Psychics fail to foretell police sting, skeptics unsurprised

In Philadelphia, the Department of Licenses and Inspections was alerted to an obscure state law that banned fortune-telling “for gain or lucre.” Inspectors for the L & I department swung into action to enforce this older law, and in a week's time they managed to close at least 16 different businesses. But by the end of the week, the City Solicitor's Office told the L & I department to halt their actions. According to Andrew Ross, divisional deputy city solicitor:

... while the law was useful in fraud cases, "we felt it was hard to say what kind of evidence might be needed to prove someone was pretending to tell fortunes."

The City Solicitor's office got into the act when the attorney for Philadelphia psychic Monica Mitchell filed a request for a restraining order and preliminary injunction on the grounds that the city has to prove fraud before invoking the old state law.

Really? Prove fraud? Isn't the fact that 16 different business owners didn't suddenly decide to take a one week vacation while the city was busy chasing its tail proof enough? Of course their failure is a cliché. “My own fortune is blocked from my knowledge, but I am still able to foretell the future of others.” If such a thing is true, then perhaps psychics can join some sort of mutually helpful relationship, where they could spill the beans about each other's future.

Joe Nickell, of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry has recently written about this. This isn't the first time that Psychics in Philadelphia were stung. (Wait, they were caught out before and they still couldn't tell this was coming again?)

In May of 1995 Nickell worked with Philly television station WCAU and stung several psychics. From Joe Nickell's recent article:

Denenberg’s team enlisted a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl named Kate. Although she was safely at home (for example playing softball in her front yard), the psychics were told that she had been missing since January. Some psychics “saw” her experiencing physical harm; one collected a fee of $50 for reporting her “confined against her will”; and another charged $180 to divine that the girl had run away and was “probably pregnant.” While one psychic envisioned her just two miles from home, another saw her far away in Florida. Not one among the several seers ever divined the truth, that the teenager was not missing and that Channel 10 was conducting a sting operation.

...
My own undercover work has repeatedly revealed psychic ineptitude—and worse. Using a false persona, a pseudonym, and disguise (necessitated by my frequent TV appearances), I revealed nationally known “police psychic” Phil Jordan to be a “Psychic Sleuth without a Clue” (Nickell 2004). He had no idea of my real background or identity.

...
Many times in my several decades of paranormal investigation, I have visited palmists, card readers, astrologers, mediums, and clairvoyants. Not one ever mentioned the profound fact that I had a daughter and two grandsons I was unaware of (until, wonderfully, she discovered me in 2003) (Nickell 2004; 2005).

Wow, that's harsh. Mr. Nickell had a daughter and two grandsons that he was unaware of. And no psychic was able to tell him that! What devastating information for a skeptic. Perhaps with a single prediction, Joe Nickell could have been converted to a true believe, and a firm supporter of psychics.


Of all the psychics, card readers, palm readers and clairvoyants out there, Sylvia Browne is the absolute worst of them all. Remember Shawn Hornbeck? In October of 2002 he disappeared without a trace, at the age of 11. His parents never gave up hope that he would be found alive, and understandably tried even the desperate measure of talking to famous psychics like Sylvia Browne and James Van Praagh, both of whom told the Hornbecks that their son was dead. Both also gave clues about where Shawn's body could be found.

But Shawn was found alive, living with Michael Devlin, in January of 2007. Devlin is charged with kidnapping Shawn, along with another boy named Ben Ownby. Devlin is charged with forcible sodomy, production of child pornography, and several other crimes.

Sylvia Browne never saw any of this. Her psychic ability apparently wasn't working that day.

Robert S. Lancaster runs a website called “Stop Sylvia Browne” and he documents all the other times that Sylvia has failed, or has apparently preyed on the bereaved. I'll warn you about his website – if you're a fan of Browne, you won't like it! And if you go there in genuine interest, you will probably lose an afternoon or two reading all of his material.

But there is a much faster take on Browne, CNN's Anderson Cooper talked about Sylvia Browne's fraud. I'll link to the Youtube archive of that show. (It has James Randi in it too!)

There's an old joke that asks, “Why does a psychic have to ask for your credit card number?” Jokes about the lack of psychic ability only scratch the surface. If they can do what they say they can do, then why is there so little evidence?

Religious bait and switch youth tactic

I was reading about Extreme Evangelism on the Pharyngula blog, and it reminded me of ‘bait and switch’ religious stories that I’ve read. It also reminded me of my own first encounter with a ‘bait and switch’ Baptist church scam that I was unwittingly sucked into.


I was a new Freshman at my high school, a little lost and trying to stay out of the way of the upper classes. I had friends, but I was fairly shy and not very popular. (That’s an understatement, I was a nerd.)

I had made the acquaintance of another boy in one of my classes who seemed a little more outgoing than I. After a couple weeks of talking at school he invited me for a youth party at his church. I was very active in my own church; First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ – and we had an active youth group where I had made friends, so this just seemed like a good way to expand my circle of friends.

I made sure that my acquaintance knew I was already baptized, ‘saved’, and an active member of my own church and was therefore not interested in changing churches. He assured me it was just a night where young people could get together, nothing more. He made it sound good, with games, pizza, even a little magic show – and the possibility of maybe meeting a girl. I was hooked.

At the party there was a sort of narthex / large common room that we all met up in, and it had pizza already laid in. I had a slice and started trying to meet people. I met a few, but really didn’t get to know anyone in detail; a lot of them were older than I. There was a lot of aimless milling about and I kept comparing the experience to my own youth group where we knew each other and had no problem finding something to do or talk about.

Finally after things started getting uncomfortable and I started thinking about going home, a jovial adult showed up and started in with some directed activities – mostly the sort of thing that adults are sure kids will love, but kids put up with in poor grace. The only thing that stood out is the card trick the adult showed us – a “guess the card trick” where he called an accomplice by phone and had him guess the correct card. Not bad actually – I figured it out later.

And then he started preaching. It was exactly what I had feared, what I had asked my acquaintance to promise me would not happen. Don’t get me wrong, the preacher was good, and he laid the emotion on thick.

By the time he was done we were all glad to be in a church, and more than a little nervous. It wasn't quite fire and brimstone, but we all now felt our mortality. As he stopped, he called us into the chapel where a woman was set up with a small band. She continued preaching a little, and made us all feel very good – and then she started singing in a beautiful voice and caught us all by our heart strings. By the time she had finished, we were all teary-eyed.

Then the preacher called us up to be saved, “Anyone who wanted to be saved by Jesus.” And the kids lined up in front of the altar. I told my friend I was already saved, and that I didn’t need to be again – he pointed out that I was the only kid left sitting. And so, reluctantly I got up and got ‘saved’ again. Not by a baptism, or a blessing as I had thought, but by writing my name and address on a ‘confirmation card’ of some sort. By the time I finished writing I was ready to go, and left as soon as it was polite.

The next day, I told my friend / acquaintance, and soon to be ex-friend that the so called ‘party’ wasn’t what he had led me to believe. It felt more like a cattle-call, it felt more than a little dishonest. We didn’t speak after that and I really have no idea what became of him – he fell below my radar for the rest of high school.

The following Monday I found a letter from his church in my mailbox. Inside was a form letter written by the church pastor which welcomed me, AND MY FAMILY to the church! It even gave a date and time that I, along with my family, would be baptized! And that was what the ‘confirmation card’ was all about.


This was the first time I was ever shown a ‘bait and switch’ by a church – and the lesson stuck for the rest of my life. At the time the lesson was that ‘bad’ churches were little better than cults, and would try to trick you into joining. The lesson included that I be more careful in vetting the so called ‘parties’ to which I was invited, and definitely it included never giving my full name and address in writing to anyone who I did not absolutely trust.

That lesson has changed little over the years. I still think that ‘bad’ churches are little better than cults, but now I realize that most churches are not completely opposed to a little ‘bait and switch’ membership tactics now and again.

Craigslist prankster may escape jail

Remember Jason Fortuny? He’s the Seattle self-employed IT guy who thought it was funny to "out" the respondents to a Craigslist sex ad – complete with photos, names, email, mail server information, and even phone numbers. He challenged his groupie-wannabes to connect each email to a real person.

He generated a lot of controversy with his immoral actions, and has been showing up in the news here and there too. There has been a lot of speculation that what he did is not just immoral, but unlawful too.

Monday I sent an email to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office asking for comment, and today I received the response that, “… there is no violation of our state criminal code involved here, yet.”

(Interesting qualifier ending that sentence.)

So, as they currently stand, Jason’s actions are lawful. But he’s on a really thin line that might easily be crossed into crime.

Jason’s last post was around 7PM Sunday night, (the datestamp is in UTC) not Saturday – he’s been in hiding and closing things down ever since. Maybe now that he knows he won’t be arrested, he can breathe a sigh of relief and go on with his life as normal – or as normal as someone with something of a personality disorder.

I’m sure he is completely unworried about the possibility of individual lawsuits or personal retribution. Jason Fortuny is the Internet intellectual equivalent of “Alfred E. Neuman.”

================================
Followup 5 Oct 06

Since Jason has seen fit to link to my blog, I'd like to point out some other links that RFJason groupies might like to see.

Violet Blue's blog; The seattle craigslist sex scandal - where I learned about this
Jason Fortuny - using people as things - My first blog entry on this
Jason Who? - my followup after this entry

I also must apologize that I have to enable comment moderation. I know it is a terrible power that turns bloggers into tin-pot tyrants, but I'll do my best to be a benign dictator.

Testing the Counterfeit Money Detector Pen by DriMark

Crooks have been copying money ever since its invention. Ancient gold coins were faked by filling them with lead; counterfeits as simple as a slug were used to defeat older vending machines; and these days fake money is made using printing presses or laser printers.

The ability to detect counterfeit bills is a valuable skill to learn by anyone who handles money on a regular basis. To encourage this skill the Secret Service prints a pamphlet called Know Your Money (viewable online) that describes how to detect counterfeit bills. The guide assumes that the person receiving a bill will pay attention to the details of the bill. Of course experience also helps; sometimes a counterfeit bill just doesn’t ‘feel’ or ‘look’ right.

Machines also exist that will assist in sorting legitimate bills from fake, but these machines are not perfect. The best detection of counterfeit money is still a person who is familiar with currency and pays attention.


And then there is the Counterfeit Money Detector Pen.

This pen, made and patented by DriMark Products, seems to instantly determine the validity of paper currency using a process that is mysterious to most users. A cashier merely marks a bill with this pen, and if the mark is yellowish, amber or clear then the currency is valid. If the mark turns dark brown or black then the currency is phony.

Cashiers take great comfort in this patented process. I’ve seen clerks at the local corner market use these pens on ten-dollar bills. I’ve seen cashiers at my credit union use these pens to check hundred dollar bills. And I’ve noticed that in all cases that when the pen is used the attendant instantly trusts the results.

Let me restate that. It is possible that an inexperienced cashier, or one who is in a hurry, will accept counterfeit money as authentic if it passes the ‘pen test,’ even if that currency would clearly be detectable as counterfeit to another person who took the time to examine it. Most cashiers seem to have a blind faith in these pens.


How does the pen work?

As I mentioned, this pen is patented. The patent number is 5,063,163 , and can be seen online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to the patent claims, this pen contains a testing solution comprised of one of several different chemical recipes. The active ingredient is Iodine, and the remainder is one of several solvents.

The patent claims that this solution will detect, “…illegitimate paper currency by detecting the starch content therein in excess of the genuine currency.” It does this using a known reaction between Iodine and starch, called an ‘Iodine Test’.

The Iodine Test is a standard chemical method of detecting starch. Simply stated Iodine reacts with starch to produce a deep blue-black color. (Here is another link for those interested in the chemistry of the Iodine Test.) The test solution in the DriMark pen is naturally a light golden-brown or yellowish color, but when mixed with starch the color changes dramatically to a dark black.

One of the ways that the United States Mint has tried to combat counterfeited bills is to use distinctive paper. Standard paper, like the kind used in a copy machine, is composed of wood cellulose bound together with starch-based glue. Paper used in currency is composed of cotton or linen fabric that has been beaten and cooked to create fine fibers. The process causes the fibers to interlock naturally without the requirement of a starch binding material which makes for a very strong, high quality paper. Paper used for United States currency has other additions, such as tiny red and blue fibers and a plastic / metallic strip embedded in it. Due to the method of manufacture, paper currency will not disintegrate or weaken substantially when wet.

There is very little, if any, starch in American currency.

James Randi has tried to tell people that these pens give a false sense of comfort to those who trust them over all other means of counterfeit detection. He hasn’t had much success in his attempt at education, and I can sympathize. I have also tried to explain to my credit union tellers that they should learn how to use their senses to discover counterfeits. I’m still trying, patiently, to educate.

Mr. Randi isn’t as patient as I am, so to make his point he sometimes withdraws money from his bank, coats it with spray starch, and then returns it. (Presumably he banks at a higher quality establishment than I do, because his tellers don’t seem to check the bills with a counterfeit detector pen.)


Skeptical testing of spray starch on money

I love to read James Randi’s weekly Swift Commentary because I learn so much from him. Perhaps the biggest lesson I’ve taken from Randi and other skeptics is that as a skeptic I’m NOT required to blindly believe what they say. I’m allowed and encouraged to find competing opinions, do my own research, or even perform my own experiments. So in this vein I decided to run my own experiment on the counterfeit detection pen.


My questions:

1. Will DriMark’s Counterfeit Detection Pen respond properly to paper currency and standard computer paper?
2. Is there another sort of paper that would be detected as ‘currency’ by the pen?
3. Randi coats money with spray starch to fool the pen – does that work?
4. If I find a non-currency paper that fools the pen, can I spray it with starch so that it will then read as ‘counterfeit’?
5. I’ve read that hairspray would defeat the pen and cause it to indicate non-currency paper is valid currency. Is this true? Can I cause starch-soaked currency to read as valid?

Materials

1. DriMark Counterfeit Detector Pen with adhesive holder! (It was cheaper than purchasing 3 to a package.) Patent number 5,063,163 is proudly printed on the bottom of the package.
   
2. Dollar bills. I used four singles instead of twenties, fifties or hundreds for two reasons. First, I’ll be writing on these bills with a counterfeit detection pen, and I don’t want a cashier to refuse my money because they think it’s funny. Second, I’m not so rich that I can play with hundred dollar bills!
3. Starch. I could have used a powder starch and mixed it with water, but who needs that hassle? I used Niagara spray starch because I’m familiar with it from using it every week for ten years while I was in the Air Force.
4. Hair Spray. After a lot of thought I made the scientific decision to use Suave unscented with Extra Hold. (Luckily I happened to have a supply of this in my bathroom!)
5. Computer paper, coffee filters, paper towels. Other sorts of paper to experiment on, and to use to clean up my mess afterwards.
6. One domestic felines, absolutely required as an impartial observer and judge. My feline owner, a Mr. Samuel Francisco, (aka Cisco) was gracious enough to volunteer his services.

Method

1. Test the pen to make sure it can tell the difference between good money and computer paper. This initial check also serves to prove that the pen is working as advertised. I applied the pen to one of the dollar bills and to a sheet of computer paper (folded in half).
2. Apply spray starch to the next dollar bill in an attempt to make it read as fake. Apply hairspray to the folded computer paper in an attempt to make it read as real. I used an evaporative rotary oscillator to facilitate in the drying of these sprays.
3. After drying, test the results by re-applying the counterfeit money detector pen to both the dollar and to the computer paper.
4. Using the counterfeit money detector pen, test a single coffee filter paper from the package of Brew Rite bargain filters that I found in my cupboard.
5. Spray another coffee filter paper with starch and allow to dry on the evaporative rotary oscillator.
6. Using the counterfeit money detector pen, test the coffee filter sprayed with starch to determine if it registers as counterfeit or real.
7. Using the dollar bill sprayed with starch from item (2) above, spray this bill with hairspray and allow it to dry.
8. Test the bill with the counterfeit money detector pen to determine if it registers as fake or real.

(Left) Testing the coffee filter




(Right)
Evaporative Rotary
Oscillator.
Not every lab has such high tech equipment!













Results

1. Writing on money is legal as long as I don’t make it ‘unfit for circulation’ according to title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Still I find myself reluctant to write on it, so helpfully I write, “Not Fake” to put any receiving cashiers at ease. Writing on computer paper is easy except I have a minor bit of writer’s block, so I just give a friendly ‘Hi!’ The pen works as expected – the computer paper is fake money, and the dollar bill is real money.
2. After spraying the bill with starch and the computer paper with hairspray I again test them both with the counterfeit detector pen. As predicted by James Randi, the second dollar bill now reads as counterfeit. The pen now indicates that the hairsprayed computer paper is genuine currency.
3. I then tested a coffee filter with the counterfeit pen. The coffee filter is apparently made completely out of genuine American currency paper because the pen indicates that it is NOT counterfeit.
   
4. I sprayed a new coffee filter with starch and allowed it to dry on the evaporator. Afterwards I tested it with the counterfeit detector pen and found that the coffee filter now (correctly) reads as counterfeit paper. I have no idea what starch will do to my morning cup of coffee, but I’ll bet it isn’t anything good!
5. At this point my neutral feline observer decided to preform a randoml quality control inspection while I worked, so I very carefully sprayed the previously starched bill with hair spray under his scrutiny.
6. The starched dollar bill, sprayed with hairspray, is now very shiny in the camera flash, but obviously NOT a counterfeit!

(Note that I used the word 'skeptic' with a comforting smily face on the dollar bill instead of the word 'fake' or 'counterfeit'. No sense in making cashiers nervous!)
















Here is a bill that was sprayed with starch, then with hairspray. It 'failed' and registered as counterfeit after being sprayed with starch, and then it 'passed' and registers as real money after being sprayed with hairspray.

This treatment results in a bill that has become 'slick' in feel, and somewhat glossy in photos.

The 'Skeptic' and smily face became a bit smeared after the application of hair spray. Perhaps I used a bit much?










Mr. Samuel Francisco inspects the experiment and gives it his qualified approval before demanding his payment in tinned cubed chicken bits.


Notes:

• During this test I accidentally marked one of the paper towels with the counterfeit detector pen, and found out that it was also apparently composed of genuine currency. I did not test these paper towels with starch or hairspray because I learned during cleanup that the starch made them very soggy.
• At first I used the spray on, rub dry method of drying the dollar bills after applying starch, but the first bill I tried this on indicated as ‘not counterfeit’ after rubbing with a paper towel. It is my assumption that I didn’t allow enough time for the starch to soak into the bill. All further bills were allowed to dry without interference. The rubbed bill was removed from the experiment.

Discussion:

As you can see from the pictures, under normal circumstances the counterfeit detector pen is able to tell the difference between computer paper and currency. It is NOT able to tell the difference between coffee filters and real money. (Or paper towels either.)

The counterfeit detector pen will indicate that money sprayed with starch is counterfeit. This is due to the reaction between the iodine in the pen and the starch on the paper. The computer paper sprayed with hairspray is detected as genuine currency because the hairspray creates a barrier between the iodine in the pen and the starch that is used as a binding agent in the paper.

Some types of paper do not contain starch as a binding agent. Since starch is dissolvable in water, I guess it would be bad for coffee filters or paper towels to be held together with something that would cause them to fall apart during their normal usage. It may also be possible that starch would adversely affect the quality of coffee if it were added during the coffee-making process.

Adding starch to coffee filter paper makes it register as counterfeit because the iodine in the detector pen reacts to the added starch.

A dollar bill coated with starch and then sprayed with hair spray will be detected as genuine currency by the pen due to the hairspray barrier between the iodine in the pen and the starch on the bill.

As a side affect, spraying bills with starch makes them feel a little more 'slick' to my fingers. Spraying them with hairspray makes them feel more 'fuzzy'. Under a camera flash they become very reflective, but look normal under regular lighting.


Conclusion:

A few weeks ago I made the mistake of leaving my wallet in my pants, which then went through the wash. Luckily I don’t use starch in my wash anymore. (I did when I was in the military.) If you do use starch in your wash, and happen to wash an extra twenty, fifty or hundred dollar bill in your pocket, then you are in danger of having that bill flagged as ‘counterfeit’ by DriMark’s pen. Luckily, you can make your bill ‘good’ again by merely spraying it with hairspray!

Counterfeiters who use a laser printer to print fake bills on computer paper could make all their bills acceptable to cashiers who rely on DriMark’s pen by adding a coating of hairspray.


In my opinion, counterfeit money detection pens are a scam because DriMark can overcharge the user for inexpensive iodine. The price of these pens is much higher than the price of an equivalent amount of iodine.

I purchased this pen for $4 from Office Depot. According to the patent, the counterfeit detector pen is composed of 0.5 to 2.0% iodine. An eight ounce bottle of 10% iodine solution is $12 from Walgreens. If diluted to the proper consistency I predict that the bottle of iodine will be in use long after four DriMark pens have evaporated to uselessness.

I believe that counterfeit money detection pens are a dangerous scam due to the blind faith that most cashiers have in their ability to detect phony money. Counterfeiters who take the time to create funny money will certainly take the time to defeat these pens. I would guess that counterfeiters actively look for cashiers who rely on these pens because these cashiers are an 'easy target' for disposing of fake bills.

Lots of interest in Steorn on my blog

A lot of you are new visitors to my blog, looking for an explanation of the Steorn perpetual energy machine and trying to figure out if it is a hoax, if it can be debunked, or if it’s the real thing.

You can skip down to the next post to see my musings on this.

Sean McCarthy, CEO of Steorn, issued a public challenge in the Economist magazine, and now the Steorn website has a “days since we issued the challenge” automatic counter.

I still think this is bullshit – Steorn is just looking for investor money – if they were serious about proving their claims they wouldn’t do it by a challenge. I still like my idea of having their machine output energy or do work and see if it surpasses a calculated energy density of their ‘black box’. They wouldn’t have to show the world how they do what they do, and they could still prove their concept without needing specially qualified scientists.

Think about it, if someone told me that they had a car that got an infinite amount of mileage on one tank of gas, I wouldn’t need a scientist to explain why this was true. All I’d need to do is drive the car back and forth across country. After a certain number of miles I would certainly surpass any theoretical limit of energy density in the supercar’s gas tank.

It’s that easy people – you really ARE that smart, you don’t need a scientist to ‘explain’ how Steorn’s machine works, you just need to see it demonstrated long enough to prove it.

I’ll bet you $10 that will NEVER happen.

Steorn’s Free Lunch – Free Energy? I think not!

Steorn is an Irish company that claims to have found a way to create ‘free energy’.

Free energy has been a favorite target of crackpots for a long time. Also called, “Over Unity” or “Perpetual Motion” machines, they’ve been debunked time and again until scientists and engineers are sick of seeing them anymore.

But Steorn Chief Executive Sean McCarthy believes that now his company has succeeded where all others have failed. He believes that his company has found a way to get something for nothing, and he acknowledges that a lot of scientists are going to dismiss him.

From a Reuters news service:

"We fully accept there is going to be cynicism surrounding this but what we're saying to the world of science is come and prove us wrong," said Steorn Chief Executive Sean McCarthy.

"The answer to the question we're posing is too big not to look," he added.

Well, it couldn't hurt to look, right?

Steorn has issued its challenge by advertising in the Economist magazine. Of course the first thing they did is set themselves up as a poor, oppressed and misunderstood minority by using George Bernard Shaw’s quote, “All great truths begin as blasphemies".

But just because something is a blasphemy doesn’t mean that it is also a ‘great truth’. This is a logical fallacy. Michael Shermer, in his book “Why People Believe Weird Things” pointed out “Heresy does not equal correctness.” From his book (a link to this chapter in his book is here.)

History is replete with tales of the lone scientist working in spite of his peers and flying in the face of the doctrines of his or her own field of study. Most of them turned out to be wrong and we do not remember their names. For every Galileo shown the instruments of torture for advocating a scientific truth, there are a thousand (or ten thousand) unknowns whose "truths" never pass muster with other scientists. The scientific community cannot be expected to test every fantastic claim that comes along, especially when so many are logically inconsistent. If you want to do science, you have to learn to play the game of science. This involves getting to know the scientists in your field, exchanging data and ideas with colleagues informally, and formally presenting results in conference papers, peer-reviewed journals, books, and the like.

But is Steorn ‘playing the game of science?’ From Steorn’s website:

During 2005 Steorn embarked on a process of independent validation and approached a wide selection of academic institutions. The vast majority of these institutions refused to even look at the technology, however several did. Those who were prepared to complete testing have all confirmed our claims; however none will publicly go on record.

Sean McCarthy, CEO of Steorn, commented: “During the years of its development, our technology has been validated by various independent scientists and engineers. We are now seeking twelve of the most qualified and most cynical from the world’s scientific community to form an independent jury, test the technology in independent laboratories and publish their findings.

“We are under no illusions that there will be a lot of cynicism out there about our proposition, as it currently challenges one of the basic principles of physics. However, the implications of our technology go far beyond scientific curiosity: addressing many urgent global needs including security of energy supply and zero emission energy production. In order for these benefits to be achieved, we need the public validation and endorsement of the scientific community”.

“We’re playing our part in making that happen by throwing down the gauntlet with today’s announcement – now it’s over to the scientists to ensure that the real potential and benefits of our technology can be realised.”

Ooh! Some “academic institutions” have confirmed their claims but won’t publicly go on record so they are “forced” to “throw down the gauntlet?” This reeks of conspiracy! Look out! Black Helicopters!

So far, Steorn has indicated no peer-reviewed works, and has shown no photos or video of their device. They have given very little in the way of theory. The only hint of how this device works is from a film that can be downloaded from their website, or from Google Video. From that film, we see the following graphic while McCarthy says,

“The technology is the ability to construct certain magnetic fields that when you travel around the magnetic fields, starting and stopping at the same position you’ve suffered a net gain of energy. Quite simply the analogy would be, you know, you walked to the top of the hill and you walked back down to the bottom of the hill and in doing that you gained energy; and it really is that simplistic.”

The graphic and the explanation are very close to the way that an electrical generator works. The basic concept behind generating an electrical current is to pass a conductor perpendicularly through a magnetic field. The magnetic field causes an electric charge to move around that conductor’s circuit to generate an electromotive force, dubbed ‘voltage’. As an example, take a coil of copper wire, and wave a magnet back and forth across it. If you clip a voltmeter to the ends of the wire, you’ll see a voltage as you wave the magnet past the wire. Voltage is electromotive force.

From the graphic, you can see the Steorn trademark image moving in a circle between magnets. If you were to imagine their trademark as a coil of wire, you would have something that fairly approaches the example I gave above.

What McCarthy leaves out in this explanation is a simple question. What makes their image move in a circle? If something is passing through magnetic fields and generating electricity, what is making it move?

From my example, as I wave a magnet across a coil of wire, I am the one moving the magnet, and I expend energy (calories) as I do so. I could just as easily wave the wire back and forth across a magnet and get a similar result, but the fact remains that I’m expending energy to move one thing across another. McCarthy’s analogy is the same thing. He says, “Quite simply the analogy would be, you know, you walked to the top of the hill and you walked back down to the bottom of the hill and in doing that you gained energy; and it really is that simplistic.” No it’s not, that’s not an explanation, that’s just pseudo-technical babble.

Moving up a hill requires an expenditure of energy. It is possible that you could reclaim that energy while moving back down the hill, but the fact is that you will only reclaim energy, you won’t gain energy. Think of standing on an airless planet and throwing a rock straight up. It takes energy for the rock to climb, but the gravity of the planet will counteract that energy until the rock stops going up and starts coming down. Eventually the rock will approach the same amount of energy as it comes down, and at the point where energy approaches unity, the rock will impact. A GAIN of energy would mean that the rock would return to the ground with more energy that it had when it first left the ground.

The energy efficiency of anything is a formula that states that efficiency is equal to power out divided by power in. This could also be defined by efficiency equals work divided by energy. The amount of energy I put into throwing the rock straight up is power in, and the amount of energy expended by the rock on impact back with the ground is power out. If I put 10 units of energy in, and get 10 units of energy out, I have an efficiency of 1, or 100%. This could also be called a coefficient of performance. Steorn seems to use the words "coefficient of performance" as a synonym for the word "efficiency"

According to Steorn’s website,

Steorn’s technology appears to violate the ‘Principle of the Conservation of Energy’, considered by many to be the most fundamental principle in our current understanding of the universe. This principle is stated simply as ‘energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change form’.

Steorn is making three claims for its technology:

1. The technology has a coefficient of performance greater than 100%.
2. The operation of the technology (i.e. the creation of energy) is not derived from the degradation of its component parts.
3. There is no identifiable environmental source of the energy (as might be witnessed by a cooling of ambient air temperature).

The sum of these claims is that our technology creates free energy.

That’s right, Steorn says that their device will create energy.

In an electrical generator electricity (electrons) are not created – they already exist in the wiring. These electrons are only being made to move. Think of marbles in a garden hose, each marble is an ‘electron’. If I have a paddle that pushes each marble down the hose, that marble will push the next in line, which will in turn push the next one, all the way around the hose, in a circle back to my marble pusher. Steorn is saying that their device adds electrons, or ‘marbles’ to this circuit. They are saying that they are not ‘stripping’ those electrons from anything else, which would degrade the material that is being stripped (item 2). Electrons are a fundamental building block of matter – so are they creating matter out of nothing? In my example, if I kept adding marbles to the hose, sooner or later that hose will burst. If this device creates electrons, what happens to them?

A heat engine is a device that uses a temperature gradient to generate work. Work could be applied to moving a magnet or a coil through a magnetic field to generate an electric current. When a heat engine is in use, it allows the unequal temperatures to equalize, the hot flows into the cold temperature area and work is done. If you are measuring the warm side of a heat engine, you’ll see it cool off as work is preformed. If heat is not added, the engine will slow down and less work will be done. This is a basic part of Thermodynamics. Steorn seems to be saying in item 3 that their free energy machine is not based on being a heat engine.


Evaluation

I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that Steorn actually has a machine that generates ‘free’ energy. I’ll give them a (very generous) benefit of a doubt and pretend that they are being honest, and that they don’t understand what is actually going on.

Perhaps Steorn is experiencing all too common simple measurement errors. If something is measured beyond the accuracy of the measuring equipment then it is possible to see something that isn’t there. For example, an ammeter that is accurate to +/- 0.02 amps, and measures a current of 0.01 amps is not really seeing a true current flow, perhaps current is flowing, but it is beyond the ammeter's capability to see. Another example is a scale that tries to measure a device and shows that the device is ‘lighter’ when it vibrates than when it sits still. The scale isn’t measuring a net gain in energy from a 'hovering' device, it is only experiencing stiction. Pons and Fleischmann were guilty of measurement error in their cold fusion fiasco. The last I heard, they still believe they achieved cold fusion, despite much evidence otherwise.

But even Pons and Fleischmann had a workable theory of where their energy came from. Theoretically cold fusion could actually work and generate energy through nuclear fusion. But fusion doesn’t create energy or matter, it only transforms it. Steorn is saying that their process creates either energy or matter, or both.

Maybe Steorn is just a crackpot company. Dr. Robert Park is a professor of physics at the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Park has published a list of seven warning signs of bogus science. From that list we are warned that science may be bogus if:

• The discoverer pitches the claim directly to the media.
• The discoverer says that a powerful establishment is trying to suppress his or her work.
• The discoverer has worked in isolation.
• The discoverer must propose new laws of nature to explain an observation.

Wow. Four out of seven, that's pretty strong!

Steorn, as a company of about 20 people (according to their video) could be considered to be working in isolation, since they did not work with the scientific or academic community while developing this technology. They pitched their invention directly to the media after unnamed scientists and academic institutions refused to help them out, effectively suppressing their work. As for proposing new laws of nature, making matter or energy out of nothing definitely requires new laws of nature!

Another of the seven warning signs of bogus science is:

• The scientific effect involved is always at the very limit of detection.

Which is another way of saying, “measurement error” like I’ve already discussed. Steorn hasn't said as yet, but I'll bet that eventually we'll be told that the results of their device are "currently" at the limits of detection, but that someday the results will be huge!


So why is Steorn issuing a challenge in the Economist magazine? I could see a potential argument from crackpots that Steorn is afraid of having their technology ripped off – but a simple patent would fix that. Other perpetual energy machines have been patented. Unfortunately, when such a machine is patented it becomes pretty easy to see how it works (or doesn’t work). James Randi has demonstrated this with the MEG perpetual energy machine.

And speaking of The Amazing Randi, the Steorn ‘free energy’ device would easily qualify for Randi’s One Million Dollar Challenge. Under item 2.3 of Randi's FAQ, Steorn’s device would, “Violate Newton's Laws of Motion.” Steorn could easily fill out an application and send it in. If they prove what they say they can do, then not only will Randi hand them a million dollars, but I’ll bet Randi would be one of their biggest promoters!

In my own humble opinion, Steorn isn’t issuing a challenge in the Economist magazine because of conspiracy, or because of fear of theft of their idea, they are doing it in order to attract investors with deep pockets. When Pons and Fleischmann announced cold fusion, they were inundated with offers of funding.

If Steorn wants to prove their device without giving away their secrets, all they would need to do is turn it into a black box, and have perform some work outside of the box. Maybe turn a wheel, or generate a current. They could set up the box on the MIT campus and have it put under guard, and just wait while measuring the output energy of the black box.

It would be easy to calculate the energy density of a box of a given size for all known forms of convertible energy. The energy density of gasoline is greater than that of a battery, and the energy density of an explosive surpasses the energy density of gasoline. As the black box outputs energy the scientists at MIT could have a chart that shows the black box surpassing energy densities for different materials. Long before it gets to the energy density of gasoline investors would start lining up to dump money on Steorn. If the black box is measured at the energy density of fission or fusion – well! That would be something!

And think about it, any device that produces more energy than it consumes could be plugged into itself and would continue to increase in energy density until some part of the device reached its theoretical limits and destroyed itself. Perhaps the device would blow up. If no part reached a limit the device would soon become a new (small) sun! The potential for weaponization of such an item is enormous!

I think it would be cool if Steorn could emulate Dr. Brainard and use their device to make a Model T car fly!

But like I said, I don’t believe it. I don’t think Steorn has discovered anything more than just another way of separating investors from their money. I think this is little different from the Alchemy scams of the 1920’s.

Perhaps I’m wrong in laughing at Steorn’s claims, just as other great inventors in history were laughed at, but I think I’m pretty safe in doing so. As Michael Shermer says,

“They laughed at Copernicus. They laughed at the Wright brothers. Yes, well, they laughed at the Marx brothers. Being laughed at does not mean you are right.”

=========================================
4 July 07 - Update:
A prototype of the Steorn "over unity" device is supposed to go on display today at the Kinetica Museum in London. See my blog entry.

6 July 07:
Added a clarification on Steorn's use of "coefficient of performance".

On Pandas and Psychics

According to two psychics, Lun Lun, the panda at Atlanta Georgia’s Zoo Atlanta, is definitely preggers. Probably.

From CNN, psychics Helene Frisch and Andy Liu were asked to determine the state of Lun Lun’s womb.

Panda pregnancies are apparently very difficult to determine scientifically. A panda's hormones are able to 'fake out' the scientists testing her. I imagine it isn't made any easier when a 220-pound momma bear with big teeth and claws becomes annoyed at being subjected to a pregnancy test. (I have this image of the vet trying to get Momma Panda to pee on an Early Pregnancy Test strip from a drugstore.)

So, instead of hiring Steve Irwin to ask Momma Panda some intimate questions, Zoo Atlanta got a couple of psychics to figure it out . Why not? It is probably about as effective as asking anyone else’s opinion.

Lun Lun's keepers have already artificially impregnated her and are now waiting to see if it ‘took’. So it is no surprise that Ms. Frisch predicted a successful pregnancy and Mr. Liu (being a little more cautious) predicted a 65% chance of pregnancy. These predictions would fail the basic requirements for James Randi’s million-dollar challenge. Even if a birth occurs, it would not mean that these two psychics are actually psychic.

Here, I’ll do my very own prediction. I’ll flip a coin. Heads, the artificial insemination was successful, and Lun Lun is currently pregnant. Tails, the insemination wasn’t successful, and Lun Lun’s keepers will have to get out the turkey baster once again.

And the answer is… (I fumble the catch of the quarter, and it hits the ground and rolls under my desk. I had to lean under the desk to see the answer.) The answer is tails! Time to try again.

Now, in the best spirit of psychics, if I’m wrong I will ignore the error and never mention it again. If anyone brings it up, I’ll haughtily tell ‘em that my "psychic powers" were just at an ebb at that moment, and it doesn’t mean that I’m not really psychic!

If I’m right, I’ll include this prediction with a list of all my other successful predictions that I can wave at skeptics. I’ll say, “If I’m not psychic, then why do I have all these successful predictions?”


I’d be much more impressed with these two psychics if they tried to get Lun Lun to pee into an EPT. Watch those teeth and claws!

Stupid Yahoo Bots

I leave my Yahoo Instant Messenger on about half the day. I also have a Yahoo profile. So it’s not really surprising that sometimes I get messages from people out of the blue. I’ve actually made a couple of really good friends that way.

But sometimes, I get Artificial Stupidities that IM me. I can’t call ‘em AI because they really are not that intelligent. Here’s an example of a recent exchange:

[18:10] lovely_laurenstar0: Hi there.. you look interesting.. I was looking on yahoo and i saw your ad.. and I was happy with what i saw. ;)
[18:11] lovely_laurenstar0: wanna see my profile and pictures ?
[18:16] calladus: Really? What did you see?
[18:16] lovely_laurenstar0: here you go: www.catchsingles.comnh/members/(removed name)
[18:16] calladus: You failed the Turing test. BZZZZ
[18:16] lovely_laurenstar0: opps, I meant ".com", hehe.. my username is "(removed name)". Anyway, my friend is here, i gotta run, ttyl.
[18:17] calladus: Stupid bot.

You can see that this is a scripted ‘bot, with no intelligence built into it at all. I’ve had a couple act somewhat intelligent. But in every case it has taken me 3, maybe 4 questions at the most to make ‘em fail their Turing test.

I can stop this nonsense using something like Y!Tunnel, but I really don’t care. Maybe if it got worse for some reason. I don’t like that Y!Tunnel fixes it by asking the caller to parrot a codeword. I’d like potential new friends to feel welcome.

The Turing test that I use to check for potential humanity is pretty simple. If I’m suspicious, I’ll ask you to tell me something about my profile, like what religion I belong to or what my profile says about kite building. (nothing!) So far, every single bot that I’ve encountered has failed. Unfortunately one human also failed my Turing test too, but I think it was because English was not his first language. (At least one human, to my knowledge. Hey, don't blame me if you get banned for being too much like a robot!)

So if you IM me, and you’re not on my list of friends, expect me to be just a little weird at the beginning of our conversation. Act human! If you don’t then you run the risk of being banned – like the ever so stupid Lauren-bot.

Good, good, good... Good Vibrations!

When I was a teenager, there was a time when I was interested in all things magickal. I started spending my meager earnings from my part time jobs on books such as "The Golden Dawn", "The Crystal Well", the "Necronomicon", and Carlos Castaneda books. I joined the Order of the Golden Dawn, and so was (briefly) Rosicrucian, so of course Tarot was also important to me.

I had (still have) a Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck, and had picked up a wooden box from a regular dealer at the Houston Flea Market to house my deck. The box was perfect - it exactly fit my cards (wrapped in silk, of course), it was ornate, and it was $5.00 - important for a working teenager's budget.

Fast-forward almost two decades -

In the intermediate time I had discovered physics, learned electronics, calculus, statistics and probability, and had become somewhat knowledgeable about testing claims of the paranormal using verifiable and falsifiable evidence. My analysis of my tarot readings showed results no better than random guessing. I was a budding Skeptic.

I was still in the Air Force at this time, stationed at Fort Irwin NTC, located 40 miles outside of Barstow California. We lived on the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, and I commuted each day to Fort Irwin.

Since Barstow isn't very entertaining, my wife and I would often visit Las Vegas. We'd catch a couple of free shows (important on enlisted military pay!) and then head into the casinos for some gawking, and eat at a buffet before I turned my wife loose on the slot machines.

I hate slots, and I dislike gambling; I'm too aware of the odds. (I've always figured the Lotto is a tax on those who can't do math.) So I'd be left without much to do. Sometimes I'd make minor bets at the Keno booth so I could have a comfy place to read and get free drinks while I waited.

But more often I'd wander about the casino, looking for interesting things to see. Some casinos had wonderful art collections, and it was always amusing to see some stunning artwork actually on sale for a quarter million or more, as if the average Joe would just stop by to play nickel slots and, "Oh, by the way, would you wrap up that Al Hirschfeld original for me before I go? Thanks." And then there was the crap art with megabuck price tags that amused me even more since most modern art 'connoisseurs' can't tell their 'art' from a hole in the ground.

The Luxor casino had a wonderful gift shop. (Supposedly at the energy 'focal point' of the pyramid - shaped Casino, which makes sense I guess since that's where all the Pyramid Power believers would visit.) The Luxor gift shop at that time was filled with crystals, copper amulets, "New Age" tools of all sorts, Tarot, and of course fine Tarot wood boxes.

While browsing through the store, I was amused to find an exact copy of MY wood Tarot box! Of course, they wanted $115 for theirs since it was "Hand Carved, Imported from Turkey". The Houston Flea Market dealer had a stack of these boxes for $5 each.

Since I was holding the box and grinning, a saleslady stepped up to help me out. She was pretty, young, and it was soon apparent that she was a complete believer in all things New Age. The first thing I noticed about her was that she had 3 different crystals that I could see, a necklace with two different crystal pendants, and a bracelet with another.

She introduced herself and asked if I was interested in the box, and I told her only because I had purchased a box just like it years ago.

"But I am interested in your crystal." I said, pointing at one of her necklace pendants. It was clear quartz with a streak of rose quartz and it was very pretty. "Is that your personal crystal, or are you wearing it as an advertisement for Luxor?"

"Oh no. It's my own! It helps remove negative energy. I have several crystals that I wear to 'balance' myself depending on how I feel that day. Are you interested in crystals?"

Even as a teenager I was never really interested in the 'powers' of crystals. It came from my father being a geologist. I knew too much about how quartz formed, and why it looks as it does.

But some types of crystal DO have a type of power, I recalled. I decided I'd find out if she knew.

"Well, yes. I already use crystals a lot. There is a whole group of people who use them."

"Oh? What do you use them for? Harmony? Love?" She mentioned some other uses which escape me now.

"Well, our group has made a more careful study of crystals. We've discovered that if you cut certain crystals in just the right shape, and then you put a copper plate on each side of the crystal, you can use power to make it vibrate in a very powerful way."

"Vibrate? Why? What does that do? Is it dangerous?"

"Well," I explained, "It could be dangerous. We've discovered a vibrating crystal can be used in several ways, but the most significant is that it will allow people with identically vibrating crystals to 'know' each other's thoughts."

Her eyes got very wide. "And... how good does it work?"

"It's extremely accurate at every distance that our group has experimented with. We've even been successful with communicating from one side of the world to the other."

My watch started beeping at me, signaling that it was time for me to meet my wife.

"Ah. It's time for me to go now."

"Wait! What is this group? How can I learn about these crystals?" She paused, "Is... is it secret?" She had fallen for it.

"Oh no, our group is quite willing to take new students - but I warn you, it is very demanding and requires study. Here, I'll give you the info to look them up. Do you have a pen?"

She handed me her pen, and her business card. On the back, I wrote, "Crystal Oscillator information can be found from the group called, The IEEE."

She took the card back from me, read it, (without comprehension) and gave me a big smile. "Thank you so much for this. I'm always trying to learn more about crystals. I knew they were powerful, but I had no idea!"

With that, and a friendly wave, I was off to collect my wife and head home. She came out ahead as I recall, enough to pay for the gas and our buffet meal; all in all a productive evening.

I know it was somewhat mean, but I don't feel guilty for this . I think that perhaps I planted a seed of rationality.

I wonder if she used her telephone to talk with another crystal-loving friend about the way that crystals could allow two people to 'know' each other's thoughts?

"Fate" and "Magnetic Therapy" - Science versus Pseudoscience

Over the weekend, I had a massive computer failure in my home. Three computers down at the same time! Spooky coincidence eh?

Over two years ago I purchased two of these three computers through mail order from Wal-Mart as bare bones computers without any software. One was upgraded with a more advanced video card and faster hard drive (I play games and sometimes render video.) I also put in a floppy disk drive and CD-Rom drive that I happened to have laying around. I loaded Windows 2000 onto both computers, using copies of Windows that had come with my previous (and now dead) computers.

I built the third computer out of ‘computer scraps’ – basically parts of my older computer systems that I kept from previous computer upgrades. This computer has an older motherboard running an older version of BIOS, so I used an old 1.6-gigabyte hard drive on it. I also dropped in a (VERY) old 100 MB hard drive that I had, just ‘cause it was fun. Once I got it up and running, I loaded Mandrake Linux onto it.

Last weekend, the power supply fan in one Wal-Mart computer died, causing the power supply to overheat and shut down. The second Wal-Mart computer, the one with the video card, had two fans that had become noisy, a sign of imminent failure. The next day, the 100 MB hard drive in the Linux computer did something to cause a system failure. Upon reboot, the motherboard didn’t even recognize the existence of either hard drive any longer.

I found a computer store that was open on Sunday, and was able to quickly pick up the fans that I needed, at half of the Radio Shack price. Back home, I re-fanned my computers (to coin a term!) and dug out a new hard drive for the Linux computer. Major Problem! All I had was a used 40 GB hard drive – and my Linux computer’s motherboard didn’t recognize it at all! I spent another hour upgrading the motherboard bios so that the hard drive would be recognized.

When I had some spare time, I took apart the old 100 MB hard drive. The problem seemed to be in the arm, not the drive motor, and I wanted the motor for future projects. While I was at it, I pulled out the heavy duty rare-earth magnets that were also in the drive.

These magnets are STRONG! I have no idea how many milliTesla these are rated at, but it was certainly high enough for me to put one on the top of my arm, and one on the bottom, allowing them to attract each other without falling off.


But what does this have to do with science and pseudoscience?

There are practical lessons here for those who believe in pseudoscience and superstition. If I were a believer in superstition, I’d say there was an element of fate in the failure of 3 computer systems at once. But I knew that a simultaneous failure had a decent probability of happening.

Wal-Mart would never spring for high-end power supplies and fans for these computers. These fans had 20,000-hour life spans. I replaced them with fans advertised as having 80,000-hour life spans. (As an additional benefit, the new fans are super quiet!) And as for the failed hard drive – well, to give you a clue on its age, I got it from my mother when I upgraded her 386 computer! I’m amazed it lasted this long!

I had set up and turned on all these computers at the same time, and except for an occasional reboot – they have stayed ON for the last thirty months!

Fault Tolerance is a fairly well known science – given the properties of a piece of electronics, and the environment in which it is placed during operation, it is usually possible to calculate its lifespan fairly accurately. Engineers use this data, and add a ‘safety margin’ to it. The fan that died did so at approximately 22 thousand hours, or 20 thousand + 10 percent. That seems suspiciously like a ‘round number’ and not accidental – in other words, the designing engineer probably built in a 10% margin of failure.

I’d say that the hard drive’s failure is merely coincidence – it was way past it’s designed life span and should have failed years ago. It failed the day after the other two computers failed.


Another lesson here is that the magnets that I pulled out of the dead hard drive really have no affect on the human body. (Well, if I get these strong magnets too close together where they can grab a bit of skin, it would hurt like crazy! Does that count?)

After playing with the magnets a little, I placed them on the palm and back of my left hand and left them there for over an hour as I read a book.

You’ve seen, I’m sure, magnetic jewelry sold in stores and pharmacies (often right at the pharmacy window!)? The makers of these magnet ‘charms’ claim magnets will heal you. In reality they are selling pure snake oil, (link 2) at a huge markup! A magnet really has no effect on bone and tissue because there is not enough ferrous material in a human body to make a difference!

Magnetic resonance imaging uses a powerful magnetic field to align the spin of protons of the hydrogen atoms in your body, then uses radio frequency energy to alter that alignment slightly – against the magnetic field. When the RF energy is turned off, those protons return to their previous alignment, giving off RF energy that is detected and turned into a viewable image.

MRI machines are equipped with extremely strong magnets – strong enough to yank hundreds of pounds of magnetic material into the machine. These magnets are strong enough to cause a detectable change in the atoms of a patient in the machine – yet at the same time, that patient will feel no indication that anything is different, either in the machine or afterwards.

But all materials do have magnetic properties – even living beings – when subjected to a strong magnetic field. This is called Diamagnatism. When an applied magnetic field is strong enough the subject of that field itself becomes magnetic enough to be affected more directly by the applied magnetic field. This property has been used in science demonstrations to levitate (in a very restricted way) animals like mice and frogs. The magnetic field required to do this is much greater than what a patient in an MRI machine experiences.

An MRI patient has no indication that anything is different, either during the MRI process or afterwards. There is no affect on the patient. The frog in the bore of the machine at the High Field Magnetic Laboratory in the Netherlands seems oblivious to any change brought about by the magnetism.

This lack of effect on the human body is why MRI machines are not used as “super magnetic jewelry”, to cure aches, pains and arthritis in the joints.

There HAVE been scientific studies of how specially constructed magnetic fields may affect the human brain. The research here is in its very beginning stages, but has already had surprising results.

In some cases exposure to narrowly focused intense magnetic fields has helped to alleviate depression temporarily. (Link 1, Link 2).

To me, the most amazing study of this sort, by far, has shown that a magnetic field may induce feelings of the supernatural. In a study by Michael Persinger of Laurentian University in Ontario Canada, magnetic fields were shown to induce feelings of God in many test subjects. From the article:

By 2002, [Persinger] had performed the experiment on over 1,000 volunteers. 80% had some sort of supernatural experience. Many say that their experiences were "so profound they would be life-changing had they not understood the mechanistic underpinnings of what they had experienced." About one in every 15 subjects reports an intensely meaningful experience. One saw a figure of Christ in the strobe light. Others, depending upon their cultural background, reported Elijah, the Virgin Mary, Mohammed, or the Sky Spirit. Some have reported out-of-body experiences, a sensation of floating, and a sensation of "great meaningfulness."

So, the ‘god’ feeling that religious people experience can be re-created in a lab, without the need for actual god(s). Perhaps this feeling is merely natural, and doesn't have (or need) a supernatural cause at all?


But wait – didn’t I just say that magnetic therapy is useless? What about these scientists using magnetic coils to affect the brain?

Magnetic therapy is useless because the magnets involved are weak and the magnetic fields are broad and haphazardly placed. The coils that real scientists use create a narrow magnetic field is ‘aimed’ into specific areas of the brain. Exactly what is being affected doesn’t seem to be clearly understood – which is why these experiments are valuable.

The biggest difference between the pseudoscience of magnetic therapy and the true science of magnetic brain stimulation lies in how those involved present themselves. The quacks sell a cure-all that they guarantee will work, with lots of anecdotal evidence to back them up. Quacks depend on confirmation bias and placebo effect for results, if any.

Scientists offer no guarantees, only a probability of treatment. They show scientific experiments, repeated by their peers and carefully documented. Their evidence is subjected to careful analysis.

As Dr. Richard Feynman said:

We've learned from experience that the truth will come out. Other experimenters will repeat your experiment and find out whether you were wrong or right. Nature's phenomena will agree or they'll disagree with your theory. And, although you may gain some temporary fame and excitement, you will not gain a good reputation as a scientist if you haven't tried to be very careful in this kind of work. And it's this type of integrity, this kind of care not to fool yourself, that is missing to a large extent in much of the research in cargo cult science.

It takes a special kind of integrity to not fool yourself - especially since you are the easiest person to fool. This integrity is demonstrated by good scientists.


We will let the topic of cults wait for later. No more practical lessons for now. I think I’ll go fiddle around with my magnets again.

It's not a draft!

Bush Senior started the draw down of military forces with the closing of bases and the cutting back of the lavish funding from the Reagan years. As a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force, I was seeing the results. We stopped getting pay increases; it was harder to get replacement parts for equipment.

Under Clinton, the process continued. More base closures happened. We were given a couple of pay increases, but nothing like what we got under Reagan. The draw down continued too. People who had black marks against their records were no longer able to meet the promotion exam, and were routed out of the Air Force for failure to promote.

But Clinton had a carrot to dangle in front of us. For those of us who were under an enlistment contract, we were offered a lot of money to agree to break our contract. This was because the older enlistment contracts basically said that as long as we kept our nose clean, we couldn't be let go. (Enlistment contracts signed by new recruits today now include the provision that the military can kick them out at any time, for any reason.)

There were two such 'carrots' dangled in front of those Air Force members who qualified for early termination of enlistment. Depending on time in service, and time in grade, you were offered an amount of money to get out immediately. You were offered a much larger amount of money to get out in a slightly different way.

Here's how it worked for me - I was offered either 30 thousand dollars, or one hundred thousand, depending on which 'carrot' I chose.

The 30 thousand would be paid in a lump sum, and got me out of active duty immediately; but placed me on Individual Ready Reserve for 3 years. During that 3-year time I'd have a special ID card that would allow me to use on-base privileges.

The hundred thousand was offered to me over a 20-year period - to be paid in yearly amounts of five thousand dollars. During those 20 years, I would be on Individual Ready Reserve, with a special ID card and on-base privileges.

The dot-com boom was just starting, my job prospects as a civilian looked great. I wanted out. Along with all other military, I had noticed what happened during Desert Storm. Instead of sending in Active Duty - Bush Senior had sent in the Guard to take care of Iraq. Many Guardsmen returned home to financial loss or divorce.

I was also very aware of how retirees were being treated, even back during Desert Storm. Veteran's hospitals were being closed, Veterans benefits were being reduced. It didn't make sense for me to stay when my service was being ignored. I'd served for 10 years - it was time to find other ways to contribute.

I took the 30 thousand, and went into IRR. Four years after my IRR service expired, Bush Junior started the current Iraq war. Unless I volunteer, or a draft is started that includes people over the age of 40, I can't be pulled in to support a war effort that I disagree with. I can't be forced into a job that would only pay a fraction of the income that I currently receive.

For some people, like single mother Patricia Arndt, this really matters. Ms. Arndt (her rank isn't given) was last active duty in the '80s, and then moved to a special non-combat category. Last year, apparently in preparation for leaving the Army, she went into IRR. Once she hit that category, the Army pounced on her and has ordered back to active duty.

From the article:

According to Army officials, approximately 110,000 Army personnel are listed in the Individual Ready Reserve. By law, they may be called up for as long as two years to fill vacancies. But because they are not attached to any unit, they may go years without the training and supervision needed to transition back to active duty, officials said. The Army has traditionally not sent IRR soldiers into battle.

The war in Iraq, now 21/2 years old, has changed that. Currently, more than 6,500 ready reservists have been called back to active duty, including Chief Warrant Officer Margaret Murray, 56, of Schenectady. While receiving training at Fort Jackson last year, Murray told Newsday that she hoped she would not be sent into combat. If she is sent, she said, "I'll do the best I can."

In her old category, "individual mobilization augmentee reservist", Ms. Arndt wasn't qualified for an active duty assignment. Her job was to take the place of stateside reservists who had been activated and sent to Iraq. Most likely this meant training maybe once a month - certainly nothing that would interfere with her civilian job.

Like me, it's obvious that Ms. Arndt saw the writing on the wall, and started the process to become a civilian. Even modern active duty members who process out of the military are required to fulfill an IRR requirement of a year or two. I would guess that something like this is happening to Ms Arndt. She went IRR as a preliminary to becoming a full civilian - and instead was dragged into the war.


President Bush has promised us that America has plenty of soldiers - that we don't need to start a draft. Rumsfield has said that commanders in Iraq have all the people they need.

But America has sent Active Duty soldiers into the fray. When that wasn't enough they sent the Guard. That still isn't enough, so they implemented 'Stop Loss" where the military can refuse to allow a solder to quit when his enlistment is up. They implemented reactivation of the Individual Ready Reserve - where those people who thought they were done with the military are being called back in.

I have friends who have been on IRR for 10 years or more - some are grandparents now. Is it right to drag them into the military again just so President Bush can continue to claim a draft isn't needed?

Should a citizen on IRR go back into the military if called? Yes, it was part of the agreement. I was prepared to go if needed.

I expected that I would be called back to duty to help out with an influx of new recruits due to a draft. I was told by my commander after I informed him of my decision to leave that the only reason anyone would be called into active duty from IRR would be because of a major conflict that required a large amount of troops - including draftees.

Is it right to call back IRR instead of using the draft to relieve troop pressure? No. It's dead wrong. It was done dishonestly so that Bush junior could tell everyone that he wasn't going to start a draft. That's the only reason - political gain.

Our current leaders don't have the best interest of this nation's Veterans in mind. If you're a vet the GOP could care less about you.

It's a Racket, by God!

It was turning out to be a slow day in my used bookstore - until these three shady-looking characters came in.

The old guy in the suit was the first through the door, followed by a knuckle-dragger wearing a trench coat and fedora. The last guy in was dressed like a hippie, complete with beard and rose-colored beatnik sunglasses.

The old guy started talking while his companions wandered toward the shelves.

"Nice place you got here." He said, extending his doughy hand to me. "My name's Pat."

I paused and looked him over - something about those narrow eyes made me distrust him, but not enough to justify withholding a handshake.

"Hi Pat. Thanks - I've been working hard on it."

"So how's business? I unnerstan' you're new around here?"

"Yessss, " I drawled, looking over his shoulder at the ape in the trench coat. He had a copy of "Origin of the Species" open in his meaty hands and was making wisecracks as the hippy snickered. He had his hat drawn low so I couldn't see his face.

"I've been here a month now, " I said as I returned my attention to the suit, "and business is looking good. Buying and selling used textbooks and other books to the local school has turned out to be a good niche for me."

"Uh huh. Glad to hear that," he said. "I'm always glad when business is good." Something about that made me nervous.

"So, uh, Pat, what can I do for you?"

"Well, me and my friends here," he waved vaguely at the hippy who had just dropped "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres" by Copernicus onto the 'Fiction' shelf, "we wanna help you out."

"Help me out how?"

I tensed as he reached inside his suit jacket - but he only pulled out a sheaf of brightly colored stickers.

"We're gonna help you out by lettin' you put these stickers on alla your so-called 'science' books." He handed me a page of stickers.

I took at look at the stickers - all of them were bright orange with huge black letters. They all had the same message:

THE THINGS YOU READ IN THIS BOOK AREN'T NECESSARILY TRUE.

"I can't do that!" I exclaim, "These are science books! Of course they're 'true'."

"Are you sayin' that none of your books have any mistakes in 'em? Have you actually read every one of 'em?"

"Well not every one but…"

"Then you're not qualified to say if they're true or not are you?"

"Nonsense - of course I'm qualified. I work with professors from the university to ensure that all the books I sell meet the highest standards of accuracy. And I keep up with the textbook trade." I was getting ticked. "I know what I'm doing, and I have expert advice."

"Experts," he snorted. "Those guys don't know nothin."

"Now just a …" I start to exclaim, but this Pat guy cuts me off with a cold sneer.

"You lissen here you punk. If you don't play 'nice' and let us help you out, sumthin bad might happen to your store."

"Some… something… bad..?" I stammer.

"Yea, like…" He turned and waved at the big guy in the coat, who promptly gave a demonstration of the worst fake trip I'd ever seen, falling into a bookshelf with a loud CRASH that knocked the whole thing over.

"One of your customers just might have an accident - causing all sorts of damage and leaving you open for a law suit."

I gape at the damage, and start easing away from this crazy geezer.

"Or maybe something might just, I dunno, break all by itself." He said pointing at the hippy was staring hard at the cash register in concentration. The drawer promptly shot out of the register and smashed right through the plate glass window in the front of the store, bringing the whole thing down in pieces.

But Pat was too busy enjoying the show and had stopped paying attention to me. I finally had the chance to grab the shotgun that I kept handy behind the counter. I'd never thought I'd really have to use it! A bookstore isn't like a stop and shop, but I'm the cautious type.

I pump the shotgun to get their attention, but it doesn't seem to bother them much.

"You bastards," I say, "you really are assholes. You just freeze while I call the cops. I'll blow your heads off if you move."

"Hey, now, no call for that friend. And don't bother to make that call - it won't do any good." But I'm not listening, I hit the speed dial for 911 and set the phone on the counter top. I know I don't need to say anything - the cops will trace it and send someone. "We was just leaving anyway."

The hippy and the big guy start walking toward the door and I move to cover them. "Don't move assholes!" Neither of them stop - instead they rush the door. I hesitate - what am I going to do? Shoot them in the back? I can't do it. And then they're gone…

Frustrated, I swing to aim right at the suit's forehead.

"Are they crazy?" I shout. "Is that what that is? They just walk out of here with no care of me killing 'em?"

"They kinda make their own rules" Pat said blandly.

This was such a crazy statement that all I could do is gawp at him. "Say what? Who are they? Who are you?"

"The big guy?" Pat grinned, "He's the brains of this outfit. He's a lot smarter than he looks."

I snorted, thinking that couldn't be very hard. "And what - the skinny guy's the muscle?"

"Well, kinda. He can control a pet poltergeist - a real mean one. But the big guy does plenty of muscle work too. Sometimes if a mark begs for mercy, the skinny guy will step in and keep his dad from beating him too hard."

"Wait, they're related?" It was like Koko the ape had given birth to John Lennon. "And who are you? Uncle Fester?"

"I'm the bag man. I do their talking and collect 'insurance' for 'em too."

A protection racket - great.

By now a siren announced the arrival of the police - and I'm gratified to see the neighborhood cop jog through the door first. It saved explaining who the bad guy is since I'm the one with the gun.

"Greg!" I say in relief, "I'm so glad you're here! This guy and his friends have been trying to shake me down!"

But Officer Duffy ignores me, as do two other cops who come in to check things out. Duffy surveys the damage to my store and his eyes finally rest on Pat. "Someday you're going to get yourself killed Mr. Robertson."

I flinch - Greg knows this guy?

"Now get out of here before I charge you with vagrancy or something." For a geezer, he's surprisingly fast, and he makes tracks out the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yell. "They trashed my place! Look at that window, it'll cost me thousands to replace!"

Duffy looks it over, and then sighs. "Just claim it on your insurance - call it an 'act of God'."


Later I'm finally convinced that there really is nothing I can do. The whole town seems scared of these bozos!

After I've swept up the glass, boarded up the window and replaced the books on the shelves, I finally notice that the geezer had left his sheaf of stickers on my counter top. I pick them up and read one again:

THE THINGS YOU READ IN THIS BOOK AREN'T NECESSARILY TRUE.

"Huh" I chuckle to myself, "I know what I can do with these." I start walking toward the 'Religion' section of my bookstore, grinning for the first time since this whole mess started.

God Starts Extortion Scheme
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them on Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck.

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Copyright (c) 2005 by Mark B. (aka Calladus) Permission to copy as long as full credit is given. If posted online a link must be made to this page. All other rights reserved.