Leon Jaroff

Leon Morton Jaroff (February 27, 1927 – October 20, 2012 Jaroff also wrote The New Genetics: The Human Genome Project and Its Impact on the Practice of Medicine. His interest in journalism started at Central High School in Detroit, Michigan where he wrote a humor column for the school newspaper called "Rambling at Random".

During World War II, Jaroff served as an electronic technician's mate from 1944 to 1945 in the U.S. Navy. Throughout his career at the magazine, Jaroff's stories were featured on the cover more than 40 times. He became the magazine's founding editor, increasing its circulation from about 400,000 readers to 935,000. and repressed memory syndrome. The Skeptical Eye column was discontinued shortly after Jaroff left. However, 17 years later, Time reinstated the column when Jaroff agreed to write an article about alternative medicine that drew attention from its readership. He resigned his position in 1984 and returned to Time as its sciences editor in 1985.

At a meeting of the executive council of CSI in Denver, Colorado, in April 2011, Jaroff was selected for inclusion in CSI's Pantheon of Skeptics. The Pantheon of Skeptics was created by CSI to remember the legacy of deceased fellows of CSI and their contributions to the cause of scientific skepticism.

Paranormal and psychics

In 1988, Jaroff wrote an article for Time called "Fighting Against Flim Flam." The article featured magician James Randi and his ability to set up double-blind experiments and, through his understanding of the art of deception, expose "psychics, astrologers, spiritualists, channelers, faith healers, and a host of mystics and charlatans". Of Geller, Jaroff said, "I think Uri Geller is a very skilled magician. I don't think he has any paranormal powers." The article also featured Michael O'Neill, a New York City marketing manager, who had attended the show, but noticed discrepancies in his experience when the show was edited for television, claiming that Edward's questions and O'Neill's answers were deliberately mismatched. Jaroff reported in the article that he tried contacting Edward, but was told by Edward's handlers that he would not respond to criticism.