The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

eSkeptic, our free email newsletter, delivers science to your inbox once a week. We never share your address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

eSkeptic for July 12, 2017

In this week’s eSkeptic, Janna Levin Discusses the Edge of the Universe; Michael Shermer looks at Memories, Points of View and the Self; MonsterTalk interviews Ben Frable about Naming Monsters.

• READ this eSkeptic

eSkeptic for July 5, 2017

In this week’s eSkeptic, Peter Kassan examines the idea that we are all just computer simulations living in a computer simulation.

• READ this eSkeptic

eSkeptic for June 28, 2017

In this week’s eSkeptic, medical sociologist Dr. Robert E. Bartholomew, examines a “baffling epidemic of hallucinations” that was reported to have broken out in Oregon in October of 2016. Was it an outbreak of mass suggestion, or simply an surge of shoddy journalism?

• READ this eSkeptic

eSkeptic for June 21, 2017

In this week’s eSkeptic, based on a sample of hundreds of respondents to a survey distributed through social media, California State University, Fullerton psychologists Brittany Page and Douglas J. Navarick explain the differences they found in how atheists view God.

• READ this eSkeptic

eSkeptic for June 14, 2017

In this week’s eSkeptic, James Lindsay and Peter Boghossian offer a point-by-point reply to 10 popular criticisms of their parody-style hoax paper, “The Conceptual Penis as a Social Construct,” that they published in an academic journal called Cogent Social Sciences.

• READ this eSkeptic

The Reading Room is a comprehensive, free resource of articles relating to science and skepticism.

I am Not Living in a Computer Simulation, and Neither Are You

Peter Kassan examines the idea that we are all just computer simulations living in a computer simulation.

• READ the post

An Outbreak of Mass Hallucinations and Shoddy Journalism: Why We Need Skepticism More Than Ever

Medical sociologist Dr. Robert E. Bartholomew, examines a “baffling epidemic of hallucinations” that was reported to have broken out in Oregon in October of 2016. Was it an outbreak of mass suggestion, or simply an surge of shoddy journalism?

• READ the post

Cogent Criticisms A Point-by-Point Reply to Criticisms of the “Conceptual Penis” Hoax

James Lindsay and Peter Boghossian offer a point-by-point reply to 10 popular criticisms of their parody-style hoax paper, “The Conceptual Penis as a Social Construct,” that they published in an academic journal called Cogent Social Sciences.

• READ the post

The Three Shades of Atheism How Atheists Differ in Their Views on God

Based on a sample of hundreds of respondents to a survey distributed through social media, California State University, Fullerton psychologists Brittany Page and Douglas J. Navarick explain the differences they found in how atheists view God.

• READ the post

Some Thoughts on “The Conceptual Penis as a Social Construct” Hoax

Alan Sokal reflects on the hoax perpetrated by James Lindsay and Peter Boghossian who published a nonsensical paper “The Conceptual Penis as a Social Construct” in the peer-reviewed journal Cogent Social Sciences.

• READ the post

The Exorcist: The Reincarnation of a Particular Kind of Irrationality

Since the death of William Peter Blatty—the author best known for his novel turned blockbuster film The Exorcist— exorcism is, once again, showing a robust presence in contemporary life, this time among millennials. In this article, Kathy Schultheis warns that this resurgence of interest in exorcism is a sign of how far reason has fallen.

• READ the post

In the tradition of the Enlightenment salons that helped drive the Age of Reason and the public interest in science, the Skeptics Society hosts an intimate Science Salon featuring an “in conversation” between Dr. Michael Shermer and a prominent scientist, scholar, or intellectual. Learn more about Science Salon.

Dr. Walter Scheidel — The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the 21st Century

Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, the Stanford University historian Walter Scheidel shows that inequality never dies peacefully. Inequality declines when carnage and disaster strike and increases when peace and stability return.

• WATCH this Science Salon

Dr. Andrew Shtulman — Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong

Why do we catch colds? What causes seasons to change? And if you fire a bullet from a gun and drop one from your hand, which bullet hits the ground first? In a pinch why do we almost always get these questions wrong?

• WATCH this Science Salon

Dr. Lawrence Krauss — The Greatest Story Ever Told…So Far: Why Are We Here?

Internationally renowned theoretical physicist and passionate advocate for reason, Lawrence Krauss, tells the dramatic story of the discovery of the hidden world of reality and how we find our place within it.

• WATCH this Science Salon

INSIGHT at Skeptic.com brings together a variety of accomplished voices for a broad-ranging but focussed discussion of science and skepticism. INSIGHT will shed light, offer critical perspective, and serve as a broadly accessible, evidence-based resource on mysteries of science, paranormal claims, and the wild, woolly, wonderful weirdness of the fringe.

Confessions of a Skeptical Marketer

Guest writer Steve Cuno shares an insider's view on the ethics of advertising in a world full of false claims.

• READ the post

The Century-Long Fight Against American Quackery

Guest writer Robert Blaskiewicz reports on the early days of the ongoing battle to protect American patients from cynically fraudulent quack "medicine."

• READ the post

The Complexity of Alien Abduction and the Multidisciplinary Nature of Fringe Claims

Daniel Loxton explains that skepticism attracts mixed groups of people with complementary expertise because fringe claims require a multidisciplinary approach.

• READ the post

Chemtrails!

We’ve all heard the story of Chicken Little—a fanciful tale about panic and jumping to conclusions (“The sky is falling!”). But how would it feel to truly believe that the sky is out to get you? For believers in one strange conspiracy theory, it’s scary to see a blue sky crossed by wispy white contrail lines from passing jet planes. They claim some of those contrails are not clouds or exhaust from jet engines as they appear, but sinister “chemtrails.” Supposedly, an evil government conspiracy uses jet planes to secretly spread poison across skies worldwide. Is there any possibility this paranoid claim could be true? Let’s find out!

• READ table of contents
  for the current issue

How We Know Global Warming is Real and Human Caused

Donald R. Prothero addresses climate change denialism head on, demolishing deniers’ arguments and rebuttals, and clearly demonstrating how we know global warming is real and human caused.

• READ the article
• ORDER the Skeptic’s Guide To Global Climate Change ($5)