The REALL News

The official newsletter of the Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land

Volume 3, Number 6 -- June 1995

Electronic Version

If you like what you see, please help us continue by sending in a subscription. See the end of newsletter for details.

In This Issue

From the Editor -- Bob Ladendorf
From the Chairman -- David Bloomberg
The Sociocultural Genesis of the Flying Saucer -- Wesley R. Smith, PhD
The Cold Truth about Psychics -- Bob Smet

Purpose

The Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL) is a non-profit educational and scientific organization. It is dedicated to the development of rational thinking and the application of the scientific method toward claims of the paranormal and fringe- science phenomena.

REALL shall conduct research, convene meetings, publish a newsletter, and disseminate information to its members and the general public. Its primary geographic region of coverage is central Illinois.

REALL subscribes to the premise that the scientific method is the most reliable and self-correcting system for obtaining knowledge about the world and universe. REALL not not reject paranormal claims on a priori grounds, but rather is committed to objective, though critical, inquiry.

The REALL News is its official newsletter.

Membership information is provided elsewhere in this newsletter.

Board of Directors: Chairman, David Bloomberg; Assistant Chairman, Prof. Ron Larkin; Secretary-Treasurer, Kevin Brown; Newsletter Editor, Bob Ladendorf; At-Large Members, Prof. Steve Egger, Wally Hartshorn, and Frank Mazo.

Editorial Board: Bob Ladendorf (Newsletter Editor), David Bloomberg (electronic version editor), (one vacancy).

REALL
P.O. Box 20302
Springfield, IL 62708

Unless stated otherwise, permission is granted to other skeptic organizations to reprint articles from The REALL News as long as proper credit is given. REALL also requests that you send copies of your newsletters that reprint our articles to the above address.

The views expressed in these articles are the views of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of REALL.

From the Editor

-- Bob Ladendorf

In this issue we welcome two new authors to the pages of The REALL News -- Wesley Smith and Bob Smet. Of course, we're always looking for additional articles to share with REALL's membership, so don't be shy if you have something to say.

You may have noticed a date before your name on the mailing label. This is your membership expiration date and replaces the cryptic numbers we had used in the past, which had so confused several postal employees.

As a reminder, if you have any further comments or suggestions, please send them to me at REALL's address listed elsewhere on this page, or send us e-mail at the following addresses:

Bob Ladendorf -- robertcl49@aol.com (NOTE: 1st 8 are letters)

David Bloomberg -- david.bloomberg@f2112.n2430.z1.fidonet.org

/s/ Bob Ladendorf

From the Chairman

-- David Bloomberg

Illinois Science Teachers Association Convention

As I mentioned last month, the Illinois Science Teachers Association (ISTA) will be holding their annual conference here in Springfield this year. What I forgot to mention was when. The convention will be held from Thursday, September 28 through Saturday September 30. It's not clear from the information I have, but it looks like the booth is actually only open on Friday and Saturday.

I've had a couple people inquire about the booth, but I'm still looking for more people to volunteer. The booth will center around creationism in science classrooms -- specifically how to keep it out, so I am especially looking for people with experience in the creation/evolution debate. But if you are familiar with other areas regarding science teaching in Illinois that need to be explained, please let me know! In addition to the booth, we may put on a 50-minute workshop, so I'm also looking for people to help out with that.

Normally, registration for this convention costs $30. However, REALL can get three other people registered, so let me know if you're interested!

Upcoming Events

We didn't manage to have a meeting in June, but we already have July and August ready to go, and neither will be on our "regular" first Tuesday of the month.

July's meeting will be a lunch meeting at Shakey's Pizza & Buffet on Sunday, July 16 at noon. Secretary/Treasurer Kevin Brown suggested that we each bring a good skeptical book we'd like to talk about for a few minutes, and I'm sure the conversation will take off from there, as it usually does when a few of us get together.

In August, our meeting will be on Tuesday the 8th at 7 p.m at the Lincoln Library. This meeting will feature a dramatic reading of an allegory that takes a satirical look at bureaucracy, true believers, and other running dogs of loyalty. Six people will present an oral interpretation of Rich Walker's soon-to-be-published book, The Running Dogs of Loyalty. Check out the July issue for more info!

/s/ David Bloomberg

The Sociocultural Genesis of the Flying Saucer
(Swedenborg Hybrid Ornithopter of 1714)

by Wesley R. Smith, Ph.D.

Among the most badly handled, most interesting, most distorted, and most eclectic of aerospace history subjects is the origin of the use of the circular, elliptical and annular wing planforms (shapes) in aircraft design.

A quick review of the writer's memory and library reveal that more than 50 aircraft have been designed, and/or built, using an ellipse or circle as a wing configuration. However, this listing is by no means a complete survey, only a brief overview of what can be located at hand. In fact, there is an entire U.S. Patent subclass (Class 244, Aeronautics; Subclass 21.2 Airplane, circular) dealing with aircraft using a circular wing planform. Likewise, a number of lighter-than-air or hybrid designs have appeared in the course of aeronautical history which also use the disc shape as a basis for the gas envelope.

What is undoubtedly the first recorded circular aircraft was the product of the fertile imagination of an 18th Century Swedish scientist, philosopher and noted theologian named Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Born in Stockholm on Jan. 29, 1688, he was the second son of Jesper Swedenberg. The family surname was transformed to "Swedenborg" after being enobled by the King of Sweden in 1719 and following Jesper's appointment as the Bishop of Skara. From 1710 to 1714 Emanuel Swedenborg traveled extensively throughout Europe following his education at Uppsala University; visiting England, Holland, France and Germany. An avid student of astronomy and mathematics, he is known to have met with John Flamsteed and Edmund Halley. While he is known to have studied the works of Isaac Newton, there is no evidence to support the contention that Swedenborg ever knew him. Nevertheless, it was during this period in his life that Swedenborg developed many ideas which were as far ranging as a method to calculate longitude based on the position of the moon, to plans for a submarine and a practical design for an aeroplane.

On Sept. 8, 1714, Swedenborg first wrote of his idea for an aircraft to his brother-in-law, Erik Benzelius. This was later followed by a complete written description which appeared in the fourth edition of Sweden's first scientific journal, Daedulus Hyperboreus, founded by Swedenborg in the same year (1716). During this time, Charles XII of Sweden also appointed Swedenborg as Assessor Extraordinary at the Royal College of Mines, which enabled him to have significant impact on Sweden's metal-mining for the next 30 years, during which he was elevated to the position of Assessor. Moreover, his work is of great historical significance, for Daedulus Hyperboreus contains the first detailed technical description of a flying machine of any type.

Fortunately, the Stifts-och Landesbibliotek at Linkoping (codex 14a, 1714) has Swedenborg's original manuscripts which include a sketch of Swedenborg's "Flying Saucer." The design is oval in shape; however, circular, square and rectangular planforms are also suggested in the 1716 text. The dimensions [*] of Swedenborg's aircraft are given as: 32' x 24' (603.2 sq') for an oval, 28' diameter (615.75 sq') for a circle, 25' x 25' (625 sq') for a square, and 20' x 30' (600 sq') for a rectangular surface. In all cases the central thesis of the Swedenborg ornithopter comprises of a central pilot's station measuring 6' wide, 4' long and 2' deep. Suggested materials for the pilot's basket include cork, leather and birch bark; nevertheless, both the main wing and secondary flapping wings were to be covered with sailcloth.

On both sides of the basket area are a pair of flapping wings operated by the would-be pilot. These are described as having a length of 5' and a chord of 1.5' (7.5 sq' each). A coiled spring was also to be attached to the spars of the flapping wings to enable the pilot to operate the wings with greater ease.

Furthermore, like a design suggested by Da Vinci, the flapping wings were intended to function as valves with hinges at the center of the chord, folding on the up-stroke and opening on the down-stroke. With aid of what he refers to as "the power of the wind," Swedenborg believed that the muscular weakness of the pilot would be more than compensated for by this system, and that by being able to alter the incidence angle of the flapping wings, they would also provide sufficient thrust for horizontal flight. While not entirely complete, there is at least a partial divorce of the lift and thrust components of flight, as the flapping wings are clearly not intended as the primary means of aerodynamic lift. A complete separation of these two systems would not come for another 85 years when Sir George Cayley designed his first fixed-Ying aircraft in 1799.

The oval wing of Swedenborg's machine is comprised of a wooden framework with eight lateral ribs. Both lateral and longitudinal camber are employed, the curvature being maintained by four beams spaced in pairs at right angles to each other. After carefully balancing the craft to ascertain its center of gravity, Svedenborg suggested that a vertical beam measuring about 8' in length be attached to the bottom of the pilot's basket. At the bottom end, a weight of 1 lispund (18.75 lbs) was to be attached to ensure pendulum stability.To support the entire machine, and presumably prevent the central beam from piercing the bottom of the basket, four diagonal beams were apparently attached to the sides of the pilot's basket. Swedenborg states that it "would do no harm" to attach wheels to the ends of the quadruped struts, but he does not specifically indicate they were necessary.

Alas, Swedenborg's flying saucer was never to be built. He did, however, wisely suggest that the aircraft first be tested as a ballasted glider, and that it be launched from a high place. Looking across the chasm of 280 years we can see the practical, as well as the impractical, aspects of his design. His work apparently influenced no one and is all but forgotten by most aerospace historians; but since his day, a number of successful circular planform aircraft have been built and flown. Although the idea was not to be taken up again for many years, it is worth noting that there were at least a dozen circular, elliptical or annular shaped aircraft designed and/or built in the United States and Canada prior to the First World War. Among them, Dr. Bell's Ring Rite of 1908, Ringert Jongewaard's flying disc of the 1880s, Robert B. Taylor's 1842 design for a convertiplane, George Francis Myers' 1904 annular quadruplane, and the interesting McCormick-Romme "Umbrella Plane" tested at Cicero Field near Chicago from 1912 to 1914.

Last year a disc-shaped airship was displayed at Washington, D.C., by a team of Russians for the first time, so it would seem that the idea is far from permanently disappearing from the polymorphic annals of aerospace despite the high aerodynamic drag penalty of circular planforms, particularly at transonic speeds.

The flying saucer, like the "flying house" stories of the late 19th Century and the "Great Airship Flap" of 1896-1897, is based on historical fact which has evolved into distorted cultural mythology. Yes, there are flying saucers, and I for one, am open minded enough to admit that it is entirely possible for life to have arisen on a planet orbiting a distant star. But of all the flying saucers that can be positively identified, they are definitely the products of imaginative human beings, and among those humans is one by the name of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th Century man who designed the progenitor of what has become a 20th Century icon.

Notes

* According to The Prehistory of Flight, p. 233, footnote 5, Sweedenborg's unit of measurement, the ell, is about 2' (24n). However, Webster's Third New International Dictionary, p. 736, states that an ell is 2.25' (27"). Based on the latter, the overall dimensions and areas would be as follows: Oval, 36' * 27', 763.4 sq'; circle, 31.5' dia, 779.3 sq'; square, 28.125', 791 sq'; rectangle, 22.5' * 33.75', 791 sq'. Additionally, the dimensions of the pilot's basket would be 6.75' * 4.5' * 2.25'. The wings would measure 5.625' * 1.6875', 9.5 sq' (ea), and the rod for the pendulum weight would be 9' in length.

Bibliography

Books

Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 21 (Spelman-Timmins). Chicago, etc.; William Benton, 1968. pp 503-504.

Gibbs-Smith, Charles Harvard. Sir George Cayley's Aeronautics 1796 - 1855. London; Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1962. pp 7-10.

Hart, Clive, Ph.D. The Dream of Flight: Aeronautics From Classical Times to the Renaissance. London, 1972.

ibid. The Prehistory of Flight. Berkeley, California; University of California Press, 1985. pp 146-151, 223.

Swift, E. Swedenborg, The Man and his Works. 1932.

Sigstedt, C.S. The Swedenborg Epic. 1953.

Tafel, R.L. Documents Concerning the Life and Character of Emanuel Swedenborg, 3 Vol. 1875-1877.

Trobrigdge, G. Swedenborg, Life and Teaching. 1944.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary. Chicago, London, Toronto, Geneva, Sydney, Tokyo, Manila; Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1966. p 736.

Periodicals

Acton, Alfred. "The Mechanical Inventions of Emanuel Swedenborg." Philadelphia, 1939. pp 20-26.

"Machine att Flyga i Wardet Enlight Utkast av Emanuel Swedenborg." Stockholm, 1960.

Odhner, Carl Th. "Swedenborg's Flying Machine." New Church Life, October 1909, pp 582-591.

Odhner, Carl Th. and Hugo Lj. Odhner. "Suggestions for a Flying Machine." Aeronautical Journal, July 1910, pp 118-122.

Swedenborq, Emanuel. "Utkast til en Machine at Flyga i Wadret." Daedulus Hyperboreus. 4, October-December 1716, pp 80-83.

Transactions of the International Svedenborg Congress. London, 1910, pp 45-46.

Miscellaneous Information

Illinois State Library. Patent Classification Index.

Stifts-Och Landesbiblioteck. Linkoping, codex 14a, 1714.

Swedenborg, Emanuel. Opera quaedam aut inedita aut obsoleta de rebus naturalibus I, ed. Alfred H. Stroh (Holmiae 1907), p 226.

Listing of Circular, Annular, Elliptical, Square, Rectangular or Otherwise Oddly Shaped Aircraft Which Have Relevance to the UFO Phenomenon

Addenda

[Wesley Smith is a Springfield native with a Ph.D. in American History from George Washington University. He is an aerospace historian who has received two fellowships at the National Air and Space Museum, is the Chief Archivist for the Wright Brothers Foundation, and was recently appointed to the Congressional Committee for the 2003 Wright Brothers Centennial. Smith is currently doing research for a forthcoming book cataloging early American heavier-than-air flying machines.]

The Cold Truth about Psychics

by Bob Smet

According to the magic book suppliers I've spoken to, two recent books are the definitive books in the area of cold reading: King of the Cold Readers (KCR) by Bascom Jones and Red Hot Cold Reading (RHCR) by Thomas Saville, Ph.D. and Herb Dewey. Authors Jones and Dewey are respectively touted as prominent west coast and east coast psychics. Not being your typical psychic groupie, it should come as no surprise that I have never heard of either one. Thomas Saville is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado.

For those unfamiliar with the term, cold reading, according to RHCR, is "the description of the personality, characteristics, features, past experiences and sometimes the future of a person without the use of standard psychological or other formal diagnostic procedures."

The authors wrote their books as guides to the practice of cold reading by providing the typical readings, the sizing up of clients and the basic dos and don'ts of effective cold reading. Both books present typical formula readings; Saville and Dewey aptly call their formula reading The Barnum Effect, which goes, "You have a strong need for other people to like you and for them to admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused energy which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them." Etc. This type of reading is just for starters. To personalize it further, other factors come into play. More on that later.

The interesting thing about these books is that they are written with the sincere interest in developing the psychic as the poor man's psychologist. While a psychologist openly shares psychological principles to promote treatment, psychics use psychology as a personal tool to manipulate the client, known as the sitter, presumably for the sitter's own good. In the majority of cases, sitters go to psychics to address a personal problem, whether it's travel, health, expectations, sex, career, ambitions, or money (T.H.E. S.C.A.M., as Jones calls it). The successful psychic is one that lets the sitter depart feeling hopeful, self-confident or to simply get a better sense of direction in their life. The psychic's goal as described here is not to send the sitter away feeling depressed or fearful. Each author sincerely feels that the psychic must act responsibly to play the role of caregiver, albeit a hired caregiver. Nothing in either book addresses the devious practices typically associated with the charlatans in the field; take my word for it -- here is plenty of info here to get anyone with a vivid imagination interested in stretching their ethical boundaries.

The success of cold reading lies in the sitter embellishing "selected statements from the reading, with details that make the generalizations appear more accurate than they are" (KCR). To further their success, psychics must equip themselves with the fundamental knowledge regarding human nature that most of us do not normally appreciate. They realize that we arrogantly think of ourselves as unique and more different than similar, when in fact it is just the opposite. Whether we like to admit it, we all generally possess similar fears, desires, drives, etc., and it is this truth that psychics exploit.

I also like Saville's contribution of detailing the psychological factors that influence the sitter's credulousness to the psychic's craft, such as the self- serving bias, the air of confidence of the presentation, selective perception/recall, self-fulfilling prophesies, etc. By far, I thought the following typical generalities about people (chosen from several) were very insightful about how psychics ply their craft:

• Most people prefer gold jewelry to silver
• Most red-haired people get hay fever in the summer
• Most men prefer showers
• Most women prefer baths
• Most men enjoy reading books written by men
• Most women enjoy reading books written by women
• Most people have had at least one memorable sunburn
• Most people have wondered what their pupose in life is
• Most women that wear black are weight conscious
• Most women that wear hats consider themselves fashionable
• Most women as children kept a diary

RHCR gives several additional observations about women since 80% of the sitters are women!

You can imagine the effect of a psychic's abilities when he or she comes in armed with the formula reading, knowledge of common life histories, and a good grasp of human nature and body language, all presented with an air of confidence that is wholeheartedly receptive to the sitter.

I never planned on becoming a cold reader before reading these books nor do I intend to do it now. I nevertheless find it very insightful to know how it's done if for no other reason to be able to spot it whenever I see it being practiced. As a skeptic, I've generally been hostile to the psychic charlatan who deliberately deceive the unknowing. Although the tone of the authors is benevolent, I'm unforgiving about the net effect of their techniques_ promoting the sitter's passive acceptance of the psychic's claims through the use of benevolently-spirited deception is still deception, no matter how one packages it.

The books are only about 90 pages long, sized at 8 1/2" x 11" and cost $40 apiece. Being interested in the field, I called a few magic stores around the country and discovered that they are the key books in the area of cold reading. If any REALL members would like to borrow them, just let me know.

[Bob Smet is a Patron Member of REALL and an environmental engineer with the Illinois EPA.]

A Nod to Our Patrons

REALL would like to thank our patron members. Through their extra generosity, REALL is able to continue to grow as a force for critical thinking in Central Illinois. Patron members are those giving $50 or more. To become a patron of REALL, please see the membership form below. Patron members are:

We at REALL encourage letters to the editor about any article or topic covered in The REALL News. We want to make this a forum for all our members. (Letters may be edited if too long. Name, address and phone number must be included with the letter.)

Skeptics Online

If you have a computer and a modem, you owe it to yourself to participate in the skeptic message areas on the computer BBS networks. Here in Springfield, call The Temples of Syrinx at (217) 522-4707. David Bloomberg operates this BBS, which carries the FidoNet SKEPTIC, EVOLUTION, UFO, and FMS conferences, internationally distributed message areas for discussing topics of interest to skeptics. He is also carrying ParaNet conferences, all dedicated to UFO and paranormal topics. In addition, he has recently added several Usenet conferences, including Sci.Skeptic, the Skeptic Listserver, Talk.Origins, and various Alt.Folklore groups. You can also find a wide variety of skeptic, scientific, UFO, FMS, evolution/creation, and urban legend text files there.

The Temples of Syrinx -- (217) 522-4707

Skeptics on the Web

Wally Hartshorn has set up an unofficial REALL homepage on the Internet. To access it, go to:

http://www.fgi.net/~whartsho/reall/

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