Science and Reason in Hampton Roads is a skeptics organization that examines issues of pseudoscience, the paranormal, and the failure of rational thought and argument in our culture.
Science and Reason
in Hampton Roads

An Organization Devoted to
the Critical Examination of
Dubious or Extraordinary Claims




BREAKING NEWS AT SRHR!!

NEXT
MEETING
The next SRHR meeting will be held at 6:30 pm, Thursday, June 12, at the Imperio Inca restaurant, 723 W. 21st St in Norfolk, 1/2 block east of Colley Ave. Please RSVP to Larry Weinstein (email: my last name @odu.edu) by Tuesday, June 10, so I can make reservations. Note change of place!
 
Click and for directions to the Oceanography-Physics Bldg, or call 683-5803.

FUTURE
MEETINGS
The second Thursday of every month except July and August,  6:30 PM, at ODU, Oceanography-Physics Bldg, Room 306.

CREATION
SCIENCE
101  
Click  . In the beginning....

DOUBLE
DOUBLE
    
SRHR president Dr. Larry Weinstein hits a double!!  Click   (first base), and   (second base).

TEXTBOOK
STICKERS
     
More tongue-in-cheek textbook stickers. 
Click  .

THE DIFFERENCE
     
Why you don't want to be married to a scientist. 
Click  .

UFOs AND
EVIDENCE
The final word stays tantalyzingly out of reach.  Essay by Seth Shostak  .

DUSTUP
AT THE MC2
CORRAL
An amazing, paradigm-wrenching episode on the 100th Anniversary of Einstein's famous equation, E = mc2.  Click  .

THE
DARWIN
ARCHIVES
Our collection of Darwin-Creationist-ID items that appeared here in the past.  Stuff too good for the Recycle Bin.  Click  .



This Month's Stories of Pseudoscience, the
Paranormal, and the Failure Of Critical Thinking!

 
Also, new items from "Lies, Damned Lies,
And Statistics!"

 
SCIENCE NEWS AND COMMENT
"What's New",
  by Robert Park ,  American Physical Society
 
WHO'S COUNTING?
"Math Observations About Daily Life"
  by mathematician
and author
 John Allen Paulos
 
  NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION
Latest updates on the current Creationist/ID-Evolution conflicts in the U.S.  News, legal issues, lawsuits, documents, and trial materials.

 
  ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY!
Each day a different photograph of our fascinating universe, from NASA!


PAST SRHR EVENTS:

The ODU
Maglev
Project
 
Dr. Thomas Alberts of the ODU Aerospace Engineering Dept. discussed magnetic levitation public transportation systems in general, and technical problems of the ODU Maglev System specifically at our December 8,  2005 meeting.
 
A detailed history of the Maglev at ODU is found  , along with Dr. Alberts' ideas for solving the current problems.
 
The Real
Mahatma
Gandhi?
At our November 10, 2005 meeting, Dr. G. B. Singh gave a very unconventional presentation about the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi entitled "Who Is Mahatma Gandhi And What Is His Relation To The U.S."  Dr. Singh has written an well-documented book, Gandhi: Behind The Mask Of Divinity which maintains that, despite Gandhi's carefully-nurtured popular image, in reality he was a racist and a militant Hindu fundamentalist.  In his book, Dr. Singh documents this portrayal with extensive citations from Gandi's own writings.  Click for more details about Dr. Singh and his book.
 
Prayer
Research
Dr. E. James Baesler spoke about his investigations into prayer as communication, and the application of communication theory to understanding how prayer works, at our February 10, 2005 meeting.  Dr. Baesler is Associate Professor of Communication in the ODU Department of Communication & Theatre Arts, and is author of the book, "Theoretical Explorations And Empirical Investigations Of Communication And Prayer".
 
Rainbows,
Halos, And
Glories
Dr. John Adam, Senior Professor in the Old Dominion University (Virginia) Department of Mathematics and Statistics, gave a presentation at our January, 2005 meeting about atmospheric optical displays (rainbows, sundogs, light pillars, halos, etc.).  Dr. Adam's slides of these phenomena were very striking and enjoyable.  Click to see a summary of Dr. Adam's presentation, and links to some astonishing images.
 
Ice-Rafted
Debris And
Climate
Change
Dr. Jen Bischof, an Old Dominion University (Virginia) geologist, lectured on Thursday, November 11, 2004, about his research on Ice-Rafted Debris, and what it tells us about modern climate change.  Ice-Rafted Debris consists of mineral particles that are transported by ice floes that break off from the ice shelf.  When the floes melt, the debris is deposited on the sea floor and is recovered by coring.  Dr. Bischof specializes in the ice debris of the Arctic Ocean.  Click for details about Dr. Bischof's presentation.
 
Creationism
vs Evolution
Lecture
Dr. Erik Scully, Professor of Biology at Towson University, gave a presentation on Wednesday, March 24, 2004, about the Creationism movement and its claims, with an emphasis on Intelligent Design.  Click for information about Dr. Scully and his talk. 
 
Lecture :  "Cold
Reading"
Thursday, May 9,  2002,  "How To Do A Cold Reading",  by Dr.Mark Hinders, Applied Science Dept., College of William and Mary.  The presentation illustrated practical "cold reading" techniques with examples from film and video, as well as everyday life.
 
Lecture :   SETI Saturday, April 20, 2002,  "Searching For ET",  by Senior SETI Astronomer Seth Shostak.  Press release is  .  Click for Seth's paper, "Would Aliens Visit?" on the Space.com website.
 
First
Cranium
Award,
2002
SRHR makes its first "Cranium" Media Award for "thoughtful and rational reporting of pseudo-scientific phenomena, issues, or extraordinary claims" to Martha Walker, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, Old Dominion University College of Health Sciences.  Click for the presentation ceremony, and for Martha's article.  Congratulations!
 
Friday 13th
Superstition
Celebration,
Summer, 2001
July 13, 2001, another smashing success!  See the Pilot Online article  for our second annual event.
 
Original
Pseudoscience
Lecture Series :
Spring, 2000
"Investigating Modern Pseudoscience", the lecture series that was the beginning of our club  , January through April 2000.
 

 

ABOUT SRHR

JOIN SRHR

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SRHR
NEWSLETTERS

 


AWARDS, PAPERS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND
PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF SRHR!

2006 Faculty
And Staff
Awards
 
Five Colleges announced the annual faculty and staff awards for 2006 at an honorary dinner held at the close of the spring semester. 
 
Larry Weinstein, Professor of Physics in the ODU Physics Department, won the Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award; he has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and research. 
 
Dr. Weinstein still serves as the President of Science And Reason In Hampton Roads (SRHR).

A New
Paradigm
For Success!
Revolutionary Suggestions For Effective Organizational Behavior, by SRHR Member Alan Speigel.  Click  .
 
College Of
Sciences, 2005
Awards
Thirty faculty and student winners of awards and scholarships were announced at the Old Dominion University (ODU) College of Sciences 2005 Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 23, 2005.
 
Larry Weinstein, Professor of Physics in the ODU Physics Department, won the Faculty Excellence Award, the College's highest honor.  Weinstein was cited for "excelling as a teacher, and was accomplished as a research professional", by Dean Richard Gregory.  Click to read the official announcement.  Dr. Weinstein is the President of Science And Reason In Hampton Roads (SRHR).
 
Jefferson Labs
Bi-Annual Open
House
Larry Weinstein was one of the many scientists at the Jefferson Accelerator Facility in Newport News who hosted numerous visitors to the Lab's bi-annual open house (Saturday, April 16, 2005).  The National Facility is one of the most advanced superconducting accelerators in the world, and hosts scientists and their experiments from all advanced nations.  Click to read the coverage of the event by the Washington Post.
 
Local News
Article
Larry Weinstein was interviewed in the October 31, 2003 issue of the local newspaper, The Virginian Pilot.  Larry gave the "non-paranormal" explanation of the ghostly goings-on at the "haunted" Prentis House in Suffolk, VA.  Click to read the article.
 
Research Paper Larry Weinstein, Professor of Physics in the ODU Physics Department, published significant results of his research at ODU and Jefferson Labs.  Click to read the coverage in the September 7, 2003 issue of the Hampton Roads Daily Press.  Click to read the ODU press release.
 
Deepak Chopra
Letters
Letters by Sebastian Kuhn and Lawrence Weinstein  , and by Martha Walker  , discussing and protesting the recent appearance on April 13, 2001, of Deepak Chopra, new age guru and pseudo-scientific speaker.  Also see these links to other commentaries  .
 
UFO Museum A visit to the Roswell, New Mexico UFO Museum during the Fall of 2001.  Warning: large images.  Details are  .
  by Sandy Brenner
 
The Visit An account of a visit to a "real" haunted house  , printed in the Spring, 2001 issue of ODU's Catalyst magazine.
  by Larry Weinstein
 
The Camera
vs The Eye
Demonstration of how, by manipulating only exposure and basic filters, bogus images can be generated.  Examples are  by Chandon Davis
 
Creationism "In the beginning, God created evolution" can be found  , and a first draft of our creationism primer is  by Larry Weinstein
 
Pseudoscience "Science, Pseudoscience, and the Paranormal" is  by Alan Speigel

 


 


OTHER SRHR ITEMS OF INTEREST

Ring The
Alarum Bell!
(Again!)  
Our useful theocratic glossary. Totally updated! Completely rewritten! Entirely accurate! Finally, you'll know what you're talking about! Click  .

The Scope
And Range Of
Mathematics
The Landscape Of Mathematics.  From:  The Mathematical Tourist:  Snapshots Of Modern Mathematics.  Ivars Peterson.  W.H. Freeman & Company,  1988.
Click  .
 
Beyond Reason
Jere H. Lipps
Science In The Mass Media.  From:  Evolution!  Facts & Fallacies.  Schopf, J. W.  (Editor)  Academic Press, San Diego,  1999.  Click  .
 
The Museum
of Hoaxes
Museum of hoax history, exhibits, pranks, and practical jokes.  Click  .
 
University of
Tennessee
The Jack E. Reese Galleria in the Hodges Library includes one of the finest adult male centaur specimens ever discovered.  Click  .
 


 


Authorized by the members of SRHR in October of 2001, the
SRHR MEDIA AWARD,

"THE CRANIUM"

to be awarded for thoughtful and rational reporting of
pseudoscientific phenomena, issues, or extraordinary claims.

Also home of the "EMPTY CRANIUM" award.

Check back for news of awards and recipients.
 

 

ABOUT SRHR

JOIN SRHR

CONTACT US

SRHR
NEWSLETTERS

GLOSSARY
( The Skeptics Dictionary )

THIS MONTH'S SCIENCE
AND PARANORMAL NEWS!

LIES, DAMNED LIES,
AND STATISTICS

BOOKS /
PERIODICALS

USEFUL LINKS

FEDERAL LINKS

NEWSPAPERS /
NEWSMAGAZINES

USING THE BROWSER'S "HISTORY" FUNCTION

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