Page 17 - 201004 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - April 2010

April 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 22/04/2010 11:26 PM Page 17 Glue not UFO caused turbine blade failure 17 Glue not UFO caused Balloon boy parents to thought the card-guesser they just saw was turbine blade failure pay $36K in restitution demonstrating that ability. The participants were broken up into By David Leask Associated Press four groups. Those in Condition One were informed that 25 percent of the public believes in ESP, but the scientific community rejects the ENGINEERS have discovered that the giant FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The parents who concept. Those in Condition Two were told that turbine blade which plunged to the ground at a pleaded guilty in the balloon boy hoax have more than 90 percent of the public believes in Scottish wind farm last month snapped off agreed to pay about $36,000 in restitution to because of freak problems with the glue used to authorities who responded to the incident. ESP, but the scientific community considers it bogus. coat it – scotching theories it may have been hit Larimer County Chief Judge Stephen Those in Condition Three were told that by lightning or, as some even suggested, an Schapanski accepted the agreement that 25 percent of the public believes in ESP, and the unidentified flying object. prosecutors reached with Richard and Mayumi scientific community is becoming more open to The catastrophic failure of the 150ft- Heene, who weren't at Tuesday's hearing. long, 14-tonne blade at the Whitelees site near The Larimer County sheriff's office and the idea. Those in Condition Four were informed that more than 90 percent of the public Eaglesham sparked global concerns about the other agencies had sought $48,000 for believes in ESP, and the scientific community is safety of wind farm equipment. responding to the Oct. 15 incident. The Heenes beginning to warm to the possibility it is real. But manufacturers Siemens, the German reported their 6-year-old son had floated away engineering company, said the blade broke off in a homemade UFO-shaped helium balloon, “We found relatively strong evidence due to what it described as a one-off touching off a scramble of dozens of emergency that individuals are more likely to accept paranormal claims as true when they believe manufacturing fault in its outer coating. responders and two Colorado National Guard such claims have popular support,” the Spokesman Oliver Loenker said: "We helicopters. will carry out further investigations but we think The boy wasn't on the balloon and was researchers write. However, “We found no effects indicating that science rejecting a claim there was a manufacturing defect in the later found at his home in Fort Collins, about 60 laminate that covers the blade, a weak spot miles north of Denver. Authorities accused the led individuals to be less likely to believe the claim. which caused it to break and fall off." Heenes of staging a hoax to get publicity for “In fact, when participants believed that The blade is made of balsa – the ultra- reality TV shows they were trying to pitch. light tropical wood beloved by model-makers – The Heenes' attorneys had argued the science rejected a claim, they moved in the direction of being more likely to accept the clam but covered, to give it strength, first with glass couple should pay only a small amount in fibre and then with a laminate of Epoxy resin. compensation. Richard Heene's attorney, David as true. This finding ran counter to our expectations, but is consistent with findings that Engineers believe that this sticky liquid Lane, said in January that it appeared authorities trust in science is decreasing.” – which dries and hardens into a laminate wanted to make money on the episode. To put it another way: Those told ESP coating – was not applied correctly at the The Heenes' attorneys didn't had widespread popular support were likely to Siemens factory in the Danish city of Aalborg. immediately return calls after business hours At some stage, the weakened laminate Tuesday. express agreement with that consensus, cracked and the blade fell off under its own Prosecutors reduced the amount sought, regardless of the scientific consensus. But among those who were informed that only one- weight. agreeing to drop the sheriff's request for quarter of the population believed in the Loenker said it was thought the problem investigative costs. Damage to a farmer's wheat had emerged in a single blade after "an crop where the balloon landed hasn't been phenomenon, support was actually higher when adjustment" in manufacturing procedures. calculated. science gave it a thumbs-down. That collective gulp was from the "This is the first time this has ever Richard Heene was sentenced to 90 days climatologist community, which has every right happened since we started making the blades in in jail for falsely influencing authorities. to worry whether its warnings of the 2000," he said. Mayumi Heene was sentenced to 20 days for consequences of global warming are not only "We checked all the other blades that filing a false report. were made after the adjustment and were happy being tuned out, but actively discounted by a cynical public. Perhaps a study of paranormal to find they were OK. We don't expect any more ESP Study Suggests Lack beliefs is too specific to indicate a widespread defects." distrust of lab-coated authority figures, but The Scottish accident prompted a of Trust in Science massive international check of wind turbine By Tom Jacobs perhaps that’s precisely what it suggests. “These findings may be due to blades. individuals seeing paranormal belief as a matter Whitelees owner ScottishPower had to Newly published research on belief in of faith rather than evidence, and therefore check the other 139 already up at the site, an ESP suggests a public disregard for reacting against science,” the researchers expensive process that took a week. The firm conclude. “Alternatively, perhaps endorsement also had to check similar structures elsewhere. — and perhaps even hostility toward The accident was spotted as soon as it — the scientific consensus. from peers provides a stronger source of happened thanks to the 24-hour system legitimacy for paranormal beliefs than authorization from a higher authority. Or the monitoring Whitelees. The blade was found five Scientists wondering just how low faith in their findings may result from a decreasing trust in yards from the huge wind turbine tower. field has fallen will get some uncomfortable the institution of science.” A spokesman for ScottishPower answers in a study examining belief in If the latter interpretation is true, you Renewables said their investigation was now Extrasensory Perception, recently published in don’t need ESP to foresee troubling times over. He said: "As the investigation is now the online journal Current Research in Social ahead.[] focused on the manufacture of an individual Psychology. turbine blade, the process is being led by the In the experiment, conducted by a manufacturer Siemens." University of Maryland research team led by The £300m Whitelees windfarm starting sociologist Heather Ridolfo, 160 participants coming on line in 2008 and was opened in May watched a short video in which an individual is last year by First Minister Alex Salmond. By remarkably successful at a card-guessing game. 2012, when the farm is completed, there will be In fact, the film’s star was informed of the 215 turbines covering an area of around 50 answers, but it appeared to the study square miles. participants that she was either extremely lucky or had some sort of sixth sense. PARAGATORS ARE COMING After viewing the video, participants VISIT completed a series of questions, including WWW.PARAGATORS.ORG whether they believed in ESP and whether they