Skeptical Briefs — Reality Check
A column currently written by emeritus professor of physics and astronomy Victor Stenger
The Problem with the Cosmological Constant
by Victor Stenger
Volume 21.1, Spring 2011
Reality Check
Einstein had inserted into his gravitational equation a factor called the cosmological constant that provided a repulsive force to counteract the gravitational attraction that otherwise would make the universe collapse. Although the cosmological constant is often referred to as a “fudge factor,” that is a misnomer.
Did the Universe Come from Nothing?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 20.4, December 2010
Reality Check
They will tell you that they intuitively feel that something must be “out there,” some power that is responsible for the universe and the laws that govern it. After all, they ask, “How can something come from nothing?”
Is Carbon Production in Stars Fine-Tuned for Life?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 20.1, March 2010
Reality Check
For years theists have claimed that the constants of physics had to have been finely tuned by God for life in the universe to be possible...
Thoughts and Matter
by Victor Stenger
Volume 19.4, December 2009
Reality Check
In his book God and the New Atheism, theologian John Haught calls naturalism "deeply self-contradictory."
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Is Science Based on Faith?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 19.3, September 2009
Reality Check
Christian apologists argue that evidence in religion is no less credible than evidence in science...
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The Fallacy of Fine Tuning
by Victor Stenger
Volume 19.2, June 2009
Reality Check
Fine-tuning by design is a God-of-the-Gaps argument.
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A Singular Error
by Victor Stenger
Volume 19.1, March 2009
Reality Check
In recent years Christian apologists have blatantly misled the public by claiming that no conflict exists between science and...
Will the LHC Destroy Earth?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 18.2, June 2008
Reality Check
In 2008, a suit was filed asking for a temporary restraining order prohibiting CERN from turning on the Large Hadron Collider.
Is the Brain a Quantum Device?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 18.1, March 2008
Reality Check
In 1989, the Oxford mathematician and cosmologist Roger Penrose published a bestselling tome called The Emperor's New Mind...
ESP and Religion
by Victor Stenger
Volume 17.4, December 2007
Reality Check
In one example, I argue that almost all religions posit an immaterial spirit or soul separate from the body...
The Mindless Quantum
by Victor Stenger
Volume 17.3, September 2007
Reality Check
Two recent films tell us that we can change our lives, heal our ills, and become rich and famous just by thinking we can do so.
God and Rev. Bayes
by Victor Stenger
Volume 17.2, June 2007
Reality Check
Bayes' theorem provides a means for calculating the probability of a statement being true based on the available evidence.
Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 16.2, June 2006
Reality Check
The last resort of the theist who seeks to argue for the existence of God from science and finds all his other arguments fail.
Free Energy and Teleportation: Numbers Don’t Lie
by Victor Stenger
Volume 15.4, December 2005
Reality Check
One sure way to unmask pseudoscientific arguments is to check the numbers.
The Privileged Planet
by Victor Stenger
Volume 15.3, September 2005
Reality Check
A few months ago, the Smithsonian Institution agreed to cosponsor a film called The Privileged Planet...
Marooned on Spaceship Earth
by Victor Stenger
Volume 14.4, December 2004
Reality Check
Over a hundred planets beyond our solar system have been identified, with more being found every day.
The Evolution of Creationism
by Victor Stenger
Volume 14.2, June 2004
Reality Check
The species of religious thought called creationism continues to evolve by a process of natural selection.
Can Prayer Change the Past?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 14.1, March 2004
Reality Check
The notion that human consciousness can supervene the material principles of physics is often found in the literature on...
Darwinism and the Age of Earth
by Victor Stenger
Volume 13.2, June 2003
Reality Check
Evolution is often attacked as not being “good science.”
Meta-Analysis and the Filedrawer Effect
by Victor Stenger
Volume 12.4, December 2002
Reality Check
An extraordinary phenomenon is normally not considered to be even tentatively established until it has been observed...
Has the Second Law Been Falsified?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 12.3, September 2002
Reality Check
"One of the most important principles of physics, that disorder, or entropy, always increases, has been shown to be untrue."
The Science of Prayer
by Victor Stenger
Volume 11.4, December 2001
Reality Check
Praying for yourself may help you. Or it may harm you. Or it may do nothing at all. Each of these is possible...
The Emperor’s New Designer Clothes
by Victor Stenger
Volume 10.4, December 2000
Reality Check
Intelligent Design is the latest buzzword in the so-called dialogue between science and religion...
Buddy Can You Paradigm?
by Victor Stenger
Volume 10.3, September 2000
Reality Check
A common view is that science progresses as new theories replace old ones that are "proven wrong."
The Energy Fields of Life
by Victor Stenger
Volume 8.2, June 1998
Reality Check
The principle behind almost all of alternative medicine is that some ëlan vital infuses organisms with life.
Questioning Truth and Reality
by Victor Stenger
Volume 8.1, March 1998
Reality Check
Recent trends in some academic circles have called into question conventional notions of truth and reality.
Sci-Fi Art, the Levitron, and Collapsing Atoms
by Milton Rothman
Volume 7.4, December 1997
Reality Check
One of the results of a long and checkered career is the accumulation of assorted information, most of which does me no good.
Pseudoscience on the Internet
by Milton Rothman
Volume 6.4, December 1996
Reality Check
Pseudoscience has become more sophisticated and, perhaps, more mainstream than it used to be.
On the Internet
by Milton Rothman
Volume 6.3, September 1996
Reality Check
Some time ago, I subscribed to Prodigy and spent many bemused hours corresponding with denizens of their physics bulletin board.
Psychics, Physics and Magnets
by Milton Rothman
Volume 6.1, March 1996
Reality Check
A wonderful document has wafted its way across my desk. It is either a press release or a scientific abstract...
EMFs Again
by Milton Rothman
Volume 5.4, December 1995
Reality Check
My last column had a few things to say about claims of cancer risk produced by low frequency electromagnetic fields.
Bad Science, Phony Science and Pseudoscience
by Milton Rothman
Volume 5.3, September 1995
Reality Check
Sometimes the difference between real science and pseudoscience is so small that it is hard to tell which side you're looking at
No More Mister Nice Guy
by Milton Rothman
Volume 5.2, June 1995
Reality Check
One of the disadvantages of modern technology is that now anybody can publish his/her own book.
Scientific Illiteracy in the Press
by Milton Rothman
Volume 5.1, March 1995
Reality Check
I’m the first to admit it: I have not made a scientific, double-blind study of this phenomenon.
Foibles and Fallacies
by Milton Rothman
Volume 4.4, December 1994
Reality Check
Recently I pulled myself kicking and screaming into the nineties by subscribing to the Prodigy information service.
Tachyons and Other Nonentities
by Milton Rothman
Volume 4.3, September 1994
Reality Check
Sliding across my desk recently came a copy of a full-page ad that had appeared in a journal called Pacific Spirit...
