What's hardest to believe about Justin Berton's wretched article The Qigong Kid (1/28/2004) is that in seven pages, Berton couldn't find space for even a single quote from a skeptic. You'd expect at least a token interview with James Randi or Robert Park, or a fleeting mention of double-blind tests or the similar scams that have defrauded countless people before. Instead, Berton simply writes as though Galileo and Darwin had never lived -- explaining without irony that "[i]n Eastern philosophical circles, skepticism or ideological challenge can be viewed as negative energy, and are therefore unwelcome." How can you print this and sleep at night?
Scott Aaronson, Berkeley