Barry L. Beyerstein (1946-2007)

[walthrup48]

Barry L. Beyerstein (1946-2007)

Source

"We all lost a true hero yesterday. I am stunned and saddened and I have been searching the internet for an hour this morning looking for news because I just can't believe it. Barry Beyerstein died. Barry Beyerstein. I don't have enough words to tell you what this loss will mean to the skeptical and rationalist world. Barry was a tireless defender of science. An activist who has been a staple in the media, television, newspapers, public forums for decades. I searched in the Skeptical Inquirer CD-ROM and found 311 mentions of his name. He is scheduled to teach a workshop for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in Oregon later this summer - and represent us at a conference in Ireland in the fall. He traveled and lectured all over the world for us, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, Italy, and he was part of our delegation to China.

He was one of our first people on a number of topics we deal with. Graphology, Psychic Powers, Why People Believe, Near Death Experiences, Critical Thinking, Alternative Medicine, Neuropathology of Spiritual Possession, Brain States, Dowsing, The Sins of Big Pharma, and the list goes on and on. The thing is, he didn't have to do any of this. He was a volunteer, but he worked just as hard for this organization as he did for his full-time faculty job at Simon Fraser University. But he had talents, wisdom and knowledge and he saw the need and he used those talents. And we are far better for that.

And Barry was one of the most charming, wittiest, and nicest people you could ever meet. He was kind and funny, yet strong in his convictions. My heart goes out to his family, his wife and children and brother Dale.

and I can't believe that he is gone.

You should do a google search on Barry today, just to get an idea as to the kind of person we have lost. Here is a good place to start: http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2007/06/barry-l-beyerst.html[url]

Barry Karr

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry"

 

[Loxton]

I'm very, very saddened to hear this terrible news. I knew Barry just a little bit personally, and I last met with him briefly only a couple of weeks ago here in Victoria. We were talking about the faithhealer Adam Dreamhealer, whom we had cooperated in critiquing.

I was disappointed at the time that I was called away and was unable to accept his invitation to join his party for lunch, but thought, as one does, "Oh well -- there will be other opportunities."

We were scheduling him, as well, for an interview on Skepticality, and looking forward so much to his contribution.This is such a horrible piece of news, I have little idea what to say.

Barry was a super sweet man, with the kind of warm, big-hearted approach to skepticism that we need so much more of. And on a personal note, it was Barry who personally got me involved in skepticism. He spoke in a tiny room at a small science fiction convention in Victoria when I was in Junior High, where we paranormal nerds bombarded him with questions.

One I remember in particular was, "What about firewalking?" He said, "Well, it's all a matter of how heat conducts. Imagine a muffin in an oven..."

That moment was my very first exposure to the skeptics literature. It was a transforming experience for me, like spotlight coming on: "What, you mean some of these mysteries can be solved???"

I've long been glad that I had the opportunity to tell him in person of the enormous, life-changing influence he had on me, an influence that led me to my career and life's work -- and I'm doubly glad of that small comfort today.

Daniel

 

[Susan Gerbic]

I just cannot believe it, my mouth is hanging open. I had no idea he was ill or anything. He was a very fit man, lived a healthy lifestyle and very young indeed.

What a nice and sweet man. One of the first people I met when I got into the skeptic fold. He and his wife just are genuine people. He lived in San Francisco for a time and we used to laugh about his hippy years.

He had this funny way of talking, when he got excited about a subject (as he often did) he would speak rapidly and his Canadian accent would kick in and you had to really pay attention. He was so patient when explaining things and I never heard him say a bad thing about anyone.

Looking over an essay "From Fate to Skeptical Inquirer" he wrote for the book "Skeptical Odysseys" he felt that scientists had a responsibility to the public, "If we want the public to pay taxes to support research, we own them understandable explanations of what we do and the significance it has for them." He also explains his take on why bright people sometimes believe in pseudoscience, "many who are just as bright and had all the same training and exposure we skeptics have had still find the secular, naturalistic world view laking in some essential way...they want humans to be above, not part of the natural world."

He always had a wonderful lecture for the Skeptic's Toolbox each August. I missed last year but planned on attending this summer. In fact I was just looking over my to-do list and noticed that I needed to make reservations for the Toolbox when I noticed this topic.

Another underlined quote I found in his essay, "When I need a sound bite to convey what CSICOP is all about, I say 'It's a sort of Consumer Reports of the mind'."

He also looked forward to the Skeptic Toolbox each year, he said that the people who lecture and attend, "are a remarkable lot, genuinely nice people committed to critical thinking and leaving the place a bit better than they found it. They make me very pleased that my fate was to become a skeptical inquirer."

I think this last statement he made sums himself up nicely as well. I'm just so sad.

Susan