SKEPTICISM 101: How to Think Like a Scientist
Michael Shermer gives a remote lecture on Deities for Atheists, Skygods for Skeptics: UFOs & ETIs that anyone can watch for free
Dr. Michael Shermer distinguishes between two questions: (1) Are extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) out there somewhere in the cosmos? and (2) Have aliens come here? Evidence for both questions is considered in the larger context of why the issue so compels us to answer it almost religiously.
Skepticism 101: How to Think Like a Scientist covers a wide range of topics, from critical thinking, reasoning, rationality, cognitive biases and how thinking goes wrong, and the scientific methods, to actual claims and whether or not there is any truth to them, e.g., ESP, ETIs, UFOs, astrology, channelling, psychics, creationism, Holocaust denial, and especially conspiracy theories and how to think about them.
If you missed the previous lectures, you can watch them in our Skeptical Studies Curriculum Resource Center.
Mentioned in this lecture
- Skeptic 9.3 — A.I. and Theology of UFOs
- Skeptic 10.1 — Roswell Requiem
- Skeptic 11.1 — Medieval UFOs?
- Skeptic 16.4 — The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers
- Skeptic 18.4 — Ancient Aliens
