One of our stories in the mag. this week was about the brain
functioning behind the belief in all things paranormal: ghosts,
extraterrestrial life, reincarnation, et cetera. I'm simplifying here,
but Sharon Begley explains in the story
that our brains fill in the blanks between information, thus
influencing our belief in these phenomena that have no basis in science
or fact.
For many readers this explanation was, well, unbelievable:
"Gimme a break. I love science but I also believe in the
paranormal," writes one commenter. "I have had MANY experiences
that I would rather not remember dealing with paranormal things to know that
science can't just 'explain it away' as some kind of freaking brain activity.
Seriously come up with something new. Every time something unexplainable happens
they go straight for the 'it must be some kind of brain
thing.'"
Walter
Semkiw, a medical doctor who says he is the reincarnation of John
Adams, also refuted our claims. As one of the men that we interviewed
for the piece, this is what he had to say:
Reincarnation research should not be scoffed at; rather it should be
generously funded, for evidence of reincarnation will truly create a
more peaceful world. We have created a reincarnation research
institute for this purpose: www.iisis.net
The Newsweek article, Why We Believe,
made me realize that Newsweek lacks integrity and that it is no better
than a tabloid that defames people in sensational ways. The authors of
this article do not deserve to be
called journalists and they should be ashamed of themselves. Their
juvenile article is misleading and amounts to slander.
You can read Semkiw's entire letter here. But It's worth noting that others appreciated our skepticism."A
good balanced article," says one reader. "Perhaps a bit too
balanced in giving a sounding board to those who really believe all these things
in earnest. It is a sad commentary on how backwards the US is becoming in
science that so many more people believe in the paranormal now than in the
1980s." Well, at least it is almost Halloween.
Editor's Note: NEWSWEEK stands by the story.