The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine


Back Issues, volumes 1–29

Skeptic volume 29 number 1

volume 29 number 1
Artificial Intelligence

Why Should We Pursue Human Intelligence With AI? • Is AI a Threat? • Are Governments Prepared to Keep AI Safe? UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Conversation With Elon Musk • AI and Uncertainty • Can We Trust AI to Make Decisions? • Lessons About the Human Mind from Artificial Intelligence • Human v. Artificial Intelligence: Will AI Come Back to Outsmart, Sting, or Assist Us? • AI Will Not Replace Artists— It Will Devalue Them • Chatbots and the Pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence • When It Comes to AI, Think Protopia, Not Dystopia or Utopia • Undercover at the Woo Festival • Bedbug Bedlam: Real Infestation or Social Panic in Paris? • Framed? How Sensationalism Keeps New York City’s Most Controversial Defendants Innocent in the Eyes of the Public
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Skeptic volume 28 number 4

volume 28 number 4
Health Matters

Pain & Profit: Who’s Responsible for the Opioid Crisis? • Your Microbiome & Your Health: The Good, the Bad, and the Bugly • The Future of Medicine & Wellness • A Practicing Physician Explores How We Evolved to Be Healthy • A Cure for Autism in the World of Alternative Medicine & Anti-Vaxxers • Did Legalization of Marijuana Increase Violent Crime? • The Good and Bad News About Psychotherapy • Social Media & Mass Psychogenic Illness in Kenya • Sex, Mental Health, and the Culture Wars • Who Should You Trust? Why Appeals to Scientific Consensus Are Often Uncompelling • Bayesian Reasoning and the Truth Trap
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Skeptic volume 28 number 3

volume 28 number 3
Education Matters

An in-depth look at the challenged educational system in America: Ideology in Education • Are Standardized Admission Tests Biased? • Schools of Education: What Are Teachers Taught? • Education Reform Fads • A Vision for the Future of Education • How Activists Are Targeting Teaching • Social Mobility and Fairness • Unintended Consequences of Censorship • Leonardo da Vinci and the Theory of Relativity • A Skeptical View of J. Edgar Hoover & the FBI • Roe v. Wade: One Year Later
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Skeptic volume 28 number 2

volume 28 number 2
Energy Matters

An in-depth look at the past & future of energy: fossil fuels, fracking, nuclear, renewables, EVs • The Case for Nuclear • Behind the Scenes at the U.S. Department of Energy • The Untold Story of “Gender-Affirming” Clinics • Amanda Knox on How a Wrongful Conviction Helped Her Become a Better Thinker • Do We Have Free Will? • Ranking Presidents: Does It Make Any Sense? • Chinese Surveillance Balloons and Space Aliens • Could Dragons from Game of Thrones Exist?
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Skeptic volume 28 number 1

volume 28 number 1
Economic Matters

The Economics of Life Made Simple • Critical Analysis of America’s Homeless Crisis • Interview with Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve • Graham Hancock’s Netflix Hypothesis Put to a Test • Alternative Archaeology: Did an Ancient Apocalypse Erase the Lost Civilization of Atlantis? • The Rise of Lies & the Demise of Shame • Does Psychotherapy Work? • From Sex to Gender: The Modern Dismissal of Biology • How to Practice Science Better • Stage Acts That Perform “Telepathy”
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Skeptic volume 27 number 4

volume 27 number 4
Nationalism Matters

Paradoxes of Religion and Science in the USA • Why Nations Are Becoming More Secular • Protopian Politics and the Future of Nationalism • The Christian Origins of Nationalism • Christian Nationalism on the American Right • Allegations of Election Fraud Critically Examined • 12 Arguments for Nationalism • Why Nationalism Is a Threat to American Values • Neuroscience of Political Polarization • Refusing to Acknowledge Facts • The Ever-Evolving Sexual Revolution • Post-Truth • Science of Crowd Estimation • Flat Earthers and Conspiracy Culture • Exposing Bad Behavioral Science
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Skeptic volume 27 number 3

volume 27 number 3
Race Matters

Why Race Matters • Systemic Racism—Explained • News Media & Declining Race Relations: Social Narratives More Than Real-Life Events May Be Driving Decline in Race Relations • Race & Policing: A Data-Driven Look at Policing and its Discontents • Critical Race Theory: Noble Ends, Terrible Means • Why Reparations and Equity Are Bad Ideas • Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: On Race and Jane Elliott’s Famous Experiment on Prejudice • Race & Medicine • Cracking History: Chiropractic’s Secret Origin • Abducted! Scientific Explanations of the Alien Abduction Experience • Persistent Belief: The Relative Implausibility of Certainty • Poking Holes in Needle-Spiking: Nightclub “Attacks” Scare Sweeps Europe • What Darwin Got Wrong About the Female of (All) Species • Broadcasting Flapdoodle: A review of Radio Psychics: Mind Reading and Fortune Telling in American Broadcasting, 1920–1940.
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Skeptic volume 27 number 2

volume 27 number 2
Abortion Matters

The Science of Abortion; Abortion: The Case for Choice; Anti-Abortion: The Case for Life; Skeptic Research Center: A Data-Driven Look Into Men’s Abortion Attitudes; Big Pharma’s Cynical Search for a Female Sex Drug; David Copperfield’s History of Magic; Deep Fakes: How to Know a Photograph, Video, or Audio Recording is Real; Havana Syndrome Hysteria: 60 Minutes’ Sensational Reporting on White House “Attacks”; Gimbal Video: Genuine UFO or Camera Artifact?; Holy Grail, Spear of Destiny, and Ark of the Covenant; How Science & Reason Can Give Us Objective Moral Truths Without God; Debate: Is Belief in ESP Irrational?
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Skeptic volume 27 number 1

volume 27 number 1
Transgender Matters

Transgender matters: an overview of the debate, research, and policies; supporting kids who identify as transgender or who are experiencing gender dysphoria (marked distress at an incongruence between gender identity and biological sex); Trans Athletes and Conflicting Rights; Why Christians Should Accept the Theory of Evolution; 5G Rollout Reawakens Wireless Fear; Two Tributes to Edward O. Wilson; Eyewitness Testimony: Engaging with People and Accounts of Extraordinary Claims Without Evoking Anger; Mytho-history: The “Evolution” of Adam & Eve; Wild Psychotherapy: Questionable Advice; A review essay on The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
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Skeptic volume 26 number 4

volume 26 number 4
Havana Syndrome Hysteria

Havana Syndrome Hysteria and the Great Wild Goose Chase • Stupid Videos and Marketing Ploys • Environmental Conspiracies: Why do conspiracy theorists believe natural events are intentionally manipulated? • “You Can’t Say That!” Corporate Policing of Language • Excerpt from The Conjurer’s Conundrum: My Life in Magic & Skepticism • Vexed by the Un-Vaxxed • Misunderstanding Vaccines • Why Would God Create the Universe? • Distorting Darwinism • Electrohypersensitivity as a New Psychological Disorder • Reviews of Hawking Hawking: The Selling of a Scientific Celebrity; Mysteries and Secrets Revealed; The Conjurer’s Conundrum; The Century of Deception • Special Investigation: Penguin Paradox — Serious Skeptical Lessons from an Apparently Silly Story
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Skeptic volume 26 number 3

volume 26 number 3
UFOs and UAPs

In Memoriam: Pat Linse (1947–2021); U.S. Government Says UFOs are “Real”: An Analysis of the 60 Minutes Investigation; Are UFOs and UAPs Ordinary, Extraordinary Terrestrial, or Extraordinary Extraterrestrial Phenomena?; Anti-Vaccination in the Age of COVID-19; 5G Conspiracy Theories & Other Popular Delusions; The Paradox of Free Will; Plausible Sociocultural Explanation for the Persistence and Universality of Gender Inequality Over Thousands of Years; How Science Works (and Why Pseudoscience Fails); Pandemic Politics: How 2020 Impacted Americans’ Social and Political Attitudes; Thought Experiments: What Good Are They, Anyway?; Expert Bullshit Detection…
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Skeptic volume 26 number 2

volume 26 number 2
Drug Trips & Reality

DMT and the Nature of Reality: Are the Entities and Experiences of a DMT Drug Trip Real or Imagined?; Johannes Kepler, Giordano Bruno, and Scientific Martyrdom; Lizard People, 5G and the Nashville Bomber; Why Weird Beliefs Are a Normal, Central, Almost Universal Aspect of Human Affairs; Astrology as a Spiritual Belief System; How Science Can Explain Ghosts and Haunted Houses; Trial, Error, and Success: How People Learn and Think; Twenty-five Fallacies in the Case for Christianity; Junior Skeptic: Cognitive Dissonance
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Skeptic volume 26 number 1

volume 26 number 1
Cosmic Beginning

How Did It All Begin? Cosmic Inflation, the Multiverse, and the Nature of Scientific Proof; The SkepDoc: Osteopathy Then and Now, by Harriet Hall, M.D.; Psychological Risks with COVID-19 Vaccines; The Future of Civilization after COVID-19; The Future of Higher Education Reengineering Learning for a Post-Pandemic World; Havana Syndrome Skepticism—Why We Should Be Skeptical: It Was Probably Psychogenic; Why Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Belongs in English Literature Curriculum Despite—Indeed Because—of its Use of the N-Word; Why Time, Causality, Consciousness, the Self, and Free Will Are Not Illusion; Alien Skulls and Their Makers: The Creation of the “Sealand Skull” and the Hoax It Unintentionally Inspired; Why We Are Not Hybrids of Earthling and Extraterrestrial Ancestry; Skeptic Extraordinaire; As Seen by Skeptic Magazine Artists; Junior Skeptic 78: Conspiracy Theories
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Skeptic volume 25 number 4

volume 25 number 4
QAnon & Conspiracies

QAnon and Conspiracy Theories; Why We Can’t Unsee Patterns — Real or Imagined — Once We See Them; QAnon in Conspiratorial Context; QAnon is Just a Warmed Over Witch Panic (and It’s Also Very Dangerous); Harriet Hall, M.D. on How Gwyneth Paltrow Spins Straw into Gold; The Art of the Skeptic: Finding Your Niche if You Love Both Science and Art; Fat Man and Little Boy: On the 75th Anniversary of Nuclear Weapons, a Moral Case for Their Use in Ending WWII and the Deterrence of Great Power Wars Since, and a Call to Eventually Eliminate Them; The Rise and Fall of Charles Willson Peale’s Philadelphia Museum; The Testimony of Witnesses: Raising the Dead; Do Diversity Training Programs Work? Creating a Culture of Inclusion through Scientific Reasoning; Unpacking Political Life in America: The Skeptics Society’s Social and Political Attitudes Study; How Do You Get People to Care About Truth in Politics?; Are Laws of Nature Discovered or Invented?; Junior Skeptic: The Honest Truth About Vaccines
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Skeptic volume 25 number 3

volume 25 number 3
What Science Says About Race

Did Race Evolve, or is It a Social Construct? What Does Science Say? Plus: The Pope and Mussolini; Harriet Hall, M.D. on wearing face masks; Junior Skeptic on Pandemics Throughout History; Hollow Earth; Wicked Games: Lance Armstrong and Doping; Finding Meaning and Purpose Without Religion; A Naturalist Model for Reducing Speciesism, Racism, and Bigotry; What Moby-Dick Can Teach Us About the Current Pandemic Crisis; Is Science Amoral?; Faked Death Stories and Resurrection Myths; How Religions Use the Threat of Punishment to Terrify, Manipulate, and Control Believers; Reviews of Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress, and The Tyranny of Virtue: Identity, The Academy, and the Hunt for Political Heresies; and more…
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Skeptic volume 25 number 2

volume 25 number 2
Giving the Devil His Due: When Should Speech Be Censored?

Giving the Devil His Due, by Michael Shermer • Claims About a Government “UFO Program” — How Much is True? • Religious Intolerance, Witchcraft, Superstition, and Underdevelopment in Africa • Ark of Absurdities: Creationism Comes to Brazil • The Mystery of Göbekli Tepe: A New Chapter in History • What’s to be Gained Through Rationality? • Where and Why Science and Religion Conflict • The Conditions Under Which Common, Everyday Bullshit is Most Likely to Emerge • Ptolemy Revisited: The Return of Earth-Centered Cosmology • Reviews of: Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control; Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them; Estrogen Matters: Why Taking Hormones in Menopause Can Improve Women’s Well-Being and Lengthen Their Lives—Without Raising the Risk of Breast Cancer
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Skeptic volume 25 number 1

volume 25 number 1
Conspiracies!

Who believes in conspiracies and why? Read real conspiracy theories and conspiracies with no theories. Also in this issue: Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories, by Michael Shermer; Apples and Oranges: The Misunderstood Art of Making Comparisons; Drone Sightings in the Midwest — But Rule Out the Mass Hysteria Explanation; What Board Games Teach Us About Capitalism and How to Modify It; Meditation as Ideology and Meditations on Meditation: A Scientific and Clinical Perspective; Biological Beauty; Integrative Cancer Care Below the Bar of Science; Can We Ever Explain It All? Eight Key Points from World History; Countless Counterfeits: A New Logically Fallacy?
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Skeptic volume 24 number 4

volume 24 number 4
Understanding Flat Earthers

Daniel Loxton examines the belief in a flat Earth and why people believe such a strange thing. Also in this issue: Understanding Flat Earthers; Shroud of Turin Update; The Girl Who Smelled Blue: The Colorful Case of Willetta Huggins; How to Navigate Contentious Conversations; How Much Longer Will Cancer Screening Myths Survive?; Nationalistic Pseudohistory in the Balkans; “Prove that I am Wrong!” What QAnon, Descartes, and Brains in Vats Have in Common; The SkepDoc on Water Fluoridation; Junior Skeptic: Victorian England’s Jurassic Park, several book review, and more…
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Skeptic volume 24 number 3

volume 24 number 3
Steven Pinker on Post-truth & Reason

Steven Pinker on “Why We Are Not Living in a Post-Truth Era: An (Unnecessary) Defense of Reason and a (Necessary) Defense of Universities’ Role in Advancing it”; The SkepDoc: Coconut Oil: Health Food or Health Hazard? by Harriet Hall, M.D.; The “Lost” Tribes of Israel; The Pentagon’s UFOs How a Multimedia Entertainment Company Created a UFO News Story; The Problem with the Walking Dead And How They Flummoxed Science for Centuries; The Enigma of Stephen Jay Gould; Why the Human Brain Did Not Evolve to Accurately Represent the True Nature of Reality; Homeopathy’s New Clothes: Release Active Drugs; Pressured Apologies, False Confessions, and Witch Hunts; Two Kinds of Progressive Atheism; Surfing for Truth in All the Right Places: An Empirical Test of the Backfire Effect and How the Internet Can Reduce Anti-vaccination Attitudes, and more...
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Skeptic volume 24 number 2

volume 24 number 2
The Existence of Evil and God

Pterosaur Thunderbird: The Origin of a Fake Native American Legend with an Anti-Evolution Agenda; Conversations with My Dead Mother Why We See Signs and Omens in Everyday Events; Is Cousin Marriage Dangerous?; Therapeutic Touch Redux Twenty Years After the Emily Event: Energy Therapies Live on Through Bad Science; What Can Science Learn from Religion? Steven Pinker on Religious Beliefs and Rituals; Becoming Fantastic: Why People Embellish Already Accomplished Lives with Incredible Tales of UFOs and Other Phenomena; 1984 in 2019: The New Privacy Threat from China’s Social Credit Surveillance System, and more…
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Skeptic volume 24 number 1

volume 24 number 1
Behe’s Last Stand

Making Gasoline from Water: John Andrews and the Invention of a Legend • Online Gaming: A Virtual Experiment in the Dark Side of Human Nature • Duped by Data Mining • How Science Will Explain and Fix Fake News • The Cult of Falun Gong: A Dance Troupe and Victimhood Raises Big Money • The Opioid Epidemic Misunderstood • Why the Human-Centered View Has Not Served us Well • Behe’s Last Stand: The Lion of Intelligent Design Roars Again • Straw Man on a Slippery Slope: The Case Against the Case Against Postmodernism • A Disproof of God’s Existence, and much more…
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Skeptic volume 23 number 4

volume 23 number 4
Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?

Special Section on Tactics for Discussing Contentious Issues; Personhood and Abortion Rights How Science Might Inform this Contentious Issue, by Gary Whittenberger; How to Teach Evolution to Religious Students, by Surat Parvatam; The Arguments for Creationism and the Arguments for Evolution: A Study in Contrasts, by Ralph M. Barnes; Meeting Our “Enemies” Where They Are: The Advantage of Understanding Your Adversary’s Arguments, by Andrew Cooper-Sansone; Junior Skeptic: Secrets of the Ouija Board, and much more…
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Skeptic volume 23 number 3

volume 23 number 3
Science and Moral Values

Special Section on Jordan Peterson. Have Archetype—Will Travel: The Jordan Peterson Phenomenon; Thought Crimes: Jordan Peterson and the meaning of the Meaning of Life; Special Section on Science & Morality. Getting Real About Right and Wrong; No, Being Religious Will Not Save You from Suicide; Lessons from Behavioral Science in a Warzone: How Reason, Skepticism, and Compassion Can Win Hearts and Minds; Moral Philosophy and its Discontents: Can science determine moral values? An Exchange with Massimo Pigliucci, Michael Shermer, and Kevin McCaffree; Facilitated Communication Redux: Persistence of a Discredited Technique; The Mystery of Elite Religious Scientists: A Cognitively Impenetrable Illusion; Five Questions About Human Errors for Proponents of Intelligent Design; The SkepDoc: Beware Stem Cell Clinics that Offer Untested Treatments; Junior Skeptic: Astral Projection
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Skeptic volume 23 number 2

volume 23 number 2
The Rise of the Nones

Imagining No Heaven — The Rise of the Nones and the Decline of Religion; Never Doubting God — Surveys on Belief in God’s Existence; Persistence of Belief in a Purposeful Universe; Honor, Dignity, Victim — A review of The Rise of Victimhood Culture: Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and the New Culture Wars; The SkepDoc — Premature Ejaculation in the News: How Headlines Influence Our Thinking; Is the Earth Flat? Flat Earthers Are Back — How do You Best Make the Argument for a Round Earth?; Conspiracy Theorists and the Harm They Do; Bruce Perkins and Another Terrible Tragedy of the Recovered Memory Movement; Deterrence and Its Discontents: Now That Nuclear War Seems to Be Getting More Likely Again, It’s Time to Turn a Skeptical Eye on Deterrence; Reality Need Not Diminish Our Concept of Our Place in the Cosmos; Junior Skeptic — Perpetual Motion; and more…
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Skeptic volume 23 number 1

volume 23 number 1
Evil, Theism, and Atheism

Special Section on Evil, Theism, and Atheism; “You’re an Atheist?! How Do You Find Meaning and Morality in Life if There Is No God?”; God, Heaven, and Evil: A Renewed Defense of Atheism; The Evaluation of Evil, the Measurement of Morality, and the Statistical Significance of Sin; The Concept and Mechanics of Natural Evil; Why Right and Wrong Seem Real: a Critique of Moral Realism; Tearing Down Mr. Hume’s Wall: A Response to Moral Realism Skeptics; Special Section on Sigmund Freud and his Legacy; Junior Skeptic: The Incredible Claims of Pet Psychics; and more…
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Skeptic volume 22 number 4

volume 22 number 4
Campus Craziness

No Barriers to Inquiry; I Am Not a Racist, And So Are You: An Unauthorized Peek at the Great Shaming Taking Place at an Institution of Higher Learning Near You, and Other Fireside Tales; Radically Wrong in Berkeley; When Secularism Becomes a Religion: The Alt-Left, the Alt-Right, and Moral Righteousness; When Science Becomes the Enemy; Canine Cognition: Did dogs become smarter through domestication? An interview with Dr. Brian Hare; Bird Brains: Are crows as intelligent as some scientists claim?; What Biology Can Teach Us About Crime and Justice; Gary Taubes and the Case Against Sugar; From Camelot to Conspiracy: Memory, Myth, and the Death of JFK; Now Playing at a Cartesian Theater Near You: Dualism Returns; The SkepDoc: Diet Sodas: Are the Dangers In the Chemicals or the Headlines?…
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Skeptic volume 22 number 3

volume 22 number 3
Lost Civilizations

Debating Science and Lost Civilizations: Michael Shermer on the Joe Rogan Experience; Conjuring Up a Lost Civilization: an Analysis of the Claims Made by Graham Hancock in Magicians of the Gods; Lost Civilizations and Imaginative Conjectures; The Real Origin of UFOs and Aliens: How the Media Shaped Our Ideas About Extraterrestrials; Publicly Funded Stem Cell Research: California’s $3-Billion Experiment in Public Science; Science, Facts, and “Provisional” Knowledge; Juicing for Health or Torture; Our Angry Era; Zombies: The Gruesome True Story of Zombies...
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Skeptic volume 22 number 2

volume 22 number 2
Artificial Intelligence Danger

Why We Should Be Concerned About Artificial Superintelligence; Is Artificial Intelligence an Existential Threat?; Artificial Intelligence: Simulation, Not Synthesis; The Rise of the Alt-Right and the Politics of Polarization in America; Delusions of the Imagination: Debunking an Early 19th Century Medical Quack Device — The “Tractor”; Area 51: What is Really Going on There?; Is Race a Useful Concept?; The Three Shades of Atheism;
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Skeptic volume 22 number 1

volume 22 number 1
Bill Nye Saves the World

Skeptic’s Science Dialogues: Bill Nye in Conversation with Michael Shermer on Climate Change, Travel to Mars, Artificial Intelligence, Nuclear Power, GMOs and more… Miracle Water: Why Zamzam Water is Not a Valid Medical Treatment; Lone Wolf Terrorism: The Convergence of Mental Illness, Marginality, and Cyber Radicalism; Torturing Data; Mass Hallucinations and Shoddy Journalism; What Would it Take to Change Your Mind?; ET v. Earth Pathogens; Trouble in the Multiverse; Science v. Subjectivity: Football Playoff Teams Selecting College Football Playoff Teams as a Case Study
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Skeptic volume 21 number 4

volume 21 number 4
Deception in Cancer Treatment

The Cancer-care Industry’s Marketing is Among the Most Deceptive on the Consumer Landscape; Special Section on classic skepticism: The Amityville Hoax at 40; Do the Rhodope and Adygea Skulls Belong to Aliens?; The Real Meaning Behind the Nazca Geoglyphs; Clown Panics: Sightings of Mysterious Clowns Rattle Nerves; Articles: The Case for a Galactic Defense System; Is “Spirituality” Meaningless?; Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?; Luck and Regression to the Mean: One of the Most Fundamental Sources of Error in Human Judgment; Political Obfuscation: Thinking Critically about Public Discourse; Anti-Aging Claims; Can Working Memory Be Trained to Work Better? by Carol Tavris; Junior Skeptic: Mammoth Mysteries! Part Two.
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Skeptic volume 21 number 3

volume 21 number 3
Internet Pornography

How Porn Is Messing with Your Manhood; Skeptical of Porn Skeptics; Hazards of Herbal Medicine: Lessons from Aristolochia; What is Sexual Orientation?; Did a Teenager Discover an Ancient Mayan City on Google Earth?; Paleo Diets and Utopian Dreams; Does AA Work? Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-Step Programs, and What We Really Know About Substance Abuse Treatment; The Clash of Eschatologies: The Role of End-Times Thinking in World History; Nightmares from the Id: The Neurophysiology of Anomalous Psychological Experiences; Terror Attacks that Never Were; Electromagnetic Fields and Parental Panics: A Case Study in How Science Can Bring Comfort; REVIEWS: Who Invented Science?; Science and the Creation of the Modern Mind; Heaven Is Not For Real; When Scientific American Put Psychics to the Test; JUNIOR SKEPTIC: MammothMysteries! Part One. The Hidden History of Mammoths and Mastodons
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Skeptic volume 21 number 2

volume 21 number 2
Uploading Your Brain

Uploading the Mind to a Computer Mind Uploading: An Argument for the Scientific and Technical Plausibility of Preserving Thoughts Indefinitely; Uploading Your Mind Does Not Compute; Virtual Immortality: Why the Mind-Body Problem is Still a Problem; What Motivates Extremists? Once Upon a Time: Re-Thinking the Fight Against Extremists; Dealing With Islamism: Trust, Costly Signaling and Forming Moral Teams; Apocalypse Soon?: How Emerging Technologies, Population Growth, and Global Warming Will Fuel Apocalyptic Terrorism in the Future; Paleoanthropology Wars: The Discovery of Homo naledi has Generated Considerable Controversy in this Scientific Discipline; Charlie Sheen’s HIV Goat Milk Doctor; Massachusetts: Mass Hysteria Cover Up; Agony and Ecstasy: Were Saint Paul’s Christian Beliefs a Symptom of Epileptic Personality Disorder?; In Defense of Anti-Science: Why the Anti-anti-science Movement Has Gone too Far; The Decline of Intelligent Design: The 10th Anniversary of the Dover Decision and the Demise of Intelligent Design The SkepDoc: Flu Shots Facts and Fallacies; The Gadfly: How Accurate is the “Cycle of Abuse”?; “Sacred Cows: A Lighthearted Look at Belief and Tradition Around the World”; Junior Skeptic: Man-Eating Plants: The Cannibal Tree of Madagascar.
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Skeptic volume 21 number 1

volume 21 number 1
Confidence Scams

EXCERPT: The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for it Every Time; ARTICLES: America’s Stonehenge: Did Highly Developed Europeans Build a Sophisticated Astronomical and Religious Monument on the American East Coast More than 3000 Years Ago?; Is It ET?: Is Star KIC 8462852 a Sign of an Extraterrestrial Civilization?; Hurricane Strikes as Divine Retribution—An Empirical Test; Ruins of Empires: Thomas Jefferson, Constantin-Francois Volney, and the Separation of Church and State; Winning the Vaccination War in California; Prophet Without Honor: Francis Galton and the Birth of Behavioral Genetics; When Cops Kill: An Insider’s Perspective; Guns and Games: The Relationship Between Violent Video Games and Gun Crimes in America; More on Morals: On Science and Morality (1) Deontologists are Covert Consequentialists, (2) Expanding Science to Include Morals, (3) Clarifying Confusions; Alligators in the Sewers! COLUMNS: Who’s Crazy Now?: DSM-5 and the Classification of Mental Disorders; The Delicate Dilemma of Defining Rape; REVIEW: Red Team: How To Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy by Micah Zenko reviewed by David Priess; JUNIOR SKEPTIC: Haunted Houses; Earliest Ghost Stories; Ghostly Evolution
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Skeptic volume 20 number 4

volume 20 number 4
Robert Trivers

The Wild Life of an Evolutionary Biologist, excerpted from the Memoir of One of the Greatest Scientists of the Past Century; Neurosurgeon and Republican Presidential Candidate Ben Carson is Skeptical of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory. Is this a Reflection on Education or Religion?; Skeptical Adventures of a Magician; The Passing of a Critical Thinking Giant Richard Paul, 1937–2015; Can Science Determine Moral Values?; The Science of Destiny: What is the Meaning of Life, Anyway?; The Moving Tombstone of Aalsum; Debunking the Myth that Low-dose Radiation May Cause Cancer. In Fact, it May Even be Beneficial; Debating the God Construct; Christianity’s Negative Impact on Modern American Education; Incidentalomas: Too Much Information Can Hurt You; Photographer’s Amnesia, or the Side Effects of Selfies; Debunking Indoor Tanning Myths; Reviews: A review of Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary film The Look of Silence; A review of Preparing for Contact: When Humans and Extraterrestrials Finally Meet; A review of The Evolution of Everything: How Ideas Emerge; Junior Skeptic: Space Brothers from Venus?
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Skeptic volume 20 number 3

volume 20 number 3
Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace—Species Seeker Extraordinaire; The Consilient Mr. Wallace: How He and Darwin Independently Used the Same Method to Arrive at Natural Selection; Demolishing Wallace’s “White Picket Fence” Around Human Cognition: Wallace, Darwin, and the Spiritualism Scandal of 1876 When a Young Scientist Prosecuted a “Psychic” Fraudster, the Co-Founders of Evolutionary Biology Took Opposing Sides; Wallace and the Flat Earthers: Charles Lyell Counseled Charles Darwin to Avoid Public Controversies, while Encouraging Alfred Wallace to Lock Horns with a Malicious Crackpot; Reconciling the “Two Wallaces: Why Alfred Russel Wallace Got Involved In So Many Heretical Ideas; Debunking the Full Moon Effect on School Kids; The Non-Fine-Tuned Universe: The Astronomical Failure of the Cosmological Argument for Theism; The “God” Construct: A Testable Hypothesis for Unifying Science and Theology; “Why is Critical Thinking so Hard to Teach?” Internet Trolls and Civility; Anecdotal Medical Evidence; Reviews; Junior Skeptic: Bat-People On the Moon! Anatomy of a Moon Hoax
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Skeptic volume 20 number 2

volume 20 number 2
Drug Policy

Smokey the Bear Medicine; How to Make Young Kids Smarter; Who Speaks for Earth? The Current Controversy Over METI: Messaging to Extra Terrestrial Intelligence; Can Emotions Effect Matter? Testing Masaru Emoto’s Hypothesis that Emotions Change Nature; Heaven Only Knows: Near-Death Experiences and the Problem of Account Incongruence; Where Drug Myths Die: An Interview with Carl Hart; Putin’s Rasputin: Meet Aleksandr Dugin, Mystical High Priest of Russian Fascism; Placebo, Are You There?; What Parents Need Not to Know: Eight Myths of Child Development; What Does “Supernatural” Mean, Anyway?; The Diet-Heart Hypothesis: The Contested Roles of Fats and Carbohydrates in Heart Disease; A Psychologist’s Innumeracy: A Guide to Recognizing Pseudo-Mathematics in the Social Sciences; Flawed Geniuses in Film Film Biographies: Stephen Hawking: The Theory of Everything, and Alan Turing: The Imitation Game; Mirror Neurons: A Review of The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuro-science of Communication and Cognition; Wonderful Science: A Review of A Scientist in Wonderland: A Memoir of Searching for Truth and Finding Trouble; God’s Lawyer A Review of Christianity on Trial: A Lawyer Examines the Christian Faith; Willpower and Won’t Power: A Review of The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control; In the Belly of the Beast: A Review of Among the Creationists: Dispatches from the Anti-Evolutionist Front Lines; Stranger than Fiction: A Review of of the HBO Documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief; Junior Skeptic: The Fantastical Hollow Earth Part II; Carbon Comic: The Problem With Facts— Why the Law of Gravity is False
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Skeptic volume 20 number 1

volume 20 number 1
Terrorism

A Skeptic’s Guide to the War on Terror; Myths of Terrorism; Religion, Violence, and Terrorism: An Empirical Evolutionary Study; Colloidal Silver, Smurfs, and Ebola; Artificial Intelligence: Benevolent or Malevolent?; The Thinking Atheist Confesses; Proof and God; Cow Tipping’s Surprising Origins; What a Horse Can Teach Us About Self Deception; The Demon Test: Possessed of Problems; The Biological and Psychological Basis of Horror; How Con Men Used Pseudoscience to Exploit the Drought of the 1890s; Can Superpositions of Quantum Consciousness Unlock Your Brain’s Hidden Nonlocal Potentiality?; Junior Skeptic: Journey Inside the Fantastical Hollow Earth; Carbon Comic: Pandemic Pandering A Special Report on Special Pleading
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Skeptic volume 19 number 4

volume 19 number 4
Diet Myths

SPECIAL ISSUE on Food and Diet Myths: Decoding Food Labels by Harriet Hall, M.D.; An Evolutionary and Functional Perspective on Chronic Disease, by Kenneth W. Krause. ARTICLES: Sneezing Customs: A Blessing in Disguise, by Karen Stollznow: Does AA Work? by Carol Tavris; “Chemtrail” Fail: Are Contrails Really Toxic Chemicals Sprayed by a Secret Conspiracy? by Donald R. Prothero; Skepticism: A Rare and Beautiful Thing, by Daniel Loxton; Whole Lot of Nothing: Tales of a Cosmological Argument, by Jérémie Harris; Thinking Critically About Psychology’s Classic Studies: Revisiting Studies by Milgram, Harlow, Mischel, Sherif and Others and What They Mean Today, by Carol Tavris; How to Lie with Statistics, by Gary Smith. SPECIAL SECTION: CHANGING MINDS: The Core Conflict Between Creationism and Evolution Do Unique Definitions of “Science” and “Proof” Allow Creationists to Disregard Evidence of Evolution? by Ralph M. Barnes; Why is Critical Thinking so Hard to Teach, by Kevin McCaffree and Anondah Saide. HUMOR: Genetic Park: Engineered Crops Run Amok on a Tycoon’s Island by Kyle Sanders. REVIEWS: Capital in the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas Piketty, reviewed by Burt Stillar; Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, by Sam Harris. Junior Skeptic: Flat Earth?! The Convoluted Story of a Flatly Mistaken Notion, by Daniel Loxton.
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Skeptic volume 19 number 3

volume 19 number 3
The Multiverse

Fine-Tuning and the Multiverse, by Victor J. Stenger; Quantum Immortality —Some Physicists Think You Might Already Be Immortal; SkepDoc Harriet Hall on Sound Healing; Can Dolphins Talk?; On Miracles, by Harriet Hall; Are Blood Type and Personality Linked?; Carol Tavris on The Negative Side of Positive Thinking; The Extraordinary History of Mass Hysteria in Schools; The Shroud of Turin Can Now Be Easily Dated; Junior Skeptic: Ghost Photos Part II, by Daniel Loxton. Empirical Studies on: Are RelIgious Nations Better Off? and How Much Free Market is Too Much? Special Section On Changing Minds: How a Cartoon Kept Quacks Away from Infants; Explaining Evolution by using health issues as examples; How Intuition Can Block Scientific Understanding. Reviews: A Review of Your Inner Fish a Three-Part PBS Documentary reviewed by Donald Prothero; A review of Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking, by Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander, reviewed by Chris Edwards.
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Skeptic volume 19 number 2

volume 19 number 2
Boston Bombing Conspiracy Theories

The Multiverse and the Deity; In Defense of Soft Theism; Soul Searching: An Evolutionary Problem for Theists; Mass Hysteria at Old Salem Village; Conspiracy in Boston: Disentangling Boston Marathon Bombing Conspiracy Theories; The Miracle of Large Numbers Can Explain Seemingly Miraculous Events; Reasons for Hope in the Science of Artificial Intelligence; Deciphering The Voynich Manuscript; The SkepDoc on Faith Healing Tragedies; New column by Carol Tavris: The Gadfly: The Science of Memory and the Dylan Farrow/Woody Allen Case; Junior Skeptic: Photographing Phantoms, Part One; Reviews: The Man Who Filmed Nessie; Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil; Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience; God Bless America: Strange and Unusual Religious Beliefs and Practices in the United States; The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science; Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—a 13 episode TV series hosted by astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Skeptic volume 19 number 1

volume 19 number 1
Did Jesus Exist?

Did Jesus Exist? We Examine the Best Evidence by Tim Callahan: Let’s Get Real [about Evolution], Even if it Hurts by James Randi; Face the Music by Karen Stollznow; Does Religion Make People Healthier? by Harriet Hall, M.D.; An Insider’s Look at Faith Healing by Dustin White; Except: Imagine There’s No Heaven: The Seeds of Modern Atheism and the Tragic Life of Madalyn Murray O’Hair by Mitchell Stephens; James Van Praagh and the Afterlife by I. H. Smythe; Ghostbusters Busted at Sand Creek by Gregory F. Michno; Why Whistleblowing Doesn’t Work by Frederick V. Malmstrom and David Mullin: James R. Flynn on Rising IQs, interviewed by Lee Traynor; Comic: Holistic Airlines—The Natural Way to Fly by Kyle Sanders; Junior Skeptic: Carl Sagan by Daniel Loxton; Ten Billion by Stephen Emmott and Countdown by Alan Weisman reviewed by Michael Shermer; The Seven Laws of Magical Thinking by Matthew Hutson reviewed by Kevin J McCaffree; What’s So Great about God (Formerly Godforsaken) by Dinesh D’Souza reviewed by Franz Kiekeben; Hardcore Zen Strikes Again by Brad Warner reviewed by Mike Moran
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Skeptic volume 18 number 4

volume 18 number 4
Ancient Aliens

Did Ancient Aliens Bring Us Civilization? We Examine the Best Evidence; An Interview With Astrophysicist Sean Carroll; Special Section: Diagnosing the DSM: Do Psychiatric Diagnoses Reflect Valid Disorders?; Why Tests for Multiple Personalities Don’t Work. Plus: Why We Can’t Eliminate Medical Mistakes; New Satanic Panic; Hunting Bigfoot; Uncertainty in Medicine is Good! by Harriet Hall M.D.; Randi on Astrology; The Mythology and Geology Behind Noah’s Flood. Reviews: The Psychic Mind; Intelligent Design Follies; Processed Food; Bigfoot Skepticism Is Alive and Well; Blackfish Film; The Sports Gene; Debunking Plantinga. Junior Skeptic: Velikovsky…
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Skeptic volume 18 number 3

volume 18 number 3
50 Years of JFK Conspiracy Theories

How Hunting Developed Scientific Thinking; The Great Radium Craze; Randi On the Founding Father Of Scientology; Child Preachers From Jesus to Marjoe Scientology’s War on Medicine By Harriet Hall; beware of the “Sovereign Citizen” scam; how Science Denial threatens us all; psychic Sylvia Browne Debunked Again; REVIEWS: Media-driven Panics and Hoaxes; A Classic Example of Confirmation Bias; A Skeptic’s Guide to the Mind; Science Basics and Amazing Anecdotes; Growing Up in the Amityville Horror; Junior Skeptic: Mermaids…
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Skeptic volume 18 number 2

volume 18 number 2
Gender Differences

What Science Says and Why it’s Mostly Wrong; Gender and the Paranormal; What Science Says About the Soul; An Interview with Controversial Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon; Is the Earth’s Magnetic Field Reversal Dangerous?; Scientology Self Help Handbook; Can We Trust Science Media Reports?; Why The Universe Exists; Skeptics in Film; Witchcraft Ceremony. Junior Skeptic: Alien Invaders!… and more…
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Skeptic volume 18 number 1

volume 18 number 1
The Mass Murder Problem

The Mass Murder Problem and What to Do About it; The Sandy Hook Problem and the Real Decline of Violenc; A Geologist Looks at: Noah’s Flood and Comic Book Legend Neal Adams’ Expanding Earth Theory, SkepDoc Examines Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity; Rain Boy Poltergeist Case Solved; Coral Castle, Junior Skeptic on Ghostbuster Girls!; and more…
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Skeptic volume 17 number 4

volume 17 number 4
Alternative Cancer Cures

Steve Job’s Reality Distortion Field; Psychology of Speaking in Tongues; Media Fact Checking Guide; Bogus Barefoot Cure-all; Internet Exorcist Bob Larson; Did Americans Discover Europe First?; Howard Bloom Interview; Psychology of Postmodern Nonsense. Reviews: How Eyes Evolved; Secular Americans & Religion for Atheists; 50 Misconceptions; “God and the Folly of Faith”; Where is the Garden of Eden? Who’s in Charge? Free Will; New Science of Neuroethics. Junior Skeptic: Dark Secrets of the Oracle-Monger
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Skeptic volume 17 number 3

volume 17 number 3
Christian Nation?

Is Ours a Christian Civilization?; Are We Alone? How Astronomers are Searching for Extrasolar Planets; The Flake Equation; The Physics of UFOs; Interstellar Travel; multiple personality disorder; Mokele Mbembe, genesis creation mythology; why there is something rather than nothing; facilitated communication; Celebrating the Reason Rally; moral cognition testing; faith in the age of science…
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Skeptic volume 17 number 2

volume 17 number 2
Climate Change Q&A

How We Know Global Warming is Real and Human Caused; Special Section on Perception Self-Deception; Special Section on Evidence-Based Medicine; A Historical and Physiological Perspective on a World War II Aviation Mystery; Talking to the Dead: An Empirical Study on the Psychological Aspects of Interpreting Electronic Voice Phenomena; Sleep Paralysis; Energy Medicine and Fantasy Physics; Depression Treatment…
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Skeptic volume 17 number 1

volume 17 number 1
Scientology

Is Scientology a Cult?; New Revelations on the History, Future, and Reformation of Scientology; 9/11 Controlled Demolition Conspiracy Debunked; Can Science Deliver Eternal Life?; Was the Resurrection a Grief Hallucination?; Body Language Baloney?; The Secret Behind Outstanding Teaching; A Biologist on the Meaning of Life…
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Skeptic volume 16 number 4

volume 16 number 4
The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers

The Truth About Antioxidants, Precognition Research: Paranormality and Precognitive Dreams, Reason v. Faith, Fossil Hoaxes, The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers!, Who Believes That Aliens Landed at Roswell?, Record Tornados: Chance or Global Warming?, …
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Skeptic volume 16 number 3

volume 16 number 3
Islam

The Mythic Origins of the Qur’an; Imams, Fatwas, Jihads and Jews—Sense and Nonsense about Muslims and the Middle East; Muslim Creationism and the Curious Case of Harun Yahya; Skepdoc on Aspartame: Safe Sweetener or Perilous Poison?; Science and the Is/Ought Problems; Myths About Fat and What to Do About It…
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Skeptic volume 16 number 2

volume 16 number 2
The Origin of Life

How Did Life Begin; How Close Are We to Creating Life in the Lab?; Who Still Believes in 9/11 Conspiracies?; What is Naturopathy?; Was Hypatia of Alexandria a Scientist?; Stradivarius Pseudoscience; Lying About Placebos…
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Skeptic volume 16 number 1

volume 16 number 1
The Happiness Industry

Our Cultural Obsession with Happiness; The Happiness Industry; Workplace Happism; When to Avoid Optimism; The Myth of Quantum Consciousness; Motorcycle Maintenance Without the Zen; The Science of Changing People’s Minds…
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Skeptic volume 15 number 4

volume 15 number 4
Climate Skeptics

Climate Skeptics: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; Dowsing Rod Bomb Detectors; Sex & Astrology; What is Truth?; Stigma of Being an Atheist; Health Hype: Are We Really Living Longer? Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer? Do Environmental Chemicals Destroy Male Fertility? Boosting Your Immune System; Teaching Strategies: Magic in the Classroom; The Grinnell Experiment…
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Skeptic volume 15 number 3

volume 15 number 3
Mind Myths

Top Ten Psych Myths; Is the Mind Designed or a Kludge?; Debunking Diagnoses in the DSMV; How the Psychic Industry Works; Is Instant Language Learning Possible?; Battle for Evolution; Resurrection of Margaret Mead; Dangers of First Contact with Aliens; Norm Levitt’s Last Defense of Science…
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Skeptic volume 15 number 2

volume 15 number 2
2012 — The End of the World Again?

A NASA Scientist Answers the Top 20 Questions About 2012; Large Hadron Collider: Will Physicists Destroy the World? Pro & Con; Why Atheism & IQs Are Rising; Skepdoc on Chiropractic; Coriolis Effect Myth; Thetis Lake Monster…
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Skeptic volume 15 number 1

volume 15 number 1
Christian Conspiracy Theory

40 years of Scooby-Doo; Origins Conspiracy Theory; Homeopathy; Placebos; UFO Hoax; Atheism a Religion?; Testing Orgone Energy; Evolutionary Economics; Ape Language Controversy; Science of Love…
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Skeptic volume 14 number 4

volume 14 number 4
Fooled by Ponzi (and Madoff)

How Bernard Madoff Made Off with My Money; What to Eat: Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants; Misleading by Petition; A Skeptic Visits Noah’s Ark; The Art of Cold Reading…
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Skeptic volume 14 number 3

volume 14 number 3
The New Revisionism

What if Hitler Won the War?; Doubting Altruism; Lying for God; Flagella Myths; Germ Theory Denial and Other Curiosities; NDE Redux…
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Skeptic volume 14 number 2

volume 14 number 2
Evolution of Intelligence

Predicting Evolution; The Role of Contingency & Necessity in the Evolution of Higher Intelligence; Evolution in Our Genes; Expelled Exposed; The Matrix of the Brain…
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Skeptic volume 14 number 1

volume 14 number 1
Global Warming

A Climate of Belief; How We Know Global Warming is Real: The Science Behind Human-induced Climate Change; How to solve the global warming problem by 2020…
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Skeptic volume 13 number 4

volume 13 number 4
Quirkology

The Big Truths in Small Things; Skeptical Analysis of the Evidence for Nonhuman Primate Language; The Myth of the Mozart Effect; Consciousness is Nothing But a Word…
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Skeptic volume 13 number 3

volume 13 number 3
Medical Controversies

Science & Secondhand Smoke; Exposing the Vaccine-Autism Myth; The Trouble with Psychiatry; Animals & Medicine; Contested Testimony in Scientific Disputes…
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Skeptic volume 13 number 2

volume 13 number 2
Richard Dawkins & Religion

Two reviews of Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion; The Science of Friendship; Dawkins v. Collins Debate; Why This Universe?; The Skeptic’s Chaplain…
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Skeptic volume 13 number 1

volume 13 number 1
The Legacy of Carl Sagan

An Interview with Ann Druyan; Science, Religion & Human Purpose; An excerpt from Conversations with Carl; Tributes to Carl Sagan…
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Skeptic volume 12 number 4

volume 12 number 4
9/11 Conspiracies

What Demolition Experts Say About 9/11; Is ID really like big bang theory?; Lonesome George: The Last Animal on Earth; Keeping an Eye on Alternative Medicine…
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Skeptic volume 12 number 3

volume 12 number 3
Religion

Orthodox Jews & Science; Religious Belief & Societal Health; Does Prayer Work?; Debate: Deepak Chopra v. Michael Shermer; Using Pseudoscience to Teach Science…
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Skeptic volume 12 number 2

volume 12 number 2
Artificial Intelligence

The Other Intelligent Design Theories; A.I. Gone Awry; Special Section: Intelligent Design; The Dover Decision; The Origin of Alien Faces…
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Skeptic volume 12 number 1

volume 12 number 1
Debunking with KABOOM! Meet the Mythbusters

Sex, Jealousy & Violence; Evolutionary Psychology Is Here to Stay; A Skeptic Goes to an Exorcism; The Woodstock of Evolution; Doubting Dr. Dino…
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Skeptic volume 11 number 4

volume 11 number 4
Ernst Mayr, 1904–2005

Close Encounters of the Facial Kind; The Da Vinci Code Cult; The Dream World of William Dembski’s Creationism; John of God; How The Human Got Its Mind…
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Skeptic volume 11 number 3

volume 11 number 3
Catastrophe. Collapse.

Catastrophe by R. A. Posner; Collapse by J. Diamond; Double-Blind Protocol and Science by S. Bratman; Consumer Electronic Myths by E. Winer…
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Skeptic volume 11 number 2

volume 11 number 2
Nature vs. Nurture

The Almost Blank Slate; The Revival of Human Nature ≠ The Denial of Human Nurture; Who Lost the Middle Ages?; The Tea Leaves of Sports Talk…
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Skeptic volume 11 number 1

volume 11 number 1
Medieval UFOs?

Early Origins of Traditional Chinese Medicine; The Mass Suicide of the Xhosa; Salt, Toothpaste & the CIA: Conspiracy Theory in Contemporary Indian Society…
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Skeptic volume 10 number 4

volume 10 number 4
Low Carb Craze

The Skinny on Fat; Was Einstein Learning Disabled?; New “Isn’t Round” Theory Demands Equal Time; Paranormal & God Belief Survey Results…
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Skeptic volume 10 number 3

volume 10 number 3
Evolution, Intelligent Design

Towards a Theology of Evolution?; The Big “Bright” Brouhaha; Creationism’s Expanding Universe; Macroevolution & Microcreationism…
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Skeptic volume 10 number 2

volume 10 number 2
Stephen Wolfram’s Science

The Future of Intelligence; Science & the Media; Can the Media Help Science?; Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Universe…
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Skeptic volume 10 number 1

volume 10 number 1
Roswell Requiem

Psychic for a Day; Ockham’s Razor Dulled; Is Time Travel Possible?; Alaska’s Mysterious HAARP; Do We Fear the Wrong Things? …
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Skeptic volume 09 number 4

volume 09 number 4
Stephen Jay Gould Tribute

Gould as Historian, Scientist, Friend; 9/11 Conspiracy Review; Two Shakespeares?; Junior Skeptic: Seamonsters; Coincidence…
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Skeptic volume 09 number 3

volume 09 number 3
A.I. and Theology of UFOs

ETs and God; Artificial Intelligence v. Human Nature; How Smart People Sabotage Their Thinking; Neo-Confederates at the Gate; A.I. and the Krell Machine…
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Skeptic volume 09 number 2

volume 09 number 2
Environmental Skeptic

How Bad Off Are We; David Pimentel debunks Lomborg; Evolutionary Psychology pros & cons; Spooky Numerical Matches; The Wisdom of Skeptics…
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Skeptic volume 09 number 1

volume 09 number 1
Anthropology Wars

Intro to Anthro Wars; Steven Pinker Interview; Science v. Spin Doctoring; Margaret Mead/Anthro Controversy; Velikovosky at Fifty…
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Skeptic volume 08 number 4

volume 08 number 4
Intelligent Design

special Evolution/Creation book review section; Intelligent Design Theory; Why Christianity Won; Physics & Time; Mills’ “Hydrino” Theory Breakthrough?; Mark Twain & Religion…
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Skeptic volume 08 number 3

volume 08 number 3
Chaos & Complexity

Quick Introduction to Chaos Theory; Chaos Skepticism; Contingencies; Complex Systems; Latest Cosmology; Darwin Bumper Fish; Reverse Speech; Cultural Relativism…
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Skeptic volume 08 number 2

volume 08 number 2
Science & Religion

Frans de Waal Interview; Agnosticism; Skeptic’s Faith?; Influence and Scientology; Life’s Meaning; Existence; Personal Gods; Prayer Heals?…
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Skeptic volume 08 number 1

volume 08 number 1
Race & Sports

Black Domination; Race Sports Myths; Race Differences; Meaning of Dominance; Ernst Mayr Interview; Free Energy; Nonzero/Human Gaia; Attention Deficit Disorder…
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Skeptic volume 07 number 4

volume 07 number 4
Pseudoscience

When Satan Came to Texas; the Madness of Crowds; Million Dollar Madness; ET May Be Out There; Anatomy of Nonsense; Cloning Forum; Special Carl Sagan section…
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Skeptic volume 07 number 3

volume 07 number 3
Millennium Madness

A Critical Analysis of James Redfield and The Celestine Prophesy; Search for Immortality; The Alpha and the Omega The Creation and the End in Biblical Eschatology ; Celestine Prophesy; The Fire That Will Cleanse: Millennial Meanings and the End of the World ; That’s All Folks! It’s the End of the World … Again; Apocalypse Never The Search for Immortality as Millennial Phenomena; Myth and Science; Political Extremism; Autopsy Aliens…
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Skeptic volume 07 number 2

volume 07 number 2
Cloning & Genetic Engineering

Cloning Science & Ethics; Science’s Moral Limits; How Evolution Increases Information in the Genome; Group Selection & Origins of Evil; Historical Perspective on Theology & Evolutionary Psychology; Urban Legends; Hawking Expanding Universe Trick; Deconstructing JFK: Assassination Debate Continues; De-Population Myths; Is Anybody Out There?; Freethinkers, Fundamentalists, Fake Quotes…
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Skeptic volume 07 number 1

volume 07 number 1
Influence

The Game of Influence: Understanding the Hidden Dynamics of Communication; Selection for Credulity A Biologist’s View of Belief; Legitimatizing Psychology’s Prodigal Son: Re-considering Hypnosis for the 21st Century; How the Public Relations Industry Compromises Democracy; The Knowledge Filter Reality Must Take Precedence in the Search for Truth…
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Skeptic volume 06 number 4

volume 06 number 4
JFK

JFK Facts and Fictions; JFK Case Still Open: Skepticism and the Assassination of JFK; JFK Assassination Science; James Randi on Dowsing; Steven T. Asma on Critical Thinking; The Case For and Against God: A Forum Exchange; The Lost World: of Jack Horner An Interview with the World’s Most Famous Dinosaur Digger; Anastasia: Miraculous Survival Myth; Aliens Among Us?; Psychic Math!; How to Fake UFO Photo…
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Skeptic volume 06 number 3

volume 06 number 3
Why Professors Believe Weird Things

Sex, Race, and the New Left; Alternative Religion Supporters; Meme Critique; Psychotherapy Snake Oil?; Randi on True Believers; Bigfoot…
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Skeptic volume 06 number 2

volume 06 number 2
Taking God Seriously

Critique of Deepak Chopra’s Philosophy: The physics and philosophical flaws in Chopra’s popular “New Age” teachings. Special Section on Taking God Seriously: Karl Popper on God; An Interview with Skepticism’s Ray Hyman; Shermer: Atheist v. Agnostic; Taking Creationism Seriously; A Case Against God; A Case for God. Also: Emily Rosa & the Therapeutic Touch Wars; Coach Potatoes: The Latest Self-Help Diet; Randi’s Quackery Update; Humor: Dumbth Awards. Junior Skeptic: Emily Rosa: TT and Me; Science Surfing: Cool Web Sites Reviewed; A Junior Skeptic tests a Gambler’s Luck; Science Magic Books
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Skeptic volume 06 number 1

volume 06 number 1
Science & Society

E.O. Wilson’s Consilience: Can We Unify All Knowledge?; Deconstructing James Van Praagh: How He Talks To the Dead by Michael Shermer; Junior Skeptic: Emily Rosa Tests Therapeutic Touch With a Disarmingly Simple Method; The Ancient Tradition of the Evil Eye!; James Randi on New Age Technology; Humor: Dumbth News; Legalizing Fraud in the Name of Religion; Holocaust Revisionism Update; Stephen Hawking v. Frank Tipler; A Skeptic’s Guide to the Drug Policy Debate; When Journalists Should Not Be Objective; The Graduate Record Exam as Fringe Science.
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Skeptic volume 05 number 4

volume 05 number 4
Pseudoscience

Acupuncture’s Secrets Revealed; A Not-So-Psychic Detective; The Myth of Egyptian Pi; What’s Your Sign?; In Search of the Chinese Fountain of Youth…
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Skeptic volume 05 number 3

volume 05 number 3
Anthropology

Fake Fairy Photos by James Randi; Aliens Replace Spooks in the Carnival Funhouse; Princess Diana Conspiracies; Why Do Militias Exist? PLUS a Response From Militia Expert Richard Abanes; Homeopathy and The Office of Alternative Medicine; Houdini v. The Blond Witch of Lime Street Millennium Special: What is the Millennium? by Stephen Jay Gould. Special Section on Anthropology: How Humans Explain Human Origins; An Interview with Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson by Frank Miele; Margaret Mead’s Mistake by Derek Freeman; Conflicting Views of Myth and Science by Kenneth L. Feder; God and the Ghost Dance—The Eternal Return of the Messiah Myth by Michael Shermer Reviews, Skeptical News, Forum, and Randy Cassingham’s Dumbth News
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Skeptic volume 05 number 2

volume 05 number 2
The God Question

Martin Gardner Interview; Bible Code; Einstein’s God; What Happened to Atheism?; God Evidence?; Rural Religions; Case Against Immortality…
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Skeptic volume 05 number 1

volume 05 number 1
Environmental Science

Ecologists vs. Economists: A Quick & Dirty Guide to the Environmental Debate: Is Environmental Science polluted by Politics?; The Beautiful People Myth; Population Risk Assesment; The Not-So-Wise-Use Movement; Julian Simon Slams Eco-Crybabies; Top Scientists' Ecological Warning; PLUS: Fred Crews on Modern American Witch Hunters; More Dumbth News; Ancient Astro-NOTS; PC-Panic Debate Continues; The Ghost Dance Returns as UFO Hope; The Murky Origins of the Hale-Bopp UFO Fiasco; Polls Show Americans Steadfast in Religious Beliefs. Randi on Pigasus Awards; Human Magnets; Dowsing; Futurists. Reviews; Skeptical News; Forum. BONUS INCLUDED: The Premier Edition of James Randi's Outrageous New Publication: Swift
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Skeptic volume 04 number 4

volume 04 number 4
Carl Sagan Tribute

$742,000 Says Therapeutic Touch is Bogus; Dismantling History; A Tribute to Carl Sagan; Special Section: Can History Be a Science?; Birth Order as Destiny—An Interview with Frank Sulloway; 4 Ways History Can Be a Science; Have Deconstructionists Destroyed History?; Can We Know What Really Happened in the Past?; Detecting the “Human Energy Field”; Cheating for Jesus?—Creationist’s Questionable Tactics; 1996 Dumbth News; Randi—Become a Media Psychic!; Early Ghostbusters; N-Rays-Where’d They Go?; Nostradamus Debunked; 13 Questions Astrologers Can’t Answer; Encouraging Students to Think Critically; Norman Levitt Blasts His Critics…
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Skeptic volume 04 number 3

volume 04 number 3
Conspiracy

Louis Farrakhan and Paranoia in African-American Politics; The New World Order, 666 and The End of the World; The Greatest Political Correctness Conspiracy Hoax; Who Really Runs America? Jerry Brown on Politics & Money; Psychoanalysis as Religion, Cult and Political Movement; Cracking the Bell Curve Myth; The “End of Science” Debate: Is It?; First Time In English! A Skeptical Historical Masterpiece: Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier Investigate Mesmerism for Louis XVI of France; The Amazing Randi on Police Psychics; Who Become A Science Heretic?; Humor: Abducted by Hollywood; Aliens Arrive on Independence Day; What Will Tomorrow Bring?
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Skeptic volume 04 number 2

volume 04 number 2
Evolutionary Ethics

Interview: Living Within Limits & Limits on Living Garrett Hardin on Ecology, Economy, and Ethics; Toward a Science of Morality; In Our Own Self Image: The Evolution of Morality, Deception, and Religion; Prospects for Existence: Morality and Genetic Engineering; Plants, Property & People: Should Indigenous Peoples Be Compensated For Their Medicinal Plant Knowledge?; The Secular Sphinx: The Riddle of Ethics Without Religion; Why Creationists Fear Evolution: An Introduction to Bryan’s Last Speech; The Most Powerful Argument Against Evolution Ever Made: The Undelivered Speech to the Jury in the Scopes’ Trial; Save Fuel, the Nation, the Environment, Money … Sure; Whose is the Higher Superstition? Reflections on the Need for Skeptical Open-Mindedness in the Days to Come; Cosmythology: Was the Universe Designed to Produce Us?; The Question All Skeptics are Asking: What Was Adam’s IQ?; Skeptics Walk on Fire For Bill Nye “The Science Guy”; The Mysterious (and Profitable) Origins of Man; Millennium Mystery or Misinformation?; Patterson Bigfoot Hoax
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Skeptic volume 04 number 1

volume 04 number 1
Evolutionary Psychology

Quadro Tracker Dowsing Stick Tested by James Randi; News: Skeptics Conference, Psychic Challenge; Jehovah’s Witnesses/End of World; Psi Research Funds Forum; Skeptic Magazine Forum: Church of Scientology responds to Lippard Forum: Velikovsky; Physics; Raso Responds Forum: Repressed Memory Reversal Forum: In-Group v. Universal Morality Discussion Institute for Creation Research Museum Visit; McIver Guide to Evolutionary Psychology/Nature of Human Nature; Miele Sociology as Science; Don’t Delete Darwin: Salter Evolutionary Psychology as Protoscience; Critical Analysis of Evolutionary Psychology; Schlinger Interview: Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox; Interview: Stephen Jay Gould; Gould’s Dangerous Idea: Contingency/Necessity/nature of History; Reviews: Darwin’s Dangerous Idea; Hidden History of the Human Race; The Origin of Satan; The Final Superstition; 8 Brief Reviews: Paranormal, Evolution, Religion Humor: What is the Ant, Sir?
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Skeptic volume 03 number 4

volume 03 number 4
Cosmology & God

‘Twas Brillig… An Adventure in Asia or, How a Cultural Gap Can Lead to Total Misunderstanding; The Clicker Culture—How that Handy Little Gadget has Changed the Evening News; The Day I Met The Wizard: Oz Comes to Kansas; Skeptic News; Skeptics Society Survey; “First of All, Do No Harm”: A Recovered Memory Therapist Recants—An Interview With Robin Newsome; Is There Really a Cosmological Crisis? If the Stars are Older than the Universe then We Have a Serious Problem; Velikovsky’s Believe it or Not!!; Velikovsky Still in Collision; An Antidote to Velikovskian Delusions; Velikovsky’s Place in the History of Science—A Lesson on the Strengths and Limitations of Science; Can Science Prove God? Frank Tipler’s “The Physics of Immortality” is the Latest in a Long Line of Attempts to Unite Science and Religion; A Cosmological Dialogue Between Caltech Cosmologist Kip Thorne and Tulane Cosmologist Frank Tipler on the Physics of Immortality; Hope Springs Eternal—Dr.Tipler Meets Dr.Pangloss; Physics’ Balls and Schrödinger’s Kittens—Just Because our Treasured Theories of the Sub-Atomic World Work Does Not Necessarily Mean They Are Revealing the Ultimate Truth About What Goes on Inside Atoms; Darwin’s Dangerous Disciple— An Interview with Richard Dawkins; Love Thy Neighbor—The Evolution of In-Group Morality; Books in Brief; The Question All Skeptics Are Asking—Can a Cat be Simultaneously Alive and Dead?; About the Authors; Index
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Skeptic volume 03 number 3

volume 03 number 3
Race & IQ

The Latest Race and IQ Claims: Are They Scientific?; The Bell Curve: Top Experts Speak Out on the Science and Politics of Race and IQ Tests; Anthropologist Vince Sarich Defends the Bell Curve and the Concept of Important Racial Differences; IQ Bonus: Multiple Intelligences — An Interview with Robert Sternberg, Author of The Triarchic Mind; PLUS: HIV-AIDS Heretics Respond; The Satanic Panic; Father Victim of False Memories Speaks Out; Houdini Escapes Again; Scientology in Cyberspace; How to Eat a Light Bulb; James “the Amazing” Randi Debunks the Curse of the Pharaoh.
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Skeptic volume 03 number 2

volume 03 number 2
AIDS

Does HIV Really Cause AIDS? A Case Study in Skepticism Taken Too Far; AIDS Part I: The Skeptics and Their Claims; Part II: How Skepticism Went Astray; Part III Lessons on How Science Works; A Provocative Interview With Charles Murray, Author of the Bell Curve; Alfred Russel Wallace, Charles Darwin, and the Resolution of a Scientific Priority Dispute; The Question All Skeptics Are Asking: Why Did God Make Rice Cakes?, PLUS: The Amazing Randi on Astrology; Should the Bible Be Taken Literally? and more…
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Skeptic volume 03 number 1

volume 03 number 1
Pseudomedicine

Life After False Memory Syndrome; The Mattoon Phantom Gasser Mass Hysteria; Why Should Skeptics Understand Religion?; Skeptical Perspectives: A Heretic-Scientist Among the Spiritualists; Homeopathy; Therapeutic Touch; Alternative Medicine; Spiritual Belief Systems Try to Compete as Alternatives to Scientific Health Care; Conspiracies of Skiheads; Leftist Science; The Humanism of Star Trek; Liquefying “Blood”; and more…
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Skeptic volume 02 number 4

volume 02 number 4
Pseudohistory

Free Speech & Neo-Nazis; Denying the Holocaust; Afrocentrism & Holocaust Revisionism; Creationism & Racism; Were Egyptians & Greeks Black?; Beyond Race…
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Skeptic volume 02 number 3

volume 02 number 3
Fad Psychology

False Memory Syndrome; Facilitated Communication; Diagnoses are not Diseases; Sex, Brains, and Hands; How Thinking Goes Wrong; Pseudoscience in Psychiatry…
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Skeptic volume 02 number 2

volume 02 number 2
Science, Religion & Cults

The Jesus Cults; What Makes a Cult?; The Unlikeliest Cult of All; The Resurrection Myth; Was Christianity a Cult?; Realism and Religion…
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Skeptic volume 02 number 1

volume 02 number 1
Genius: Myth & Reality

Amadeus Myth; “Science” of Noah’s Ark; “Science” of Noah’s Ark; Genius by Steve Allen, James Randi, Paul MacCready, James Gleick et al (on Feynman)…
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Skeptic volume 01 number 4

volume 01 number 4
Witches, Heretics & Scientists

Introduction: The Price of Intolerance: Today’s Heretic, Tomorrow’s Saint; Spirits, Witches, and Science: Why the Rise of Science Encouraged Belief in the Supernatural in 17th-Century England; The Ideological Immune System: Resistance to New Ideas in Science; Skeptical News: Houdini; Millennium Watch; Newton; Haunted Hearing; Rational Sobriety; Scope of Skepticism; UFO Support Group; Psychics Fail; Skeptic’s Predictions; Skeptics TV; Tunguska; AIDS Dispute; A.R.E. You Sure? The Edgar Cayce Foundation Responds to a Skeptical Critique; Can Religion Be Rational?; The Day the Earth Moved: The Psychology of Resistance to the Heretical—Science of Copernicus; Jonestown: A CIA Medical Experiment?; On the Wild Side; Clouds of Secrecy: The Army’s Germ Warfare Tests; Over Populated Areas; Missing Pieces; How To Investigate Ghosts; UFOs,Psychics, and Other Mysteries; E.T.; Top Ten Science Frauds; Ten Great Unanswered Questions of Science; Galileo; Newton; Weird Wonders: It’s Baaack: The Nature-Nurture Debate Again; Exons, Introns and Talking Genes: The Science Behind the Human Genome Project; Bionomics; The Inevitability of Capitalism; Sociobiology and the Preemption of Social Science; The Road to Equality: Evolution and Social Reality by Paul McDowell; Discovery and Creation—The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination; The Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search to Know Himself; The Discoverers: An Illustrated History of Man’s Search to Know Himself
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Skeptic volume 01 number 3

volume 01 number 3
Revolution in Evolution?

Special Punctated Equilibrium Section; The Mismeasure of History: Darwin, Gould, and the Nature of Change; Punctuated Equilibrium at Twenty: A Paleontological Perspective; Punctuated Equilibrium in Fact and Theory; Historic 1842 Sketch on Evolution by Charles Darwin. Skeptical News: Galileo Acquitted; Scientology v. IRS; Physicist Touts Meditation; Yogi Fights Crime; End of the World; Earth Out of Orbit; Astronaut Bends Spoons; Psychic Car Repair; Skeptical Balance; Psychical Grant; Randi Update; Geller Calls; Deviations: A Skeptical Investigation at Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment; In Brief and In Review: Books and Articles of Interest Darwin, Darwinism, and the Darwinian Culture; The Case of the Missing Brain
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Skeptic volume 01 number 2

volume 01 number 2
Cryonics

Science Fact or Science Fiction; The Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Dead: the History of Resuscitation; Reaching for Tomorrow: Technical Aspects of Cryonics; Basic Questions and Answers About Cryonics From Alcor Life Extension Foundation; Physicist in the White House?; “Holy Grail” Discovered; Black Holes; Acupuncturists and Chiropractors Fined; Secular Alcohol Treatment; Greenhouse Doubts; Laws of Robotics; UFO Info; Hume’s Maxim: What Does It Take To Establish A Miracle?; The Use and Abuse of Statistics in the “Real World”; Skeptical Perspectives: “Can Science Cheat Death?” Cryonics, Altered States and the Quest for Transcendence. Galileo, Gould, Transcendental Meditation, JFK Assassination, Conspiracy Theories; Freud; Catastrophic Catastrophes; Science in Western Culture
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Skeptic volume 01 number 1

volume 01 number 1
Tribute to Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov Tributes by Steve Allen, Martin Gardner and Harlan Ellison; Skeptics Society’s Manifesto; The Most Precious Thing We Have — The Triumph of the Scientific Method…
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