Skeptics Find Fault With Media Portrayals of Paranormal

With an audience composed of skeptics and avid fans of "The X-Files," the Harvard Secular Society's presentation "Skeptics vs. The X-Files: The Paranormal and the Media" drew mixed responses from a crowd of 50 last night in the Science Center.

The speaker, Matt Nisbet, Public Relations Director for the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), claimed, "Negative representations of science by the media have led to a loss in critical thinking."

The talk, part of the Skeptical Inquirer Lecture series offered to universities across the country, aimed to promote the skeptic cause.

CSICOP defines a skeptic as someone who questions the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it. A skeptic believes that science can improve society.

Using slides and a short 7-minute film, Nisbet showed that media portrayals of the paranormal in popular films, talk shows, pseudo-documentaries, news programs and books have validated paranormal belief while negatively portraying science.

He took "The X-Files" as an example. Scully, the physicist and skeptic, is often wrong, while Mulder, the "believer" of paranormal, is often right. This characterization "promotes negative stereotypes of scientists and science," Nisbet said.

Carrie A. DeDeo '00 disagreed. "While Scully is often wrong, she is not portrayed totally negatively. If the paranormal is true, her science does have a place," she said.

"Also, I don't think fictional shows have the same responsibility as new shows to present the literal truth. The creator of these shows don't expect viewers to believe the show."

Another skeptic concern with the increasing popularity of outer-world programs is that the next generation of policy-makers will be unable to sort the misinformation from the valid.

"Uncritical media presentations of the paranormal and pseudoscience undermines scientific literacy, an integral part to collective decision-making in a society," Nisbet said.

Nisbet also mentioned that paranormal fever has caused government funds to be diverted from real scientific issues.

He said, for instance, that Near Earth Objects are a valid concern because of the damage they can cause if they crash into earth.

There are an estimated 2000 Near Earth Objects which have not yet been identified, he said.

Nisbet said instead of spending money identifying these imminent threats and finding ways to divert them, the government is forced to spend money trying to track paranormal claims.

Nisbet ended the presentation with a call to form a society of skeptics on the Harvard campus.

The mission of the Harvard Secular Society, a group of atheists and agnostics, already closely matches that of the skeptics, however.

Derek C. Araujo '99, president of the Harvard Secular Society, explained, "like the skeptics, the Secular Society is interested in critical thinking. We regard uncritically accepted ideas of the paranormal to be similar to those of religion. We were interested in what Mr. Nisbet had to say about the potentially harmful effects."

Whether or not they were inspired to heed Nisbet's call for a skeptic society on campus, some audience members were enthusiastic about his presentation.

"I thought it was a very good presentation. I agreed with a lot of what he had to say about the media and its portrayal of paranormal activity," Joseph. A. Cousin '00 said.