The Sagan Society in the News
1/26/00 in the Athens Banner Herald
Critical thinking
By Sarah Lee Staff Writer
"Americans are fascinated by sensationalism. Examples from the recent past are not hard to find: the country watched with fascination while our president's personal life was played out on television; pro basketball player Dennis Rodman went from being a cult hero to a media bad-boy as easily as he changed the color of his hair; the ethical mores of cloning became a hot media topic, putting spirituality and science in opposing corners; and ''The Jerry Springer Show,'' and everything that it represents, dominated the airwaves. Although it may be hard for many Americans to admit, in this county at least, the information age continues to be dominated by emotional reaction. While some would argue that emotional response to a contemporary issue is as American as aliens in Roswell, N.M., others, like the Sagan Society at the University of Georgia, would argue that, while emotion should not be entirely discredited, it may not be the best reaction to important issues. ''We try to offer a forum for objective examination of contemporary issues without making an appeal to emotion,'' said Shannon Daspit, a graduate student in marketing research at UGA and president of the society since August. ''We are prepared to discuss a fact-based analysis of any topic.'' The Sagan Society, founded in April 1998 and funded by the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is named in honor of Carl Sagan, one of the 20th century's most revered astronomers. Sagan, who died in 1996, was a physicist, teacher and author who believed that every issue could be viewed objectively and, in fact, should be examined using reason and logic. Two students at UGA, Chris Hoofnagle and Will Lange, were familiar with Sagan's philosophy of rationalism and created The Sagan Society as a reaction to prevailing attitudes on campus. ''They saw that most debates were not conducive to real dialogue about the topic,'' said Daspit. ''They wanted to create a place where people could question the experts and maybe fill out areas of knowledge without relying on the media or other second-hand sources. Straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.'' Hoofnagle and Lange teamed up with faculty adviser Barry Palevitz to create not only a forum dedicated to critical thinking, but a place, according to Daspit, that affords students the opportunity to better appreciate their teachers by learning their areas of expertise. ''We are dedicated to student/faculty interaction,'' she said. ''We will always be a place where students are subject to more than the superficial level of education. They can really get to know their teachers.'' The Sagan Society now boasts members from nearly every discipline on campus. Some of the areas covered in society meetings include general issues surrounding feminism, philosophy and science. Most recently, for example, Wyatt Anderson, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and expert in DNA analysis, presented a lecture titled ''Genetics as a Historical Tool: DNA Typing, Thomas Jefferson and the Czar's Family.'' According to Daspit, Anderson offered his expert opinion on the controversial subject of DNA typing and then opened the floor to questions and discussion. ''We also had a really interesting forum on the Hope scholarship,'' Daspit said. ''It appears to be such a good thing for the students and the school, but we are talking about the lottery, and the people who attended that lecture had a lot to say.'' Daspit stressed that the talks can cover any area that affects people, from the idea of alien life to the topic of religion. ''We are not just science-based, we are prepared to discuss anything about the human condition,'' she said. Future lectures, always free and open to the public, will cover such topics as capital punishment, skepticism regarding belief in God, the ethical treatment of animals, and opinions on mass advertising and media concentration. Daspit said that the goal is not to change minds but to present the material so that it can be examined rationally. ''We assume that everyone who comes has a moral compass, no matter what their beliefs, so we try not to inject morality into the lecture. We simply want to discuss the topic based on reason rather than emotion,'' she said. In the future, Daspit hopes to see a larger, more cohesive group of members, and more non-students attending the lectures. ''We hope to gain respect as a potential think tank,'' she said. When asked whether their namesake would be pleased with their efforts to carry on his work, Dapsit thought for a moment and calmly replied, ''I think Sagan would be pleased that we offer a non-inflammatory place that also has integrity in which to carry on the torch of information. We are devoted to critical thinking and to keeping an open mind. These are definitely keeping with his philosophy.''
'6/18/98 in the Athens Daily News Marquee Section.
Sagan Society Makes Contact
Messages from outer space? They doubt it.
You could also join the Sagan
Society, an Athens-based group that approaches the subject of conspiracy theories from a
different angle.
Keith Lankford, vice president of the newly formed student organization, is a math major
at the University of Georgia, and is dedicated to "promoting basic critical thinking
skills."
Lankford's newsletter, "Doubting Thomas: the newsletter of weird stuff" and web site (http://members.aol.com/DoubtTommy/), is the skeptics-eye view of conspiracy theories.
For instance, in the newsletter, Lankford relays that the theory proposed by one GoroAdachi, that the wildly popular film "Titanic" "has been released by the secret world government to prepare us for the revealing of the infamous 'Hall of Records' where, it is believed, the secrets of the universe are kept hidden...." -- is simply not true.
It's quite a bit more complicated than all that, and Lankford goes to greater lengths in disproving Adachi's theories, but you get the idea.
"It's not a question of how well debated the issue is. If there's no evidence for something, then why believe in it?" Lanford says.
"The thing is that the government does engage in cover-ups," Lankford says, acknowledging the widespread following of conspiracy theories. While some things are plausible (Lankford refers to the secrecy once surrounding the Stealth Bomber), there are other things people believe in that lack any hard evidence.
And in some cases, believing in these theories can be destructive, Lankford points out. "It can be bad -- there was massive paranoia during the Salem witch trials. Or it can even be good if it keeps you on your toes. Most cases are harmless, but sometimes you'll get a Heaven's Gate, which just goes to show, these kinds of beliefs can lead to dangerous consequences," Lankford says.
Nonetheless, Lankford doesn't expect conspiracy theorists to take his word against their own theories. "I don't go out trying to convince anyone. I just encourage people to check it out first," he says.
Incidentally, while Lankford is the chief editor and contributor to "Doubting Thomas," he's looking for other submissions, and may be contacted by e-mail at DoubtTommy@aol.com.
7/23/98 in the Athens Daily News.
UGA student a 'Doubting Thomas' about aliens, UFOs
By Wayne Ford
Oconee Editor
One of the great UFO mysteries is whether the U.S. government covered up the crash of an alien spacecraft near Roswell, N.M., in 1947. It's no mystery to Keith Lankford.
"Project Mogul. That's what happened there," said Lankford, a University of Georgia senior who lives on Mars Hill Road. Project Mogul was the secret spy-balloon experiment offered by the military to clear up the crashed saucer controversy.
Whether the topic is UFOs, the horoscope or the lost continent of Atlantis, Lankford is ready to offer an opposing view to anyone who promotes such phenomena or events as real. Lankford is editor of a newsletter called "Doubting Thomas," which debuted in June. He is also a member of the Sagan Society, a group of scientists and laypersons who want to promote rational and critical thought about subjects that they consider pseudo science. About 50 members are connected with the university, either as faculty or students.
The society, which formed in April, has adopted the"Doubting Thomas" publication as its official newsletter. Lankford, a 1994 graduate of Oconee County High School, is majoring in math education and plans to becomea high school teacher.
When he was growing up, he was
fascinated with thestories of extraterrestrial aliens from another world. He readWhitley
Strieber's book "Communion," about alienabductions when he was 12. It was
"scary," he said."I was a great believer in this kind of stuff," he
said.
But his viewpoints on this subject changed "when Ibegan to look at things critically
and objectively."
In regard to subjects like aliens from space, Lankfordlikes to follow the words of the late eminent scientist CarlSagan, who said, "Extraordinary claims requireextraordinary evidence."
And so far, he says, the evidence isn't there to prove acase for UFOS or other controversial subjects like psychic abilities and unknown creatures such as the Loch Ness monster.
A recent article in this section featured Bishop water dowser Don Ashe. But Lankford doesn't believe that dowsing for underground water taps into some unexplained power.
Dowsers claim they can detect water through a divining rod."Science has shown us time and again that there areprosaic explanations for seemingly extraordinaryoccurrences, especially dowsing. So, tentatively, we cansay that dowsing doesn't work," said Lankford.
On the various topics, Lankford said:
- UFOs. About 98 percent of UFO reports have prosaic answers, such as birds, planes, satellites and planets. Many people are sincere about what they report, but Lankford believes there are rationale explanations for thingsthese people see in the sky.
- Bigfoot. Again they misidentify what they see. "I saw something. It was big and hairy in the woods. I can't explainit. I think it was Bigfoot," he said is the common sighting. A 1967 film by Roger Patterson, claimed by some interestedin the subject as the best evidence for the creature, is "ahoax," he said.
- Psychics. Probably the most dangerous of the claims because it can harm people who are gullible. The psychic hot lines, which advertise heavily on television, are "gearedat low-income black women," he said.
- Ghosts. Again, he said some people sincerely believe they have seen a ghost, but he doesn't believe ghosts exists.
If any of the strange events were to prove true, Lankfordsaid scientists would be elated, even those that don't believe.
"If they caught the Loch Ness monster, you'd havepeople say, 'Oh, those wise-guy scientists. They don't know anything.' "But the thing about it is, if you had something like that then every scientist in the world would put down everything they're doing and study it."
One of the most interesting
facets of putting his publication together, he said, is learning about the variousbeliefs
people have."People believe in a lot of different things and usually there is not a
lot of evidence," he said.Even professional people -- like Strieber, a writer
whoclaims to have had contact with alien beings, and Courtney Brown, an Emory University
professor, who believes he hasseen aliens and believes that Martians have a base on Earth
-- promote some unusual belief systems.
"People believe weird things, even professors, evenrespectable people," Lankford
said.
10/29/98 in the Athens Daily News
Questions, questions, questions. Skeptic to speak in Athens
By K.A. Mavromatis
Correspondent
Alien abductions, spiritualists, gurus, psychics, UFO sightings, cults, Holocaust denial, near-death experiences - whether it's truly disturbing or just a little bit bizarre, it's a pretty good bet Michael Shermer has written about it.
On Wednesday, November 4, the author of "Why People Believe Weird Things" shares his thoughts with an Athens audience in a lecture at the University Chapel.
"I'll cover a variety of topics covered in the book, like psychic hot-lines, satanic panic, and witch crazes," Shermer said. "Then I'll wrap it up by talking about the relationship between science and religion."
"Why People Believe Weird Things" goes beyond merely describing and debunking the topics Shermer chooses to write about - the book actually looks beyond a person's gullibility and analyzes what makes people buy into certain trends in the first place.
"What's more interesting to me," Shermer said, "is the 'Why?' behind it (the trends)." The chapters in his 1997 book - which covers everything from the "otherworldly communication" of psychic man-of-the-hour, James Van Praagh, to Holocaust denial - were originally articles in Skeptic magazine, which Shermer founded in 1992.
Thirty-thousand copies of Skeptic are distributed quarterly; Shermer is also host of the monthly Skeptics Lecture Series at the California Institute of Technology. Most recently, he can also be heard over the airwaves as the host of "Science Talk With Michael Shermer," broadcast on the Los Angeles NPR affiliate KPCC.
A skeptic isn't necessarily born. In some cases, he is made. Shermer's own transformation began, he writes in his book, when he was a professional cyclist trying every new vitamin and procedure in an attempt to enhance his performance. His disillusion (and resulting skepticism) came when he finally realized that what helped his training the most were rest and a balanced diet.
Shermer said he enjoys talking to students, both on the college lecture circuit and in his teaching job at Occidental College in Los Angeles. "Students are very open-minded," he said. "They come out of high school and they buy this stuff (the topics he writes about) lock, stock, and barrel." Shermer's personal favorite "weird thing" that people believe?
"That 40 percent of Americans do not believe in evolution," he said. "This constant grip on ancient religion - it's just amazing to me."
Up next for Shermer is the publication of two new books, both due out in the fall of 1999. "Denying History" is an expansion of the chapters discussing Holocaust denial in "Why People Believe Weird Things." "Why People Believe in God" will discuss the role of religion in our culture, and will challenge radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger's claim that one can't be moral without God.
"That's one of the things I'd like to change in America," Shermer said. In the meantime, Shermer's students at Occidental keep him on his toes, and provide him lots to write about.
"I teach a class in critical thinking," Shermer said. "That's how I know people believe weird things - and lots of them."
11/5/98 in the Athens Daily News
Speaker dissects willingness to believe
By Lee Shearer
Staff Writer
Why do people believe weird things?
A lecturer at the University of Georgia didn't really answer the question posed in the title of his Wednesday talk, but he did provide plenty of evidence that people remain all too willing to believe things that make no sense.
Touching on and trashing Holocaust deniers, drug dowsers, European "E-ray" blankets, "therapeutic touch" healers, Kennedy assassination theorists and psychologists who help people "recover" memories of childhood sexual abuse, author and scientist Michael Shermer addressed the UGA chapter of the Sagan Society in the UGA Chapel.
Shermer, a teacher at Occidental College in Los Angeles, is the publisher of Skeptic Magazine and author of the recent best-selling book, "Why People Believe in History," with two more soon to be published: "Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It?" and "Why People Believe in God." On Wednesday night, Shermer described how a friend's 9-year-old daughter debunked the claims of therapeutic touch healers, who say they can feel human energy auras and chase away bad energy with a healing touch.
The little girl, casting about for a science fair project, decided to test whether the healers could actually say whether her hand was next to theirs. She made them stick their hand inside a sort of shielded box, then guess whether her hand was next to theirs. The healers got it right about half the time, the same number of times they would be right if they had flipped a coin.
Another example of weird things
people believe, Shermer noted, is "recovered memory," a phenomenon now
disappearing under the weight of multimillion-dollar lawsuits. "In the 1980s, there
was kind of a witch craze," he said, including widespread reports of Satanic cults
and an epidemic of child abuse, with estimates that as many as half of all children had
been abused. But where were all those children?