Noesis
The Journal of the Mega Society
 
Issue #182        September 2006
 
 
Contents

 

About the Mega Society

The Mega Society was founded by Dr. Ronald K. Hoeflin in 1982. The 606 Society (6 in 106), founded by Christopher Harding, was incorporated into the new society and those with IQ scores on the Langdon Adult Intelligence Test (LAIT) of 173 or more were also invited to join. (The LAIT qualifying score was subsequently raised to 175; official scoring of the LAIT terminated at the end of 1993, after the test was compromised). A number of different tests were accepted by 606 and during the first few years of Mega’s existence. Later, the LAIT and Dr. Hoeflin’s Mega Test became the sole official entrance tests, by vote of the membership. Later, Dr. Hoeflin's Titan Test was added. (The Mega was also compromised, so scores after 1994 are currently not accepted; the Mega and Titan cutoff is now 43—but either the LAIT cutoff or the cutoff on Dr. Hoeflin’s tests will need to be changed, as they are not equivalent.)

Mega publishes this irregularly-timed journal. The society also has a (low-traffic) members-only e-mail list. Mega members, please contact the Editor to be added to the list.

For more background on Mega, please refer to Darryl Miyaguchi’s “A Short (and Bloody) History of the High-IQ Societies,”

http://www.eskimo.com/~miyaguch/history.html

and the official Mega Society page,

http://www.megasociety.org/

 Noesis, the journal of the Mega Society, #182, September 2006.

Noesis is the journal of the Mega Society, an organization whose members are selected by means of high-range intelligence tests. Jeff Ward, 13155 Wimberly Square #284, San Diego, CA 92128, is Administrator of the Mega Society. Inquiries regarding membership should be directed to him at the address above or:

ward-jeff@san.rr.com

 Opinions expressed in these pages are those of individuals, not of Noesis or the Mega Society.

Copyright © 2006 by the Mega Society. All rights reserved. Copyright for each individual contribution is retained by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Editorial

Kevin Langdon

 

Since publication of Noesis #181 the Mega Society has been the subject of an attack which resulted in the deletion of our listing at Wikipedia. Some active participants in Wikipedia’s editing free-for-all objected to the listing of Chris Langan, his theory, and his organization and failed to recognize that Langan and the real Mega Society went their separate ways several years ago.

 

Listing of the Mega Society was challenged on the grounds of lack of “notability,” although the Wikipedia guidelines for deletion are unclear and don’t make “notability” a central issue. Some of us mounted a spirited defense but the deletion was apparently done on the basis of a vote of experienced Wikipedia users, despite the fact that the guidelines clearly call for examination of the cogency of the reasoning on both sides of a deletion debate and our opponents didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

 

The listing of a number of other high-IQ societies was also challenged but the Prometheus Society won its deletion debate and the deletion proposal for the Triple Nine Society was withdrawn by its author.

 

Details of the deletion debate are no longer available at the Wikipedia site, but it was nasty and became very personal. More information is available to members of the Mega Society on request.

 

We are working on a replacement article on the Mega Society, to be created after the excitement of the deletion wars dies down a bit. The current draft can be seen at:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:MichaelCPrice/mega

 

This issue of Noesis contains an article by Jeff Ward on the Nasca Lines, an article by Ian Goddard on out-of-body experiences, an article by Andrew Beckwith on his work in cosmology, one of Richard May’s unique perspectives, and an appreciation of the life of my mother, Florence Lenore Carrasco Langdon, who died on July 31 at the age of 98, including some of my memories of my mother, my sister’s eulogy which was read at the memorial service on August 13, and an essay my mother wrote for a small publication edited by my brother-in-law, Vincent Zukowski, in 1979.

 

The deadline for Noesis #183 is December 15.

 

 

 

 

Cover: “Cooperation,” by Jeffery Matucha.

Back Cover: An image generated with “Basket,” a routine in Hallucinations™, by Kevin Langdon.

 

Going Over the Lines Once More

(A Visit to Nasca)

Jeff Ward

 

 

In April of 2006, I visited the Nasca Lines (also spelled Nazca), a unique and mysterious archaeological site in Peru.  This was my second visit (the first was in 1998).  The site is in southern Peru about 75 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  This part of Peru comprises the northern part of the Atacama Desert, the world’s driest region (along with parts of Antarctica).  It is so dry that scientists believe it hasn’t rained in some parts of the Atacama since the Ice Age.

The lines, located between the towns of Nasca and Palpa, cover some 500 square kilometers on a plateau called the Pampa de San José.  The plateau is extremely arid and very flat except for a few isolated small hills.  As I recall, there are absolutely no plants; nothing but small pebbles and a little sand.

There are five kinds of lines.  Straight lines are by far the most common.  Others are curved lines, trapezoids, swirls, and animal figures.  They are really big.  For example, the longest straight line is 65 kilometers long.  They are also precisely made.  The lines and the edges of the trapezoids are perfectly straight.  The swirls and animal figures, each made with one continuous line, contain curves of machine-like precision.  Yet, they were produced by local Indian tribes between approximately 200 BC and 600 AD.

Marks can be made on the plateau surface by simply scraping away the veneer of dark pebbles and sand to reveal the lighter colored hardpan beneath.  This is quite easy because the loose surface material is only an inch or two thick.   To protect the fragile environment, public access to the area is now very limited and tightly controlled.

After all these centuries, the lines still appear fresh.  This is due largely to the extreme aridity.  Since there is no plant or animal life, little wind, and virtually no rain, there is nothing to erode or otherwise disturb the lines.  Another reason may be that the tribe that created the lines was eventually conquered and absorbed by the expanding Incan Empire.  As a result, the cultural role of the lines as well as the technique for making them was probably lost.  Because the lines meant nothing to the Incas, they left them undisturbed (if they knew about them at all).  In fact, it is likely that no one visited this bleak, inhospitable place for many centuries.

The lines weren’t discovered by the outside world until around 1920.  This is somewhat surprising because the Spanish began settling Peru in 1531.  The town of Nasca, located on a river flowing from the Andes, is only a few miles from the lines.  Apparently, the town existed for centuries before anyone discovered the lines and recognized their extent and archaeological significance.  There are probably two reasons it took so long.

First, there was simply no reason to go there.  The plateau was not on the way to anywhere and, without water or mineral resources, was economically useless.  Second, the lines are hard to see from the ground.  A traveler on foot or horseback who came to the edge of the area would notice some lines but would be unaware of their size, number, and complexity, or that there were huge drawings. To see the lines properly, one must see them from above.  Today, there are three convenient ways to do so.  First, there is a small hill next to the Pan-American Highway that is easily accessible and provides a good view of a small portion of the lines.  Second, there is a “mirador,” a steel observation tower a little further along the highway.  From the tower, one sees other lines and, because the tower is higher than the hill, the field of view is larger and the angle is better. Tour guides are available in Nasca who will drive you to both places for a reasonable fee.

The third possibility is to fly over the lines.  This is by far the best way to see them.  The planes are single-engine, propeller-driven, and seat four, six, or twelve passengers.  On my first visit, I took a six-seater that was rather cramped and uncomfortable.  On my second visit, only a twelve-seater was available because of a “fuel shortage.”  Although more expensive, the second flight was much more comfortable and lasted longer (about 45 minutes).  My window was conveniently located (unlike the first flight), and I was able to take some nice pictures.  Three of them appear at the beginning of this article.

From a tourist’s standpoint, the animal figures are the most interesting.  There are more than four dozen although only about fifteen are visible during the flight.  The drawings are loosely termed “animal figures” because most are indeed animals.  They include a monkey, a parrot, a spider, a condor, a lizard, a hummingbird, a whale, a snake, and a dog.  But others illustrate a tree, a humanoid figure nicknamed “the spaceman,” and an odd-looking mythical creature.  The largest drawing is about 275 meters long.

One of the mysteries surrounding the lines is their purpose. This is especially intriguing because the lines and drawings cannot be properly viewed unless one is far above them.  This is best illustrated by recounting how the animal figures were discovered.  Although the lines were known for decades, they were not seriously investigated until a German archaeologist, Maria Reiche, came to Nasca in 1946.  She found them so fascinating that she stayed in Nasca and devoted the rest of her life to unraveling the mysteries of the lines.  She died in 1998, only a few months before my first visit.

One of Reiche’s first projects was to take extensive measurements of many of the lines.  While plotting the data in the lab, she discovered that some of the lines formed animals--a feature that was undetectable at ground level.  (The difficulty in visualizing them is more understandable once you fly over them and see how big they are.)

The Nasca Lines are discussed at length in Erich von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods.  In it, the author attributes many of the world’s archaeological mysteries to visitors from outer space.  Regarding the Nasca Lines, von Daniken theorizes that they represent landing strips for alien spacecraft.  This seems extremely dubious given the large number of lines crossing each other at every conceivable angle.  From the air, they form a chaotic jumble, hardly the kind of thing that would help a pilot land an aircraft.  Furthermore, most of the plateau is so flat that one could land almost anywhere without the aid of markings.  The trapezoids are von Daniken’s prime candidates for landing strips because they are fairly wide, very long, and scraped clean of surface debris within the figure itself.  However, one of the more prominent trapezoids is noteworthy for the large hill right in the middle of it.

The two biggest questions regarding the Nasca Lines are how and why they were made.  Archaeologists believe they know how.  The current theory is that they were made with three cane poles and a rope, “in much the same manner as a surveyor uses ranging sticks and a theodolite.”[1]  Not being an engineer, I am not sure what this means.  Suffice it to say that archaeologists are satisfied that they know how the lines were (or could have been) made given the primitive tools available.

The why is certainly more puzzling.  Dismissing the outer space theory, one is still left wondering why people would go to all this trouble to make something they couldn’t see very well.  It is possible, in fact probable according to some scientists, that the indigenous people built towers from which to view the lines.  Even so, it is impossible to appreciate the high degree of artistic achievement from an elevation below that of an airplane in flight.

My theory is that religious beliefs led to creation of the lines.  Religious beliefs can often explain behavior and attitudes that otherwise seem completely irrational (e.g., the 911 highjackings, opposition to stem cell research, rejection of evolution).  I believe that the lines and drawings were made so that the gods could see them. Whether or not humans could see them properly was much less important.

 

[1] Jenkins, Dilwyn, Peru: The Rough Guide (London: Rough Guides, Ltd., 1997), p.179.

 

Out-of-Body Experiences

Ian Williams Goddard

Copyright © 2006 Ian Williams Goddard. All rights reserved.

 

While extracorporeal existence of an individual ‘soul’ is generally held to be a spiritual proposition, such strong dualism is arguably a scientific hypothesis due to witness reports of out-of-body experiences (OBEs) involving observations of the physical world from an extracorporeal location. OBE claims that report states of affairs in the world are either true or false and are thereby amenable to scientific-hypothesis testing. Herein I examine the current state of scientific investigation into the nature of OBEs and consider the implications for strong dualist, physicalist, and other explanatory models.

Nature and Scope of OBEs

During an OBE an observer appears to occupy a location outside her or his physical body, often seeing it from an external point of view. Occultists hold that the vehicle of OBEs is the astral body. When not projected outward, the astral body is said to occupy the same space as the physical body, extending outward several inches to form the ‘aura’. [1] OBEs have been reported across cultures and throughout human history. Given such universal existence it seems plausible that, as Thomas Metzinger argues, OBEs may have been the fundamental nexus of belief in a ‘soul’, which then called for explanatory ‘spiritual world’ models that then became religions. [2] In modern times, scientists generally see OBEs as a manifestation of lucid dreaming -- a state of self-awareness during a dream. Lucid dreaming is a central theme of the contemporary cult movie Waking Life. [3] For the observer having an OBE, the prima facie meaning of the experience is that the ‘self’ or ‘soul’ has extracorporeal existence. OBEs therefore constitute prima facie evidence of extracorporeal existence.

Testability of the Strong Dualist Model

While OBEs constitute prima facie evidence for strong dualism, scientific evidence generally derives from data obtained from repeatable experiments. To appreciate the important distinction between prima facie and scientific evidence, consider an optical illusion involving two lines apparently of unequal lengths.

Line AB appears to be shorter than line BC, yet both lines are the same length.

Image source: http://coolopticalillusions.com/optical_illusions_images_2/longer_line.htm

The appearance that lines AB and BC are unequal constitutes prima facie evidence of inequality. But scientific evidence comes from testing that prima facie evidence by measuring the lines. Applying the ‘ruler test’ to the proposition “AB is shorter than BC” soundly falsifies that perception-representative proposition. The ‘ruler test’ constitutes scientific testing yielding replicable scientific evidence that proves, contrary to the prima facie evidence, that: “It is not the case that AB is shorter than BC.”

 

            To the extent that OBE reports are propositions about states of affairs involving the physical world -- such as, “I was in a ‘spirit body’ looking down on my home” -- they are either true or false and as such are amenable to scientific testing. But what tests might we conduct? Reliable acquisition of accurate remote data in conjunction with OBEs would constitute scientific evidence (though not proof) that the claimed state of affairs may be taking place. It would not constitute proof since another explanation could be that such data acquisition derives from ESP in conjunction with an illusion of dislocation. But in either case, if someone