CSICOP Online: Arthur C. Clarke in Sri Lanka

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Barry Karr <SkeptInq () AOL COM>
Reply-To: CSICOP Announcement <CSICOP-ANNOUNCE () LISTSERV AOL COM>
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 10:30:51 -0500 (EST)
To: <CSICOP-ANNOUNCE () LISTSERV AOL COM>
Subject: CSICOP Online: Ghost Voices on Tape & Arthur C. Clarke in Sri Lanka

  
Just in Time for the January release of the Michael Keaton  movie "White
Noise,"  CSICOP examines the claims for so-called
E.V.P.  - Electronic Voice Phenomena.
  

  
Electronic Voice Phenomena
  
Voices of the Dead?
By James E. Alcock, PhD
When we talk about communication with the dead, we are usually referring to
“mediums” who talk to the dead on our behalf, or who allow the dead to speak
to us through them.
What if, instead the dead could speak to us directly, without the middle
person? 
If You Survive Death…?
Imagine for a moment that you are the dead person, that your body has died,
but your mind / personality / soul lives on. You are surprised by this, and
you want to tell people, especially your skeptical friends, all about it –
you want to communicate with us.

What would you do? 

You have no voice box therefore you cannot speak. You have no arms or legs
or any means of moving objects. But you are – as they say – an “energy
field.” Could you reach us by interference with devices that rely upon other
energy fields, a radio or tape recorder, for example?

But if you were able to generate some sounds on a tape recorder, would any
one even detect them, or pay attention if they did? It’s often hard to
detect weak signals – and you are but a wraith, a spirit, and probably
without a lot of energy.

However, there is hope for humans, as Ray Hyman points out, because humans
are the best pattern detectors in existence. Pattern detection, in this
example, would be the ability to discriminate signal from noise.

To Read More of This Article Visit:
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/evp.html
 
 
2) Sir Arthur C. Clarke writes from Sri Lanka
 From: Sir Arthur C Clarke  Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 8:23 AM
 To: Andrea Szalanski
 Subject: Re: Your Welfare

 Dear Andrea, 

 Thank you for your concern about my safety in the wake of last Sundays
devastating tidal wave.

 I am enormously relieved that my family and household have escaped the
ravages of the sea that suddenly invaded most parts of coastal Sri Lanka,
leaving a trail of destruction.

 But many others were not so fortunate. For over two million Sri Lankans
and a large number of foreign tourists holidaying here, the day after
Christmas turned out to be a living nightmare reminiscent of The Day After
Tomorrow. My heart-felt sympathy goes out to all those who lost family
members  or friends.

 Among those who directly experienced the waves were my staff based at our
diving station in Hikkaduwa, and my holiday bungalows in Kahawa and
Thiranagama ­ all beachfront properties located in southern areas that  were
badly hit. Our staff members are all safe, even though some are badly
shaken and relate harrowing first hand accounts of what happened. Most of
our  diving equipment and boats at Hikkaduwa were washed away. We still
don't know  the full extent of damage -- it will take a while for us to take
stock as  accessing these areas is still difficult.

 This is indeed a disaster of unprecedented magnitude for Sri Lanka, which
lacks the resources and capacity to cope with the aftermath. We are
encouraging concerned friends to contribute to the relief efforts launched
by  various national and international organisations. If you wish to join
these  efforts, I can recommend two options.

 - Contribute to a Sri Lanka disaster relief fund launched by an
internationally operating humanitarian charity, such as Care or Oxfam.

 - Alternatively, considering supporting Sarvodaya, the largest development
charity in Sri Lanka, which has a 45-year track record in reaching out and
helping the poorest of the poor. Sarvodaya has mounted a well organised,
countrywide relief effort using their countrywide network of offices and
volunteers who work in all parts of the country, well above ethnic and other
divisions. Their website, www.sarvodaya.lk <http://www.sarvodaya.lk/> ,
provides bank account details for financial donations. They also welcome
contributions in kind -- a list of urgently needed items is found at:
http://www.sarvodaya.lk/Inside_Page/urgently%20needed.htm

 There is much to be done in both short and long terms for Sri Lanka to
raise its head from this blow from the seas. Among other things, the country
needs to improve its technical and communications facilities so that
effective  early warnings can help minimise losses in future disasters.

 Curiously enough, in my first book on Sri Lanka, I had written about
another tidal wave reaching the Galle harbour (see Chapter 8 in The Reefs of
Taprobane, 1957). That happened in August 1883, following the eruption of
Krakatoa in roughly the same part of the Indian Ocean.



 Arthur Clarke
 29 December 2004

 At 07:40 PM 12/27/04, you wrote:

 
>  Hello from your friends at the Center for  Inquiry in Amherst, New York.  We
> are very distressed to hear the news  from your area and hope you and yours
> are all right, although we realize it  is impossible not to be touched by this
> disaster.  Please let us know  how you are.
>
>  Andrea Szalanski
>  Managing Editor, Free Inquiry
    

Please do not respond to the listserv.  Comments should be addressed  to:
skeptinq () aol com


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