Just how gullible are you?

Visit the Museum of Hoaxes (www.museumofhoaxes) and take one of the "hoax photo tests" or one of the "gullibility tests." You will find the links for them in the second row of links at the top of the site's home page. Report your score and comment on: a) the significance and implications of your performance on the test, or b) test items you found interesting, confounding, or even that you disagree with the site's answer for.

'Demons in the Dark:' How science talks about UFO's

CLICK HERE to read a scientific perspective on the UFO sightings in a Texas town that were the focus of the February 2nd post on this blog.

Click here to view the video that accompanies this story on the Newsweek website.

"...And fifteen minutes ago, you KNEW that humans were alone..."

The town of Stephenville, Texas was recently in the national news because a number of townspeople publicly claimed to have seen a UFO on several different nights. After initially saying there were no military jets in that area when the sightings occurred, the military later announced that Navy F-16's were training in that area. Ironically, the people who claimed to have seen the UFO said the second announcement served as proof for their claim. The following links will take you to two news stories with accompanying video clips about the controversy.

Dozens in Texas town report seeing UFO

Officials: UFO sightings were military jets

Questions & issues to consider:

• Do you believe the townspeople's claim that they saw a UFO? Why or why not?
• If you don't believe them, what would it take for you to be convinced that they are right? What kind of evidence (justifications) would you require, and why?
• What role do you see the concepts of "epistemic certainty" and "psychological certainty" playing in this story?
• To what degree is your willingness (or unwillingness) to believe the townspeople a reflection of your prior knowledge and beliefs? To what degree is that appropriate and/or reasonable? Are your prior knowledge and beliefs a help or a hinderance to you in evaluating the knowledge claims presented in this story? Elaborate.
• Consider/evaluate the role that sense perception plays in this incident. Do you consider the sense perception of the townspeople a reliable justification? Why or why not?