteen of the twenty
Center for Inquiry West, presented the that he (Underdown) could not see the people whose photos he saw. He de-
photos. He had no idea of the status of photo. termined eleven correctly. After the
the people in the photos and thus could As soon as Janchevski announced his demonstration finished, Janchevski
not inadvertently bias the demon- decision, Underdown repeated it and asked to see one of the photos again.
stration; this allowed it to be dou- then turned to his left, where another After looking at it and consulting his
ble-blinded. The numbered photos were member used a permanent marker to pendulum (now visible via Skype), he
stacked face down on his right. Each write “dead” or “alive” across the photo. declared that the person was dead, not
photo was marked on its face “Mirko” Underdown then turned toward the alive. West moved to where Janchevski
plus a number. The numbers did not separate camera to show the writing, could see him and told Janchevski that
10 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer
 [ NEWS AND COMMENT

the person is West’s father, with whom he More Americans Reporting No Religious Affiliation
had had a conversation the previous night.
When Underdown asked Janchevski
if he had any explanation for the result,
Janchevski said that perhaps the interval
between photos was too short, and perhaps The proportion of Americans
the weather had an effect. We did not ask saying they have no religious
about the weather conditions at the time, affiliation is rising signifi-
nor about the reason weather might affect cantly, while the proportion
his abilities. identifying as Christian is
sharply dropping, according
to a new survey from the Pew
Research Center released
October 17, 2019.
To pass the Pew said that the per-
initial demonstration, centage of American adults
surveyed who describe their
Janchevski had to religious identify as atheist,
correctly determine the agnostic, or “nothing in par-
ticular” now stands at 26
status of eighteen of percent, up from 17 percent
the twenty people in 2009. Those describing
themselves as Christian now
whose photos he saw. stands at 65 percent, down
He determined from 77 percent in 2009.
According to Pew, all
eleven correctly. categories of the religiously
unaffiliated—often referred
to as Nones—grew. It said
self-described atheists now
Underdown asked Janchevski if there account for 4 percent of U.S.
was anything else he wanted to share. adults, up from 2 percent in
Janchevski offered to diagnose Underdown’s 2009. Agnostics account for
health; Underdown agreed. Janchevski 5 percent, up from 3 percent
diagnosed problems with Underdown’s in 2009. Those who describe
back and with veins in his neck. Unfortu- their religion as “nothing in
nately for Janchevski, Underdown has no particular” now compose 17
health problems in either area. Underdown percent of the population, up
thanked Mr. Janchevski for his time and from 12 percent in 2009.
told him that he would be welcome to apply The results reinforce several other recent surveys finding that those who might
again after a year has elapsed. be described as Nones now account for more than a quarter of the nation’s adult
population as people disaffiliate from organized religions. Both Protestant and
Catholic ranks are losing population share, Pew reports. The trends hold up in all
Note
1. IIG has since been subsumed into CFI, with four geographical regions of the country.
a new name: Center for Inquiry Investigations There is also a wide generational gap. Older people tend to self-identify as
Group (CFIIG). Its former $100,000 prize has now Christian at a far higher rate than younger people. “Indeed,” says the Pew report,
been increased to $250,000. These changes were
announced at CSICon 2019 in October. “there are as many Millennials who say they ‘never’ attend religious services (22%)
as there are who say they go at least once a week (22%).” Women are still slightly
more religious than men, but “the share of ‘nones’ among women has risen by 10
Lou Hillman is the Challenge Coordinator for the percentage points since 2009—similar to the increase among men.”
Center for Inquiry Investigations Group based at The latest Pew survey was conducted by random-digit-dial polling on the tele-
CFI West in Los Angeles, California. He is a re- phone (both cell phones and landlines) in 2018 and 2019. Sampling error is plus
tired college professor with a PhD in linguistics. or minus 2.9 percentage points. Full details and charts are available at https://
Stan West works in the financial industry and www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rap-
is one of CFIIG’s “first responders”/negotiators. id-pace/.
Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 11
[RESEARCH REVIEW

New RNA Research Demonstrates

Prebiotic Possibility
DAVID W. BALL

C
reationists and other religious fundamentalists com- However, life is complex (irreducibly so, claim some cre-
monly (and erroneously) bring up the issue of abio- ationists, although none of their claims have held up to scru-
genesis as an argument against evolution, claiming tiny), and while all the fundamental building blocks of life
that life is too complex to have arisen naturally from simple have been identified in at least some abiogenesis experiments,
(nonliving) chemicals. Abiogenesis is the development of getting all of them at the same time has been a challenge.
chemical life from nonliving chemicals. It is an active area Recent research has focused on the components of ribonu-
of research for scientists studying “origin of life” questions. cleic acid (RNA), because one currently favored hypothesis
The issue is largely irrelevant as an argument against evolu- is that RNA developed on primordial earth before deoxy-
tion because evolution deals with what happens after life is ribonucleic acid (DNA) did. RNA comprises three units: a
formed. phosphate group (one phosphorus atom connected to four
It is widely accepted that modern abiogenesis research oxygen atoms), ribose (a type of sugar molecule), and a cyclic
traces back to the Miller-Urey experiment, performed by nitrogen-containing fragment called a base. There are four
Stanley Miller at the University of Chicago (with assistance different types of bases found in RNA: adenine, cytosine,
from Harold Urey) and published in 1953. In this experiment, guanine, and uracil. Cytosine and uracil are in a class of mol-
Miller mixed some simple chemicals thought to be compo- ecules called pyrimidines that contain a six-atom ring, while
adenine and guanine are in a class called purines that have one
six-atom ring and one five-atom ring. A particular challenge
in abiogenesis research has been to identify conditions that
generate both the purine and pyrimidine bases simultaneously,
Countless experiments have been as both types of bases are needed for RNA (and DNA) syn-
performed that demonstrate the thesis. To date, synthetic models have produced only purines
or only pyrimidines, but not both under the same conditions.
generation of the building blocks of Until recently, that is. In the October 4, 2019, issue of Sci-
life from nonliving chemical sources. ence magazine, a group of ten researchers from Germany, the
United Kingdom, and Japan published a study (Becker et al.,
Science, volume 336, 76–82) that demonstrates a plausible syn-
thesis of both purines and pyrimidines from likely primordial
nents of the prebiotic atmosphere and exposed them to an starting materials (formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, urea, and
electric discharge for a week. After that time, analysis of the other small molecules) in the presence of metal compounds
contents showed the formation of several amino acids. (Re- containing zinc, cobalt, and iron (all known to be present
cent reanalysis of sealed samples using modern techniques on earth in a variety of rocks). In the presence of ribose and
indicated the presence of more than twenty amino acids, some phosphate-containing minerals, the researchers were able to
of which are non-proteinogenic, i.e., not known to be used in demonstrate the formation of the phosphate-ribose-base tri-
protein synthesis.) Since that time, countless additional exper- ads that ultimately make up RNA.
iments have been performed that demonstrate the generation One key part of the so-called “one-pot” synthesis was the
of the building blocks of life from nonliving chemical sources. cycling of conditions from dilute aqueous solutions (“wet”)
(A good summary of abiogenesis can be found at the Talk to significantly more concentrated solutions (“dry”), which
Origins website, talkorigins.org.) would occur in, say, isolated pools or on land, where excess

12 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

water would evaporate. By doing this, the researchers were it is worth pointing out the time scale of the experiments:
able to avoid extreme conditions of temperature and pH that Experimental durations were cited to be as short as two hours
would degrade complex molecules—experimental tempera- and as long as three weeks—a blink of an eye on cosmic time
tures ranged between 10° and 95°C (50° to 203°F) and the scales (or 6,000 years, for that matter).
pH never exceeded 10 (considered slightly basic; for com- This research doesn’t mean we know how life arose from
parison, this is the approximate pH of milk of magnesia, a prebiotic earth, but it establishes that there exists a plausible,
common antacid). Also by doing this, the researchers were simultaneous chemical synthesis of all four bases found in
RNA that uses starting molecules and conditions likely to
be present billions of years ago. In other words, this research
demonstrates that it’s possible. (Or, in the words of Dr. Ian
This research adds to the mountain Malcolm in Jurassic Park, “Life finds a way.”)
of evidence suggesting that the Even if abiogenesis were a valid argument against evolu-
tion, this research adds to the mountain of evidence suggest-
chemicals of life may be a product ing that the chemicals of life may be a product of chemical
of chemical inevitability and not inevitability and not chance (or creation). Now, if anyone were
to convincingly demonstrate that it was chemically impossible
chance (or creation). to make the molecules of life from reasonable starting ma-
terials and conditions, then maybe creationists’ arguments
might be taken more seriously. But then, creationists are better
known for their contributions to specious rhetoric than they
able to avoid using external sources of energy such as electric are for peer-reviewed scientific research, aren’t they? •
sparks (to simulate lightning) or temperatures outside the liq-
uid-water range (to simulate atmospheric or oceanic volcanic
activity) that some argue would be too infrequent to allow for David W. Ball is a professor of chemistry at Cleveland State Uni-
formation of significant amounts of biotic material. Finally, versity.

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Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 13

 [ INVESTIGATIVE FILES JOE NICKELL
Joe Nickell, PhD, is CSI’s senior research fellow and author, coauthor, or editor of almost fifty
books.

Firebug Poltergeists

A
poltergeist is said to be a sort The Annales of Fulda, the case eventually cold and, according to Tomlin’s article
of prankster entity, after the ended as suddenly as it began (McCabe for Atlas Obscura, remained unsolved
German word for a “noisy” 1849, 2, 73; Wilson 2009, 83–84). (Tomlin 2016)—until I came to provide
(poltern) “spirit” (geist). Poltergeist phe- Although in this case fire was only the probable solution.
nomena include mysteriously thrown one of the phenomena, in some polter- An account of the Bladenboro case
objects, strange noises, or unusual fires geist outbreaks it is the sole agent of dis- was offered by the notorious mys-
(Nickell 1995, 79). Those who promote turbance. Here is a look at some notable tery-mongering writer Vincent H.
belief in poltergeists often attribute historical examples I have investigated, Gaddis (1967, 188–189). However, re-
the effects—fiery or otherwise—to the albeit necessarily as very cold cases. lying on an earlier doubtful source, it-
repressed hostilities of a child or other self written a quarter century after the
person in the vicinity, which are some- Bladenboro Fire Poltergeist events, Gaddis makes serious errors.
how manifested as kinetic energy, sup- This important case transpired in Many modern accounts of the Bladen-
posedly a psychic force (Fodor 1968, 1932 and went unsolved until 2016, boro fires, clearly copying Gaddis, repeat
51). Skeptics have a simpler explana- when reporter Jimmy Tomlin engaged the misinformation, which helps make
tion: they are the cunning pranks of a my interest with some news clip- the case seem inexplicable. For exam-
mischievous youth or disturbed adult. I pings (“Blazes” 1932; Bridger 1932; ple, Gaddis claims the fires continued
have therefore attributed cases having “Mysterious” 1932; “Very Puzzling” in the house even after the Williamsons
such a modus operandi to what I call the 1932; and others listed in Tomlin briefly moved out, and he imagines
“poltergeist-faking syndrome” (Nickell 2016). The outbreaks occurred in a an elaborate scenario involving police,
2012, 331; Bartholomew and Nickell house on Elm Street in the small town electricians, and arson and gas com-
2015, 129, 136–137). of Bladenboro, North Carolina. Police pany experts being plagued by the fur-
An early example occurred in 858 and others, including fire experts, were ther outbreak. In fact, volunteer guards
CE near the German town of Bin- baffled by the fires that occurred over having patrolled the bungalow through
gen, located on the scenic Rhine River three days in the home of an elderly the night while the family stayed with
(along which, in 2002, I conducted couple, Council H. Williamson and his friends, no further incidents occurred
several investigations1). There is too wife, Lydia, together with their daugh- (“Very Puzzling” 1932).
little evidence to indicate more than a ter Katie, aged about twenty-one. Taking on the case, I soon saw from
cursory explanation for such a case at Beginning on January 30 with a contemporary news sources that it was
this remove, but it contained familiar burning curtain and window shade in consistent with the hypothesis of the
elements: A farmhouse was assailed the dining room and continuing the poltergeist-faking syndrome. Not only
by showers of stones, crops were set following day with a set of bedclothes, were the reported incidents attributable
ablaze after they were harvested, and a stack of papers stored in a closet, and to a person in the house, but in fact they
the poltergeist even developed a voice a hanging pair of trousers, the rash of seemed to indicate the Williamsons’
(the source apparently hidden) that what would come to be twenty mysteri- daughter.
denounced the farmer for a variety of ous fires ended about noon on February Corroboratively, the first fire, involv-
sins. Related in the Frankish chronicles 1. Soon, however, the fiery case went ing the dining room shade and curtain,

14 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

had begun “starting from the bottom of The site of the mid-November out- A reporter touring the home was
the shade” (Bridger 1932)—just where break had been the home of a Mike shown “the telling evidence of unnatu-
a person could easily reach. While fire Parsons at Flatrock, north of Carbonear, ral goings on”—as one ghost raconteur
attacked several articles of clothing, only on Conception Bay. According to a Ca- phrased it (Butts 2010, 181). An inves-
in a single instance was one being worn nadian Press news report of December tigation was conducted by the Royal
and that was the dress of the daughter 11, 1954: Canadian Mounted Police, but officers
herself—further making her our sus- could find no explanation for the myste-
Over a two-week period the five
pect. And it seems that she was pres- rious flames. They so informed the At-
members of the family were alarmed
ent—if perhaps surreptitiously so—for when the following incidents torney General who had no comment.
the other incidents as well. occurred at intervals of two or three Then in just two weeks, the excitement
Again and again in such poltergeist days. A dictionary burst into flames was over, and the strange case faded into
cases having sufficient activity, we ob- for no apparent reason. A sack of obscurity.
serve that incidents tend to center on sugar ignited of its own accord. A The old accounts lack details that
a particular suspect—or, rarely, suspects, box of religious literature, stowed could provide useful clues to the actual
in an upstairs bureau, turned into a source—now generally referred to as a
as occurred for instance after fiery dis- bonfire. A blaze appeared under the
turbances in a North Dakota rural eaves of the house. The floorboards
poltergeist, although that term was not
schoolroom in 1944. Four pupils would in one room of the house flared used in the news stories of the time. In-
come to admit they had been responsi- up. Finally, a doll was consumed in stead, they refer to “mysterious fires,” a
ble, using matches. They lit and hurled flames. (quoted in Butts 2010, 180) “rash of flames,” and the like.
lumps of coal, set fire to curtains and a As given by the accounts, the house-
wall map, and otherwise wreaked havoc hold consisted of Parsons, his wife, their
over several days. They finally confessed daughter, a granddaughter, and Uncle
that they and others had found their Four students Jim. The two men were milking cows
teacher—and then their parents and confessed that they during one incident and so are alibied,
authorities—so gullible that they could and Mrs. Parsons seems an unlikely
not resist the mischief, and they thrived and others had found poltergeist—statistically on account of
on the resulting excitement and public- their teacher so age. That leaves only the daughter (pre-
ity (Christopher 1970, 146–149). sumably the mother of the grandchild),
The Bladenboro case is tame by gullible that they who was in the kitchen with her mother
comparison. Although the evidence for could not resist the during at least one incident (involving a
a probable explanation is not as detailed burning sack of sugar), and the grand-
as desirable, it is nevertheless sufficient mischief, and they daughter, about whom nothing was re-
to demonstrate that the events are ex- thrived on the result- lated. She appears to have been an ad-
plainable by simple human agency and olescent, and so a possible suspect, but
that that hypothesis wins easily over any ing excitement and the matter is largely academic at this
invoking the paranormal. It follows the publicity. point.2
rule of Occam’s razor, that the hypothe- My old friend, John Robert Co-
sis with the fewest assumptions is to be lombo—the erudite Toronto author,
preferred. It is simply not necessary to
suggest that a spirit may have somehow
sparked (so to speak) combustion, when
someone with matches is all that would
have been required.

Flatrock ‘Haunting’
Another case—a reputed “haunt-
ing” that was really of the fire-pol-
tergeist genre—took place in the
Canadian province of Newfoundland
and Labrador in 1954. (I learned of
the case on a tour of the province
that began with my participating in
an episode of the popular TV series
MonsterQuest [Nickell 2009] and took
me to additional sites, including the
ancient Viking settlement of L’Ance
aux Meadows [Nickell 2016].)

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 15

editor, and poet—includes this case in planation and what the latter were con- siblings corroborated his statement, hav-
his book Mysterious Canada (Colombo vinced was the work of a clever arsonist. ing known what Calvin Jr. was doing.
1988, 5). He describes the pyromaniac Several of the fire investigators agreed Thus, the four-week rampage that had
poltergeist phenomenon as one “familiar with the police. Rogo (1979, 167) states resulted in some fifty-two blazes came
to the curious … the frightening one of that “household items failed to show any to an end—a fact that underscores the
mysterious fires which break out unex- telltale signs such as chemical residue,” truth of the confession. Young Calvin’s
pectedly for no known reason.” But not but another source (Taylor 2002) cites motive had been to cause his family to
knowing the motivation in this case— an Alabama State Toxicology lab report return to Birmingham, from which they
such as the need for attention or resent- that mentioned finding traces of phos- had moved and where all his friends still
ment of strict, religious parents—should phorous. This was apparently dismissed lived (Rogo 1979, 167; Taylor 2002).
not keep us from seeing that it was the out of hand, because the question arose, Nevertheless, some of the staunch
work of a secretive and opportunistic who in the family would have known believers in the reality of poltergeists
person and is not fundamentally myste- how to obtain and use (e.g., to emulsify in general and in the Alabama fire pol-
rious after all. and spray) the chemical? tergeist in particular, would have none
Such mystery as there is with fire of this. D. Scott Rogo (1979, 167–168)
poltergeists seems largely attributable argued that confessions in such cases
to their rarity. As D. Scott Rogo (1979, were not uncommon but should not be
176) acknowledges, “We simply do not believed when they could not explain
have the type of detailed data on them the unexplainable. Troy Taylor (2002)
that we possess on more conventional
It is simply not echoes this view, only grudgingly ac-
cases.” necessary to suggest cepting the possibility that the confes-
sion could be genuine. He and Rogo
that a spirit may have each attempt to unsolve the mystery.
‘Voodoo’ Fires of Alabama
This next example—solved at the
somehow sparked Here are some of the arguments be-
lievers use to keep the mystery alive:
time—helps illuminate the preceding (so to speak) combus- • Calvin Jr. was “often absent when
cases. And some minor puzzles it pres- tion, when someone the fires appeared” (Taylor 2002). How-
ents are ones I believe we can solve ever, for “absent” we should say “unseen”
even at this late date. with matches is all because the rambunctious and deliber-
The case was reported by the As-
sociated Press and carried in an Ala-
that would have been ately secretive child’s whereabouts were
simply unknown. Magician Milbourne
bama newspaper, The Gadsden Times, required. Christopher (1970, 157) sagely advises
on Monday, September 15, 1958. The that “poltergeists” were commonly not
headline read, “Mystery Fires Cause where they said they were but instead
Negro to Move Again.” Thus continued where the mischief occurred.
what D. Scott Rogo called, in his The • Calvin Jr. reportedly described
Poltergeist Experience (Rogo 1979, 165), using matches as well as placing smol-
“one of the most bizarre poltergeist out- During the affair, Calvin Tuck con- dering rags so they would later burst
breaks ever recorded.” sulted an “herb doctor” (a voodoo prac- into flames. If true, this could explain
The site was the Talladega, Alabama, titioner) who provided Tuck with a how two witnesses “saw a fire start liter-
cabin home of Calvin Tuck, thirty-two, magic spell and instructions for making ally in front of their eyes.” Taylor (2002)
his wife, and six children (ranging in age a “medicine” that would purportedly thought this technique too clever for a
from six months to nine years). The fires serve as an antidote to the fire. Not nine-year-old, but why? The boy was
had begun on August 25, with three surprisingly, it did not work, but it led obviously very clever.
small blazes. When they continued the to the case being dubbed “The Voodoo • Many of the fires seemed to ignite
next day, Tuck called the fire depart- Fires of Alabama” (Rogo 1979, 166, at or near the cabin’s ceiling, “out of the
ment, and on August 28, before report- 168). As Talladega Fire Chief W.C. reach of a young child” (Rogo 1979,
ers, spectators, firemen, and police, no Holmes pointedly observed: “There’s 164, 168). I suspect the boy had snuck
fewer than seventeen separate blazes no such thing as magic fires. … Those upstairs where he put matches through
burst forth. As the horror continued, the fires are being caused by something or spaces between floorboards.
family moved to a second home (that of somebody.” He suspected the latter. • Dubious comments were made
Tuck’s brother) and then, on September Then, on September 22, police at about the “color of the flames,” suppos-
2, to a third (that of his father)—leaving Anniston announced that the case was edly precluding matches (Rogo 1979,
fire damage in their wake each time. solved. Nine-year-old Calvin Tuck Jr. 168). However, the flame color would
By then, several fire officials and po- had admitted he was the culprit. The have been due to the composition of
lice were investigating what some of the boy confessed that he had used matches the burning material—not that of the
former thought had some freakish ex- to set the blazes, and two of his younger match that lit it.

16 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 • Regarding the traces of phospho- Named Wanet, she and her eight- other name), based on family information listing
her as Eileen, born December 19, 1913, and so
rous (supposedly unavailable to a boy), year-old brother lived on the farm with about forty-two at the time of the incidents. (See
those would surely have come from the their father, Arthur McNeil, who was “Michael Joseph Parsons” 2019.)
“kitchen matches” (the strike-anywhere Willey’s brother-in-law. He was di-
type) of the era. Therefore, the traces of vorced but had custody of the children, References
that chemical actually help corroborate whom Mrs. Willey (their Aunt Lou) Bartholomew, Robert E., and Joe Nickell. 2015.
was helping to care for. The children’s American Hauntings. Santa Barbara, CA:
Calvin Jr.’s story. Praeger.
It seems obvious that believers in mother resided in Bloomington. Blazes are mystery at Blandenboro [sic]. 1932.
poltergeists are desperate to dismiss Wanet wanted to be with her Daily Times-News (Burlington, NC)
mother. She missed her and the pretty (February 1).
rational explanations, yet science has
Bridger, Mrs. R.C. 1932. Strange phenomenon
never authenticated a single such entity. clothes she never had. A psychiatrist puzzles citizens—fires break out most unac-
We can see that poltergeists depend on confirmed that the confession was gen- countably. The Robesonian (Lumberton, NC)
a lack of knowledge for their very exis- uine, explaining, “She’s a nice little kid (February 1).
Butts, Edward. 2010. Ghost Stories of
tence. Facts are a threat to them. caught in the middle of a broken home” Newfoundland and Labrador. Toronto:
(quoted in Gaddis 1967, 198). Dundurn Press.
Colombo, John Robert. 1988. Mysterious Canada.
Macomb Firebug Toronto: Doubleday Canada Limited.
A look at one more case emphasizes Christopher, Milbourne. 1970. ESP, Seers &
Psychics: What the Occult Really Is. New York:
the difference a confession makes. This Thomas Y. Crowell.
outbreak took place in August 1948 on Fodor, Nandor. 1968. The Haunted Mind. New
the farm of the Charles Willey family York: Signet Mystic Books.
Gaddis, Vincent H. 1967. Mysterious Fires and
outside Macomb, Illinois. According Lights. New York: Dell Publishing.
to Vincent Gaddis (1967, 195), “No Not knowing the moti- McCabe, William Bernard. 1849. A Catholic
History of England, in 2 vols. London: T.C.
story of strange fires ever received more
publicity.”
vation in this case Newby.
Michael Joseph Parsons. 2019. Available online at
The blazes began by selectively at- should not keep us https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/per-
tacking paper. Brown spots would ap- from seeing that it was son/tree/71480735/person/40287284700/
facts?_phsrc=YqZ32&_phstart=successSou-
pear on the home’s wallpaper, then
spread and burst into flames. This phe- the work of a secre- rce; accessed April 9, 2019.
Mysterious fires occur in residence. 1932. Daily
nomenon (reminiscent of that in the tive and opportunistic Times-News (Burlington, NC) (March 2).
Mystery fires cause Negro to move. 1958.
Alabama case) reportedly occurred on
walls and ceilings. Fire also attacked person and is not fun- The Gadsden Times (Gadsden, Alabama)
(September).
shelf paper in a cupboard, newspapers damentally mysterious Mystery fires plague farmer, home and barns go
up in smoke. 1948. Pittsburgh Press (August
stored in a box in the chicken house,
and more newspapers found smolder- after all. 20).
Nickell, Joe. 1995. Entities: Angels, Spirits,
ing elsewhere on a shelf. Curtains and Demons, and Other Alien Beings. Amherst,
NY: Prometheus Books.
other cloths were attacked. Meanwhile ———. 2009. Quest for the giant eel. Skeptical
the fires intensified, and the family Inquirer 33(4) ( July/August): 18–20.
fled to a vacant building nearby. Then ———. 2012. The Science of Ghosts: Searching for
Spirits of the Dead. Amherst, NY: Prometheus
on Saturday, August 14, their home Books.
burned, and the next day their first barn ———. 2016. Otherworldly: Mysteries of
burned. Several fires sprang forth on Newfoundland and Labrador. Skeptical Briefs
Things soon improved all around. 26(1) (Spring): 5–8.
the milkhouse walls on Tuesday, and on Rogo, D. Scott. 1979. The Poltergeist Experience.
Thursday the second barn burned down The Willeys received insurance money 1979. New York: Penguin Books.
(Gaddis 1967, 196–197; “Mystery Fires” for their home and barns. And Wanet Taylor, Troy. 2002. The Alabama fire poltergeist.
1948). was placed in the custody of her mater- Available online at http://www.prairieghosts.
com/al_fire.html; accessed February 18, 2019.
On August 30, the pyromania nal grandmother, tying her more closely Tomlin, Jimmy. 2016. North Carolina’s 1932
ceased. At the house where the family to her own mother. The “poltergeist” series of spontaneous combustions is still
had moved, a deputy fire marshal had went away—lurking only in the minds unsolved. Available online at https://www.
atlasobscura.com/articles/north-caroli-
set a box of matches in view, placed in of believers still intent on pseudoscien- nas-1932-series-of-spontaneous-combus-
a certain position. Later, it had been tific explanations.  tions-is-still-unsolved; accessed January 19,
moved, and one of the two children in 2016.
The very puzzling mystery of the Bladenboro
the household, Willey’s thirteen-year- fires. 1932. King Features Syndicate, in The
old niece, was nearby. An hour’s grill- Notes Ogden Standard Examiner (Ogden, NC)
1. See Nickell 2012, 33–34. (March 13).
ing by the deputy marshal and a state’s 2. CFI Libraries Director Tim Binga greatly Wilson, Colin. 2009. Poltergeist: A Classic Study
attorney yielded a confession from the assisted with research in this area. The daughter’s of Destructive Haunting. Woodbury, MN:
very unhappy girl. name “Josephine” seems an error (or perhaps her Llewellyn Publications.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 17

 [NOTES ON A STRANGE WORLD MASSIMO POLIDORO
Massimo Polidoro is an investigator of the paranormal, lecturer, and cofounder and head of
CICAP, the Italian skeptics group. His website is at www.massimopolidoro.com.

Living on Air? The Crazy Ideas and

Consequences of Breatharians

C
ould there be any more extreme After three weeks of fasting, he went into feared kidney damage or worse.
beliefs than those held by people a coma and died. Then Lina Marcia Ros- How can anyone believe something
who are convinced that the earth lyn Morris, a fifty-three-year-old Austra- so absurd? The spokespersons of the
is flat or that we live in a computer-gen- lian, met a couple who convinced her to movement, such as Jasmuheen, actually
erated matrix? Some people are con- live on air alone; she died after seven days, lie. They feed in secret or drink juices or
vinced that it is possible to live without and the couple was convicted of her mur- eat chocolate, vegetarian food, or fruit
eating or drinking—literally claiming to der. In 1999, a Scottish man named Verity and are convinced that there is nothing
be “existing on air.” These “breatharians” Linn also stumbled across a breatharian wrong with that. They justify themselves
claim to be feeding on only light and website and died from fasting. His body by thinking that some exceptions to the
air in addition to so-called “prana,” the was found two weeks after his death. regimen are harmless—more for fun
supposed vital universal energy (whose than for necessity. In reality, if they stop
existence has never been demonstrated). making such exceptions, they would die
For many, the idea of “feeding on Some people are within a few days, like everybody else.
light,” as they say, is a captivating siren.
They claim that it is possible to “repro- convinced that it is The news media often make things
worse. In Italy, for example, a TV show
gram” one’s body through meditation possible to live without titled Openspace was perhaps the first to
techniques so that water and food are no
longer needed. Too bad it doesn’t work.
eating or drinking— give visibility to this practice in 2015.
The Turin edition of Corriere della
A fast can last a few days—a week at literally claiming to be Sera online, published April 11, 2018,
most—but after much longer it can be
very harmful, leading to death by decay.
“existing on air.” reported on two Turin women who
claimed to feed on nothing but “energy.”
In the first twenty-four hours, glycogen
stocks, the primary source of energy of This was in fact a hoax. Overwhelmed
the cells, are exhausted; to maintain glyce- Very rarely are those who publicize by the controversy, the newspaper imme-
mic values in the norm, the body gets the this type of practice put to any public test. diately withdrew the article out of fear
necessary glucose from fats and proteins. The only documented case dates back to that it could be taken seriously by gullible
However, these soon run out. A fast that 1999, when Australian program 60 Min- people.
also omits water, of course, leads to death utes followed one of the main proponents It is precisely those who experience
much sooner. of breatharianism, Ellen Grave (better psychological or emotional fragility who
About 3,000 people in Europe alone known as Jasmuheen), for a week. can easily fall prey to those promising
claim to follow this extremely danger- After only one day, she started to show simple solutions to minor or nonexistent
ous practice. Fatalities from this practice signs of dehydration. Jasmuheen then said health problems (such as unneeded “de-
tend to make the news, though others she felt “disturbed by pollution.” She was toxing” or “reprogramming”). This hap-
who practice less restrictive forms may moved to a mountainous region, where pened with another resident of Turin,
not necessarily come to light and may dehydration worsened; she started to have a sixty-two-year-old French pensioner,
be more common. Timo Degen, a Ger- problems speaking and was losing weight. Alain René Francois Fourrè, who, con-
man kindergarten teacher, learned about On the fourth day, the program was in- vinced that he could live for weeks with-
breatharianism from a website in 1997. terrupted at the request of doctors who out eating, died of malnutrition. •

18 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 [ REALITY IS THE BEST MEDICINE HARRIET HALL
Harriet Hall, MD, also known as “The SkepDoc,” is a retired family physician, a CSI fellow, and
an editor of the Science-Based Medicine blog. Her website is www.skepdoc.info.

Smart Pills? Beware the PIED Piper

I
t sounds like the script of a sci- such as steroids, human growth hor-
ence fiction/fantasy movie: The mone, and diuretics intended to improve
class dunce takes a pill and sud- appearance or athletic performance.
denly becomes smarter than everyone These drugs can be dangerous. They are
in the class, including the teacher. An often abused,1 and many products are
elderly Alzheimer’s patient takes a pill contaminated.2 A large part of PIED
and his memory is instantly restored— advertising is for dietary supplements
Alzheimer’s dementia cured! Don’t you that are claimed to improve memory
wish? If only that sort of story could and cognition; these are also known
be true! Unfortunately, reality intrudes. as smart drugs, cognitive enhancers, or
There are no pills that have such dra- nootropics. When Dr. Steven Novella
matic effects. At best, some drugs reviewed these drugs, he concluded that
(including amphetamines, Ritalin, and nootropics and PIED are being abused
caffeine) might modestly improve a stu- and hyped without adequate evidence.3
dent’s ability to stay awake and maintain Some TV commercials are cringe-wor-
concentration when studying for a test. thy. I shudder every time they run the
It’s probably a good thing that there commercial for Prevagen that says it’s the
are no miracle smart pills. If a pill could “number one pharmacist recommended
really do such wonderful things, it memory support brand.” If pharmacists
would create some tough ethical dilem- really are recommending it, they shouldn’t
mas. If individuals could gain advantage be—because it doesn’t work. In fact, the
from a pill, who will get that pill? What Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and
if it costs too much for most people the New York Attorney General are suing
to afford? Would you want to live in a the marketers for false and unsubstanti-
world where any person could gain an ated claims that it improves memory,
unfair advantage over another by taking provides cognitive benefits, and is “clin-
a pill? Especially if there were no way to ically shown” to work. The complaint al-
know ahead of time whether you would leges that the manufacturers relied on a
be one of the disadvantaged or the priv- study that failed to show Prevagen works
ileged? Life is already unfair enough. I better than a placebo on any measure
think I’d rather take my chances with of cognitive function. They preyed on
the brain I was born with. Life is already unfair the fears of vulnerable older consumers
Unfortunately, there are people who experiencing age-related memory loss,
will believe anything they wish were enough. I think I’d and they charged exorbitant prices. The
true; they have enthusiastically followed rather take my chances New York Attorney General called it “a
the PIED Piper. The acronym PIED clear-cut fraud” that “costs more than
stands for performance and image en-
with the brain I was a week’s groceries but provides none of
hancing drugs. These can include drugs born with. the health benefits that it claims.”4

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 19

The Aging Population memory and our mental sharpness? from this questionable trial, there are
The number of Americans over six- To be clear: there are prescription no peer-reviewed studies attesting to
ty-five is projected to nearly double drugs proven to improve cognitive func- the safety and efficacy of Prevagen.
from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million tion in patients diagnosed with specific Schwarcz points out another kicker:
in 2060, when they will make up nearly diseases. In 2016, the American Medical “The company’s ‘evidence of safety’
a quarter of the population. There are Association adopted a new policy dis- basically admits that the product can-
measurable changes in cognitive ability couraging the use of prescription drugs not work.” It admits that the protein is
and memory functions as we age. Most for cognitive enhancement in healthy broken down by pepsin in the stomach
of us old folks are aware that we aren’t individuals.5 They pointed out that and has no chance of getting to the brain.
able to think or remember things as drugs approved to treat attention-defi- As if that weren’t enough, the Fed-
fast or as accurately as we once did, cit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) eral Drug Administration (FDA) has
and we are deathly afraid of descend- and narcolepsy were being used off-la- also charged that Prevagen does not
ing into Alzheimer’s or other forms of bel by students and others seeking to qualify for marketing as a natural di-
dementia. Wouldn’t it be great if we boost memory or learning, and such etary supplement, because apoaequorin
could take a pill that would restore our use is associated with a variety of ad- is synthetically produced. The man-
verse effects. In one study, 11.3 percent ufacturer also failed to disclose over a
of college students admitted to taking thousand reported adverse reactions to
prescription stimulants that had been Prevagen, including seizures, strokes,
prescribed for other people. Amphet- fainting, and even memory impairment
amines, dextroamphetamine (Adderall), and confusion—the very symptoms that
Dr. Steven Novella and methylphenidate (Ritalin) were the Prevagen is supposed to treat! Dissatis-
concluded nootropics most commonly used, and students took fied consumers have filed a class-action
them mainly to enhance alertness and lawsuit.7
and PIED are being to improve academic performance. Stu- Do those pharmacists who are rec-
abused and hyped dents are more likely to use coffee and ommending Prevagen know all this?
energy drinks than stimulant pills. Pre- They should. And they should know it
without adequate scription stimulants do not make people is unethical to recommend it. But then,
evidence. smarter. The effects are “highly variable pharmacies carry homeopathic remedies
among individuals, are dose-dependent, on their shelves alongside real medicines
and limited or modest at best in healthy (see the Center for Inquiry’s recent legal
individuals.” actions against CVS and Walmart phar-
macies for doing so), so what could we
expect? It seems you can’t trust the av-
Prevagen’s Scientific Claims Refuted
erage pharmacist to be scientifically ac-
Dr. Joe Schwarcz, chemistry professor
curate and ethical.
and science communicator extraordi-
naire, has examined Prevagen’s claims
and handily refuted them.6 The sup- Similar Products
posed active ingredient is a jellyfish There are many other dietary supple-
protein called apoaequorin. It binds to ment products with similar claims.
calcium, which plays a crucial role in One of them, Procera AVH (the
brain function. But it has to be just the “Memory Pill Does for the Brain
right amount of calcium; high levels What Prescription Glasses Do for the
of unbound calcium can wreak havoc Eyes”) makes claims such as:
with nerve cells, impairing thought
and memory, not enhancing it. Effects • Helps restore up to fifteen years of
that have been documented in the lost memory power in as little as
lab in cell cultures are irrelevant to thirty days;
human health, because the protein is • Revitalizes tired, sluggish brain
broken down by digestion and never cells with a fresh supply of oxygen
gets into brain cells. The manufacturer and key vital nutrients;
of Prevagen hypes a single in-house • Is clinically shown to quickly help
placebo-controlled trial that allegedly improve memory, focus, concentra-
showed memory improvement after tion, and mental energy.
ninety days. Although there were some
positive results in a few specific tests, Those are all lies. I looked for the
overall the placebo group performed as published evidence and found that
well as the experimental group. Apart it absolutely did not support those

20 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

claims.8 There was a single study of the not more accurate. Many combination column “The Legend of the Pied Piper”
product. It measured all kinds of factors products include a stimulant such as in our January/February 2008 issue).
but only found improvement in three caffeine, which is probably responsible There are many parallels with the
of them (working memory accuracy, for any positive effects observed. The Nootropic PIED Piper. They both in-
long-term memory consolidation, and effects of stimulants are problematic. volve rats, in this case of the human va-
one measure of mood). The magnitude They may make users feel more alert riety. Characters behave unscrupulously.
of those effects was small and probably but not actually improve performance; Promises are made and not kept. The
not clinically significant, and the study in fact, they sometimes decrease per- piper plays a siren song that entices ev-
is suspect because it was commissioned formance—and regular users quickly eryone who hears it. Rats and people
by the manufacturer and reported by develop tolerance. follow it willingly and don’t ask ques-
them as showing effects that it did not
show.
Prevention without pills
ConsumerLab has evaluated the evi-
dence9 for supplements sold to enhance
cognitive function and memory. They
list a few supplements that may pro-
vide modest benefits in some peo-
Apart from a question-
Prescription stimu- ple. They say, “Although green tea able trial, there are
has been touted for improving brain
lants do not make function, this effect is not well estab-
no peer-reviewed stud-
people smarter. The lished. Other supplements touted ies attesting to the
for brain function, such as Gingko
effects are “limited biloba and vitamin E have, by and
safety and efficacy
or modest at best in large, not been found to be helpful.” of Prevagen.
While most reviewers agree that the
healthy individuals.” hype for nootropics greatly exceeds the
evidence, there are some non-pill mea-
sures people can take to help maintain
cognitive health:
tions. There are allegedly miraculous
• Be physically active. effects. The modern PIED Piper won’t
• Manage cardiovascular risk factors lure your children away, but it will lure
Procera AVH is a mixture of three
such as high blood pressure, diabe- your money away with false promises.
ingredients, and the evidence for each
tes, and smoking. Beware the PIED Piper. For that
of them is thin gruel indeed. For Vin-
• Consider possible adverse effects of matter, beware any dietary supplement
pocetine, there was a small prelimi-
certain medications. or advertising claim unless you can ver-
nary study of twelve healthy volunteers
• Be socially and intellectually active. ify the evidence behind the claims. You
whose memory apparently improved.
• Get enough sleep. can’t believe everything you read. •
For Huperzine A, there was one small
• Avoid alcohol and recreational
study of students in China, and a Co-
drugs.
chrane review found inadequate evi- Notes
dence of effectiveness for dementia. For 1. https://www.dualdiagnosis.org/smart-
The story of the Pied Piper of drugs-nootropics-the-next-drugs-of-abuse/
Acetyl-L-Carnitine, the only studies 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Hamelin is a cautionary tale dating back
were in Alzheimer’s patients, and the pubmed/20355187
to the thirteenth century. He was a rat 3. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-
evidence was not objective.
catcher hired by the mayor to eliminate pied-piper-of-nootropics/
a plague of rats. He lured them out of 4. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-re-
leases/2017/01/ftc-new-york-state-charge-mar-
Evidence for Some Products town with his magical music and piped keters-prevagen-making-deceptive
Piracetam is a popular nootropic, but a them into the Weser River, where they 5. https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/
Cochrane systematic review concluded died by drowning. Then, when the press-releases/ama-confronts-rise-nootropics
6. https://mcgill.ca/oss/article/health/
that while further research is indi- mayor reneged on his promise to pay, prevagen-mental-clarity
cated, the evidence is currently insuffi- the rat catcher took a chilling revenge: 7. https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/
cient to recommend it for clinical use. he lured all the town’s children out of if-you-bought-prevagen-to-improve-your-
brain-health-and-memory-a-class-action-may-
Modafinil is a prescription drug for town. In some versions, he returned affect-your-rights/
narcolepsy and other neurologic dis- them after he was paid a ransom far 8. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/procera-
eases that is sometimes abused by stu- larger than his original price; in oth- avh-a-pill-to-restore-memory/
9. https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/
dents. When used by healthy subjects, ers, the children vanished mysteriously, do-any-supplements-help-with-brain-function/
their responses were slower and were never to return (see Massimo Polidoro’s supplements_for_memory/

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 21

 [ BEHAVIOR & BELIEF STUART V YSE
Stuart Vyse is a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition,
which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is a fel-
low of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Skepticism Blooms in Brazil

B
razil is considered a developing disease”; 73 percent believe genetically
country with substantial levels of modified organisms are harmful; and
poverty, yet São Paulo, the larg-
When it comes to 66 percent believe spiritual energy can
est city in South America, is a sophisti- knowledge and heal. Although it is less of an issue from
cated modern metropolis and home to
the largest university on the continent.
acceptance of science, a policy point of view, 31 percent be-
lieve aliens have visited ancient civili-
Because citizens are guaranteed health- the message in zations on earth.
care as a constitutional right, Brazil Brazil is mixed. Homeopathy is a particularly urgent
operates the largest national healthcare concern because it is offered by doctors
system in the world, and Brazilian through the national healthcare system.
mothers receive four months of paid to a recent national survey (see Figure
To make matters worse, medical ethics
maternity leave. As a result, although 1), Brazilians have a very high regard for rules in Brazil make it very difficult for
Brazil faces many daunting social and the importance of vaccination, and fully one physician to publicly criticize an-
economic challenges, Brazilians can be 87 percent believe that global warming other one without potentially losing
proud of much more than just soccer is caused by humans and produces se- their license. Norms of “professional
and samba. vere effects. But other areas are more courtesy” may be construed as imped-
When it comes to knowledge and concerning. For example, 83 percent of ing the criticism of another doctor’s le-
acceptance of science, the message is Brazilians believe that alternative medi- gally recognized specialty—even if that
similarly mixed. For example, according cine methods are a “good option to treat specialty is homeopathy. As a result,

Figure 1: Brazilians’ beliefs about science and pseudoscience. (Data based on a 2019 survey conducted by DataFolha [Orsi 2019].)

22 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

many doctors in the national healthcare speaking on behalf of science in dis- Ernst to give a public lecture, but that
system prescribe homeopathic medi- cussions of homeopathy and other un- was just the beginning. Some of their
cines free of any pushback from fellow founded beliefs. The other members of events have included:
physicians who support evidence-based the board of directors of IQC are: • November 22, 2018: The IQC
methods. Fully twenty-nine unsup- launch event, featuring a talk by
• Carlos Orsi (communications di-
ported alternative medicine techniques Edzard Ernst.
are allowed and paid for by the national rector), a prolific science journalist
healthcare system. To make matters and author who edits and writes for • July 25, 2019: Pasternak and Orsi
worse, government science funding in the organization’s journal, Revista were interviewed for an article ti-
Brazil has been cut in half in recent Questão de Ciência. tled “Why Homeopathy Is Pla-
years (Mega 2019). cebo—and It Should Not Be Paid
• Marcelo T. Yamashita (science di-
But all is not lost. Recently a vig- by the SUS,” in Superinteressante
rector), a physicist and director of
orous group of Brazilian scientists and Magazine (Rossini and Vaiano
the Institute for Theoretical Phys-
science communicators formed an orga- 2019).
nization aimed at bringing the light of • August 8–9, 2019: Stuart Vyse gave
science and reason to bear on the kinds a series of talks sponsored by the
of pseudoscience and superstition found IQC.
in their part of the world. On Novem- Homeopathy is a • September 9, 2019: Pasternak and
particularly urgent Orsi gave an address titled “Edu-
cational Dialogue: Media, Science
concern in Brazil and Scientific Dissemination” at
because it is offered the annual meeting of the Feder-
ation of Experimental Biology So-
by doctors through the cieties.
national healthcare • September 12, 2019: IQC and
Instituto de Estudos Avançados
system. (Advanced Studies Institute) of
the University of São Paulo co-
sponsored a lecture by USP psy-
chology professor Marco Antonio
Varella titled “What Does Igno-
Natalia Pasternak, president of Instituto Questão de Ciência.
rance Have to Teach Us?” This was
another event in the “Epistemology
ics at São Paulo State University. of Ignorance” series.
ber 22, 2018, the Instituto Questão de • September 20, 2019: Pasternak
Ciência (IQC; Question of Science In- • Paulo Almeida (chief financial offi-
gave a talk at New York University
stitute; https://iqc.org.br/) launched in cer), lawyer, psychologist, and Pub-
as part of a symposium called “In-
São Paulo, and in less than a year they lic Administration PhD student.
spired Science.” The meeting was
have conducted a dizzying schedule of In addition to this core group, IQC aimed at expanding the interna-
activities, started the journal Revista has an eleven-member advisory com- tional community of science com-
Questão de Ciência, and established a mittee with representation from med- municators.
formidable response to all manner of icine, physics, chemistry, biology, and
Brazilian pseudoscience. • October 20, 2019: Pasternak spoke
philosophy and has many active mem- at the Center for Inquiry’s CSICon
The Question of Science Institute
bers. Finally, IQC is represented on all conference in Las Vegas, Nevada,
is led by its president, Natalia Taschen
the most important social media plat- and Orsi also participated.
Pasternak, a research fellow at the Insti-
forms, including Twitter (@iqciencia;
tute of Biological Sciences at the Uni- • November 23, 2019: IQC cele-
1,700 followers), Instagram (@iqciencia;
versity of São Paulo (USP) and one of brated its first anniversary with
the most energetic people I have ever 7,000 followers), and Facebook (www. the International Seminar of the
met. Prior to starting IQC, in 2015 Pas- facebook.com/iqciencia/; 18,000 fol- Question of Science Institute,
ternak cofounded the Brazilian version lowers). In less than a year, their content which consisted of a full day of
of the Pint of Science (http://pintof- has garnered over five million views. events, including talks by Michael
science.com.br/), and by 2019, eighty- Throughout their first year, the IQC Marshall, project director of the
nine Brazilian cities were participating has maintained a rigorous schedule of Good Thinking Society (United
(Tuffani 2019). She has established events. For their launch in 2018, IQC Kingdom), and Loretta Maron,
many connections with journalists in invited renowned expert on homeop- CEO and cofounder of Friends of
Brazil and does frequent public events, athy and alternative medicine Edzard Science in Medicine (Australia).
Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 23
 In August 2019, I was honored to be the University of São Paulo, to give the I came away from the experience in-
invited by IQC to give a series of talks first in a series of lectures on the topic credibly impressed with what Pasternak
in São Paulo. Before I arrived, IQC “The Epistemology of Ignorance,” co- and her band of science advocates have
published Portuguese translations of a sponsored by IQC and the university’s established in such a short time. In ad-
few of my Skeptical Inquirer articles Institute of Advanced Studies. My talk dition to the public events they have cre-
on the institute’s website, and drawing was titled “Why People Believe What ated or participated in, IQC produces a
upon her many contacts with science They Believe” and was attended by sci- remarkable stream of written material
journalists, Pasternak had arranged for entists and scholars from a wide range through their online magazine and web-
of disciplines. site. Many of these articles are written by
Carlos Orsi, but IQC also recirculates
useful science-based publications from
other sources. Of course, all this content
is widely disseminated through social
media to maximize its impact. Finally,
although IQC is based in Brazil, Pas-
I came away from the ternak has made numerous connections
experience incredibly with skeptics all over the world, includ-
impressed with what ing Barry Karr and Susan Gerbic of the
Center for Inquiry.
Pasternak and her Brazil is a very large country that
band of science advo- poses many challenges for those who
champion science and reason, but if it is
cates have established possible to make a difference, I am con-
in such a short time. fident the intrepid Natalia Pasternak,
the brilliant Carlos Orsi, and the other
members of IQC’s team of science advo-
cates are the ones who can do it. When-
ever skepticism blooms it is a joy to see,
The question and answer period of a talk by the author in the but the emergence of IQC in Brazil is a
auditorium of a downtown São Paulo bookstore. Carlos Orsi
(left), the communications director of IQC, served as emcee.
particularly exciting development. Viva a
ciência e a razão no Brasil! 

References
On my third day, I returned to USP Mega, Emiliano Rodríguez. 2019. Funding cri-
to give a three-hour workshop for psy- sis at Brazilian science agency could leave
In less than a year, the chology graduate students and faculty 80,000 researchers and students without
pay. Science (August 19). Available online at
on the relationship between science and
skeptical organization clinical psychology. My lecture covered
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/
funding-crisis-brazilian-science-agency-
has established a for- some of the material I have reported in could-leave-80000-researchers-and-students.
Orsi, Carlos. 2019. Survey: Beliefs in science
this column on the use of the discred-
midable response to ited therapy facilitated communication
and pseudoscience in Brazil. Revista Questão
de Ciência (May 23). Available online at
all manner of Brazilian (e.g., Vyse 2018). http://revistaquestaodeciencia.com.br/
Finally, on a Saturday morning I gave a english/2019/05/23/survey-beliefs-science-
pseudoscience. public talk on the psychology of supersti-
-and-pseudoscience-brazil.
Rossini, Maria Clara, and Bruno Vaiano.
tion in an auditorium inside a large book- 2019. Entrevista: Por Que Homeopatia é
store in downtown São Paulo. This event Placebo – e Não Deve Ser Paga Pelo SUS.
Superinteressante ( July 25). Available online
was entirely organized by the IQC, who
at https://super.abril.com.br/ciencia/entrev-
arranged for simultaneous translation for ista-por-que-homeopatia-e-placebo-e-nao-
anyone whose English was not adequate deve-ser-paga-pelo-sus/.
to understand me. During the question Tuffani, Maurício. 2019. Pint of science Abre
me to do several interviews the first day Inscrições Para Participação De Novas
and answer session that followed, I heard Cidades Em 2020. Direto da Ciência
I arrived. These resulted in articles in a second translator in my headset, turning (August 12). Available online at http://www.
several newspapers, including Scientific the questions that had been submitted by diretodaciencia.com/2019/08/12/pint-of-
American Brazil and Folha de S. Paulo, science-abre-inscricoes-para-participacao-
the audience in Portuguese into English
de-novas-cidades-em-2020/.
the largest newspaper in São Paulo. that I could understand. It was a wonder- Vyse, Stuart. 2018. Autism wars: Science strikes
On my second day in Brazil, I visited ful event attended by a large crowd. back. Skeptical Inquirer 42(6): 25–27.

24 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

Imagine a future where science and reason
serve as the foundation for our lives.

A future where free expression is guaranteed

everywhere around the world.

A future where old sectarian divisions have been

overcome by the common bond of secular ideals.

This is the future CFI is working toward. Together, we can achieve it.
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Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 25
 [ THE SCIENCE OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION M AT T H E W C . NI S BE T
Matthew C. Nisbet is professor of communication, public policy, and urban affairs at Northeastern University and past edi-
tor-in-chief of the journal Environmental Communication. His 2018 three-volume series The Oxford Encyclopedia of Climate
Change Communication was a PROSE award finalist from the Association of American Publishers. Nisbet writes regularly at his
blog www.wealthofideas.org. Follow him on Twitter @MCNisbet.

Against Climate Change Tribalism:

We Gamble with the Future by Dehumanizing Our Opponents

This column is adapted from a speech delivered at the 2019 American Climate tics. Seemingly every policy debate is
Leadership Summit held in Washington, D.C., May 1–2, 2019. a competition between two intensely
hostile teams. Those on the right and

R
obbers Cave State Park in from the ground and compare photos
left oppose compromise by their polit-
Oklahoma may be best known of how many each group collected,
ical leaders, view the other party as ex-
today for its picturesque lakes the boys bragged that their team out-
treme and uncivil, and believe that their
and trails, but for three weeks in 1954 matched the other. In reality, the photos side should benefit the most from any
the park was also the setting for one showed the same number of beans for decision.
of the most famous experiments in each group. Fueled by competition and A recent study by Nathan P. Kalmoe
social psychology. In the Robbers Cave social isolation, the teams raided their and Lilliana Mason (2019), political
experiment, Muzafer Sherif (1988) and rival’s cabins late at night. The Eagles scientists at Louisiana State University
his colleagues at the University of burned the Rattlers flag; some boys and University of Maryland, found that
Oklahoma recruited twenty-two boys, more than 40 percent of Americans
all fifth graders from similar social surveyed viewed the opposing party as
backgrounds, to attend what they billed “downright evil.” Incredibly, 20 percent
as a specially designed summer camp. of Democrats and 16 percent of Repub-
The boys were immediately split into More than sixty years licans said they believed on occasion
that the country would be better off if
two groups: the Eagles and the Rattlers.
For the first week, the teams were kept later, the Robbers large numbers of the opposition died. In
on separate ends of the camp while they Cave study stands as other extreme examples, party loyalists
dehumanized their political adversaries.
participated in a variety of bonding ac-
tivities. The boys didn’t find out about
a metaphor for today’s In the case of both parties, nearly one
the other team’s existence until the start hyperpartisan politics. out of five survey respondents agreed
with the statement that their political
of the second week. Having never met
opponents “lack the traits to be con-
each other, the boys quickly began to
sidered fully human—they behave like
refer to the other team as “outsiders”
animals.” According to their study, if the
and “intruders.” opposing party won the 2020 election,
Following a series of competitive started collecting rocks to throw at the 18 percent of Democrats and 14 percent
games, the boys’ rivalry grew more in- others. Worried about physical injury, of Republicans reported they believed
tense. They started hurling insults, the experimenters called off the com- violence would be justified.
calling each other “pigs,” “sissies,” and petitions. The best-educated and informed
“cheaters.” Their perception of reality More than sixty years later, the partisans tend to be the most intensely
shifted. When researchers asked the Robbers Cave study stands as a met- tribal, engaging in “my side” reasoning
Eagles and Rattlers to gather up beans aphor for today’s hyperpartisan poli- that prioritizes victory over a desire for

26 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

the greater good (Haidt 2012). Research compromise on behalf of clean energy that global warming is mostly caused
shows that the most well-informed par- policy, similar in nature to Holocaust by human activities and say that they
tisans are quick to endorse their party’s deniers (Nisbet 2018). support climate regulations and clean
policy positions—not as a matter of Only seven years ago scholars were energy policies. Beyond this general
principle but, as New York Times colum- actually debating the wisdom of calling voter sentiment, according to the Yale
nist Thomas Edsall (2019) writes, “as a those who oppose action on climate Climate Opinion Maps project, most
public act designed to signal their tribal change “deniers.” Geographers Saffron adults in every Congressional district
loyalty as a Democrat or Republican.” O’Neill and Max Boykoff (2010) in a across the country say they support
On no other issue are such animosities, letter to the Proceedings of the National fossil fuel companies paying a carbon
prejudices, and biases more prevalent— Academies of Sciences (PNAS) raised tax, regulating CO2 as a pollutant, and
and more problematic—than on climate concerns about an earlier study at the setting strict restrictions on emissions
change. journal that had divided experts into from coal power plants (Nisbet 2019a).
“convinced” and “unconvinced” camps, But research also indicates that many
interchangeably using the terms deniers, Republicans who privately support
Finding Comfort in Tribalism solutions to climate change refrain from
skeptics, and contrarians to refer to the
For those of us who advocate for action publicly doing so out of an exaggerated
unconvinced. “Continued indiscrimi-
to address climate change, we are often fear of retaliation from their peers, a
nate use of the terms will further po-
told to be more like how we perceive fear that has been magnified by efforts
larize views on climate change,” warned
our political opponents: more ruthless, among some scholars and journalists to
O’Neill and Boykoff, “reduce media
more cunning, more aggressive, more socially stigmatize the supposedly mass
coverage to tit-for-tat finger-pointing,
willing to bend facts to our side, and number of deniers among their ranks
more committed to the most audacious (Van Boven et al. 2018).
and ambitious policies regardless of The more we become angry and the
their flaws. We are all too quick to rally more we catastrophize about the future,
around the banner of those voices that the less likely we are to find common
emphasize “us versus them,” “good ver- The best-educated ground or even be able to treat our po-
sus bad,” and “winning versus losing.”
We view those opposed to action and informed partisans litical opponents as human beings. And
social media is only making everything
on climate change as extreme but sel- tend to be the most worse. Playing to the most basic ele-
dom apply the same label to those on
our side. Green New Deal advocates,
intensely tribal, ments of human nature, social media
has done great damage to the climate
for example, have framed the choice engaging in “my side” change movement, destroying our abil-
for Americans in starkly binary terms:
Either join us in a utopian quest to
reasoning that ity to think collectively and discuss
productively across lines of difference.
transform the United States into a so- prioritizes victory over Artificial intelligence-driven platforms
cial democracy or face the catastrophic
consequences of a dystopian climate fu-
a desire for the serve up a constant stream of news and
commentary that reflects our existing
ture. There are no other choices. Their greater good. biases and beliefs rather than content
battle is equally against moderates and that might challenge them.
pragmatists as it is against conservatives Those specializing in the dark arts
(Nisbet 2019b). of social media “engagement” have
As a community of advocates, we used these platforms to hack our brains,
have become obsessed with the psy- and do little to advance the unsteady training our focus on conservatives and
chology and communication strategies relationship among climate science, so- the evildoings of the fossil fuel indus-
of conservative “deniers,” with many ciety, and policy.” try while the end times loom. Because
scholars striving to expose the faults in Their warnings, however, had little it kidnaps our attention, the most in-
conservative psychology, the duplicitous impact on the direction of scholarship, flammatory, most outrageous, and most
nature of fossil fuel companies, and the strategy, or journalistic coverage. Today’s catastrophic content is rewarded by
many ways in which Fox News and ubiquitous branding of Republicans as social media algorithms, ensuring that
right-wing think tanks seed “denial” and the party of “denial” greatly exaggerates it travels the furthest. Because social
engage in a “war on science.” This re- the intensity of opposition to climate media is a place where we find comfort
search has in turn infected mainstream and clean energy solutions among those in our tribal identity, posting, liking, and
journalism and commentary, in which on the center-right, creating a self-rein- spreading ideologically affirming con-
readers at outlets such as The Guardian forcing spiral of false perceptions. For tent generates social value, regardless
and The Washington Post are consistently the past few years, polling has consis- of the source, quality, or veracity of the
left with the impression that “anti-sci- tently shown that majorities of regis- content we may be sharing (Vaidhyana-
ence,” “denier” Republicans may in fact tered voters, including Independents than 2018).
be cognitively incapable of reason or and moderate Republicans, believe When claims are challenged, such
Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 27
as the viability of a 100 percent path to Panel on Climate Change report is re- to energy decarbonization and societal
renewables or the political feasibility of leased or the proposed Green New Deal resilience. If common goals on a specific
the Green New Deal, climate advocates is announced, your first thought in to- topic may not exist, investing in more
often respond by digging in their heels day’s news feed culture of righteousness thoughtful conversations and the fo-
and attacking the critic, further demon- is not your own original idea but almost rums to engage in those conversations
strating their loyalty. In doing so, they inevitably someone else’s appealing to can at least help reestablish the norms
follow the lead of a climate blogger or your worse biases. Spending less time of civility that have been lost in our so-
“Twitter celebrity,” who through their on social media and your smartphone ciety, enabling climate change advocates
commentary make it easy for us to re- will free up mental energy for contem- and those we disagree with to come to
main loyal to ideas or policies that have plation and deep reading of a diversity respect the nature and reasons for our
come to symbolize what it means to be of high-quality sources, alone with your differences. •
a “climate hawk” or activist. thoughts, wrestling with uncertainties
and complexities, scrutinizing your as- References
Brooks, D. 2019. An agenda for moderates: The
Engaging in More policy implications of love your neighbor. New
Thoughtful Conversations York Times (February 26). Available online at
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/opin-
“Moderation is not an ideology; it is ion/moderate-politics.html.
a way of being. It stands for humility Edsall, T. 2019. No hate left behind: Lethal par-
of the head and ardor in the heart,” tisanship is taking us into dangerous territory.
writes New York Times columnist New York Times (March 13). Available online
at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/
David Brooks (2019). “When you lis- opinion/hate-politics.html.
ten to your neighbor, you see how On no other issue are Haidt, J. 2012. The Righteous Mind: Why Good
People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.
many perspectives there are and you’re
intellectually humble in the face of that such animosities, prej- New York: Vintage Books.
Kalmoe, N., and L. Mason. 2019. Lethal Mass
pluralism. When you listen to your udices, and biases Partisanship: Prevalence, Correlates, and
Electoral Contingencies. Paper presented at
neighbor, you see that deep down we’re
the same and you hunger to deepen more prevalent—and the National Capital Area Political Science
Association, Washington, D.C. Available
that connection.” more problematic—than online at https://www.dannyhayes.org/
There can be no progress on climate uploads/6/9/8/5/69858539/kalmoe___
change until we rebuild our civic capac-
on climate change. mason_ncapsa_2019_-_lethal_partisan-
ship_-_final_lmedit.pdf.
ity to discuss, debate, and disagree in Newport, C. 2019. Digital Minimalism: Choosing
ways that do not turn every aspect of a Focused Life in a Noisy World. New York:
Penguin Books.
climate politics into an identity-driven Nisbet, M.C. 2018a. Scientists in Civic Life:
tribal war between good and evil. We Facilitating Dialogue-Based Communication.
must harness our organizational re- Washington, D.C: American Association
sources and personal gifts to serve not for the Advancement of Science. Available
online at https://www.aaas.org/programs/
as partisan persuaders but as partners in dialogue-science-ethics-and-religion/
face-to-face dialogue with other Amer- sumptions and beliefs. resources-engaging-scientists-project.
icans and decision-makers, embracing ———. 2019a. The battle over public opinion
Minimizing social media usage will on climate is over. ScientificAmerican.com
our common humanity. also enable you to be more present (February 7). Available online at https://
But to embrace our common hu- and less judgmental during face-to- blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/
manity, we must adopt and encourage the-battle-over-public-opinion-on-climate-
face discussions. The initial focus of a
is-over/.
the practice of what Georgetown Uni- conversation about a contentious topic ———. 2019b. Sciences, publics, politics: The
versity’s Cal Newport (2019) calls “digi- such as climate change with a neighbor, green new dilemma. Issues in Science and
tal minimalism,” a philosophy that helps community member, or elected official Technology 35(3) (Spring): 29–31. Available
online at https://issues.org/the-green-new-
you question what digital communica- should be to simply recognize and af- dilemma/.
tion tools (and behaviors surrounding firm shared identities, ideals, and beliefs. O’Neill, S.J., and M. Boykoff. 2010. Climate
these tools) add the most value to your Reframing climate change in terms of denier, skeptic, or contrarian? Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences 107(39):
life. It is impossible to resist the siren public health or religious duty, for ex- E151–E151.
song of climate tribalism if, like the av- ample, may help foster a more thought- Sherif, M. 1988. The Robbers Cave Experiment:
erage American, you spend several hours ful conversation (Nisbet 2018). Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation.
a day on your smartphone swiping, Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Still, there are no magic messages
Vaidhyanathan, S. 2018. Antisocial Media: How
scrolling, skimming, liking, hearting, capable of overcoming false beliefs or Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines
retweeting, forwarding, and responding converting someone to your side. Yet Democracy. Oxford University Press.
to other people’s thoughts, especially if with trust and relationships established, Van Boven, L., P.J. Ehret, and D.K. Sherman.
2018. Psychological barriers to bipartisan
they apply to climate change politics. further dialogue can focus on working public support for climate policy. Perspectives
When a new Intergovernmental together toward common goals related on Psychological Science 13(4): 492–507.

28 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 [ SKEPTICAL INQUIREE BENJAMIN RADFORD
Benjamin Radford is a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and author or coauthor
of a dozen books, including Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits.

Is America a Sheeple Factory?

Q:
It’s said that the best way to keep people down is to limit their access to education and
knowledge, making it easier to control them. That seems to be what the government
does. What do you think?
—C. Griffin

A
I was asked this question educational environment which • “9/11 official LIE proves how
in mid-2019, accompa- aims to reduce any challenge to dumbed down the western popu-
: nied by the news headline
“Trump Administration
Proposes $7.1 Billion
the student. Any indoctrination is
completely effective on those who
lace is … most of them still believe
the ‘staged’ moon landings [and] the
are either naive or ignorant com- official story of what happened on
Funding Cut to Education pared to those who are much older 9/11, completely ignoring of how
Department.” The claim, who know and have learned of the the laws of physics work … now we
like most conspiracy the- world we live.” are left with gullible men-children
ories, has a superficial populist appeal,
and I’ve seen the sentiment echoed by
many otherwise skeptical friends and
acquaintances.
An unedited sampling of Reddit
posters on the topic provides some typ-
ical opinions:

• “The govt wants us all dumb,

That way we follow what they want
us to follow, We’re like puppets to
them, You got to think for yourself,
It’s sad to say that’s what this world
has come to.”
• “The goal of keeping the popu-
lace dumb starts in schools and a
percentage of the older population.
This has been going on for a few
decades now. They want stress free
Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 29
 who believe ANYTHING they see Parent note in their book American to breed and train a standardized
or hear from media/governments. Conspiracy Theories, “A trope of citizenry, to put down dissent and
conspiracy theorists is that those originality. That is its aim in the
Common sense died long ago to.”
United States, whatever the preten-
in power are snake charmers, using sions of politicians, pedagogues and
Many conspiracy theorists—from conspiracy theories to manipulate the other such mountebanks, and that is
David “Obama Is a Secret Lizard Illu- masses. Joseph McCarthy and Adolf its aim everywhere else.
minati” Icke to Alex “Everything Is a Hitler come to mind [however] the
evidence shows that such snake charmer For later generations, the Pink Floyd
False Flag” Jones—have eagerly adopted song “Another Brick in the Wall (Part
this idea. It’s not surprising, because fears are exaggerated” (Uscinski and
Parent 2014, 152). 2)” from the album and film The Wall
complaints about suppression of infor- is perhaps a clearer touchstone, tapping
mation (and secret knowledge available into universal student grousing about
only to the powerful elite) are key to A History of Anti-Education Complaints conformity and mandatory public ed-
their worldview. Note that the claim is The idea has a long history. In his ucation.
not merely about misinformation (a sta- influential 1869 book On Liberty, John Complaints about the educational
ple of conspiracy theories) but the active Stuart Mill wrote: system (or public transportation, crum-
suppression of otherwise ordinary gen- A general State education is a mere bling infrastructure, or any other social
eral knowledge and information. contrivance for moulding people to service) are both timeless and beyond
As Joseph Uscinski and Joseph be exactly like one another: and as the scope of this column. But it’s fair
the mould in which it casts them is
that which pleases the predominant to point out that much has changed in
power in the government, whether the American educational system since
Many conspiracy this be a monarch, a priesthood, an the days of Mill and Mencken (more on
aristocracy, or the majority of the that presently). Nevertheless the idea
theorists—from David existing generation, in proportion as
holds a strong sway over many people
it is efficient and successful, it estab-
“Obama Is a Secret lishes a despotism over the mind, today.
Lizard Illuminati” Icke leading by natural tendency to one
over the body.
Like UFO cover-ups (see “The
Phantom Menace of UFO Revelation,”
to Alex “Everything Is a Another early proponent was pro- my July/August 2018 SI column), this
False Flag” Jones—have fessional curmudgeon H.L. Mencken, conspiracy allegedly spans administra-
who wrote in the April 1924 issue of tions and generations. Democrat and
eagerly adopted this his magazine The American Mercury: Republican alike are allegedly partic-
idea. The aim of public education is not
ipants in this institutional conspiracy.
to spread enlightenment at all; it is
(The effects of Trump’s education cuts
simply to reduce as many individuals that spurred this query would not be
as possible to the same safe level, seen in general education levels for

30 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

years—if at all—and thus any “benefit” races, and economic statuses (Schmidt is especially clear from the widespread
to keeping the public ignorant would of 2018). The Census Bureau also found and well-attended protest marches
course boost the goals of future Demo- that the number of people aged twen- across the country in recent years. From
cratic presidents and administrations as ty-five and over whose highest degree the Women’s Marches to Occupy Wall
well. If true, it’s heartening to see this was a master’s has doubled since 2000 Street, from protesting for climate
common ground and shared agenda be- to 21 million. During that time, the change and education policies to gun
tween otherwise deeply polarized polit- number of people earning doctorate control and police brutality, Americans
ical parties.) degrees more than doubled to 4.5 mil- show no sign of being too uneducated
On social media, I’ve seen this claim lion. In 1940, 3.8 percent of women and about what’s going on to embarrass and
shared unironically by many highly 5.5 percent of men had completed four cause trouble for those in power.
educated people, often with a whiff of years or more of college; by 2018, it was Regardless of status as progressive,
condescension. Those advocating con- 35.3 percent for women and 34.6 per- conservative, or something else, every-
spiracies of course exclude themselves cent for men. one can unite to complain about the
as victims of it. They’re “in the know” stupidity of their fellow citizens and
and have managed to break free of the blame the “gubmint” for trying to keep
blinders. It’s the Others—the ignorant citizens uninformed. Many people en-
masses of sheeple—who need to wake dorse the spirit or gist of conspiracy the-
up and realize how they’ve been so woe- ories while not necessarily believing in
fully duped and kept ignorant by the It’s fair to point out their literal truth. This is especially true
government in service of controlling that much has of socially and politically charged issues.
them. Sharing on social media is less about the
changed in the content of that specific story or meme
Where’s the Beef? American educational than it is about symbolic endorsement,
or what’s been called virtue signaling.
Falsifying conspiracy theories is a dif- system since the days Liking or sharing a news story doesn’t
ficult task, but we can look at different
lines of evidence for this one. This con- of Mill and Mencken. necessarily mean you’ve read it—much
spiracy ignores the fact that education less understand it or can intelligently
and information—the very things that discuss it—but instead it’s often used as
the government is supposedly work- a visual badge representing your social
ing to contain and minimize—have views and grievances.
never before in human history been so If there really are federal government
freely available. There are over 115,000 The United States spends $706 bil- employees in charge of keeping Amer-
libraries across the United States that lion on education, according to the U.S. icans ignorant—maybe a “black opera-
have books and current publications on Department of Education (2019), which tion” with a name like “Department of
every imaginable topic that are free to comes to about $13,850 per public school Anti-Education” located in some non-
read by anyone at any time. Virtually student. Not only does the government descript hallway in the Pentagon—they
everyone has some access to the inter- provide free, mandatory grade school ed- must surely be disappointed in their de-
net, a portal to virtually unlimited ucation,1 but it also offers low-interest monstrable and utter incompetence. 
information via Wikipedia, tutorials on student loans for those who wish to pur- Note
YouTube—and the Khan Academy, a sue higher education. All this is puzzling 1. If this theory were true, we might expect
behavior for a government that wants to the country’s teachers to resign en masse upon
free multilingual online program offer- realizing that their careers and attempts to
ing courses on myriad topics—news keep its citizens ignorant—but perhaps educate America’s youth are being intentionally,
articles, blogs, and the like. (Some someone didn’t get the memo. institutionally, and actively undermined by the
The shadowy sheeple factory work- federal government.
information is of course behind news-
paper and journal paywalls, but that’s a ers are obviously losing the battle to
References
function of for-profit publication and keep citizens ignorant. The data—as-
Schmidt, Erik. 2018. For the first time, 90
has nothing to do with government suming you don’t think they’ve been percent completed high school or more.
attempts to suppress knowledge.) faked—are quite clear. And where, ex- United States Census Bureau ( July 31).
actly, is the “puppet-like” dumbed-down Available online at https://www.census.gov/
Americans are better educated than library/stories/2018/07/educational-attain-
at any other time in history. In July populace that believes anything the ment.html.
2018, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed government and media say? The idea U.S. Department of Education, National Center
that 90 percent of Americans twen- that Americans—after decades of their for Education Statistics. 2019. The Condition
of Education 2019 (NCES 2019-144), Public
ty-five and older completed at least high education being systemically suppressed School Expenditures. Available online at
school—an all-time high and a remark- by the government—have become easily https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indica-
able increase from 24 percent in 1940. swayed and docile is absurd. Americans tor_cmb.asp.
Uscinski, Joseph, and Joseph Parent. 2014.
Education has risen dramatically in the are hardly in lockstep agreement with American Conspiracy Theories. New York:
population as a whole, across genders, what its leaders and officials want; this Oxford University Press.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 31

[INTERVIEW

Skepticism about Cancer Screening:

An Interview with Dr. H. Gilbert Welch
FELIPE NOGUEIRA

D
r. H. Gilbert Welch is an American physician and cancer screening require multiple visits and multiple
researcher. As a former professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health tests before we are sure they don’t have
Policy and Clinical Practice, he has published many peer-reviewed papers cancer. Patients understand that medi-
about the harms of early detection and specifically of cancer screening—the sys- cations can be harmful, but they cannot
tematic search for cancer before it causes symptoms. imagine how a test could be harmful.
Welch is also a science writer. His first book, published in 2004, was Should They think that it is always good to
I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here’s Why. Welch, along with researchers know, but they do not recognize the
Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin, wrote Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in cascade of events that a test can trigger.
the Pursuit of Health, which deals with screening and other cases where medicine Even a perfectly safe test can lead to a
probably causes more harm than good. His latest book, published in 2015, is titled series of events that can harm people.
Less Medicine, More Health: 7 Assumptions That Drive Too Much Medical Care. Finally, to promote screening we
Welch and I discussed why diagnosing cancer early is not necessarily always a need to scare people about the disease
good thing. (“that’s why you need to be screened”).
In other words, we are making every-
an important question is: What hap-
body more worried about the future.
pened to the other 999? That is where
Ironically, part of being healthy is being
I have been in my career for the past
not too worried about health. Screening
twenty years.
is responsible for injecting some “dis-
ease” into the population.
What is the main idea behind screening
and its problems? What is the effect of screening/early
In the past, doctors waited for problems detection in survival statistics?
to develop in a population and made di- With more detection, the typical patient
agnosis and treatment in that fraction. now does better. Among patients with
The idea of screening or early detection the disease, they appear to have survived
is to advance in time the moment of longer. This happens because people
diagnosis in the same population. The who are overdiagnosed or have less se-
Dr. H. Gilbert Welch assumption behind screening is that the vere forms of disease are included in the
people diagnosed early will be those “disease” group. Screening effects are re-
When we are discussing problems of destined to develop problems. ally misleading: the harder you look, the
screening, how can we make the mes- However, the reality has been dif- more you find, and everyone appears to
sage clear that not all medical care is ferent; whenever we look hard for early be better. It is related to the popularity
being criticized? forms of disease, we find that more peo- paradox of screening: the more overdi-
I am a conventionally trained physician ple have them. Thus, not all of them will agnosis screening causes, the more pop-
and believe medical care can do a lot of develop problems. Because we do not ular screening becomes.
good—particularly for people who are know who is going to develop problems,
sick and injured. Making a timely di- we tend to treat all of them. This means What have we learned about cancer
agnosis in people who are sick is really we are treating some people for whom progression and its relationship with
important. What I am worried about is the disease would never be a problem. screening?
when medical care expands to the pop- It is the overdiagnosed and needlessly Cancer is much more heterogeneous
ulation that is well, because it is hard to treated fraction that cannot be helped than we thought. Abnormalities that
make a well person better, but it is not but can be harmed. meet the pathological definition of can-
that hard to make them worse. Overdiagnosis happens to a relatively cer could have very different natural his-
We might involve a thousand people few individuals. A more common prob- tories; they have variable growth rates.
in a screening program for ten years, and lem of screening is the disease scare—a It has been described as the barnyard
one person is helped. This is good, but false positive result. Many individuals pen of cancers. There are three animals
32 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer
in the barnyard: the birds, the rabbits, creating the major harm of early detec- the incidence at present is almost the
and the turtles. The goal of screening is tion: overdiagnosis and overtreatment. same as in 1975. In other words, this is
to fence them in, to catch them early. a scrutiny-dependent cancer. I do not
However, we cannot catch the birds, How has screening affected the inci- know of a more powerful example of
because they are already gone. Birds are dence of prostate cancer? how the health care system affects the
the most aggressive cancers; they have Note how the incidence of prostate can- apparent amount of cancer.
already spread by the time they are de- cer in the United States bounces around
tectable. Screening does not help with (see Figure 1). There is no known tumor Among common cancer screening pro-
those cancers. Sometimes we can treat biology or carcinogenic process that can grams (for cervical, colorectal, breast,
them, but they are the worst type. explain this graph. It looks more like a and prostate cancers), what are their ef-
It is possible to catch the rabbits if financial chart than a cancer incidence fects in the mortality of those cancers?
you build enough fences. The rabbits are chart. And this is not a small-number We never had a randomized trial of
the cancers that can be detected earlier problem; it is the most common cancer cervical cancer screening; it was im-
and will bother patients. So screening in the database. plemented before we considered ran-
may help in these cases. For screen- The graph can be divided into four domized trials. There is a lot of obser-
ing to be of help, treatment needs to phases. It begins in 1975 with the vational data that suggests it is helpful,
be more effective early than it is late. growth of transurethral resection of the but it does not explain the 80 percent

“For screening to
be of help,
treatment needs
to be more effec-
tive early than it
is late. Sometimes
this is not true.”
—Dr. H. Gilbert Welch
Figure 1. Age-adjusted incidence of prostate cancer in the United States during 1975–2014 (Welch and Brawley 2018).

Sometimes this is not true. In the case prostate (TURP), which at the time was reduction in cervical cancer mortality.
of breast cancer, for example, a two-cen- a common prostate surgery done to help For instance, we have seen an 80 percent
timeter tumor can be treated as well as a men with large prostates. With more reduction in stomach cancer mortality,
one-centimeter tumor. pieces of prostates being sent to pathol- and it is a cancer that we do not screen
Finally, we don’t need any fences for ogists, the incidence of prostate cancer for. Colon cancer mortality is also de-
the turtles, because they are not going slowly increased. The second phase is clining, and the fall started before the
anywhere. Turtles meet the pathological PSA promotion, when hospitals started introduction of screening.
definition of cancer. However, they are to offer free PSA tests, knowing they Screening for cervical cancer and
either not growing or growing so slowly would make their money back in sub- colorectal cancer has had some effect
that they will never cause problems until sequent blood tests, biopsies, and treat- in the mortality of those cancers. Breast
the patient dies from something else. Or ments. Around 1995, the retrenchment cancer screening has had only a little
they are regressing—some cancers start era began with urologists recognizing effect on breast cancer mortality. The
and they disappear; perhaps they are that they should not offer PSA screen- big effect in breast and prostate cancer
recognized by a well-functioning im- ing for men with less than ten years of is better treatment—we learned those
mune system. life expectancy, since they cannot be cancers are hormonal diseases.
The unfortunate reality is that screen- helped by screening. Finally, the dis-
ing is very good at finding turtles. Doc- couragement took place after the U.S. How do you see the risk-to-benefit ratio
tors are not able to distinguish turtles Preventive Services Task Force argued of those cancer screening programs?
from rabbits; thus we treat everybody, against PSA screening. It is remarkable In general, people consider colorectal
Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 33
and cervical cancer screening on the ingful relationships. They are not sexy How can we make screening better, for
side of more benefit than harm. I think or technological but are very import- instance to find those cancers we can
this is largely because the problem of ant to health. But when the prevention make a difference in?
cancer overdiagnosis is less evident in movement got medicalized, it became This is best exemplified in the case of
those cases. Because they detected pre- a technological imperative to look for lung cancer screening. In the United
cancerous lesions, overdiagnosis takes early forms of disease. States, lung cancer is the most common
place at a prior step, dysplastic polyps We also have to be sensible with the cause of cancer death; it is a big prob-
or cervical dysplasia. In colorectal cancer overdiagnosis problem. We have to stop lem. There is a really well-defined risk
screening, there are complications from group, which can be identified by a sin-
thinking the best test is the one that
colonoscopy and from polypectomies gle question: “Do you smoke?” We have
finds more cancers. Typically, that is
(e.g., bleeding, perforations). In cervi- a really common cause of death and an
how tests are promoted, “This test finds
cal cancer screening, there are compli- easy way to find a high risk group—it is
cations from cryotherapy and excisions more cancer than that one.” That is not
a perfect situation for screening.
for precancerous lesions (e.g., bleeding, a good test; we are not looking to find Lung cancer was the first cancer
preterm birth). more cancers; we want to find a few can- studied for screening, and it happened in
Cancer screening has a mix of ef- cers that matter. the 1980s using chest X-ray. The results
fects. Most screening, including PSA were terribly disappointing: screening
and mammography, does help a few led to more deaths, not fewer. This hap-
people but also harms others. This is “It is hard to pened because screening triggered oper-
the conundrum we must be clear about. ations, and some died from those opera-
So, screening is not a public health im-
make a well per- tions. The idea of overdiagnosis in lung
perative; it’s a choice. son better, but it cancer was crazy, but it happened. Then,
Screening can distract people from spiral CT comes along. Importantly, the
more important things they can be
is not that hard to investigators responsible for spiral CT
doing for their health. It can also dis- make them worse.” trial knew about overdiagnosis. What
tract resources from other more import- they did was groundbreaking. When
ant interventions. There are two very
—Dr. Welch
the spiral CT found a small lesion that
different aspects to the word prevention. looked worrisome, they did not act and
One is health promotion from behavior did not biopsy immediately; they waited
advices, such as do not smoke, eat real three months to see whether the lesion
food, move regularly, and find mean- was growing. They were making use of
the diagnostic value of time. Time pro-
vides information both about the genet-
ics of the tumor and the body’s reaction
to it. I think that is a step forward.
Everything changes when you move
to a genuine high-risk population (recall
that regular cigarette smokers are twenty
times more likely than non-smokers to
die from lung cancer). They are much
less likely to be overdiagnosed and much
more likely to be helped. But there are
not a lot of risk factors as common and
powerful as cigarette smoking. Most
cancers are sporadic and not the result
of some obvious risk factor.

All-cause mortality is not reduced in

population-wide cancer screenings tri-
als. Can you explain why it matters?
It begins with what counts as a can-
cer death. In the context of evaluating a
screening, I want cancer death not only
to include deaths from cancer but also
deaths due to interventions performed as
part of looking for and treating the cancer.
Figure 2. The Minnesota Colon Cancer Control Study: All-cause mortality was the same between three groups: control (non- That is not what happens. That is why
screened), annual screening, and biennial year (Shaukat et al. 2013). all-cause mortality is important. If we are
34 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer
going to tell people that screening “save What about clinical breast examination How do you see the paper that claimed an
lives,” I would like to know if it changes and self-breast examination often adver- increase in advanced cases of prostate
their risk of death. Unless you want to tised to women? cancer after USPSTF 2012 recommenda-
play a game that you care more about one The data is clear that clinical breast exam tion against screening?
type of death than another. and teaching women to self-examine That report—an increased number of
A good example is the classic Min- their breasts does not seem to help. But if late stages of prostate cancer—was highly
nesota Colon Cancer Control Study. It a woman becomes aware of a new breast flawed. They were only talking about
now has thirty years of follow-up. There lump, she should have it evaluated. Part “counts”; they never had a denominator.
are three arms in the study: annual and of the attention to breast cancer has been In the U.S. data so far (Figure 3), the
biennial screening and control group. good. Ironically, it is possible that screen- incidence of metastatic prostate cancer at
After thirty years, 2 percent of the an- ing mammography could be the best first presentation (the cancer was already
nual group and 3 percent of the control metastatic at the moment of diagnosis)
way to do the clinical breast exam, if the
group died from colon cancer. This is continues to stay stable. But I expect it
threshold would be looking for things 1
the benefit: 1 percentage point, or to will go up.
cm or bigger. I think a lot of harm from
put it in relative terms, a 33 percent re- What you see is the implementation
mammography could be reduced if the
duction in colon cancer death. However, of PSA screening really had an effect on
all-cause mortality was the same in all thresholds for further investigation were
much higher. that incidence; it almost cut it in half. This
groups (Figure 2). It is hard to say that is is a sign that the bad cancers are being
saving lives; it may be trading one form The general conundrum of screening
is we have to involve a whole bunch of found early. Now it’s been fairly stable,
of death for another. but I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes back
people to potentially help a very few. We
up, because PSA screening is going down.
Because screening benefits are not have to pay attention to not disturb the
But whether that changes death rates is a
large and there are harms, what are rest of them.
separate question, because early treatment
the reasons for the heavy promotion of
screening? “Most screening, must matter.
Notice, in comparison, the incidence
The first is a true belief that early including PSA and of metastatic breast cancer at first presen-
detection must help, as a solution to
every bad disease. Money is another mammography, does tation never changes; it is pretty stable.
Mammography screening has not been
part, because screening is a great way help a few peo- able to reduce the amount of breast can-
to recruit new patients. It is good for
Pharma, for test manufacturers, and ple but also harms cer diagnosed at this very late stage. That’s
not the mammographers’ fault; that’s the
increasingly good for our hospitals. It others. This is the fault of the aggressive cancers (the birds in
is a powerful idea to look for diseases
early. If you could argue that every- conundrum we must the barnyard analogy).
one should do something, it is a huge be clear about.” References
market.
—Dr. Welch Shaukat, A., S.J. Mongin, M.S. Geisser, et al.
2013. Long-term mortality after screening
for colorectal cancer. New England Journal
of Medicine 369(12): 1106–14. doi: 10.1056/
NEJMoa1300720.
Welch, H.G., and O.W. Brawley. 2018. Scrutiny-
dependent cancer and self-fulfilling risk
factors. Annals of Internal Medicine 168(2):
143–144. doi: 10.7326/M17-2792.
Welch, H.G., D.H. Gorski, and P.C. Albertsen.
2015. Trends in metastatic breast and pros-
tate cancer—lessons in cancer dynamics.
New England Journal of Medicine 373: 1685–
1687. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1510443.
Felipe Nogueira has a PhD in medical science
from Rio Janeiro State University. He has a
master’s degree in computer science. As a
science writer, he was a regular columnist
for Skeptical Briefs, the former newsletter
of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He
has also contributed to Skeptical Inquirer
and Skeptic magazines. His articles can be
found at https://www.skepticalinquirer.org/
Figure 3. Incidence of cancer that was metastatic at first presentation in the United States, 1975–2012 (Welch et al. 2015). authors/Felipe-nogueira and http://skepti-
cismandscience.blogspot.com/.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 35

 Dubious Claims
in Psychotherapy
for Youth
Part I:
Neurodevelopmental Issues
Psychotherapy for young people is full of
questionable ideas. This article, the first in a
three-part series, addresses neurodevelopmen-
tal issues, including craniosacral therapy for
intellectual disabilities, dolphin-assisted therapy
for those on the autism spectrum, brain balanc-
ing for inattention, teaching based on learning
styles, and dental devices for tics.

STE PHE N HUPP, JASON TRAV E RS,

LORI MARINO, SCOTT O. LILIE NFE LD,
CHRISTIAN JARRE TT, INDRE V ISKONTA S,
GRANT RITCHE Y, CLAY JONE S, AND
HE NRY HUPP 1

There are hundreds of different types of psychotherapy

practices used with children and adolescents. Many have
been shown to be ineffective, and some of them even have
harmful effects. Still others have never been tested but are
based on implausible assumptions.
In the book Pseudoscience in Child and Adolescent Psy-
chotherapy (edited by Stephen Hupp, Cambridge University
Press, 2019), scholars from psychology and related fields
detail some of the most common examples of pseudosci-
ence and dubious claims made related to psychotherapy
with youth. Each chapter of the book also includes a side-
bar written by skeptics and science communicators, repre-
senting a variety of different disciplines.
Most of the sidebars in the book have been pulled to-
gether in this three-article series. For this first installment
dedicated to neurodevelopmental issues for youth, contrib-
utors include three neuroscientists, a behavior analyst, a
clinical psychologist, a dentist, a pediatrician, and a high
school student. Topics covered in six sections include symp-
toms related to intellectual disabilities, the autism spec-
trum, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, specific learn-
ing disorder, and tics. Finally, the issue of whether children
should be taught about pseudoscience is addressed.

36 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

Intellectual and Adaptive Functioning: nipulate cranial bones. Manipulations are claimed to
Does Craniosacral Therapy Improve regulate cerebrospinal fluid, thereby improving cog-
Cognitive Functioning? nitive functioning.
Jason Travers There exists no underlying scientific justification
or reliable scientific evidence for CST (Hartman and
Norton 2002). Several studies have found that CST
practitioners are unable to reliably detect the cranio-
sacral rhythm they claim informs their treatment
(Hanten et al. 1998; Rogers et al. 1998; Wirth-Pat-
tullo and Hayes 1994). At least two deaths associated
with CST have been documented (Barret 2012). CST
is not a medical treatment and does not improve in-
tellectual disability. CST has been described as wholly
pseudoscientific, and its practice is often characterized
as quackery.

Intellectual disabilities are very often the product of Autism Spectrum: Does Dolphin-Assisted
an individual’s genetic endowment or injury to the
Therapy Have Healing Effects?
brain, such as hypoxia during birth or toxic expo-
sure to lead during childhood (Shapiro and Batshaw Lori Marino and Scott O. Lilienfeld
2011). Educational methods typically are the most ef-
fective means of improving functioning and quality of
life. Craniosacral therapy (CST) has been claimed to
be a useful alternative medical treatment for treating
an array of health problems and disabling conditions,
including intellectual disability.

There exists no underlying

scientific justification or
reliable scientific evidence for
Dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) is a popular treat-
craniosacral therapy. ment for a host of mental disorders and develop-
mental disabilities. In particular, DAT is widely used
around much of the world for autism spectrum disor-
der and other developmental disabilities in children,
CST is also called craniopathy, cranial osteopa-
adolescents, youth, and adults. DAT typically involves
thy, cranial therapy, sacro-occipital technique, and
swimming or interacting with captive dolphins with
bio-cranial therapy. The method typically is used by
the expectation that contact with them generates
practitioners with dubious credentials (e.g., chiroprac-
powerful therapeutic effects. DAT was introduced in
tors) but also by seemingly credible individuals such
the 1970s and has become a highly lucrative business
as physical therapists, massage therapists, osteopaths,
and dentists. CST is based on the unsubstantiated in several countries, including the United States. Most
notion that a craniosacral system is associated with captive dolphin parks offer some version of a DAT
the “primary respiratory mechanism” of cerebrospinal experience for visitors, and many advance nonspecific
fluid that influences blood flow throughout the body. and often expansive claims about its effectiveness. In
CST proponents claim they can detect a “craniosacral doing so, they may appeal to a range of explanations,
rhythm” in their clients and that applying pressure to including increased concentration abilities, reward,
the skull can influence the regulation of cerebrospinal changes in brain waves, and the purported “healing
fluid. They further claim that balancing cerebrospinal effects” of echolocation (the sonar that dolphins use to
fluid is critical for good health and brain function, locate and identify living and nonliving objects). DAT
and this is an outcome of their treatment. CST prac- facilities typically charge visitors exorbitant fees for
titioners believe they can use light touch to detect the “treatments” that can last anywhere from one session
flow of cerebrospinal fluid and therapeutically ma- to several sessions over a week, and no professional

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 37

 accreditation is required. participate in these activities in confined, often un-
DAT’s popularity notwithstanding, several meth- healthy, settings. Therefore, DAT is a physically risky,
odological reviews of published studies have revealed expensive, and ethically problematic intervention that
that there is no credible scientific evidence for its is premised on unsubstantiated scientific assertions.
long-term effectiveness for autism spectrum disorder
or any other condition (Humphries 2003; Marino
and Lilienfeld 1998; Marino and Lilienfeld 2007a; Inattention and Hyperactivity:
Marino and Lilienfeld 2007b). Virtually all published Does Brain Balancing Improve Attention?
studies alleging the effectiveness of DAT are seri- Christian Jarrett
ously methodologically flawed and lack both inter-
nal validity (experimental rigor) and external validity
(generalizability). For example, few if any studies ad-
equately account for the nonspecific effects of hope
and support from mental health professionals, so any
apparent benefits of DAT may merely be due to what
psychologists term a placebo effect—improvement
resulting from the mere expectation of improvement.
In addition, there is no compelling evidence that the
seeming effects of DAT reflect anything more than
the short-term boost in mood resulting from in-

Several methodological Some treatment providers for attention-deficit/hy-

peractivity disorder (ADHD) claim the root cause
reviews of published studies of ADHD is diminished right-hemisphere brain
have revealed that there is no function, which is fixed by their “sensory-motor”
exercises. Unfortunately, this account of ADHD is
credible scientific evidence a gross oversimplification. No honest expert knows
for dolphin-assisted therapy’s what the correct or equal balance between the brain
hemispheres ought to be, especially because the rel-
long-term effectiveness for ative involvement of each hemisphere will vary ac-
autism spectrum disorder. cording to task demands. While it is true that many
studies point to abnormal lateralization of function
in ADHD—unusual activation of one hemisphere or
the other, compared with controls—findings in this
teracting with a highly charismatic and intelligent area are incredibly messy, and there is certainly no
animal. In short, there remains no credible peer-re- consensus that these activation patterns represent the
viewed evidence that DAT is scientifically legitimate. root cause of the condition.
Most DAT facilities rely largely or entirely on
testimonials from customers to tout their business.
Nevertheless, testimonial evidence alone is insuffi-
cient to conclude that a treatment works. For exam-
ple, customers who have something positive to say In short, there are not any
are often unrepresentative of all customers. Moreover, well-done studies to show
parents may notice naturally occurring improvements
in their children’s behavior and mistakenly attribute that “brain balancing”
them to DAT. improves attention.
Aside from being scientifically unsupported, DAT
is ethically problematic for several other reasons.
First, DAT centers inform vulnerable and at times
even desperate individuals that an unsupported tech-
nique is highly effective. Moreover, some children
and adults have been injured, in a few cases seriously, For instance, while there is some evidence for
while swimming with captive dolphins. In addition, reduced right-hemisphere function in people with
the dolphins used in DAT facilities are forced to ADHD compared to controls, other studies have

38 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

actually documented enhanced right-hemisphere For example, spending an hour a day over the course
function (Hale et al. 2005). Another study found of several weeks reviewing material for an exam is a
enhanced transfer of information across the hemi- better way of ensuring you’ll remember it a year later
spheres in teens with ADHD, contradicting the cen- than waiting until the night before and cramming
tral “brain balancing” idea that ADHD is caused by for eight hours. Distributing versus massing prac-
disconnection between the hemispheres (Brown and tice is just one “desirable difficulty” that slows down
Vickers 2004). the rate of learning in the short term but provides
Despite claims of ground-breaking research to
support the brain balancing approach, only one pub-
lished pilot study (Leisman et al. 2013) supports the
use of brain balancing exercises for the treatment of Research has shown that
ADHD, and it lacked any control group (Leisman conditions that make learning
et al. 2010). Curiously, what appear to be the exact
same participants and data return in a second paper seem more difficult are actually
presented as new research three years later, now with more effective for long-term
a control group bolted on. There was obviously no
randomization to this control group, and they en- retention.
gaged in no comparison treatment. What’s more, the
children who completed the brain balancing exercises
and the controls were all taking stimulant medication long-term benefits. Even though it feels harder, it ul-
during the study. In short, there are not any well- timately leads to better learning outcomes, if the goal
done studies to show that “brain balancing” improves is to retain information for the long term. What’s
attention. more, when tasks feel easy, we intuitively believe that
we are learning. But while we make large gains in
learning a new skill at first, with repeated practice,
Learning: Should Children Be Taught we experience diminishing returns (Heathcote et al.
Based on Their Preferred Learning Style? 2000). Once it feels easy, we’ve stopped learning. By
the same token, teaching students using a variety of
styles is much more effective than sticking to one
mode of instruction. Students might differ in their
preferences, or in what feels easy to them, but the
evidence shows that teaching students only in their
preferred learning style is not effective (Pashler et al.
2008). Different material might benefit from differ-
ent modalities, but students should be exposed to a
diverse array of teaching styles, and those that feel
most difficult might end up yielding the best results.

Tics: Can a Dental Device Decrease Tics?

Indre Viskontas Grant Ritchey and Clay Jones

Every first-time parent is surprised at how quickly Whenever gaps in the scientific understanding of a
their child’s character appears: whether they’re spir- challenging medical condition exist, you can be con-
ited or compliant, shy or outgoing, every child is
unique. And the emphasis on developmental mile-
stones online and in the pediatrician’s office has
parents and teachers mentally checking boxes every
month and comparing their children’s behavior and
abilities with his or her peers. Well-meaning parents
and teachers often reinforce activities in which the
child shows precociousness while limiting time in
tasks that expose weaknesses—exactly the opposite of
what is needed. Research has shown that conditions
that make learning seem more difficult are actually
more effective for long-term retention (Bjork 1994).

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 39

 Patients with Tourette’s are
especially vulnerable to all
manner of blatant snake-oil
salesmen and well-meaning
believers in implausible and
unsupported remedies.

fident that there will be a long line of people attempting to

ence into lectures and discussions, students would be able
fill those gaps with unscientific diagnostic and treatment
to better prepare themselves for a future of differentiating
recommendations. Tic disorders, in particular Tourette’s
what is truth and what is fiction. In his address to congres-
syndrome, are no exception to this rule. In fact, because of
sional representatives about quackery, James Randi (1999)
its unique and fascinating clinical presentation, patients
explained, “A properly educated and informed public
with Tourette’s are especially vulnerable to all manner of
would know about this, and protective laws would not be
blatant snake-oil salesmen and well-meaning believers in
required. Again, education is the key.” In this quote from
implausible and unsupported remedies.
his speech, Randi was speaking about how the government
One mode of unconventional therapy being marketed
needs to intervene on pseudoscientific practices plaguing
is the fabrication of a dental appliance to manage tics. The
hypothesis behind this approach is that many of the habit- the United States. More education about pseudoscience
ual movements of people with Tourette’s are due to reflexive would help people be able to defend themselves from mis-
tics of muscles innervated by the trigeminal nerve, or Cranial information.
Nerve V (which also innervates the mandible, or lower jaw).
This observation is then extrapolated to infer that the symp-
toms of Tourette’s and other movement disorders are a func-
tion of an “overstimulation” of the neural impulses carried by
the trigeminal nerve to the brain due to dysfunction within More education about
the temporomandibular (jaw) joint. Realigning the mandible,
therefore, will ostensibly reduce this “neural noise,” resulting
pseudoscience would help people
in a reduction or elimination of tics. be able to defend themselves
While this might have a small amount of biological
plausibility, there is very little good research to support this
from misinformation.
approach. A handful of case reports can be found in the lit-
erature, but they demonstrate very little evidence. Tics are
found in all muscle groups, not just those innervated by the
trigeminal nerve. Moreover, it cannot explain the other fea-
tures of Tourette’s not correlated with jaw position (e.g., brain
To fully educate the American people, the schooling
chemistry changes, familial and genetic patterns).
system is one critical place students can learn about skep-
More studies are needed, but as of now, this treatment
cannot be recommended or endorsed. We go into greater de- ticism at an early age so they can continue to use critical
tail on dental appliances and tics on the Science-Based Medi- thinking throughout adulthood. What people learn at an
cine blog (Ritchey and Jones 2016; Ritchey and Jones 2018). early age can shape what one believes as an adult. The
main takeaway is that what youth learn matters, and every-
one deserves the opportunity to be taught critical thinking
about pseudoscience at school. For more about teaching
Should Children Be Taught about Pseudoscience? skepticism to youth, see Lilienfeld (2017). 
Henry Hupp
The importance of pseudoscience has fallen between the Note
1. The authors are listed in the order that their work appears in the
cracks for many educators in American schools. If more book. Authors were only involved in their own entries and were not
teachers incorporated critical thinking about pseudosci- involved in writing or editing the other sidebars.

40 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

References Authors
Barrett, S. 2012. Why cranial therapy is silly. Available online at
Stephen Hupp, PhD, is a psychology professor at Southern
https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cra-
Illinois University Edwardsville. He is editor of Pseudoscience
nial.html.
Bjork, R.A. 1994. Memory and metamemory considerations in the
in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy (reviewed in our
training of human beings. In J. Metcalfe and A. Shimamura September/October 2019 issue) and coauthor of the
(eds.), Metacognition: Knowing about Knowing. Cambridge, MA: books Great Myths of Child Development, Great Myths
MIT Press, 185–205. of Adolescence, and Thinking Critically about Child
Brown, L.N., and J.N. Vickers. 2004. Temporal judgments, hemi- Development—4th Edition. He also currently holds the
spheric equivalence, and interhemispheric transfer in adolescents Guinness World Record for the “longest line of books.” On
with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Experimental Brain Twitter he is @StephenHupp.
Research 154(1): 76–84.
Hale, T.S., J.T. McCracken, J.J. McGough, et al. 2005. Impaired Henry Hupp attends Edwardsville High School, Edwardsville,
linguistic processing and atypical brain laterality in adults with
Illinois. He conducted a science fair project on energy neck-
ADHD. Clinical Neuroscience Research 5(5–6): 255–263.
laces and the placebo effect.
Hanten, W.P., D.D. Dawson, M. Iwata, et al. 1998. Craniosacral
rhythm: Reliability and relationships with cardiac and respira-
tory rates. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 27: Christian Jarrett, PhD, is the editor of the Research Digest
213–218. blog and author of several books about psychology, including
Hartman, S.E., and J.M. Norton. 2002. Craniosacral therapy is not Great Myths of the Brain (2015). He is @Psych_Writer on
medicine. Physical Therapy 82: 1146–1147. Twitter.
Heathcote, A., S. Brown, and D.J.K. Mewhort. 2000. The power law
repealed: The case for an exponential law of practice. Psychonomic Clay Jones, MD, is a pediatrician at Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Bulletin & Review 7(2): 185–207. in Massachusetts. He is the cohost of the Prism Podcast. On
Humphries, T.L. 2003. Effectiveness of dolphin-assisted therapy as Twitter he is @SBMPediatrics.
a behavioral intervention for young children with disabilities.
Bridges: Practice-Based Research Synthesis 1: 1–19.
Scott O. Lilienfeld, PhD, is a professor of psychology at
Leisman, G., R. Melillo, S. Thum, et al. 2010. The effect of hemi-
sphere specific remediation strategies on the academic perfor-
Emory University. He is coeditor of the book Science and
mance outcome of children with ADD/ADHD. International Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology, Second Edition (2014)
Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health 22(2): 275–284. and author of several other books about science and pseudo-
Leisman, G., R.Z. Mualem, and C. Machado. 2013. The integration science in psychology.
of the neurosciences, child public health, and education practice:
Hemisphere-specific remediation strategies as a discipline part- Lori Marino, PhD, is a neuroscientist and the founder and ex-
nered rehabilitation tool in ADD/ADHD. Frontiers in Public ecutive director of The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy.
Health 1: 22. For more information about this center, you can visit www.
Lilienfeld, S.O. 2017. Teaching skepticism: How early can we begin? kimmela.org.
Skeptical Inquirer 41(5): 30–31.
Marino, L., and S.O. Lilienfeld. 1998. Dolphin-assisted therapy:
Grant Ritchey, DDS, practices general dentistry in Kansas.
Flawed data, flawed conclusions. Anthrozoos 11: 194–199.
He is cohost of the Prism Podcast. He is @SkepticalDDS on
———. 2007a. Dolphin assisted therapy: More flawed data, more
flawed conclusions. Anthrozoos 20: 239–269. Twitter.
———. 2007b. Dolphin assisted therapy for autism and other devel-
opmental disorders: A dangerous fad. Psychology in Intellectual and Jason Travers, PhD, is a board certified behavior analyst and
Developmental Disabilities (Division 33), American Psychological associate professor of special education at the University of
Association 33(2): 2–3. Kansas. He is author of the book Sexuality Education (2018)
Pashler, H., M. McDaniel, D. Rohrer, et al. 2008. Learning styles: in the PRO-ED Series on Autism Spectrum Disorder. On Twitter
Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest he is @trav_jason.
9(3): 105–119.
Randi, J. 1999. James Randi on quackery and the need for science Indre Viskontas, PhD, is a cognitive neuroscientist and cohost
education. Available online at www.skeptic.com.
of the Inquiring Minds podcast. She also cohosted the Miracle
Ritchey, G., and C. Jones. 2016. Use of dental appliances in the
Detectives television show. On Twitter she is @indrevis.
management of Tourette syndrome. Available online at https://
sciencebasedmedicine.org.
———. 2018. Tic’d off. Available online at https://sciencebased-
medicine.org.
Rogers, J.S., P.L. Witt, M.T. Gross, et al. 1998. Simultaneous palpa-
tion of the craniosacral rate at the head and feet: Intrarater and
interrater reliability and rate comparisons. Physical Therapy 78:
1175–1185.
Shapiro, B.K., and M.L. Batshaw. 2011. Intellectual Disability. Nelson
Textbook of Pediatrics, 19th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders
Elsevier, 216–222.
Wirth-Pattullo, V., and K.W. Hayes. 1994. Interrater reliability
of craniosacral rate measurements and their relationship with
subjects’ and examiners’ heart and respiratory rate measure-
ments. Physical Therapy 74: 908–916.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 41

Millennials and Post-Millennials
—Dawning of a New Age?
Greta Thunberg’s clarion call at the United Nations offers hope that emerging generations
will use science and reason to address our planet’s urgent problems.

J EA N N E G O LD BERG

B
aby boomers, who ushered in the proverbial people—would be stolen if those in power didn’t take steps
“Age of Aquarius” in the sixties, have held immediately to address the threat.
We can hope that Thunberg’s speech at the United Na-
leading positions in government, business,
tions will propel leaders to take actions. At the very least,
and other spheres of activity for the past four de- her remarks are thought provoking, bringing into focus the
cades or so. Many global and domestic leaders of potential galvanizing power of youth and their concern about
that demographic feel that they have pursued a the health of Planet Earth. As Thunberg’s generation (the
progressive and reasoned path as they have tackled post-millennials or Generation Z, born from 1997 onward)
a variety of complex issues. and the slightly older generation of the millennials (born be-
tween 1981 and 1996) assume roles in our society and, by
extension, in global societies, how will they address issues
On September 24, 2019, however, Greta Thunberg, a six-
such as climate change? How will they cope with pseudosci-
teen-year-old Swedish climate activist, delivered a dressing
ence, conspiracy theories, and the war on science? Will they
down to leaders at the United Nations. Her remarks, simulta-
be skeptical inquirers?
neously passionate and rational, sternly reprimanded them for
The millennial generation, or “Generation Exoplanet,” as
ignoring the existential threat of climate change by continu-
Neil deGrasse Tyson has dubbed it (Martine 2014), has taken
ing to support fossil-fuel–based energy sources. She expressed
over the spotlight in recent years as they have matured and
anger at the thought that her future—and those of all young
stepped into leadership roles. Much has been written about
them, attempting to characterize them and to predict the ac-
tions they will take on a variety of issues. A critical question
is how they will approach issues involving the intersection of
science and religion.
The Pew Research Center (PRC) has a wealth of infor-
mation on our country’s generations, including the millenni-
als, using generational cohorts to study how today’s younger
generations compare with today’s older generations when
they were young. However, its president, Michael Dimock,
sagely notes that “generations are a lens through which to
understand societal change, rather than a label with which
to oversimplify differences between groups” (Pew Research
Center 2019a).
In a carefully researched study titled “Against Genera-
tions,” Rebecca Onion gives a historical review of generation
theory and concludes that grouping individuals together to
form stereotypic profiles (as we do according to their birth
dates, for example) is simplistic and irrational, overlooking
diversity of race, ethnicity, geography, and life experiences.
These stereotypes can even constitute a form of bigotry and
lead to intergenerational conflict. Onion cites the work of
Greta Thunberg Karl Mannheim, who stated the importance of recognizing

42 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

this diversity; she cites the differences between youth in Fair- gious disaffiliation represents a true generational change. Ma-
fax County, Virginia, for example, versus those living on the crina Cooper-White states that their habits of not attending
South Side in Chicago (Onion 2015). religious services, their disapproval of religious organizations,
At a given point in time, individuals in a particular de- and their statements that religion isn’t important to them rep-
mographic group can exhibit striking differences in educa- resent a cultural phenomenon. She attributes individualism as
tional backgrounds, employment, housing, family structures, the driver of these changes, stating that “religious involvement
political orientation, and religious views. Nevertheless, a given was low when individualism was high” (Cooper-White 2015).
generation may have witnessed and have been affected by the Michael Hout, professor of sociology at New York Uni-
same global or domestic events. The Great Recession and the versity and an expert on generational and religious changes
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, for example, repre- in the United States, points out that many millennials have
sent impactful, shared experiences for most members of the baby boomer parents who have promoted the ideal of think-
millennial generation. ing for oneself and finding one’s own moral compass. He also
Today, in 2019, the millennial generation is the largest feels that the loss of faith in religious organizations is just one
demographic group in the United States with 73 million manifestation of a generalized loss of faith in all institutions,
members, outnumbering the baby boomers, who number 72 including the labor market, government, and even marriage.
million (Searing 2019). They comprise about 25 percent of
the U.S. population, and globally one of every four persons
is likewise a millennial. Thirty percent of the U.S. voting age
population and 40 percent of the working age population is A critical question is how millennials
in this group. The millennial generation represents a demo- will approach issues involving the
graphic bridge to America’s diverse future, according to a re-
cent Brookings Institution report. The white, non-Hispanic intersection of science and religion.
population comprised 68.4 percent of the pre-millennials
(over age thirty-eight) but a significantly lower 51.5 percent
of the post-millennials (individuals younger than age twen-
ty-two). Twenty-five percent of the post-millennials are His- Hout doesn’t see any evidence that the distrust of churches
panic (Metropolitan Policy Program 2018). and organized religion among millennials will abate as they
Even considering intragenerational differences, a snapshot age (Pew Research Center 2016).
view of millennials reveals that they are well educated, with They are also abandoning religious affiliations, mainly
39 percent having a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to Catholic and Protestant, because many of them feel that
about 25 percent of baby boomers. More millennial women churches have mixed religion and politics. Evangelical
have bachelor’s degrees compared to women of earlier gen- churches in particular have embraced policies that are judg-
erations and compared to millennial men, and more of them mental, anti-LGBTQ, and antiscience (especially as related
are in the workforce. The millennials have felt the impact of to climate change), and, as a result, millennials are leaving
the Great Recession and have fewer financial reserves com- them. Sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have also
pared to generations that preceded them. Fewer of them own played a role in the exit.
homes, and they marry and have children at later ages (Pew The increase in the numbers of the religiously unaffili-
Research Center 2019b). ated, the Nones, in recent years is heartening to us as secular-
One of the defining characteristics of this generation is ists and skeptical inquirers. The 2015 Pew Research Center
the fact that they are digital natives, communicating and ob- poll found that approximately 35 percent of millennials are
taining information through social media. They have been Nones. A new Pew Research survey, released on October 17,
strongly influenced by the forces of globalization and by 2019, demonstrates that all demographics of the religiously
technology, and Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are integral unaffiliated populations are growing rapidly in the United
parts of their daily lives; in fact, 41 percent of global millenni- States, with the growth in numbers of disaffiliated young
als have a social media account (Cosseboom 2015). adults having markedly increased since previous surveys. Re-
Millennials are, for the most part, not “joiners,” deriving markably, there has been a decrease in the absolute number
satisfaction in the digital infrastructure that they have cre- of Christians from 178 million in 2009 to approximately 167
ated for themselves. This reality is frustrating and puzzling million today, despite an increase in the U.S. population by 23
to many organizations, most notably religious organizations million individuals! In addition, “self-described atheists now
and churches. Approximately one in four millennials are un- account for 4% of U.S. adults, up modestly but significantly
affiliated with any specific faith. A 2014 Barna study found from 2% in 2009; agnostics make up 5% of U.S. adults, up
that 59 percent of millennials who grew up in the church have from 3% a decade ago; and 17% of Americans now describe
dropped out at some point (Barna Group 2014). When asked their religion as ‘nothing in particular,’ up from 12% in 2009”
about their reasons for dropping out, they cited the church’s (Pew Research Center 2019c). Nevertheless, one must ques-
irrelevance, hypocrisy, and the moral failures of the leaders. tion whether this increase may be at least partially due to the
Some expressed real “spiritual” needs that weren’t addressed fact that more individuals feel free to state that they are un-
by churches. affiliated. Interestingly, most Nones do not label themselves
There is a commonly shared view that the millennials’ reli- as atheists or agnostics. Is this because our society still frowns

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 43

upon these descriptions, or does it indicate that these individ- of spirituality, one recognizing the interconnectedness of the
uals are not actively opposed to religion? Could these same world and the other integrating beliefs in the supernatural
people be attracted to unconventional “religions” or practices? and paranormal. He believes that millennials often describe
Michael Shermer cites a 2014 survey of individuals, not themselves as “spiritual but not religious” to avoid being clas-
all of whom were millennials, conducted by the Austin In- sified as an atheist (immoral) or a Christian (a political con-
stitute for the Study of Family and Culture that found that servative) (Stone 2018).
of the 13.2 percent of individuals who classified themselves Matthew Hedstrom, associate religious studies professor at
as atheist or agnostic, 32 percent professed a belief in the the University of Virginia, has studied the millennials’ move
afterlife or a sort of conscious existence after death. His in- away from organized religion in a search for alternate meth-
credulity is certainly understandable, but he states that he ods to satisfy their spiritual needs. He states that consumer
suspects these “nonbelievers” might be moving away from capitalism offers myriad appealing “religious products” that
traditional religion to New Age belief systems, perhaps even they can select instead of subscribing to the dogma of orga-
holding out hopes that scientific developments such as up- nized religion (Newman 2015).
loading the mind or cloning might facilitate an afterlife or The term religious products raises red flags for a skeptical
some semblance of one. Many who are religiously unaffiliated inquirer. Some disturbing trends have developed within this
still profess a belief in a “god” and state that they are spiritual. generation in recent years. Incredibly, there are a few millen-
Berkeley sociologist Casey Homan describes two definitions nial flat-earth proponents and conspiracy theory advocates
regarding the moon landing. Astrology and its sidekick of
“retrogrades” (an apparent change in the movement of a
planet through the sky) have gained a following too. A new
article in the New Yorker (October 28) describes the soaring
popularity of astrology and the fact that it is ubiquitous on the
web, social media, mobile apps, and downloadable formats.
There is a commonly shared view The author, Christine Smallwood, postulates that its appeal
that the millennials’ religious may be related to a search for meaning in a life devoid of the
dogma associated with organized religion. Economic uncer-
disaffiliation represents a true tainties, dissatisfaction with the current political situation in
generational change. our country, and a feeling of being powerless in a chaotic
world may be additional factors (Smallwood 2019). Stuart
Vyse has studied the appeal of astrology to youth, remarkably
in those with a liberal orientation, and he has described it as
a tool to supply a sense of control over their lives, especially
during stressful times (Vyse 2018). Others ascribe the pop-

44 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

ularity of astrology, tarot card readings, and Skype psychic ence communicators who have stimulated many young peo-
consultations as methods to address anxiety and uncertainty ple’s interest and enthusiasm about science.
about the future and maybe even to blame an outside force Even though television, social media, podcasts, and mobile
beyond their control for misfortunes. Many members of the phone apps are significant sources of scientific information,
millennial generation have been deeply affected by the Great it is often a teacher who sparks an interest in science. Fortu-
Recession, and economic woes coupled with student debt may nately, science teachers have some innovative tools in their ar-
add to their concerns. Interestingly, several young subscribers mamentarium these days to make an impact on young people.
to the astrology app have indicated that the app offers them For example, the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science
comfort even though they don’t necessarily believe the mes- (TIES), a program of the Center for Inquiry (CFI) funded
sage that it conveys. by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science,
Elizabeth King, a self-described millennial evangeli- is an example of a successful program of workshops in every
cal-turned-atheist, states that her church made her feel so state whose goal is to offer middle school science teachers
guilty and uncomfortable that she has turned to the thera- exciting videos, hands-on laboratory experiments, and other
pist’s couch for comfort. She told her doctor that “I think instructional tools to teach students evolution. This program
therapy is our new church” (King 2016). addresses evolution, a potentially divisive issue in schools, in
Although there is evidence of an inverse relationship be- a scientifically accurate nonconfrontational manner, using real
tween educational level and belief in these pseudoscientific life examples of the unifying force of evolution in our daily
practices, it is ironic that in the Silicon Valley, one of the least lives.
religious areas of the country, spirituality-focused products
are thriving. Entrepreneur Tara-Nicholle Nelson has created
a startup, SoulTour, described as a “hybrid social network
app and offline community that provides religion-agnostic
uplifting content.” Nelson describes SoulTour as a means to Many millennials have baby boomer
address the spiritual void felt by many young millennial tech-
nology workers by offering meditations, self-help mantras, parents who have promoted the ideal
and other products via a monthly mobile phone subscription of thinking for oneself and finding
model (Stone 2018).
Additional entrepreneurial ventures include such prod- one’s own moral compass.
ucts as Headspace, an iPhone app that focuses on medita-
tion and mindfulness techniques. This app, created by Andy
Puddicombe, a forty-six-year-old British man who trained
and practiced for many years as a Buddhist monk, has been
embraced by many millennials—and not just in Silicon Valley,
where it has fit neatly into the culture of techno-utopianism. Scientific issues are extremely politicized in the United
Corporations such as Goldman Sachs and Dana-Farber Can- States today, but fortunately many millennials are issue-ori-
cer Institute have purchased bulk subscriptions to Headspace ented and are willing to work with others across religious,
for their employees. Puddicombe states that he has addressed ethnic, partisan, and national boundaries to solve problems.
skeptics by “pulling the science lever” and promoting studies In fact, many have a global perspective and feel that they may
run by neuroscientists that he has recruited to show improve- have more in common with others in their age group in other
ments in such areas as improved sleep habits (Widdicombe countries who share common interests (e.g., in science) but
2015). Of course these studies do not meet the gold standard are geographically distant.
of randomized controlled studies. Science provides a common universal language, and a
Despite the pseudoscientific proclivities mentioned above, “democratization” process occurs as individuals with diverse
it is important to understand that many millennials have a cultures and levels of scientific expertise share information
profound interest in science, and many are fascinated by with each other online. Paradoxically, climate change—an
its potential to solve world problems, in particular climate existential threat to the planet—may act as a galvanizing
change. In an article in The Atlantic, Alexandra Ossola de- force to unite global millennials. Its urgency requires scien-
scribes the web publication “I F*cking Love Science,” which tifically valid actions, free of religious partisan delusions. Jesse
has 18 million likes on Facebook, compared to 2 million likes Zondervan, a millennial PhD geoscience student at the Uni-
for Scientific American and 2.8 million likes for Popular Science versity of Plymouth, states that his generation of scientists,
(Ossola 2014). Despite the publication’s issues with accusa- clustered in key global, urban, mega-regions, will be in the
tions of sensationalism and allegations of plagiarism, its wild forefront of change in the future. He foresees religion possibly
success is a testament to the appetite for science-related sto- being replaced by technology as geographic boundaries such
ries in its audience, mostly millennials. as the nation state fade away, and he feels that “the combina-
Ossola credits Bill Nye the Science Guy for stimulating tion of globalization and cultural change in the world-view
millennials’ interest in science in addition to their access to gives rise to an interesting and powerful way we interact with
huge amounts of online scientific information. Carl Sagan the earth around us” (Zondervan 2018).
and Neil deGrasse Tyson have been especially effective sci- Climate change has certainly been a galvanizing issue

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 45

among the youth in the United States. Young Republicans Exoplanet’ (blog entry). Huffington Post (April 7). Available online at
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/defining-neil-degrasse-tysons-gener-
accept the science validating climate change and demonstrate ation-exoplanet_b_4703526.
a willingness to unite with others to address it. In fact, 36 Metropolitan Policy Program. 2018. Millennials are the most diverse gen-
percent of millennial Republicans believe in anthropogenic eration in U.S. history, now 44 percent minority, says new Brookings
report ( January 24). Available online at http://brook.gs/2DqEa15.
climate change, double the percentage of believers in their Newman, Caroline. 2015. Why millennials are leaving religion but
parents’ baby boomer generation. This gap is also present re- embracing spirituality (blog entry). Phys Org (December 15). Available
garding energy issues such as fracking. There is hope that the online at https://phys.org/news/2015-12-millennials-religion-embrac-
ing-spirituality.html.
attitudes among the youth may influence older Republicans’ Onion, Rebecca. 2015. Against generations (blog entry). Aeon (May 19).
viewpoints on these issues and lead to action on climate-re- Available online at https://aeon.co/essays/generational-labels-are-lazy-
lated issues (Paulson 2018). useless-and-just-plain-wrong.
Ossola, Alexandra. 2014. Why millennials &%#@! love science. The Atlantic
(October 29). Available online at https://www.theatlantic.com/educa-
tion/archive/2014/10/why-millennials-love-science/382015/.
Pew Research Center. 2016. Q & A: Why millennials are less religious
than older Americans ( January 8). Available online at http://www.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/08/a-why-millennials-are-less-re-
ligious-than-older-Americans/.
Many millennials are issue-oriented ———. 2019a. Defining generations: Where millennials end and Generation
Z begins ( January 17). Available online at http://www.pewresearch.org/
and are willing to work with others fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-be-
gins/.
across religious, ethnic, partisan, ———. 2019b. Millennial life: How young adulthood today compares with
prior generations (February 14). Available online at http://www.pewso-
and national boundaries to solve cialtrends.org/essay/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-com-
pares-with-prior-generations/.
problems. ———. 2019c. In U.S., decline of Christianity continues at rapid
pace (October 17). Available online at https://www.pewforum.
org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rap-
id-pace/.
Paulson, Amanda. 2018. Why these young Republicans see hope in cli-
mate action. The Christian Science Monitor ( June 28). Available online
at https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2018/0628/Why-these-
young-Republicans-see-hope-in-climate-action.
Searing, L. 2019. The big number: Millennials to overtake boomers in 2019
as largest U.S. population group. Washington Post ( January 25). Available
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/
One of the strongest determinants of how issues involving the-big-number-millennials-to-overtake-boomers-in-2019-as-largest-
the intersection of religion and science will be addressed is us-population-group/2019/01/25/a566e636-1f4f-11e9-8e21-59a09f-
f1e2a1_story.html.
the profile of the electorate. In the United States in 2020, Smallwood, Christine. 2019. Astrology in the age of uncertainty. The New
37 percent of the electorate will be made up of millennials Yorker (October 28). Available online at https://www.newyorker.com/
and post-millennials, and they are more likely to be Demo- magazine/2019/10/28/astrology-in-the-age-of-uncertainty.
Stone, Zara. 2018. How a spirituality startup is solving Silicon Valley’s
cratic, liberal, and environmentally conscious than previous religious apathy. Forbes (April 26). Available online at www.forbes.com/
generations. Hopefully they will demand scientifically literate sites/zarastone/2018/04/26/how-a-spirituality-startups-solving-sili-
individuals to represent them in government. con-valleys-religious-apathy/#67c7c5912ed9.
Vyse, Stuart. 2018. Why are millennials turning to astrology? S
Millennials and their younger counterparts, the post-mil- I (May 18). Available online at https://skepticalinquirer.org/
lennials, represent generations that are and will continue to be exclusive/why_are_millennials_turning_to_astrology/.
distinctly different from the generations that preceded them. Widdicombe, Lizzie. 2015. The higher life: A mindfulness guru for the
tech set. New Yorker Magazine ( July 6). Available online at https://www.
As skeptical inquirers, we hope that Greta Thunberg’s speech newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/06/the-higher-life.
at the United Nations this year was a clarion call—a pas- Zondervan, Jesse. 2018. Millennial scientist in a segregating world—the
sionate appeal for rational, scientific approaches to problem role of science in shaping society. Impakter ( January 4). Available
online at https://impakter.com/millennial-scientists-in-a-segregat-
solving in a world whose very existence is under threat.  ing-world-the-role-of-science-in-shaping-society/.

References
Barna Group. 2014. Americans divided on the importance of church
(March 24). Available online at https://www.barna.com/research/amer-
icans-divided-on-the-importance-of-church/. Jeanne Goldberg, MD, is a retired radiologist
Cooper-White, Macrina. 2015. Millennials are the least religious genera- and a previous chair of the Florida Division of
tion yet, and here’s the surprising reason why. Huffington Post (May 27). the American Cancer Society Breast Cancer
Available online at https://huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/millenni-
Task Force. She is a science writer and active
als-less-religious_n_7452998.html.
Cosseboom, Leighton. 2015. 9 ways millennials are driving Southeast Asia’s in several environmental organizations. She
tech boom (blog entry). Tech in Asia (November 18). Available online authored “Politicization of Scientific Issues:
at https://www.techinasia.com/southeast-Asia-millennials-technolo- Looking through Galileo’s Lens or through the
gy-adoption. Imaginary Looking Glass,” the cover feature of
King, Elizabeth. 2016. Atheist millennials are finding spirituality on
the therapist’s couch instead of the church pew. Quartz (September our September/October 2017 issue, and “From
30). Available online at https://qz.com/796630/millennials-are-find- the Spectral to the Spectrum: Radiation in the
ing-spirituality-on-the-therapists-couch-instead-of-the-church-pew. Crosshairs” in our September/October 2018
Martine, Chris. 2014. Defining Neil deGrasse Tyson’s ‘Generation issue.

46 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

Advocacy for a Cognitive Approach to
Electrohypersensitivity Syndrome
Electrohypersensitivity syndrome may have little to do with actual exposure to electromagnetic radiation. It
instead may be better understood as a phobia explained by anxiety disorder mechanisms.

S ÉBA STI E N P O I NT

D
evelopment of communication technol- have decided a causal relationship between electromagnetic
ogies (such as mobile phones and other radiation and EHS syndrome. Mass media are also interested
in the problem, and it is easy to find numerous online testi-
wireless devices) has been followed in
monials of people suffering from EHS syndrome.
the past twenty years with appearance of a new Scientists have tried to clarify the nature of this EHS
self-assessed, so-called electrohypersensitivity syndrome and to verify the reality of the alleged relationship
(EHS) syndrome, which some people—including with exposure to electromagnetic radiation. In this article, I
some medical doctors—attribute to permanent ex- will summarize results produced by provocation studies and
posure to domestic, low levels of electromagnetic share my view that the etiology of the EHS syndrome is not
radiation. EHS syndrome is not the only poten-
tial concern raised by people worried about elec-
tromagnetic radiation; effects on cognition, sleep,
and tumor initiation or growth have been pointed
out—without convincing scientific evidence or
satisfying proposals regarding potential biological
mechanisms. But until now, EHS (also often called
electromagnetic hypersensitivity) syndrome seems
to have been about the supposed health effects
of exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Some
studies (Hallberg and Oberfeld 2006; Eltiti et al.
2007; Schröttner and Leitgeb 2008) tried to count
EHS-affected people, which is a difficult task be- Figure 1: Percentage of EHS individuals in the population as measured in different European coun-
cause of the lack of a medical description of EHS tries between 1985 and 2008 (adapted from Bellayer 2016).

syndrome. Results of these studies are shown in

Figure 1. A continuous increasing trend is observed
in EHS self-diagnoses between 1985 and 2005, al-
though the latest studies suggest a decrease.

In the face of numerous claims regarding adverse health

effects of electromagnetic radiation in general—and EHS
syndrome in particular—the French Agency for Food, Envi-
ronmental, and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) em-
phasized in its 2018 report the need for taking care of people
suffering from EHS syndrome, although it did not recognize
the causal relationship between electromagnetic radiation and
EHS syndrome (ANSES 2018). In parallel, for some years,
an increasing number of court decisions have recognized the
right of individuals suffering from EHS syndrome to refuse
wireless technologies for medical reasons, and some judges
Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 47
related to real exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Instead, as conscious expectation of effect may play an important role
a phobia-like disorder should be investigated as a possible in this condition.” This conclusion is shared by Renáta Sze-
explanation of EHS syndrome. merszky and colleagues (2010), who studied the role of the
nocebo effect in physical symptoms reported at a frequency of
50 hertz. They found a considerable nocebo effect and noted
Provocation Studies
the formation of “a vicious circle of psychosocial factors, such
Biological effects of electromagnetic radiation are taken
as enhanced perception of risk and expectations, self-moni-
into account by normative standards based on International
toring, somatisation and somatosensory amplification, casu-
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection
alization, and misattribution.”
(ICNIRP) statements (ICNIRP 1998). Normative expo-
sure limits aim to protect people from high doses of
electromagnetic radiation, which can result in electrical or A Cognitive Approach
thermal effects (or both) depending on radiation frequency. On the one hand, provocation studies failed to determine
Indeed, induced currents or temperature elevation are the a causal relationship with exposure to low levels of electro-
only proven biological adverse effects associated with acute magnetic radiation, and there is no serious candidate for a
exposure to electromagnetic radiation (Perrin and Souques biological mechanism. On the other hand, results of some
2012). In Europe, directive 2013/35/EU has been created studies show a significant number of people claiming to suf-
to protect workers from exposure to conditions able to fer from EHS syndrome. These contradictory observations
generate such effects. However, EHS syndrome is claimed call for a new pathway for investigations. As suggested by
to appear when people are exposed to low levels of electro- some authors, one possible etiology is psychological. I sug-
magnetic radiation. gest a cognitive mechanism for explaining EHS syndrome
as a potential form of phobia in which confirmation bias
could have a central role. A view of my mechanism proposal
is shown in Figure 2. The rationale and hypothesis used for
Mass media are also interested building it are discussed below.
in the problem, and it is easy to
Biological Vulnerability
find numerous online testimonials Anxious symptomatology has been described as under
of people suffering from electro- the influence of some genetic factors ( Jardine et al. 1984;
Kendler et al. 1992; Andrews 1996). Studying etiology of
hypersensitivity syndrome. social phobia, Ronald M. Rapee and Richard G. Heimberg
(1997) suggested that genetic factors may explain prefer-
ential allocation of attention toward danger. The role of
the biological factor has been integrated in many models
of anxiety, including the Jones and Barlow biopsychoso-
A provocation study or trial is a form of medical clinical cial model of post-trauma stress ( Jones and Barlow 1992)
trial frequently used in this field. Participants are exposed to and the Clark model of panic (Clark 1986). In this latest
a substance or device claimed to provoke a response or to a model, people suffering from panic disorders are excessively
sham substance or device that should provoke no response. sensitive to some normal or pathological body perceptions,
Several provocation studies have been conducted in an at- which they consider as a catastrophic threat and which can
tempt to reveal a potential relationship between exposure to trigger a panic attack. The biological manifestation of this
electromagnetic radiation at low levels and EHS syndrome. panic attack can amplify the perception of the threat. Some
The premise is quite simple: as EHS people claim to suffer recent results have shown that this biological vulnerability
from various symptoms when they are exposed to electromag- to anxiety disorders, including depression and post-trauma
netic radiation, experiments should be able to examine the stress, could be related to the volume of hippocampi
phenomenon by comparing the level of discomfort of EHS (Campbell and MacQueen 2004; Bremner et al. 1995). The
people depending on exposure conditions measured against widely accepted theory of anxiety by Jeffrey A. Gray and
a control population. Such studies must deal with a potential Neil McNaughton (2003) also points out the main role of
low-dose effect—what makes experiments sensitive to con- hippocampi in anxious behaviors. But some studies suggest
fusing variables. Thus, to be usable, such experiments must at that hippocampal volume evolution is not a result of anxiety,
least be single-blinded and if possible double-blinded, ran- trauma, or depression but would be, to the contrary, a caus-
domized, and counterbalanced. ative factor (Gilbertson et al. 2002). Biological vulnerability
Several authors have tried to create such experiments. and preferential allocation of one’s attention to threat is
One full and relevant analysis of these provocation studies accepted as one of the bases for the development of anxiety
has been made by E. van Rongen and colleagues (2009), who disorders. To consider EHS syndrome as a form of phobia,
conclude that in provocation studies a causal relation between one has to make the fundamental hypothesis that EHS
electromagnetic radiation exposure and symptoms “has not individuals carry, prior to the appearance of symptoms, this
been demonstrated, suggesting that psychological factors such type of biological vulnerability.
48 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer
Alleged Exposure as Neutral Stimulus and Mental wifi increases discomfort during sham exposure; it also in-
Representation of Health Disorders creases sensitivity to tactile stimuli. In their studies, Michael
Anxiety troubles are often associated with a neutral stimulus, Witthöft and G. James Rubin (2013) concluded that “media
as understood in a Pavlovian approach. If EHS syndrome is reports about the adverse effects of supposedly hazardous
a phobia, alleged exposure to electromagnetic radiation substances can increase the likelihood of experiencing symp-
could play the role of neutral stimulus. From my perspective, toms following sham exposure and developing an apparent
several cues support this assumption. sensitivity to it.”
As demonstrated by provocation studies, people, includ- Symptoms of Anxiety
ing those claiming an EHS syndrome, are not able to detect
Symptoms claimed by EHS individuals are various and
electromagnetic radiation at domestic, low levels. As low-level
nonspecific. According to Marjukka Hagström and col-
radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation is neither visible
leagues (2013), the most common symptoms are “stress”
nor detectable, exposure can be inferred only on the basis of
(60.3 percent), “sleeping disorders” (59.3 percent), and
cues such as the proximity of mobile phones or antennas. Yet
“fatigue” (57.2 percent). These symptoms are compatible
some research has shown a strong relationship between the with anxiety disorders, which can affect organs, glands,
loss of perceived control and anxiety troubles (Gallagher et and the nervous system. In a cognitive approach, instead of
al. 2014). Exposure to electromagnetic radiation could be a considering anxiety (and all associated potential symptoms)
neutral stimulus powered by the feeling that the person has as a collateral consequence of any real electrosensitivity, all
no control over this exposure. these symptoms could be considered as existing prior to the
News media are more and more focused on potential ef- appearance of the EHS syndrome (as a result of a biological
fects of electromagnetic radiation, especially with the current vulnerability) and being recently associated with neutral
deployment of 5G technology. This media treatment could stimulus (the alleged exposure to electromagnetic radiation).
encourage people to focus on mobile phones, antennas, or
radiofrequency emitters existing in their environment and Feedback Mechanism
on physical perceptions when these people encounter or use It has been shown that reducing or avoiding electromag-
them. Such a hypothesis is supported by recent results, espe- netic radiation can help individuals suffering from EHS
cially those of Anne-Kathrin Bräsher and colleagues (2017), syndrome recover a better level of comfort (Hagström et al.
who showed that worrisome information on health effects of 2013). Such avoidance behaviors and immediate well-being

Figure 2: Possible theoretical model of EHS syndrome considered as an anxiety disorder.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 49

gain are typically observed in anxiety or panic disorders; of hippocampal volume in patients with combat-related posttraumatic
stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 152(7): 973–981.
alternatively, for the case of EHS individuals, some count- Campbell, S., and G. MacQueen. 2004. The role of the hippocampus
er-phobic objects can be purchased, such as anti-radiation in the pathophysiology of major depression. Journal of Psychiatry &
chips applied to mobile phones to allegedly reduce their Neuroscience 29(6): 417–426.
emission level. Following such avoidance or defense behav- Clark, D.M. 1986. A cognitive approach to panic. Behaviour Research and
Therapy 24(4): 461–470.
iors, decreasing discomfort could act as a confirmation that Dalgleish T., and F.N. Watts. 1990. Biases of attention and memory in
the source of discomfort was related to electromagnetic radi- disorders of anxiety and depression. Clinical Psychology Review 10:
ation. This would possibly reinforce the belief of EHS indi- 589–604.
Eltiti, S., D. Wallace, K. Zougkou, et al. 2007. Development and evaluation
viduals in adverse health effects of electromagnetic radiation. of the electromagnetic hypersensitivity questionnaire. Bioelectromagnetics
It is also well accepted that anxious individuals do allocate 28(2): 137–151.
their attention to threat (Dalgleish and Watts 1990), which Gallagher, M.W., K.H. Bentley, and D.H. Barlow. 2014. Perceived control
and vulnerability to anxiety disorders: A meta-analytic review. Cognitive
could be an evolutionary strategy to protect the organism Therapy Research 38(6): 571–584.
(Ohman 1996). Considering EHS syndrome as an anxiety Gilbertson, M.W., M.E. Shenton, and A. Ciszewski, et al. 2002. Smaller
disorder, this attentional focus on physical perceptions, related hippocampal volume predicts pathologic vulnerability to psychological
trauma. Nature Neuroscience 5(11): 1242–7
to the belief that the subject is exposed and that this exposure Gray, J.A., and N. McNaughton. 2003. The Neuropsychology of Anxiety:
can result in adverse health effects, could amplify and rein- An Enquiry into the Functions of the Septo-Hippocampal System, Second
force the belief in a real threat. Edition. Oxford University Press.
Hagström, M., J. Auranen, and R. Ekman. 2013. Electromagnetic hyper-
The feedback mechanism I explored here (reinforcement sensitive Finns: Symptoms, perceived sources and treatments, a ques-
of belief by attentional focus on symptoms and good results tionnaire study. Pathophysiology 20(2): 117–122.
of avoidance strategy) could make the EHS individuals enter Hallberg, O., and G. Oberfeld. 2006. Will we all become electrosensitive?
a loop of fear whose main engine is confirmation bias. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 25: 189–191.
ICNIRP. 1998. ICNIRP guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying
electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields (up to 300 GHz). Health
Physics 74(4): 494–522.
Conclusion Jardine, R., N.G Martin, and A.S. Henderson. 1984. Genetic covariation
Science has failed to show a causal relationship between real between neuroticism and the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
exposure to electromagnetic radiation and EHS syndrome. Genetics Epidemiology 1(2): 89–107.
Jones, J.C., and D.H. Barlow. 1992. A new model of posttraumatic stress
There is, however, a growing accumulation of evidence that disorder: Implications for the future. In P.A. Saigh (ed.), Posttraumatic
EHS syndrome is related to psychological factors. I have Stress Disorder. New York: Macmillan, 147–165.
proposed that EHS syndrome could be a form of phobia Kendler, K.S., M.C. Neale, R.C. Kessler, et al. 1992. The genetic epide-
miology of phobias in women. The interrelationship of agoraphobia,
explained by mechanisms occurring in other anxiety disor- social phobia, situational phobia, and simple phobia. Archives of General
ders. Biological vulnerability to anxiety—existing prior to Psychiatry 49(4): 273–281.
the appearance of EHS syndrome—would cause people to Ohman, A. 1996. Preferential preattentive processing of threat in anx-
iety: Preparedness and attentional biases. In R.M. Rapee, Current
confound symptoms of anxiety with a biological effect of Controversies in the Anxiety Disorders. New York: The Guildford Press,
electromagnetic radiation. Alleged exposure to electromag- 253–290.
netic radiation would play the role of neutral stimulus. Finally, Perrin, A., and M. Souques. 2012. Electromagnetic Fields, Environment and
confirmation bias—based on attentional focus and avoidance Health. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Rapee, R.M., and R.G. Heimberg. 1997. A cognitive-behavioral model of
strategies—would push people still deeper in their belief. anxiety in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy 35(8): 741–756.
Researchers should now stop (or at least reduce their ef- Schröttner, J., and N. Leitgeb. 2008. Sensitivity to electricity—temporal
forts) trying to find a less-and-less plausible link between changes in Austria. BMC Public Health 8(310).
Szemerszky, R., F. Köteles, R. Lih, et al. 2010. Polluted places or polluted
EHS syndrome and electromagnetic radiation and instead minds? An experimental sham-exposure study on background psy-
concentrate their work on understanding more accurately the chological factors of symptom formation in “idiophatic environmental
mechanisms pushing people to the wrong belief that domes- intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields.” International Journal of
Hygiene and Environmental Health 213(5): 387–94.
tic, low levels of electromagnetic radiation are deleterious. Re- Van Rongen, E., R. Crof, J. Juutilainen, et al. 2009. Effect of radiofre-
searchers should find a way to help these people by decreasing quency electromagnetic fields on the human nervous system. Journal of
anxiety and discomfort through adapted cognitive behavioral Toxicology and Environmental Health Part B, 12: 572–597.
Witthöft, M., and G.J. Rubin. 2013. Are media warnings about the adverse
therapy techniques.  health effects of modern life self-fulfilling? An experimental study on
idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic
References fields (IEI-EMF). Journal of Psychosomatic Research 74(3): 206–12.
Andrews, G. 1996. Comorbidity in neurotic disorders: The similarities are
more important than the differences. In R.M. Rapee (ed.), Current
Controversies in the Anxiety Disorders. New York: The Guilford Press,
3–20. Sébastien Point is a French engineer and
ANSES. 2018. Hypersensibilité électromagnétique ou intolérance envi-
physicist. He is president of the Non-Ionizing
ronnementale idiopathique attribuée aux champs électromagnétiques
Avis de l’Anses Rapport d’expertise collective- édition scientifique. Radiation section of the French Radiation
Bellayer, J. 2016. Vivons-nous les prémices d’une catastrophe sanitaire? Protection Society and a member of the
Book-e-Book, Coll. Une chandelle dans les ténèbres. French skeptics association AFIS and of
Bräscher A.K., K. Raymaekers, O. Van den Bergh, et al. 2017. Are media the quarterly skeptic journal Science and
reports able to cause somatic symptoms attributed to wifi radiation? An
experimental test of the negative expectation hypothesis. Environmental
Pseudosciences. He previously has written
Research 156: 265–71. for Skeptical Inquirer on claims of laser
Bremner J.D., P. Randall, T.M. Scott, et al. 1995. MRI-based measurement acupuncture, free energy, and chromotherapy.

50 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

Religious Belief from Dreams?
Of the several hypotheses about the origins of religious belief, dreams and the
content of dreams seem to be highly likely sources of such belief.

DAV I D Z E I G L E R

“Now if there is one thing about dreams that everyone should know by now, it’s that they can seem very
real.” —John W. Loftus

“Untutored tribes have many good intellectual reasons as to why living people have souls which can leave the
body and which possess supernatural powers. First of all is sleep, and dreams.” —William Howells

M
uch speculation and lab work have taken place on tain which hypotheses on the origin of religion are the correct
the naturalistic origin of life on this planet. Some ones. Our best attempts to answer questions on the origin of
experiments and observations have suggested religion will always be speculative, though some may garner
pathways toward life, but no actual life form has yet been more substantial evidence and logic than others.
originated entirely from nonliving material in a modern lab. This origin (or origins) of religion took place in our pre-
Even if such a momentous event took place tomorrow, we history, often defined as human history prior to the invention
would still not know that the event duplicated closely the of writing, and that indeed is most of our history as a species.
actual origin of life on earth, because there may be more than Without a written record, we can only surmise as best we
one possible pathway to life. Similarly, there may be multiple can how religious beliefs began. We can look far back into
possible pathways to religious belief, and in the case of reli- human prehistory for the very earliest signs that might sug-
gion, more than one such path might have contributed to the gest a religious view, but without a written record, there is
earliest origins of religion in separate ancestral groups. But little empirical information remaining concerning our earliest
just as in the case with the origin of life, we will never be cer- cultures. We must look at the scant archaeological evidence

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 51

of intentional and ceremonial burials with flowers and items sense of unity, community, and belonging—a role that is un-
of value or utility, of ancient artworks such as cave paintings, doubtedly true and that still seems obvious for most religious
carvings, and any other artifacts that would suggest some people around the world. This sense of unity or community
form of magical and religious belief. In doing so we should is essentially ubiquitous in the small communities of early
remember that the interpretations modern people may make peoples that have been studied, and at least in part this sense
of such meager artifacts may be far off base from what those does derive from shared religious belief.
early and primitive people intended. While these two hypotheses certainly contain some truth,
We can also look at and compare what is known of I do not see how either of these ideas answers the question
primitive religions before they were diluted and modified of the origin of belief in an afterlife, in a spirit world, or in
by contact with “the modern world.” Thankfully there is at a god. Here I offer my argument for another of the con-
least some reliable information available on this topic. Still, tenders that has, I believe, more explanatory strength as to
a problem with this approach is that any cultural invention, origins: the idea that dreams were the source of religious be-
such as religion, has almost certainly evolved and diversified liefs. With my professional background as a biologist, I am
rapidly, even before the earliest religions we have actual ev- obliged to state that my argument is at best that of a curious
amateur who may, or may not, be adding any original ideas
to this argument. To start with, dreams seem to support a
belief in the dualism of mind and body. When we dream, we
experience events and places that the body does not, thus it
Without a written record, we can seems there is a separate reality for the mind or spirit. With-
only surmise as best we can how out a belief in mind/body dualism, it is hard to imagine any
reason for religious belief to have ignited.
religious beliefs began. Reportedly, around 95 percent of people dream, as do
many other mammals (Hobson 2002). Certainly then, our
earliest ancestors who originated religious beliefs had dreams.
Dreaming is a form of consciousness in which a sense of self
is generated, yet in dreams we seem to be in places and situ-
ations that are not typically those of the body in sleep. What
idence of and certainly more so since then. Religion is most can be made of this strange anomaly? At least some probably
likely similar to language in being a cultural phenomenon concluded that while the body was in one place, the essential
that evolves rapidly. Just compare the Old English of around self was elsewhere in some mysterious dream world. If so,
800 CE (earliest manuscript of Beowulf) with modern En- this was a probable start of our beliefs in mind/body dualism,
glish, or even with the Middle English of Chaucer, to see and thus the beginning of belief in souls or spirits. I have no-
how rapidly and drastically such cultural evolution proceeds. ticed that I often dream about people who are dead, though
Consider the hundreds of languages that diversified and in my dreams they are of course alive and interacting with
evolved in the Americas from the original language of the me in various places and situations. In most of these cases,
first people to enter the Americas some 15,000 years ago. the deceased people are members of my family: my father
These peoples have also evolved (culturally) a great many and mother, my brother, some in-laws, aunts, and uncles—in
diverse religious myths and beliefs. This tells us that our short “ancestors.” I have also had a couple of dreams about
earliest reliable evidence of religion may not be indicative my deceased major professor—an important mentor in my
of the even earlier forms of religious belief. In the face of life. Only the few animals that can recognize and remember
these facts, the search for the earliest origins of religion seems individuals in their social groups could possibly dream about
hopeless, and some researchers have said as much (see, e.g., other specific individuals in this way. We can only wonder if
Evans-Pritchard 1990). Still, religion originated somewhere dolphins, wolves, chimps, and gorillas dream about known
in those long, lost centuries of our prehistory, and some see individuals, living or dead, in their group. Ants, honeybees,
value in trying to bend our modern minds to a point where schooling fish, and flocking birds almost certainly do not.
we can conceive and entertain possible models of religious Certainly, our ancestors of prehistory recognized one an-
origins. If nothing else, such mental exercises can give us other as individuals and likely dreamed about those recently
realistic possibilities (and hopefully probabilities) concerning dead members of their tribe or group. This experience (along
this important subject. Perhaps we can even attempt (at least) with the idea that spirits of the living could leave their bod-
an understanding of the minds and thoughts of our distant ies during dreams) could easily have given rise to belief in a
ancestors. spirit world where the dead ancestors lived and where the
We do have several hypotheses on this matter (Pals 2006), living could make visits during dreams (Howells 1962). Such
and possibly more will be proposed. One popular idea sug- a belief would mean that these dead ancestors are still around
gests that when humans became aware that they would die and still interacting with the living, perhaps trying to com-
as individuals, it was the fear of death that led to religious municate with and guide us. In short, ancestor worship could
belief—or at least to a belief in life after death. A second easily spring from these assumptions, and ancestor worship is
suggestion is that religious belief fills an adaptive role within an old and widely spread belief in many of the world’s prim-
a tribe or larger group in that such a shared belief creates a itive religions (Howells 1962), one I will address again fur-

52 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

ther on. Also, believing that recently deceased tribe members Primitive people would not have these multiple sources
are still interacting with the living strengthens the feeling of to draw on for constructing their dreamscapes. They would
community, belonging, and importance for the tribe or group. most likely dream about environments like the ones they ex-
In Africa, dead ancestors are still viewed as members of the perienced on a daily basis, and when they dreamed of dead
village ( Johnson 2016). family or tribe members they would likely be “interacting”
Two other factors necessary for such beliefs to become in a dream space not unlike the local environment that they
established within a group and then get passed on culturally experienced throughout their lives. Because of this, upon
are a “theory of mind” and a sophisticated language. There awakening, I would argue that if they remembered a dream
is some evidence that a few other animals have a theory of it would not be as bizarre and strange as the average dreams
mind (recognizing that others have a mind similar to one’s of us folks today. So, the question then arises: What would a
own), so this property was likely already present in our earliest primitive person make of dreams in which he and his dead
ancestors. Sophisticated language came later and is of course ancestors were interacting and communicating in something
uniquely human. Only with language could people share with like the familiar local landscape, making the dream somewhat
others these strange experiences of interactions with the dead realistic? With no scientific understanding of the world and
during dreams, planting and reinforcing these ideas in the no good intellectual tools to sharply divide reality from the
minds of others of the tribe and even encouraging them to virtual reality he experienced in dreams, one likely interpre-
recognize these themes in their own similar experiences. tation he might make is that these dead ancestors were still
When I wake, I recognize that my nightly excursions
are only dreams, and being a scientist and rationalist, I view
my dreams as curiosities and generally without any special
meaning. I certainly don’t believe that the dead people who
often populate my dreams are trying to communicate with
me. Dreams can be thought of as the earliest examples of vir- Religion originated somewhere
tual reality—they can seem very real while they are occurring in the long, lost centuries of our
but obviously are not the real world we come back to upon
waking. After decades of sleep and dream studies, there is still prehistory, and some see value in
today no strong scientific consensus on whether dreams have trying to bend our modern minds
a function or are rather just cerebral noise generated while the
brain is doing other things while asleep (Flanagan 2000). The to conceive and entertain possible
people of prehistory certainly had no empirical or rational models of religious origins.
methods to investigate these strange phenomena, though un-
doubtedly they wondered what dreams were. We know that in
many of the more recent civilizations people did seek out the
meaning of their dreams from shamans, priests, and astrolo-
gers. Even in our modern societies, any sizable bookstore will
contain books that claim to reveal what your dreams signify.
The earliest ancestors of our species lived out their entire somehow present in the landscape or in a realm that some-
lives in local and natural environments. For the most part, how overlays the landscape in which he lives. But now the
they did not make great journeys to see new and impressive dead can only interact with the living in dreams, and they
sights or interact with other really different groups of people probably do so because they are still interested in the affairs
except for perhaps a neighboring tribe or two. They largely of the living—of the family and tribe. Such an interpretation
interacted every day of their lives with family members and leads of course to a belief in life after death and a belief that
others of the tribe who they knew well. Also, their lives were beings in this “spirit realm” care about us enough to remain in
not filled with strange events and changing scenes as are so contact with the living. From here, it is a short step to believ-
many modern lives. They had no movies or media through ing that the dead are at times communicating with the living
which they could imagine a wider range of experiences, to guide them in the difficulties of life; thus, the dead are to
events, and environments. In short, by modern standards be venerated and obeyed.
their lives and especially their mental lives would have been You can recognize in these points some logical first steps
relatively limited and local. toward many of the important tenants of the world’s major
In some of my dreams, I am in strange environments that I religions. I would assume that early peoples were prone to the
can sometimes realize are places I have visited, or at least close same habit of most modern people—trying to find meaning
to places I have been—cities, buildings, college campuses, in the strange and mysterious events of life. For early peoples,
amusement parks, islands, etc. For some reason, I often dream I would argue that having an interaction with a known dead
about living in a huge country mansion house like those in person in a dream would qualify as an event that begged for
the British Isles though I have never been to England and explanation and meaning. It seems reasonable and even obvi-
actually visited such homes. Of course, I have seen these and ous that such events could be a source of the belief in spirits
a multitude of other exotic environments on television and in and of ancestor worship, ancestor worship being an element
movies and have read about them in books. in the religions of many primitive cultures from around the

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 53

world (Shorter 1984; Howells 1962). time, sometimes speaking to their dead ones there. Some re-
Another potential aspect of dreams that might have con- ligions, including some Christian denominations, hold cel-
tributed to the belief that ancestral spirits or the spirit world ebrations in church cemeteries to be near to the departed
can aid the living is the phenomenon of problem solution ancestors of their family, community, tribe, and church. Many
during dreaming. There is evidence that when we are in- of the older believers look forward with anticipation to being
volved in problematic situations, solutions to these problems eventually reunited with loved ones who have died earlier.
sometimes well up during dreaming. This is the origin of the Another possible remnant of ancestor worship is the hu-
saying that one “should sleep on it” and the answer to the manoid characterization of so many of the gods from the
problem may be clearer in the morning. It seems that our earliest records of humanity up to those of today. The several
brain does work on pertinent problems during sleep. There Roman, Greek, and Norse gods serve as decisive examples, as
are many recorded examples of this, such as Elias Howe, who do the major monotheistic gods of today. Many of the older
reportedly came upon the key idea for inventing the sewing gods were not only portrayed and thought of as human in
machine in a dream. Ottow Lowei got the idea for an experi- form but also as having all the major human emotions. In
ment on the nervous system from a dream, and the results of many of the ancient religions, gods even procreated to give
rise to other gods and goddesses.
To sum up, it seems very possible that dreams could have
contributed much to the earliest glimmerings of religious
I offer my argument for another thought, specifically a belief in spirits and a life after death. I
of the contenders that has more would argue that dreaming of known dead individuals from
one’s family or tribe is a very likely source of belief in a spirit
explanatory strength as to origins: world, belief in ancestor spirits that interact with the living,
the idea that dreams were the source and eventually to belief in gods with humanoid traits. Though
a much later development, one might recall that the Bible
of religious beliefs. contains several instances of God speaking to or instruct-
ing individuals in dreams. In one such example in the book
of Matthew, Joseph is instructed in a dream to marry Mary
even though she is pregnant because the child is “of God” and
that experiment contributed to his Nobel Prize in 1936. The therefore no shame should be felt by him or Mary.
great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan claimed While we will never know with certainty how religious
that the Goddess Namakkal came to him in dreams and belief was ignited in our ancestors of prehistory, it seems
delivered many of his important insights and ideas. While apparent that dreams, the mind/body dualism suggested by
these (and other) examples seem far removed from early hu- dreams, and dreams of the dead are all likely candidates for
mans, there is at least the possibility that some early humans the origins of several aspects of religious belief. Even today,
(who had already concluded that their ancestors lived on in some people believe that spirits or gods communicate with
a spirit world) could have had insights of importance arising them through dreams. 
in their dreams. They surely encountered many problems in
their daily struggle for survival. Upon awaking with helpful References
insights, they might easily credit the dream world spirits for Evans-Pritchard, E.E. 1990. Theories of Primitive Religion. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
their own ideas—and most likely want to tell others of this Flanagan, Owen. 2000. Dreaming Souls. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
amazing occurrence. Hinnells, John R. (ed.). 1984. A Handbook of Living Religions. New York:
I argued earlier that our early ancestors could not have Penguin Books Ltd.
Hobson, J. Allen. 2002. Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford:
dreams as bizarre as those of modern people because of their Oxford University Press.
limited sources of images and events. They may, however, have Howells, W. 1962. The Heathens. Salem, WI: Sheffield Publishing Company.
been bizarre in a way some experience when dreaming to be Johnson, Dominic. 2016. God Is Watching You: How the Fear of God Makes Us
Human. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
another animal. Such dreams are much less common, but they Pals, Daniel L. 2006. Eight Theories of Religion (2nd Ed). Oxford: Oxford
do occur. I once dreamed I was a dog running in my father’s University Press.
yard, and it was indeed both strange and realistic. Many times Shorter, Aylward. 1984. African religions. In A Handbook of Living
Religions. John R. Hinnells (ed.). New York: Penguin Books Ltd.
I have dreamed that I could fly and glide like a bird, and these
dreams were very enjoyable and memorable. Dreams such as
these may have suggested the idea that all living things may
have spirits and that in this realm of the dead one can expe-
rience animal spirits—even learning important things from David Zeigler is a retired professor of biology. He
them. Many early religions are animistic in believing that received his PhD from the University of North
other living things and even mountains, rivers, thunder, etc., Texas. He is author of Evolution: Components
and Mechanisms (Academic Press, 2014), and
have a spiritual essence, and these too of course can appear
he wrote “In What Version of Evolution Do you
in dreams.
Believe?” in our January/February 2018 issue and
People of many cultures venerate graves and cemeteries “Those Supposed Aliens Might Be Worms” in our
that contain their ancestors. They visit them from time to November/December 2018 issue.

54 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

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Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 55

Creationist Funhouse, Episode Three
God Plays with Atoms
To reconcile inconvenient scientific findings, the creationists’ god had to make sedimentary rock layers nice
and smooth and had to tamper with atoms to nullify the results of radiocarbon dating.

S TAN L E Y RI CE

This is the third of an occasional series of articles on the Creationist Funhouse.

I
n the first episode of this series (May/
June 2019), I explained that creationists
believe that God made a young universe
look old. In the second episode ( July/Au-
gust 2019), I explained that creationists be-
lieve that God corrupted his own creation.
In this installment, we will see how, in their
view, God not only made the stars look old
but the rocks as well.
God was very busy during Genesis 1, warping light around
to create the Red Shift and during Genesis 3, recreating the
whole natural world to curse it. But he really got busy in Gen-
esis 6, during The Flood.
You see, if you thought you could learn about the creation
of the earth by studying the rocks, you would be very, very
wrong. Genesis 1 tells you nothing about where the rocks
came from. To understand that, according to creationists, you
must read Genesis 6–8, the story of Noah’s Flood. During
this time, they say, water covered the entire land surface of
the earth for a little over a year. And this water movement
Loraine Thompson

would have been so violent, sloshing around in gigantic waves,

that it would have torn up all the land masses and produced
great mounds of sediment that entombed plants, animals, and
people and turned them into fossils. Therefore, according to
creationists, the layers of sedimentary rock in the crust of the rock layers are quite typical of almost any place in the world
earth are a record not of what happened in creation but of you might find sedimentary rocks. Such smooth, flat layers
what happened during the Flood. of sediments can form in tranquil, shallow seas; in fact, they
The first thing that God had to do to make the young are forming this very moment in shallow seas all around the
sedimentary rocks appear old was to make the layers of sed- world. But what if there is a gargantuan flood going on all
iments nice and smooth. Sometimes the layers of sediments, around? God had to make sure the resulting sediments were
which today form rocks such as limestone, shale, and sand- smooth and flat for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of
stone, form perfectly flat layers for many miles. One look at successive layers over large areas. The Bible, of course, makes
the Grand Canyon and you can see just how extensive the no mention of this. It is the product of creationist fantasy.
perfectly flat layers of sediments can be. The Grand Canyon But God’s job was not this simple. He also had to make

56 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

sure that between many of the sedimentary layers there were and turn into different and smaller kinds of atoms in the pro-
layers of lava or volcanic ash. That is, he had to hold back cess. Uranium atoms, for example, undergo radioactive decay
the Flood waters from dumping sediments on a sometimes to become lead atoms. As a matter of fact, different kinds of
large area, and then call forth a volcanic explosion to pour uranium atoms decompose into different kinds of lead. You
layers of lava over the fresh sediments or dust them with ash may refer to my Encyclopedia of Evolution, or any number of
before allowing the Flood waters to resume dumping their online websites, for more information.
sediments. Some volcanic deposits were made underwater— This radioactive decay is not a random process. Instead it
they have a characteristic pillow shape—but most of them follows the law of half-lives. Over a certain period of time,
formed on the continents. All over the world today, we can half of the atoms will decompose. Each kind of radioactive
see sedimentary rock layers with fossils in them sandwiched atom has its own half-life. For uranium atoms, a half-life is mil-
between rock layers consisting of volcanic minerals without lions of years. For radioactive carbon, the half-life is 5,730 years.
fossils in them. The Bible makes no mention of God creating
volcanic explosions either.
***
But perhaps more than anything else, God was very busy

According to creationists, the layers

of sedimentary rock in the crust of
the earth are a record not of what
happened in creation but of what
happened during the Flood. Radioactive parent material decays into products. Half of the parent material
decays each half-life. The comparison of parent material with product allows
radiometric estimates of age. With uranium and lead, these estimates are made
within crystals that did not contain very much lead when they were formed.

during the Flood playing with subatomic particles. This means that you will never have a time when all the atoms
Scientists use radiometric dating to determine the age of will decompose. After ten half-lives, only one-1,024th of the
certain components of rocks, meaning they use radioactivity radioactive atoms remain, but this is still a lot of atoms. For any
as a metric of age. Radioactivity was one of the great discov- given atom, you cannot know when it will decompose. The rea-
eries at the turn of the twentieth century. Some large kinds of son that the atoms collectively follow this pattern so strictly takes
atoms decompose or fall apart. They eject subatomic particles us right into the realm of quantum mechanics, a realm where

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 57

only physicists do not fear to tread. God also apparently played around with radiocarbon atoms.
What happens next seems to be simple. To figure out how old Carbon-14 is a rare form of carbon atom that is unstable. The
a rock is, just measure the amount of uranium and the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere contains a small amount
lead and calculate how long it would take for uranium to have of carbon-14, which plants absorb along with regular carbon in
formed that amount of lead. But as any creationist can tell you— photosynthesis. Any organic material, such as a piece of wood,
correctly, for once—this is not a valid procedure. What if there contains a small amount of carbon-14. Because the half-life of
were already some lead in the rock before the uranium began carbon-14 is 5,730 years, the amount of carbon-14 decreases
decomposing? This would make a young rock appear to be old. more quickly than uranium. Radiocarbon never all disappears,
Indeed, this would be an invalid procedure—so obviously invalid but after about fifty thousand years, so little of it remains that
that, in fact, no geologist uses it. Instead, geologists measure the chemists cannot measure it. Note also that radiocarbon analysis
relative amounts of uranium and lead inside of zircon crystals. cannot be performed on fossils, in which the original wood and
Crystals, as you may intuitively know, get their structures from bone molecules have been replaced by minerals and nearly all
the atomic characteristics of the minerals that form them. The the original carbon atoms, whether regular or 14, have been
atoms or molecules have to all line up just the right way. The lost.
atoms or molecules inside a crystal, therefore, have to be nearly Just as with the zircon dates, the radiocarbon dates are not
identical. The wrong kind of atom or molecule would disrupt the random. God would have needed to take every organic ar-
crystal structure. chaeological specimen and tamper with it. To see an example,
come with me in your imagination to the world of cavemen.
The Neanderthal cavemen lived in Europe until about 30,000
The Bible makes no mention of God years ago. Their bone remnants contain small amounts of ra-
diocarbon that are consistent with that age. The Cro-Magnon
creating volcanic explosions either. cavemen, however, lived in Europe more recently, until about
10,000 years ago. Their bone remnants contain, on the average,
larger amounts of radiocarbon. These results are not random.
No Neanderthal bones younger than about 30,000 years have
been found. However, to a creationist, the universe itself did
Within certain volcanic rocks, zircon crystals form. Within not yet exist even 10,000 years ago. And the caves in which the
the crystal as it forms, zirconium and uranium atoms (which cavemen lived—whether Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon—are
have a similar external structure) line up. But you do not find limestone caves, formed of materials that creationists believe
very many lead atoms within the crystal, because they do not were deposited during the Flood just four thousand years ago.
fit. Therefore, if a scientist finds a zircon crystal in a volcanic Therefore, creationists have to believe that all radiocarbon
rock, he or she can reasonably assume that almost all the lead dates, except very recent ones, are invalid. Why, then, do these
atoms in the crystal (though not the rest of the rock) came dates show a pattern, in which the more primitive specimens
from the radioactive decay of uranium atoms. Zircon crystals have older radiocarbon ages than the more recent specimens?
formed in volcanic rock under extremely high temperatures, God had to have tampered with them.
which have been rare on the earth since about 4.5 billion years ***
ago, back when the crust of the earth was still molten. There- Scientists have only known about radioactivity for a little over
fore, most zircons have a lead-to-uranium ratio consistent with a century. Radiometric dating was only recently developed.
that age. Anyone living before the twentieth century could not have
Because newly formed zircon crystals contained little or known anything about God’s detailed, worldwide, splendid
no lead and creationists believe all zircon crystals are newly manipulation of radioactive atoms. As with the Red Shift,
formed, one must wonder why any zircon crystals contain any God did some of his best work for us, today, to see, rather than
lead at all. How did the lead get there? Creationist websites for anyone else who lived before us.
claim that the lead comes from contamination—the lead But apparently playing around with radioactivity was easy
atoms diffused into the crystal after it was formed. If in fact work for God because, as we shall see in the next article in
the relative amounts of lead and uranium have nothing to do the series, he had time to do some even more creative things
with the passage of billions of years of time, then you would with the rock layers. 
expect random amounts of the two. But this is not what you
find. Zircon crystals from geological deposits all over the world
appear to be about 4.5 billion years old. Therefore, almost the
same amount of contamination must have occurred in all geo- Stanley Rice is professor of biological science
logical deposits all over the world if the creationists are right. at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and
And such contamination would have taken a long time to the author of five popular science books, most
occur, longer than they believe the earth has existed. Perhaps recently Scientifically Thinking: How to Liberate
God had to personally supervise the diffusion of lead into the Your Mind, Solve the World’s Problems, and
crystals as they formed on a young earth, something not men- Embrace the Beauty of Science. He has been deal-
tioned in the Bible. ing constructively with creationism as a college
science educator for three decades.
***
58 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer
 FORUM]

The Climate inside

Tom Brady’s Pajamas
C R A I G A . F O STER

P
resident Trump barely attended a U.N. climate sum- Gisele Bündchen, disagreed with speculation on Twitter that
mit. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots look she and Brady had backed Trump (see www.bostonmagazine.
ready to win another Super Bowl. It’s a good time to com/arts-entertainment/2016/11/08/gisele-tom-brady-don-
talk about the quarterback’s pajamas. ald-trump/).
Yep, Brady sells pajamas. Well, no, sorry. Brady sells “Ath- I don’t envy Brady’s position. Political associations such
lete Recovery Sleepwear” (ARS). Brady’s ARS is advertised as these force Brady to make a definitive statement about
with the slogan, “When we wake rested, we rise unbeatable.” his political play calling or live with speculation—speculation
That is obvious nonsense. I can’t imagine any contemporary that I am admittedly making. Nonetheless, considering the
football expert betting on a rested Miami Dolphins over a importance of this issue, I think I can justify the extra point
groggy New Orleans Saints. Besides, what if both teams are I’m about to kick.
rested? Wouldn’t somebody have to lose? Anyway, it’s just a
tagline, and I digress.
Brady’s pajamas apparently enhance recovery because “the
mineral-lined fabric returns infrared energy to your body I don’t want to go deep into the
to restore your muscles faster.” Brady’s ARS is also “POW-
ERED BY REDWAVE.” Redwave refers to Redwave Global,
electromagnetism inside Tom
a company that offers, among other things, “supercharged” Brady’s pajamas.
clothing and bedding. Redwave products use a proprietary
formula to concentrate the power of “far infrared.” These
products purportedly help professional athletes with perfor-
mance and recovery and regular people with sleep and general What do Brady’s pajamas have to do with Brady and
health. Trump being possible bedfellows? Brady’s ARS operates on
I don’t want to go deep into the electromagnetism inside the premise that some forms of matter absorb and reemit
Tom Brady’s pajamas. The Redwave webpage says a lot about more infrared radiation than others. If one adds matter that
being science based but nothing substantial about the physical captures and reemits infrared radiation around the human
mechanism that makes Redwave work. Besides, the sports body, the body will receive greater levels of infrared radiation
performance industry has many pseudoscientific products in and stay warmer as a result.
its lineup. I would need to see pretty convincing evidence You don’t say?
before I would pay money to get into Brady’s mineral-lined That is, of course, the same premise underlying hu-
pants. man-caused climate change. Earth emits infrared radiation.
Brady’s ARS is compelling because it is so much more When it does, the atmosphere absorbs it and reemits it.
than just another performance and recovery product. Brady’s Change the atmosphere (by adding more greenhouse gases),
ARS is based on a scientific mechanism that could dictate and the atmosphere increases the amount of infrared radia-
the future of humanity as we know it—a mechanism that tion that it reemits back toward Earth. This, in turn, makes
would seemingly belie Brady’s supposed support for President Earth warmer.
Trump. More to the point, Brady’s pajama science sacks Trump’s
To be fair, I don’t know that Brady supports Trump, but climate change denial.
some evidence suggests that he does. There was the MAGA This does not necessarily make Brady a raging hypocrite.
hat that found its way into Brady’s locker. Trump also claimed Even if Brady supports Trump, it is possible that Brady dis-
that Brady told him that he had voted for him. Take that agrees with Trump’s no-point stance on Earth’s climate. Brady
for what you will. At the same time, Brady’s famous wife, has gently indicated that possibility. It seems odd though. To
Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 59
 [REVIEWS
those who believe in human-caused climate change,
Trump’s inaction looks terrifically tragic.
Being a psychology professor, I also understand
Scamming the Public
how somebody could discount global climate change by Direct Mail
while promoting pajama climate change. The concept
of motivated reasoning describes how this can occur. Te re n ce Hi n e s
Individuals frequently use different reasoning strat-
egies to arrive at desired conclusions. Accordingly, A Deal with the Devil. Blake Ellis and
Brady could find ways to dismiss the importance of Melanie Hicken. Atria Books, 2018. ISBN
atmospheric changes but simultaneously believe in 9-781501-163845-53600. 290 pp.
the science behind his ARS. Hardcover, $26.
Brady might believe that he has innovated the
infrared-reflecting capabilities of pajama wear

I would need to see pretty

convincing evidence before I
would pay money to get into

M
ost people, when they think of psychic scams, think
Brady’s mineral-lined pants. of the street-corner psychic who takes the casual
passerby for a few hundred dollars and who may
occasionally score big and take a repeat “customer” for a great
deal more over a period of time. The New York Times reported
while also believing that Earth’s atmosphere has not such a case on June 6, 2015, when a psychic conned a victim
changed meaningfully. Alternatively, Brady might out of over $700,000 to help him in a romantic pursuit. These
believe that his pajamas trap more infrared radiation street-corner psychics tend to be independent operators or part
than the atmosphere, because his ARS is solid, not of a local group of con artists. Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken
gaseous. are experienced investigative reporters for CNN, and their book
A Deal with the Devil is based on a series of reports of theirs
Perhaps Brady believes that human-caused cli-
first published on the CNN website in 2016. It describes a psy-
mate change isn’t all bad. Brady could read scien-
chic scam operation much more organized and international in
tific reports about climate change and conclude that
scope than the usual street-corner scam. It didn’t even involve
people all over the world are reaping recovery and any face-to-face meetings between the psychic and the victims.
performance benefits from our new and improved It was carried out entirely by postal mail.
atmosphere. The book was awarded the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry‘s
I would love to hear Brady’s thoughts on this annual Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking (SI, Septem-
topic. It looks to me like Brady can either support ber/October 2019), presented October 18 at the CSICon 2019
climate science or discredit his pajama science. Per- conference in Las Vegas. The two authors gave a firsthand video
sonally, I would like to see Brady use his pajamas report on their project.
to educate the public about human-caused climate The idea of a mail order paranormal scam is not entirely new.
change. Brady has so much more influence than I do. In his August 15, 2015, episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver
His ability to make Earth a safer place could cement did a revealing exposé of prosperity gospel scams that operate
his legacy not just as a football player but also as a largely by direct mail. He sent $20 to televangelist Robert Tilton.
humanitarian. In the following several months, Oliver was bombarded with
For my part, I would be thrilled to know that I dozens and dozens of direct mail appeals that became more and
helped Brady tackle global climate change. In fact, I more demanding and ridiculous as time passed. In one he was
asked to trace the outline of his foot on an image of Tilton’s foot
would feel like I won the Super Bowl. 
and mail it back, along with a donation, to receive the supposed
Craig A. Foster is a professor of psychology at the U.S. Air Force benefits of casting his bread upon the waters.
Academy. In A Deal with the Devil, the authors describe in considerable
detail how a similar direct mail scam that focused on psychic
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily advice operated for decades beginning as long ago as the 1980s
relect the oicial policy or position of any part of the U.S. government. in countries all over the world. A victim would receive what ap-

60 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 NEW AND NOTABLE]

peared to be a handwritten and highly personal letter HUMAN ERRORS: A Panorama of Our Glitches,
promising that if a donation was given, the addressee from Pointless Bones to Broken Genes. Nathan
H. Lents. A biology professor’s fascinating run
would receive all sorts of benefits, including better
through some of the many “mistakes” and
health, wealth, and even winning lottery numbers. The glitches in how our bodies are put together, a
letters would go on for page after page and include de- consequence of evolution working not via some
tailed personal information that helped convince the grand design but having to work with what was
recipient that the psychic knew all about them. These available. If you’ve ever wondered why you
details included the birth date, birthplace, and marital share a breathing tube with an eating tube, why
status of the victim. Once a donation had been made, you get sinus infections, or why we have such
poor vision compared with many animals, you
the scammers knew they had a sucker on the line and,
should enjoy this book. Beginning with his introduction, “Behold, the
as in the case of the prosperity gospel scam, sent addi- Blunders of Nature,” Lents finds it all amusing and interesting, and he
tional letters asking for more money. shares that enthusiasm with the reader. The book is also instructive, as
As with the prosperity gospel scam, the victims are it gives one better understanding of how evolution does, and doesn’t,
usually the elderly, the poorly educated, the ill and in- work. Perfection has no role. Mariner Books, 2019, 233 pp., $15.99.
firm, and the lonely—the most vulnerable members of
society. The book opens with the sad description of a THE KISS OF DEATH: Contagion, Contamination,
and Folklore. Andrea Kitta. For many laypeople,
Canadian woman named Doreen who, as her dementia
the term folklore evokes topics such as urban
increased, kept sending donation after donation to one legends and fairy tales, but the discipline is
direct mail psychic. The authors found such stories all far broader. In The Kiss of Death, folklorist
too common. Andrea Kitta (Department of English at East
Carolina University) examines folklore sur-
rounding medicine, disease, and health. Over
the course of seven chapters, Kitta treats dis-
A Deal with the Devil describes ease not merely as a medical issue but also as
a psychic scam operation a social one. Topics include immigration fears,
Slenderman, zombies, and much more. Legends and rumors about
much more organized and disease are common and can have real-world consequences, ranging
from anti-vaccine misinformation to conspiracy theories about AIDS,
international in scope than Ebola, and other public health concerns. As Kitta notes, “Even when
individuals tell narratives [that] are not believed or are treated as ‘just
the usual street-corner scam. stories,’ they can still negatively affect decision-making processes.
This, in turn, could be detrimental to the health of both individuals and
communities.” Stories of contagion often blend seamlessly into lessons
in xenophobia, delineating “us versus them,” the wholesome versus the
unclean. Skeptical activism often involves calming (or trying to calm)
Until I read A Deal with the Devil, I’d given no the public’s concerns about exaggerated threats, from EMF-emitting
thought to how complex such a scam has to be. Many cell phones to Satanic cults, and The Kiss of Death has important
steps carried out by different companies are required lessons for the intersection between skepticism and folklore. Some of
before the letters enter the mail. The first order of busi- the writing is necessarily academic, but the book is accessible to the
general reader. Utah State University Press, 2019, 200 pp., $21.95.
ness is to get names and addresses of potential victims.
These are obtained from the same “data brokers” that THE LOST PLANETS: Peter Van de Kamp and the
supply lists of names and addresses to other, more hon- Vanishing Planets around Barnard’s Star. John
est, direct mailers. Data brokers can supply lists broken Wenz. Foreword by Corey S. Powell. We may
down by almost any demographic feature one wants, have become almost jaded by the discoveries
so it’s easy to get a list of, say, females over sixty who of 3,000-plus exoplanets—planets outside our
live in an area with a specified average income level. solar system—by the Kepler spacecraft and
other observatories in the past decade or two.
The personal information in the letters can be obtained
But back in the 1960s, astronomer Peter Van
from responses the victim made to other solicitations. de Kamp of Swarthmore Observatory thought
A common scheme is to send letters offering a chance he had discovered evidence of a planet around
to win a prize. To enter the contest, the person has to Barnard’s Star, from the star’s “wobbles” as if
fill out a form that includes a great deal of personal a planet was orbiting it. If confirmed (though most astronomers were
information. That data is combined with the names and fairly skeptical from the beginning), this would have been the earliest
addresses supplied by the data brokers and incorporated discovery of an exoplanet. Wenz provides a useful short history of
why the astronomer thought he had obtained the first evidence of an
into the letters the victims receive.
exoplanet, how and why the claim was eventually found to fall short,
The solicitation letters have to be written by some- and how Van de Kamp was stubborn in his refusal to accept that he
one. Not just anyone can dash off letters that will be was wrong. An interesting and useful case study in ultimately mistaken
convincing to the victim. Copywriters are hired to do science. MIT Press, 2019, 200 pp., $24.95.

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 61

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 61
this. These copywriters clearly know can’t just drop off a bundle of a hun- profited from all kinds of global mail
that they’re involved in a highly dis- dred thousand letters at the local post fraud for years” (225). PacNet took its
honest enterprise. The authors inter- office, so commercial direct mail com- cut and forwarded the remaining money
viewed one such copywriter. It was a panies handled this task. The letters to the different scammers.
high paying job. He could charge up to often included various nick-knacks An example of a mailing card from a
$20,000 for an effective letter, and he such as “round metal talismans encased psychic scam, although not the one dis-
“received many requests to write these in little velveteen pouches with sym- cussed in the book, is shown at left. The
kinds of letters as the mail-order psy- bols and some motivational words or meter imprint is faded but reads “Sun
chic business boomed in the nineties” astrological signs on them” (26). These Valley, CA” and is dated November 1,
were described in the letters as valuable 1996. The card advises the addressee
treasures with potential mystical pow- that a psychic named Paulette is “Very
ers. Because millions of these were sent much concerned about you. Since we
out, they had to be mass produced by spoke a short time ago, I keep thinking
firms that manufacture such things. major event may soon change your life.”
The letters asked for donations as The card is addressed to my father, who
well as personal items, such as locks of died in late 1990.
hair. This is an example of a well-known A Deal with the Devil is really a de-
psychological phenomenon called the tective story in which the authors try
“foot-in-the-door-effect” wherein if to track down a psychic named Maria
you ask a person to do a small favor Duval, who may be a real person or
and they do so, they will be more likely just a name made up for the scam. In
to do a larger favor when asked. When either case, she was the name behind a
the victim takes the time and effort, direct mail psychic scam that lasted for
albeit minimal, to cut and send a lock decades and included the United States
of hair, they have complied with the and Canada as well as numerous other
first request for a favor. With millions countries. You’ll have to read the book
of letters going out, hundreds of thou- to find out whether Maria Duval was a
sands of responses came in. The victims real person or not. A Deal with the Devil
were instructed to send their responses is a fascinating and disturbing exposé of
to addresses that were mailboxes at pri- the slick and highly lucrative business
vate mailing stores. One such address of mail order psychics. The leaders of
was in Sparks, Nevada. These letters this industry drive expensive cars and
often included heart-rending stories hold business conferences in expensive
of personal tragedy along with the do- hotels in fancy resort locations around
(130). This gives an idea of the amount nations. From the original address, the the world such as Monaco.
of money such scams generate. A suc- envelopes were bundled and sent on to, Excellent as the book is, it has two
cessful letter generated a response rate in one case, an address on Long Island shortcomings. First, there is no index,
of around 10 percent, while the figure in New York. It was there that postal making it difficult to look up specific
for a “dud” was about 4 percent. Some inspectors, who were trying to put an names and topics that recur throughout
copywriters charged a flat fee for their end to one particular direct mail psy- the text. More serious is the lack of any
work while others worked on a royalty chic scam, found thousands of letters, introductory discussion of the various
basis—around 10 percent of the money complete with locks of hair and the tricks of the psychic trade, such as cold
their letter brought in. The interviewed aforementioned tales of personal trag- readings, the Barnum Effect, and selec-
copywriter tried to justify his involve- edy, tossed in a dumpster. Of course, the tive memory. A brief section covering
ment by attempting to minimize the “psychic” was never going to personally these techniques would have greatly
harm done. He claimed that his letters answer these letters, but further requests helped readers not familiar with them
brought some benefits to the targets, for donations would follow. understand how psychics, by direct mail
for example by making them feel better Once the money, cash, or checks or in person, con people into believing
because they found out that someone had been received, it had to be depos- they have real paranormal powers.
really cared about them. ited into bank accounts. In the partic-
After the letters were written, they ular scam described in A Deal with the
had to be printed. Millions were printed, Devil, one of the companies processing
so this required large commercial print- the funds was the Canadian company Terence Hines is professor of psychology at Pace
ing companies. Then the letters had to PacNet Services of Vancouver, British University and author of Pseudoscience and the
be entered into the mail stream. You Columbia. This was a firm that “had Paranormal. He is a CSI fellow.

62 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 NEW AND NOTABLE]
OFF THE TRACKS: Cautionary Tales about
the Derailing of Mental Health Care, Volume
What Does It 2. Paul. W. Mosher and Jeffrey Berman. In
this massive two-volume work (volume one
Feel Like to Die? deals with sexual and nonsexual boundary
violations), the authors (a clinical profes-
sor of psychiatry at Albany Medical College
HARRIET HALL and a professor of English at University of
Albany) present dramatic examples where
the psychological treatment relationship was
mismanaged in such a way as to harm men-
tally ill patients. This second volume deals
What Does It Feel Like to Die? with many subjects long of interest to skeptics: L. Ron Hubbard and
Inspiring New Insights from the Ex- Scientology (plus a second chapter about a female patient who died
perience of Dying. Jennie Dear. Cit- while undergoing Scientology treatment), John E. Mack and the
alien abduction craze, and the battles over supposed Satanic ritual
adel Press/Kensington Publishing. abuse and false memories. The books have been called “stimulat-
2019. ISBN 978-0-8065-3986-7. ing and thought provoking”; “brave and intriguing”; and “a chilling
206 pp. Softcover, $14.99. read ... We are all vulnerable to deception.” IPBooks (International
Psychoanalytic Books), 2019, 537 pp., $39.95.

OUTGROWING GOD: A Beginner’s Guide. Richard

Dawkins. Originally envisioned by Dawkins as
a version of his best-seller The God Delusion
written for young people, this easy-to-read

W
e’re all going to die. What does dying feel new work stands on its own for all ages. It
like? We can’t really know, because no one is divided into two sections: “Goodbye God”
and “Evolution and Beyond.” The first includes
has come back after death to tell us. For those
chapters on “So many gods!,” “But is it true?,”
who die suddenly (for instance from a fatal gunshot to “Myths and how they start,” and “Do we need a
the head), there probably isn’t time to feel anything. But god in order to be good?” The second includes
90 percent of people die slowly from a fatal disease. What many topics of interest to skeptics and sci-
can we expect to happen during the days, months, or ence-minded people: “Surely there must be a designer?,” “Steps
even years between diagnosis and departure? In her book toward improbability,” “Crystals and jigsaw puzzles,” “Did we evolve
What Does It Feel Like to Die? Inspiring New Insights into to be religious? Nice?,” and perhaps the most interesting, the final
chapter, “Taking courage from science,” a selection of examples of
the Experience of Dying, Jennie Dear reports on recent
amazing scientific insights that are contrary to common sense but
research and observations about that period and peppers nevertheless strongly supported by evidence. It requires courage to
her reporting with anecdotes from her experiences as a cast aside our preconceptions and accept the evidence, and that is
hospice volunteer and as a caregiver for her dying mother. Dawkins’s central message. Random House, 2019, 295 pp., $27.
Understanding this information can help us prepare for
our own death and can suggest coping strategies. PSEUDOSCIENCE: The Conspiracy against
Science. Edited by Allison B. Kaufman and
James C. Kaufman. A valuable academic
work examining all aspects of pseudosci-
Witnesses tend to ascribe a ence, something the editors point out we
are particularly susceptible to in this post-
lower quality of life for dying truth, fact-challenged world. Thirty-five con-
people, but studies have shown tributors, most academic scholars, many
of them familiar to SI readers, examine this
that the patients themselves topic in four sections: Part 1, The Basics of
Pseudoscience; Part II, What Pseudoscience
rate their quality of life the same Costs Society; Part III, Scientific (or Pseudoscientific) Soundness; and
as healthy people. Part IV, Pseudoscience in the Mainstream. With a foreword by Scott O.
Lillienfeld about ten enduring lessons from the study of pseudosci-
ence, starting with “We are all biased” and ending with “skepticism
differs from cynicism.” Reviewed in our November/December 2019
Depictions of death on TV and in the movies are un- issue. MIT Press, 2019, 510 pp., $34.95.
realistic; the characters are awake and carry on meaning-
—Kendrick Frazier and Benjamin Radford
ful conversations, then suddenly close their eyes and die.
That’s not how it works. In the days when deaths occurred
at home, most people had seen a relative die. Today we
have a lot of knowledge about what happens in the body

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 63

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 63
as it begins shutting down. It’s a gradual life the same as healthy people, or some- resolve unfinished business and personal
process. times even better. conflicts, and express the things they
Most people accept the idea of their We all have to die of something, want to say to loved ones. Impending
own death intellectually but not emo- and preventing one cause of death only death can be reframed as a normal life
tionally. They don’t really believe they increases the incidence of deaths from stage, a second chance to correct past er-
are going to die until they get that ex- other causes. In this regard, Dear points rors, and an opportunity for post-trau-
istential slap and realize that their dis- out that seatbelts could be considered matic growth.
ease is really going to kill them. After carcinogenic. Dear discusses why some people
that realization, they may experience Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages want to hasten their death and describes
depression, anxiety, despair, anger, and of grief in terminal illness are denial, both legal and illegal ways to do it. She
a loss of identity and meaning. This anger, bargaining, depression, and ac- discusses phenomena such as halluci-
phase tends to last an average of three ceptance. They have not been validated nations, delirium, insights from near-
months. When the initial distress sub- by peer-reviewed research and are fre- death experiences (NDEs), terminal
quently misunderstood. They don’t agitation, plucking, visions, the death
apply to everyone, and they don’t hap- rattle, and terminal lucidity, where an
pen in any particular order. unconscious patient becomes awake,
Patients are not so much afraid of lucid, and coherent right before dying.
dying as afraid of pain, losing control, As the body systems shut down, people
and becoming dependent on others. lose interest in the outside world. They
Patients are not so One of the attractions of alternative lose hunger, then thirst, then speech and
much afraid of dying medicine is that it can give the illusion vision. Hearing and touch are the last
of control. And it can offer an illusion of to go. They may enter into a dreamlike
as afraid of pain, certainty where conventional medicine state. Death itself is usually painless and
losing control, and is uncertain. Eighty percent of progno- peaceful.
ses about how long a patient will live She presents facts supported by
becoming dependent are wrong, and phrases such as “The references to scientific studies and il-
on others. doctor said I had six months to live” can lustrated by anecdotes. Most of what
be misunderstood. Doctors can’t predict she says is not controversial, but not
the future; at best, they can only offer a everyone would agree with her charac-
guess based on the average historical life terization of “active dying.” One of the
expectancy of more-or-less comparable instructors in my residency program had
patients. been assigned to manage a ward of ter-
Eighty percent of Americans say minal patients during his training. He
sides, expectations change, and patients they want to die at home, but only 30 told the patients they were not dying,
find ways to cope. They may even find percent actually do. They may not get to they were living (and would continue to
a new meaning in life and a richer sense choose, or they may change their mind be living until they actually died). He
of who they are. when home care proves unrealistic or tried to create a pleasant living environ-
Dear describes four possible trajec- problematic for various reasons. More ment in the ward, and he let patients out
tories: and more patients are dying in hospice, on passes to go do the things they loved
1. Relatively good health followed by where they get palliative care with no to do, such as fishing. His superiors got
a quick death; intent to prolong life. Forty percent of very upset because their patients were
2. Gradual deterioration culminating hospice patients use the service for two out dying all over the county instead of
in death; weeks or less. in their hospital beds. He thought that
3. A fluctuating course of complica- Pain can almost always be controlled, was a good thing, and I do too.
tions and improvements; but there is a trade-off with side effects This little (206-page) book contains
4. Years of progressive frailty until the such as sleepiness. Sometimes the only a wealth of information and food for
body is unable to recover from the way to completely relieve pain is palli- thought. Unless you have somehow
stress of an infection or a broken ative sedation, keeping the patient un- discovered the secret of immortality, I
bone. conscious. Pain is not the same as suf- think you would benefit from reading it.
fering; the same physical pain will cause I know I did. I feel better informed and
Scenario 4 is the most likely. Modern less suffering if the patient believes it is better equipped to face my own death
medicine keeps us alive and allows us to temporary. Psychological interventions and the deaths of my loved ones. 
remain sicker longer. Witnesses tend to are being tested to help people cope bet-
ascribe a lower quality of life for dying ter with dying. They can help patients Harriet Hall, MD, also known as “The SkepDoc,”
people, but studies have shown that the reassess their priorities, find meaning is a retired family physician and SI contribut-
patients themselves rate their quality of in their lives, develop positive attitudes, ing editor and columnist.

64 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]

Opioids | Exorcisms | Science Attitudes | Balles Prize to CNN | Homeopathy Suits | Chernobyl
of pink “pills” on his shelf, and Geographic?” in this issue. to work, we don’t necessarily need
whenever a patient would com- to know “how” it works; we used
 M  S  R Vol. 43 No. 5 | September/October 2019
plain of one thing or another I have no confidence in SCAM aspirin for decades before we began
and there was no evident prob- [so-called alternative medicine], to understand its mechanism of
lem, he would offer a packet of for the reasons cited in your ex- action. Conventional medications
those pink pills. “Take these and cellent issue. But I am a skeptic have to prove efficacy and safety
see if it makes you feel better,” he even of skeptics. to the FDA before they can be ap-
would say. In most cases the pa- Consider: Like SCAM, con- proved for marketing. That doesn’t
tients felt a lot better and always ventional medications often do mean they always work reliably for
asked for more of the pills when not work. Or they work via often every individual. We can never be
they visited. When there were poorly understood mechanisms sure a given medication was what
no patients around, I would be (as one can learn from reading cured an individual patient; that’s
INTRODUCTORY PRICE U.S. and Canada $5.99
IN THE TRENCHES
AGAINST ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE allowed to take a couple, as they the fine print in the literature why we have to do controlled clin-
were all just pink candy. pamphlet that comes with a pre- ical studies to compensate for con-
Edythe Robinson scription). Or people get better founders such as remissions and
The Health Wars Starke, Florida with little or no certainty that placebo effects. Studies can only
the medication helped—maybe show a medication is more effective
First, let me say the happiest than a placebo for the population
I do not know if most people are the ailment was going into re-
day every two months is when studied; they can’t predict how each
aware, but back in 2015 the Na- mission anyway, or there was a
my new issue of S I- individual will respond.
tional Geographic Society sold placebo effect. Prescription drugs
 arrives, and the saddest All medications that have ef-
its media properties and publi- can be harmful (just listen to the
day is the day I finish reading fects will also have side effects.
cations to National Geographic long lists of side effects in the
it (which sometimes occurs the Treatment decisions must balance
Partners LLC—majority owned TV ads), even lethal. They have
same day). I admit when I first the risks against the benefits. Sci-
by 21st Century Fox—controlled caused birth defects. But it is
saw the subject of your “Health ence-based medicine is well aware
by Rupert Murdoch (a climate hard to imagine a class of medica-
Wars” issue (September/October of the many factors that may inval-
change denier, among other tions more dangerous than legal
2019), I did not expect to find idate the results of clinical studies.
things). Earlier this year Disney psychotropic drugs, which are
it as thoroughly interesting and Science is an ongoing, self-correct-
took over stewardship of Na- prescribed to children, although
informative as I did. I suppose I ing collective effort that eventually
tional Geographic Partners when the meds can have a dozen side
have heard of all these claims at sorts out the truth. It isn’t perfect,
it acquired 21st Century Fox. To effects and, while purporting to
one time or another, but having but it’s a heck of a lot better than
me, this indicates that possibly cure depression, can sometimes
them all gathered in one place we should be very careful when SCAM. SCAM is all too willing
was very compelling. cause suicidal thoughts. Many
we now see books and magazines drugs, even if approved, are to accept flawed evidence, and
I found Victor Benson’s piece from National Geographic. It it places undue emphasis on un-
later deemed so unsafe that they
on the National Geographic used to be that you could trust reliable personal experience and
must be recalled. Clinical stud-
Society’s books to be especially the information presented—but anecdote. Unlike conventional
ies can be biased or flawed, the
good. maybe not anymore. medicine, SCAM has no culture of
data faked or fudged, the study
While I recognize that there self-criticism and never stops using
Kathy Petersen impossible to replicate. “Sci-
are too many claims out there to a treatment. Case in point: home-
Granite Bay, California ence-based” is a bar that is some-
investigate all of them in a single opathy was debunked well over a
times not reached.
issue, I was disappointed at the century ago but is still thriving.
No one should be surprised by I invite a reply from one of
absence of a review of the claims Conventional medicine can boast
the decline of standards of Na- your medical specialists. Yes,
for apple cider vinegar, which is of many triumphs. It has changed
tional Geographic after it was SCAM postulates a lot of imagi-
claimed to cure everything from HIV/AIDS from a death sentence
purchased by the ethically chal- nary entities. But other than that,
A to Z. I hope a future issue to a controllable chronic disease
lenged Rupert Murdoch. The how are the two classes of thera-
might explore the actual benefits that doesn’t even shorten life ex-
magazine, along with Fox News pies truly different?
of this miracle product (person- pectancy. It has already developed
and The Wall Street Journal, have
ally, I find it useful in salad dress- Alan M. Perlman an effective vaccine against Ebola.
been part of the Murdoch empire
ing). for quite some time now. How Rindge, New Hampshire What has SCAM ever accom-
Thank you very much, and I ironic that in the era of MAGA, plished? There can be no compar-
eagerly await the next issue. Fox News, America’s most ison.
Harriet Hall, MD, responds to
watched news outlet; The Wall Perlman’s letter:
Katherine Rogers
Street Journal, America’s most
North Potomac, Maryland Good skeptics are skeptical about
important business newspaper;
everything, including other skep-
Opioids: Good, Bad, Ugly
I just finished reading your and the National Geographic are
tics. Science-based medicine is Regarding the informative article
September/October 2019 issue foreign owned!
skeptical about everything and has “Opioids: The Good, the Bad,
regarding medicines good, bad, James Williams frequently revisited long-established and the Ugly” by Dr. Harriet
and indifferent. It reminded me Kent, Ohio treatments, found new evidence Hall (September/October 2019),
of my childhood and teens in the that they weren’t really effective, I want to disagree with one as-
1940s–1950s. I would visit my Editor’s note: As of March 20, and has stopped using them. Your sertion, “We are in the midst of
Dad, A.P. Warthman, a well-re- 2019, National Geographic Part- example of drug recalls is a prime an opioid epidemic” propelled at
spected physician in Detroit, and ners is now owned by the Walt example of real medicine respond- least partly by opioid prescription
observe some of his interactions Disney Company; see our News ing to new and better evidence. abuse.
with patients. He had a large jar and Comment “Wither National If a medication has been shown Yes, we physicians, urged on

Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2020 65

by “Big Pharma,” did for too Frank Archer that led to “the year without a Publishing, 2003) and Mars: The
many years over-prescribe. But Delta, B.C., Canada summer” in 1816. Photographic Story by Earl C. Slipher
our profession is doing better. From the point of view of a (Lowell Observatory, 1962).
Between 2012 and 2017, the narwhal, from 1816 to 1819, Klaus Brasch is correct when
U.S. medical opioid prescription the Arctic Circle moved south conveying the quotation from
rate per 100 patients dropped Gloucester Serpent to Gloucester. Then, after the Hartmann’s book that “Proof that
from sixty to forty per person. sulfates dispersed, the Arctic Cir- some of Schiaparelli’s and Lowell’s
Regarding Joe Nickell’s analysis much-criticized canals were based
(Opioid painkiller prescriptions cle returned to its usual location,
of the 1817 Gloucester Sea-Ser-
in Britain also started to de- again, from the point of view of on real features can be found in a
pent Mystery (September/Octo-
cline in 2016.) Despite the shift a narwhal. This unusual happen- Martian region known as Xanthe.”
ber 2019), I believe he missed
to more lethal fentanyl agents stance would explain why the However, this quote does not nec-
an interesting point regarding
noted by Dr. Hall, U.S. opioid narwhals would suddenly appear essarily contradict the statement
the strange southern range of
drug overdose deaths dropped the narwhals. The previous year, in an area that is far south of their that the canals reported by Percival
from 72,000 to 68,500 between 1816, was also known as the year usual habitat and, also, why they Lowell and the martian canyon-like
2017 and 2018 (U.S. Centers without a summer because of the never came back. structures should be considered as
Disease Control and Prevention, unusually cold weather caused by serendipitous. In fact, the size of the
2019, Statistics, opioid overdose, Ben Fishler canyon system at the Xanthe region
volcanic dust in 1815. I wonder if Dennis, Massachusetts
Data Overview). an oceanographer could confirm is very small compared to Valles
These data suggest we are whether (or weather!) changes in Marineris. Therefore, if the latter
closer to the end than to the ocean temperature could be off- would be “borderline observable”
“middle” of the lethal opioid mis- set by a year at least, explaining via ground-based observations, the
use epidemic. the range of these animals usually Anomaly Hunting Xanthe canyons surely would not
found in colder waters. by Satellite be. In fact, a careful read of Hart-
Peter Barglow, MD mann’s book indicates that he also
Berkeley, California Joseph Gagné In his column “Anomaly Hunt- attributes the discovery of Valles
Historian ing with Satellite Images” (July/ Marineris to the Mariner 9 mis-
Dr. Barglow wrote “Confessions of Québec City, Canada August 2019), Benjamin Rad-
sion. On pages 24–25, Hartmann
an American Opium Prescriber” ford responds to V. Corbett on a
Although I enjoyed reading Joe summarizes the various findings of
in our July/August 2019 issue.— couple of unusual Google Earth
Nickell’s article about solving the that mission, including lava-covered
Editor images Corbett submitted for
Gloucester sea-serpent mystery, plains, volcanoes, craters, and—
comment.
two significant pieces of infor- yes—Valles Marineris. (William
The images in question look
mation were not addressed. Hartmann also was the first winner
Magic Waters? to me like typical overlaps of sat-
First, there was a new book of the Carl Sagan Medal from the
ellite images taken on different
I liked Joe Nickell’s “Magic Wa- about this same subject featured American Astronomical Society,
passes over a region in question.
ters” article (September/October in the “New and Notable” sec- awarded in 1998.)
The algorithm for overlaying
2019), but some magic seems tion of this very issue of S- The book by Earl Slipher con-
images is imperfect, and we fre-
to have made its way into his  I, titled Disen- tains a large collection of photos
quently see artifacts such as those
geography. The River Jordan is tangled. This book concludes with many of them of unprece-
depicted in the ocean views.
completely landlocked, flowing that the animal was most likely dented historical value. Unfor-
Oceans do not have distinct spa- tunately, it also contains various
southward through the Jordan “a marine animal that was en- tial features that support careful scientific statements that from
Valley and terminating in the tangled in fishing gear and other
Dead Sea. overlapping of images, so por- today’s perspective are not correct.
marine debris.” Nickell did not
tions of the Google Earth views Examples include his statements
John Gee address this book or the reasons a
often show difference of illumi- about the absence of tall mountains
Singapore new book on this subject reached
nation or imprecise colorations. on Mars, surface water (though
Republic of Singapore such a different conclusion.
There may also be imprecision in described as minor), and martian
Second, there is the unusual
spatial filtering to remove back- vegetation (pages 66, 68, 69). In
I’m sure many readers will point situation of the “Sea Serpent”
ground noise from atmospheric that context, he also comments on
this out, but the Jordan River being sighted several times in
scintillation. vegetational seasonal variations as
does not connect the Dead Sea to 1817 and 1819 and then never
the Mediterranean except possi- seen again. In this case, I believe Bernard Roth well as suspected metabolisms. Re-
bly by rainwater condensed from that I have an explanation that Santa Barbara, California garding the photos, he makes no
clouds formed over the Mediter- bolsters Nickell’s case that the explicit statement that Valles Mar-
ranean that move east. The River “Sea Serpent” was a group of ineris has previously been detected
Jordan flows into the Dead Sea, narwhals. As Nickell notes, nar- through ground-based observations.
from which nothing escapes ex- whals are normally found above Were Mars’s But some of the photos are sugges-
cept mineral salts from evapora- the Arctic Circle. However, 1817 tive. For example, the three panels
tion ponds that are mined com- and 1819 were not usual times. Canyons Visible? of Plate V (see p. 79) show an ex-
mercially and evaporation of the If you Google “year without a I appreciate the comments by Klaus tended dark equatorial region; be-
lake itself. There was some spec- summer,” you will find that not Brasch in his response to my letter neath the panels, the map by Low-
ulation that water could be added only was this time period right at “Those Martians Canals Again” ell (1905) with the martian “canals”
to the Dead Sea to keep it from the end of the little ice age, but it (Letters, May/June 2019), as well is shown, including annotations.
actually dying, but this was from occurred right after the immense as bringing to my attention the two The dark region depicted in Plate
a canal or aqueduct from the Red volcanic explosion of 1815 at sources A Traveler’s Guide to Mars by V globally follows Mars’s equator.
Sea—not the Mediterranean. Mount Tambora in Indonesia William K. Hartmann (Workman However, based on the picture, that

66 Volume 44 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer

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