Episode #94

News Items

    Interview with Barry Beyerstein

    • www.sfu.ca/psyc/faculty/beyerstein/Barry Beyerstein is Professor of Psychology and a member of the Brain Behaviour Laboratory at Simon Fraser University. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, he received his bachelor’s degree from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Experimental and Biological Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Beyerstein’s research has involved many areas related to his primary scholarly interests: brain mechanisms of perception and consciousness and the effects of drugs on the brain and mind. He also has interests in the sense of smell and its lesser-known contributions to human cognition and emotion. His work in these areas and his interest in the philosophy and history of science have also led him to be skeptical of many occult and New Age claims. This has prompted him to investigate the scientific status of many questionable products in the areas of medical and psychological treatment, as well as a number of dubious self-improvement techniques. In these pursuits, Dr. Beyerstein serves as chair of the Society of B. C. Skeptics and he is a Fellow and a member of the Executive Council of the Committee of Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) (Formally the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal – CSICOP). Headquartered in New York, CSI promotes scientific critiques of occult and pseudoscientific claims in the media, in academe, and in the marketplace. Dr. Beyerstein is on the editorial board of CSI’s journal, The Skeptical Inquirer. He was also an elected to the Council for Scientific Medicine, a US organization that provides critiques of unscientific and fraudulent health products. He is a founding member of Canadians for Rational Health policy and a Contributing Editor of the journal, The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. He has published in these areas himself and is a frequent commentator on such topics on TV and Radio and in the print media.

    Corrections and Clarifications

    • 1) Re: Georgetown Guyana is in South America, no Africa2) Deaths due to the European Witch Huntswww.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts.html3) Still more on the Reichstag Firehttp://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/05/skepticism_undermined_by_insufficient_kn_1.php#more4) Electromagnetic Sensitivity
    • Hello All, just as Randi has his million dollar challenge, it appears that the Creationist now have theres; Robert Comfort, the minister in the video with Kirk Cameron who use a banana to disprove atheism, have offered $10,000 to anyone that can prove a transition from one species to another. Any takers?Greg LloydWest Chester, OH USwww.intelligentdesignversusevolution.com/

    Science or Fiction

    • Item #1 Fiction

      The Rover Spirit has discovered evidence of recent (meaning less than a few million years) volcanic activity on Mars.

    • Item #2 Science

      Meteorologists have published a paper showing how global warming will shorten the length of the day.

    • Item #3 Science

      Astronomers have discovered an extrasolar planet with a surface temperature of 3700 degrees F (for comparison Mercury gets up to 800 degrees, and Venus gets to 900 degrees)

    Skeptical Quote of the Week.