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Feature Exhibit: Miraculous Portraits of Jesus? As early as the sixth century there have appeared certain images of Jesus that were said to be acheiropoietoi--Greek for "not made with hands." There were different versions of these and as many legends to explain their allegedly miraculous origin. Some modern writers have placed the Shroud of Turin in this genre. |
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Creationism The Skeptiseum has opened this special feature gallery on Creationism as part of the worldwide celebration of Charles Darwin's birthday (February 12th: see The Darwin Day Web site), his genius, and the spirit of scientific inquiry into the nature and origin of things. Please visit the Darwin Day Web site for more information about events celebrating his birthday and achievements. |
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UFO's & Aliens Although mankind has always seen strange objects in the sky, the modern wave of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) began in 1947 with reports of "flying discs." One of these crashed at Roswell, New Mexico, in that year, but was later shown to have been a secret research balloon. Investigation frequently converts UFOs to IFOs when the unidentified objects are identified as meteors, balloons, secret aircraft, and other phenomena. |
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Miracles The Anglican writer C.S. Lewis succinctly defined a miracle as "an interference with nature by a supernatural power." Investigation, however, demonstrates that miraculous claims are often based on nothing more than a lack of knowledge regarding the true explanation, thus involving a "leap of faith." |
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Ghosts & Spirits Modern spiritualism—the belief in communication with the dead (often through persons known as "mediums")—began at Hydesville, NY in 1848. Two sisters, Maggie and Katie Fox, pretended to receive rapping messages from ghostly entities. Years later they confessed that it was all a trick, but spiritualism had long since begun to flourish as a popular belief. |
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Cryptozoology Belief in legendary creatures like Bigfoot, Yeti (a.k.a. the Abominable Snowman), and the Loch Ness Monster provides the basis for a field of paranormal research called cryptozoology ("the study of hidden animals"). The term is usually used by proponents rather than skeptics. Unfortunately evidence for the existence of such creatures is scant, consisting of dubious photographs, eyewitness reports, and alleged traces such as footprints. Experience shows that hoaxes and misperceptions (such as mistaking a line of swimming otters for a serpentine lake creature) are responsible for many "sightings." |
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Alternative Medicine From belief in the touted curative effects of spring water and mineral baths to the purchase of quack nostrums and various popular forms of "alternative medicine," people continue the ancient quest for healing. Why do pseudoscientific treatments and "snake-oil" cure-alls seem to work? First of all, healing occurs naturally in the body, and some serious conditions, including multiple sclerosis and certain types of cancer, may undergo what is termed "spontaneous remission," whereby the disease gets better on its own, with or without treatment. |
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Superstitions Superstitions, beliefs based on magical rather than rational thinking, are persistent. Most promise either good or bad luck (as from finding a four-leaf clover or a heads-up penny) or misfortune (such as by the breaking of a mirror), and thus they are a reflection of people’s hopes and fears. Folk beliefs often vary, and one person’s taboo may well be another’s boon—a selective process in either case. Actually, "luck" is randomly distributed and cannot be brought about by charms, rituals, or other non-causal processes. Many people are uncomfortable living in a world of randomness, and superstitions may help them cope. |
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Psychic Phenomena Belief has persisted in special mental powers such as mind reading, clairvoyance (seeing that which is hidden), fortune telling, and psychokinesis (mind-over-matter). A term for these alleged powers was introduced in 1934 by Dr. J.B. Rhine at Duke University. He and his colleagues conducted experiments with test subjects that supposedly verified "extrasensory perception" (or ESP). However, skeptics pointed out numerous flaws in the test procedures, a problem that has plagued successive ESP research. |