Lee Corbin wrote:
>
> Here is another data point. What I know about the controversy
> comes from the pages of "The Skeptical Inquirer", the CSICOP.
Don't trust CSICOP.
I think the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that we live in an unmagical
universe, but I no longer consider CSICOP a valid source of evidence for
that proposition. Basically, they stepped over the line and co-founder
Dennis Rawlins eventually blew the whistle on them. The summary page that
I usually refer people to appears to be down, but here's the link anyway:
ftp://ftp.primenet.com/pub/lippard/jjl-on-mars-effect
Try looking for Dennis Rawlins's "sTARBABY" and Philip Klass's "CRYBABY";
having read through both, and Jim Lippard's summary, I think it's pretty
clear that, while neither side is angelic, Rawlins's basic accusations are
unrefuted and that CSICOP is guilty as charged. The lesson I'd draw is
that you can have a Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims
of the Paranormal, and a Committee for the Skeptical Investigation of
Claims of the Paranormal, but they shouldn't be the same organization.
-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
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