134 results found.
... there appears to be a significant and involved relationship between age, the body's immune function, and a psychological factor called "fatigue." One clear-cut finding was that young patients facing radiation therapy and also reporting high levels of psychological fatigue were the only patients in the surveyed group showing diminished activity by the body's natural killer cells. These killer cells com-prise an important part of the defense against cancer. This biological consequence of apathy is confirmed by an-other study showing that cancer patients with "psychological distress" had better chances of recovery than those who had no "fight." (Herbert, W.; "Giving It Up -- At the Cellular Level," Science News, 124:148, 1983.) Comment. Assuming such mind-body correlations are real, how is mental attitude (supposedly some pattern of nerve signals in the brain) converted into greater or lesser populations of natural killer cells? From Science Frontiers #30, NOV-DEC 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... presaged by floating, semicircular fields of closely spaced parallel lines or bars arranged in zigzag patterns. This geometrical visual phenomenon may, like a berserk TV screen, be diagnostic and betray regularities in the brain's circuitry. The kaleidoscopic patterns seem to occur when imput signals from the eyes are weak or suspended, leaving the brain to generate its own "favorite" patterns. (Shepard, Roger N.; "The Kaleidoscopic Brain," Psychology Today, 17:62, June 1983.) Comment. But why the elaborate geometry? Could this apparently "built-in" pattern-generating capacity manifest itself in waking humans as an urge to describe the universe in terms of regular mathematical laws and geometric models? Visual sensations induced during controlled intoxication with cocaine. (Illustration from Unfathomed Mind) From Science Frontiers #31, JAN-FEB 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 32: Mar-Apr 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Thou canst not stir a flower, without troubling of a star This poetic title from Francis Thompson tries to express the unity of nature from the smallest to the largest realms. One characteristic of the realms even smaller than that of the flower is the quantization typical of the subatomic world -- that is, microscopic nature. At the human locus in the dimensional scheme of things, quantization is difficult to detect outside the physics laboratory. Daniel M. Greenberger, perhaps with the above title in mind, asked whether quantization might not also exist in astronomy and cosmology -- that is, macroscopic nature. He has applied the principles of quantum mechanics to nature in-the-large where gravitational forces are dominant. (Gravitational forces are negligible in the subatomic world.) His math cannot be reproduced here. Suffice it to say that Greenberger has applied his findings to the absorption lines of quasars and the elliptical rings surrounding normal galaxies. Now, quasars and galaxies are far from atomic nuclei, being vast assemblages of diverse matter. Somewhat surprisingly, his equations are successful in predicting some features of these two macroscopic entities. (Greenberger, Daniel M.; "Quantization in the Large," Foundations of Physics, 13:903, 1983.) Comment. At the very least it is mindstretching to find that complex systems with millions of stars may exhibit quantum effects. With some relief, we note that like microscopic quantization effects ...
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... If the kinetic energy of cosmic expansion is to be balanced by gravitational potential energy (an apparent philosophical imperative), we have so far identified only 15% of the required mass. (2 ) On a smaller scale, galaxies in large galactic clusters are moving too fast. They should have flown apart long ago, but some unseen 'stuff' holds them together. Is it cosmic string? (Waldrop, M. Mitchell; "New Light on Dark Matter? Science, 224:971, 1984.) Comment. Since cosmic string weighs about 2 x 1015 tons per inch, the whole business is beginning to sound a bit silly. Actually, all action-at-a -distance forces, which we readily accept as real, are only artificial constructs of the human mind. Gluons, colored 'particles,' top quarks, cosmic string; where will it all end? From Science Frontiers #34, JUL-AUG 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 40: Jul-Aug 1985 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Standing-stone Cluster in Eastern Massachusetts Megalithic Recycling Astronomy Planets As Sun-triggered Lasers Neptune's Arcs: Embryonic Moons? Next Let Us Consider Uranus What is It? A Black Hole, of Course! Biology Nessie Photos Not Retouched Frog Mothers Do So Care! Glitch in the Evolution of Funnelweb Spider Venom? Circadian Rhythms and Chemotherapy Genetic Code Not Universal! Geology Back to Guadeloupe Again Galapagos Younger Than Thought Libyan Desert Glass May Not Be the Product of Impacts. Geophysics Quakes and UFOs Vanishing Goo Multiple Whirlwind Patterns Psychology Mnemonism Not So Easy! Hypnotic Misrecall Chemistry & Physics Fruitfulness of Math Not An Intimation of A Transcendent Mind! The Most Profound Discovery of Science Messengers of A "new Physics" Double Nuclei At Darmstadt ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 43: Jan-Feb 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Voice Of God Back in 1976, Julian Jaynes promulgated a novel hypothesis about ancient man in his book, The Origin of Consciousness and the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. "According to Jaynes, consciousness, as we know it today, is a relatively new faculty, one that did not exist until as recently as 2000 B.C . He holds that a basic difference between contemporary and ancient man is the process of decision-making. When faced with a novel situation today, man considers alternatives, thinks about future consequences, makes a decision, ruminates over it, and finally acts. He then reconsiders his action, evaluates it, worries about it, feels good or bad about it, makes resolves about future decisions, and so forth. The cerebral activity that precedes and follows an action response is consciousness. Jaynes believes that man of antiquity had no consciousness -- that when faced with a novel situation, he simply reacted. He reacted without hesitation by following the directions of a personal voice that told him exactly what to do. Ancient man called this voice God; today it is called an auditory hallucination. To ancient man, God was not a mental image or a deified thought but an actual voice heard when one was presented with a situation requiring decisive action." You must really read Jaynes' book to appreciate the evidence he has collected in support of his hypothesis. In the present article, ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 48: Nov-Dec 1986 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology The Kensington Stone: A Mystery Not Solved Some Newly Discovered Archeological Anomalies From North America Astronomy Is There Life on Mars After All? The Mars-antarctica Connection Life As A Cosmic Phenomenon The Deflationary Universe An 11-minute Binary Biology Rhythms in 5,927,978 French Births Geophysiology The Cosmic Chemistry of Life Archaeopteryx A Dead End? Geology Geocorrosion? Water, Water: How Far Down? Oil, Oil: Everywhere, Every Age Geophysics Purple, Furry, Spiked Bubble Phosphorescent Bars and Wheels Freak Wave Off Spain Psychology The Mind's "scope" Braille and the Brain ...
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... is a tiny theoretical chance that such an event might occur in the future, but it certainly never happened in the past. To admit such a possibility would open that Pandora's Box of vigorously suppressed catastrophic scenarios. Reference. More information on solarsystem instability may be found in ABB1 in the catalog: The Sun and Solar System Debris. Ordering details here . The universe as-a -whole . The disovery of the Great Wall of galaxies (SF#67) and the regular clumping of galactic matter (SF#69) has greatly surprised astronomers, who have been emphasizing how uniformly distributed galactic matter should -- according to theory, at least. Now, D.C . Koo, at the University of California at Santa Cruz, says, "The regularity is just mind-boggling." M. Davis, an astrophysicist at Berkeley, admits that if the distribution of galaxies is truly so regular, ". .. it is safe to say we understand less than zero about the early universe." (Wilford, John Noble; "Unexpected Order in Universe Confuses Scientists," Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 28, 1990. Cr. E.D . Fegert.) From Science Frontiers #71, SEP-OCT 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... dwarf mammoths stood only about 2 meters high and weighed 2 tons. The British mammoth expert, A. Lister, said he was not really surprised at this discovery, because many islands supported dwarf versions of mainland animals during the Ice Ages. (Crenson, Matt; "A Mammoth Discovery," Dallas Morning News, p. 22A, March 25, 1993. Cr. L. Anderson. Also: Bower, B.; "' Dwarf' Mammoths Outlived Last Ice Age," Science News, 143:197, 1993.) Comment 1. If the full-size Siberian mammoths really met their demise because of a catastrophic climate change, how did the dwarf mammoths occupying the same region escape? Comment 2. Lister's remark about other dwarf island inhabitants brings to mind the dwarf elephants of Santa Rosa, off the Californian coast, which apparently were the main course in early human feasts. But, curiously, island isolation also leads to gigantism, as seen in the moas of New Zealand. This contradiction needs explaining. Reference. A large body of literature exists on the possible late survival of the mammoth and mastadon. See BMD10 in our catalog: Biological Anomalies: Mam mals II, which is described here . From Science Frontiers #87, MAY-JUN 1993 . 1993-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 72: Nov-Dec 1990 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Birds Of Burden Anthropologists long ago decided that the ostrich was domesticated only in historical times. They pooh-poohed a prehistory sketch showing an ostrich carrying a human rider and pictographs of ostriches apparently fitted with pack saddles. The latest discovery may change their minds. It is a Neolithic figure (5000-7000 years old), deeply engraved on rocks along the River Blaka, in Niger, Africa. Here, the ostrich definitely appears to be loaded with cargo that is strapped on. The bird's legs are folded in a resting position. The Egyptians occasionally captured young ostriches and broke them to harness, but this engraving seems to prove that this practice had been going on long before. (Bahn, Paul; "A Head in the Sands of Time," Nature, 346:794, 1990.) Comment. One wonders what Neolithic goods the ostrich caravans carried and where they were bound. From Science Frontiers #72, NOV-DEC 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... to chasing away warts. If you don't believe this, read the following Abstract. "Subjects with warts on their hands and/or feet were randomly assigned to a hypnotic suggestion, topical salicylic acid, placebo, or no treatment control condition. Subjects in the three treated groups developed equivalent expectations of treatment success. Nevertheless, at the sixweek follow-up interval only the hypnotic subjects had lost significantly more warts than the no treatment controls." (Spanos, Nicholas P., et al; "Effects of Hypnotic, Placebo, and Salicylic Acid Treatments on Wart Regression," Psychosomatic Medicine, 52:109, 1990.) Comment. The real import here is not in the vanquishing of these benign tumors caused by papillomaviruses but rather in the potential of altered states of mind for treating more severe afflictions, such as cancer. From Science Frontiers #72, NOV-DEC 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 92: Mar-Apr 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Expanding Luminescent Rings Three sets of expanding phosphorescent rings observed on October 14, 1960, in the Gulf of Oman March 26, 1993. Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf. Aboard the m.v . Liverpool Bay , Jeddah to Jebel Ali. "At 1540 UTC while the vessel was transiting the Strait of Hormuz westbound, within the traffic separation scheme, it was strangely illuminated for several minutes by what turned out to be bioluminescent organisms. Bearing in mind the size of the vessel and the height of the containers above the water (about 25 m) the intensity of the light produced was remarkable. "The first appearance could only be described as something out of a science fiction novel, as the vessel moved through a wave-like form of light which initially appeared to be above the water in the pitch-black night. Shortly afterwards an area to port at a distance of several hundred metres exhibited an even more amazing display of concentric circles emanating from a single point; the star board side maintained the more broken wave form but retained the same intensity of light. The vessel and deck containers were illuminated by an eerie and variable glow." (Welch, J.W .; "Bioluminescence," Marine Observer, 64:14, 1994.) From Science Frontiers #92, MAR-APR 1994 . 1994-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Inquirer, L.D . Lansberry wrote of her personal NDE. It happened during angioplasty, when her heart stopped temporarily. Lansberry, a confirmed skeptic in such matters, has always maintained that the customary interpretations of NDEs are so much "tomfoolery." When she entered that famous NDE tunnel herself, she saw it close down around her as her heart stopped. Then, as the doctor brought her back, the tunnel opened up again and she saw a light at the tunnel's end, but it turned out to be only the light of the operating room. Lansberry asserts that there is nothing transcendental about the tunnel effect. She attributes the experience to the failure of neurotransmitters in the outer portion of her brain failing to fire, in effect creating a collapsing tunnel in her mind. Fortunately, her doctor reversed the effect. "When the tunnel closes," she wrote, we are dead." (Lansberry, Laura Darlene; "First-Person Report: A Skeptic's Near-Death Experience," Skeptical Inquirer, 18:431, 1994.) Comment. Perhaps Lansberry saw only what she wanted to see. That was enough of heaven for her! From Science Frontiers #95, SEP-OCT 1994 . 1994-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 97: Jan-Feb 1995 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Mentally Influencing The Structure Of Water If the presence of water can physiologically affect a human dowser, as claimed in the preceding item, perhaps the physiological state of a human can affect the properties of water. Well, it's worth a try! G. Rein and R. McCraty, of the Institute of HeartMath, first define two physiological states: "We have recently defined two new physiological states in terms of their unique electrophysiological characteristics. These states are generated using specially designed mental and self-management techniques which involve intentionally quieting the mind, shifting one's awareness to the heart area and focussing on positive emotions. Time-domain and frequency spectral analysis of heart rate variability, pulse transit time and respiration were used as electrophysiological measures of these states." Next, the two researchers brought together subjects immersed in one of these states and samples of water: "The present study reports on PK [psychokinetic] effects associated with these intentionality states. ECG monitoring was used to demonstrate when the individuals were in the entrained state. At this point a sample of distilled water in a sealed test tube was presented to the subjects. Five individuals were used in this study...While holding a beaker containing the samples, subjects were asked to focus on the samples and intentionally alter the molecular structure for five minutes. In an adjacent room, control samples were aliquoted from the original stock solution into test tubes. ...
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... No. 53: Sep-Oct 1987 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A "MAGICAL GENIUS"" If ever there were an exemplar of inborn mathematical ability it would be Srinivasa Ramanujan, a poor, uneducated Indian, born 100 years ago, who was one of the greatest and most unusual mathematical geniuses who ever lived. Although he died young -- at age 32 -- Ramanujan left behind a collection of results that are only now beginning to be appreciated. "Ramanujan's story is one of the great romantic tales of mathematics, made all the more haunting because of the mystery surrounding the man. No one, no matter how much they try, has ever been able to understand the workings of Ramanujan's mind, how he came to think of his results, or the source of this incredible outpouring of mathematics." Ramanujan has been termed a "magical genius." In contrast, "ordinary geniuses" are merely an order of magnitude of two smarter than you and me. In Ramanujan's case, no one knows where his voluminous results came from. They appeared as if by magic, in a manner transcending ordinary human mental activity. Ramanujan did complete high school, but his entire mathematical education seems to have come from the reading of just two books. Nevertheless, he was invited to Cambridge on the basis of a letter he wrote to G.H . Hardy in 1913. The letter contained about 60 theorems and formulas stated without proof. After some study, Hardy concluded ...
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... if there is no signal, why should there be a response? Those scientists who have reviewed Sheldrake's data agree that some sort of observer effect seems to be present. Just what is the "signal" linking starer and staree? What kind of "force" can alter the neurological connections in the staree's brain, eliciting a positive reponse? Sheldrake suggests that the act of staring generates a "field" similar to gravitation and other action-at-a -distance fields. When one thinks about it, all such fields are "spooky;" Sheldrake's is no more so than the others. (Anonymous; "Are You Looking at Me?" New Scientist, p. 39, July 26, 1997.) Comments. Two questions come to mind: (1 ) If some starees are especially sensitive, are there also particularly powerful starers? (2 ) Would viewing the staree via a mirror or closed-circuit TV make any difference? From Science Frontiers #115, JAN-FEB 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 120: Nov-Dec 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Precognitive Dreams For her doctoral dissertation, M.S . Stowell completed a deep study of precognitive dreaming. She approached this subject about the only way one can, which is by interviewing people who claim to have had such dreams. Stowell interviewed five such claimants, and it is remarkable how many precognitive dreams they have had collectively. There are 51, and 37 of them have been confirmed as accurate. In addition, all five dreamers had precognitive experiences while awake. Many of these were also confirmed. It is important to bear in mind that it takes only one solid confirmation of precognition to shatter some sacred paradigms! Here, we might have a couple score of them! To give the reader the flavor of this type of parapsychological research, we select one dream that foresaw a plane crash. Here is how Elizabeth described her dream: "It starts out where I'm driving north on the freeway in [City]. Right about by [specific location], going north, heading for the [specific] Bridge, I look up and there's a big plane coming straight at me, and there's also an overpass right where I am. My initial reaction is that it's going to crash on and that I'm in trouble and instead a split second passes in which I realize that I'm going under it, under the overpass, and the plane will go right ...
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... perspective to account in part for a variety of similarities between near-death experiences and UFO abductions. The psychodynamic psychology of these experiences implies that their "realness" is mainly a function of that psychology, rather than primarily of an objectifiable external reality. Clinical and research examples highlight the theoretical and practical usefulness of this model." (Twemlow, Stuart W.; "Misidentified Flying Objects? An Integrated Psychodynamic Perspective on Near-Death Experiences and UFO Abductions," Journal of Near-Death Studies, 12:205, 1994. As abstracted in: Exceptional Human Experience , 14:261, 1996. Address of the latter: 414 Rockledge Road, New Bern, NC 28562.) Comments. If one prunes away the psychological verbiage, Twemlow seems to be saying that in the minds of the percipients, NDEs and UFO abduction experiences are pretty much the same; that is, both phenomena are mental and not physical. However, in the same issue of the Journal of Near-Death Studies, K. Basterfield asserts that physical evidence exists for UFO abductions but that there is none for NDEs! Apparently, an abductee has brought back a piece of a UFO or something like that. That's news to us, be we are not well-versed on these subjects. From Science Frontiers #120, NOV-DEC 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 81: May-Jun 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Shc or h/t homicide?The possible case of SHC (Spontaneous Human Combustion) just reported above may have a rational but bizarre explanation. S.L . Wernokoff commented as follows in the Journal of Meteorology: "The very first thing that comes to mind is whether overloaded hightension [H /T ] or low-tension wires were anywhere nearby. Since this incident occurred at a roadside, nearby power lines may well have been present. If such lines are overloaded or badly insulated, fatal arcing can occur from the ground at a considerable distance from the power lines. This has happened often in our country [the U.S .] , in rural areas where public utilities have quietly exceeded the capacity of their lines. The resulting discharges can easily electrocute livestock over mile from the 'leaky' H/T lines. I would wager that the Hungarian utility agencies are guilty of the same practice. Personally, I suspect that this unfortunate young man may have been electrocuted through his own urine! The 'blue light' witnessed by the victim's wife may have been St. Elmo's Fire -- an ungrounded luminous corona visible around the victim in the humid, pre-thunderstorm conditions. The hole in his heel and tennis shoe indicate where the current finally grounded itself." Wernikoff goes on to tell of a case in Canada where a man washing up at an outdoor table, 100 ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 122: Mar-Apr 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A REALLY MEANINGFUL COINCIDENCE "When Valdimir Gusiyev [a pseudonym] walked his dog each morning, he took a shine to a young woman he saw taking her small son to a nursery. The got talking, and within months the three were living together. "Then friends began to comment on how little Misha was the splitting image of his new father, and the local optometrist remarked that the boy had inherited his minor eye condition. Their words set Mr. Gusiyev's mind racing -- and apparently led to the discovery that there really was a family resemblance. He had fathered the child by donating sperm at the local fertility clinic in the town of Yaroslav." Gusiyev's new girl friend was a divorcee who had been married to an impotent man. She and her former husband had agreed to the artificial insemination before their divorce. A likely story? Genetic fingerprinting proved that Gusiyev was indeed the father of the child. As for the happy ending, Gusiyev and girl friend were soon married. (Blundy, Anna; "Fatherhood Takes on New Meaning for Sperm Donor," London Times, December 31, 1998. Cr. A.C .A . Silk.) From Science Frontiers #122, MAR-APR 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... barrier that seems to prevent most of us from drawing from a reservoir of remarkable mental capabilities. In savants and calculating prodigies, this barrier is ruptured and these talents flow readily to the fore -- but usually at the cost of some "normal" talents. Two Australian scientists, A. Snyder and J. Mitchel, have studied the "savant syndrome" and have presented their findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (B266:587, 1999). The gist of their paper was reported by R. Highfield in the Chicago Sun-Times . "These savants are often autistic, a developmental disorder that leaves them with little ability to empathize with others. However, some possess astonishing skills. "He [Snyder] believes the ability to tap raw information -- the mind's secret arithmetic -- is possessed by mathematical savants. They can multiply, divide, factor and identify prime numbers of six and more digits in seconds, or identify the number of objects they can see at a single glance -- 111 matches scattered on the floor, in one case." Snyder's intriguing conclusion is that ". .. we believe that everyone has the underlying facility to perform lightningfast integer arithmetic." (Highfield, Roger; "Study Adds Up to Formula for Math Genius," Chicago Sun Times , March 23, 1999. Cr. J. Cieciel) A more technical review of the SnyderMitchel work has appeared in Nature. There, N. Birbaumer focussed on that mysterious barrier that supposedly prevents most of us from utilizing our innate genius ...
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... of space and time. For example, 'Remember that Our Side is vast in space, and outside physical/temporal dimensions, and many are here!'" (Grattan-Guinness, I.; "Real Communication? Report on a SORRAT LetterWriting Experiment," Journal of Scien tific Exploration, 13:231, 1999.) Comment. We have summarized a 26-page report complete with photos, tables, etc., published in a peer-reviewed journal published by the Society for Scientific Exploration, which is composed mainly of diploma-holding scientists. Of course, mainstream science journals wouldn't touch SORRAT with a 10meter pole. SORRAT even stretches the envelope of most parapsychologists a bit far. Nevertheless, it is only a short belief-step from a human mind affecting the motion of a pendulum to the "spirit messages" in the SORRAT envelopes. Where does one draw the boundaries of acceptable science? From Science Frontiers #125, SEP-OCT 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 111: May-Jun 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Malleable Memories The ease with which psychologists can plant false memories in the minds of their subjects -- even savvy college students -- casts clouds over several anomalous phenomena, such as UFO abductions, ball lightning, and sea-monster sightings. Even scientists can be deluded into believing they have seen things in their laboratories. (Remember Blondlot's experiments with N-rays and the several physicists who confirmed his results?) Not that psychologists go around intentionally implanting memories of dubious phenomena. All it takes are suggestion, expectation, and/or paradigm-passion. At a 1997 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, several psychologists told of their "malleable-memory" experiments. H.L . Roediger III, Washington University, asked students: ". .. to look at a list of 15 words that included 'bed,' 'dream,' 'blanket,' 'doze,' and 'pillow.' Just over half said afterward that the word 'sleep' had been on the list, even though it wasn't ." E. Loftus, University of Washington, first asked a group of parents to describe some events that their children -- all now adults -- had experienced. Then, she went to the children and: ". .. walked them through a series of real incidents [mentioned by their parents] and then threw in a fake ...
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... consciousness will be identified. Then, we can determine for certain if any of the lower animals are also conscious. We think chimps and dolphins might be, but we're not really sure until we see if they have the necessary genes. In fact, the old-time behaviorists could be right, and all the other animals really are merely automatons. That would definitely make us "special"! Once we have the consciousness genes in our labs, we can introduce them into those other species, such as Rover and Kitty, upon whom we would like to confer the boon of consciousness. Many interesting experiments could be per-formed, including, of course, the elimination of consciousness genes in certain selected human subjects! (Jones, David; "States of Non-Mind," Nature, 403:263, 2000.) From Science Frontiers #128, MAR-APR 2000 . 1997 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... many different universes may have been created. The only one we observe is the one offering just the right combination of properties for evolving life and, especially, humankind. If this or that physical constant had been a tad different, humans would not have evolved. Even though humans obviously did evolve, it was all purposeless -- just the way atoms and molecules happened to combine. This outlook fits right in with Darwinism, for almost all Darwinists also see evolution as purposeless. It was blind chance that gave us the capabilities to build aircraft and tunnel into opposite sides of a mountain and meet in the middle. Moliner is highly skeptical that such amazing, "cooperative, adaptive" talents could have come about in an unbiased, purposeless universe. Suppose, he asks, vipers were philosophically minded. They might look at their marvelously complex fangs with the canals inside, a nearby poison gland, a poison storage reservoir with special ducts leading to the fangs, a fang-erection mechanism, a set of muscles to squeeze the poison reservoir, and a nervous system to control the whole system, and conclude that there must be an Ophidian Principle at work in the universe for vipers to end up with all these neatly interconnected biological components! Using the foregoing musings for a launch pad, Moliner assails Darwinism head on, employing the "what-good-is half-a -wing" and "complexity" arguments: "It is easy to visualise how random mutations followed by natural selection could lead to the right curvature of the fangs for better grasping of prey. But what ...
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... Sourcebook Subjects Did charles darwin become a christian?It has long been claimed by some Christians that Charles Darwin, who helped lay the intellectual foundations of secular humanism, reembraced Chris tianity as he neared death. A central figure in this tale is a Lady Hope, who supposedly visited Darwin in the months before he died. What is the basis for the Lady Hope story; and what do Darwin's own writings reveal about his religious beliefs? Alas, Darwin's return to the fold seems an apochryphal tale. W.H . Rusch, Sr., and J.W . Klotz, well-known scientific creationists, have prepared a 38page historical study of the question -- quoting at length from Darwin himself. They conclude about Darwin: "He had made the human mind his authority, and it led him from orthodoxy to theism to agnosticism. Indeed it appears he might well be characterized as an atheist, a doubter of the very existence of God. His caution, however, and his recognition of the impossibility from a scientific standpoint of proving a negative led him to characterize himself as an agnostic which he says he is content to remain." (Rusch, Wilbert H., Sr., and Klotz, John W.; " Did Charles Darwin Become a Christian? " Emmett L. Williams, ed., Norcross, 1988.) From Science Frontiers #57, MAY-JUN 1988 . 1988-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... references to death (men) and separation (women) with different levels of severity of heart disease. The severity of heart disease was evaluated with anatomical (coronary angiography) and physiological (ejection fraction) measures obtained at cardiac catheterization, each represented by a 6-point scale of increasing severity. There was no correlation of the number of dream references with the severity of abnormalities on coronary angiography. However, the number of dream references to death and separation correlated with the severity of cardiac dysfunction, as measured by the ejection fraction, which is a more sensitive parameter of disease severity." (Smith, Robert C.; "Do Dreams Reflect a Biological State?" Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175:201, 1987.) Comment. One would suppose that the minds (and dreams) of people who knew they had heart problems would normally be filled with dire thoughts. From Science Frontiers #52, JUL-AUG 1987 . 1987-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 114: Nov-Dec 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Do woodcocks "grunt" for worms?Earthworms have a potentially fatal habit: When they detect vibrations propagating through the ground, they quickly squirm their way to the surface. Perhaps they think a mole is tunneling after them, or maybe rain is beating down above. Whatever goes through their "minds," they emerge on the surface in response to vibrations and may be snapped up by several species that know their weakness. Human fishermen know the worms' weakness and "grunt" for them in several ways; say, by drawing a notched stick across the trunk of a small tree to generate vibrations. Wood turtles are said to "stomp" for worms. (SF#65) Kiwis and Kagus also stomp for their dinner. (Kagus are rather strange birds found in New Caledonia.) We have just learned that Woodcocks will beat their wings against the ground to coax earthworms within range. (Hennigan, Tom; "A Wonderfully Bizarre Bird," Creation/Ex Nihilo , 19:54, September-November 1997.) Comment. Woodcocks seem to lure worms to the surface in still another way: They "bob" or "rock" their body in a most peculiar manner. It is thought that the resulting pressure waves are transmitted to the ground through their feet and that these bring their favorite prey to where they can be grasped. (Marshall, William H.; "Does the Woodcock ...
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... sun. This is precocious astronomy by any measure. (Lima, Pedro; "L 'Incroyable D couverte d'une Pal o-Astronome," Science et Vie, p. 77, December 2000. Cr. C. Maug .) Comments. C. Jegues-Wolkiewiez is identified as an "independent" paleoastronomer," which seems to mean that he is not part of the French scientific establishment. It should he remarked that about 5,000 years ago, the New Grange passage grave in Ireland was constructed with a special channel to admit light to the central chamber only at sunrise on the year's two equinoxes. A stone chamber in the Gungywamp Complex, in Connecticut, possesses a similar light channel. (See MSU1 in Ancient Structures.) Evidently human minds far-separated in time and geography have similar ideas. From Science Frontiers #134, MAR-APR 2001 . 2001 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... to the "number sense." Exact arithmetic, in fact, is an activity of our left brain where language is processed. Our general number sense, though, is sited elsewhere; the parietal lobe, to be specific. Dehaene's experiments with babies demonstrate that, even before they can speak or do exact arithmetic, they can do "approximate arithmetic"; that is, they can distinguish between these two sequences of tones: beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep-beep. This number sense is apparently hardwired in a specific part of the human brain and the brains of a few other animals that have been tested (monkeys and rats). (Baiter, Michael; "What Makes the Mind Dance and Count?" Science, 292:1635, 2001.) Comment. Superficially, distinguishing between strings of beeps would appear to be a trivial phenomenon. Not so! The general number sense defined by Dehaene would seem to have significant survival value, say, as in assessing threats or hunting opportunities. We can, therefore, conceive a neo-Darwinian evolutionary scenario here. But when it comes to the number sense at Einstein's level, we fail to detect any survival value in the ability to develop the abstruse equations of relativity until, say, the advent of tenured positions in universities. From Science Frontiers #138, NOV-DEC 2001 . 2001 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. ...
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... than a single impact per extinction. This short abstract from a Nature article says it all: "If at least some mass extinctions are caused by impacts, why do they extend over intervals of one to three million years and have a partly stepwise character? The solution may be provided by multiple cometary impacts. Astronomical, geological and palaeontological evidence is consistent with a causal connection between comet showers, clusters of impact events and stepwise mass exi tinctions, but it is too early to tell how pervasive this relationship may be." (Hut, Piet, et al; "Comet Showers as a Cause of Mass Extinctions," Nature, 329:118, 1987.) Comment. In other words, the nature of astronomical catastrophism is still up in the air! But, bear in mind that a mere decade ago such a paper would have to look far for a jounal that would publish it. From Science Frontiers #54, NOV-DEC 1987 . 1987-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... to the window which faced a large building across the way...The early morning appeared warm, humid, and overcast. The explosive "thunderclaps" happened again, a whole series of them, and they seemed to originate up in the air and to my right, but I could detect no flashes of light, and the blasts seemed to come at random points in the sky (which was not very visible to me because of the big building looming across the lawn). I couldn't figure out where the storm cloud was that was producing these blasts, since everything was uniformly overcast, and there was no darkness moving in or evident in my field of view. From the sound of the blasts, which were very impressive, powerful noises, I pictured in my mind's eye that huge cloud-to-ground bolts of lightning must be erupting somewhere aloft and to the right and out of sight of my position at the window. But they seemed too scattered about, and then one boomed to the rear of my position, and that was soon followed by a blast slightly to the left of that one and way to the left of all the previous ones. Yet, there was no flash of lightning and no dark mass of cloud moving from right to left. "About 2 hours later, a young man who frequents that region told me that what had woken me up was not thunder but what the locals called 'Lake farts'." (Kuchar, George; personal communication, August 1996) Comment. Both the Cayuga and ...
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... be sought in the original combination formed by a primordial brain, the globular form of the skull and initial bipedalism. The ape, when compared with Man, appears to be rather a vestige of Man's ancestral line than his predecessor, according to the views of Max Westenhofer, Serge Frechkop, Klaas de Snoo and Bernard Heuvelmans. The study of the human morphology allows logically to carry the problem of Man's origin back to a very early stage of the evolution, and not to which has been reached by apes. From chromosomal and DNA comparison in the cells of living apes and people, several researches argue to-day that humans are genetically more like the common ancestor than is either Chimpanzees or other apes. The array of facts and considerations should be sufficient for an unbiased mind to discount away any idea of simian antecedents in Man's ascent." The body of the article supports de Sarre's thesis with observations from embryogenesis, comparative anatomy (skull, hand, foot), and phylogenesis. (de Sarre, Francois; "Initial Bipedalism: An Inquiry into Zoological Evidence," Bipedia , 1:3 , September 1988.) Comment. Obviously, de Sarre is taking an extreme position, and any observations supporting his position are anomalous by definition. From Science Frontiers #65, SEP-OCT 1989 . 1989-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... absorption in subjective experience and hypnotic susceptibility. Relatedly, the available empirical data fail to support the hypothesis that glossolalics suffer higher levels of psychopathology than nonglossolalics." Spanos et al then go on to detail their own research, in which they tried to teach glossolalia as a learnable skill. First, 60 subjects listened to a 60-second sample of genuine glossolalia. All subjects then tried to speak in tongues for 30 seconds. Some 20% spoke in tongues immediately without further training. The subjects were then divided into a control group and a group that received various kinds of training. Tests then showed that 70% of the trained subjects were now fluent (? ) in glossolalia. Glossolalia, therefore, seems likely to be a type of learned behavior rather than a special altered state of mind. (Spanos, Nicholas P., et al; "Glossolalia as Learned Behavior: An Experimental Demonstration," Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95:21, 1986.) From Science Frontiers #51, MAY-JUN 1987 . 1987-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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