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: Council for Media Integrity
: Reviews
The Power of Belief with John Stossel
October 6, 1998To view a transcript, or send a viewer comment, visit the ABC News web site, or you can submit a review for CSICOP On-line.
Leonard Tramiel
Leonard Tramiel (ltramiel@yahoo.com) writes:I just can't say enough good things about The Power of Belief aired on ABC on Tuesday October 6. This special was hosted by John Stossel, who referred to himself as "the ultimate skeptic". The show covered a very wide range of topics, some only in passing, others in great detail.
Topics covered in The Power of Belief
- Yogic flying
- Therapeutic touch
- Astrology
- Fire Walking
- Voodoo
- Magical Thinking
- Uri Geller
- Faith Healing
- Placebo
- Alternative Medicine
- Channeling
- Carlos Hoax
- Psychic Hotlines and detectives
- Near Death Experiences
The segment on Therapeutic touch was wonderful. They showed Emily Rosa, 9 year old that had a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This study, written up in the Skeptical Inquirer, was a thorough debunking of Therapeutic Touch.
Firewalking was covered very well. A clear, concise explanation was given and then the host, Mr. Stossel walked across hot coals.
The segment about the placebo effect showed a psychology class experiment. One group was told that they were getting a stimulant, another a depressant and they reported how they were affected. The effects of the medications were strong and consistent with what they were told. Then they were told that they all got a placebo.
The special was great.
I am going to get a video tape and show it whenever I can.
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