DESTINATION TRUTH - Wildman & Swamp Dinosaur

SciFi Channel - Original Air Date: 3/19/08

Another fun adventure with Josh and co.  This time, they're off to the wilds of Cambodia to search for a wildman, and then to the swamps of Zambia to search for the legendary Mokele-Mbembe -- a dinosaur-like creature feared by the native fishermen.  The Cambodian investigation consists of talking to people who claim to have seen the creature, and investigating a girl who was supposedly kidnapped by the "beast."  The girl, who is mute, had allegedly been taken from her parents 18 years earlier.  Her dad is glad to have her back, despite her animalistic ways.  Unfortunately, the girl i  s unable or unwilling to communicate -- not having spoken since her rescue.  Also unfortunately, the DNA they take to prove she's related to the man who believes she is his returned daughter proves contaminated, so they can't even be sure it's the same girl.  The search for the dino is somewhat more exciting, featuring rickety boats, remote lakes and swamps, and mysterious creatures surfacing near the boat (catching only the splash on camera), and lurking at the edge of camera and IR range.  It all leaves some interesting footage for experts back home.  And, unlike History Channel's UFO Hunters, which airs opposite this show, the experts reach a conclusion: the unknown beasts on the film are revealed by computer enhancement to be hippos.  After all he's seen and heard, Josh then concludes that (sadly for us crypto fans) that the Mokele-Mebembe is just hippos, mistaken for a monster at long distance.  Still, even when the show doesn't find a monster -- and the chances of that seem very remote -- Destination Truth remains entertaining and, refreshingly, dedicated to the truth.

UFO HUNTERS - Hist. - Reverse Engineering

History Channel - Original Air Date: 3/16/08

Another sensationalist episode of this series, as usual based on the premise that UFOs exist and they are advanced spacecraft piloted by aliens.  The alleged UFO photos this time look to me like spidery smudges on film, or perhaps insects, or -- far more likely -- an artistic hoax.  As usual, there is no disclaimer as to what are "real" pictures, and what may have been recreated by the show.  The allegation is that these photos are of craft reverse-engineered by the US military.  Naturally, there is a hidden witness who claims to have worked on this hooey, and naturally the UFO Hunters believe him.  (They've checked his credentials carefully, they say.)  As usual, the show troops out the usual UFO mythology tales -- all unsubstantiated.  Basically, it's all hearsay (and we all know how admissible that is in court), but if you've tolerated this show from the start (as I have), you should be used to that by now.  If you've been paying attention you've also noticed this show piling speculation on speculation until they reach their usual predestined conclusion.  Did I mention they drag in Roswell and Kecksburg?  Should I need to mention that?  Yes, that's right, the symbols on the alleged Kecksburg UFO match the ones on these new UFO photos.  The resident scientist points out that the craft in the photos violate known laws and aerodynamics.  Rather than concluding that they're probably hoaxes, though, they then assume this is some unknown technology, rather than a clever hoaxer.  Only the growing complexity of the ships in the images seems to finally suggest a hoaxer gradually building up a more and more complex computer model.  Nor does the show ever explain by a craft supposedly reverse engineered by the US government would be covered with alien symbols, rather than US IDs and logos (or no markings at all).  Just for fun, there's also a lot of pseudo-scientific talk of resonance frequency -- along with a pretty cool demonstration of how resonant frequencies can move objects.  Again, though, this leads back to speculation, rather than fact.

The most truthful bit of narration in this show says, "A subject surrounded by secrecy is always an easy target for hoaxers, and digital manipulation has made their job easier than ever."  Right on.  Of course, the show then says, "Which isn't to say that the photographs aren't real."  (Emphasis mine.)  A CGI expert then notes inconsistency in the lighting of the ship versus the photos, and the fact that the ships always appear next to objects with straight lines, which are easier to composite with.  The expert then whips up a quick hoax, though the team scientist refuses to conclude the images are hoaxes.  The narrator then concludes that if the pictures are hoaxes, they are very good ones.  Nonsense.  They're pretty decent ones, but nothing that I couldn't whip up with my 3d programs and a bit of Photoshop.  As usual, the show fails to understand either the cleverness or the industry of such hoaxers.  One of the ongoing failures of the UFO community (and paranormal communities in general) is an unwillingness to call an obvious or proven hoax a hoax. As the X-Files poster says, "I want to believe."  But, if something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck . . . then UFO Hunters is likely to claim it's unknown technology.

Stanton Friedman (UFO "expert") and I don't agree on much, but I've heard him say that to suggest that reverse engineering of UFOs explains all our current technological advancements is insulting to the people involved with those technologies.  (I would extend that insult to the ancient astronaut theories as well.)  People insulted in this show include SR-71 Blackbird designer and aviation genius, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson.  Too bad the show remains unwilling to call a duck a duck.

IS IT REAL? Superhuman Powers

National Geographic Channel - Original Air Date: 2005-6

Again, this is not the show to watch if you're looking to validate your beliefs in the supernatural.  Can people levitate, knock others without touching them, perform other supernatural feats?  This IIR looks into Chi and other mystery powers.  They consult a pressure point master who claims that he can not only knock anyone out with one finger, but can also do so only by throwing his Chi at them.  They test not only those claims, but also those of dervish mystics who pierce their bodies with knives and needles.  They look at yogic flying, fire walking, and other such feats.  A skeptic in India tests a "god man" astrologer who sends his clients to purchase expensive "cures" for their psychic ails; strangely, despite his godly powers, the god man doesn't realize that he's being set up, also strangely all his clients need the same expensive cure for their imaginary ailments.  Mostly, the so-called superhuman powers seem to be explained by well known phenomena like high pain tolerance, self-hypnosis, and suggestion.  Nothing is discovered that a good, non-paranormal sideshow performer can't duplicate.

IS IT REAL? Police Psychics

National Geographic Channel - Original Air Date: 2005-6

This episode of the show poses the question: are the psychics who solve cases gifted, or just lucky?  The publisher of Skeptical Inquirer opines that psychic detectives merely waste police resources and give the families of victims false and unrealistic hopes.  As usual, IIR looks at historical case studies and offers scientific explanations for seemingly supernatural phenomena.  (See the recent review of IIR Psychic Animals for a list of some cold reading techniques employed by some psychics.)  Many times, it seems, the facts of the psychics' successes become exaggerated -- mythologized -- over time.  The supposed "solving" of the Jack the Ripper case by a psychic doesn't hold up to scrutiny.  Nor did famed psychic Edgar Cayce do well in the Lindberg kidnapping --  in fact, he got it completely wrong.  Nor have psychics done well on predicting assassinations - despite their claims to the contrary.  The show features a college professor and former psychic who, now skeptical, teaches "cold reading" techniques to his students.  Some psychics may not even know they're using these techniques.  (It's worth checking out Darren Brown's show Mind Control, if you haven't for what one can achieve with stagecraft, illusion, and psychological techniques.)   The show puts a psychic -- who teaches others to harness their gifts -- on a cold case of missing persons.  The policeman working the case concludes that the psychic has produced no new or useful information in the case.  They also test a dreaming psychic, who doesn't do so well detecting a news article in an envelope.  (He says that he needs actual objects, not print reports.)  They then test psychics, geographic profilers. and ordinary students to try to find the lair of criminals.  Geographic profilers did best; the other two did no better than random chance.  And examined predictions that "came true" seem to be either vague, or a case of "if you make enough predictions, some are bound to come true."  Retrofitting predictions to fit the events (as they later come to be) seems to account for the rest.  Again, I recommend checking out Mind Control or, if you prefer fiction, Psyche, for how it might really work.

IS IT REAL? Psychic Animals

National Geographic Channel - Original Air Date: 2005-6

IIR casts its skeptical light on the idea that animals possess psychic abilities like the ability to see the future and predict disasters.  Some speculate that animals and people are connected by a psychic field that binds us all together; we only need to be open to it.  Scientists insist that there is no concrete proof for this or any other paranormal theory.  The show interviews people who believe their pets are broadcasting psychic messages to them warning of everything from earthquakes to the impending arrival of the garbage man.  IIR also looks at historic psychic animals, including a horse who could spell out questions to answers posed by patrons.  As it turns out, as proved by a professional magician, the horse was merely responding to cues given by the trainer, and only knew what the trainer did.  The show points out that a domestic animal is well served by being able to read subtle cues from human beings.  Reports of a psychic parrot (now not doing interviews), prompt the show to test a parrot of their own.  The supposedly telepathic parrot lives with a bird fancier in the US, and a scientific test is set up with the human transmitting from one isolated room and the parrot receiving in another.  After 30 tries, the parrot got 2 hits -- a 7% accuracy rate.  While the owner is impressed (and has "good reasons" why the bird didn't do better), the tester points out that chance would have produced the same results.  The tester also points out that the man who found the "psychic" parrot, threw out results where the parrot didn't respond or responded with words not in the test range.  Doing the same for the new parrot increases it's "hit rate" to around 30% -- the same as the "psychic" bird.  It's amazing what results you can get with bad testing protocols.  The show also looks at pet psychics -- and concludes that such people are using a similar set of "cold reading" technique as human "psychics:" 1) use of prior knowledge, 2) telling clients what they want to hear, 3) noting the obvious.  All of these are reinforced by reactions from the owners; the animals aren't being read, the owners are.  Clearly there are both people (like the Dog Whisperer) and animals who are good at reading cues.  The show also speculates that animals' heightened senses may allow them to sense changes in the environment before people do.  A Japanese scientist has tests suggesting that many animals can sense changes in the earth's magnetic field.  The conclusion is that some animals have warning systems that outstrip our modern technology -- though there is not proof any of these systems are psychic.

DESTINATION TRUTH: Haunted Island & Mongolian Death Worm

SciFi - Original Air Date: 3/12/08

The second show in the second season isn't quite as engaging as the first, but then, there's less good evidence at the end of these two investigations.  In the first part, Josh and his team go to an island off the coast of Africa to investigate an area supposedly plagued by ghosts which, at midnight, march across the landscape and enter a large hole in a particularly spooky tree.  The investigation is repeatedly set back by locals, one of whom claims to be possessed.  The villagers then force the crew to go through a series of bizarre rituals before Josh and the rest will be allowed to explore the site.  By the time all that is done, it's just a few minutes to midnight.  The crew rushes in and sets up their cameras and mics.  Not surprisingly, with things in such a hurry, stuff goes wrong.  The mic in the tree hollow malfunctions, and there's general chaos.  They do get two pieces of evidence -- one a floating orb on the IR camera (the "orb" looked like an animal in a tree to me), and one a strange white shape on the a night vision camera (the shape looked like the sleeve of a hoaxing villager to me).  So, not much conclusion there.  Even less in the Mongolian Death Worm (great name!) case.  After a brutally long drive into the Mongolian Desert, Josh and the crew spend a cold night chasing shadows and peering down holes.  The town they visit has been deserted because of the worm, but the crew finds no signs of it.  There are holes in the ground, and a few traces on the IR camera, but nothing that couldn't be made by normal local fauna.  Leaving, Josh and the rest believe it unlikely that any worm-like creature could survive in this clime and venture out during the winter.  (Which is when recent reports were coming in.)  Worth noting is the high quality of the night vision cameras on this show; Ghost Hunters could use equipment this good.

Some more Gary Articles

A few more articles about Gary, sent in by friends or dug up by me.  Here's a good one from the NY Times.  And here's a touching and well-drawn cartoon.  A brief one from Wired.

It's becoming obvious that there are way, way too many heartfelt tributes to Gary online to compile a comprehensive list.  This one, by Wil Wheaton of Star Trek, is worth noting because it was mentioned by the minister in Gary's funeral service yesterday.  The minister also mentioned a blog or article by Neil Gaiman about Gary.  It was a good story, but -- as of this moment -- I haven't been able to turn it up.  It's not in Neil's journal, so I'm wondering if maybe it was misattributed.  If anyone turns it up, please leave a comment or drop me a line so I can link to it.  It's a sign of just how respected and loved Gary was that Google is swamped with articles and tributes.  The funeral was pretty swamped with tributes, flowers, and fans, too.  More about that later.