Natalie Angier is a Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist for The New York Times. Born in the Bronx borough of New York City, she studied physics and English at Barnard College, graduating with high honors in 1978. From 1980 to 1984, Angier wrote about biology for Discover magazine. She also worked as a science writer for Time magazine. Among her other books are Natural Obsessions, The Beauty of the Beastly, and Woman: An Intimate Geography.

The Canon finds Angier charting a synoptic and exciting course through physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy. She calls her book an attempt to unleash “the kinetic beauty of science to wow as it will.” Angier’s intelligence, wit, and passionate commitment to the scientific worldview are palpable throughout. Her tour de force first chapter should be of particular interest to readers of Skeptical Inquirer, as she thoughtfully explores what it means to think scientifically and the benefits of extending the scientific ethos to all areas of human life.

“Robert P. Balles is a retired California Community College mathematics professor, retired businessman, and private investor. His mission is to recognize and reward outstanding critical thinkers who in their publications serve as guardians of our civilization against pseudoscience, irrationality, the occult, and hoaxes of all kinds. He believes these benefactors of our society deserve accolades for their uncompromising, courageous search for the truth.”

Writing in the spring 2004 issue of The American Scholar, Angier mused, “I recognize that science doesn’t have all the answers and doesn’t pretend to, and that’s one of the things I love about it. But it has a pretty good notion of what’s probable or possible.” Angier is the recipient of numerous honors for her writing on science, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) prize for excellence in science journalism and the Lewis Thomas award for distinguished writing in the life sciences.

The Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking is a $1,200 award given to the author of the published work that best exemplifies healthy skepticism, logical analysis, or empirical science. Each year, CSI selects the paper, article, book, or other publication that has the greatest potential to create positive reader awareness of important scientific issues.

CSI, the publisher of the Skeptical Inquirer, established the criteria for the prize, including use of the most parsimonious theory to fit data or to explain apparently preternatural phenomena.

This prize has been established through the generosity of Robert P. Balles, an associate member of CSI, and the Robert P. Balles Endowed Memorial Fund, a permanent endowment fund for the benefit of CSI.

Last year’s Balles Prize was awarded to Ben Goldacre for his weekly column, “Bad Science,” published in The Guardian newspaper (U.K.).

Nominations are now being accept-ed for 2008. Please send submissions to:

Emerging from the conference was an agreement between humanists and skeptics from Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela to found an Ibero-American Federation of Centers for Inquiry. The federation will help to increase the influence of science and humanism in Latin America. This represents the first effort at organizing a rationalist-freethought alliance across the region. Meeting with Paul Kurtz, Joe Nickell, Benjamin Radford, and Norm Allen, all from CFI headquarters in Amherst, New York, were Hugo Estrella and Alejandro Borgo of Argentina, Hernán Toro of Colombia, Guido Nuñez of Venezuela, Manuel A. Paz y Miño of Peru, and Enrique Bernain of Chile, among others.

From left to right: Alejandro J. Borgo, Joe Nickell, Hugo Estrella, and Benjamin Radford answering questions from the audience. (Photo: Hernán Toro)

The objectives of this new federation include forming an international advisory board of distinguished people of Latino descent, such as Mario Bunge (of Argentina and Canada) and Ruben Ardila (of Colombia); issuing a declaration to the media and public at large, that spells out the federation’s aims and objectives; starting an e-mail discussion list (this has been done already); designating the Center for Inquiry/Peru as the headquarters for the publication of books on skepticism and humanism in Spanish, and the Center for Inquiry in Argentina, for magazines; and starting a Spanish-language newsletter for skeptics and humanists.

From left to right.: Enrique Bernain (Chile), Rubén Ardila (Colombia), Héctor Guillén (Perú), Guido Nuñez Mujica (Venezuela), and Joe Nickell (USA) during a coffee break. (Photo: Pensar magazine)

During the conference, CFI chair and founder Paul Kurtz delivered an address on “Humanism and Planetary Ethics.” In addition, while in Peru, Kurtz received an honorary award from San Marcos University, founded in 1512, the oldest university in the Western Hemisphere.

CSICOP and leading scientists have long argued that the public needs to be more scientifically literate. Paul Kurtz, Chairman of the Center for Inquiry and CSICOP, has pointed out that the foundations of our democratic society are now under attack. “The social and scientific progress we take for granted have been advanced by a basic scientific philosophical point of view: scientific naturalism,” said Kurtz. “The methods of the sciences, and the assumptions upon which they are based, are being challenged culturally in the United States today as never before. Despite its success in providing us with unparalleled benefits, religious fundamentalists seek to inhibit free inquiry and to misrepresent the tested conclusions of scientific naturalism. This is a highly charged political issue—both science and secularism are under political attack.”

Recently, several public-policy controversies have illustrated the public need for a broad expertise in scientific naturalism. President Bush’s blatantly political veto of Congress’s bipartisan bill to expand federal funding of stem-cell research illustrates vividly how both the will of the majority and scientific progress are under attack at the very highest levels.

The intelligent design debate culminated in the Dover, Pennsylvania, lawsuit, but continues through local and state attempts to dilute science curricula. It is not only a scientific dispute but a part of a broader cultural war on scientific naturalism and the values of the Enlightenment in general.

NASA became embroiled in another public controversy when a politically appointed spokesperson began insisting that references to the Big Bang be diluted with language indicating that NASA took no position on whether that event actually happened and that it is only a “theory.” Under intense criticism, that spokesperson resigned, but the incident calls attention to the dangers of mixing science, religion, and politics.

The Center for Inquiry’s Office of Public Policy will draw on CFI’s relationship with leading scientists, academics, and public intellectuals, who all share the Center’s stated purpose and concerns. The office intends to develop relationships with sympathetic legislators in D.C.; provide experts to testify in legislative hearings; submit white papers, solicited from CFI’s and CSICOP’s impressive network of fellows and scholars; and work with legislators who care about science and reason to affect legislative responses to attacks on Enlightenment values. In sum, the Center for Inquiry is expected to become a full-fledged player in the public-policy arena, aspiring to the ranks of organizations such as Brookings, Heritage, and Cato, all of which serve as both think tanks and public-policy advocates.

The new office is located at 621 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. The telephone number is (202) 546-2331. CFI DC’s website can be found here: http://www.cfidc.org.

See Also

• Center for Inquiry - DC: Office of Public Policy
• Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism
• Press Release