Norm Sperling

J. Allan Danelek: The Great Airship of 1897: a Provocative The Great Airship of 1897The Great Airship of 1897Look at the Most Mysterious Aviation Event in History. Adventures Unlimited Press 2009. (A review by Norman Sperling, February 10, 2013.)

A mysterious bright light in the night sky sparked this big flap at the end of the 1800s. It was unexpected and unexplained. Reports grossly contradict one another, so investigators can favor very different inferences, interpretations, and explanations simply by selecting different reports to prefer.

In the 1800s, no one considered the light to be a space ship from another planet. Paranormal boosters have made that case more recently. Since this book's author energetically investigates paranormal and Fortean matters, I was all prepared for the author to go Paranormal.

He never did. The one place where the paranormal is invoked by others, Danelek dismisses it tersely. This book has nothing at all to do with the paranormal. Every explanation is purely naturalistic. Danelek invokes real physics,


The Voynich Manuscript is just as good a story now as when I first read about it 50 years ago. If you're not familiar with Voynich ManuscriptVoynich Manuscript it, Wikipedia's article hits the highlights, and its bibliography gives a number of ways to dig deeper.

The Voynich Manuscript was probably written in the early 1400s, probably in Europe, possibly in Northern Italy. Most of it resembles an herbal (though the plants are unrecognizable), plus sections whose pictures suggest astrology and pharmacy, plus lots of naked and clothed women (only the naked ones get mentioned much), and less-understandable illustrations and pure-text pages. The text appears to be written in a cipher, which has tantalized and taunted people since the 1500s. No one has ever cracked it.

Not only is this book truly, deeply weird, so are several of t


He was the biggest force in late-1900s skepticism. Paul Kurtz was considered a legendary figure among Paul KurtzPaul KurtzAmerican humanists, atheists, and skeptics alike. For 50 years, he worked to advance a secular view of life and of society. His influence and presence in the skeptical community shall be sorely missed. CLICK HERE to read a wonderful memorial biography of Paul Kurtz by Hemant Mehta (from The Friendly Atheist). And CLICK HERE to read the Center for Inquiry's obituary.

Yeti FingerYeti FingerPhysical evidence, scientifically analyzed, reveals reality far better than anecdotes, story-telling, and wishful thinking. Proponents of the "Yeti" (Himalayan "abominable snowman") touted a finger taken from a "Yeti" hand displayed at the Pangboche Temple's monastery in Nepal in 1958. If the Yeti is a real species, that wouldn't contradict Science, but it would add a fascinating complication to the complex story of humanity's heritage. The finger's DNA has now been analyzed. It's human. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16264752 The news report pointedly doesn't state *which* finger it is, but I have my suspicions.

Castlewood Treatment CenterCastlewood Treatment Center A psychologist accused of hypnotizing a woman into believing she possessed multiple personalities and participated in satanic rituals may be sued by several others who say they were also told they had been a part of a satanic cult, according to a Missouri attorney. Lisa Nasseff, 41, of Saint Paul, Minn., is suing her former therapist, Mark Schwartz, and the Castlewood Treatment Center in St. Louis, Mo., where she received 15 months of treatment for anorexia, according to the complaint. Read the full story here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/therapist-accused-implanting-satanic-memories/s...

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