Edwardian Gloom
- picture, if you will, a fog-shrouded city, the buildings mere islands in
the gloom, as a golden glow issues from a single, tall window. Outside, the muffled clatter of hansom cabs
on cobbled streets
can be heard. Inside, the lights are dimmed as a group of people settle
themselves around
a table, clasping hands, their eyes straining to make out the first
appearance of ectoplasm. As the medium sinks into a trance her voice
assumes the tones of her long-dead Indian spirit guide, who will astound
the sitters by producing from the gloom a tambourine, which, untouched by
human hand, begins to shake. Here is what the company so fervently seeks,
evidence of existence beyond the veil, in the land of mist, proof that
death is not the end........
The above is a somewhat cliched image of "psychical researchers" from the
early part of the 20th century, among whom would be
Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, Sir Oliver Lodge and other prominent folk, suspending their
critical faculties to indulge their yearning for evidence that we live on,
beyond death, and can communicate some of our experiences to the living.
This is done by voices in the dark, mysteriously
apported objects and the
strange phenomenon of ectoplasm. Such methods and physical manifestations
have fallen out of favor with the modern "speakers with the dead" like van
Praagh, Edward, Browne and their ilk. Even these cold-reading con-artists
realize such props and antics, produced under dimmed lights, are unlikely
to convince a modern audience - unless that audience is particularly
gullible. Oddly, it would seem that such an audience, a remnant of a
bygone, simpler, age when such parlor tricks could still impress, yet
survives, in its own variant of life after death. A visit to the pages of
the The International
Survivalist Society is like falling into a timewarp where the
standards of evidence that satisfied say, Doyle, are still considered
acceptable. Sir Arthur is a fine example of how the will to believe can
override any application of logic and common sense (can we say
Cottingley
Fairies?) - and such a will seems to be the driving force behind ISS -
that and a terrible fear that death may really be the end.
Photographic Phrolics
- it is surprising to learn that the ISS, for all its appearance of an
Edwardian throwback, was founded comparatively recently, in 2002. The
primary aim is to "disseminate the scientific case
for survival after death" This does not seem to be adhered to with
any great accuracy as a look at the
Experimental
Proof page will confirm, where the latest items date from the middle
years of the last century and the rest from considerably earlier. While
this material is interesting from a historical perspective it offers
little in the way of "scientific proof" beyond speculation and anecdote,
notwithstanding the undoubted sincerity of the writers. The page devoted
to
photographic evidence is, if possible, even less convincing. The
pictures are as dated as most of the other material on the site. These indistinct
black and white photos of materializations and apparitions may well have
astounded viewers when the techniques of photographic trickery were less
well known, but to any modern observer they are ludicrous. This is particularly true
of the images of mediums producing ectoplasm from their mouths, a
substance which
resembles little more than a muslin-like cloth. The only astounding thing
is that anyone can claim these blurred old snaps are convincing evidence
of psychic phenomena.
Supermind of Space
- the page devoted to "Theoretical
Verification" is equally unsatisfying. Here pride of place is
given to Ronald D Pearson. BSc (Hons) who invented a new kind of engine
called a "Gas Wave Turbine". This device
seems to have advanced only as far as "the
demonstration stage" and has not, as far as 80 can ascertain, ever
achieved practical application (much like the ISS's quaint form of
psychical research.) In his retirement Pearson has looked at physics from
a new angle triggered by rejection of the Big Bang Theory, which by
calling upon the idea of negative pressure, "violated common
sense". This is obviously the same common sense that Pearson
applies to his theoretical physics - a physics that not only proves
survival after death but also embraces such concepts as a "supermind
of space". In a cursory examination such as this it is difficult to
do justice to Pearson's theory but 80 found it difficult to follow the
huge leap from his marriage of Newtonian physics and quantum theory to
proof of survival after death. As put by Pearson his theory would resolve other
disputes as well so that "the conflict between
creationists and evolutionists will come to an end." Again, to this
observer it is hard to see how this conclusion is arrived at, let alone
the final grand statement "The universe was
deliberately created by the supermind of space so that biological systems
could evolve."
Comforting to some perhaps but surely more
religion than science?
Mustard Keen -
the library page
is in keeping with much of the site, seeming to feature nothing later than
the early part of the last century - this has the happy result that whilst
the books can hardly be described as cutting edge at least they are all
out of copyright and therefore can be posted in their entirety. The ISS
also produces a regular email newsletter, the content of which, on the
basis of the last three issues, is more regurgitation of Edwardiana, in
particular Conan Doyle's credulous writings on mediums, and a
short piece on the now largely moribund American Society for Psychical
Research, with a plaintive request for anyone who can shed light on the
quiescent state of that society. As 80 has tried to make clear the whole
ISS website harks back to a more restrained age, one that was if anything
more gullible than today, and certainly with lower standards of evidence.
The only flies in this somewhat cosy ointment are the references on the home page to a
leading light of the Society, one Montague Keen, who seems to be a testy
sort of fellow. For reasons that perhaps only he can understand Keen's
current obsession is
personally attacking James Randi, following on from the less than
dazzling performance of psychics in The
Ultimate Psychic Challenge TV show.
Randi is more than capable of looking after himself as this
issue of his weekly
commentary makes abundantly clear. It is also interesting to note that the
ISS page has a link called
$1 Million
Challenge - possibly in imitation of Randi's famous challenge. Sadly
the link merely leads to the pages of Victor Zammit, whom 80 has looked at
before - perhaps this is where Keen gets his
bile.
Cell Block
- in what is probably a vain attempt to try and form a more objective view
of world events and avoid the spin 80 looks at various news resources
beyond those generally consulted. This is particularly useful when
attempting to to find out alternative perspectives on current
events - one such is the
Palestine Chronicle and another is
Islam Online
(there are many more). It is the latter that is of interest here, but not
the news pages. Islam Online features a
Health
and Science section where some familiar views are aired. In fact
little here is original apart from the fact that the assertions are
supported by quotations from the Koran as opposed to, say, the King James
bible. This page looks at "The
Wisdom in the Cell" and features a small picture of a DNA
helix. The author sets out his stall with the first sentence using the
technique of making an assertion in the guise of a question, backed by no references, upon which he
then elaborates. Here is the first sentence "How is
it that every single one of the 100 trillion cells in the human body
possesses unbelievable intelligence, information and ability?" The
first thing to note is that 100 trillion number - is it accurate? It
depends who you ask, but the average number quoted ranges between 10
trillion up to 100 trillion - and it is course varying all the time as
cells die and divide. It is obvious that cells contain information - in a
sense, everything can be described thus. Also, yes, cells have the ability
to function as, well, cells, from specialized skin, bone, muscle cells to
the undifferentiated stem cells that seem to hold so much medical promise.
But what about "unbelievable intelligence"?
What the author is trying to get at is how come cells, made of atoms,
lifeless atoms, can assemble into organisms? Sadly the conclusion drawn is
the same as that advanced by creationists, hiding behind the Intelligent
Design label. Such complexity could only be brought about if there is a
designer - in this case Allah. (See
Argument from
Incredulity)This point of view comes about from an inability to grasp
the power of natural selection over billions of years. It is reminiscent
of the late Fred Hoyle, a brilliant man in many ways, who compared the
evolution of living organisms to a whirlwind, blowing through a scrapyard,
fortuitously assembling a complete, functioning jet airliner. Put like
that of course it is absurd - but what Hoyle, and the writer of this
piece, Harun Yahya, fail to grasp is that evolution works, in the main, by
the accumulation of small, incremental changes, as described so well by
Richard Dawkins in
The Blind
Watchmaker.
Intelligent DNA
- it is interesting to note that Harun, much like his Christian
counterparts, is blinkered by his religious beliefs and cannot see the
world outside this tunnel vision. He uses his own inability to grasp the
mechanism of evolution as the reason to introduce his God into the
process. Here he encapsulates that outlook "Moreover,
the trillions of DNA that billions of living things have possessed for
millions of years have been used in the most intelligent manner, written
in the most perfect manner with no flaws, and placed in a tiny area
invisible to the naked eye. That being the case, there is a Creator who
planned and designed the cell and the DNA inside it so perfectly. Claiming
the opposite means to go beyond the bounds of reason and attack the very
foundations of truth, reason and logic." Truth, reason and logic
are certainly under attack - but from which direction? That DNA is used in
the most "intelligent" manner is an
assumption that can be better answered by the mechanism of natural
selection. "Written in the most perfect manner with
no flaws......." We have a great deal to learn about DNA -
especially whether the so-called "junk
DNA" has been caused by replicating errors or has a function as yet
undiscovered - until then the perfection question is wide open. The fact
that cells and DNA molecules are "invisible to the
naked eye" proves nothing and is evidence of a very human arrogance
- just because something is not visible to the unaided human eye does not
mean it is miraculous - try using that miracle of technology known as the
microscope.
Harun's conclusion merely demonstrates his religious worldview and says
nothing at all about the cell. "In the same way that
every book or piece of information has a writer or owner, so does the
information in DNA: and that Creator is our Lord God, the possessor of
superior and infinite knowledge and reason." The answer to the
complexity of the universe and particularly living organisms is not "God
did it" - this explains nothing and runs into another problem - who
designed the Designer? No one has the answers but there is a mechanism
whereby one can achieve better and better approximations of how Life, the
Universe and Everything came to be - and that is the system called the
scientific method. Harun might like to try it sometime.
Astro Baloney
- here is a page that features a contents list perfect for raising 80's
hackles. Among the subjects are Astrology, UFOs as Alien Spaceships, Crop
Circles and The "Face" on Mars. But this is not a page endorsing
such
drivel, for it is "Astronomical
Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List" from The Astronomical
Society of the Pacific. Click on any subject listed and you will be
supplied with a short summary of the item followed by recommended books
and articles, many of them on the web, refuting these ideas. The next time
a friend or acquaintance asks your birthsign or voices doubts about the
reality of the Apollo moon landings or tells you lunacy is affected by the
phases of the moon you will know exactly where to find the information to
help set them straight.
Another site that has the same aims but a more direct title is
Carl Sagan's
Baloney Detection Kit. This is a short summary of a few basic rules
drawn from Sagan's excellent book, The Demon Haunted World - if many of them
seem little more than common sense, this is because that is exactly what
they are. It is surprising how often when we wish something to be so,
common sense is the first casualty. Sagan himself put things clearly when
he said "The tenets of skepticism do not require an
advanced degree, as most successful used-car buyers demonstrate. The whole
idea of a democratic application of skepticism is that everyone should
have the essential tools to effectively and constructively evaluate claims
to knowledge. All science asks is to employ the same levels of skepticism
we use in buying a used car or in judging the quality of analgesics or
beer from their TV commercials."
Holey Blood, Holey Grail
- a good few years ago, 80, along with many others, became intrigued with
the story of the priest of the small French town of Rennes-le-Chateau. At
the beginning of the last century, Berenger Sauniere began to spend large
amounts of money refurbishing his church and building himself a residence.
Later writers, and some hoaxers, played up the mysterious source of
Sauniere's wealth hinting at lost treasures and dark secrets that
threatened the Catholic church. There were even hints of a bloodline
reaching back through Dark Age kings to the family of Christ, a secret
held by a mysterious order, the Priory of Sion, founded in Jerusalem by
crusaders who had been excavating beneath the supposed site of Solomon's
Temple. This was heady stuff, publicized by BBC TV documentaries and then
the highly successful book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, in 1982.
The area around Rennes-le-Chateau was besieged by folk looking for lost
treasure, perhaps that looted from the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans, or
a clue to the living descendants of Christ, waiting to take their rightful
place. Mysterious documents appeared, lost tombstone inscriptions held
secret ciphers, famous men from history were named as Grand Masters of the
Order of Sion, which had, it was claimed, been pulling the strings behind
most of European history. Taking the time to unravel this huge amount of
material and get to the bottom of the story has been a major task - but
the facts are, in their way, as fascinating as the legends, and make for a
study of mass deception and a regrettable willingness to be hoodwinked.
Paul Smith, in his Rennes-le-Chateau Papers on Sauniere, the Priory and the lost
bloodline lays bare what really was going on and is as enthralling as a
good detective story - doubly so, if, like 80 you fell for some or part of
the story 20 years ago.
Christian Commerce
- here are a few, mercifully few, pages that have induced, at least in
this observer, competing sensations of nausea, anger and a deep sadness -
they are also funny. Funny in a displacement sense, so that while you are laughing you
are not contemplating the minds and motives of the perpetrators of this
stuff. It is almost a relief to assume that they are just unscrupulous
money-grubbers - the thought that these folk are sincere is too
frightening to entertain. With the gift- giving season already proclaimed in
our latter-day temples such as Wal-Mart or Woolworths why not buy an angel
figurine - particularly the
Nurse as Angel of Mercy? (They must be angels to survive on the pay
most of them get). Or for a newborn child, innocent, its mind open and
trusting, how about a Genesis
Teether? Even more frightening is the maker's sick threat, shown
prominently on their website "We have more products
under development." Please, no. Perhaps they know this bunch -
Clowning for Christ - I am
sure they would get on wonderfully together. If anything, fire, brimstone
and retribution is preferable to this touchy-feely mush - and definitely
more authentic. For those of more discerning taste here is
Jesus Watches - "Here
at Jesus Watches you can order our exquisitely designed WATCHES securely
online. We also supply various accessories such as pens with the latest
fashionable jesus (sic) logo emblazoned upon them. JESUS WATCHES is a Holy
Ghost filled Christian Company.........." And it is not just the
Holy Ghost that they are filled with. Finally, from Train Up A Child come
Biblical Action Figures
including Adam (yes he does have a navel) Goliath (twice the size of the
others) Job (suitably covered in boils and sores). After seeing the
merchandise it is easy to imagine more apt verbs than "train" up to
describe the effect this stuff will have on young minds.
Quotes
"Being open-minded does not mean that one has an obligation
to examine every crackpot idea or claim made." - Robert Carroll creator of
the Skeptic's Dictionary
"It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing is true or not, so long
as it makes you feel good, as it is not to care how you got your money as
long as you have got it." -
Edmund Way Teale
"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a
fool forever." Chinese proverb
"Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the greatest
violence." Hebrew proverb
"The tendency has always been strong to believe that whatever received a
name must be an entity or being, having an independent existence of its
own. And if no real entity answering to the name could be found, men did
not for that reason suppose that none existed, but imagined that it was
something peculiarly abstruse and mysterious."
John Stuart Mill
