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[Phys-l] Fwd: [tap-l] Edmund Scientific pushing pseudoscience



My objection is to the advertising -- (as reported on the lists), otherwise I agree w/ J. clement.

bc encouraged by the "heat" and wonders if there was "heat" back in the 50-- 60's.

p.s. I did purchase a GSR (still have) from them (ca. 1975) and wish I'd kept the advertising.



Begin forwarded message:

From: John Welch <physicsstuff@baymoon.com>
Date: 2009, October 21, 21:08:31 PDT
To: tap-l@lists.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: [tap-l] Edmund Scientific pushing pseudoscience
Reply-To: tap-l@lists.ncsu.edu

After reading this thread I wrote a letter to Edmund, and here is the reply I got:

Dear Sir:

Your feedback on the Edmund Scientific catalog and my choice to include a pseudoscience product is both appreciated and duly noted.

I am taking a lot of heat from my customers on that choice.

We get a lot of inquiries and requests about pseudoscience, and I decided a few months ago to find some new product designed and marketed specifically for the paranormal and about things like remote viewing, and test it out in our catalog and on our website. The idea crystalized for me when I went back to some of our catalogs from the 50's and 60's, and saw that we actually sold items described as paranormal/pseudoscience instruments.

I realize now that this is offensive to some the Edmund Scientific customers, people with very strong scientific sensibilities who look to Edmund for products that promote critical, empirical thinking, and real science as a hobby.

I am rethinking my decision on this product line. I apologize for the offense.

Sincerely,

Tim Burns
Brand Manager
Edmund Scientific
X-treme Geek

www.scientificsonline.com
www.x-tremegeek.com
www.vwreducation.com

The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.
- Aristotle

-John

A Gavrin wrote:

All -

I agree with Matt and Dave on this. Edmund is selling this stuff ($89.95 for the Ghost detector and $39.95 for the remote viewing DVD) in all seriousness. The marketing for the DVD says "Similar to clairvoyance or ESP, remote viewing is a natural ability everyone posesses.[sic]" While they have marketed other gizmos that clearly are "fun" rather than "science" (say, "Black magic thinking putty") this is the first time I am aware of that they have marketed pseudoscience like this.

I, too, will not give them my custom as long as they do this sort of thing. That is what branding is all about. You damage your brand, you suffer the consequences.

- Andy








On Oct 19, 2009, at 1:29 PM, Matt Lowry wrote:

Hi Paul,

They weren’t always “out of stock” – I’ve noticed that the status changes, though I haven’t checked it lately. So they do appear to be selling this stuff, it’s just that – apparently – there are a lot of people being duped into buying it. Don’t get me wrong, I have no beef with them selling EMF meters – it’s just the notion that they’re lending validity to the entire “ghost hunter” nonsense by marketing an EMF meter as a “ghost detector”. I liken it to opening up the biology section of their catalog and finding creationist materials for sale.

And then there’s the remote viewing DVD – double ugh.

Cheers – Matt


From: tap-l-owner@lists.ncsu.edu [mailto:tap-l- owner@lists.ncsu.edu] On Behalf Of Paul Nord
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 11:33 AM
To: tap-l@lists.ncsu.edu
Cc: Paul Nord
Subject: Re: [tap-l] Edmund Scientific pushing pseudoscience

Matt,

I think that Edmund has already reacted. All of the items mentioned in the article are "out of stock."

These "tools" could be great for some science courses. If they really can sense "EMF" then it might be fun to investigate with. Likely it's just a bad sensor with a few amplifier resonances that are temperature and/or humidity dependent. It could be a great discovery lab activity: "Here's a defective measuring instrument. Try to use it to measure a reliable result." On second thought, perhaps we do that too much already. ;-)

The DVD on the other hand... ugh.

Paul


On Oct 19, 2009, at 10:57 AM, Matt Lowry wrote:


Howdy all,

I’m wondering how many of you have heard about this: Edmund Scientific is now marketing & selling what they call a “ghost meter”. It gets better – they’re also actively marketing & selling remote viewing DVDs which supposedly teach students how to reach their untapped “psychic potential”… *facepalm*

http://skepticalteacher.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/edmund- pseudoscientific-sells-ghost-detectors-other-woo/

Has anyone else heard about this nonsense? Are other science supply companies doing the same thing? I think I will start to call Edmund by a different name from now on… Edmund Pseudoscientific. Needless to say, I won’t be giving them any more of my business >:(

Cheers,

Matt Lowry
Lake Forest HS
College of Lake County
Illinois





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