Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site sphinx.UChicago.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!mmar
From: mmar@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Mitchell Marks)
Newsgroups: net.physics,net.misc,net.research
Subject: Re: Joseph Newman's Energy Machine
Message-ID: <1234@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-Oct-85 03:17:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: sphinx.1234
Posted: Thu Oct 24 03:17:12 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Oct-85 03:56:29 EDT
References: <173@tulane.UUCP> <71@oce-rd2.UUCP> <1760@watdcsu.UUCP> <1004@oddjob.UUCP>, <1221@mhuxt.UUCP>
Organization: U Chicago -- Linguistics Dept
Lines: 22
Xref: watmath net.physics:3430 net.misc:8753 net.research:290

[Naw, I don't really believe there's a line-eater.]             really believe there's a line-eater.                                    

Kevin Centanni has mentioned a couple of times that Newman has demonstrated
his device before "hundreds of scientists".  The suggestion, apparently,
is that scientists (of whatever sort) are the best observers, most
likely to detect fraud.  
   A countersuggestion, which derives from comments by Martin Gardner and
The Amazing Randi about Uri Geller, is that a better set of skeptical
observers would be illusionists (stage magicians).  They know lots about
how to fool observers, and hence about how to detect trickery.  Scientists
may be trained to make close observations of nature, but they don't
normally work under the assumption that there's a deception to be detected.

       Inventor:  As you can plainly see, only one wire connects A and B...
       Scientist:  Let's see...  Okay...
       Illusionist:  How about this little compartment in back?
       Inventor: Don't mess with that!  That's just, ummm...

-- 

            -- Mitch Marks @ UChicago 
               ...ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!mmar