The Skeptic Magazine (UK) Steven Novella MD, Assistant Professor of CA Thomas R
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James Randi | New CSI Fellows | Trust in Science? | Ayurveda | Virus vs. the Economy | Mormon Forgeries Vol. 45 No. 1 | January/February 2021 REMEMBERING RANDI 1928–2020 Tributes by: PENN & TELLER James ALCOCK Bill NYE Harriet HALL Neil deGrasse TYSON Chip DENMAN Richard DAWKINS Joe NICKELL Massimo POLIDORO Susan GERBIC Kendrick FRAZIER Mark EDWARD Jamy Ian SWISS … and many others Carol Tavris on Cognitive Dissonance and the Pandemic Joseph Uscinski on Conspiracy Theories Committee for Skeptical Inquiry | www.skepticalinquirer.org Robyn E. Blumner,* President and CEO Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow Barry Karr,* Executive Director Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow Fellows James E. Alcock*, psychologist, York Univ., Toronto Kenneth Feder, professor of anthropology, Central Lin Zixin, former editor, Science and Technology Anthony R. Pratkanis, professor of psychology, Marcia Angell MD, former editor-in-chief, Connecticut State Univ. Daily (China) Univ. of California, Santa Cruz New England Journal of Medicine Krista Federspiel, medical journalist, author, Jere Lipps, Museum of Paleontology, Univ. of CA, Donald R. Prothero, paleontologist, geologist, Kimball Atwood IV MD, physician, author, Newton, folklorist Berkeley author, National History Museum of Los Angeles MA Kevin Folta, molecular biologist. Professor and Elizabeth Loftus, professor of psychology, Univ. of County Banachek, professional magician/mentalist magic chairman of the Horticultural Sciences Department CA, Irvine Benjamin Radford, investigator; research fellow, consultant/producer at the University of Florida William M. London, professor of public health, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Stephen Barrett MD, psychiatrist, author, consumer Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, SE California State University, Los Angeles Amardeo Sarma*, chairman, GWUP, Germany advocate, Pittsboro, NC Louisiana Univ. Daniel Loxton, writer, artist, editor, Skeptic Richard Saunders, Life Member of Australian Robert Bartholomew, sociologist and investigative Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer, U. of San Francisco magazine Skeptics; educator; investigator; podcaster; Sydney, journalist, Botany College in Auckland, Kendrick Frazier*, science writer, editor, SKEPTICAL Michael E. Mann, distinguished Professor of Australia New Zealand. INQUIRER Atmospheric Sciences and director of the Earth Joe Schwarcz, director, McGill Office for Science Jann Johnson Bellamy, attorney, writer for Science- Christopher C. French, professor, department of Systems Sciences Center at the Pennsylvania State and Society Based Medicine blog, Tallahassee, FL psychology, and head of the Anomalistic Psychology University Eugenie C. Scott*, physical anthropologist, former Kenny Biddle, investigator, writer, podcaster, public Research Unit, Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London David Marks, psychologist, City Univ., London executive director (retired), National Center for speaker Julia Galef, writer, podcaster, public speaker Mario Mendez-Acosta, journalist and science Science Education Irving Biederman, psychologist, Univ. of Southern Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di Pavia writer, Mexico City Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute, CA (Italy), research fellow of CICAP, the Italian skeptics Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, Brown Univ. Mountain View, CA Sandra Blakeslee, science writer; author; New York group David Morrison, space scientist, NASA Ames Simon Singh, science writer; broadcaster; UK Times science correspondent Maryanne Garry, professor, School of Psychology, Research Center Dick Smith, film producer, publisher, Terrey Hills, Susan Blackmore, visiting lecturer, Univ. of the West Victoria Univ. of Wellington, New Zealand Richard A. Muller, professor of physics, Univ. of CA, N.S.W., Australia of England, Bristol Susan Gerbic, founder and leader of the Guerrilla Berkeley Keith E. Stanovich, cognitive psychologist; Mark Boslough, physicist, Sandia National Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) project Joe Nickell, senior research fellow, CSI professor of human development and applied Laboratories (retired), Albuquerque, New Mexico Thomas Gilovich, psychologist, Cornell Univ. Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Waalre, The psychology, Univ. of Toronto Henri Broch, physicist, Univ. of Nice, France David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and researcher at Netherlands Karen Stollznow, linguist; skeptical investigator; Jan Harold Brunvand, folklorist, professor Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and chief of Lee Nisbet, philosopher, Medaille College writer; podcaster emeritus of English, Univ. of Utah breast surgery section, Wayne State University Matthew C. Nisbet, professor of communication, Jill Cornell Tarter, astronomer, SETI Institute, Sean B. Carroll, molecular geneticist, vice School of Medicine public policy, and public affairs, Northeastern Mountain View, CA president for science education, Howard Hughes Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first University, Boston Carol Tavris, psychologist and author, Los Angeles, Medical Institute, Madison, WI editor, The Skeptic magazine (UK) Steven Novella MD, assistant professor of CA Thomas R. Casten, energy expert; founder and Susan Haack, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts and neurology, Yale Univ. School of Medicine David E. Thomas, physicist and mathematician, chair, Recycled Energy Development, Westmont, IL Sciences, professor of philosophy and professor of Bill Nye, science educator and television host, Nye Peralta, NM Timothy Caulfield, professor of health law and Law, Univ. of Miami Labs Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director, policy, University of Alberta, Canada Harriet Hall MD, family physician, investigator, James E. Oberg, science writer Hayden Planetarium, New York City John R. Cole, anthropologist, editor, National Puyallup, WA Paul Offit, doctor, author, researcher, professor, James Underdown, writer, investigator, founder of Center for Science Education David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, Columbia Univ. of Pennsylvania Center for Inquiry Investigations Group (CFIIG), Los K.C. Cole, science writer, author, professor, Univ. of Univ. Naomi Oreskes, geologist, science historian, Angeles Southern California’s Annenberg School of Terence M. Hines, prof. of psychology, Pace Univ., professor, Harvard University Joseph Uscinski, political scientist, University of Journalism Pleasantville, NY Loren Pankratz, psychologist, Oregon Health Miami John Cook, author, physicist, Univ. of Queensland, Douglas R. Hofstadter, professor of human Sciences Univ. Bertha Vazquez, science teacher, director of the Australia understanding and cognitive science, Indiana Univ. Robert L. Park, professor of physics, Univ. of Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES) Frederick Crews, literary and cultural critic, Gerald Holton, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics Maryland Indre Viskontas, cognitive neuroscientist, tv and professor emeritus of English, Univ. of CA, Berkeley and professor of history of science, Harvard Univ. Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of podcast host, and opera singer, San Francisco, CA Richard Dawkins, zoologist, Oxford Univ. Deborah Hyde, folklorist, cultural anthropologist, Astronomy and director of the Hopkins Observatory, Marilyn vos Savant, Parade magazine contributing Geoffrey Dean, technical editor, Perth, Australia and editor in chief of the UK-based magazine The Williams College editor Cornelis de Jager, professor of astrophysics, Univ. Skeptic Natalia Pasternak, microbiologist, writer, president, Stuart Vyse*, psychologist, professor, author of Utrecht, the Netherlands Ray Hyman*, psychologist, Univ. of Oregon Instituto Questão de Ciência, São Paulo, Brazil Steven Weinberg, professor of physics and Daniel C. Dennett, Univ. professor and Austin B. Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist emeritus, John Paulos, mathematician, Temple Univ. astronomy, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Nobel laureate Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, director of Center science advisor to Center for Inquiry Office of Public Clifford A. Pickover, scientist, author, editor, IBM Mick West, writer, podcaster, investigator, debunker, for Cognitive Studies at Tufts Univ. Policy, Washington, D.C. T.J. Watson Research Center Folsom, CA Ann Druyan, writer and producer; CEO, Cosmos Barry Karr, executive director, Committee for Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy, City E.O. Wilson, Univ. professor emeritus, organismic Studios, Ithaca, NY Skeptical Inquiry, Amherst, New York Univ. of New York–Lehman College and evolutionary biology, Harvard Univ. Sanal Edamaruku, president, Indian Rationalist Edwin C. Krupp, astronomer, director, Griffith Steven Pinker, cognitive scientist, Harvard Univ. Richard Wiseman, psychologist, Univ. of Association and Rationalist International Observatory, Los Angeles, CA Massimo Polidoro, science writer, author, executive Hertfordshire, England Edzard Ernst, professor, Complementary Medicine, Lawrence Kusche, science writer director of CICAP, Italy Benjamin Wolozin, professor, department of Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter Stephan Lewandowsky, psychologist, researcher, James L Powell, geochemist, author, executive pharmacology, Boston Univ. School of Medicine and Plymouth, Exeter, UK Univ. of Bristol, United Kingdom director, National Physical Science Consortium *Member, CSI Executive Council (Affiliations given for identification only.) The SKEPTICAL INQUIRER (ISSN 0194-6730) is published bimonthly by Manuscripts, letters, books for review,