The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index Robert Todd Carroll SkepDic.com Didn't find what you're looking for? Search our index Gateway to ordering books, videos, and even some music. Alphabetical Index Abracadabra to Zombis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A abracadabra acupuncture ad hoc hypothesis Afrocentrism agnosticism Akashic record alchemy alien abductions allopathy alphabiotics alpha waves altered states of consciousness alternative health practices amulets Amway ancient astronauts angels angel therapy animal quackers animism anomalous cognition anomalous luminous phenomena h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 1 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 6 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index anomalous perturbation anomaly anoxia anthropometry anthroposophy apophenia appeal to authority applied kinesiology apport Area 51 argument from design argument to ignorance aromatherapy astral body astral projection astrology astrotherapy atheism Atlantis auras aura therapy automatic writing avatar Ayurvedic medicine Aztec UFO hoax B Bach's flower therapy the Backster effect backward (satanic) messages ball lightning Barnum effect begging the question Bermuda triangle Bible Code Bigfoot h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 2 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index bio-ching bioharmonics biorhythms Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna Blondlot "blue sense" brainwashing breatharianism Bridey Murphy bunyips C Cabala Cardiff Giant "Carlos" hoax cartomancy Castaneda, Carlos cattle mutilations Cayce, Edgar The Celestine Prophecy cellular memory chain letters chakras channeling Charcot, Jean-Martin Chariots of the Gods? charms chelation therapy chi Ch'i Kung (QiGong) chiromancy chiropractic Chopra, Deepak chupacabras clairaudience clairvoyance h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 3 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index clustering illusion codependency coincidences cold reading collective hallucinations collective unconscious colloidal minerals communal reinforcement confabulation confirmation bias coning conjuring conspiracy, paranoid theorists control study cosmobiology cosmology A Course in Miracles craniometry craniosacral therapy cranioscopy creationism and creation science crop circles Crowley, Aleister cryptomnesia cryptozoology crystal power crystal skulls cults curse D Däniken, Erich von déjà vu deport dermo-optical perception design, argument from h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 4 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index determinism devadasi DHEA dianetics divination the divine fallacy Dixon, Jeane The Dogon and Sirius II double-blind test dowsing dreams druids dualism E ear candling ectoplasm EHF (extraordinaryhuman function) electromagnetic fields electronic voice phenomenon empiricism energy enneagram E-rays Erhard, Werner ESP est evil eye exorcism extraterrestrials Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing F face on Mars h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 5 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index facilitated communication fairies faith fakir false memories falun gong (falun dafa) feng shui fetishes firewalking flying saucers Forer effect Fort, Charles and the Forteans fortune telling Freemasons free will Freud, Sigmund friggatriskaidekaphobia Dr. Fritz G gambler's fallacy ganzfeld experiment Geller, Uri geomancy ghosts glossolalia gods graphology Gurdjieff, G.I. H haunted houses herbal fuel d'Holbach (Paul Henri Thiry) h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 6 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index holistic medicine hollow Earth Holocaust denial homeopathy houris Houston, Jean and the Mystery School Hubbard, L. Ron & Scientology hundredth monkey phenomenon hypnagogic hypnopompic hypnosis hystero-epilepsy I Ica stones I Ching ideomotor effect Illuminati incantation incorruptible bodies Indian rope trick The Indigo Children inedia Inset Fuel Stabilizer intelligent design instrumental transcommunication (ITC) intuitives & intuitive healers invocation IQ and race iridology J jamais vu h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 7 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index Januarius jinni jogini joy touch Jung, Carl K Kabalah Kabalarian Philosophy karma Kirlian photography Knight, J.Z. koro L Landmark Forum Large Group Awareness Training law of truly large numbers Lenz, Frederick levitation ley lines lie detector Loch Ness monster logical positivism lucid dreaming lunar effects lycanthropy Lysenkoism M macrobiotics magick h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 8 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index magnet therapy mahasamahdi St. Malachy manifesting Mapinguari Marfa lights "Mars Effect" Mars, face on massage therapy materialism medium memory Men in Black mentalist mesmerism metaphysics metempsychosis metoposcopy The New Millennium mind mind-control Mineral Doctor miracles mokele mbembe moment of silence Moody, Raymond (full) moon morphic resonance Moses syndrome Mozart Effect Multi-frequency Detectors (MFDs) Multi-level Marketing (MLM) Multi-level Marketing (MLM) harassment multiple personality disorder Murphy, Bridey Myers-Briggs Type Indicator h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 9 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index N natural naturalism naturopathy Nazca lines nazism and Holocaust denial near-death experiences Nessie neuro-linguistic programming New AgeTherapies New World Order Noah's Ark nocebo Nostradamus N-rays numerology O Occam's razor occult & occultism occult statistics ontology optional starting and stopping oracles orbs orgone energy osteopathy Ouija board Ouspensky, Petyr Demianovich out-of-body experience P pagans h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 1 0 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index palmistry pantheism papryomancy paradigm & paradigm shift paranormal parapsychology paraskevidekatriaphobia paratrinket pareidolia past life regression pathological science penile plethysmograph pentagram personology Philadelphia Experiment philosopher's stone phrenology physiognomy Piltdown Hoax pious fraud placebo effect plant perception Pleiadians poltergeists polygraph Ponzi schemes positive-outcome bias post hoc fallacy pragmatic fallacy prana prayer precognition The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) prophecy Protocols of the Elders of Zion pseudohistory h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 1 1 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index pseudoscience psi psi-missing Psi-Tronics Super-Sensor Dowsing Rod psychic psychic detectives psychic healing psychic photography psychic surgery psychoanalysis psychokinesis psychology psychometry psychotherapies, New Age publication bias pyramidiocy pyramid schemes Q quackery Quadro Tracker R Raël and the Raëlians Rama Ramtha Randi Paranormal Challenge reflexology regression and the regressive fallacy Reich, Wilhelm reiki reincarnation remote viewing repressed memory h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 1 2 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index repressed memory therapy retroactive clairvoyance retrocognition retrospective falsification reverse speech Catalina Rivas rods rolfing Rorschach ink blot test Roswell runes S Sai Baba saint Santa Claus Sasquatch Satan satanic ritual abuse Scallion, Gordon-Michael scapulimancy science scientism Scientology scrying séance second sight selective thinking self-deception sensitive shamanism shark cartilage as a cancer cure shoehorning shotgunning shroud of Turin Silva Mind Control (Silva Method) h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 1 3 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index Sitchin, Zecharia sixth sense skepticism, philosophical sleep paralysis slick 50& other oil additives Sokal hoax sorcery souls speed reading spell spirit photography spiritualism spontaneous human combustion star child Steiner, Rudolf stichomancy stigmata subconscious subliminal substance abuse treatment sunk-cost fallacy swastika sympathetic magic synchronicity T tachyons & takionics talisman tantra tarot cards Tart, Charles telekinesis telepathy teleportation Tensegrity testimonials h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 1 4 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] The Skeptic's Dictionary Guide to the New Millennium Alphabetical Index Texas sharpshooter fallacy theist theosophy therapeutic touch thought field therapy thoughtography trance writing Transcendental Meditation (TM) transubstantiation trepanation true-believer syndrome U unconscious mind unicorns Unidentified Flying Objects [UFOs] Urantia Book urine therapy V vampires Van Praagh, James vastu Velikovsky's Worlds in Collision victim soul vinyl vision vitalism W Waldorf Schools Wallach, Joel D. "The Mineral Doctor" h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o n t e n t s . h t m l ( 1 5 / 1 6 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 1 : 3 9 ] abracadabra Robert Todd Carroll SkepDic.com abracadabra Abracadabra is a mystical word used to magically invoke benevolent spirits for protection against disease. The expression is also used by modern magicians as they pretend to invoke paranormal or supernatural powers to aid in their illusions. This magical formula may be related to the word 'abraxas', which was found on many amulets during the last years of the Roman Empire and is thought to have originated with the Gnostics or the Egyptians. In any case, abracadabra is just as effective as abraxas or hocus-pocus further reading reader comments Schiffman, Nathaniel. Abracadabra! : Secret Methods Magicians & Others Use to Deceive Their Audience (Prometheus Books, 1997)). ©copyright 2002 Robert Todd Carroll zombis & p-zombies Last updated 04/21/03 acupuncture SkepDic.com Search the Skeptic's Dictionary h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / a b r a c a d a b r a . h t m l [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 2 : 4 3 ] amulets Robert Todd Carroll SkepDic.com amulets Amulets are ornaments, gems, scrolls, etc., worn as charms against evil. Amulets are often inscribed with magical incantations. ©copyright 2002 Robert Todd Carroll alternative health practices Amway SkepDic.com Search the Skeptic's Dictionary h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / a m u l e t s . h t m l [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 2 : 4 4 ] Skeptic's Dictionary reader comments abracadabra Robert Todd Carroll SkepDic.com abracadabra reader comments: 24 Apr 00 I always enjoy reading your dictionary (it's the first place I turn to for my skeptical research). I noticed the entry for "abracadabra," and wanted to suggest another source for the term. According to a Princeton professor of Hebrew I knew, the phrase "avrah ke dibrah" translates roughly into "it happened as it was said." Magicians would use the phrase in the course of working their tricks. The words would be similar in Aramaic and other related languages. Sheryl Zohn Fri, 21 Jun 2002 To expand on Sheryl Zohn's definition of the word ABRACADABRA. In Aramaic, it is part of a sentence uttered by ancient magicians and healers . ABRA/CAD/ABRA. "It will pass when it will pass". (When it's time for it to pass). Meyer Klein ©copyright 2000 Robert Todd Carroll Last updated 11/20/02 SkepDic.com Search the Skeptic's Dictionary h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / c o m m e n t s / a b r a c o m . h t m l [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 2 : 4 5 ] zombis and p-zombies Robert Todd Carroll SkepDic.com Voodoo call for African peace zombies and p-zombies Zombies are dead bodies with no souls, created by the black magic of voodoo sorcerers. Voodoo is a religion which originated in West Africa and was brought to Haiti in the early 16th century by West African slaves. The slaves could not practice their religion openly and were forced to adopt in public the practices of the French Catholic settlers. Voodoo is still a popular religion in Haiti and in cities where Haitians have emigrated, such as New Orleans. Vodu is an African word meaning spirit or god. The black magic of voodoo sorcerers allegedly consists of various poisons (perhaps that of the puffer fish) which immobilize a person for days, as well as hallucinogens administered upon revival. The result is a brain damaged creature used by the sorcerers as slaves, viz., the zombies. The zombie is not to be confused with the zombie astral , whose soul ( ti-bon-ange ) is controlled by the sorcerer. It is quite understandable that a religion practiced under slavery would emphasize evil spirits. It is a cruel irony that some in the religion would evolve to worship at evil's altar and engage in practices which not only enslave others but keep the community in line from fear of being turned into a zombie/slave. Many people are skeptical of the existence of zombies, which I take to mean they are skeptical that a dead person could be revived with or without retaining his or her "soul" or "self-consciousness" or "mind." Once you are dead, you are dead forever. For those who don't believe a person has a soul, death is not the separation of the body from the soul, but the end of life and consciousness. The voodoo zombie is not a dead person, but a living person who has been brain damaged. There is another kind of zombie, however: the philosophical zombie. A philosophical zombie (p-zombie, for short) would be a human body without consciousness which would nevertheless behave like a human body with consciousness. To some philosophers (e.g., Daniel Dennett) this is a contradictory notion and thus an impossible conception. If it behaves like a person and is indistinguishable from a person, then it is a person. Other philosophers (e.g. Todd Moody and David Chalmers) argue that a p-zombie would be distinguishable from a person even though indistinguishable from a conscious person. It is distinguishable, say these philosophers, because it is stipulated that it is not conscious even though it is indistinguishable from a conscious being. In case you are wondering why philosophers would debate whether it is possible to conceive of a p-zombie, it is because some philosophers do not believe or do not want to believe that consciousness can h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / z o m b i e s . h t m l ( 1 / 4 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 2 : 4 7 ] zombis and p-zombies be reduced to a set of materialistic functions. Important metaphysical and ethical issues seem to hinge on whether there can be p-zombies. Can machines be conscious? If we created a machine which was indistinguishable from a human person, would our artificial creation be a "person" with all the rights and duties of natural persons? To the p-zombie advocates, consciousness is more than brain processes and neurological functions. No adequate account of consciousness will ever be produced that is "reductionist," i.e., completely materialistic. I think it is possible to conceive of a machine which "perceives" without being aware of perceiving. In fact, they already exist: motion detectors, touch screens, tape recorders, smoke alarms, certain robots. An android which could process visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and gustatory input but which would lack self-consciousness, i.e., would not be aware of perceiving anything, is conceivable. We can even conceive of such machines resembling humans in the flesh. How would we distinguish such automata from persons? The same way we do now: by the imperfect and fallible methods of conversation and observation. But that is not what would make the two distinct; self-consciousness or the lack of it would distinguish the automata from persons. "Visual perception" by a motion detector is unlike visual perception by a person just because of the difference in awareness of perception, i.e., self-consciousness. A smoke detector might "smell" certain chemicals, but it does not process odors the way a person does. In my view, the only conceivable p-zombie would be a machine which perceives but has no awareness of perceiving, i.e., no self-consciousness. Such machines are essentially distinct from conscious persons. For what it's worth, I side with Dennett and those who think that the concept of the p-zombie is a logical absurdity. If the "zombie" exhibits all the symptoms of consciousness, then the "zombie" is not a zombie; for to exhibit all the symptoms of consciousness is to have consciousness, which the zombie is denied by definition. Anyway, this reminds me of a story by Raymond Smullyan, the great logician and paradoxer. A man wants to commit suicide but does not want to cause his family any grief. He finds out about an elixir he can take which will kill him, i.e., separate his soul from his body, but leave his body intact to wake up, go to work, play with the kids, keep the wife satisfied and bring home the bacon. But before he takes the elixir, a well-intentioned friend sneaks in during the night and injects his suicidal friend with the stuff, thereby killing him, i.e., releasing his soul. The man wakes up and doesn't know he's dead (i.e., that he has no soul), so he takes the elixir. He can't kill himself, since he's already dead. But he thinks he can kill himself and become a p-zombie. However, he is already a p-zombie. Question: if the p-zombie can't tell the difference between a real person and a p-zombie, why would we think that we real persons could tell the difference? In fact, since the conception of the "soul" makes absolutely no difference in either the nature of a person or a p-zombie, the concept of the "soul" is superfluous. If persons are indistinguishable from h t t p : / / s k e p d i c . c o m / z o m b i e s . h t m l ( 2 / 4 ) [ 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 - 2 9 ÿ•ÿ€ÿ€ 8 : 2 2 : 4 7 ]