The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) is a U.S. nonprofit organization whose stated purpose is to "encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminate factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community and the public."^[1] CSI was founded in 1976 by Paul Kurtz to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. CSI's fellows have included many notable scientists, philosophers, educators, authors, and celebrities. Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ... Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Paul Kurtz (born February 12, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey) is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), but is best known for prominent role in the American skeptical community. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Name change

The organization changed its 30-year-old name on November 30, 2006 from CSICOP to CSI, pronounced C-S-I, which stands for the "Committee for Skeptical Inquiry." ^[2] Reasons for the change were to create a shorter, more media friendly name (CSICOP always being regarded as a bit of a mouthful); to remove "paranormal" from the name and avoid confusion (CSICOP's members being required to explain on numerous occasions that they were not supporters of the paranormal); and to reflect more accurately the actual scope of the organization and its broader focus on critical thinking, science and rationality in general.^[3] November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

When the organization was formed in 1976, the original name proposed was "Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and Other Phenomena", but that was deemed too long. It was shortened to "Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal", initially with the abbreviation "CSICP", which was used officially for some time. However that was difficult to pronounce, so it was changed to CSICOP, and (according to James Alcock) was never intended to be "Psi Cop" (Kurtz 2001:42), a nickname that has been taken up and used frequently by the group's detractors.

The formation of CSI

In the early 1970s, there was a significant upsurge of interest in the paranormal in the United States. This generated concern in some quarters, where it was seen as part of a growing tide of irrationalism.^[4] It was against this backdrop that CSICOP, as it was to become known, was officially launched by philosophy professor Paul Kurtz at a specially convened conference of the American Humanist Association (AHA) at the Amherst campus of the State University of New York at Buffalo on April 30 and May 1, 1976.^[5] In 1975 Kurtz had previously initiated a statement, "Objections to Astrology," which was endorsed by 186 scientists and published in the AHA's newsletter The Humanist,^[6] of which Kurtz was then editor. In addition, according to Kurtz, the statement was sent to every newspaper in the United States and Canada. The positive reaction to this statement encouraged Kurtz to invite "as many sceptical researchers as [he] could locate" to the 1976 conference with the aim of establishing a new organisation dedicated to critically examining a wide range of paranormal claims.^[7] Amongst those invited were Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, James Randi, and Marcello Truzzi, all members of the Resources for the Scientific Evaluation of the Paranormal (RSEP), a fledgling group with objectives similar to those CSI would subsequently adopt.^[8] Kurtz was successful in his aims; RSEP disbanded and its members, along with others such as Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and Philip J. Klass joined Kurtz to form CSICOP.^[9] The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a American Humanist group serving secular Humanism, but tending to favor Humanism as defined by the world body for Humanism, the IHEU. Founded in 1941, the AHA has served its members by initiating social reforms and other programs. ... The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY (IPA pronunciation: ) is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ... Martin Gardner (b. ... Ray Hyman (b. ... James Randi (born August 7, 1928), internationally billed as The Amazing Randi, is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a debunker of pseudoscience. ... Marcello Truzzi (September 6, 1935-February 2, 2003) was a professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University and director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research. ... Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrobiologist, and highly successful science popularizer. ... Isaac Asimov, Ph. ... Philip Julian Klass (November 8, 1919–August 9, 2005) was born in Des Moines, Iowa and died in Merritt Island, Florida. ...

Activities

According to CSI's charter, in order to carry out its major objectives the Committee:

1. Maintains a network of people interested in critically examining paranormal, fringe science, and other claims, and in contributing to consumer education
2. Prepares bibliographies of published materials that carefully examine such claims
3. Encourages research by objective and impartial inquiry in areas where it is needed
4. Convenes conferences and meetings
5. Publishes articles that examine claims of the paranormal
6. Does not reject claims on a priori grounds, antecedent to inquiry, but examines them objectively and carefully.

CSI conducts and publishes investigations into Bigfoot and UFO sightings, psychics, astrologers, alternative medicine, religious cults, and paranormal or pseudoscientific claims. {{Infobox Paranormalcreatures |Creature_Name = Bigfootape-like cryptid and by others to be the product of imagination. ... A UFO or Unidentified Flying Object is any real or apparent flying object which cannot be identified by the observer and which remains unidentified after investigation. ... Parapsychology is the study of certain types of paranormal phenomena (parapsychology comes from the Greek para, “beside, beyond,” + psychology, derived from the Greek psyche, “soul, mind,” + logos “rational discussion”). The term was coined by Max Dessoir (1889). ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ... It has been suggested that Complementary and Alternative Medicine be merged into this article or section. ... Cults is a suburb on the western edge of Aberdeen, Scotland. ...

Media watchdog

Much of CSI's activities are oriented towards the media. As CSI's former executive director Lee Nisbet wrote in the 25th-anniversary issue of the group's journal, Skeptical Inquirer: The Skeptical Inquirer is a magazine of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) dedicated to debunking pseudoscience. ...

"CSICOP originated in the spring of 1976 to fight mass-media exploitation of supposedly "occult" and "paranormal" phenomena. The strategy was twofold: First, to strengthen the hand of skeptics in the media by providing information that "debunked" paranormal wonders. Second, to serve as a "media-watchdog" group which would direct public and media attention to egregious media exploitation of the supposed paranormal wonders. An underlying principle of action was to use the mainline media's thirst for public-attracting controversies to keep our activities in the media, hence public eye."^[10]

William B. Davis

This involvement with mass media continues to the present day with, for example, CSI founding the Council for Media Integrity in 1996, as well as co-producing a TV documentary series Critical Eye hosted by William B. Davis (the actor who played the Smoking Man in The X-Files). CSI members can also be seen regularly in the mainstream media offering their perspective on a variety of paranormal claims, and in 1999 Joe Nickell was appointed special consultant on a number of investigative documentaries for the BBC. In its capacity as a media-watchdog, CSI has “mobilized thousands of scientists, academics and responsible communicators” to criticize what it regards as “media's most blatant excesses.” While much of this criticism has focused on factual TV programming or newspaper articles offering support for paranormal claims, CSI has also been critical of programs such as The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which its members believe portray skeptics and science in a bad light and help to promote belief in the paranormal. CSI’s website currently lists the email addresses of over ninety U.S. media organizations and encourages visitors to “directly influence” the media by contacting “the networks, the TV shows and the editors responsible for the way it portrays the world.” Cigarette Smoking Man File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Cigarette Smoking Man William Bruce Davis (b. ... The X-Files is an American television series created by Chris Carter. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ... Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American cult television series that aired from March 10, 1997, until May 20, 2003. ...

Following pseudoscientific and paranormal belief trends

CSI changes its focus with the changing popularity and prominence of various aspects of what it considers to be pseudoscientific and paranormal belief. For example, as promoters of intelligent design have increased their efforts to have this teaching included in school curriculums in recent years, CSI has stepped up its own attention to the subject, creating an "Intelligent Design Watch" website[1] and publishing numerous articles on evolution and intelligent design in Skeptical Inquirer and on the web. Intelligent design (ID) is the concept that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. ...

Health and safety

An issue of particular concern to CSI are paranormal or pseudoscientific claims that may endanger people's health or safety, such as the use of alternative medicine in place of science-based healthcare. Investigations by CSI and others, including consumer watchdog groups, law enforcement and government regulatory agencies,[2] have shown that the sale of alternative medicines, paranormal paraphernalia, or pseudoscience-based products can be enormously profitable. CSI says this profitability has provided various pro-paranormal groups large resources for advertising, lobbying efforts, and other forms of advocacy, to the detriment of public health and safety. It has been suggested that Complementary and Alternative Medicine be merged into this article or section. ...

Humor

As referenced by CSI member Martin Gardner, a maxim regularly put into practice by the organization is H. L. Mencken's "one horse-laugh is worth a thousand syllogisms."^[11] Skeptical Inquirer has carried such articles as reports on the success rate of past years' tabloid "psychic predictions" and coverage of the Australian Skeptics' "Bent Spoon Awards" (winners are notified by telepathy and must pick up their trophies by paranormal means). Martin Gardner (b. ... H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956), better known as H. L. Mencken, was a twentieth-century journalist, satirist, social critic, cynic, and freethinker, known as the Sage of Baltimore and the American Nietzsche. He is often regarded as one of the most influential American... A syllogism (Greek: — conclusion, inference), usually the categorical syllogism, is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two others (the premises) of a certain form. ... Mascot of the Australian Skeptics. ... The Bent Spoon Award is an award given by Australian Skeptics. ...

Humanism

CSI is a member organization of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and endorses the Amsterdam Declaration on the principles of modern humanism. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the sole world umbrella organisation [1] embracing Humanist, atheist, rationalist, secular, skeptic, Ethical Culture, freethought and similar organisations world-wide. ... The Amsterdam Declaration 2002 is a statement of the fundamental principles of modern Humanism passed unanimously by the General Assembly of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) at the 50th anniversary World Humanist Congress in 2002. ... Humanism is a broad category of active ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—particularly rationalism. ...

Awards to fellows

CSI awards the Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking. The first award was shared by CSI fellows Ray Hyman and Joe Nickell and by Andrew Skolnick for their reports in 2005 on CSICOP's testing of Natasha Demkina, the girl who claimed to have X-ray eyes. (Skeptical Inquirer 2006). are you kiddin ? i was lookin for it for hours ... Ray Hyman (b. ... Joe Nickell was born December 1, 1944 and is a prominent investigator of the paranormal. ... Natalia Demkina (Russian: Наталья Демкина; born 1987), usually known under the hypocoristic naming Natasha Demkina , is a young woman from Saransk, Russia, who claims to possess a special vision that allows her to look inside human bodies and see organs and tissues, and thereby make medical diagnoses. ...

Publications

The Zetetic journal founded by Truzzi

• Main article: Skeptical Inquirer

CSI publishes the magazine Skeptical Inquirer, containing articles on skepticism, pseudo-science and the paranormal, as well as reports on experiments conducted to test alleged paranormal phenomena. Skeptical Inquirer was founded by Marcello Truzzi, under the name The Zetetic and retitled after a few months under the editorship of Kendrick Frazier, former editor of Science News. Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope calls Skeptical Inquirer "one of the nation's leading antifruitcake journals".^[12] Image File history File links ZeteticVol1No1. ... Image File history File links ZeteticVol1No1. ... The Skeptical Inquirer is a magazine of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) dedicated to debunking pseudoscience. ... The Skeptical Inquirer is a magazine of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) dedicated to debunking pseudoscience. ... Marcello Truzzi (September 6, 1935-February 2, 2003) was a professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University and director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research. ... Kendrick Frazier was born in Windsor, Colorado is a science writer and editor. ... Science News is an American weekly magazine devoted to short articles about new scientific and technical developments, typically gleaned from recent scientific and technical journals. ... Cecil Adams is a pseudonym identifying the unknown authors of The Straight Dope, a popular question and answer column published in The Chicago Reader since 1973, which has since been syndicated in thirty newspapers in the United States and Canada, and available online. ... Cecil Adams is the pen name of the author of The Straight Dope since 1973, a popular question and answer column published in The Chicago Reader, syndicated in thirty newspapers in the United States and Canada, and available online. ...

Standards of evidence

An axiom often repeated among CSI members is the famous quote from Carl Sagan: "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."^[13] (This was based on an earlier quote by Marcello Truzzi "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof", who traced the idea back through the Principle of Laplace to the philosopher David Hume.)^[14] CSI members argue that all paranaormal claims have not met the strictest standards of scientific scrutiny. Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrobiologist, and highly successful science popularizer. ... Marcello Truzzi (September 6, 1935-February 2, 2003) was a professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University and director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... David Hume (April 26, 1711 – August 25, 1776)[1] was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian. ...

Umbrella organization

A transnational non-profit umbrella organization called the Center for Inquiry encompasses both CSI and the Council for Secular Humanism, as well as other organizations such as the Center for Inquiry - On Campus national youth group and the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. While these organizations share headquarters and some staff, they each have their own list of fellows and their mandates are kept distinct: while CSICOP generally addresses questions of religion only in cases in which testable scientific assertions have been made (such as weeping statues or faith healing), the Council for Secular Humanism is an organization explicitly devoted to humanism and secularism. An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. ... <drini ☎> 14:27, 15 August 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ... The Council for Secular Humanism (originally the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism, or CODESH) regards itself as the only exclusively secular humanist organization in the USA. In 1980 CODESH issued A Secular Humanist Declaration. ... The Center for Inquiry - On Campus (originally the Campus Freethought Alliance) is an organization launched by the Council for Secular Humanism in 1996 in order to reach out to university and high school students. ... It has been suggested that Healing evangelist be merged into this article or section. ... Humanism is a broad category of active ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—particularly rationalism. ... Secularity is the state of being without religious or spiritual qualities. ...

Partial list of CSI fellows (past and present)

The inside front cover of each issue of the Skeptical Inquirer lists the CSI fellows. ^[15]

George Ogden Abell (March 1, 1927 &#8211; October 7, 1983) was an astronomer at UCLA who is best known for his catalogue of clusters of galaxies. ... Marcia Angell, M.D. Marcia Angell, M.D. (born 1939) is an American physician, author, and the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). ... Isaac Asimov, Ph. ... Stephen Barrett, M.D. Stephen J. Barrett, M.D. (born 1933), is a retired American psychiatrist and author best known for his consumer advocacy related work regarding health issues. ... Susan Jane Blackmore (born July 29, 1951) is a British freelance writer, lecturer, and broadcaster, perhaps best known for her book The Meme Machine. ... Bart Jan Bok (Hoorn, April 28, 1906 – Tucson, August 5, 1983) was a Dutch-American astronomer. ... Jan Harold Brunvand (born 1933) is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Utah in the United States who is best known for spreading the concept of the urban legend, or modern folklore. ... Milbourne Christopher (1914–1984) was one of Americas foremost illusionists, performing in sixty-eight countries. ... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English physicist, molecular biologist and neuroscientist, most noted for being one of the co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. ... Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ... L. Sprague de Camp from the cover of Time and Chance: an Autobiography, Donald M. Grant, 1996 Lyon Sprague de Camp, (November 27, 1907, New York City – November 6, 2000, Plano, Texas) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Daniel Clement Dennett (b. ... Ann Druyan (b. ... Paul Edwards may refer to Paul Edwards, Canadian politician and lawyer. ... Antony Flew. ... Kendrick Frazier was born in Windsor, Colorado is a science writer and editor. ... Martin Gardner (b. ... Murray Gell-Mann (born September 15, 1929 in Manhattan, New York City, USA) is an American physicist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles. ... Stephen Jay Gould Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. ... Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American academic. ... Gerald Holton is Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics and Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. ... Ray Hyman (b. ... Philip Julian Klass (November 8, 1919–August 9, 2005) was born in Des Moines, Iowa and died in Merritt Island, Florida. ... Paul Kurtz (born February 12, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey) is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), but is best known for prominent role in the American skeptical community. ... Leon Max Lederman (born July 15, 1922 in New York) is an American experimental physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 for his work on neutrinos. ... Elizabeth F. Loftus (born October 16, 1944 in Los Angeles, CA) is a psychologist who works on human memory and how it can be changed by facts, ideas, suggestions and other forms of post-event information. ... Sir John Royden Maddox (born November 27, 1925 in Penllergaer, Swansea), a trained chemist and physicist, is a prominent science writer. ... David Marks is a psychologist and professor at City University in London, U.K.. He is founding editor of the Journal of Health Psychology. ... Paul MacCready (born September 25, 1925 in New Haven, Connecticut) is an American aeronautical engineer. ... Marvin Lee Minsky (born August 9, 1927), sometimes affectionately known as Old Man Minsky, is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of MITs AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy. ... Richard A. Muller(Born January 6, 1944) of San Francisco, California, USA, is a physicist who works at the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. ... Joe Nickell was born December 1, 1944 and is a prominent investigator of the paranormal. ... William S. Bill Nye (born November 27, 1955) also known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American television program host, scientist, and mechanical engineer. ... James Edward Oberg (b. ... Robert L. Park is a professor of physics at the University of Maryland, College Park. ... Dr. Massimo Pigliucci received his doctorate in genetics at the University of Ferrara, Italy, and PhD in botany from the University of Connecticut. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... James Randi (born August 7, 1928), internationally billed as The Amazing Randi, is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a debunker of pseudoscience. ... Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrobiologist, and highly successful science popularizer. ... Eugenie Scott. ... Glenn T. Seaborg Glenn Theodore Seaborg (April 19, 1912 – February 25, 1999) was an American chemist prominent in the discovery and isolation of ten transuranic elements including plutonium, americium, curium, berkelium, californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, nobelium and seaborgium, which was named in his honor. ... Thomas Albert Sebeok (born in Budapest, Hungary, on November 9, 1920, died December 21, 2001 in Bloomington, Indiana) was one of the most prolific and wide-ranging of US semioticians. ... Burrhus Frederic Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist and author. ... Robert Sheaffer is a freelance writer and a leading investigator of unidentified flying objects. ... Jill Cornell Tarter (born 1944) is an American astronomer and the current director of the Center for SETI Research. ... Carol Tavris is an American social psychologist and author. ... Dr. Neil Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson (b. ... Marilyn Vos Savant (born August 11, 1946) is an American magazine columnist, author, lecturer, and playwright who rose to fame through her listing in the Guinness Book of World Records under Highest IQ. Since 1986 she has written Ask Marilyn, a Sunday column in Parade magazine in which she answers... Steven Weinberg at Harvard University Steven Weinberg (born May 3, 1933) is an American physicist. ... Edward Osborne Wilson (b. ... Uhm!? ...

Controversy and criticism

Uri Geller filed a number of unsuccessful lawsuits against CSICOP

CSI's activities have garnered criticism, in particular from individuals or groups that have been the focus of the organization's attention.^[16] TV celebrity and claimed psychic Uri Geller, for example, was until recently in open dispute with the organization, filing a number of unsuccessful lawsuits against them.^[17] Some criticism has also come from within the scientific community and at times from within CSI itself. Marcello Truzzi, one of CSICOP's co-founders, left the organization after only a short time, claiming that many of those involved “tend to block honest inquiry, in my opinion. Most of them are not agnostic toward claims of the paranormal; they are out to knock them. [...] When an experiment of the paranormal meets their requirements, then they move the goal posts.” [3] Truzzi coined the term pseudoskeptic to describe critics in whom he detected such an attitude.^[18] ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 313 KB) Summary from the skepticwiki: http://www. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 313 KB) Summary from the skepticwiki: http://www. ... Uri Geller bending a spoon in public Uri Geller (Hebrew: אורי גלר), (born December 20, 1946 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is a controversial performer and television personality made famous by his claims to have genuine psychic powers. ... Marcello Truzzi (September 6, 1935-February 2, 2003) was a professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University and director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research. ... Pathological Skepticism is closedmindedness with deception: it is an irrational prejudice against new ideas which masquerades as proper Skepticism. ...

Mars effect

An early controversy concerned the so-called Mars effect: French statistician Michel Gauquelin’s claim that champion athletes are more likely to be born when the planet Mars is in certain positions in the sky. In late 1975, prior to the formal launch of CSICOP, astronomer Dennis Rawlins, along with Paul Kurtz, George Abel and Marvin Zelen (all subsequent members of CSICOP) began investigating the claim. Rawlins, a founding member of CSICOP at its launch in May 1976, resigned in early 1980 claiming that other CSICOP researchers had used incorrect statistics, faulty science and outright falsification in an attempt to debunk Gauquelin’s claims. In an article for the pro-paranormal magazine Fate, he wrote: "I am still skeptical of the occult beliefs CSICOP was created to debunk. But I have changed my mind about the integrity of some of those who make a career of opposing occultism."^[19] CSICOP's Philip Klass responded by circulating an article to CSICOP members critical of Rawlins' arguments and motives;^[20] Klass's unpublished response itself becoming the target for further criticism. The Mars effect is a claim that Mars occupies certain positions in the sky more often at the birth of sports champions than at the birth of ordinary people. ... Michel Gauquelin (November 13, 1928 - May 20, 1991) was a French psychologist and statistician who, along with his wife Francoise, conducted serious statistical research into astrology. ... This section does not cite its references or sources. ... Philip Julian Klass (November 8, 1919–August 9, 2005) was born in Des Moines, Iowa and died in Merritt Island, Florida. ...

Natasha Demkina

In 2004, CSICOP was accused of scientific misconduct over its involvement in Discovery Channel's test of the "girl with X-ray eyes," Natasha Demkina. In a self-published commentary, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Brian Josephson criticized the test and evaluation methods and argued that the results should have been deemed "inconclusive." Josephson, the director of University of Cambridge's Mind-Matter Unification project, who has been criticized by colleagues for his enthusiasm for the paranormal,^[21] questioned the researchers' motives and alleged that the experiment was "some kind of plot to discredit the teenage claimed psychic."^[22] Ray Hyman, one of the three researchers who designed and conducted the test, published a response to this and other criticisms,^[23] and the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health also published a detailed response to these and other objections.^[24] Natalia Demkina (Russian: Наталья Демкина; born 1987), usually known under the hypocoristic naming Natasha Demkina , is a young woman from Saransk, Russia, who claims to possess a special vision that allows her to look inside human bodies and see organs and tissues, and thereby make medical diagnoses. ... Ray Hyman (b. ... This article is about the field and science of medical practice and health care. ... Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individuals emotional and psychological well-being. ...

Rebuttal to general criticism

Sagan in 1996, shortly before his death

On a more general level, CSI has been accused of pathological skepticism and an overly dogmatic and arrogant approach based on a priori convictions. It has been suggested that their aggressive style of skepticism could discourage scientific research into the paranormal.^[25] Astronomer Carl Sagan wrote on this: Image File history File links Sagan1996. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The terms a priori and a posteriori are used in philosophy to distinguish between two different types of propositional knowledge. ...

"Have I ever heard a skeptic wax superior and contemptuous? Certainly. I've even sometimes heard, to my retrospective dismay, that unpleasant tone in my own voice. There are human imperfections on both sides of this issue. Even when it's applied sensitively, scientific skepticism may come across as arrogant, dogmatic, heartless, and dismissive of the feelings and deeply held beliefs of others... CSICOP is imperfect. [...] But from my point of view CSICOP serves an important social function — as a well-known organization to which media can apply when they wish to hear the other side of the story, especially when some amazing claim of pseudoscience is judged newsworthy."^[26]

Plans by Church of Scientology to spread rumors about CSICOP

On at least one occasion, CSI was the intended target of a plan to spread rumors about the organization in order to discredit it. In 1977, a government raid on the offices of the Church of Scientology uncovered considerable evidence of a plot against CSI by the church; this included plans by Scientology to discredit CSICOP by forging CIA documents. The documents seized by the FBI described a plan to spread rumors that CSICOP was actually a front group for the CIA.^[27] The Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ...

See also

Mascot of the Australian Skeptics. ... The Committee for Surrealist Investigation of Claims of the Normal (CSICON) was founded by Irishman Timothy F.X. Finnegan, who wrote, The normal consists of a null set which nobody and nothing really fits. ... Indian CSICOP is a well-known rationalist group based at Podannur, Tamil Nadu, India. ... James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge, August 7, 1928), more often known as The Amazing Randi, is a stage magician, skeptic, and opponent of pseudoscience (including homeopathy). ... The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. ... The ASSAP is the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena. ... Föreningen Vetenskap och Folkbildning (VoF) is a Swedish organization that aims to raise the general publics awareness of scientific methods and results. It has its seat in Stockholm and publishes the magazine Folkvett . ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Notes

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... Brian David Josephson (born Cardiff, UK, January 4, 1940) is a British physicist whose discovery of the Josephson effect while a 22_year_old graduate student won him a share (with Leo Esaki and Ivar Giaever) of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Physics. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... Ray Hyman (b. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrobiologist, and highly successful science popularizer. ... Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

References

•   Paul Kurtz (editor) (2001). Skeptical Odysseys: Personal accounts by the world's leading paranormal inquirers. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-884-4.

•   Randi, James (1995). An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-312-13066-X. Available at this webpage

Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz and publishes scientific, educational, and popular books, especially those of a secular humanist or scientific skepticism nature. ... Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz and publishes scientific, educational, and popular books, especially those of a secular humanist or scientific skepticism nature. ...

External links

• CSICOP homepage
• Skeptical Inquirer official home page
• "CSICOP and the Skeptics: An Overview" - An appraisal of CSICOP's goals and activities.
• Point Of Inquiry - Radio show and podcast for CSICOP's Center for Inquiry.
• True Disbelievers - Former CSICOP member Richard Kammann's account of the Mars-Effect controversy.
• The New Skepticism
• The Creation of CSICOP
• Name change to Committee for Skeptical Inquiry