"I have to say, I liked it a lot. It was refreshingly skeptical and shows a level of scientific methodology and critical thinking rare in ghost hunter circles. It should be required reading for anyone interested in ghosts; both novice and veteran ghost hunters will save themselves a lot of time chasing wild geese if they read and understand what you 
have to say."

  hope to see you there,
Eric Krieg

“Orbs or Dust? A Practical Guide to False-Positives.”

Come with us as Mr. Biddle takes a look at False-Positives; evidence that appears to be paranormal, but actually has a natural explanation. Our speaker will take a look at not only Orbs, but through the many other forms in which ghosts have been "captured". You will learn about mistakes, tricks of light and a camera feature that has been wreaking havoc in the ghost hunting community. Mr. Biddle will also look at a few ways "Investigators" deliberately produce images, including step-by-step instructions on how they "capture" a shadow man with the help of Photoshop. He will also include a few experiments you can do to verify many of these results yourself.

Ken Biddle is founder of PIRA, Paranormal Investigators & Research Association.

http://home.comcast.net/~parainvestigator/Index/Main.html

PIRA gets involved with many charitable causes, mainly by participating in fund raising events at historical sites in the Delaware Valley area. They have supported historic Fort Mifflin, and in May of 2010 will participate in an event at historic Eastern State Penitentiary.
It looks like that we will be using the open parking lot on 17th street across from the main garage on January 16.  Going South on 17th from Spring Garden St, the open parking lot will be on your left.

ALL ARE WELCOME  Refreshments will be served.

People,

   Although it doesn't feel much like global warming lately - come and get a look
at the controversy this Saturday at 2pm for "Conspiracies in Science".   All
lectures are held at 2:00 PM in the C2-28 Lecture Room at the Philadelphia
Community College. This room is in the Center for Business and Industry at the
corner of 18th and Callowhill streets on the College's Main Campus.  Parking is
easily available but is no longer free for PhACT attendees at CCP events. The
Saturday parking rate is $3.50. Enter the college parking lot on 17th Street
which is one way south bound

Saturday, February 20, 2010 - Conspiracy Theories in Science

Ted Goertzel of Rutgers will speak to us on "Conspiracy Theories in Science" and
will give some up to date insights on the global warming email scandal.
Dr. Goertzel s talk will include claims on both sides of the global warming
issue, that the other side is censoring, and will discuss conspiracy belief in
general. Conspiracy Theory is an immensely rich topic, as our lives are
surrounded by various conspiracies great and small, malevolent and good natured.
Some are sinister, such as political intrigues and criminal plots to discredit
or defraud. Others are harmless, such as the silliness of UFO claimants and
those elaborate schemes to carry out a surprise party.
It does become a bit distressing when science is at the center of Conspiracy
Theories. We do, after all, expect scientists to be objective and even
"scientific" in attitude and demeanor. However, if one were to dig deeply into a
science controversy one might very well find factions based upon ego, power, and
financial interests.
The current Climate Change/Global Warming debate is an interesting example where
experts on both sides of the issue are unhappy about the statements and tactics
of the other. That issue remains unresolved, but there are other science
conspiracies where the science is indeed well resolved that have significant
impact upon our lives and large numbers of supporters on both sides.
PhACT and other critical thinking and skeptics groups routinely discuss
Creationism, homeopathy, UFO's, anti-vaccination activists, free energy devices,
and many other issues. Those controversial areas all have scientific claims and
large number of True Believers at odds with the beliefs of skeptics. Oddly
enough, those True Believers are wrong in their contentions and WE, of course,
are right in ours.
Come to the meeting with an open mind and questions, and as an attendee you need
not feel obliged to adhere to mainstream skeptical thinking, whatever that may
be -- even though we are right. :-)

Our speaker, Ted Goertzel, earned his B.A. at Antioch College, Yellow Springs,
Ohio, 1964, in sociology and anthropology, an M.A. at Washington University,
1966, in sociology and Latin American Studies, and Ph.D. At Washington
University, St. Louis, 1970, in sociology. In 1973 he became Professor of
Sociology at Rutgers University.
He has written or co-authored many books including Cradles of Eminence: Second
Edition, Fernando Henrique Cardoso: Reinventing Democracy in Brazil, Linus
Pauling: A Life in Science and Politics (with Ben Goertzel, Mildred Goertzel and
Victor Goertzel), Turncoats and True Believers: The Dynamics of Political Belief
and Disillusionment, Sociology: Class, Consciousness, and Contradictions (with
Albert Szymanski), Three Hundred Eminent Personalities: A Psychosocial Analysis
of the Famous (with Mildred Goertzel and Victor Goertzel), and Political
Society. In addition he has written countless articles, essays, and book
chapters.
Dr.Goertzel s web page is: http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/
=========================

    Our March meeting will feature the very prolific anthropologist, Lionel Tiger
who I'm anticipating will speak on "The Decline of Males" as well as promote his
latest book, "God's Brain".  By there for a fascinating look at a number of
controversies spanning culture, genes and technology.  A book signing will
follow.  He is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers
University and more information on him is found at
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~ltiger/

   I'm hoping to get a speaker on destructive cults for April.  And we have Joe
Nickell slated as a dinner banquette speaker for May 15th followed by a Jersey
Devil investigation and field trip open to members the next morning.

best wishes,
Eric Krieg
phact.org

"The news overall is that women are taking firmer control of their destinies," Tiger declares. The result he sees is that men are losing their ancient position of dominance. How has this shift come about? Tiger, a professor of anthropology at Rutgers University, says the fundamental reason is that "through effective contraception--for the first time in history--one sex can control the reproductive process." And so "more women are having children without men, and therefore more men are without the love of families. Women as a group are working more and earning more. Men are working less and earning less." Moreover, women are now graduating from college at higher rates than men (a trend that will affect the future of employment) and have begun to vote in patterns distinctly different from the voting tendencies of men (a trend that will affect government and public dialogue). As for men, "what is under way is so imprecise but so general and atmospheric they do not realize what is happening to them."

 Why do sophisticated companies with intelligent employees make poor decisions managing risk?  Are the challenges in managing risk just an issue of education or are there evolutionary reasons why people have difficulty in understanding risk?  Dr. David W. Cragin, Adjunct Professor, Department of Health Policy and Public Health,  University of the Sciences, Philadelphia and Professor, International Program in Pharmaceutical Engineering Management of Peking University in Beijing, China and Councilor of PhACT will give a talk that explores numbers and how our mind evaluates and interprets them. 

  Dr. David W. Cragin, is Professor of International Pharmaceutical Engineering Management at Peking University and is an environmental Toxicologist at a major Pharmacuetical compan as well as adjunct Prof of Health Policy  at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. 

•      We can always use either general donations or for specific things like science fair awards, getting speakers in, or making sure our student rates stay low.
•      If someone can help us get a meeting location for June 19th, we can get an excellent speaker, Jim Lippard who will be in the area to speak on interesting topics like his struggles with scientologists, fundy's and creationists.
•   If someone has knowledge in setting up or running 501c non profits, we could use some help

Directions: Historic Batsto Village is located on Route 542 in the Wharton State Forest, Washington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. It is about 45 miles Southeast of Philadelphia and approximately 25 miles in a Westerly direction from Atlantic City. The nearest significant town is Hammonton, NJ 08037 which is about 8 miles to the West.
More detailed driving directions can be found at the Batsto Village website:

Note the location for just this time is in  the Compucraft company at 102D Park Drive Montgomeryville PA  Go North and West on rt. 63 and turn right on Park ave, Compucraft is on the left hand side on the far end of the building.   Our speaker, Jim Lippard will speak on:
 

 Colliding with Creationists and  Cults on the Internet

 Jim Lippard is a leading skeptic/activist/writer from Arizona who will be in our city on business the week before June 19th Lippard was one of the very first skeptics to start staking out a presence for the skeptical voice on the internet. He has had lawsuit threats and been subpoenaed as a result of his "free speech" on controversial topics. Lippard has written dozens of articles on various skeptical publications for decades now. Topics he has written on include prophecies that miss, Noah's Ark hoaxes, creationists, hypnosis, Scientology, Jean Dixon, the shroud, UFOs, etc. Many of his are found from:
http://www.discord.org/~lippard/publications.html
 He was also planning to visit the Mutter museum Friday afternoon - anyone is welcome to see if he is open to that being an informal group: lippard@... 

Eric Krieg

PhACT's upcoming special Summer Suburban meeting will be Saturday, June 19th 10am  

Note the location for just this time is in  the Compucraft company at 102D Park Drive Montgomeryville PA  From route 309 go North and West on rt. 63 and turn right on Park ave and then Compucraft is a short distance on the left hand side on the far end of the building.   Our speaker, Jim Lippard will speak on:
 

 Colliding with Creationists and  Cults on the Internet

 Jim Lippard is a leading skeptic/activist/writer from Arizona who will be in our city on business the week before June 19th Lippard was one of the very first skeptics to start staking out a presence for the skeptical voice on the internet. He has had lawsuit threats and been subpoenaed as a result of his "free speech" on controversial topics. Lippard has written dozens of articles on various skeptical publications for decades now. Topics he has written on include prophecies that miss, Noah's Ark hoaxes, creationists, hypnosis, Scientology, Jean Dixon, the shroud, UFOs, etc. Many of his are found from:
http://www.discord.org/~lippard/publications.html
 He was also planning to visit the Mutter museum Friday afternoon - anyone is welcome to see if he is open to that being an informal group: lippard@... 

July 10th 2010 PhACT Picnic. Noon at Mondauk Common Park    This year we will again have a book swap - it can be a great free way to build up a science/skeptic book collection - or help someone else do so.   We always have fun visiting, eating and playing sports.  Bring your own food, you can cook on the grill.  And bring stuff to throw. We have reserved the pavilion in the woods on the Southeast corner of Mondauk Common park in Upper Dublin.  This is good fun for the whole family You can get there by going up the trail from the smaller wooded parking lot off Broad Street.  Broad street runs between Susquehanna and Limekiln roads and is found on the attached map.  Call my cell if you get lost at (215) 667-1151
  From the PA turnpike, go to the FT. Washington exit and take rt 309 north, take your second exit and turn right onto Susquehanna. Make a left at the second light onto Broad Street and park in the second park parking lot on the left and follow the little sand path up to the pavilion.

People can join PhACT by sending 15$ for email subscription, 25$ for snail mail - checks payable to PhACT to 639 W. Ellet Street Philadelphia, PA 19119

    As a final news item - Special congratulations to board member Mike Caro and his wife Aimee on the recent birth of Charles Monday June 7.

Eric Krieg

Saturday, September 18, 2010 - Denying Science - Paul Barnett (aka John Grant)

Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 2:00 PM

in room C2-28 of the Center for Business and Industry (corner of 18th and Callow Hill)

Dr. Catherine Fiorello will give a talk on

“Myths of Psychology and Child Rearing”

Dr. Catherine Fiorello is Assistant Professor and Director of the School Psychology Program at Temple University. She is best known for her work on cognitive and neuropsychological assessment and is co-author of the best-selling "School Neuropsychology" with her colleague Brad Hale. In this presentation, Dr. Fiorello will cover a variety of research findings from psychology and education that are relevant to raising children today.  

Michel teaches physical science, forensic science, analytical chemistry, and 
instrumental analysis at Mount Saint Mary University in Maryland.   He will speak 
about looking into paranormal claims and his interactions with 
various higher end paranormal investigation organizations like: The Society for 
Scientific Exploration, and American Society for Psychical Research)  He will also 
talk about how he approaches topics like miracles, ESP, etc - and also how 
he covers such subjects with undergraduate students.  


Michael is currently an associate professor of chemistry at
 Mount Saint Mary's University His research interests are chemical archeology, 
forensic analytical methods, and environmental issues. He worked for 30 years in
 the area of atomic and molecular spectroscopy.  He received his B.S. in 
chemistry in 1969 from the University of Maryland, spent two years in the 
U.S. Army as a combat engineer and prison guard.  He got his  Ph.D. in 
Analytical Chemistry from the University of Maryland in 1976.  
He has has published over 100 times including "The Skeptics Column" 
in the pro paranormal publication Journal for Scientific Exploration.

The Psychology Department at Rowan University is looking for individuals with
advanced training in Psychology (M.A., or Ph.D.) to teach our Psychology of
Scientific Thinking Course. This course is designed as an introduction to the
methods of science and the role that science plays in the understanding of how
the world works.  Throughout the course students are given the tools to be able
to differentiate between valid scientific claims and those made as a result of
"junk" science or pseudoscience.  The main emphasis of the course is on the
development of critical thinking skills and a healthy skepticism when confronted
with "scientific" claims.  This course is also designed to introduce students to
basic psychological processes that underlie human judgment and decision making
that play a role in the persistence of beliefs in pseudoscientific and
nonscientific explanations of behavior and phenomena. For more information
please contact Dr. Monica Greco, Chairperson Psychology Department at
greco@....

"Nonsense on Stilts”

Prof. Massimo Pigliucci, a professor at the City University of New York, will speak on the topic of his new book "Nonsense on Stilts:How to Tell Science from Bunk" which we will have for sale for a book signing after his lecture.

Massimo Pigliucci is an associate Professor of Ecology and Evolution at SUNY Stony Brook and author of Tales of the Rational: Skeptical Essays about Nature and Science and a very frequent contributor to Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer magazines.

The Winnet building is found just off 17th just up hill from the college parking garage.  An interactive map is found at:

http://www.ccp.edu/site/about/campus_map.htm

Then on February 19th we will have David Clarke speaking on Abusive Cults. He was a contributing author on Exit Counseling in the book, Recovery from Cults and received the Hall of Fame Award from the "original" Cult Awareness Network. He has been a national and international conference speaker on the topic of cults and has been interviewed by newspapers, radio, and TV stations on the topic of mind control and cults for over two decades.

The March speaker will be announced later.  We could use prize donations and volunteer judges March 15, 2011 for the  Bucks County Science Fair at the Delaware Valley College - This will be our third year of judging and giving out prizes for a special "Critical Thinking" category prize.   If someone can do the leg work to connect us up for the Philadelphia Science Fair competition, we would love to participate there as well.

We are interested in ideas and volunteers to help us participate in the Philadelphia Science Festival held April 16th on the parkway.

Our annual banquet will be May 21 again at the Sorella Rose in Flourtown Pa.

Feel free to participate on our PhACT Discussion Board

Hope you can make some of our events for this season,
Eric Krieg

Please remember, Feb 19th at 2pm in room S2-3 of the Winnet Student Life building with:David Clark who will speak on Abusive Cults

David Clark is a thought reform consultant from Philadelphia who has been active in this field for more than 25 years. He was a contributing author for the book, Recovery from Cults. In 1985 he received the Hall of Fame Award from the "original" Cult Awareness Network He was a founding member of the "original" Focus and reFOCUS, a national support network for former cult members. He has been a national and international conference speaker on the topic of cults and has been interviewed by newspapers, radio, and TV stations on the topic of mind control and cults for over two decades. Mr. Clark also contributed to a May 16, 2006 History Channel special on Opus Dei and was featured in John Allen's important book, Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church. In 2010 David Clark was featured as an international cult expert at the Shenzhen International Symposium on Cultic Studies in China.

The Winnet building is on 17th just up hill from the college parking garage.  See interactive map:

http://www.ccp.edu/site/about/campus_map.htm

March 19, 2011 - Disasters: Geology vs. Hollywood

Saturday, April 23, 2011 - Judge Jones from the Dover intelligent design trial

Saturday, May 21, 2011 - Annual Banquet       "The Long Awaited Apocalypse"

Saturday September 17th 2011    The Search of Extra Terrestrial Intelligent Life

This meeting is in association with the Philadelphia Science Festival.

Judge Jones handed down the decision in the Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District trial involving attempts to put "Intelligent Design" in public school books. It has been called the most significant trial defending science teaching since the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. Judge Jones, a Lutheran republican, was nominated by former Senator Rick Santorum (a creationist activist) and appointed by George W. Bush. But he is strongly committed to judicial independence. Judge Jones's ruling was that "Intelligent Design" (basically creationism with a new name) is a religious theory, not scientific, and banned it from public classrooms. He got death threats against his family and was protected for a time by a US marshal. This case was an expensive, crushing defeat for the school district (who later voted out the school board members who started it), and for religionists who Judge Jones found had lied under oath. A summary of the ruling is:

Saturday, May 21, 2011 - Annual Banquet       "The Long Awaited Apocalypse"

Saturday June 25th is our annual picnic in Upper Dublin's Mondauk Commons park starting at noon.

Saturday September 17th 2011    The Search of Extra Terrestrial Intelligent Life

Saturday, May 21, 2011 - Annual Banquet

Saturday, June 25, 2011 - PhACT Picnic

 

 

Let's party for FRIDAY MAY THE THIRTEENTH!!!

DJ Dance Party featuring Ladder Limbo, Horoscope Trashing, Open your umbrellas to fast and slow dances, Mirror Breaking Ceremony, Piñata, and much more! Anti-superstition doctors and nurses, psychic fortune teller, etc. Cash bar, free Hors 'Oeuvres. (No BYOB.) Door Prizes!

The Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center and Anti-Superstition Bash will take place at the Corinthian Yacht Club (300 West 2nd Street, Essington, PA -- just minutes from the Philadelphia Airport). 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM.

Bring your friends to come meet and chat with our special guests PZ MYERS, DAVID SILVERMAN and TOM FLYNN!

Acclaimed caricature artist EMILY ANTHONY will be on hand offering caricatures for a small fee ($10), a portion of which will be donated to the Freethought Society...  author STEPHEN UHL has donated copies of his book "Imagine No Superstition" to be sold for just $5 at this party only! ALL proceeds benefit FS!

The general admission (includes light fare) is $10 with $5 discounts available for students and seniors, and children 13 and under are free! PRESS free with ID.  Pay at door, but please RSVP so we can plan accordingly! RSVP by Wednesday, May 11 (also welcome to stop in without RSVP but you will be "lucky" if there is food left) at: tickets@...

More info: http://www.friggatriskaidekaphobia.com/ and http:www.ftsociety.org.

Margaret Downey
Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Nurse
President of The Freethought Society
Phone: (610) 793-2737
Fax: (610) 793-2569
Cell: (610) 357-9432
Email: Margaret@...
Online: www.Ftsociety.org

Saturday, June 25, 2011 - PhACT Picnic at 11:30am

Saturday, September 17, 2011 2pm - The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 2pm - The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Saturday, October 15th, 2011 2pm - Civil War Medicine

“Straight and swift to my wounded I go”: The Reality of Civil War Medicine and its Interpretation

Bearing the bandages, water and sponge, Straight and swift to my wounded I go... to the rows of the hospital tent, or under the roof’d hospital, To the long rows of cots up and down each side I return, To each and all one after another I draw near, not one do I miss...

-Walt Whitman, “The Wound Dresser”

As we enter the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the country will see many commemorations of the event. One key aspect of the war has received comparatively little attention: the medical world. America’s “good gray poet,” Walt Whitman, who volunteered in hospitals during the war, observed that “the real war will not get in the books.” For Whitman, the war’s true story was found in the hospital. Most people derive their knowledge of Civil War medicine from popular fiction: soldiers biting the bullet as limbs are amputated by doctors who were little different from butchers. The reality was very different: all the major components of our modern handling of trauma developed during the war. The Civil War claimed almost two percent of the country’s population, or in today’s terms, millions of citizens. The massive casualties and disease victims made huge demands on medical practice and ideology, stimulating the reorganization of hospital medicine. This presentation surveys the meaning and impact of Civil War medicine and shifts discussion to an unusual exhibit scheduled to open at the Mütter Museum in 2013, Broken Bodies, Suffering Spirits: Injury, Death, and Healing in Civil War Philadelphia, presented through the perspective of Walt Whitman. A vital and largely unknown story of Civil War medicine illuminates the ambition of this exhibit: Turner’s Lane Hospital in Philadelphia, one of the most unusual and pioneering temporary hospitals during the last year of the war. The long-term, rehabilitative care afforded to soldiers at Turner’s Lane, many of whom had been wounded at Gettysburg, provided an unparalleled opportunity to study diseases and wounds of the nerves. American neurology was born at this hospital. To supplement the presentation, Dr. Hicks will display several medical artifacts and specimens from the Mütter Museum.

Robert D. Hicks, Ph.D.

  Then November 19, we have a lecture on The Fracking Controversy by David Velinsky

Dr. David Velinsky, is Director of the Environmental Biogeochemistry Section of the Academy of Natural

215-299-1147
velinsky@...
Personal Research Page

Dr. Velinsky is a marine biogeochemist with over 20 years experience in marine and freshwater studies related to nutrient cycling, isotope biogeochemistry, and wetland nutrient and metal geochemistry. He started as an organic geochemist studying the transport of organic compounds in estuaries and from atmospheric transport, and shifted to studies of sulfur and selenium geochemistry. He has published studies related to many aspects of biogeochemistry and has a broad range in the cycling of bioactive elements.