The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

In this week’s eSkeptic, Michael Shermer dispels seven myths of terrorism. This is an excerpt from his book The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom. This excerpt also appeared in Skeptic magazine 20.1—a special issue on Terrorism—in 2015.

On December 14, 2012, 20-year old Adam Lanza broke into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, killing 20 children and six adults—and then himself—after first slaying his mother Nancy Lanza in their home. In this article from Skeptic magazine issue 18.1 (2013), Michael Shermer takes a look at why preventing highly improbable mass murders like that at Sandy Hook Elementary School is impossible, and discusses what social science research shows are the most reliable means to decreasing violence overall.

Oklahoma City, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook. The list of mass murders in America grows and grows. Why? And what can we do about it? In this article, David Hillshafer has aggregated large amounts of data from reputable sources with an aim toward providing evidence-based suggestions for possible solutions.