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extraterrestrials

eSkeptic for July 23, 2019

When will the world end? How likely is it that intelligent extraterrestrial life exists? Are we living in a simulation like the Matrix? Is our universe but one in a multiverse? How does Warren Buffett continue to beat the stock market? How much longer will your romance last? In Science Salon # 76 — a wide ranging conversation with Michael Shermer — science writer William Poundstone answers these questions and more. PLUS Gabriel Andrade examines the incest taboo and asks:…

eSkeptic for January 9, 2019

In this article from Skeptic magazine 23.1 (2018) Ken Levy examines arguments put forth by theists that God’s existence is perfectly compatible with all the violence, pain, suffering, and premature death we experience.

Michael Shermer — Ask Me Anything # 2

Shermer reviews the latest issue of Skeptic magazine • introduces upcoming podcast guests Rachel Kleinfeld, Bruce Schneier, Mark W. Moffett, and Jared Diamond • discusses his book publishing plans for 2019, including an essay collection of his last 70 Scientific American columns • reflects on his 18 years writing for Scientific American and reads aloud the final column, titled “Stein’s Law and Science’s Mission”.

Dr. Charles S. Cockell — The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution

Shermer and Cockell discuss: the origins of life on earth; the possibility of finding life on Mars and, if we did, would it have something like DNA, albeit with different base pairs?; Fermi’s paradox: if the laws of physics and evolution are so common throughout the universe, and there are so many earth-like planets in our galaxy alone (estimated to be in the billions), where is everyone?; humanity becoming an interplanetary species (possibly the first), and if so what type…

Ultraterrestrials

Image by Comfreak via Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/ufo-aliens-landscape-evening-1673929/) [PUBLIC DOMAIN]

How useful are eyewitness reports and “investigations” by UFO proponents? In this week’s eSkeptic, psychology professor Dr. Terence Hines reviews How UFOs Conquered the World: The History of a Modern Myth, by David Clarke.

eSkeptic for August 23, 2017

Image by Comfreak via Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/ufo-aliens-landscape-evening-1673929/) [PUBLIC DOMAIN]

How useful are eyewitness reports and “investigations” by UFO proponents? In this week’s eSkeptic, psychology professor Dr. Terence Hines reviews How UFOs Conquered the World: The History of a Modern Myth, by David Clarke.

eSkeptic for October 26, 2016

In this week’s eSkeptic: MonsterTalk: Yetipalooza Skepticality: Dream On: Interview with John Fugelsang Feature: Meeting ET: A Review of Preparing for Contact STOCK UP FOR HALLOWEENat smile.amazon.com and Amazon donates to the Skeptics Society Halloween is lurking just around the corner. Shop for your treats, costumes, and decorations at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate to […]

Meeting ET

If intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe, how should we interact, and what will it mean for our civilization? Lawrence E. Grinter reviews Preparing for Contact: When Humans and Extraterrestrials Finally Meet (2014), by George Michael.

eSkeptic for May 4, 2016

How significant are we as humans within the universe? Could the universe have been fine-tuned for our existence? In this week’s eSkeptic, Jérémie Harris and Edouard Harris examine the nature and extent of universal fine-tuning.

Monsters & Science

Just in time for Halloween, Blake Smith recommends some of the spookiest episodes of MonsterTalk, The Science Show About Monsters.

13-02-20

In this week’s eSkeptic, George Michael reviews the book Civilizations Beyond Earth: Extraterrestrial Life and Society edited by Douglas A. Vakoch and Albert A. Harrison (Berghahn Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0857452115).

Extraterrestrials May Be Out There: But He Says They’re Not Here

In the past half century of UFOlogy, one man stands out, among a sea of believers, as the definitive skeptic of all matters flying saucers and aliens. This interview with Philip J. Klass (1919–2005), one of the last he gave of his career, goes inside his investigations into the claims of extraterrestrial investigations. This interview was published in Skeptic magazine volume 7, number 4 in 1999.

11-10-12

In this week’s eSkeptic, Skeptic co-founder Pat Linse is contacted by an expert who has the expertise to solve the mystery of Bob White’s UFO artifact—an object which has long baffled both the public and the scientists who examined it. This article appeared in Skeptic magazine volume 16, number 3 (2011).

Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base

IT IS THE MOST FAMOUS MILITARY INSTALLATION IN THE WORLD. And it doesn’t officially exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of Las Vegas, the base has never been acknowledged by the U.S. government. Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from…

11-09-14

For nearly 50 years, the SETI (Search for Alien Intelligence) project has searched for evidence of alien civilizations and has occasionally sent messages into space with the intention of communicating with intelligent sentient extraterrestrial beings. How likely are we to come into contact with an extraterrestrial civilization? If they do exist, their aspirations could differ markedly from our own. Could visitors from extraterrestrial civilizations pose a threat to Earth? What would motivate aliens to visit the Earth? In this week’s eSkeptic, George…

11-04-20

In this week’s eSkeptic, Justin Trottier reviews Ray Jayawardhana’s new book Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond Our Solar System.

Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond Our Solar System

SOON ASTRONOMERS EXPECT TO FIND ALIEN EARTHS by the dozens in orbit around distant suns. Before the decade is out, telltale signs that they harbor life may be found. If they succeed, the ramifications for all areas of human thought and endeavor — from religion and philosophy to art and biology — are breathtaking.

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