In this interview recorded at the National Science Foundation for the National Capital Area Skeptic’s presentation of the Philip J. Klass award to him, Ray Hyman explores the intersection of skepticism, magic, and psychology throughout the course of his life. He talks about his experiences with spiritualist church services, including “question and answer” services purporting to demonstrate communication with the dead. He talks about his role as a skeptic of parapsychology even as he was a critic of the skeptical community, arguing that much of the earlier research in parapsychology was of a higher quality than skeptics believed. He explains why he thinks parapsychology is boring.

He talks about his survey of the Ganzfeld Experiments of extra sensory perception, and the controversies that resulted. He explains why focusing on the flaws of parapsychology research is the wrong approach, because it shifts the burden of proof away from replicability. He responds to the camp in parapsychology that argues science should change its rules to make it easier to find evidence of psi. And he explains why he thinks skeptics are abnormal, or “mutants.”

Also, in this week’s installment of the Honest Liar, Jamy Ian Swiss remembers when he and Ray Hyman joined a channeler on the radio.

National Capital Area Skeptics:
http://www.ncas.org/2010/04/apr-24-ncas-philip-j-klass-award.html

Channeling:
http://www.skepdic.com/channeling.html

This week’s For Good Reason features an interview with my friend Paul Provenza, the celebrated comic and critic, who talks about his new book, Satiristas, a collection of interviews with leading contemporary comics, and which focuses on rationalist issues through the lens of transgressive and subversive comedy..

In this wide-ranging interview, Paul discusses the motivation of leading comedians, and whether or not they intend to impact society with their comedic art; comedians who preach ideology, and great comedic artists like Tim Minchin who advance a particular point of view in entertaining ways. Paul argues that the leading comedians in the United States are like the spiritual descendants of the revolutionary Founding Fathers. He considers Jay Leno’s nuanced reasons for why he avoids controversial social issues in his comedy; explores how aware the famous social critic comedians interviewed in his book, such as George Carlin and Craig Ferguson, are of their role in society; and addresses the impact of Bill Maher, Janeane Garofalo, and Penn Jillette on American public policy. . And he explains why leading comedians may be different from the common man, and how they embrace their differences, seeing the world in productive and unique ways.

Also, in this week’s Honest Liar commentary, Jamy is flattered to have received an invitation from Presidential Who’s Who.

Dear Spam Diary:

http://www.spamdiary.com/category/vanity-spam/

One of many links about poetry scams:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/specialty_writing/poetry_scams.htm

Deirdre Barrett talks about supernormal stimuli, which are exaggerated versions of natural stimuli to which there are existing instinctual responses. She discusses how our evolved instincts are overwhelmed by technological advances and other facets of modern society. She explores how pornography, unhealthy diets, and even the quest for nuclear energy as opposed to wind or solar energy are supernormal stimuli. And she explains how undue credulity in the supernatural and the paranormal may be a function of our natural instincts to believe becoming overrun by supernormal stimuli.

Also, in this week’s edition of the Honest Liar, we consider the similarities between a streetside scam artist and a billion dollar Ponzi schemer.

Ponzi scheme: http://www.skepdic.com/ponzi.html

There is a wealth (as it were) of material to be found concerning the Madoff case, however here are some of the sources cited in my commentary:

Madoff Had Accomplices: His Victims
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/business/14nocera.html?pagewanted=all

Madoff Victims: Get Over It
http://executivesuite.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/madoff-victims-get-over-it/

Ire at Madoff Swings Toward the Referee
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/04/business/04nocera.html

The Talented Mr. Madoff
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/business/25bernie.html?pagewanted=all

And here is my colleague Michael Shermer, who first drew a connection between Madoff and Monte:
http://skepticblog.org/2008/12/23/ponzi-dilemma/

Vic Stenger talks about the limits of science, and whether scientists should be critical of religion and the paranormal, or if such sorts of claims are out of the bounds of science, and therefore beyond criticism. He discusses the academic and spiritual career of Fritjof Capra, and his book The Tao of Physics and how it misused quantum physics to promote New Age mysticism. He explores the implications of Deepak Chopra’s work, which argues that quantum physics proves that “we make our own reality,” and discusses the movies The Secret and What the Bleep Do We Know? and how they get quantum physics wrong. He explains wave-particle duality, and the reductionistic Standard Model in particle physics, and why this contradicts the claims of the “quantum spiritualists.” And he talks about the future of New Age mysticism and quantum spirituality.

In this weeks Honest Liar commentary, Jamy Ian Swiss revisits what happened in last week’s episode to victims of the ancient con of the Three Card Monte.

Simon Singh details recent news regarding the libel case brought against him by the British Chiropractic Association for an article he wrote in the Guardian criticizing chiropractic. He talks about English libel laws, and explains why he says they are the worst in the Western world. He details how the recent appeals court decision in his case could have a positive effect on the scientific community. He describes the difference between “honest opinion” and facts as they are viewed both in libel cases and in science. And he reveals how the skeptical community in Britain organized a coordinated campaign against chiropractic, leading to investigation of one in four chiropractors there.

In this week’s installment of the Honest Liar, Jamy Ian Swiss allows us to witness a street-side scam in the heart of Times Square.

Derek and Swoopy discuss the growth of skeptical podcasting in the five years since they founded the influential podcast Skepticality. They talk about how hosting their show opened new opportunities for them.They explore the extent to which skeptical podcasts foster insularity within the skeptical movement, or succeed as outreach tools reaching new audiences for science and critical thinking, and the influence of such podcasts on the growth of local skeptics community groups. And they talk about the future of skepticism and skeptical digital outreach.

In this week’s installment of the Honest Liar, Jamy Ian Swiss poses the question: What’s the harm?

And for further reading:

Faith Healing: http://www.skepdic.com/faithhealing.html

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/faith.html

Also see: The Faith Healers by James Randi

Bruce M. Hood discusses why so many people believe in the supernatural despite the lack of evidence, explaining that it may have something to do with how our brains are wired. He draws a distinction between religious supernatural beliefs, which are culturally determined, and more universal secular supernatural beliefs such as mind-body dualism and causality. He explains how such magical thinking may be socially advantageous and how even skeptics engage in supersense thinking. He also warns against the unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of what is a natural disposition in the majority of people.

In this week’s Honest Liar segment, Jamy Ian Swiss explains what he learned at the 1964 World’s Fair.

And for further reading:
The Forer Effect: http://www.skepdic.com/forer.html

The Barnum Effect: http://www.skepdic.com/barnum.html

Graphology: http://www.skepdic.com/graphol.html

Lionel Tiger, Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University, talks about how religion takes place in brains, and not just in churches, temples and mosques. He explains how the brain created religion, and how religion feeds the brain. He relates his own experiences of religion, as a skeptic. He contrasts his approach to the scientific study of religion with that of the New Atheists, such as Richard Dawkins. He describes how feelings of connection resulting from religion are a function of neurochemistry, and how churches are “serotonin factories.” He talks about why interest in human sexuality is so often intertwined with religious pursuits. And he explores why secular institutions may fail to inspire commitment as compared to religion.

For further reading, an excellent book on my subject matter this week would be: The Hidden Language of Baseball by Paul Dickson.

In this week’s episode of For Good Reason, D.J. Grothe interviews Dr. Harriet Hall, the SkepDoc, who discusses her column in O, The Oprah Magazine that focuses on debunking medical myths. She contrasts science-based medicine and “complementary and alternative medicine,” and tells why she objects to the latter term. She details why homeopathy elicits more moral outrage from her than other kinds of CAM remedies. Other topics she addresses include acupuncture, chiropractic, radical life extension, pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers, the difference between fringe-science and pseudoscience, and also the risks of science-based medicine.

In my Honest Liar commentary, I talk about a hobby I have of collecting… what?

You can find out more about the items in my collection by consulting the Skeptic’s Dictionary.

This week’s episode of For Good Reason features Carol Tavris, author of the book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me). The social psychologist describes dissonance theory and how self-justification and self-deception often keep people from changing their minds even in the light of compelling contrary evidence, because the evidence is often dissonant with one’s self-image. She details the implications of dissonance theory for the persistence of psychic charlatans and other peddlers of the paranormal, and how it may explain how someone like Sylvia Brown can live with herself, and also how it may explain how believers remain so gullible about such unsupportable claims.

Cognitive Dissonance: http://www.skepdic.com/cognitivedissonance.html