Skeptical Inquirer — Volume 34.2
March / April 2010
Psychic Defective: Sylvia Browne’s History of Failure
by Ryan Shaffer and Agatha Jadwiszczok
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Article
The most extensive study of alleged psychic Sylvia Browne’s predictions about missing persons and murder cases reveals a strange discrepancy: despite her...
The Mystery of the Moving Tombstone
by Massimo Polidoro
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Notes on a Strange World
Dutch police experts gather around a TV screen. They are watching footage from a hidden camera that was positioned to monitor a supposed case of vandalism at...
John Edward: Spirit Huckster
by Joe Nickell
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Investigative Files
“Psychic medium” John Edward is reemerging from relative obscurity after his popular television show, Crossing Over with John Edward, ended in...
Our Deliberate Slide into Ignorance
by Keith Taylor
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Book Review
Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free by Charles Pierce
Things We Know That Are Not So
by Peter Lamal
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Book Review
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior by Scott O. Lilienfeld, et al.
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The Psychic and the Serial Killer: Examining the ‘Best Case’ for Psychic Detectives
by Ben Radford
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Article
An examination of the 'best case' of psychic detective abilities offers insight into how extraordinary claims are made, exaggerated, and clung to despite...
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Encounters with Aliens (the Local Kind)
by Martin Bridgstock
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Article
A strange army of paranormalists has infested the Internet and mail system. We need and understanding of the ethics and practicalities of dealing with people...
Disinformation about Global Warming
by David Morrison
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Article
Most arguments from global warming disputers don’t make scientific sense or are based on distorted or obsolete information. Here are short answers to ten of...
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Faith in the Power of Witchcraft
by Anthony Layng
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Article
Believing that there are witches with malevolent power can have numerous social and psychological benefits for a community. This helps explains why...
Oprah Winfrey: Bright (but Gullible) Billionaire
by Martin Gardner
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Article
There are two Oprah Winfreys. One is the African-American woman who struggled against incredible odds in abject poverty to become the wealthiest, most...
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Solving a Mysterious Event from Long Ago
by Terence M. Hines
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Book Review
The Devil of Great Island : Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New England by Emerson W. Baker.
Mann Bites Dog: Why ‘Climategate’ Was Newsworthy
by Mark Boslough
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Article
“When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.”
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Bigfoot Beliefs in Cultural Context
by Ben Radford
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Book Review
Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend by Joshua Blu Buhs.
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An Eye for the Ladies
by Kenneth W. Krause
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Column
Evolutionary scientists made 2009 a remarkable year for the fairer sex. Let's start with Darwinius masillae—remember "Ida"? On May 19 the...
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BodyTalk: Boon or Bogus?
by Ben Radford
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Skeptical Inquiree
Q: I work for a national corporation and recently noticed pamphlets advertising "BodyTalk" therapy distributed around the workplace. Now a BodyTalk...
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Famous Socorro ‘UFO Landing’ a Student Prank?
by Robert Sheaffer
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Psychic Vibrations
The famous Socorro "UFO landing" case of April 24, 1964, has been proclaimed by leading UFOlogists, such as Jacques Valle and the late J. Allen Hynek, as...
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Climate Denialism
by Massimo Pigliucci
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Thinking About Science
As I'm sure most Skeptical Inquirer readers are aware, November 2009 was "global warming denialism month." This is not an official United Nations...
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James Arthur Ray: New Age Guru and Sweat Lodge Culprit
by Martin Gardner
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Notes of a Fringe-Watcher
In recent years Sedona, Arizona, has become a popular haven for New Age cults of all shades. Why Sedona? Partly because of its superb scenery and sunlight,...
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Entertainment, Fakery, and Ambiguity: Examining New York’s ‘Fortune Telling Law’
by Ryan Shaffer
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Special Report
On October 9, 2009, Tiffany Evans was arrested at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, New York, for fraudulent accosting, attempted grand larceny, and three...
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American Physical Society Rejects Climate Anti-Science
by John R. Mashey
Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Commentary
Like the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and most other science...
