Bigfoot Club Skeptic

May 9, 2013

I became the “skeptic” member of the local Bigfoot group almost by chance. I owe the offer to join to the reality TV show “Finding Bigfoot” (they never actually do). The show, featuring perennial Bigfoot personality Matt Moneymaker, has a skeptic, Ranae Holland.

Skeptics Organize in Indonesia

May 6, 2013

Every day in Indonesia you will hear or see psychics, paranormalists, parapsychologists, and pseudoscientists spreading, scaring, and scamming the nation with irrational beliefs and pseudoscience through the media. You will be able to see them planting thoughts into peoples’ heads so that they can offer solutions and take people's money.

It’s the End of the World and They Don’t Feel Fine: The Psychology of December 21, 2012

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 37.1, January/February 2013

Article

Cognitive science research on belief in the 2012 “apocalypse” demonstrates that dissociative processes contribute directly to this belief through reduction of the “feature-intensive” cognitive processing that would engender appropriate skepticism.

Indignation Is Not Righteous

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 37.1, January/February 2013

Article

Appeals to righteous indignation or sanctity—which attempt to shield ideas from contemplation, discussion, investigation, or criticism—are common, impede rational discourse, and should be recognized as logical fallacies.

One Young Man’s Struggle against Louisiana’s Creationist Lobby

January 17, 2013

When I became a senior in high school, I finally recognized that no one had launched a repeal of the LSEA and no one was going to. For my high school senior project, I decided I had to stand up and take on creationism in Louisiana. I partnered with Senator Karen Carter Peterson, who has now sponsored two bills to repeal the LSEA.

Exposing the Faith-Healers

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 11.1, Fall 1986

Special Report

There we sat, listening, scanning, searching, and adjusting. While Alec worked with the equipment, I kept a watchful eye for anyone who might interfere. The time dragged. Now the service inside the auditorium was about to start; we had searched for more than an hour, and we still hadn't found what we were looking for.

Conspiracy Theorist Claims NASA Picnic Photos Were Faked

Skeptical Briefs Volume 22.1, Spring 2012

Humor

Citing irregularities in photographs posted on the About Us page on the official NASA website, Northern Virginia resident Brian Williams is calling the space agency’s employee and family picnic, allegedly held this last summer, a complete hoax.

Eyewitness to the Paranormal: The Experimental Psychology of the ‘Unexplained’

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.4, July/August 2012

Article

Research in experimental psychology has shown that many paranormal sightings fall directly within the realm of eyewitness memory. Experiments reveal that such “sightings” derive from the psychology of the observers rather than from supernatural sources. Experiments show these proclivities.

What’s Going On in Our Minds?

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.4, July/August 2012

Book Review

A review of Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

South Korean Skeptics Work to Promote Science-Based Medicine

October 10, 2012

My name is Uiwon, Hwang, 35 years old. I majored in railroad engineering at university and worked as a rolling stock driver after graduating. I always had some interest in the global scientific skepticism movement, a rare case in Korea. This is how I started to work in the field of scientific journalism.

The Roswellian Syndrome: How Some UFO Myths Develop

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.3, May/June 2012

Article

An analysis of four classic flying-saucer incidents reveals how debunking can send a mundane case underground, where it is transformed by mythologizing processes, then reemerges—like a virulent strain of a virus—as a vast conspiracy tale. Defined by the Roswell Incident (1947), this syndrome is repeated at Flatwoods (1952), Kecksburg (1965), and Rendlesham Forest (1980).

How to Protest a ‘Psychic’

October 1, 2012

Last fall, it was brought to my attention that John Edward was scheduled to appear in downtown Oklahoma City for two seminars on March 9, 2012. I brought this information to the campus group that I advise, the UCO Skeptics, and suggested we plan a protest to help educate people on exactly what John Edward would be doing, and that it was in no way related to supernatural abilities.

Indignation Is Not Righteous

Online Extras

September 27, 2012

The Twin Fallacies of Appeal to Righteous Indignation and Appeal to Sanctity.
Appeals to righteous indignation or sanctity—which attempt to shield ideas from contemplation, discussion, investigation, or criticism—are common, impede rational discourse, and should be recognized as logical fallacies.