Terence Michael Hines (born 22 March 1951) is an American academic and researcher. A fellow of theCommittee for Skeptical Inquiry, Hines is the author ofPseudoscience and the Paranormal which focuses on the fields ofpseudoscience and theparanormal in the United States. He has also, controversially, authored papers expressing doubts about the existence of theG-spot.

Hines attended Hanover High School.^[1] He has aBA fromDuke University where he studied cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and anMA andPhD from theUniversity of Oregon.^[2] He was a post-doctorial research fellow at the Neurology Department at Cornell University Medical College.^[1]

Hines is aprofessor ofpsychology atPace University, Pleasantville, New York,^[3] andadjunct professor ofneurology at theNew York Medical College;^[4] he is also ascience writer with 42 publications.^[5]

Hines is the author of the bookPseudoscience and the Paranormal,^[6] which mostly focuses onpseudoscience and theparanormal in the United States. He distinguishes pseudoscience from science by describing it as a hypothesis inconsistent with the known laws of physics, and one which cannot be falsified. In his book, Hines argues that pseudoscience tends not to be updated in the face of newly obtained evidence, and he highlights the difficulty in clearly demarcating pseudoscience from the paranormal.^[7] He also postulates that if paranormal abilities such asclairvoyance orprecognition were possible, then surely one would expect casino and lottery incomes to be affected, although no such effect is observed.^[8]

Hines is a fellow of theCommittee for Skeptical Inquiry,^[9] whose mission is to promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.^[10]

In a 2001 comprehensive review article,^[11] Hines claimed that the evidence for the existence of the Gräfenberg spot ("G-spot"), a spot that 84% of women believe exists,^[12] was too weak, and that claims of its existence were based on small sample sizes and not supported by biochemistry or anatomy (particularly the lack of extra nerve endings in the region).Most of the studies at that time had been conducted by a single team. Hines asserted that if such a spot exists, it is not particular to theSkene's glands.^[13] He described the G-spot as a "sort of gynecologic UFO: much sought for, much discussed, but unverified by objective means". The initial review resulted in a large controversy with three publications quickly defending its existence.^[14][15][16] A more recent review concluded that the existence of the structure remains unproved.^[17]

• Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: A Critical Examination of the Evidence (1st ed.). Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. 1988.ISBN 978-0-87975-419-8.
• Pseudoscience and the Paranormal (2nd ed.). Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. 2003.ISBN 978-1-57392-979-0.

• "The Science of Jurassic Park and The Lost World, or How to Build a Dinosaur (book review)".Skeptical Inquirer.21 (6). November 1997. Archived fromthe original on 7 June 2008.
• Publications by Prof. Terence Hines – Pace University Library

• 1951 births
• Living people
• American philatelists
• American critics of alternative medicine
• Critics of parapsychology

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