First, Gustav has yet to define "pseudo-skeptic," a very obvious play on words with "pseudoscientist" and meant to be a counter-pejorative. Woo-woo is also a pejorative, but one based in phonetics of the term. "Woo-woo" is the sound a train makes to get attention. So the term, "woo-woo" is an analogy to the attention-seeking mystery-mongers and significance-junkies. But since it obviously offended Gustav, who appears to have taken it very personally, I'll refrain from future use of it. Instead, I'll refer to mystery-mongers and significance-junkies as mystery-mongers and significance-junkies, even though it is a lot more to type.
Second, let me recommend this link as a decent
critical review of CSICOP:
http://www.tricksterbook.com/ArticlesOnline/CSICOPoverview.htm
The article (Hansen, 1992) is, however, incomplete, but I think the majority of it is present minus the conclusions and bibliography.
Third, I'd like to add that I couldn't begin to comment "The Baker Affair" link, since I've never read it, but I am familiar with the
ancient "Mars Effect" criticisms.
James Randihttp://www.randi.org/jr/041103.html
"
The misrepresentation of the CSICOP involvement in the Gauquelin matter has been discussed numerous times before, and that accusation is quite false. CSICOP's only fault there lay with the reluctance of astronomer George Abell to consider Rawlins as a competent authority on the subject of astrology, and they — and Abell, personally — apologized for that fact, quite adequately. There was certainly nothing "fraudulent" nor "engineered" on the part of CSICOP. In any case, the entire Gauquelin matter has faded into obscurity with the other bits of pseudoscience, having failed attempts at replication."
Absolute Astronomy.Comhttp://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/M/Ma/Mars_effect.htm
"
Zelen's (and Kurtz's and Abell's) rebuttal was poorly written. Read it a second, third, or fourth time, though, and you will see that the initial appearances are deceptive. Zelen split the sample not to examine the Mars effect, but primarily to examine the randomness of the subsample of 303 champions. And it turned out that the Gauquelins did not choose their subsample randomly."
http://www.freeinquiry.com/skeptic/resources/articles/klass-crybaby.htm ]Philip J. Klass[/url]
"
Were it possible to turn back the clock, undoubtedly Kurtz, Zelen and Abell would try to be more precise in defining test objectives and protocol and would do so in writing. And more time would be spent in more carefully phrasing articles dealing with such tests. But all CSICOP Council members and Fellows have other full-time professions that seriously constrain time available for CSICOP efforts.
[...] FATE and McConnell have demonstrated the intrinsic flaw in the basic approach of those who promote claims of the paranormal -- THEIR EAGERNESS TO ACCEPT CLAIMS OF EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS WITHOUT RIGOROUS INVESTIGATION. Neither FATE nor McConnell contacted CSICOP officials to check out Rawlins' charges. This demonstrates why CSICOP is so sorely needed.
Richard Kammen
"
"Crybaby" was written by Councilor Philip Klass. Although it offered to refute the cover-up charge, it ignored practically every specific point that Rawlins had made. Instead it offered blatant ad hominem attack on Rawlins' motives and personality, bolstered with rhetorical ploys--including crude mis-quotation.
Believing that a full understanding would still get this fiasco straightened out, I sent in a 28-page report called "Personal Assessment of the Mars Controversy." I came to three conclusions: (a) the scientific errors were gross, (b) Paul Kurtz was not guilty of a cover-up on grounds of lack of statistical understanding, (c) CSICOP was guilty of a cover-up by not taking Rawlins seriously, while "Crybaby" was a disgrace.
*************
So there's a few links of Rawlins-'Mars Effect' articles that give varied perspectives on the issue.
Personally, I've never been a big fan of Klass –though I have to agree with some of his points. I think he was a bit over-the-top in his
ad hominem statements, but he had a point. I'd be willing to accept that CSICOP was a bit sloppy in their methodology, but I'd also argue that this was early in their existence and that they've learned from it. The work that CSICOP does is, today, top notch and their journal,
The Skeptical Inquirer is well written and referenced.
The principles that CSICOP holds are worthy and meaningful and they serve the purpose of questioning the extraordinary claims of those that would attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the unsuspecting public.
So... does Gustav and the other woo-woos... uh, ahem... mystery-mongers and significance-junkies have any
recent criticisms of CSICOP and skeptics at large? Something that could be considered
current events?
What those who crave all-things-mysterious and find significance-in-any-spurious-correlation really hate about skeptics is that they ask questions that
cause them to fall flat on their faces in the excrement of their own beliefs.
Without evidence to back their wild, speculative claims, they amount to nothing but liars. Harsh, but true. Instead of addressing the issue of evidence, they look for excuses to engage in ad hominem wars and toss insults back and forth. They also make unfounded attempts to level many of the same criticisms against skeptics that skeptics have long since leveled in their direction, such as the question of cult-like behavior and misguided beliefs.
Beliefs are fine, but need to be based on the wisdom of evidence. Otherwise, they're meaningless.
NONE of Gustav's criticisms hold true. He is good at quoting the rhetoric of others from many years ago, but seems to have difficulty forming his own critical analyses. Perhaps he can overcome this failing... we shall see. I'd like to see Gustav give us what
he thinks instead of just quoting/repeating rhetoric. I've done my share of quoting others above, but I also offer my own commentary and opinions on the subject and I
don't consider CSICOP completely innocent with regard to bias. But I
do believe this is an organization that has worked hard to avoid it since and has used the experience to grow.
But, when you have someone
questioning your beliefs, I suppose it's easier to redirect blame at them than consider that they might actually be right. Why not simply bitch and cry, eh?
In the mean time, I offer the following about CSICOP: The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
Here are some links to some choice articles in Skeptical Inquirer and on the CSICOP site.
Out of Balance, by Chris Mooney - a critical review of the ABC Primetime special:
Seeing is Believing.
Critical Thinking About Energy, - by Thomas R. Castan and Brennan Downes - The Case for Decentralized Generation of Electricity
Should We Teach the Controversy, by Jason Rosenhouse - a critical look at the desire by some to teach 'Intelligent Design' in our public schools.
The Columbia University 'Miracle' Study: Flawed and Fraud, by Bruce Flamm - regarding the much hyped study of the power of prayer that ended up scamming a major peer-reviewed journal.
Pranks, Frauds and Hoaxes from Around the World, by Robert Carroll - from the writer of the book,
Don't Get Hoaxed.
Complete Index of available online articles.
About CSICOP
CSICOP encourages the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminates factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community and the public. [click link above for more details]
Council for Media Integrity
An educational outreach and advocacy program of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) [click link above to see details and accomplishments]
Agitprop is very correct when she accuses CSICOP of being biased and 'one-sided' in its attempts to pressure media to monitor its sloppy presentations of "facts" and "data" in shows and news stories that portray pseudoscience and the paranormal as
reality or established fact. It is CSICOP's position that the media takes advantage of the gullibility of the public in much the same manner as Miss Cleo -siphoning ratings the way she siphoned 900# minutes- and, therefore, CSICOP acts as an informed and skeptical voice of reason in holding the media accountable for this, but rewarding it when it does right.
CSICOP members are, and have been, distinguished:
Paul Kurtz, Chairman; professor emeritus of philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo
James E. Alcock,* psychologist, York Univ., Toronto
Susan Blackmore, psychologist, Univ. of the West of England, Bristol
Richard Dawkins, zoologist, Oxford Univ.
Kenneth Feder, professor of anthropology, Central Connecticut State Univ
Philip J. Klass,* aerospace writer, engineer
Bill Nye, science educator and television host, Nye Labs
Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director, Hayden Planetarium, New York City
Eugenie Scott, physical anthropologist, executive director, National Center for Science Education
John Maddox, editor emeritus of Nature
John R. Cole, anthropologist, Dept of Anthropology, UMass-Amherst; Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, UMass
Carl Sagan, Astronomer, Cornell University, co-founding member of CSICOP, author.
Stephen J. Gould, co-founding member and fellow of CSICOP, author, Paleontologist, author, Harvard University.
Issac Asimov, author.
<img src="http://www.csicop.org/giftshop/decal/decal-icon.jpg">
References:
AbsoluteAstronomy.com (2005).
The Mars Effect. Found at
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/M/Ma/Mars_effect.htm
Hansen, George (1992).
CSICOP and the Skeptics: An Overview The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 86:1, pp. 19-63.
Kammen, Richard (1982).
The True Disbelievers: Mars Effect Drives Skeptics to Irrationality Zetetic Scholar, issue 10, pp. 50-65.
Klass, Philip J. (1981).
Crybaby. Non-published: submitted and refused by
Fate magazine in 1981.
Randi, James (2003).
More Attacks/Lies Launched, Megalogophobia, Einstein Wrong, Ephedrine Bombed, The Guardian & Science, Bogustry, More Fish, Remenance, 666=393, and "Dowser Brand" Water.
Swift: the online newsletter for JREF, April 11, 2003.