Society for Scientific Exploration

The Society for Scientific Exploration, or SSE, is a professional organization of scientists and other scholars committed to studying unusual and unexplained phenomena that cross traditional scientific boundaries and may be ignored or inadequately studied within mainstream science. cite web | url = http://www.scientificexploration.org/ | title = Society for Scientific Exploration | publisher = Society for Scientific Exploration | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ]

It holds annual meetings and publishes a quarterly peer reviewed journal called "Journal of Scientific Exploration" (JSE).

History

The Society was founded in 1982 by fourteen scientists and scholars, and the first SSE meeting took place at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1982 cite web | url = http://www.scientificexploration.org/meetings.php | title = Meetings | publisher = Society for Scientific Exploration | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ]

As of 2008, the SSE has approximately 800 members in 45 countries.

Of the SSE and JSE, journalist Michael D. Lemonick writes, "Pretty much anything that might have shown up on The X-Files or in the National Enquirer shows up first here. But what also shows up is a surprising attitude of skepticism." cite web | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1064461,00.html | title = Science on the Fringe | publisher = Time magazine | author = Michael D. Lemonick/Gainesville | date = 2005-05-24 | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ]

Activities

Journal

The society's peer reviewed scientific journal, the "Journal of Scientific Exploration", was established to provide a scientific forum for ufology, parapsychology and cryptozoology. It has also published articles or essays about philosophy of science, astrology, alternative medicine, pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, and many other fringe science or protoscience topics.

Annual meeting

The SSE helds an annual scientific meeting in the USA every spring and periodic meetings in Europe. In the USA meeting, around a hundred of researchers who came to hear talks on, as journalist Michael Lemonick writes, "among other things, consciousness physics, astrology and parapsychology ... [M] any of the scientists here are on the faculty at major universities, and were doing fine at conventional research. But sometimes that gets boring."

The meetings last usually three days and consist of "invited lectures, contributed talks and poster sessions selected by a program committee."

According to experimental psychologist Roger Nelson, head of the Global Consciousness Project, the SSE aims to "give everyone a respectful hearing. If we think a speaker is doing bad science, we consider it our duty to criticize it. We get our share of lunatics, but they don't hang around long."

Young Investigators Program

The Young Investigators Program was created in response of enquiries of young scholars on the topics explored by the society. It's designed by its participants intends to "provide information and resources for the scholarly study of anomalous phenomena and other frontier areas of science". cite web | url = http://www.scientificexploration.org/younginvest.php | title = Young Investigators | publisher = Society for Scientific Exploration | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ]

Membership

As of 2005:
* the president was Charles Tolbert, an astronomer at the University of Virginia.
* the editor of SSE's journal was Henry Bauer, a dean emeritus at Virginia Tech.

As of 2008, the Leaders Emeritus were Peter A. Sturrock, from the Department of Physics & Department of Applied Physics of Stanford University and Larry Frederick and Charles Tolbert from the Department of Astronomy of University of Virginia. cite web | url = http://www.scientificexploration.org/council.php | title = Council | publisher = Society for Scientific Exploration | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.scientificexploration.org Official website]

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