E-Skeptic - 17 Nov, 99 - Now I've Seen It All, Electromagnetic God Experiences, Flight 990 Conspiracy Theories Beginning

Michael Shermer's E-Skeptic of 17 Nov, 99

Now I've Seen It All, Electromagnetic God Experiences, Flight 990 Conspiracy Theories Beginning

© 1999 by Skeptics Society, Altadena, CA

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In The Category Of "Now I've Seen It All ..." Check Out:

I thought I had seen it all with the Jews for Jesus ... until now. Check out the Atheists for Jesus:
http://www.atheists-for-jesus.com/

Electromagnetic God Experiences

Wired magazine is the latest to go visit Michael Persinger's lab to get zapped by his electromagnetic patterns to experience brain-generated spiritual and paranormal phenomena:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.11/persinger.html

I did it a couple of months ago for the pilot episode of Exploring the Unknown, and like this author I didn't have a particularly dramatic experience (like some people report), but definitely SOMETHING happened. Where I am skeptic of Persinger's research is in his speculations of correlations between earthquake activity and UFO/alien abduction and other paranormal phenomena, or other allegedly electromagnetic field generating stimuli such as drilling for oil, meteor showers, etc. Maybe. We are in agreement that these things are happening in the brain, but what is the cause I think remains elusive (or, at least, there is not ONE stimulus, but many). In any case, this is a well-written, fun article on Persinger.

Flight 990 Conspiracy Theories Beginning

Well, it had to happen. Where there is a blank the human brain will fill it with a meaningful pattern. The conspiracy theories are already beginning over Flight 990:
http://cnn.com/US/9911/15/egypt.conspiracy/