THE ASSOCIATION FOR RATIONAL THOUGHT NEWS
PRACTICING THE ART OF RATIONAL THINKING IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Volume 2, No. 2
January, 1993

The Association for Rational Thought is a new organization
committed to encouraging rational, well-informed evaluation
of fringe-science, pseudo-science, and paranormal claims.
A.R.T. encourages the investigation of paranormal and pseudo-
scientific claims from a responsible, scientific viewpoint
and the distribution of the results of such investigations
to the public. You are cordially invited to become a member
of A.R.T. Membership information is on the back page.


Come to the January Meeting!
Saturday, Jan. 9, 1993, Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant,
10:00 A.M. Driving and parking information below. Reports on
pseudoscientific hot spots in the tri-state--discussion of
skeptical concerns. Lunch and lively conversation
afterwards.

Support a Vital Voice for Reason in the Tri-State--Pay Your
Dues!
Continue to receive meeting notices and The Association for
Rational Thought News--Pay your 1992-93 dues today. Send a
check for $15.00 payable to Association for Rational Thought
to Treasurer Peggy Borger, 4419 Ashland Ave., Cincinnati,
Ohio 45212-3212 in the enclosed envelope. Your dues pay for
the newsletter and meeting notices. If your mailing label
has "Member" in the upper right corner, you have already
paid your dues.

Joe Gastright Goes Ghost-Hunting
At the November meeting, Joe Gastright, Investigations
Officer, gave a full report on his investigation of a
Hamilton, Ohio, family troubled by ghosts, including
excerpts from an audio tape he made when he interviewed the
family. Kim, the 28 year old married daughter in the family,
which had been troubled by ghosts for about seven years,
contacted Joe through CSICOP in March, 1992. By the time Joe
spoke to her, she had called CSICOP twice, and was unable to
sleep at night. She told Joe that she feared that she was
being followed by the ghost of a man who had once lived in
her family home, a late nineteenth century farmhouse. She
also feared that the ghost was sexually attracted to her.
The family had earlier consulted their Baptist minister, who
refused to talk to them, and a pair of "psychics," who
confirmed the family's belief in the ghosts. Joe volunteered
to drive 40 miles to Hamilton to meet Kim at the house and
discuss the matter with her. When he arrived at the house,
tape recorder in hand, he discovered eight members of the
family gathered in the living room. He listened to their
descriptions of sightings of the ghosts for two and one-half
hours. Every member had ghostly encounters to relate,
although Kim's mother reported the most elaborate sightings.
The entire family reported that they were haunted by ghosts
of the Joseph Symmes family who, they believed, had once
lived in the house. As incidents accumulated, they developed
an explanation for them: every time family members handled
the clothing, papers, and other objects they had found in
the attic of their house and believed to belong to the
Symmes family, the ghosts harassed the family and their
possessions, knocking models off shelves, appearing in the
kitchen, banging on the windows at night, and finally
appearing behind Kim in a snapshot taken on her birthday.
Once the story was established, every thing that happened
was fitted into it, most zealously by Kim's mother. Some of
the most upsetting evidence of the ghosts, including the
notion that Kim was being followed, was produced through the
use of a Ouija board.

After he had heard all the stories, Joe concluded that the
family was indeed haunted, but by ghosts of their own
creation. He consulted Robert Baker, well-known Kentucky
ghost-buster, who suggested a ceremonial exorcism, which
would in effect "kill" the ghosts from within the belief
system of the family. Joe did not feel comfortable with an
exorcism, so took Bob up on his second suggestion, which was
that he discover from Kim, who was the most troubled member
of the family, how firm her belief in the ghosts was, and if
her belief allowed of any doubt, to help her build a
naturalistic explanation for the strange events. Joe
consulted Kim, who reported that sometimes she believed in
the ghosts and sometimes she did not. Joe then suggested to
Kim other alternative explanations for the various
sightings, not telling her what he thought had happened, but
asking her if it weren't possible that there were other
explanations. Once Kim began to accept the notion of
naturalistic explanations for events previously interpreted
as "ghostly," Joe was able to explain to her that the
construction of a ghostly explanation for everyday events by
an entire family is not unusual and that in fact when a
family becomes haunted, typically the entire family becomes
haunted, because they are all using the same explanatory
system. He pointed out that her mother gained both attention
and control of the family through fostering the ghost
stories. He was also able to explain to her that apparently
intelligible messages commonly occur when a Ouija board is
used, because of the way in which human psychology works,
and that these messages commonly turn malicious. He advised
Kim to tell her mother that she did not want to talk about
the ghosts any more. Kim did so, and her mother hasn't
mentioned them since. Joe's listening to the evidence of
ghosts provided by the family and his evaluation of the
"strange" events from a naturalistic perspective appear to
have released Kim from her burden of fear. Joe pointed out
that belief in ghosts is not harmless, because once the
belief is established, it is likely to become an
uncontrolled source of fear, as it did in this case.

The Cincinnati Nature Center Goes Supernatural
At the October and November A.R.T. meetings, Virginia
Jergens reported on a series of lectures held at the
Cincinnati Nature Center this fall. The CNC is a nonprofit
educational organization dedicated to preserving a wooded
area east of Cincinnati and to educating its members and the
public about the natural world. This fall the Nature
Center's program included a series of five lectures on what
the CNC labeled "unusual phenomena...hard-to-explain
occurrences in the natural world." The series mixed
scientific and pseudo-scientific topics. Four speakers dealt
with paranormal or pseudo-scientific phenomena from the
viewpoint of belief in these phenomena. The fifth speaker
discussed sleep and dreams from a scientific point of view.
Those attending paid $7.00 a session, or $25.00 for the
series.

Discussion with staff members at the CNC revealed that some
of the CNC staff believed that all the topics were credible
and some did not. Because of a fear of unpleasant
confrontation, the staff refused to allow a scientific
approach to these topics to be presented along with the
paranormal approach. Pressure from A.R.T. members who wrote
letters criticizing the series or who attended the series
resulted in the staff's presenting lengthy disclaimers
before each speaker and adding a question and answer period
at the end of each lecture. Questions were not allowed
during the lectures. Virginia Jergens and Ruthann West
attended all five lectures; Richard Shepherd and Carolyn
Hunt attended some of the lectures. The following summaries
of each lecture were drawn from Virginia Jergen's notes and
audio tapes.

On October 22, "Well-known Cincinnati psychic" Mary Lou
Ackerman presented a wandering discourse in which she
claimed that she could describe clients' past, present and
future lives by "reading their auras," their palms, and
decks of cards; that meditation cures cancer and heart
disease; and that thyroid disease can be cured by placing a
square of light blue silk over the thyroid gland at night.
She claimed that her daughter can pick the winning horse in
9 races out of 10. She repeatedly described her many
satisfied clients, and asked several of her clients in the
audience to testify on her behalf. She passed out business
cards and told the audience that she charges $35 for a half-
hour reading. The members of the audience were
extraordinarily attentive and appeared to have very serious
problems that they hoped she could solve.

At the second lecture, October 29, Martin Patton, a
"certified hypnotherapist," claimed mental and physical
illness is caused by the "possession" of the body by a
"spirit of the dead". The cure, of course, is Mr. Patton's
$75 an hour therapy ($115 for the first session) in which he
"dispossesses" the patient. The symptoms that he claims he
can cure include fatigue, mood swings, hearing voices,
memory loss, poor concentration, anxiety, and depression. He
claimed that we know that the spirit leaves the body at
death because the body at death weighs five pounds more than
the body upon arrival at the funeral home. He cautioned
nurses to be careful around hospitals because of the danger
of being grabbed by the wandering spirits of the recently
dead. He also passed out business cards during the evening,
and promoted himself as the colleague of physicians and
psychiatrists.

On November 5, Mike Sepate, a sleep disorders expert from
the Bethesda Sleep Disorder Clinic, gave a solid,
scientifically oriented lecture on sleep and dreams. He made
no extraordinary claims.

At the fourth lecture, November 12, Noreen Wessling, a
"graphoanalyst," claimed that every nuance of a person's
personality is visible in his or her handwriting. She
claimed that all you need to understand an individual's
motivation, for example, is to know how that person usually
writes the letter T.  She also claimed that personality can
be changed by changing the offending handwriting. You can
improve your motivation, for example, by crossing your T's
with a stronger, ascending stroke. She also pushed her
products, which included graphoanalysis workshops for $125
for four sessions and therapy for $75.00 an hour. She also
promoted mail-in analyses for $15.00 each. In fact, although
it is true that examination of handwriting can detect
forgeries and the probable author of a given sample of
handwriting, personality traits cannot be detected by
examination of handwriting.

The last speaker, on November 12, was the most spectacular.
Brian Thompson said that he earns his living "doing
electrical wiring" and other part time jobs. He claimed to
be a graduate of the U.C. Medical College, but not licensed
to practice medicine. He has collected over 80 audio and
visual tapes of individuals recounting what they believe to
be their memories of abductions by space aliens under
hypnosis guided by Mr. Thompson. His lecture consisted of
brief excerpts from the tapes. He claimed to be a thoroughly
skeptical "researcher" who seeks out and critically
evaluates all information about UFO abductions, but was able
to support his claims only with hints and innuendoes. He
produced no credible evidence, but made these claims: 1)
many people have been abducted and their lives disrupted by
aliens; 2) aliens insert implants into people's brains while
they are sleeping--the evidence of this is blood on the
pillow in the morning; 3) "instructions" planted in
abductee's brains prevent the abductee from disclosing the
experience; 4) hypnosis using leading questions is a
reasonable way to provide evidence of abductions; 5) "the
military" and "the government" are systematically hiding
evidence of alien invasion of earth from citizens; 6) CSICOP
Fellow Philip J. Klass, a science writer and engineer, is a
"pseudo-skeptic" who crassly destroys evidence and
reputations in his effort to suppress news of the
abductions.

What You Can Do To Promote Rational Thinking at the Nature
Center
In spite of pressure from A.R.T. members who have called or
written, the CNC has not taken a position on whether it will
permit this kind of programming in the future. Write to the
CNC to tell them that these programs are unscientific,
fraudulent, exploitative, and will undermine the efforts of
the CNC to educate people about the natural world. Point out
that several of these speakers used the CNC as a platform
from which to market their dubious wares. Urge the CNC to
officially eliminate this kind of material from their
programs. Send your letter to Ronald E. Heinlen, Chairman of
the Board, Cincinnati Nature Center, 3547 Bayard Drive,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208, with a copy to James M. Berry,
Director, Cincinnati Nature Center, 4949 Tealtown Road,
Milford, Ohio 45150. Telephone the Director, Jim Berry, at
the Nature Center at 831-1711. Mr. Heinlen's home phone is
871-0399, work, 651-6836.

In Our Own Words: Growing Up Religious Contributes to
Rational Understanding
This article, written by A.R.T. member Everett DeJager in
response to Keith Brabender's talk on the artist's view of
science at the May 1992 meeting, inaugurates what the Editor
hopes will become a regular feature of the newsletter. The
Newsletter welcomes your experiences and opinions about
skepticism, critical thinking, pseudo-scientific or
paranormal claims.

Mr. Brabender's talk and the discussion at the May meeting
caused me to dig into my theories. Brabender said that
enlightenment consisted of replacing inspired knowledge with
information experimentally derived. This enlightenment was a
struggle--it still is. It is discouraging to note that many
of the heroes of the enlightenment had feet of clay, so to
speak. Isaac Newton dabbled in alchemy. Albert Einstein
believed in a god.

Nobody arrives suddenly at the "perfect" state of
skepticism. Errors are found one at a time; we cling to
beliefs long after their lack of validity is evident. Each
person must, by himself or herself, go through the process
that happened in Europe during the renaissance.

I remember when I finally accepted the conclusion that there
was no god. On a beautiful clear night I was looking at the
stars. "Nobody up there cares, because there is nobody up
there," I thought. I felt a terrible loneliness. I had lost
something. The process of disillusion was not pleasant. "God
will take care of you" became a fraud.

Everybody has his or her own route. Everybody's starting
point is unique. I was raised in a religious environment --
strict Calvinist with all the horrible schisms that arise
when literal Biblical interpretation is the rule.
Fortunately my father had disputes with orthodoxy, and took
the family out of the church. I have often wondered whether
I would have ditched religion if my father had not given me
that break.

Having a religious background gives one an advantage. Let me
describe it. I enrolled in a lecture series by the Nathaniel
Branden Institute. It was called "Basic Principles of
Objectivism." The basis was Ayn Rand's philosophy as
expounded in her novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas
Shrugged. Several lectures followed. They were attended by a
group who sat quietly around a tape player and listened.
During intermission there were discussions, but never
disagreements with the recorded voice.

One lecture dealt with the problem of describing
consciousness and its importance. Nathaniel Branden (on
tape) said, "No definition is possible, because
consciousness is what does the defining." He said that there
was no way that consciousness could originate from non-
consciousness in evolution. During intermission I stated my
objections to his definition. Nobody listened, but I talked
anyway.  Consciousness can be defined. It is that function
in a living organism that monitors conditions, internal and
external, for the purpose of staying alive. And, if
consciousness did not evolve from something not conscious,
where did it come from? God?

Of course, the Ayn Rand philosophy required atheism. One of
their lectures dealt with the absurdity of a supernatural
god. While listening to Nathaniel Branden's voice developing
the importance of consciousness in all actions, I was
bothered again. If Branden were right, this "something"
called consciousness had attributes that could not be. It
did not originate from non-living substances. Then where did
it come from?

My conclusion, which nobody in the group bought, was that
the Objectivist concept of consciousness was religious.
Nathaniel Branden's words could be paraphrased from the
Bible: "In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God." What I am trying to say is that
many philosophies have used the religious approach without
knowing it. Having a religious childhood has enabled me to
spot this. --Everett DeJager.


Calendar
Executive Council Meetings are usually held the second
Saturday of the month, 10:00 A.M., Greenwich Tavern &
Restaurant. Call President Keith Brabender to confirm, 351-
0921.
January 9, Saturday, 10:00 A.M. Regular Monthly Meeting.
Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant.
February 13, Saturday, 10:00 A.M. Regular Monthly Meeting.
Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant.
March 13, Saturday, 10:00 A.M. Regular Monthly Meeting.
Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant.
April 10, Saturday, 10:00 A.M. Annual Membership Meeting.
Election of Officers. Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant.
May 8, Saturday, 10:00 A.M. Regular Monthly Meeting.
Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant.
June 12, Saturday, 10:00 A.M. Last Monthly Meeting of the
Year. Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant.

How to Get to the Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant
The restaurant is at 2440 Gilbert Ave., east of I-71 and
north of downtown Cincinnati. Telephone: 221-6764.

If you come south on I-71:
Drive south on I-71. Take Exit No. 2, Gilbert Ave. and
Reading Rd. The exit ramp forks. Take the right fork, marked
Reading Rd. In a block or so you will come to two left turn
signs, the first to Reading Rd. and the second to Elsinore.
Turn left on Elsinore. Go about one block to Gilbert Ave.
Turn left on Gilbert. Go north on Gilbert about .6 mile to
Curtis Avenue, on the right. Turn right on Curtis. Greenwich
Tavern parking is off Curtis to the right, and Walnut Hills
Business District parking is off Curtis to the left a little
beyond the Greenwich Tavern lot. The restaurant is at 2440
Gilbert Ave., one door north of Curtis and Gilbert.

If you come north on I-71:
Drive north on I-71, Take Exit No. 2, Reading Rd. and
Florence Ave. The exit forks. Take the right-hand fork to
Florence Ave. At the stoplight, turn right on Eden Park.
Drive one block and turn left on Gilbert. Go north on
Gilbert about .6 mile to Curtis Avenue, on the right. Turn
right on Curtis. Greenwich Tavern parking is off Curtis to
the right, and Walnut Hills Business District parking is off
Curtis to the left. The restaurant is at 2440 Gilbert Ave.,
one door north of Curtis and Gilbert.



Newsletter Contributions:
Please send contributions to the newsletter to V. H.
Jergens, Ed., 1032 Grandin Ridge Dr., Cincinnati OH 45208.
Home: 871-4876. The deadline for the next issue is Feb. 1.

Address Changes & Corrections:
Please send address changes and corrections to Roy Auerbach,
2789 Losantiridge Ave., Cincinnati OH 45213-1029. Home: 731-
2774, work: 771-6676. Roy has generously volunteered to
build and maintain a mailing list database for A.R.T.

Recycle Your Newspaper--Send Weird Stuff to CSICOP
Barry Karr, CSICOP Executive Director, will appreciate
newspaper clippings reporting alleged pseudo-scientific or
paranormal and related events. Check your local papers and
send clippings to him at P.O. Box 703, Buffalo NY 14226-
0703. Include the full name of the newspaper, date, and page
number.

A.R.T. Officers, 1992-93:
President: Keith Brabender, home: 351-0921.
Vice-President: Dick McGrath, home 781-2117, work, 344-3395.
Treasurer, Peggy Borger, home: 351-0921.
Secretary, Mary Pacinda, home: 845-9980; work, 865-3363.
Public Relations: Porter Henry, home 221-5106.
Investigations Officer: Joe Gastright, home: 581-7315, work:
369-4872.


Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. --I
Thessalonians, 5.21