The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

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eSkeptic for July 16, 2018

In Science Salon # 29, Michael Shermer talks with philosopher Colin McGinn about his public criticism of Shermer’s latest Scientific American column on the mysteries of consciousness, free will, and God.

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eSkeptic for July 14, 2018

In this eSkeptic, MonsterTalk interviews Jeb Card about Spooky Archaeology. Don’t forget to shop at Amazon Smile on July 16 and support your Skeptics Society! Lastly, we still have a few titles left in our Distinguished Science Lecture Series Closeout Sale.

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eSkeptic for July 11, 2018

Watch or listen to the first Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Dr. Michael Shermer, the host of the Science Salon: a series of conversations between Michael and leading scientists, scholars, and thinkers, about the most important issues of our time.

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eSkeptic for July 9, 2018

Software programmer and technical writer Peter Kassan avers that a return to dualism is not justified. This article appeared in Skeptic magazine 22.4 (2017). About the image below: An illustration of the Cartesian theater. A tiny person sits in a movie theater inside a human head, watching and hearing everything that is being experienced by […]

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eSkeptic for July 7, 2018

In his July 2018 ‘Skeptic’ column for Scientific American, Michael Shermer ponders how, for millennia, the greatest minds of our species have grappled to gain purchase on the vertiginous ontological cliffs of three great mysteries—consciousness, free will and God—without as­cending anywhere near the thin air of their peaks.

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

What is it like to be a Human?

Imagine an intelligent bat contemplating the mind-body problem, name of Tim Nigel.1 Nigel has noticed that humans have an auditory sense not possessed by bats (of his species): they can hear various pitches. This enables them to appreciate music (unlike Tim and his conspecifics) and also to have other types of auditory experience not available […]

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Now Playing at a Cartesian Theater Near You: Dualism Returns

Software programmer and technical writer Peter Kassan avers that a return to dualism is not justified. This article appeared in Skeptic magazine 22.4 (2017).

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Illuminated Genius

Chris Edwards reviews John Gribbin’s definitive work on Einstein and his intellectual process: Einstein’s Masterwork: 1915 and the General Theory of Relativity (2017. New York/London: Pegasus Books).

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Exodus Matters Did the Exodus really happen, and why does it matter if it did?

Tim Callahan reviews The Exodus: How It Happened and Why it Matters, by Richard Elliott Friedman (2017. New York: Harper One ISBN: 978-0062565242).

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Conspiracy Theorists, and the Harm They Do

No event in the twentieth century did more to popularize conspiracy theories and confuse the general public than the assassination of President Kennedy. By educating people about what actually happened to JFK, and how conspiracy theorists have deliberately lied about it, James K. Lambert hopes that we can also get the general public to better see the lies (aka “fake news”) of today.

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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)

Stephen Beckner ponders privilege and parity in a postmodern world, weighing in on the many Grand American Shaming Experiments taking place right now, and their potentially enormous personal, political, and cultural opportunity costs.

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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.

The Upright Thinkers: The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos

This lecture is an account of scientific discovery from the invention of stone tools to theories of quantum physics. In this fascinating and illuminating work, Leonard Mlodinow guides us through the critical eras and events in the development of science, all of which were propelled forward by humankind’s collective struggle to know.

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How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction

Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? According to evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro, the science says yes. From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing their genomes, to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, Shapiro vividly explores the extraordinary cutting-edge science that is being used to resurrect the past.

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Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions

Drawing on innovative sociological research, Dr. Zuckerman—a Pitzer College professor who founded a Department of Secular Studies, the first of its kind—illuminates this demographic shift with the moral convictions that govern secular individuals, offering crucial information for the religious and nonreligious alike. Living the Secular Life reveals that, despite opinions to the contrary, nonreligious Americans possess a unique moral code that allows them to effectively navigate the complexities of modern life.

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INSIGHT at Skeptic.com is a broadly accessible, evidence-based resource that offers critical perspective on mysteries of science, paranormal claims, and the wild, woolly, wonderful weirdness of the fringe.

The Skeptical Virtue of Seriously Just Being Quiet

Daniel Loxton reflects on the value of listening in order to first understand paranormal beliefs and then communicate effectively with those who hold them.

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Is the Earth Flat?

There is growing conspiracy theory belief that the Earth is not a globe, but a flat disc. According to believers, government forces promote a completely fictitious model of the cosmos in order to conceal the true nature of the Earth. Daniel Loxton examines whether these claims are true.

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Astonishing Legends, Questionable Facts

Did a family in Kentucky get drunk and mistake owls for ‘space-goblins’, or was something much more complex going on that hot August night in 1955?

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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.

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The Perpetual Quest for Perpetual Motion

Today I’d like you to imagine two impossible, magical machines: The first machine runs forever. You may picture a complex tangle of gears and wheels, or something as simple as a spinning top, but imagine that it never runs down—once started it just keeps going without ever needing more energy. Now imagine a second machine. This one may require fuel or energy to run, but somehow, through some fantastic process, it generates more energy than it consumes. We aren’t the first to imagine these two types of “perpetual motion” machines. Inventors have dreamed of such devices for centuries. How has their search unfolded? Let’s find out! f ghost ships be explained? Let’s find out!

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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.

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