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