From the Editor Skep Ti Cal Inq Uir E R™ the MAG a ZINE for SCI ENCE and REA SON
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The Amazing Meeting 5
The Amazing Meeting 5 Per Johan Råsmark James Randi är känd för de flesta skeptiker. Det finns knappast någon som inte vid något till- fälle i en diskussion nämnt hans utmaning, där den som kan visa upp en paranormal förmåga under kontrollerbara former kan få $ 1 000 000. För knappt ett år sedan var vi nära att förlora honom då han drabbades av en allvarlig hjärtattack, men tack vare modern medicinsk veten- skap överlevde han. Den 18 januari 2007 var han så närvarande när det femte ”The Amazing Meeting” (TMA) inleddes i Las Vegas. Dessa möten, av vilka det första hölls i Florida och de övriga har varit i Las Vegas, arrangeras av ”James Randi Educational Foundation” (JREF). Denna gång hölls konferensen på Riviera eftersom Stardust där man varit de två senaste åren håller på att för- vandlas till enbart ”dust” i den ständiga omvandlingen av staden. Konferensen har hela tiden ökat i popularitet och detta år tyckte drygt 800 personer att det var värt att resa till ett kallt Las Vegas. Enligt arrangörerna gör detta konferensen till världens största någonsin för skeptiker och det ska också vara den med procentuellt sett flest kvinnor och flest ungdomar. (För att vara sunt skeptisk vill jag påpeka att jag inte har kontrollerat de uppgifterna.) Temat för årets möte var ”Skepticism and the Media”, något som inte alla talarna höll sig till eftersom det är en stor konferens, men som kunde ses på antalet mediepersonligheter bland de inbjudna gästerna. Att man inte helt höll sig till konferensens tema märktes redan den första dagen som inled- des med två workshops. -
CFI-Annual-Report-2018.Pdf
Message from the President and CEO Last year was another banner year for the Center the interests of people who embrace reason, for Inquiry. We worked our secular magic in a science, and humanism—the principles of the vast variety of ways: from saving lives of secular Enlightenment. activists around the world who are threatened It is no secret that these powerful ideas like with violence and persecution to taking the no others have advanced humankind by nation’s largest drugstore chain, CVS, to court unlocking human potential, promoting goodness, for marketing homeopathic snake oil as if it’s real and exposing the true nature of reality. If you medicine. are looking for humanity’s true salvation, CFI stands up for reason and science in a way no look no further. other organization in the country does, because This past year we sought to export those ideas to we promote secular and humanist values as well places where they have yet to penetrate. as scientific skepticism and critical thinking. The Translations Project has taken the influential But you likely already know that if you are reading evolutionary biology and atheism books of this report, as it is designed with our supporters in Richard Dawkins and translated them into four mind. We want you not only to be informed about languages dominant in the Muslim world: Arabic, where your investment is going; we want you to Urdu, Indonesian, and Farsi. They are available for take pride in what we have achieved together. free download on a special website. It is just one When I meet people who are not familiar with CFI, of many such projects aimed at educating people they often ask what it is we do. -
When Entertainment Meets Science: Summit Boosts Innovative Education JAMES UNDERDOWN
SI May June 11 CUT_SI new design masters 3/25/11 10:01 AM Page 5 [ NEWS AND COMMENT When Entertainment Meets Science: Summit Boosts Innovative Education JAMES UNDERDOWN Can the entertainment media, with their formidable skills, help educate young people about science? That was just one of the hopes as the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) hosted the unusual Summit on Science, En ter - tainment, and Education at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, Cal- ifornia, on February 4, 2011. The all-day symposium featured a top- shelf lineup of speakers from all over the United States on the status and direction of science education today. Each of its From left: Superstring theorist Brian Greene, writer/director/producer Jerry Zucker, and educator Tyler Johnstone three categories (science, entertainment, discuss ways to attract students to the world of science. and education) was well represented by in- novators in their respective fields with rel- her students to testify how they are drawn tainment who need help with content. evant knowledge and experience. toward science. In this day and age of Thanks to a $225,000 grant from the From the world of science, luminaries myriad distractions, catching the eye of Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, such as Ralph Cicerone, NAS president; students is more of a challenge than ever. the Ex change “is seeking proposals to es- Sean B. Carroll, biologist; and Charles But the program didn’t begin and end tablish collaborative partnerships among Vest, president of the National Academy with a group of experts bemoaning the scientists, entertainment industry profes- of Engineering and president emeritus of failures of the education system and sionals, and educators to develop educa- the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pointing fingers at Hollywood schlock tional products or services that effectively were present. -
Defending Isagenix a Case Study in Flawed Thinking
SI Jan Feb 11 from home_SI new design masters 11/12/10 11:56 AM Page 41 Defending Isagenix A Case Study in Flawed Thinking Do those who comment on blogs even read the articles they are responding to? Here is a case study in emotional thinking, ad hominem arguments, logical fallacies, irrationality, and misinformation. HARRIET HALL he Internet is a wonderful medium for communicat- To illustrate, let’s look at some re- sponses to a piece I wrote about a ing ideas and information in a rapid, interactive way. weight-loss product called Isagenix, TMany online articles are followed by a section for which is sold through a multilevel mar- comments. Like so many things in this imperfect world, keting (MLM) scheme. To quote its website verbatim, “The Isagenix cleanse comments are a mixed blessing. They can enhance the ar- is unique because it not only removes ticle by correcting errors, adding further information, or impurities at the cellular level, it builds contributing useful thoughts to a productive discussion. the body up with incredible nutrition. Besides detoxing the body, Isagenix But all too often the comments section consists of emo- teaches people a wonderful lesson that tional outbursts, unwarranted personal attacks on the au- they don’t need to eat as much as they thor, logical fallacies, and misinformation. It provides are accustom [sic] to and eating healthy choices are really important and also a irrational and ignorant people with a soapbox from which lot of the food we are eating is nutri- to promote prejudices and false information. -
Comet Elenin Will Not Destroy Earth This Year DAVID MORRISON
SI Sept. Oct 11_SI new design masters 7/26/11 1:09 PM Page 5 [ NEWS AND COMMENT Comet Elenin Will Not Destroy Earth This Year DAVID MORRISON y r o In the middle of the gathering Internet t a v r fear about the doomsday of December e s b O 12, 2012, there have been two new apoc- n i a t alyptic distractions. First there was a n u o M widely reported prediction by fundamen- e l b talist preacher Harold Camp ing (the a T L P founder of “family radio” in Cali fornia) J / s r that the end of the world would begin on e m o S May 21, 2011. Camp ing claim ed that on d n a this date the good people would be trans- , s k c ported to heaven in what is called “the i H , n Rapture.” It now seems clear that this did a m s not happen or that the number of good s i e people is vanishingly small. W In addition, there is growing fear of Comet Elenin on May 5, 2011, when it was 170 million miles from Earth. It is nothing unusual and no dramatic events are expected. newly discovered Comet Elenin, which is variously predicted to collide with Earth exerted strong gravitational or electro- Elenin. Some websites have substituted in October 2011 or to in duce massive magnetic effects on our planet. When photos of the much brighter comet Wild earthquakes and pole shifts from its grav- scientists pointed out that this little 2 and called it Elenin. -
Scientific Report on Bial Fellowship 36/08 Theoretical Background
Scientific Report on Bial Fellowship 36/08 Theoretical background and study overview In sympathetic magical belief, objects are deemed to possess an affinity of power through their resemblance or connection to individuals by the ‘Law of Similarity’ (Frazer, 1922). Early belief in these laws underpin folk herbal remedies, alchemy and voodoo witchcraft, but also trigger magical notions in modern scientifically literate adults (e.g. Rozin & Nemeroff, 1990). One of the most dramatic examples of belief in sympathetic magic is the concern that damage to a representation can somehow harm the real-world person or object it is representing (Behrand, 2003). In our pilot studies, we have demonstrated that adults who do not think that they will be upset by cutting up a photograph of their childhood sentimental object will show significantly elevated arousal as measured by their galvanic skin response. Following the destruction they reported no awareness of increased arousal. This suggests that there may be latent emotional responses to perceived destruction that are suppressed. We predict that this reflects suppression of amygdala fear activation by inhibitory dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPC) networks. The rationale for this frontal inhibitory effect is the recent demonstration that activation of the DLPC and anterior cingulate is associated with unwanted prejudicial responses to Black faces by White participants (Richeson et al, 2003; Cunningham et al, 2004). These studies on prejudice are consistent with the idea that it is possible to control spontaneously activated negative attitudes. The current body of work examined whether the same network might be implicated in sympathetic magical reasoning. Sixty-seventy percent of Western children form a strong emotional attachment to a specific toy which they then treat as invaluable and irreplaceable (Lehman et al., 1995). -
SECULAR HUMANISM with a PULSE: the New Activism from Confrontation to Community Service, Finding Ways to Engage
FI AS C1_Layout 1 6/28/12 10:45 AM Page 1 RONALD A. LINDSAY: Humanism and Politics CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY August/September 2012 Vol. 32 No.5 SECULAR HUMANISM WITH A PULSE: The New Activism From Confrontation to Community Service, Finding Ways to Engage CHRIS MOONEY | ARTHUR CAPLAN | KATRINA VOSS P Z MYERS | SIKIVU HUTCHINSON 09 TOM FLYNN: Are LGBTs Saving Marriage? Published by the Council for Secular Humanism 7725274 74957 FI Aug Sept CUT_FI 6/27/12 4:54 PM Page 3 August/September 2012 Vol. 32 No. 5 CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY 20 Secular Humanism With A Pulse: 30 Grief Beyond Belief The New Activists Rebecca Hensler Introduction Lauren Becker 32 Humanists Care about Humans! Bob Stevenson 22 Sparking a Fire in the Humanist Heart James Croft 34 Not Enough Marthas Reba Boyd Wooden 24 Secular Service in Michigan Mindy Miner 35 The Making of an Angry Atheist Advocate EllenBeth Wachs 25 Campus Service Work Franklin Kramer and Derek Miller 37 Taking Care of Our Own Hemant Mehta 27 Diversity and Secular Activism Alix Jules 39 A Tale of Two Tomes Michael B. Paulkovich 29 Live Well and Help Others Live Well Bill Cooke EDITORIAL 15 Who Cares What Happens 56 The Atheist’s Guide to Reality: 4 Humanism and Politics to Dropouts? Enjoying Life without Illusions Ronald A. Lindsay Nat Hentoff by Alex Rosenberg Reviewed by Jean Kazez LEADING QUESTIONS 16 CFI Gives Women a Voice with 7 The Rise of Islamic Creationism, Part 1 ‘Women in Secularism’ Conference 58 What Jesus Didn’t Say A Conversation with Johan Braeckman Julia Lavarnway by Gerd Lüdemann Reviewed by Robert M. -
Clever Hans's Successors Testing Indian Astrology Believers' Cognitive Dissonance Csicon Nashville Highlights
SI March April 13 cover_SI JF 10 V1 1/31/13 10:54 AM Page 2 Scotland Mysteries | Herbs Are Drugs | The Pseudoscience Wars | Psi Replication Failure | Morality Innate? the Magazine for Science and Reason Vol. 37 No. 2 | March/April 2013 ON INVISIBLE BEINGS Clever Hans’s Successors Testing Indian Astrology Believers’ Cognitive Dissonance CSICon Nashville Highlights Published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry March April 13 *_SI new design masters 1/31/13 9:52 AM Page 2 AT THE CEN TERFOR IN QUIRY –TRANSNATIONAL Ronald A. Lindsay, President and CEO Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Bar ry Karr, Ex ec u tive Di rect or Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow www.csicop.org James E. Al cock*, psy chol o gist, York Univ., Tor on to Thom as Gi lov ich, psy chol o gist, Cor nell Univ. Robert L. Park,professor of physics, Univ. of Maryland Mar cia An gell, MD, former ed i tor-in-chief, David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and re searcher at Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of New Eng land Jour nal of Med i cine Barbara Ann Kar manos Cancer Institute and chief Astronomy and director of the Hopkins Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician; author; of breast surgery section, Wayne State University Observatory, Williams College Newton, MA School of Medicine. John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. Steph en Bar rett, MD, psy chi a trist; au thor; con sum er Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first editor, Clifford A. -
Debunking Detox Diets
6NHSWLFLVP6FLHQFH6RFLHW\ 9ROXPH1R0DUFK AN INTRODUCTION TO PARAPSYCHOLOGY A REMOTE VIEWING EXPERIMENT SCIENTOLOGY AND THE TRAVOLTA TRAGEDY ENVIRONMENTAL DEBATES AND LOGICAL FALLACIES PSYCHIATRY BASHING DEBUNKING DETOX DIETS ZZZVNHSWLFVFRPDX Skeptics Around Australia New South Wales PO Box 438 Collaroy Beach NSW 2097 Connect with the next generation! Tel: 0432 713 195 Fax: (02) 8088 4735 Scientists in Schools is a national program [email protected] that creates long-term professional Hunter Skeptics partnerships between scientists and Ph: (02) 4959 6286 [email protected] teachers. It’s completely fl exible to [email protected] suit your interests and availability. Victoria Australian Skeptics (Vic) Inc GPO Box 5166AA, Melbourne VIC 3001 Find out more at Tel: 1 800 666 996 www.scientistsinschools.edu.au [email protected] Borderline Skeptics Scientists in Schools PO Box 17 , Mitta Mitta VIC 3701 Tel: (02) 6072 3632 is an Australian [email protected] Government initiative. Queensland Queensland Skeptics Assn Inc PO Box 6454 , Fairfi eld Gardens QLD 4103 Tel: (07) 3255 0499 [email protected] Gold Coast Skeptics PO Box 8348, GCMC Bundall QLD 9726 Tel: (07) 5593 1882 Fax: (07) 5593 2776 [email protected] ACT Canberra Skeptics PO Box 555, Civic Square ACT 2608 Tel: (02) 6121 4483 [email protected] South Australia Skeptics SA 52B Miller St Unley SA 5061 Tel: (08) 8272 5881 [email protected] Western Australia WA Skeptics PO Box 466, Subiaco WA 6904 Tel: (08) 9448 8458 [email protected] -
Jennifer Forester, Faculty Mentor
Pics or It Didn’t Happen: Sexist Hyperskepticism in the Modern Skeptical Movement Author: Jennifer Forester, Faculty Mentor: Clark Pomerleau, Ph.D., Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences Department and College Affiliation: Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences Pics or It Didn’t Happen 2 Bio: Jennifer Forester graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in English with a specialization in writing and rhetoric. Jennifer was a member of the Honors College. She presented her research at University Scholars Day in April 19, 2013. She is proud of her service in the United States Marine Corps where she was a Corporal (Bandsman, Armorer) in Cherry Point, North Carolina. She is a mother of two brilliant, if often unruly, children. Her current plan is to find gainful employment, but promises that she will eventually return to college and obtain her doctorate in rhetoric with a particular focus on the ways that rhetorical studies can be applied to social justice. Pics or It Didn’t Happen 3 Abstract: In the skeptical community, there is an ongoing conflict over what—if any—actions are necessary to make the movement more welcoming to the growing numbers of women in its ranks. This conflict has brought a great deal of antifeminist sentiment to the surface, to include rape and death threats against prominent women who speak affirmatively on feminist issues within organized skepticism. The origins of this problem can be found in the grounding of skeptical dialogue on the superiority of a traditionally masculinized ideal of science and reason, which excludes the feminized personal narratives that serve as evidence for mistreatment of women within the community. -
Canadian Atheist: Set XVI
1 2 In-Sight Publishing 3 Canadian Atheist: Set XVI 4 IN-SIGHT PUBLISHING Publisher since 2014 Published and distributed by In-Sight Publishing Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada www.in-sightjournal.com Copyright © 2020 by Scott Douglas Jacobsen In-Sight Publishing established in 2014 as a not-for-profit alternative to the large commercial publishing houses who dominate the publishing industry. In-Sight Publishing operates in independent and public interests rather than in dependent and private ones, and remains committed to publishing innovative projects for free or low-cost while electronic and easily accessible for public domain consumption within communal, cultural, educational, moral, personal, scientific, and social values, sometimes or even often, deemed insufficient drivers based on understandable profit objectives. Thank you for the download of this ebook, your consumption, effort, interest, and time support independent and public publishing purposed for the encouragement and support of academic inquiry, creativity, diverse voices, freedom of expression, independent thought, intellectual freedom, and novel ideas. © 2014-2020 by Scott Douglas Jacobsen. All rights reserved. Original appearance in Canadian Atheist. Not a member or members of In-Sight Publishing, 2020 This first edition published in 2020 No parts of this collection may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized, in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented or created, which includes photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher or the individual co-author(s) or place of publication of individual articles. Independent Cataloguing-in-Publication Data No official catalogue record for this book, as an independent endeavour. -
Australian Skeptics Celebrate Thirtieth Consecutive National Conference KENDRICK FRAZIER
[ NEWS AND COMMENT Australian Skeptics Celebrate Thirtieth Consecutive National Conference KENDRICK FRAZIER The Australian Skeptics (founded 1980) vironmental sustainability (see sidebar is the third oldest skeptical group in “The Planetary Adventures of Austra- the world, and its quarterly magazine, lia’s Dick Smith”). Dr. Karl, who has de- The Skeptic, is the world’s second oldest grees in physics and medicine, is Austra- skeptical publication (after the Skeptical lia’s best-known science communicator, Inquirer). So because the latest Australian a popular television and radio figure, and Skeptics National Convention, in Sydney, author of thirty-two books—most re- November 28–30, 2014, was the group’s cently Game of Knowns, which examines thirtieth consecutive national confer- the knowns, unknowns, and unknown ence—something no other group can unknowns of science. say—the event was quite a well-deserved Dick Smith’s keynote talk asked and celebration. I was invited to the festivities implicitly answered the question, “Is and happily flew south. the human power to self-delude un- Australian skeptic leaders such as limited?” as he surveyed instances of Richard Saunders and Barry Williams water diviners being dumbfounded by (past presidents), Eran Segev (current their not passing controlled tests and president), Tim Mendham (editor of promoters of “above-unity” machines The Skeptic and executive director), Ian advocating with a straight face for what Bryce (chief investigator), and Joanne would otherwise be called perpetual Benhamu were everywhere in evidence. motion machines. No amount of bad George Hrab (from the United States) evidence adds up to good evidence, he emceed, introduced all speakers, en- noted, while cautioning, “We all have tertained, and also gave a moving talk our self-delusions.” And he noted it during the conference on a subject would be boring if we were all rational skeptics usually ignore—dealing with all the time, mentioning love as a prime loss and grief.