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Skeptic Magazine, Volume 18 Number 2
Table of Contents

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Cover Articles: Gender

Gender Differences: What Science Says and Why It’s Mostly Wrong
by Harriet Hall, M.D.
Gender and the Paranormal: by Anondah Saide
: Cover illustration by Pat Linse. The complexities of gender identity are illustrated by contrasting two world-famous cross dressing personalities: Australian Dadaist and comedian Barry Humphries created Dame Edna to lampoon modern mores, while 19th century novelist Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin adopted the pseudonym George Sand and dressed in men’s clothing for comfort, and to protest sexual inequality.

Columns

The SkepDoc: “New Study Shows…” Why We Can’t Trust Science Reporting
by Harriet Hall, M.D.
Bad Language: The Scientology Handbook
by Karen Stollznow
’Twas Brillig…: A Skeptic in Court, Part II by James Randi

Junior Skeptic

Alien Invaders!

In this issue, we look at the topic of alien invasions. Where did we get our ideas about being attacked from “outside”—from other lands, or from outer space? How has this idea been expressed in stories? How do exotic species here on Earth “invade” new regions? Can life forms from one planet really invade another? And, as we look at those questions, remember: the space slugs are our friends! Obey all space slugs!

Cover by Chris Wisnia and Daniel Loxton. Interior art by Daniel Loxton and Jim Smith. Story by Daniel Loxton.

Interview

Savage Science: An Interview with Napoleon Chagnon, the World’s Most Controversial Anthropologist
by Frank Miele

Articles

Magnetic Myths: Why Magnetic Fields Attract New Age Flimflam and Flapdoodle by Donald R. Prothero
An Analysis of Skeptical Protagonists: Four Recent Films Reveal that Society’s Attitudes Toward Skeptics Are Changing, But Still Negative by Randall Martoccia
What Science Really Says About the Soul: by Stephen Cave
Witch Doctors and Con Artists: A First-Hand Account of Witchcraft in Africa by Justin Chapman
Levels of Nothing: There Are Multiple Answers to the Question of Why the Universe Exists by Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Reviews

Scientology Exposed: Three Reviews: Going Clear, by Lawrence Wright; The Church of Fear, by John Sweeney; Beyond Belief, by Jenna Miscavige Hill with Lisa Pulitzer.
reviewed by Jim Lippard
Grown Not Made: Two Reviews: Pandora’s Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over…, by Melanie Warner, and Salt, Sugar, Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss.
reviewed by Michael Shermer
The Carl Sagan of Chemistry: A Review of The Right Chemistry: 108… Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life, by Joe Schwarcz.
reviewed by Harriet Hall
Anthropology No More: A Review of Human No More…the End of Anthropology, edited by Neil Whitehead and Michael Wesch.
reviewed by L. Kirk Hagen
Contemplating Extraterrestrial Civilizations: A Review of Civilizations Beyond Earth, edited by Douglas A. Vakoch and Albert A. Harrison.
reviewed by George Michael
The Progressive War on Science: A Review of Science Left Behind…the Rise of the Anti-Scientific Left, by Alex B. Berezow and Hank Campbell.
reviewed by Kenneth W. Krause

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