Research Catalog

Title

The skeptic encyclopedia of pseudoscience / Michael Shermer, editor ; Pat Linse, contributing editor.

Publication

Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2002.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Shermer, Michael
• Linse, Pat

Description

2 v. (xiv, 903 p.) : ill., maps; 26 cm.

Summary

A thorough, objective, and balanced analysis of the most prominent controversies made in the name of science-from the effectiveness of proposed medical treatments to the reality of supernatural claims. Annotation. For decades, the Skeptics Society has been examining supernatural and extrascientific claims and publishing their findings in </Skeptic/> magazine. This two-volume set contains a number of articles from that publication along with new material. In volume one, 59 alphabetical entries introduce the reader to scientific research on phenomena such as crop circles, astrology, the Shroud of Turin, and witchcraft. Twenty-three articles examine more closely such topics as homeopathy, the origins of the pyramids, and the search for Atlantis. Case studies, debates, and a selection of historical documents are found in volume two.

Uniform Title

Skeptic (Altadena, Calif.)

Alternative Title

Encyclopedia of pseudoscience

Subjects

• Encyclopedias
• Pseudoscience > Encyclopedias

Genre/Form

Encyclopedias

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Section 1 Important Pseudoscientific Concepts -- Alien Abductions / Lance Rivers 3 -- Alternative Archaeology / Garrett G. Fagan 9 -- Ancient Astronauts / Kenneth L. Feder 17 -- Animal Mutilations / Andrew O. Lutes 23 -- Anomalous Psychological Experiences / Chris Duva 25 -- Anthroposophy and Anthroposophical Medicine / Dan Dugan 31 -- Astrology / Geoffrey Dean, Ivan W. Kelly, Arthur Mather, Rudolf Smit 35 -- Attachment Therapy / Jean Mercer 43 -- Ball Lightning / Steuart Campbell 48 -- Bermuda Triangle / Maarten Brys 52 -- Biorhythms / Diego Golombek 54 -- Castaneda, Carlos / Phil Mole 57 -- Clever Hans / Thomas F. Sawyer 60 -- Cold Reading / Bob Steiner 63 -- Crop Circles / Jorge Soto 67 -- Cryptozoology / Ben S. Roesch, John L. Moore 71 -- Cults / Steve Novella, Perry DeAngelis 79 -- Dietary Supplements / Ricki Lewis 85 -- Dowsing / Steve Novella, Perry DeAngelis 93 -- Earthquake Prediction / Russell Robinson 95 -- Electromagnetic Fields and Cell Phones / Steven Korenstein 98 -- Fairies, Elves, Pixies, and Gnomes / David J.W. Lauridsen Jr. 101 -- Faster-Than-Light Travel / Roahn H. Wynar 104 -- Feng Shui / Jon Puro 108 -- Geller, Uri / Simon Jones 113 -- Handwriting Analysis and Graphology / John Berger 116 -- Hypnosis / Robert A. Ford 121 -- Ideomotor Effect (the "Ouija Board" Effect) / Michael Heap 127 -- Laundry Balls / Roahn H. Wynar 130 -- Magnetic Therapy / Satyam Jain, Daniel R. Wilson 132 -- The Mars Face: Extraterrestrial Archaeology / Kenneth L. Feder 136 -- Meditation / Juan Carlos Marvizon 141 -- Multiple Personality Disorder / Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn 146 -- Near-Death Experiences / Susan J. Blackmore 152 -- Observer Effects and Observer Bias / Douglas G. Mook 158 -- Out-of-Body Experiences / Susan J. Blackmore 164 -- Phrenology / John van Wyhe 170 -- Piltdown Man (Hoax): Famous Fossil Forgery / Richard Milner 173 -- Placebo Effect / Geoffrey Dean, Ivan W. Kelly 178 -- Planetary Alignments / John Mosley 181 -- Polygraph and Lie Detection / Marc E. Pratarelli 186 -- Prayer and Healing / Kevin Courcey 190 -- Pseudoscience and Science: A Primer in Critical Thinking / D. Alan Bensley 195 -- Reincarnation / Phil Mole 204 -- Seance / Drew Christie 209 -- Shamans and Shamanism / Al Carroll 211 -- The Shroud of Turin / Chris Cunningham 213 -- Societies for Psychical Research / Drew Christie 217 -- Spiritualism / Brad Clark 220 -- Stock Market Pseudoscience / Jon Blumenfeld 227 -- Subliminal Perception and Advertising / Rebecca Rush 232 -- Sun Sign Astrology / Geoffrey Dean, Ivan W. Kelly, Arthur Mather, Rudolf Smit 235 -- Synchronicity / Christopher Bonds 240 -- Therapeutic Touch / Larry Sarner 243 -- Tunguska / Alan Harris 253 -- Tutankhamun's Curse / Rebecca Bradley 258 -- UFOs / Barry Markovsky 260 -- Undeceiving Ourselves / Geoffrey Dean, Ivan W. Kelly, Arthur Mather 272 -- Witchcraft and Magic / Julianna Yau 278 -- Section 2 Investigations from Skeptic Magazine -- Acupuncture / Dr. George A. Ulett 283 -- Alternative Medicine v. Scientific Medicine / Dr. Harry K. Ziel 292 -- Atlantis: The Search for the Lost Continent / Pat Linse 297 -- Chiropractic: Conventional or Alternative Healing? / Dr. Samuel Homola 308 -- Christian Science as Pseudoscience / Robert Miller 316 -- EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing / Gerald M. Rosen, Richard J. McNally, Scott O. Lilienfeld 321 -- Do Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence?: A Reappraisal of a Classic Skeptics' Axiom / Theodore Schick Jr. 327 -- Facilitated Communication / Gina Green 334 -- Homeopathy / William Jarvis, the National Council Against Health Fraud 347 -- Immortality: The Search for Everlasting Life / Steven B. Harris 357 -- The Liquefying "Blood" of St. Januarius / James Randi 371 -- Psychoanalysis as Pseudoscience / Kevin MacDonald 373 -- Psychotherapy as Pseudoscience / Tana Dineen 384 -- Pyramids: The Mystery of Their Origins / Pat Linse 397 -- Satanic Ritual Abuse / Jeffrey Victor 413 -- Science and God / Bernard Leikind 423 -- Science and Its Myths / William F. McComas 430 -- Science and Religion / Massimo Pigliucci 443 -- Skepticism and Credulity: Finding the Balance between Type I and Type II Errors / Bill Wisdom 455 -- Thought Field Therapy / David X. Swenson 463 -- Velikovsky: Cultures in Collision on the Fringes of Science / David Morrison 473 -- Witchcraft and the Origins of Science / Dr. Richard Olson 489 -- Witches and Witchcraft / Clayton Drees 499 -- Section 3 Case Studies in Pseudoscience from Skeptic Magazine -- The Alien Archetype: The Origin of the "Grays" / John Adams 513 -- Anastasia: A Case Study in the Myth of the Miraculous Survival / Tim Callahan 520 -- Ancient Astronauts: Zecharia Sitchin as a Case Study / Eric Wojciehowski 530 -- Holistic Medicine: The Case of Caroline Myss / Phil Mole 537 -- Police Psychics: Noreen Renier as a Case Study / Gary P. Posner 547 -- Pseudoarchaeology: Native American Myths as a Test Case / Kenneth L. Feder 556 -- Pseudoarchaeology: Precolumbian Discoverers of America as a Test Case / Ronald Fritze 567 -- Pseudoscience and the Paranormal / James Randi 580 -- Psi and Psi-Missing / Todd C. Riniolo, Louis A. Schmidt 592 -- Recovered Memory Therapy and False Memory Syndrome: A Father's Perspective as a Test Case / Mark Pendergrast 597 -- Recovered Memory Therapy and False Memory Syndrome: A Patient's Perspective as a Test Case / Laura Pasley 606 -- Recovered Memory Therapy and False Memory Syndrome: A Psychiatrist's Perspective as a Test Case / John Hochman 615 -- Section 4 Science and Pseudoscience -- for and Against -- Evolutionary Psychology as Good Science / Frank Miele 623 -- Evolutionary Psychology as Pseudoscience / Henry Schlinger Jr. 636 -- Memes as Good Science / Susan J. Blackmore 652 -- Memes as Pseudoscience / James W. Polichak 664 -- Race and I.Q. as Good Science / Vince Sarich 678 -- Race and I.Q. as Pseudoscience / Diane Halpern 694 -- Race and Sports as Good Science / Jon Entine 705 -- Race and Sports as Pseudoscience / Michael Shermer 714 -- Science Is at an End / John Horgan 724 -- Science Is Just Beginning / John Casti 739 -- The Science Wars: Deconstructing Science Is Good Science / Dr. Richard Olson 743 -- The Science Wars: Deconstructing Science Is Pseudoscience / Norm Levitt 750 -- Section 5 Historical Documents -- Creationism: "Mr. Bryan's Address to the Jury in the Scopes' Case. The Speech Which Was Never Delivered" / William Jennings Bryan 763 -- David Hume's "Of Miracles": From An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1758 785 -- Mesmerism: "Report of the Commissioners Charged by the King to Examine Animal Magnetism, Printed on the King's Order Number 4 in Paris from the Royal Printing House" / Benjamin Franklin, Antoine Lavoisier 797 -- What Ever Happened to N-Rays? Robert Wood's 1904 N-Ray Letter / Nature 822 -- Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects / Edward Condon 826 -- Epilogue: Let Us Reflect / Michael Shermer 861.

ISBN

1576076539 (acid-free paper)

LCCN

^^2002009653

OCLC

50155642

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library