| Title: | Psychic Phenomena |
| Notice: | Please read note 1.0-1.* before writing |
| Moderator: | JARETH::PAINTER |
| Created: | Wed Jan 22 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Tue May 27 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 2143 |
| Total number of notes: | 41773 |
"Much the same as we label packets of cigarette ads dangerous to
health, astrology columns should carry a proper label concerning
their contents", writes Paul Kurtz, chariman of The Committee for
the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP),
in an open letter to Canadian newspapers and magazines. He recommends
a number of possible disclaimers, among them: "Astrology forecasts
are no more reliable than simply guessing and are for entertainmnet
only." He also suggests renaming the columns along the line of
"Stars For Fun", which has been done in a number of papers in New
Zealand. CSICOP has sent similar letters to American pulications,
and so far 17 papers have started printing discalimers.
"We share Kurtz's concern that such hocus-pocus can be dangerous
if taken seriously. Moreover, these are litigious times. "If a
beliver in astrology acted on advice given in your papers column
to their detriment you could be sued for damages", he writes. "A
disclaimer would help yor defense."
Excerpted from CSICOP and printed in Science Digest June 1988
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 741.1 | yuou will meet a tall, dark, CSICOP member ... | MARKER::KALLIS | Don't confuse `want' and `need.' | Tue May 17 1988 15:59 | 4 |
Hmm. It would be interesting to see what other "possible diswclaimers"
might be.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
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| 741.2 | GENRAL::DANIEL | We are the otters of the Universe | Tue May 17 1988 16:12 | 3 | |
The only newspaper in Colorado Springs (! do you sense a monopoly here? they bought out the other newspaper... !) puts the astrology section on the comics page, and does not list the astrology/horoscope section in the Index. | |||||
| 741.3 | Don't believe a word... | FNYHUB::PELLATT | Everybody do...the Coup� Crunch ! | Wed May 18 1988 07:56 | 1 |
Believing *anything* you read in the papers can damage your health... | |||||
| 741.4 | ERIS::CONLON | An anchovy pizza, hold the pizza. | Thu May 19 1988 13:34 | 10 | |
Well, I get newspaper clippings of The Honolulu Advertiser and the
horoscope colum has the following disclaimer:
'The horoscope is intended for enter-
tainment only. The predictions have no
proven scientific basis.'
I guess someone has taken Mr Kurtz's advice.
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