The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine


Skeptic Magazine, Volume 25 Number 4
Table of Contents

Skeptic Magazine 25.4 (cover)

Cover Articles: QAnon & Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy Theories
Why We Can’t Unsee Patterns — Real or Imagined — Once We See Them by Robert D. Kirvel
QAnon in Conspiratorial Context
by Michael Shermer
QAnon is Just a Warmed Over Witch Panic; It’s Also Very Dangerous
by Daniel Loxton

Columns

The SkepDoc
New Rumpelstiltskin? How Gwyneth Paltrow Spins Straw into Gold
by Harriet Hall, M.D.

100th Issue Special

The Art of the Skeptic
Finding Your Niche if You Love Both Science and Art
by Pat Linse, with additional illustrations by Daniel Loxton

Reviews

Cynically Skeptical
A review of Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender and Identity, by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay
reviewed by Gabriel Andrade
The Gods of the West
A review of Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West, by R.R. Reno.
reviewed by George Michael

Articles

Cover illustration by Pat Linse. Original reference photo by Azret Ayubov.
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
by Michael Shermer
The Rise and Fall of Charles Willson Peale’s Philadelphia Museum
by Lee Alan Dugatkin
The Testimony of Witnesses: Raising the Dead
Continuous Change, Discrete Events, and the Nature of Reality
by Tim Callahan
Do Diversity Training Programs Work?
Creating a Culture of Inclusion through Scientific Reasoning
by Mona Sue Weissmark
Unpacking Political Life in America
The Skeptics Society’s Social and Political Attitudes Study by Marshall McCready, Anondah Saide, and Kevin McCaffree
How Do You Get People to Care About Truth in Politics?
by Gleb Tsipursky
Are Laws of Nature Discovered or Invented?
by Sima Dimitrijev

Junior Skeptic

The Honest Truth About Vaccines

“Vaccines” are medicines we take when we’re healthy to prevent us from getting sick later. Nobody loves getting their shots. But vaccines protect you, your family, and your community. Vaccines have helped us control many serious diseases. Right now, scientists are racing to develop a safe, effective vaccine to make us immune to COVID-19. However, some people claim that a Covid vaccine might not be safe, or even that it might be some sort of trick to control us. Others say vaccines are more dangerous than doctors admit. What is the truth? Are vaccines safe or risky? Or might the truth be something in between? Let’s find out!

by Daniel Loxton

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