March, 2000
Concern about the state of science education in the United State is, once
again, very high. Dr. Fuchs will argue that the problem, with both adult
Americans and students, is not one of interest but rather of how science
is traditionally taught. He believes that while the economic,
educational, and political obstacles to improving science literacy
will be difficult to overcome it is essential that we do so.
Dr. Fuchs plans to present data from a wide variety of sources to support
his viewpoint and invite the
participants to engage in an open exchange of ideas.
Dr. Bruce A. Fuchs -- an immunologist who did research on the interaction
between the brain and the immune system-- is currently the Director of the
National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Office of Science Education. Prior to
coming to NIH, Dr. Fuchs was an active researcher and teacher at the Medical
College of Virginia, with grant support from both the National Institute of
Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Fuchs has organized
and participated in numerous science education outreach efforts directed at
students, teachers, and the public. He believes that scientists should play a
more active role in communicating their research progress and findings with the
community. Dr. Fuchs has organized numerous "Mini-Med School" and "Science in
the Cinema" programs for the public and the Congress since his arrival in
Washington.
Everyone welcome - members and non-members
TRAINING PSYCHICS
According to the New York Times this morning [January 28], New York City's
Human Resources Administration has been recruiting and training
welfare recipients to work as telephone psychics. The minimum starting
salary is $10 per hour plus bonuses, and you can work at home.
[From Bob Park's "What's New" column. NYC dropped that program that same day
once the word got out what they were doing.]
MORE ALIENS IN NASA Videotapes from space shuttle missions have persuaded some to claim that
NASA astronauts have encountered alien visitors. On the space shuttle
mission STS-48 in September 1991, a TV onboard Discovery spotted moving white
dots suddenly changing direction when a flash of light appeared.
Although nearby debris frequently appears on shuttle videos, the combination
of flares, streaks and changing directions grabbed imaginations. Comments
from James Oberg with more information on the topic are from his commentary on
the ABC news web site or his own web site at:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/ufo990217.html
TEXAS A&M RESEARCHERS FORM PET-CLONING COMPANY. It began when the anonymous owner of an aging border collie named
Missy gave A&M $2.3M to clone her. A&M hasn't come up with Missy II yet, but
why turn away hoards of other deep-pocket owners wanting pets copied? So
the A&M researchers have formed (groan) Genetic Savings and Clone.
[From Bob Park's "What's New" - February 18, 2000.]
CONFERENCE ON INTELLIGENT DESIGN--A CRITICAL APPRAISAL "Intelligent design" is the current term for "creationism" as an
attempt to make it less religious and more scientific sounding.
All we have so far is the date (June 22-24, 2000) and the location
(Concordia University, Wisconsin). We'll try and get more information by the
time of the next "Shadow".
UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE CENTER FOR INQUIRY--INTERNATIONAL
The Center for Inquiry--International, 1015 Sweet Home Rd. Amherst, NY 14226.
To order tickets, call 716-636-1425:
Dave Thomas, Consulting Editor, Skeptical Inquirer -- 8PM Saturday,
April 15 $5 admission. The Albuquerque-based physicist has published on
many skeptical topics. Most recently in the Nov/Dec. 1997 issue of Skeptical
Inquirer, Thomas showed that mathematical techniques used to dredge "secret
messages" from scripture in The Bible Code can elicit similar messages from
any random text. Dave will share an overview of his latest skeptical
inquiries.
From Tabloids to Textbooks:
How Americans Learn About Science
Bruce A. Fuchs
Saturday, March 11, 2000, 2pm-3:30pm
Bethesda Public Library
7400 Arlington Road
Bethesda, Maryland
Call the NCAS Skeptic Line at 301-587-3827 for further info.
Dr. Robert Park, Professor of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park,
Director of the American Physical Society, Washington D.C. -- 8PM Monday,
March 27 $5 admission. Parks, author of the forthcoming book Voodoo Science,
speaks on the explosion of junk science in courtrooms, the media, and American
life.