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		       The REALL News

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The official newsletter of the Rational Examination Association
		      of Lincoln Land

Volume 3, Number 10                                 October 1995

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Electronic Version

If you like what you see, please help us continue by sending
in a subscription.  See the end of newsletter for details.
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In This Issue:

From the Editor -- Bob Ladendorf
Sources
From the Chairman -- David Bloomberg
ISTA 1995 -- David Bloomberg
REALLity Check -- David Bloomberg

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Purpose:
The Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL)
is a non-profit educational and scientific organization.  It is
dedicated to the development of rational thinking and the application
of the scientific method toward claims of the paranormal and fringe-
science phenomena.

REALL shall conduct research, convene meetings, publish a newsletter,
and disseminate information to its members and the general public.
Its primary geographic region of coverage is central Illinois.

REALL subscribes to the premise that the scientific method is the
most reliable and self-correcting system for obtaining knowledge
about the world and universe.  REALL not not reject paranormal claims
on a priori grounds, but rather is committed to objective, though
critical, inquiry.

_The REALL News_ is its official newsletter.

Membership information is provided elsewhere in this newsletter.

Board of Directors:  Chairman, David Bloomberg; Assistant Chairman,
Prof. Ron Larkin; Secretary-Treasurer, Kevin Brown; Newsletter
Editor, Bob Ladendorf; At-Large Members, Prof. Steve Egger, Wally
Hartshorn, and Frank Mazo.

Editorial Board:  Bob Ladendorf (Newsletter Editor), David Bloomberg
(electronic version editor), (one vacancy).

REALL
P.O. Box 20302
Springfield, IL 62708

Unless stated otherwise, permission is granted to other skeptic
organizations to reprint articles from _The REALL News_ as long
as proper credit is given.  REALL also requests that you send
copies of your newsletters that reprint our articles to the
above address.

The views expressed in these articles are the views of the individual
authors and do not necessarily represent the views of REALL.

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                         From the Editor
                        -- Bob Ladendorf

NOTE: In lieu of a column this month, I am squeezing in below "Sources"
-- second in a series of information to help in your study of science
and pseudoscience.

					/s/ Bob Ladendorf

                          SOURCES:

Creationism:

   The National Academy of Sciences has reprinted its
excellent 28-page color 8.5 x 11" booklet, _Science and
Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences_.
The original was published in 1984 and has been out of print
since then. The National Center for Science Education
describes it as a "clear, concise summary of the issues,"
and says "it will be very useful to school boards or
teachers tempted by the siren song of `scientific
creationism.' "
   You can order the book for $4 (includes shipping) from
NAS Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
20418.

UFOs:

   The 20-page U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report
on the supposed UFO crash at Roswell, titled "Results of a
Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell,
New Mexico," (GAO/NSIAD-95-187) may be ordered from the U.S.
General Accounting Office, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD
20884-6015 or by phone at (301) 512-6000. The first copy is
free, with additional copies costing $2 each.

        	==============================

REALL E-mail Contacts:

Bob Ladendorf:  robertcl49@aol.com (NOTE: 1st 8 are letters)

David Bloomberg:  david.bloomberg@f2112.n2430.z1.fidonet.org

        	==============================

                        From the Chairman
                       -- David Bloomberg

   Boo!
   Scared ya, didn't I?
   Welcome to the time of year when ghost stories are taken
more seriously, witchcraft is eyed suspiciously, and kids
get massive sugar highs. Of course, by the time you read
this, it should all be over until next year (Ok, Ok, so I'm
running a little late again).
   Surprisingly, there has been relatively little in the
way of Halloween-related articles (in past years, I remember
stories about witches who could make copy machines work
better, for example), although WICS Channel 20 has a series
of mini-pieces on "Central Illinois' Most Haunted" during
their news for a few days. That doesn't mean there have been
less articles of interest to REALL. Quite the contrary _
REALLity Check is overflowing this month but not with the
standard ghouls and goblins fare.
   Indeed, I find the item I picked on the most this month,
the views professed by a school board candidate, to be
scarier than any monster from our imaginations. Vampires may
scare us, but people with anti-scientific and anti-critical
thinking views who are put in positions to force those views
onto others are the real terror.
   Speaking of such powerful terrors, our next meeting
(Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Lincoln Library) features
the recent _Frontline_ show examining claims of Satanic
Ritual Abuse (SRA). Please note that this is _not_ the four-
hour-long show which looked into recovered memory claims a
few months back, but a new show done by the same person. I
haven't seen it yet, but I've heard it is extremely well-
done (let's put it this way, I saw a message on the nets
from a person who believes they've "recovered" memories of
such abuse -- after watching this show, he's begun to
question whether or not his "memories" are real).

   Incidentally, for those of you who are receiving this
issue of the newsletter because you attended the recent ISTA
conference, I sent you each a letter and put in the
incorrect times for our regular meetings. We generally meet
on the first Tuesday of every month, so if your letter said
something different, ignore it.
   For everybody, our December meeting will not be on the
first Tuesday, as the Library is busy that day. Right now,
we have December 13 scheduled, but we may decide to have a
lunch meeting instead. We will, of course, let you know in
the next newsletter.

					/s/ David Bloomberg

		==============================

                          ISTA 1995
                     by David Bloomberg

   Longtime REALL members may recall that we had a booth
two years ago, along with the National Center for Science
Education (NCSE), Gateway Skeptics, and the St. Louis
Association for Teaching and Education, at the Illinois
Science Teachers Association (ISTA) annual conference in
Collinsville. Anybody who has read my Chairman's column in
the past few months knows that we were doing it again this
year, here in Springfield.
   I must say that this year's conference was somewhat less
exciting than the last one we attended -- but excitement can
be overrated, especially since, in Collinsville, it came in
the form of a creationist yelling at us about how we were
going to hell. But I digress.
   I'd like to thank (in order of appearance) Ron Larkin,
Frank Mazo, Bob Smet, Bob Ladendorf, and a special thanks to
Romesh Kumbhani, a University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
student who answered an E-mail request for people with
strong biological knowledge to attend in case anybody wanted
to debate us. Thanks also go out to NCSE, who provided
creation/evolution pamphlets, help in designing REALL's
flyers (a copy of which you should find enclosed with this
newsletter), and contributed to the cost of the booth; the
Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the
Paranormal (CSICOP), who provided issues of the _Skeptical
Inquirer_ and _Bringing UFOs Down to Earth_ (a skeptical UFO
booklet by Phil Klass aimed at a young audience) to give
away; and to the Skeptics Society, who provided copies of
their article, "25 Creationist Arguments and 25
Evolutionists' Answers" to hand out to the teachers.
   Earlier I noted that the conference was a bit less
"exciting" than last time. However, it was definitely good
to have been there. We made contact with, and gave
information to, a number of teachers, coordinators, and
others interested in fighting creationism and other forms of
non-scientific thinking. Since a main reason for REALL's
existence is to disseminate information to the public,
talking to science teachers, who can then pass it along to
their colleagues and students, is one of the best ways to
meet that goal.
   Indeed, just letting them know that we exist is a good
reason to be at these conferences. One of the first teachers
we talked to on Friday said that he has not yet had any
problems while teaching evolution (he was a bit surprised,
actually), but wants to be prepared in case he ever does.
Others told us that they already have encountered problems
with parents and/or school board members and need factual
information to help counter the pseudo-science presented by
the creationists.
   Of course, we also had several creationists come up to
us, reacting to our presence with varying degrees of
politeness -- though, as I indicated earlier, none started
yelling at us, as happened last time. One thing that may
have led to some confusion on the part of the creationists
who approached us was that our booth apparently did not
sufficiently demonstrate our views at first glance. It
appears that the first words catching the eyes of many
passers-by was the title of Ranse Traxler's article, "The
Misconceptions of Evolution." The article (appearing in _The
REALL News_ Vol. 1, Number 3) was about common
misconceptions that are held by creationists and some of the
public about evolution. However, some people saw the title
and assumed it was an attack on evolution -- exactly the
opposite. Next to that article, we had copies of the
Skeptics Society article, "25 Creationist Arguments and 25
Evolutionists' Answers," which seems obvious enough in its
stance, but apparently that point didn't come through
immediately. Next to that were the NCSE pamphlets with
titles like "Creation/Evolution," which don't make their
position immediately clear either. As the day progressed, we
added a couple of "examination copies" (we didn't have
enough to hand out) of pamphlets with more direct titles,
like "Facts, Faith, and Fairness: Scientific Creationism
Clouds Scientific Literacy" in addition to a "Darwin fish"
bumper sticker to make our position a bit clearer. Next
time, I'd like something even more demonstrative _ anybody
have a life-sized cut-out of Darwin we could borrow?
   Of those creationists who didn't know our position and
approached us, several left without any of the handouts as
soon as they realized they had made a mistake. A few took
the information anyway, though one specifically told me she
wouldn't change her mind. There was only one creationist who
is specifically worth mentioning. He is a teacher in
Streator, Illinois, who said he is a creationist and teaches
"both" in order to let the students "make up their own
minds" (I can only imagine how well he teaches evolution,
considering he thinks it's "based on faith" and believes it
to be untrue). Our conversation started with him telling
Frank Mazo and I that "many of the top scientists are
creationists." I immediately challenged that claim, and he
just as quickly retreated from it, saying that I may be
right, but only because creationists weren't promoted
because of their views. That still makes no logical sense,
since there is no "promotion" to "top scientist"; it is a
description of a person based upon their work and standing
with their peers. However, logic didn't seem to be this
person's strong point.
   Next, he told us of his degree in microbiology. He said
that he questioned his evolution professors at college, and
they eventually "admitted it was based on faith." I told him
that if that was true, his professors weren't very good. He
replied that they were the top biologists in the world.
Where did he go to school? Western Illinois University. Now,
I certainly intend no sleight to Western, or any students or
staff there, but I haven't talked to anybody (including
graduates of that school) who could support this guy's claim
that the top biologists in the world were at Western.
   As he started getting in specific biological claims, Ron
Larkin took over. The two of them talked for almost an hour,
during which time Ron pointed out flaws in his logic and
questioned him about his claims. This was a bit
uncomfortable for the creationist, who is apparently used to
questioning others, but not defending his own unscientific
beliefs.
   While a main reason for our being at the conference was
the creation/evolution issue, we emphasized the entire
concept of critical thinking and the scientific method,
especially applying it to fringe science claims. We
encouraged teachers to help students use the scientific
method to look at events occurring outside the science
classroom. Indeed, several teachers told us that they were
interested in doing so -- one had been doing it for years
with good success. We gave them some suggestions, and if any
of our readers have ideas for incorporating the topics we
deal with here into the classroom, please send them in to me
so that I may pass them on to interested teachers.
   The next ISTA meeting will be held in the Chicago area,
so it is less likely that we will attend unless I hear from
some volunteers to help staff a booth. If you're interested,
please never hesitate to volunteer to help with something.
Volunteer early, and volunteer often!

		==============================

                       REALLity Check
                     by David Bloomberg

   I think we're in the middle of what many people term
"the silly season," so-called because reporters apparently
don't have enough to report on, and so look into items that
are, well, silly. I've heard this reference before, but
hadn't noticed the magnitude until this past month. Read on,
and you'll see what I mean.

                 Reach Out and Hoax Someone

   I received a couple of complaints last month because I
didn't include anything about the alleged alien autopsy
(supposedly film taken after the Roswell crash, in 1947)
video in my "REALLity Check" column. I have to be honest
here: I didn't even watch it.
   Why didn't I watch it? Well, one reason is that I just
plain forgot. But also, I have been hearing about this video
on the nets for months now -- it simply wasn't "new" for me.
By the time Fox showed their special about it, even most UFO
believers had come out saying it was a hoax. Besides, the
show only had a few minutes of actual "autopsy" footage,
with the rest being discussion among "experts" about what
could or could not have been faked using special effects.
That is all well and good, but I don't think it's where we
should be focusing our efforts. Instead, we should continue
to press the film's proponent, who refuses to allow the
actual film to be tested for its age (he has sent a piece of
film "leader" to be tested, but since it doesn't have any
footage on it, there is no way to be sure it was actually
from that film!). In addition, there are other testable
portions of the film, one of which well-known UFO skeptic
Phil Klass discussed in his most recent _Skeptics UFO
Newsletter_ (SUN).
   According to Klass, Tom Holzel, a former AT&T employee
(now a V.P. at an electronics company), saw the Fox show and
wondered about the modern-looking telephone on the wall in
the background of the autopsy. He found a book, _Once Upon a
Telephone_, by Ellen Stern and Emily Gwathmey (published
1994), about the history of the telephone. That book
verifies that the phone in question did not yet exist. The
phone on the wall has a coiled phone cord; desk phones with
coiled cords were first introduced in 1949, and the first
wall phone with a coiled cord wasn't debuted until 1956 --
nine years after the autopsy was supposedly filmed.
   Whoops.
   For those who are interested (and if you're interested
in the UFO phenomenon, you will like this newsletter),
Klass's newsletter is published bimonthly, and you can
subscribe for $15/year by mailing a check to Philip J.
Klass, 404 "N" St. SW, Washington, DC 20024.

                     Too Much Thinking!

   The above is an example of critical thinking and problem
solving. We look at the overall situation and investigate it
to find the best answers. However, according to Springfield
School Board candidate Laura Catherwood, we shouldn't be
teaching children such things.
   The _Illinois Times_ (10/26) reported that Catherwood
"wants the district to focus more on memorization of
multiplication tables instead of teaching children critical
thinking and approaches to problem solving." If there is one
thing that I have noticed in my time with REALL --
especially writing this column -- it's that we don't teach
enough critical thinking!
   Perhaps a later statement in the article explains this,
however. "Instead of supporting eliminating evolution from
science classes, ... Catherwood thinks it should be taught
side-by-side with creationism, and both should be presented
as theories, `giving only the facts.'" Indeed, the only way
the schools can possibly put creationism into science class
is to remove critical thinking from the curriculum. (I wrote
about this in a letter to the editor which I hope to see in
the November 2 issue.) Once again, we see creationists who
don't know what a scientific theory means, or, apparently,
how science works.
   Being familiar with this topic, it unfortunately doesn't
surprise me that there is a political candidate who doesn't
understand science and who wants to put creationism in the
public schools. However, I don't think I've ever heard of a
School Board candidate who is against thinking.

                       Shoot the Moon

   As you may have heard, several Asian countries were
witness to a rare solar eclipse. To prepare for this
occasion, Cambodia's government ordered police and soldiers
not to fire their guns at the moon in order to scare it so
it will spit out the sun. Women in the country put pots of
lime on their abdomens and hid indoors to prevent "eclipse
sickness" (mental retardation of their children). Etc.
   Hmmm, if critical thinking were taught over there . . .

                 Milk It for All It's Worth

   _Nature_ (9/28) reported on India's "milk miracle," in
which statues of Ganesha, the elephant god, appeared to
drink spoons of milk provided by worshippers.
   According to the article, many of the people who lined
up with their milk watched it disappear as soon as it
touched the wet surface of the statues' trunks, though some
had worse luck and were admonished by priests that their
spoons remained full because they lacked the proper faith.
   In response to these claims, the All India Scientists
and Rationalists Association explained the phenomena as a
"demonstration of capillary and surface tension at work."
Scientists from the National Council for Science and
Technology Communication showed the capillary action by
adding red dye to their milk and following it as it was
sucked into the idol and then dripped out. (It seems to me
that if anybody was going to have a spoon that stayed full
due to lack of faith, it would have been these guys.
Amazingly, however, the "miracle" still worked for them.)
   Leading scientists signed a statement calling on
educated Indians to help ensure "that primitive obscurantism
and superstition did not hold sway over a society on the
threshold of the 21st century" (there go those scientists --
suggesting people think critically again). The Delhi Science
Forum said the claimed miracle was a well-planned conspiracy
and suggested that those who started the phenomena knew
exactly what was happening; the ruling government has
further suggested that the opposition was trying to stir up
religious fervor through the supposed miracle in order to
gain support in the upcoming elections.

                     Homeopathic Writing

   The _State Journal-Register_ (10/12) had a special
insert, "Active Times" magazine, which featured alternative
medicine as its main article. Unfortunately, the writer
appeared to be practicing homeopathic writing, in which any
substance became so diluted that the article ended up
essentially saying nothing.
   I can sum up the article in two sentences: Many people
are looking to alternative medicine. Some people say it
works, others say it doesn't. This is news? Actually, this
is the type of article I expect to see in the _Chicago
Tribune_ Tempo section.
   A couple of statements do deserve brief mention, though.
One discusses a 75-year-old man who had colon cancer. He had
surgery to remove it, and he said that a year later, "a CAT
scan showed there could be something questionable about my
liver." He didn't undergo any further testing, but changed
his diet to one of large quantities of grains and
vegetables, fermented soybean soup and small amounts of fish
and fruit. Twelve years later, his check-ups show he is
cancer free, and he apparently credits his diet. The reason
I mention this is that it is a common way of "proving" that
an alternative therapy works. The problem is that this man
never underwent the additional testing to see if the
"questionable" area was, indeed, a return of the cancer.
Since we don't know that, we can't make a scientific
judgment as to whether or not his change in diet actually
did anything to help him. This is the case in many claims,
where a person receives a preliminary test result and
immediately runs to alternative medicine, thus leaving the
final results unknown.
   Several times, the author mentions people (mostly
practitioners) talking about how homeopathy has no side
effects. I have one thing to say to that: OF COURSE NOT.
When you dilute a chemical to the point that there is a
negligible chance that there is even one molecule of it left
in a dose, what kind of side effects could exist? The author
fails to mention this, and also fails to mention that,
similarly, there is nothing left in the dose which could
actually help the patient either.
   I know, I know. I'm just being picky and thinking
critically again. Maybe I should just go memorize a
multiplication table instead.

                   I Spy with My Third Eye

   I have often been asked, regarding psychics, what it can
hurt if people believe in them. Generally, I respond with a
story about a woman who was taken to an empty lot in the
middle of the night by two psychic detectives and told to
dig in order to find her missing daughter. When her digging
found nothing, the psychics "realized" that her daughter had
been cut up into little pieces and burned, and that's why
she couldn't find the body by digging. As emotionally hard-
hitting as that story is, I now have another one to tell,
one that hits people in a different place -- their wallets.
   According to Jack Anderson's column in the _State
Journal-Register_ (10/29), the CIA and Pentagon have been
spending our tax money on psychic spies for several decades
now. Perhaps the most amazing part of this column is that
Mr. Anderson seems to completely believe the tales he
relates. For example, his first paragraph says that the
"psychic spies" "use a form of extrasensory perception to
help gather intelligence in foreign countries."  Not
"allegedly" or "supposedly," he just states it as if it were
absolute truth.
   Apparently, this project began with help from Russell
Targ and Harold Putthoff; some of you may recall that these
are the scientists who tested Uri Geller at the Stanford
Research Institute -- that should tell you something right
off the bat. Anyway, our tax dollars have continued to
support this nonsense while they come up with stories much
like ones we are used to hearing from proponents of
"psychics" -- in other words, tales which cannot easily be
verified or falsified, and which may have undergone changes
in the telling over time. Anderson lists a couple of these
as "successes" that apparently prove to him that this unit
is accomplishing its role.
   Alas, Anderson must address the failures of this project
-- its "Achilles heel," he calls it. However, he merely
writes off those failures by saying that the rest of the CIA
makes blunders as well. Oh, well, then it's OK. So, as
usual, we see that the supposed "hits" are lauded and the
"misses" are ignored. How typical.
   As we have seen in the past, journalists who are
skeptical of politicians fall all over themselves to buy
into extraordinary claims.
   (I have been told that there is more to this Jack
Anderson/CIA psychics story, and I'm going to be getting
more information soon. However, I didn't want to hold this
entire piece for that info, so look for a continuation of
this piece next issue.)

                        REALL Writing

   It's not often that I get to write about a REALL member
writing about a REALL member. In fact, I'd wager that this
is the first time. But it's something I'm happy to do.
   In this case, REALL Board Member Steve Egger wrote a
book review of REALL member (and two-time speaker) Richard
Walker's new book, _The Running Dogs of Loyalty: Honest
Reflections on a Magical Zoo_ (reviewed by me in _The REALL
News_, Vol. 3, Number 7) for the _State Journal-Register_
(10/8). Egger wrote, "[I] find more little tidbits" each
time he rereads the book, and I, as well as several others I
have talked to, have encountered the same phenomenon. The
book may not be long, but it is packed!
   Egger said he plans to use the book in his class at the
University of Illinois-Springfield because it is both a fun
read and promotes critical thinking. Uh oh, there is that
term again . . .
   If you haven't gotten a copy of this book yet, I
encourage you to do so -- especially since REALL members can
get a discount if you order through us.

		==============================


		      A Nod to Our Patrons

REALL would like to thank our patron members.  Through their extra
generosity, REALL is able to continue to grow as a force for critical
thinking in Central Illinois.  Patron members are those giving $50
or more.  To become a patron of REALL, please see the membership
form below.  Patron members are:

David Bloomberg, Springfield    Bob Ladendorf, Springfield
David Brown, Danville           John Lockard, Jr., Urbana
Alan Burge, D.D.S., Morton      Robert Smet, Ph.D., Springfield
Wally Hartshorn, Springfield    Edward Staehlin, Park Forest

		   ==============================

		    Predictions for Future Issues

	       * Dungeons & Dragons Dangers Debunked

		   * Creationist Claims Examined

		  * Local Psychic's Claims Checked

		   ==============================

			Letters to the Editor

    We at REALL encourage letters to the editor about any article
or topic covered in The REALL News.  We want to make this a forum
for _all_ our members.  (Letters may be edited if too long.  Name,
address and phone number must be included with the letter.)

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			Skeptics Online

If you have a computer and a modem, you owe it to yourself to
participate in the skeptic message areas on the computer BBS
networks.  Here in Springfield, call The Temples of Syrinx at
(217) 522-4707.  David Bloomberg operates this BBS, which carries
the FidoNet SKEPTIC, EVOLUTION, UFO, and FMS conferences,
internationally distributed message areas for discussing topics
of interest to skeptics.  He is also carrying ParaNet conferences,
all dedicated to UFO and paranormal topics.  In addition, he has
recently added several Usenet conferences, including Sci.Skeptic,
the Skeptic Listserver, Talk.Origins, and various Alt.Folklore
groups. You can also find a wide variety of skeptic, scientific,
UFO, FMS, evolution/creation, and urban legend text files there.

	     The Temples of Syrinx -- (217) 522-4707
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		       Skeptics on the Web

Wally Hartshorn has set up an unofficial REALL homepage on the
Internet.  To access it, go to:

		http://www.fgi.net/~whartsho/reall/

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A patron membership includes all of the benefits of a regular membership,
plus a listing in _The REALL News_ and our eternal gratitude (where
"eternal" is defined as "one year").

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Bring to a meeting or mail to:  REALL,
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