Skeptical Inquirer —
It’s the End of the World and They Don’t Feel Fine: The Psychology of December 21, 2012
by Matthew J. Sharps, Schuyler W. Liao, and Megan R. Herrera
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
by Gary Longsine and Peter Boghossian
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.
Monsters and Dragons and Dinosaurs, Oh My: Creationist Interpretations of Beowulf
by Eve Siebert
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Article
There is no field of inquiry that young-Earth creationists can’t distort. In the area of literary and linguistic studies, they misinterpret, misrepresent, and mistranslate Beowulf to fit their agenda.
The Secret Life of J. Allen Hynek
by John Franch
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Article
According to legend, the astronomer J. Allen Hynek was a skeptic before becoming an outspoken UFOlogist, but is the legend true? This article takes a look at Hynek’s unusual life and career.
Miracle Dirt of Chimayó
by Joe Nickell
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Investigative Files
El Santuariò de Chimayó in New Mexico is a place of pilgrimages. Scores visit the little adobe church daily, while thousands walk miles to worship there on Good Friday. Many come seeking a cure for their afflictions, scooping from a small pit in the church floor a reddish soil that they rub on afflicted areas of their bodies or even sprinkle on their food or brew in tea.
Hitler’s South Pole Hideaway
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Notes on a Strange World
“Searching for Hitler’s DNA in Antarctica.” This is the bizarre headline that made the news a few months ago, launched by Russian news agency Ria Novosti and picked up by the world media after scientists were able to successfully drill into Antarctica’s Lake Vostok.
Pretentious Whit
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Book Review
A review of Solving the Communion Enigma: What Is to Come by Whitley Strieber.
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Mystics, Mycobacterium, and the Gospel of Matthew
by C.A. Porter
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Article
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
The Math Behind the Myths
by Charles F. Cooper
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Forum
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Science Journalist Leon Jaroff, Eighty-Five
by Steven Novella
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Obituary
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Paul Kurtz, Philosopher, Humanist Leader, and Founder of the Modern Skeptical Movement, Dies at 86
by Tom Flynn
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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Courage, Optimism, and Thinking Big: An Exuberant Life Well Lived
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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The Modern Skeptical Movement Would Not Exist without Him
by Ray Hyman
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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In Memory of a Most Remarkable Man
by James Alcock
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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Farewell, Fellow Warrior
by James Randi
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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Exuberant Champion of the New Enlightenment
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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Paul Kurtz and the Virtue of Skepticism
by Michael Shermer
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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A Powerful and Thoughtful Voice for Skepticism and Humanism
by Steven Novella
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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Book of Seasons: An Elegy, for Paul Kurtz
by Joe Nickell
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Additional Tributes
by Daniel C. Dennett, Edward Tabash, Daniel Loxton, Amardeo Sarma, D.J. Grothe, Chris French
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
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Can We Have Civilized Conversations about Touchy Science Policy Issues?
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
From the Editor
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Physicists against Philosophers
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Thinking About Science
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Smithsonian-Affiliated National Atomic Testing Museum Promised to Reveal ‘UFO Secrets’
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Psychic Vibrations
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Science Writers Gone Wild?
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Science Watch
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The Mysterious Bee Deaths
by Ben Radford
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Skeptical Inquiree
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The Return of Repressed-Memory Satanic Ritual Stories
by Douglas Mesner
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Book Review
A review of Twenty-Two Faces by Judy Byington.
Phrenology and the Grand Delusion of Experience
by Geoffrey Dean
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
In the nineteenth century, phrenology was hugely influential despite being totally invalid. Its history shows why we must be skeptical of any belief based solely on experience.
Homeopathy: A Critique of Current Clinical Research
by Edzard Ernst
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
An evaluation of the clinical research by the group that has published most of the papers in homeopathy, 2005–2010, finds numerous flaws in the design, conduct, and reporting along with a tendency to overinterpret weak data.
The Pseudoscience of Live Blood Cell Analysis
by Thomas Patterson
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
Of the many aspects of alternative medicine, one of the most bizarre is live blood cell analysis. This unapproved blood test supposedly identifies nutritional deficiencies and other nebulous conditions.
Faith Healing and Skepticism in Pakistan: Challenges and Instability
by Ryan Shaffer
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
With the rise of Islamic extremism in Pakistan, the country not only has to protect people from fraudulent healers but also has the challenge of protecting these fraudsters from violence.
Exposing the Faith-Healers
by Robert A. Steiner
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.
Greek Government Takes Action against Maker of Nanobionic Clothing
by Simon Davis
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
News & Comment
Following an investigation published by journalists Kostas Vaxevanis and Stefanos Gogos, the General Consumer Secretariat (GCS), a Greek government agency, ordered the immediate removal of key health and product claims by Viotech Ltd., makers of the Nanobionic clothing line.
States of Mind: Some Perceived ET Encounters
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Investigative Files
Together, as we shall see, these cases illustrate that UFOlogy continues its long tradition of mystery mongering and the implicit reliance on a logical fallacy called “arguing from ignorance”: “We don’t know what was seen in the sky; therefore, it must have been an extraterrestrial craft.”
Curse That Painting!
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Notes on a Strange World
Paranormal legends about paintings have always existed. Some think that a picture falling off the wall represents a bad omen for the person depicted or photographed in it. Others feel watched by some portraits whose eyes seem to follow onlookers as they move through a room. And still others claim that paintings can come alive...
How to Get Something from Nothing
by Mark Alford
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss.
A Book of Stories that Happened to a Friend ...
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of Encyclopedia of Urban Legends: Updated and Expanded Edition by Jan Harold Brunvand.
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A Golden Age of Harmony? Misrepresenting Science and History in the 1001 Inventions Exhibit
by Taner Edis and Sonja Brentjes
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
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The Higgs Boson and the Future of Physics
by Marvin M. Mueller
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Commentary
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Phrenology’s Lessons for Today
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
From the Editor
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Singularity As Pseudoscience
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Thinking About Science
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National Geographic’s Chasing UFOs—‘Investigation as Farce’
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Psychic Vibrations
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Exorcising Exercise
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Science Watch
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Mystery Solved—According to Whom?
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Skeptical Inquiree
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Not So Smart Thinking
by Daniel Grassam
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself by David McRaney.
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Four Realms of Inquiry
by Richard Bond
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of Handling Truth by William Gardner.
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Aztec Saucer Crash Story Rises from the Dead?
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of The Aztec Incident by Scott Ramsey, Suzanne Ramsey, Frank Thayer, and Frank Warren.
Skepticism in the Video Box
by Christian Walters
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
Skepticism is not just books and talks anymore. With the popularity of social media services, skeptical discussion and inquiry has moved beyond the written word and the podium. If you like your critical thinking in the form of a quick demonstration that can be as short as a music video, YouTube has you covered.
A Warm Twist on a ‘Cold Reading’: A Conversation with Damon Martin
by Matthew A. Kacar Jr.
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
For as long as there have been people claiming to be mediums, there have been people like composer Damon Martin to call them out. His latest Traumatosis album, Cold Reading, takes the listener on a journey that details the deceptive techniques used by people who claim an ability to talk with the dead.
Art, Mysteries, and Context
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
In my books and workshops on scientific paranormal investigation, I discuss how best to conceptualize a mystery: basically, an event out of context. A live dolphin lying on a Manhattan sidewalk is a mystery; that same dolphin in a tank at an aquarium is not.
Surly-Ramic’s Amy Davis Roth
by Amy Davis Roth
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
I design jewelry that advocates education and science and that celebrates the brave, emerging society of freethinkers that I find myself a part of. It’s nice to be able to carry around a small piece of art that represents skepticism and the rational ideals that are helping to make this world a better place.
Skeptic Trumps: A Satirical Skeptic Card Game
by Tim Farley
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
The skeptical community’s growth has led to many unanticipated creative projects, particularly online. One such project is Skeptic Top Trumps, a virtual deck of playing cards featuring caricatures of popular skeptics.
In the Key of Type: A Conversation with Marian Call
by Kylie Sturgess
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
Art and skepticism do complement each other wonderfully in her work, but Call has slightly a different perspective: “In the end, I feel I’m firmly on the skeptic side, I believe. But I don’t see picking a side as my role as an artist. I see communication as my role.” Kylie Sturgess interviewed Call about her music and where skepticism harmonizes with art.
Skewed Skepticism: Bizarro Piraro
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
A conversation with award-winning cartoonist, fine artist, and stand-up comedian Dan Piraro.
CSI’s Balles Prize Goes to Richard Wiseman for Paranormality
by Barry Karr
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
News & Comment
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) will award its 2011 Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking to psychologist Richard Wiseman for his book Paranormality: Why We See What Isn’t There.
Sixth World Skeptics Congress–Berlin 2012
by Kylie Sturgess
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
News & Comment
The conference, held in Berlin from May 18–20, 2012, was a lively mixed gathering of people with a great number of countries represented both on the stage and in the audience.
Alien Mug Shots: The Ten Best (or Worst) Photos of Aliens
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Notes on a Strange World
Once you take out those plainly fake and the more suspicious looking ones all you are left with are about ten photos. These are, essentially, “mug shots” of wanted extraterrestrials. Here is my personal list of the best (or worst) photos of aliens.
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Art and Skepticism Introduction
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Nighthawks State of Mind
by Jeremiah Moss
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Science and Art: Complementary Disciplines
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Confirmation Bias and Art
by Samuel McNerney
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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XKCD: A Perfect Marriage of Snark and Skepticism
by CSI Staff
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Art and Skepticism
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
From the Editor
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The ‘Murder’ of Vincent van Gogh
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Investigative Files
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What’s So Bad about Ad Hoc Hypotheses?
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Thinking About Science
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‘Top Ten’ UFO Case: Yukon, Canada, 1996—Busted!
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Psychic Vibrations
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Saving Us from Sweets: This Is Science and Government on Sugar
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Science Watch
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Tracking the Chupachameleon: Chupacabra Iconography
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Skeptical Inquiree
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Are Conservatives and Liberals Different People?
by Ronald A. Lindsay
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Book Review
A review of The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science—and Reality by Chris Mooney
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The Puzzle of the Implausible
by Ronald L. Numbers
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Book Review
A review of Power and Illusion: Religion and Human Need by David W. Wilbur
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Enumerating the Problems with Young-Earth Creationism
by Peter Lamal
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Book Review
A review of The Three Failures of Creationism: Logic, Rhetoric, and Science by Walter M. Fitch
Neurologic Illness or Hysteria? A Mysterious Twitching Outbreak
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
Six cases were reported, then twelve, then fifteen and counting as the story captured attention across the United States and beyond. I twice visited Le Roy on behalf of the Skeptical Inquirer, to talk with parents and others involved, visit relevant sites, and otherwise investigate this strange outbreak.
The Social and Symbolic Power of AIDS Denialism
by Nicoli Nattrass
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
AIDS denialism has proved socially resilient because dissident “hero scientists” provide legitimacy, “cultropreneurs” offer fake cures in the place of antiretroviral treatment, and HIV-positive “living icons” seem to provide proof of concept.
Eyewitness to the Paranormal: The Experimental Psychology of the ‘Unexplained’
by Matthew J. Sharps
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.
Enfield Poltergeist
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Investigative Files
In August 1977, a series of disturbances that were soon characterized as a case of poltergeist phenomena or even demonic possession began in Enfield, a northern suburb of London.
The Non-Mysterious Mass Illness in Le Roy, New York
by Steven Novella
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
The Science of Medicine
The “mystery illness” has become a Rorschach test of sorts: people see in the illness a diagnosis that fits their worldview or pet cause. But now that the dust has settled somewhat on this outbreak, what can we reliably say about it?
What’s Going On in Our Minds?
by Paul Brown
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Book Review
A review of Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
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‘Mystery Illness’ in Western New York: Is Social Networking Spreading Mass Hysteria?
by Robert E. Bartholomew
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
The recent outbreak of twitching, facial tics, and garbled speech—symptoms of a form of conversion disorder—at a school in Western New York may signal a growing trend in the United States.
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The Top 20 Logical Fallacies
by Jesse Richardson
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
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Political Myths that Influence Voters
by Jeffrey S. Victor
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
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Dinodang: The Melon Rex Myth
by Phil Senter
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
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Why the GOP Distrusts Science
by Chris Mooney
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Special Report
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Dr. Phil Gives Psychics a Pass
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
From the Editor
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Explanations in Search of Observations
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Thinking About Science
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Stairway to Heaven: A Firsthand Account of a UFO Sighting
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Notes on a Strange World
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Flying Saucer or Fly: The Case UFO Skeptics Have Been Dreading?
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Psychic Vibrations
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Besieging the Last Bastions of Race
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Science Watch
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Diving HeadOn into Pseudoscience
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Skeptical Inquiree
The Roswellian Syndrome: How Some UFO Myths Develop
by Joe Nickell and James McGaha
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).
We Can’t Treat Soldiers’ PTSD without a Better Diagnosis
by Peter Barglow
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Article
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a diagnosis fully accepted by the U.S. Veterans Administration, psychiatrists, and the American public. But PTSD does not meet the criteria for a real psychiatric-medical disease.
The Ongoing Decline of Religion
by Elie A. Shneour
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Article
The inexorably growing impact of science is our most significant tool discrediting religion.
Famous Alien Abduction in Pascagoula: Reinvestigating a Cold Case
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Special Report
Among reports of extraterrestrial encounters, the 1973 claim of two Mississippi men to have been taken aboard a flying saucer remains controversial. Was it a real encounter or a hoax? Or is that a false dichotomy?
Thinking: An Unnatural Act
by Harriet Hall
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism, and Science Exposed! by Robert Todd Carroll.
Ghost Author? The Channeling of ‘Patience Worth’
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Investigative Files
Pearl Lenore (Pollard) Curran (1883–1937), wife of John H. Curran of St. Louis, began in 1913 to receive poems and novels, via Ouija board, from a seventeenth-century Puritan english woman named “Patience Worth.”
Pseudoscience in Our Universities
by Steven Novella
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
The Science of Medicine
The group Friends of Science in Medicine has recently formed in Australia, and they now have over 400 professional members. They felt the need to come together over a disturbing trend—the infiltration of rank pseudoscience into once respected universities.
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The Trouble with Pseudoskepticism
by Lawrence Torcello
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Article
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A Feeble Challenge to Evolution from ‘Reasons to Believe’
by Brian Bolton
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Special Report
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Is Science the Antidote to Deepak Chopra’s Spirituality?
by Mark Alford
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality by Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow
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Answers for Kids from Twelve to Eighty-Two
by Keith Taylor
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True by Richard Dawkins
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Being Reasonable about Neuroscience
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of Who’s in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain by Michael Gazzaniga
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Bigfoot on Film: A Comprehensive Guide
by Rob Boston
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of The Bigfoot Filmography: Fictional and Documentary Appearances in Film and Television by David Coleman
It’s the End of the World and They Don’t Feel Fine: The Psychology of December 21, 2012
by Matthew J. Sharps, Schuyler W. Liao, and Megan R. Herrera
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
by Gary Longsine and Peter Boghossian
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.
Monsters and Dragons and Dinosaurs, Oh My: Creationist Interpretations of Beowulf
by Eve Siebert
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Article
There is no field of inquiry that young-Earth creationists can’t distort. In the area of literary and linguistic studies, they misinterpret, misrepresent, and mistranslate Beowulf to fit their agenda.
The Secret Life of J. Allen Hynek
by John Franch
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Article
According to legend, the astronomer J. Allen Hynek was a skeptic before becoming an outspoken UFOlogist, but is the legend true? This article takes a look at Hynek’s unusual life and career.
Miracle Dirt of Chimayó
by Joe Nickell
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Investigative Files
El Santuariò de Chimayó in New Mexico is a place of pilgrimages. Scores visit the little adobe church daily, while thousands walk miles to worship there on Good Friday. Many come seeking a cure for their afflictions, scooping from a small pit in the church floor a reddish soil that they rub on afflicted areas of their bodies or even sprinkle on their food or brew in tea.
Hitler’s South Pole Hideaway
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Notes on a Strange World
“Searching for Hitler’s DNA in Antarctica.” This is the bizarre headline that made the news a few months ago, launched by Russian news agency Ria Novosti and picked up by the world media after scientists were able to successfully drill into Antarctica’s Lake Vostok.
Pretentious Whit
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Book Review
A review of Solving the Communion Enigma: What Is to Come by Whitley Strieber.
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Mystics, Mycobacterium, and the Gospel of Matthew
by C.A. Porter
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Article
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
The Math Behind the Myths
by Charles F. Cooper
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Forum
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Science Journalist Leon Jaroff, Eighty-Five
by Steven Novella
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Obituary
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Paul Kurtz, Philosopher, Humanist Leader, and Founder of the Modern Skeptical Movement, Dies at 86
by Tom Flynn
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Courage, Optimism, and Thinking Big: An Exuberant Life Well Lived
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
The Modern Skeptical Movement Would Not Exist without Him
by Ray Hyman
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
In Memory of a Most Remarkable Man
by James Alcock
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Farewell, Fellow Warrior
by James Randi
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Exuberant Champion of the New Enlightenment
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Paul Kurtz and the Virtue of Skepticism
by Michael Shermer
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
A Powerful and Thoughtful Voice for Skepticism and Humanism
by Steven Novella
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Book of Seasons: An Elegy, for Paul Kurtz
by Joe Nickell
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Additional Tributes
by Daniel C. Dennett, Edward Tabash, Daniel Loxton, Amardeo Sarma, D.J. Grothe, Chris French
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Paul Kurtz In Memoriam
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Can We Have Civilized Conversations about Touchy Science Policy Issues?
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
From the Editor
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Physicists against Philosophers
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Thinking About Science
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Smithsonian-Affiliated National Atomic Testing Museum Promised to Reveal ‘UFO Secrets’
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Psychic Vibrations
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
Science Writers Gone Wild?
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Science Watch
Available in the Print Edition. Subscribe Here.
The Mysterious Bee Deaths
by Ben Radford
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Skeptical Inquiree
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The Return of Repressed-Memory Satanic Ritual Stories
by Douglas Mesner
Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Book Review
A review of Twenty-Two Faces by Judy Byington.
Phrenology and the Grand Delusion of Experience
by Geoffrey Dean
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
In the nineteenth century, phrenology was hugely influential despite being totally invalid. Its history shows why we must be skeptical of any belief based solely on experience.
Homeopathy: A Critique of Current Clinical Research
by Edzard Ernst
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
An evaluation of the clinical research by the group that has published most of the papers in homeopathy, 2005–2010, finds numerous flaws in the design, conduct, and reporting along with a tendency to overinterpret weak data.
The Pseudoscience of Live Blood Cell Analysis
by Thomas Patterson
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
Of the many aspects of alternative medicine, one of the most bizarre is live blood cell analysis. This unapproved blood test supposedly identifies nutritional deficiencies and other nebulous conditions.
Faith Healing and Skepticism in Pakistan: Challenges and Instability
by Ryan Shaffer
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
With the rise of Islamic extremism in Pakistan, the country not only has to protect people from fraudulent healers but also has the challenge of protecting these fraudsters from violence.
Exposing the Faith-Healers
by Robert A. Steiner
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.
Greek Government Takes Action against Maker of Nanobionic Clothing
by Simon Davis
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
News & Comment
Following an investigation published by journalists Kostas Vaxevanis and Stefanos Gogos, the General Consumer Secretariat (GCS), a Greek government agency, ordered the immediate removal of key health and product claims by Viotech Ltd., makers of the Nanobionic clothing line.
States of Mind: Some Perceived ET Encounters
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Investigative Files
Together, as we shall see, these cases illustrate that UFOlogy continues its long tradition of mystery mongering and the implicit reliance on a logical fallacy called “arguing from ignorance”: “We don’t know what was seen in the sky; therefore, it must have been an extraterrestrial craft.”
Curse That Painting!
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Notes on a Strange World
Paranormal legends about paintings have always existed. Some think that a picture falling off the wall represents a bad omen for the person depicted or photographed in it. Others feel watched by some portraits whose eyes seem to follow onlookers as they move through a room. And still others claim that paintings can come alive...
How to Get Something from Nothing
by Mark Alford
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss.
A Book of Stories that Happened to a Friend ...
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of Encyclopedia of Urban Legends: Updated and Expanded Edition by Jan Harold Brunvand.
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A Golden Age of Harmony? Misrepresenting Science and History in the 1001 Inventions Exhibit
by Taner Edis and Sonja Brentjes
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Article
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The Higgs Boson and the Future of Physics
by Marvin M. Mueller
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Commentary
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Phrenology’s Lessons for Today
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
From the Editor
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Singularity As Pseudoscience
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Thinking About Science
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National Geographic’s Chasing UFOs—‘Investigation as Farce’
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Psychic Vibrations
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Exorcising Exercise
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Science Watch
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Mystery Solved—According to Whom?
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Skeptical Inquiree
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Not So Smart Thinking
by Daniel Grassam
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself by David McRaney.
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Four Realms of Inquiry
by Richard Bond
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of Handling Truth by William Gardner.
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Aztec Saucer Crash Story Rises from the Dead?
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Book Review
A review of The Aztec Incident by Scott Ramsey, Suzanne Ramsey, Frank Thayer, and Frank Warren.
Skepticism in the Video Box
by Christian Walters
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
Skepticism is not just books and talks anymore. With the popularity of social media services, skeptical discussion and inquiry has moved beyond the written word and the podium. If you like your critical thinking in the form of a quick demonstration that can be as short as a music video, YouTube has you covered.
A Warm Twist on a ‘Cold Reading’: A Conversation with Damon Martin
by Matthew A. Kacar Jr.
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
For as long as there have been people claiming to be mediums, there have been people like composer Damon Martin to call them out. His latest Traumatosis album, Cold Reading, takes the listener on a journey that details the deceptive techniques used by people who claim an ability to talk with the dead.
Art, Mysteries, and Context
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
In my books and workshops on scientific paranormal investigation, I discuss how best to conceptualize a mystery: basically, an event out of context. A live dolphin lying on a Manhattan sidewalk is a mystery; that same dolphin in a tank at an aquarium is not.
Surly-Ramic’s Amy Davis Roth
by Amy Davis Roth
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
I design jewelry that advocates education and science and that celebrates the brave, emerging society of freethinkers that I find myself a part of. It’s nice to be able to carry around a small piece of art that represents skepticism and the rational ideals that are helping to make this world a better place.
Skeptic Trumps: A Satirical Skeptic Card Game
by Tim Farley
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
The skeptical community’s growth has led to many unanticipated creative projects, particularly online. One such project is Skeptic Top Trumps, a virtual deck of playing cards featuring caricatures of popular skeptics.
In the Key of Type: A Conversation with Marian Call
by Kylie Sturgess
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
Art and skepticism do complement each other wonderfully in her work, but Call has slightly a different perspective: “In the end, I feel I’m firmly on the skeptic side, I believe. But I don’t see picking a side as my role as an artist. I see communication as my role.” Kylie Sturgess interviewed Call about her music and where skepticism harmonizes with art.
Skewed Skepticism: Bizarro Piraro
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
A conversation with award-winning cartoonist, fine artist, and stand-up comedian Dan Piraro.
CSI’s Balles Prize Goes to Richard Wiseman for Paranormality
by Barry Karr
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
News & Comment
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) will award its 2011 Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking to psychologist Richard Wiseman for his book Paranormality: Why We See What Isn’t There.
Sixth World Skeptics Congress–Berlin 2012
by Kylie Sturgess
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
News & Comment
The conference, held in Berlin from May 18–20, 2012, was a lively mixed gathering of people with a great number of countries represented both on the stage and in the audience.
Alien Mug Shots: The Ten Best (or Worst) Photos of Aliens
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Notes on a Strange World
Once you take out those plainly fake and the more suspicious looking ones all you are left with are about ten photos. These are, essentially, “mug shots” of wanted extraterrestrials. Here is my personal list of the best (or worst) photos of aliens.
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Art and Skepticism Introduction
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Nighthawks State of Mind
by Jeremiah Moss
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Science and Art: Complementary Disciplines
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Confirmation Bias and Art
by Samuel McNerney
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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XKCD: A Perfect Marriage of Snark and Skepticism
by CSI Staff
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Article
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Art and Skepticism
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
From the Editor
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The ‘Murder’ of Vincent van Gogh
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Investigative Files
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What’s So Bad about Ad Hoc Hypotheses?
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Thinking About Science
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‘Top Ten’ UFO Case: Yukon, Canada, 1996—Busted!
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Psychic Vibrations
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Saving Us from Sweets: This Is Science and Government on Sugar
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Science Watch
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Tracking the Chupachameleon: Chupacabra Iconography
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Skeptical Inquiree
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Are Conservatives and Liberals Different People?
by Ronald A. Lindsay
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Book Review
A review of The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science—and Reality by Chris Mooney
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The Puzzle of the Implausible
by Ronald L. Numbers
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Book Review
A review of Power and Illusion: Religion and Human Need by David W. Wilbur
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Enumerating the Problems with Young-Earth Creationism
by Peter Lamal
Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Book Review
A review of The Three Failures of Creationism: Logic, Rhetoric, and Science by Walter M. Fitch
Neurologic Illness or Hysteria? A Mysterious Twitching Outbreak
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
Six cases were reported, then twelve, then fifteen and counting as the story captured attention across the United States and beyond. I twice visited Le Roy on behalf of the Skeptical Inquirer, to talk with parents and others involved, visit relevant sites, and otherwise investigate this strange outbreak.
The Social and Symbolic Power of AIDS Denialism
by Nicoli Nattrass
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
AIDS denialism has proved socially resilient because dissident “hero scientists” provide legitimacy, “cultropreneurs” offer fake cures in the place of antiretroviral treatment, and HIV-positive “living icons” seem to provide proof of concept.
Eyewitness to the Paranormal: The Experimental Psychology of the ‘Unexplained’
by Matthew J. Sharps
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.
Enfield Poltergeist
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Investigative Files
In August 1977, a series of disturbances that were soon characterized as a case of poltergeist phenomena or even demonic possession began in Enfield, a northern suburb of London.
The Non-Mysterious Mass Illness in Le Roy, New York
by Steven Novella
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
The Science of Medicine
The “mystery illness” has become a Rorschach test of sorts: people see in the illness a diagnosis that fits their worldview or pet cause. But now that the dust has settled somewhat on this outbreak, what can we reliably say about it?
What’s Going On in Our Minds?
by Paul Brown
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Book Review
A review of Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
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‘Mystery Illness’ in Western New York: Is Social Networking Spreading Mass Hysteria?
by Robert E. Bartholomew
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
The recent outbreak of twitching, facial tics, and garbled speech—symptoms of a form of conversion disorder—at a school in Western New York may signal a growing trend in the United States.
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The Top 20 Logical Fallacies
by Jesse Richardson
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
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Political Myths that Influence Voters
by Jeffrey S. Victor
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
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Dinodang: The Melon Rex Myth
by Phil Senter
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Article
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Why the GOP Distrusts Science
by Chris Mooney
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Special Report
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Dr. Phil Gives Psychics a Pass
by Kendrick Frazier
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
From the Editor
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Explanations in Search of Observations
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Thinking About Science
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Stairway to Heaven: A Firsthand Account of a UFO Sighting
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Notes on a Strange World
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Flying Saucer or Fly: The Case UFO Skeptics Have Been Dreading?
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Psychic Vibrations
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Besieging the Last Bastions of Race
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Science Watch
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Diving HeadOn into Pseudoscience
by Ben Radford
Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Skeptical Inquiree
The Roswellian Syndrome: How Some UFO Myths Develop
by Joe Nickell and James McGaha
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).
We Can’t Treat Soldiers’ PTSD without a Better Diagnosis
by Peter Barglow
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Article
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a diagnosis fully accepted by the U.S. Veterans Administration, psychiatrists, and the American public. But PTSD does not meet the criteria for a real psychiatric-medical disease.
The Ongoing Decline of Religion
by Elie A. Shneour
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Article
The inexorably growing impact of science is our most significant tool discrediting religion.
Famous Alien Abduction in Pascagoula: Reinvestigating a Cold Case
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Special Report
Among reports of extraterrestrial encounters, the 1973 claim of two Mississippi men to have been taken aboard a flying saucer remains controversial. Was it a real encounter or a hoax? Or is that a false dichotomy?
Thinking: An Unnatural Act
by Harriet Hall
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism, and Science Exposed! by Robert Todd Carroll.
Ghost Author? The Channeling of ‘Patience Worth’
by Joe Nickell
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Investigative Files
Pearl Lenore (Pollard) Curran (1883–1937), wife of John H. Curran of St. Louis, began in 1913 to receive poems and novels, via Ouija board, from a seventeenth-century Puritan english woman named “Patience Worth.”
Pseudoscience in Our Universities
by Steven Novella
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
The Science of Medicine
The group Friends of Science in Medicine has recently formed in Australia, and they now have over 400 professional members. They felt the need to come together over a disturbing trend—the infiltration of rank pseudoscience into once respected universities.
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The Trouble with Pseudoskepticism
by Lawrence Torcello
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Article
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A Feeble Challenge to Evolution from ‘Reasons to Believe’
by Brian Bolton
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Special Report
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Is Science the Antidote to Deepak Chopra’s Spirituality?
by Mark Alford
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality by Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow
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Answers for Kids from Twelve to Eighty-Two
by Keith Taylor
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True by Richard Dawkins
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Being Reasonable about Neuroscience
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of Who’s in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain by Michael Gazzaniga
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Bigfoot on Film: A Comprehensive Guide
by Rob Boston
Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Book Review
A review of The Bigfoot Filmography: Fictional and Documentary Appearances in Film and Television by David Coleman
