Portland DECEMBER 2013

Transcription

1 Portland DECEMBER 2013 The mission of the Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. CFI has established centers throughout the world which provide a means of delivering educational programs and services on a local level and provide a venue for likeminded individuals to meet and share experiences. In aiming to foster a secular society, we do not seek to abridge the rights of believers. We vigorously object to government support of religion and the use of religious dogma to justify public policy; we do not oppose the free exercise of religion. The secular society we are building is a community of reason and compassion in which the dignity and fundamental rights of all individuals are respected. Three goals represent the focus of our activities: an end to the influence that religion and pseudoscience have on public policy, an end to the privileged position that religion and pseudoscience continue to enjoy in many societies, and an end to the stigma attached to being a nonbeliever. IIG NORTHWEST VISITS BODY MIND SPIRIT EXPO by Will Worthey As many of you know during this year the Northwest became home to an affiliate of the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) headquartered in Los Angeles. Our stated objective is to hold scientific investigations of unusual or inexplicable activities of people, testing people s claims of psychic or paranormal abilities, and in some cases, buildings or locations reported to have paranormal activity. The mission of IIGNW is to promote scientific values, encourage critical thinking, and work to dispel myths. IIGNW offers a forum in which those who believe they have extraordinary abilities can accept a challenge to prove their capabilities scientifically in a controlled environment. IIGNW also works to highlight those in the community who perpetrate fraud on the public through untruthful statements or actions that mislead or seek to gain financial compensation through fraudulent activities. IIGNW will work with anyone who can show, under proper observing and scientific testing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event. The IIGNW works with applicants in designing the test protocol and defining the conditions under which tests will take place. It is from this context that I am delighted to share with you the results of IIG s biggest operation to date, our visit to BMSE 2013, or BS-me as a local wag dubbed it! Body Mind Spirit Expo is a show that wanders our great republic showcasing the cont. on page 2 1

2 cont. from page 1 talents of individuals who typically charge between $25 to $50 per hour for their varied paranormal services. These include claims of telepathy, clairvoyance, palmistry (including finger whorl reading), and various forms of mystic or quantum healing. Since they were coming to Portland on the 2nd of November, we decided to give them a big PDX welcome and put their claims to the IIG challenge. Ten IIG members assembled just off-site at 10 a.m., each with a mission briefing and researched target. Our objective was to interview the most testable potential claimants and offer the IIG $100,000 prize to any psychic, palmist, or medium prepared to demonstrate their abilities under scientific and controlled conditions. practitioners were a little reticent to give a demonstration of their powers In this endeavor we were ably assisted by an equal number of volunteers from the ranks of CFI and other local skeptics. These volunteers served as impartial recorders taking good note of what was said during each encounter between a paranormal practitioner and the IIG member assigned to interview them. In each case the practitioner was asked questions from a standard script including: Verification of the nature of their claim: For example, Are you a genuine psychic? and, What is the nature of your abilities? The communication: I am from IIGNW and here is our business card. An explanation of who we are and what we do. The challenge: Are you interested in demonstrating your abilities so as to have a chance to win the IIG $100,000 prize? If they said they would take the challenge, contact information was issued explaining how to carry out the process. The responses to these questions were noted by the recorder under the following headings: What did the booth owner say when asked about the reality of their abilities? Was the booth owner asked if they would like to accept the IIG challenge? How did the booth owner respond to the invitation from IIGNW? Please note any other remarks that you feel to be pertinent. We discovered that the convention center booths cost $500 to rent for the two days of the event! So if you were working a booth with psychic powers and making good money doing so, would you take the IIG challenge for $100,000? Well, our practitioners were a little reticent to give a demonstration of their powers. After I had collated the reports a cont. on page 3 EXAMPLE INTERACTION SUBJECT: Sylvie O Brien PRIMARY: Julie C RECORDER: Jenny What did the booth owner say when asked about the reality of their abilities? She said she was able to communicate with spirits of people and animals, dead and alive. Was the booth owner asked if they would like to accept the IIG challenge? She said she knew other people who had been tested (by another organization) and said that the money would be a blessing. How did the booth owner respond to the invitation from IIGNW? She seemed open to it and said we could contact her if she didn t contact us soon. Please note any other remarks that you feel to be pertinent: She said she sensed that I also communicated spiritually with my cats. 2

3 cont. from page 2 PRACTITIONER CLAIMED ABILITY RESPONSE Dixie Caris CreatingaNewWorld.net Gary Champion GaryChampion.com Kawena Charlot KawenaCharlot.com Ronelle Coburn LifePurposeNow.com Cherry Divine CherryDivine.com Dolly Mae DollyMae.com Sylvie O Brien SylvieOBrien.com Mani Pureheart Sharon Sampsel PsychicSharonSampsel.com Linda F. Torres AngelsAreNearUs.com Helps people understand the true meaning of their lives. Psychic and Medium Psychic and Clairvoyant Fortell people s destiny by their fingerprints Clairvoyant Psychic Communicate with spirits of people and animals, dead and alive. Psychic and Aftershave Sales Psychic and Romance Counselor Tarot Reader No to challenge. Stated that they were not interested in money. No to challenge. Became angry. Informed IIG member that they did not belong at BMSE. Yes to challenge. Nonetheless, we have not heard from her since. (11/20/13) No to challenge. Stated that her methods were scientific and not paranormal, and therefore lying outside the boundaries of IIG test. No to challenge. Stated that the purity of what she did would be lessened by taking the challenge. No to challenge. Stated that she did not need money or to prove her abilities as she had helped the police in the past. Yes to challenge. Nonetheless, we have not heard from her since. (11/20/13) No to challenge. We were only able to talk to an assistant and did not receive a subsequent response. We were unable to ask her questions without booking and paying a fee. We attended her seminar earlier that day, wherein she made wildly inaccurate pronouncements about the private lives of IIG members. No to challenge. Stated that her abilities could not be predictive, repeated, or known. few things struck me about these responses. Many practitioners stated they did not care about money or did not want it, so why the credit card machines and the pay-as-you-go business model? If the few who said they would take the challenge were serious, why no contact to date? We have a phone number and address dedicated to IIGNW business, and have, as yet, had no reply from Kawena or Sylvie. I expect, however, that none of this will come as a surprise to members of the secular/skeptical community. For more information about the individuals listed above, check out their websites -- but do think skeptically (and often) before purchasing anything. What s next for IIGNW? Most likely we ll be doing a follow-up with Ronelle Coburn. Our reasoning is simple: If her abilities are not paranormal, then we would like her to show us scientifically how destiny reading from fingerprints is done. We will be seeking to publish Wikipedia articles or addendum on each of the practitioners that we interviewed to give the general public more food for thought. Lastly, how can you help us? If you hear of or meet a paranormal claimant or witness please contact IIGNW at or IIGNW@gmail.com. 3

4 THE HIGH IQ MYTH by James Funston A high IQ is not a guaranteed protection from forming and holding irrational beliefs. Weird beliefs, in ghosts, UFO abductions, crystal healing, and the like, are commonly seen as only held by less intelligent people, and that a high IQ offers immunity from such beliefs. The data do not bear this out however. When results tests that measure confirmation bias the inclination to remember the hits and forget the misses are compared with IQ scores, barely any correlation emerges. This may be due to the fact that IQ tests measure efficiency in processing information, not the ability to think scientifically. Thinking scientifically is non-intuitive. High IQ scores correlate positively with ability to defend positions, justifying belief perseverance or the tendency to cling to beliefs, but negatively with evaluating other positions which is essential to finding alternative hypothesis and vital to scientific thinking. The myth that a highly intelligent person couldn t be fooled into believing something weird is used as a defense of irrational beliefs creationists will create lists of doctors who doubt evolution for example. The Halo Effect, a psychological tendency many people have in judging others based on one trait that they approve of and concluding that the person must have other attractive traits is seen in advertisements when doctors in white lab coats recommend products. A local example is Portland s own Linus Pauling, a brilliant scientist who nonetheless advocated for the discredited idea that high doses of vitamin C fight colds and other illnesses. Pauling s two Nobel prizes were his halos and added credence to any idea he put forth, even when it was far from the fields in which he won his medals. IQ tests measure efficiency in processing information, not the ability to think scientifically. Furthermore, a high IQ may reflect a strong ideological immune system that resists acceptance of any new ideas that would overturn any of our old basic ideas. The ideological immune system is particularly on the defensive when a mental virus conflicts with a belief that has a strong emotional attachment. When challenged, people often rack their brains searching for a way to counter the new evidence. Reasoning has been shown to be affected by the motivation to arrive at the desired conclusion rather than an objective search for the truth. Sometimes this can be beneficial when it leads to a positive self-image, but Ziva Kunda, a social psychologist who specialized...it is important to look not just for evidence that confirms my beliefs but more importantly for evidence that disconfirms them. in motivated reasoning and social cognition, warns,... motivated illusions can be dangerous when they are used to guide behavior and decisions, especially in those cases in which objective reasoning could facilitate more adaptive behavior. Cognitive biases such as these, and the Dunning-Kruger effect which makes it difficult for people to know that they don t know, serve to accentuate the importance of critical thinking and the scientific method. Individual scientists are likely to be biased, but the safeguards built into the scientific method aim to counter human fallibility. As someone who is active in the skeptical movement, I encounter belief perseverance on a regular basis. People are loathe to abandon false beliefs, and people with high IQs are no different. I ve found that the more intelligent someone is, take for example the Christian apologist William Lane Craig, the better they are at performing what I call mental gymnastics while never letting go of the belief, or even considering that they could be wrong. That is something that I take seriously; the idea that I could be flat-out wrong. I think it is important to look not just for evidence that confirms my beliefs but, more importantly, for evidence that disconfirms them. It is much less stressful, and a better pathway to knowledge -- to admit when I am wrong in the face of new evidence. 4

5 DECEMBER EVENTS For more information about any of these events, late additions, or to RSVP, go to the CFI calendar at and click on that event Monday December 2 at 7:00pm SCIENCE PUB PORTLAND: HOLLYWOOD THEATER Innovation in Life Science: How Technology is Redefining Healthcare with Eric Dishman, Intel Fellow and General Manager, Intel Health & Life Sciences. Intel Fellow Eric Dishman will describe Intel s journey, his own journey as a patient entrepreneur, and Intel s focus on developing a personal health model of care for the 21st century. Dishman is recognized globally for driving healthcare reform through home and community-based technologies and services, with a focus on enabling independent living for seniors. He has co-founded organizations devoted to advancing independent living, including the Technology Research for Independent Living Centre, the Center for Aging Services Technologies, the Everyday Technologies for Alzheimer s Care program, and the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology. Science Pub Portland - Hollywood Theater is a monthly event open to anyone aged 21+ (or minor with adult). No RSVP or scientific background required. Just bring your curiosity, sense of humor, and appetite for food, drinks, and knowledge! $5.00 suggested cover charge. Tell your friends. We hope to see you there! Questions? sciencepub@omsi.edu. Tuesday December 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 at 9:15am Thursday December 5, 12, 19, 26 at 9:15am EASTSIDE MALL WALK/COFFEE Clackamas Town Center Southeast 82nd Avenue Happy Valley, OR RSVP on the CFI Secular Humanists of East Portland Meetup calendar. Walk aerobically with like-minded friends for ~50 minutes, finish with coffee and conversation. We walk before the shoppers arrive, the top two floors are carpeted! All ages and abilities welcome, including little ones in strollers. Contact the host for a cell number in case you can t find us. This is a combined activity with Humanists of Greater Portland. We look forward to seeing you! Thursday December 5 and 19 at 10:00am PRESCHOOL PLAYDATE Rynd home SW 6th St. #1 Beaverton, OR RSVP on the CFI Secular Family Network Meetup calendar. Regularly scheduled playgroup for preschool aged children 3 and 4 (other ages also welcome). We meet at an indoor home until the weather permits outdoor time. Thursday December 5 and 19 at 11:00am SOUTH COAST SECULAR SOCIETY MEETUP Denny s 98 E 1st St Coquille, OR RSVP on the CFI South Coast Skeptics Meetup calendar. Hosted by Greg Collver. Pizza and skeptical discussion at Denny s. Saturday December 7 at 10:00am Sunday December 15 at 12:30pm ROGUE VALLEY FREETHINKERS MEETUP IN GRANTS PASS Union Drop-In Center 225 NE Hillcrest Dr Grants Pass, OR RSVP on the Rogue Valley Freethinkers Meetup Calendar. Topic-centered discussion. There will be ample time for sharing related personal anecdotes. Bag lunches are encouraged. Thursday December 14 at 6:00pm SECULAR HUMANISTS OF EAST PORTLAND: MOVIE NIGHT Richard Mohley s home 1629 NE 146th Ave Portland, OR RSVP on the CFI Secular Humanists of East Portland Meetup calendar. What can Australia reveal about how Earth was born and how life took hold? Join us for a NOVA documentary with host Dr. Richard Smith as he journeys back to the very beginning of the Australian story in Awakening. The first stop is Western Australia, around four and a half billion years ago, where we encounter an Earth shortly after its fiery birth. Hidden in the red hills of Australia are clues to the mysteries of when the Earth was born, how life first arose, and how it transformed the planet. Experts unveil how the earliest forms of life an odd assortment of bacterial slime flooded the atmosphere with oxygen, sparking the biological revolution that made animal life possible. It is the beginning of the great drama of life on Earth. Come join us as we celebrate good food and enjoy visiting with SHEP members and visitors. Bring your favorite dish and join with friends, or meet new ones. Invite someone who may not know about our group. Bring some of your favorite games, and if we re outside, some yard games. Join us 5

6 DECEMBER EVENTS CONT. for a time of sharing, friendship, and snacks. In addition to pot luck contributions, please bring a can or package of non-perishable food to contribute to the Oregon Food Bank. Note: Meeting agenda and location subject to change. Sunday December 1, 15 at 3:00pm ROGUE VALLEY HUMANISTS IN ASHLAND Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Center 87 4th Street Ashland, OR RSVP on the Rogue Valley Freethinkers Meetup calendar. The Humanism Group studies current topics of interest to Humanists, often from a recent book or article. We meet every first and third Sunday. Find us under the balcony. Saturday December 7, 14, 21, 2 at 9:15am Monday December 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 at 9:15am LLOYD CENTER MALL WALK Lloyd Center Mall 2201 Lloyd Center Portland, OR RSVP on the CFI Portland Meetup calendar. Get out of the rain! Exercise at the mall while wearing your t-shirt supporting science and season! Meet every Monday at the food court across from McDonald s, top floor of the Lloyd Center; arrive a few minutes early so we can pair up according to walking rate and then start the walk together about 9:15. Walk aerobically with like-minded friends for ~50 minutes, finish with coffee and conversation. We walk before the shoppers arrive, the top two floors are carpeted! All ages and abilities welcome, including little ones in strollers. Contact the host for a cell number in case you can t find us. This is a combined activity with Humanists of Greater Portland. We look forward to seeing you! Wednesday December 4, 11, 18, 25 at 11:00am SKEPTICS OF EUGENE COFFEE KLATCH Midtown Coffee 1591 Willamette St Eugene, OR RSVP on the Skeptics of Eugene Meetup calendar. Casual conversation about whatever we feel like. Drop in or out as your schedule allows. Friday December 13 at 7:00pm DARK-TO-LIGHT GALA Norse Hall 111 NE 11th Ave Portland, OR Let us take time together to enjoy the finer things in life and the wonder of reality. Flickering candles, soft background jazz, a thoughtful, seasonal meal by Chef Trisha Dahms, festive attire, and a dance party after dinner with all of these ingredients the night will be ours! On this evening during the season when our hemisphere turns from darkness to light, we come together to celebrate humanity s emergence into knowledge and reason, to celebrate science as a candle in the dark, as Carl Sagan called it. Children are invited to participate, volunteers will be on hand to help with them. There will be a sleep area for little ones who run out of steam during the celebration. Cocktail reception at 7pm, followed by dinner at 8pm, and dancing and a silent auction at 9:30pm Entertainment will be provided with Jazz stylings by the Bill Lamb Band. (Bill Lamb is Founder of the NW Science expo.) Chef Trisha Dahms will prepare a thoughtful meal highlighting the seasonal menu with great attention to detail that is sure to please. Tickets are $37 for CFI members, $45 for CFI guests, and $8 for children. Please RSVP at net. Seating is limited. Sunday December 8 at 10am SPECIAL EVENT HOSTED BY HUMANISTS OF GREATER PORTLAND Friendly House NW 26th and Thurman Portland, OR Presentation by Dr. Jon Peters entitled, Engaging Creationists: Should You? Unlike my other lectures, this one will not present much science but rather look into motivation and psychology of why we believe what we believe. I hope to do some audience interaction also. Those who know me may be somewhat surprised by what I have to say. It often happens that we hear or read something about scientific origins that is so erroneous that it takes us by surprise. Do we remain silent or do we speak up? If we decide to challenge a statement from a creationist, we should ask ourselves certain questions first. What are our goals? Are they different from the other side? How effective will we be? Are there any dangers? We will discuss motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, and how presenting evidence can backfire against you. Dr. Peters has been active promoting secular humanism and rational thought with the Center For Inquiry (Portland). In 2008 he founded Secular Humanists of East Portland. 6

7 DECEMBER EVENTS CONT. Wednesday December 11 at 4:12pm PORTLAND BOOK GROUP Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Station 67 Community Room SW Farmington Rd Beaverton, OR RSVP on the CFI Portland Meetup calendar where you can also finds details on the book currently being discussed. This meetup occurs every second Wednesday of the month. Wednesday, December 25 at 5:30pm FAMILY BOARD GAME NIGHT Private Residence, SW 6th St. #1, Beaverton, OR Join us as we play family friendly board games together! While it s still cold we can do this indoors, but, as the days grow longer and warmer we most definitely can move this event to the outdoors! Many of us have younger children, so, we can tailor each night accordingly. Feel free to bring food or drink as needed. RSVP with a suggestion for what we should play! See you soon! RSVP on the CFI Secular Family Network Meetup calendar. Wednesday, December 25 at 7:00pm CFI BEAVERTON ATHEISTS MEETUP Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe Beaverton Town Square SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy Beaverton, OR Enjoy an evening of engaging, relaxing and interesting conversation at our casual gatherings held the last Wednesday of every month. Our members share a common desire to discuss life experiences and personal views without fear of judgment or alienation. The meetings boast sympathetic and knowledgeable listeners from a variety of backgrounds - from the atheist to the agnostic to the unsure. Common ground within our eclectic group is easy to find. Our informal meetings span a variety of topics, including religion, politics and science. Our time is spent in an unmoderated group setting, and often more than one discussion occurs at a time. Attendees are encouraged to switch seats, meet and greet others, and enjoy some of the best coffee and chocolate around. Join us! The Beaverton Atheists Meetup is an activity of CFI Portland. If you want to get the bigger picture about what s going on in the freethought community around Portland, that s the calendar to check! The Freethought Books Project provides donations of secular and freethinking literature to prisoners, inmates in mental hospitals, books to prisoners projects, and others in need. The program also connects inmates to volunteer pen pals, who correspond with secular humanist, atheist, and other inmates who are connected to the project. This project has been administered by the Center for Inquiry since Started in 2005, the Freethought Books Project was created by Leslie Zukor, then a student at Reed College and founder of Reed Secular Alliance, as a book drive to send freethought books to prisoners. The project was, as it continues to be, a response to the abundant religious material and proselytizing found in the American prison system, and aims to provide an educational alternative for secular humanist, non-religious, and skeptical prisoners everywhere. Leslie contacted prisoners and prison-donating organizations, found support for getting freethought books into prison libraries, and requested donated literature from authors and organizations. The response was outstanding, and in the first 7 months she collected over 650 items to send to eight prison-donating organizations across the U.S. The project was independently run and funded by Leslie and her fellow coordinators until 2013, when she asked if the Center for Inquiry would take it on. After a short hiatus, it is now coordinated by Jesse Markus, of CFI Portland, and Sarah Kaiser, Field Organizer at CFI s Outreach Department. We are always in need of financial donations to cover the cost of postage. We are also in need of volunteers who will commit to being a pen-pal with a fellow atheist in prison. The Freethought Books Project has an Amazon account with a wish-list of books we d like to purchase. To donate to our cause this way, please visit: If you would like to donate to the project or volunteer, please contact the coordinators at net/outreach/support_the_project/ Center for Inquiry P.O. Box 741, Amherst, NY freethoughtbooks.org freethoughtbooks@centerforinquiry.net facebook.com/freethoughtbooks 7

8 Basic member benefits include: MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION WANT TO PROMOTE SCIENCE, REASON, AND SECULAR VALUES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST? CFI Membership card, good at any CFI worldwide Free entry into all CFI-Portland regular events Preferred seating at major CFI-Portland events Two Guest Passes CFI Window Decal Discounts on conferences and other special events Reduced tuition for CFI Institute online courses 15% off Prometheus Books purchased through the CFI-Portland More benefits are available with other options. See CFI membership levels and benefits here. Support CFI-Portland, keep informed about our activities, participate in our programs, and become a member! ONE-TIME DONATION: Click the blue button to join or renew your membership with a single donation to CFI. Regular membership is $60. Reduced rates for students and unemployed. MONTHLY DONATION: Click the green button to make an automatically renewing monthly donation. Sustain your membership while sustaining CFI! We ll keep your CFI membership active as long as your regular donations continue, but if your budget changes, you may change or suspend your payment at any time. Starting at $5 per month. For more information, click on the above buttons, call CFI-Portland at or portland@centerforinquiry.net YES! I WANT TO BECOME A FRIEND OF THE CENTER! (To pay by affordable monthly installments, please go to the CFI-Portland website) O General Donation $20.00 O Student Membership $20.00 O Level 1 $60.00 O Level 2 $ O Level 3 $ O Level 4 $ O Level 5 $1, NAME (please print) ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP PHONE O Payment enclosed, or charge my: OMastercard OVisa OAmerican OExpress O Discover (Choose your own amount) O Yes! Please sign me up to receive s about CFI events and news in my community. CARD # EXP. DATE SIGNATURE Please make checks payable to Center for Inquiry Return this form to: Center for Inquiry PO Box 741 Amherst, NY or register online at (click on JOIN US )