We all do it. In fact, we are generally very good at it. Smart and educated people are better at it.

Rationalizing is a daily practice, part of the “default mode” of human thinking. We make up reasons to justify believing what we want to believe. Often we are only dimly aware of why we want to believe something, the calculus largely occurring in the subconscious depths of our brains.

We defend beliefs because they are pleasing to our egos, because they minimize cognitive dissonance, and just because they are our beliefs. They resonate with our world-view, our internal model of reality.

We have at our disposal a long list of logical fallacies that we can marshal to the defense of our beliefs. Notions that are based on solid evidence and logic do not require such vigorous defense. Those beliefs that cannot be defended by logic and evidence require that bad logic and bad data be invoked to defend them. Luckily we have no problem distorting and cherry picking facts and twisting logic into pretzels.

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I am constantly being sent links to YouTube videos or news reports of alleged video evidence. The classics are still the most common subjects – UFOs, ghosts, Bigfoot, with some recent additions such as the chupacabras. I guess these are the iconic types of misidentification. If you see something weird in the sky it’s a UFO, in the woods it’s Bigfoot, and in your home or some spooky place then it’s a ghost.

The formula is simple – start with a picture, video, or just sighting of a poorly defined object, or photographic artifact. This could be something at too great a distance to see clearly, or obscured by partial cover, or under poor viewing conditions, or just out of focus. Then you add the prevailing cultural belief of the observer with a pinch of the argument from ignorance, and you have a paranormal sighting. This process can be summarized as “believing is seeing.”

This process is made more obvious when people of different cultural backgrounds interpret the same basic experience according to their own cultural beliefs. A waking dream in one culture might be a visit from the Old Hag, while in another it is a demon, and in yet another it is an abducting little gray alien.

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The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology plans to publish a series of 9 experiments by Daryl Bem that purport to show evidence for precognition. This has sparked a heated discussion among psychologists and other scientists – mainly is it appropriate to publish such studies in a respected peer-reviewed journal and what are the true implications of these studies? I actually think the discussion can be very constructive, but it also entails the risk of the encroachment of pseudoscience into genuine science.

Peer-Review

Before I delve into these 9 studies and what I think about them, let me explore one of the key controversies – should these studies be published in a peer-reviewed journal? This question comes up frequently, and there are always two camps: The case in favor of publication states that it is necessary to provoke discussion and exploration. Put the data out there, and then let the community tear it apart.

The other side holds that the peer-reviewed literature holds a special place that should be reserved only for studies that meet certain rigorous criteria, and the entire enterprise is diminished if nonsense is allowed through the gates. Once the debate is over, the controversial paper will forever be part of the scientific record and can be referenced by those looking to build a case for a nonsensical and false idea.

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Self-proclaimed psychic Crystal Newage (rhymes with “sewage”) claims that she was psychically led to find a large trout in a lake near her home.

She was fishing with some friends and claims that her spirit guide told her where to fish, and which lure to use. After about an hour with her line in the water she pulled up a 3 pound rainbow trout. She is quoted as saying:

You can call it luck, but what are the chances that I would have caught this particular trout right where my spirit guide told me to look. I could sense that there was something special about this location – it has a clear energy.

“We were fishing for bass,” her friend recalls, “but I guess trout was in our destiny that day.”

Skeptics argue that Crystal’s experience is not evidence of genuine psychic ability, but for those who believe it is all the evidence they need.

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I have to admit, I love crop circles. I think they are a compelling art form. So I have anticipated for many years the coming of crop circle season in the Spring. Circle makers have really progressed the art form tremendously.

Here is the first one I have seen so far:

The theme seems to be mathematical – a common theme. The implication is that aliens are trying to communicate to use through the use of math and music, of course they never seem to teach us anything – just copy established mathematics. But it does represent the utility of math in producing beautiful symmetry in art.

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XKCD, a science-savvy webcomic, has a recent installment called The Flake Equation (a play on the Drake Equation which provides the formula for calculating the likely number of technological civilizations in the universe). I am now going to take his brief and elegant point and beat that horse to death.

While XKCD applies his equation to UFO sightings, it applies equally well to any paranormal or pseudoscientific phenomenon – bigfoot, ghosts, alternative medicine healings, etc. Often we are told by believers that “where there is smoke there is fire.” In other words – with so many people reporting sightings or healings, there must be something going on.

Skeptics, of course, recognize this as a fallacy. There is a major unstated premise or assumption in this position. We must ask ourselves – in a hypothetical world in which we are not and have never been visited by aliens, what would we expect in terms of sightings and experiences? Is such a world compatible with the current number and quality of sightings? I think the answer to this is a pretty clear “yes” – and that is exactly the point that XKCD is making.

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These stories crop up every now and then – someone looking through recent photos notices something odd, perhaps something that was not noticed when the picture was taken. Many people will shrug off such anomalies – weird stuff happens on pictures all the time. However, those with a certain inclination may jump on a paranormal explanation, which most likely means the photo will be presented as evidence for ghosts.

And sometimes the local news will pick up such a story, because they are suckers for that sort of thing.

The latest ghost photo flap deals with this picture (click to enlarge). Look in the upper left hand corner and you will see what appears to be the face of an old woman.

The news story is presenting this as “ghost or hoax” – a silly false dichotomy. Some of the comments to the story are buying this false dichotomy, give the old argument, “why would they lie?” – so therefore, the only other option, is that it must be a ghost.

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I am away this week filming the pilot for The Skeptologists. For NeuroLogica this week I am updating and editing some previous essays that I have written. This one was originally published in my Weird Science column in June 2005.

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When I was a child some of my favorite toys were simple magnets. I was fascinated by the way they could push or pull on each other at a distance with an invisible force. It was like magic. Energy itself, all types of energy, seems like magic. Physicists, performing almost like stage magicians (nothing up their sleeves), recently delighted in showing off how they could levitate frogs using superconducting magnets.

It’s no wonder that mysterious energies play a central role in so much of the science of the weird. Many gurus and mystics claim they can heal by simply manipulating “life energy.” There is also no shortage of con artists and the self-deluded who claim they have found the secret of limitless free energy. Simply inserting the word “energy” into any claim, no matter how ridiculous, will give it the appearance of cutting-edge science.

Shortly after the discovery of electromagnetism, while it was still cutting-edge science, Anton Mesmer claimed to have discovered “animal magnetism,” a new force that he could detect and manipulate to “mesmerize” his subjects. Benjamin Franklin, considered an expert of his day in the electrical force, was asked to head a commission to investigate Mesmer, and he definitively showed the claims to be nothing but delusion.

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I am away this week filming the pilot for The Skeptologists. For NeuroLogica this week I am updating and editing some previous essays that I have written. This one was originally published in my Weird Science column in December 2004.

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At a recent medical conference, a pharmaceutical company was offering free handwriting analysis–for “entertainment” of course. Always game, I agreed to have the depths of my personality laid bare, betrayed by the sweep of my s and the boldness of my t . To my skeptical eye, the results were laughably mundane and predictable. The reader knew, of course, that I was a physician, so it was no surprise when he “read” in my handwriting that I like science and have a desire to care for people. Wow!

But others were impressed by the apparent accuracy of their readings. The results are not dissimilar to many friends and acquaintances who have visited a local psychic, tarot card reader, or astrologer, and the many more who have seen TV psychics like John Edward and Sylvia Browne. “How do you explain this?” people ask, very impressed, convinced that something paranormal must be going on.

But like any magic trick, the real answer is far simpler than you would imagine. Psychics will continue to shout “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” while they try to dazzle their marks with fire and smoke-but once you’ve seen the man behind the curtain, the show is over.

So let’s have a peek.

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Most states require that health care professionals acquire continuing education (CE) credits (or continuing medical education – CME – for MD’s) in order to maintain their license. This is a good concept but unfortunately the system is completely broken. What I consider to be a minor problem with the system is that it is haphazard – professionals can get CE/CME credits essentially on random topics within their field. There is no attempt at ensuring that critical updates are part of continuing education. But as I said, this is a minor flaw.

What completely breaks the system is the absurdly low standards for what kinds of information qualify for CE credit. A professional could easily fulfill their CE requirements without having to expose themselves to any legitimate educational information. For example, nurses can get CE credits for learning how to do therapeutic touch, even though this modality has no scientific legitimacy at all. Of course the bigger problem here is that TT is used by nurses at all.

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