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Back to the Michael Prescott homepage
Essays
by
Michael Prescott
I've written a variety of online essays on different topics. Below is a list of topic headings, each linked to a different set of essays.
other mediums (NEW!)
skepticism (NEW!)
TV critiques of psychic phenomena
Shakespeare authorship controversy
"Hits and Misses: A Crossing Over transcript," a last essay on the now-canceled TV show.
My very first essay, "Some Thoughts on John Edward," concerns the star of TV's Crossing Over - a psychic medium who says he can communicate with the dead.
Posted on October 24, 2003, "More Thoughts on John Edward" is the sequel.
"The Dark Side of the Paranormal," a look at some disturbing consequences of psychic research.
"Psychics and Trickery," on why deception and fakery are sometimes practiced even by apparently genuine psychics.
"Talking to the Dead - Live & Uncut," posted on February 1, 2004, is about psychic medium James Van Praagh, who turned in a dazzling performance on Larry King Live.
"R-101" concerns the crash of a British dirigible in 1930 - and the bizarre series of apparently paranormal events that followed.
From October 19, 2003, "Of Dinosaurs and Phantoms: Some Dubious Phenomena" takes a look at what may be one of the less impressive moments in the history of psychic research.
"Of Dinosaurs and Phantoms: The Sequel," posted on December 1, 2003 - more on the controversial mediumship of Marthe Beraud (a.k.a. "Eva C.").
"The Two Faces of Margery," posted on December 8, 2003 - a look at two ways of reporting the same investigation of alleged psychic phenomena.
"Getting a Rise out of Ectoplasm," posted on November 15, 2008, looks at some "physical phenomena" in the seance room. NEW
"Why I'm Not a Skeptic," posted on September 16, 2003, explains, well, why I'm not a skeptic.
"Flim-Flam Flummery: A Skeptical Look at James Randi" examines some charges made by the noted debunker of psychic phenomena. This essay includes a response from James Randi (posted on September 25, 2003).
"Who Will Watch the Watchers?" posted on November 14, 2008, looks at a dubious debunking. (updated on October 17, 2009)
"The Challenge" takes on James Randi's "million dollar challenge" (posted on November 14, 2008). NEW
TV critiques of psychic phenomena
"20/20 Blindside: John Edward Takes a Hit," posted on December 12, 2003, is an examination of the ABC newsmagazine's pit-bull attack on the TV psychic.
"Unreality TV: 'Psychic Secrets Revealed,'" posted on April 24, 2003, is a review of a reality-TV show that claimed to give us the truth behind psychic phenomena. Is there more to the story than the show let on?
Shakespeare authorship controversy
In March I posted three interrelated pieces on the question of who wrote Shakespeare's works:
"Shakespeare vs. Shakespeare" is an introduction to the controversy.
"The Case for Derby" looks at the alternative candidates, with emphasis on the Earl of Derby.
"Stratford Strikes Back: The Orthodox Rebuttal" gives the other side of the story.
"Shrugging Off Ayn Rand," posted on July 10, 2003, is a look at how I fell into - and out of - Ayn Rand's philosophical movement, Objectivism.
"Ayn Rand and Martyrdom," posted on January 26, 2004, is a look at Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons and its appeal to admirers of Ayn Rand.
"Romancing the Stone-Cold Killer: Ayn Rand and Edward Hickman," posted on May 30, 2005, may be all anyone really needs to know about Rand.
"Reversalism: A Philosophy for Living It Up," posted on October 2, 2005, is a look at another modern American thinker whose life parallels Ayn Rand's in some notable ways.
"The Passion of Christopher Hitchens," a look at some of the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ.
"A Thumb in God's Eye," a response to an anti-religious rant in The American Scholar.
"Of Gloom and Doom," a reply to the media's daily downpour of bad news.
"More Unusual Occurrences," a November 26, 2003, follow-up to my earlier discussion of synchronicities and premonitions.
"Becoming Your Enemy," a brief meditation, also posted on November 26, 2003, which seemed appropriate in the holiday season.
"Unusual Occurrences" takes a look at the strange things that happen to us in our everyday lives.