Friday, 23 January 98 Washington, DC
1. MICHAEL GUILLEN RESPONDS TO OCTOBER 3rd "WHAT'S NEW" ITEM:
Good Morning America's series Fringe or Frontier did not tout
ESP, psychokinesis or the astrology-like Mars Effect. Rather, it
featured the experiments of serious-minded scientists at
reputable institutions (Princeton, Universities of Nevada,
Gottingen and Edinburgh) attempting to apply the rigorous
scientific method to those three subjects. It also featured the
opinions of Doubting Thomases (though not of Believers) and I
personally maintained my skepticism throughout. In my ten years
at ABC-TV, furthermore, I have presented nearly a thousand
stories on major mainstream scientific developments. Yet Mr.
Park chooses only to harp on those fewer than a dozen that he
considers unworthy of the public's attention. He's entitled to
his opinion, of course, but I cannot allow it to censor the work
of people with whom he disagrees. Also, with regard to Mr. Park's
observation that I am "uniquely positioned to help millions of
viewers understand that they live in a rational universe," I see
my responsibility very differently. As a journalist (or physicist
and teacher for that matter) I am not in the business of
espousing any one philosophical world-view or of disabusing
viewers of their alleged superstitions, either Mr. Park's or
anyone else's. My goal is to report accurately and open-mindedly
any interesting and credible goings-on within science, be they
orthodox or iconoclastic. Mr. Park has publicly complained: "The
problem is that he treats them as open and important scientific
questions that must be taken seriously." Unless Mr. Park knows
something I don't, the questions we entertained are exactly that.
They're open, as evidenced by the continuing disagreement among
intelligent, well-educated people. They're important, as
evidenced by the attention millions of people pay to them and by
the existence of publications such as the Skeptical Inquirer.
And if we don't consider them scientific questions, then we
relinquish the responsibility of settling them once-and -for-all
to the quacks and extremists on both sides who have traditionally
dominated the discussion. (Note: Back issues of WN can be
accessed and searched from the APS homepage,
www.aps.org.)
2. CTBT: LEWINSKY IS ON TOP, THE TEST BAN TREATY IS ON BOTTOM.
News of the latest uh-umm eruption coincided with a letter from
Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), Foreign Relations chair, informing the
President that the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty "is very low on
the Committee's list of priorities." Any effort to press for
swift ratification, the letter warns, "would be exceedingly
unwise." NATO expansion, amendment of the hated ABM treaty and
the Kyoto Protocol must come first. The blunt letter warns that
to impose provisions of the Kyoto Protocol by executive order,
without first submitting it to the Senate for advice and consent,
would also be "extremely unwise." The President, however, may
have a certain predilection for the "exceedingly unwise."
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