The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

What is it about the human mind that so effortlessly translates natural events into messages from another realm — even despite our best attempts to deny that there’s any message in them at all?

What is it about the human mind that so effortlessly translates natural events into messages from another realm — even despite our best attempts to deny that there’s any message in them at all?

How do arguments for evolution used by mainstream scientists differ from arguments employed by creationists and proponents of Intelligent Design? Ralph M. Barnes sheds some light on this question in this article from Skeptic magazine 23.4 (2018).

In Science Salon # 54, Dr. Shermer talks with cultural psychologist Dr. Michele Gelfand, author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World, about her pioneering research into cultural and social norms.

Happy New Year! Relax and enjoy listening to episode 49 of the Science Salon Podcast in which Michael Shermer speaks with the renowned evolutionary behavioral scientist and Concordia University professor Dr. Gad Saad. Plus, regular columnist Carol Tavris reminds us that the human need for touch is significant.

In this article from Skeptic magazine 23.2 (2018), regular columnist Carol Tavris reminds us that the human need for touch is significant. Tavris is the coauthor of Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts.

The New York Times calls him “the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now.” He inspires heartfelt admiration or abject loathing, and very little in between. In these uncertain times it seems essential to have an opinion about Jordan Peterson. But Skeptic contributor Stephen Beckner can’t quite make up his mind.

A lecture by and follow-up discussion with Dr. Jonathan Haidt about the excessive divisiveness of American politics and culture the past several years.

Science Salon Podcast # 42: The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. A dialogue between Michael Shermer and psychologist Clay Routledge (Supernatural: Death, Meaning, and the Power of the Invisible World) on life’s deepest and most meaningful issues.

Anondah Saide and Kevin McCaffree review The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt.