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WILDLIFE APOCALYPSE How Myths and Superstitions Drive Animal Extinction

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CBS Paranormal Segment | Changelings | UFO Conspiracies | Balles Award | ‘Flying Friar’ | Fake News Vol. 42 No. 4 | July/August 2018 the Magazine for Science and Reason WILDLIFE APOCALYPSE How Myths and Superstitions Drive Animal Extinction Skepticism Reloaded Cell Phones, Cancer, and Chance Lotus Birth Fad Speed Reading: Fact or Fiction? Skepticism and Literature Published by the Center for Inquiry with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Response to Flood Creationists Committee for Skeptical Inquiry www.csicop.orgwww.csicop.org Robyn E. Blumner, President and CEO Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow Benjamin Radford, Research Fellow Bar ry Karr, Ex ec u tive Di rect or Massimo Polidoro, Research Fellow Richard Wiseman, Research Fellow Fellows James E. Al cock,* psy chol o gist, York Univ., Kevin Folta, molecular biologist, professor and Law rence Kusche, sci ence writer Mas si mo Pol id oro, sci ence writer; au thor; Tor on to chair of Horticultural Sciences Department, Le on Le der man, emer i tus di rect or, Fer mi lab; ex ec u tive di rect or of CI CAP, It a ly Mar cia An gell, MD, former ed i tor-in-chief, University of Florida. No bel lau re ate in phys ics James L. Powell, geochemist, author, ex- New Eng land Jour nal of Med i cine Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, SE Stephan Lewandowsky, psychologist, School ecutive director, National Physical Science Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician; author; Louisiana Univ. of Experimental Psychology and Cabot Insti- Consortium Newton, MA An drew Fra knoi, astronomer, University of tute, Univ. of Bristol, UK Anthony R. Pratkanis, professor of psychol- Banachek, professional magician/mentalist, San Francisco Scott O. Lil i en feld,* psy chol o gist, Emory ogy, Univ. of CA, Santa Cruz magic consultant/producer Kendrick Fra zi er,* sci ence writer; ed i tor, Univ., Atlanta, GA Donald R. Prothero, paleontologist/geolo- gist, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Steph en Bar rett, MD, psy chi a trist; au thor; Skep ti cal In quir er Lin Zix in, former ed i tor, Sci ence and Tech nol- County, Los Angeles, CA con sum er ad vo cate, Pittsboro, NC Christopher C. French, professor, De- o gy Dai ly (Chi na) Benjamin Radford, investigator; research Robert Bartholomew, sociologist, investigative partment of Psychology, and head of the Je re Lipps, Mu se um of Pa le on tol o gy, Univ. of fellow, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry journalist, Auckland, New Zealand Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, California, Berke ley Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London James “The Amazing” Randi, magician; Willem Betz, MD, professor of medicine, Univ. Eliz a beth Loft us,* pro fes sor of psy chol o gy, CSICOP founding member; founder, James Julia Galef, host of the Rationally Speaking of Brussels Univ. of California, Ir vine Randi Educational Foundation Ir ving Bie der man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of podcast; cofounder, Center for Applied Daniel Loxton, author, editor of Junior Skeptic Rationality, Berkeley, CA Mil ton Ro sen berg, psy chol o gist, Univ. of South ern California at Skeptic magazine (US), artist, Vancouver, Chic a go Sus an Black more, vis it ing lec tur er, Univ. of Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di B.C., Canada Pavia (Italy); research fellow of CICAP, the Am ar deo Sar ma,* chairman, GWUP, Ger ma ny the West of Eng land, Bris tol Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor Italian skeptics group Richard Saunders, Life Member, Australian Sandra Blakeslee, science writer; author; New of Atmospheric Sciences and director of the Maryanne Garry, professor, School of Skeptics; educator; investigator; podcaster; York Times science correspondent Earth Systems Sciences Center, Pennsylvania Sydney, Australia Psychology, Victoria Univ. of Wellington, State University Mark Boslough, physicist, Albuquerque, NM New Zealand Joe Schwarcz, director, McGill Office for Da vid Marks, psy chol o gist, City Univ., Lon don Science and Society Hen ri Broch, phys i cist, Univ. of Nice, France Mur ray Gell-Mann, pro fes sor of phys ics, Mar io Men dez-Acos ta, jour nal ist and sci ence Eu ge nie C. Scott,* phys i cal an thro pol o gist; Jan Har old Brun vand, folk lor ist; pro fes sor San ta Fe In sti tute; No bel lau re ate emer i tus of Eng lish, Univ. of Utah writer, Mex i co City chair, advisory council , Na tion al Cen ter for Susan Gerbic, founder and leader of Sci ence Ed u ca tion Mar io Bunge, phi los o pher, McGill Univ., Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Montreal project Brown Univ. Da vid Mor ri son, space sci en tist, NA SA Ames Institute, Mountain View, CA Sean B. Carroll, molecular geneticist; vice Thom as Gi lov ich, psy chol o gist, Cor nell Univ. Re search Cen ter Simon Singh, science writer; broadcaster; UK president for science education, Howard David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and re- Rich ard A. Mul ler, pro fes sor of phys ics, Univ. Dick Smith, entrepreneur, publisher, aviator, Hughes Medical Institute, Madison, WI searcher at Barbara Ann Kar manos Cancer of California, Berke ley adventurer, Terrey Hills, N.S.W., Australia Thomas R. Casten, energy expert, Institute and chief of breast surgery section, Hinsdale, IL Joe Nick ell, sen ior re search fel low, CSI Keith E. Stanovich, cognitive psychologist, Wayne State University School of Medicine. professor of applied psychology, Univ. of John R. Cole, an thro pol o gist; ed i tor, Na tion al Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first Toronto Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion Waalre, The Netherlands editor, The Skeptic magazine (UK) Karen Stollznow,* linguist; skeptical inves- K.C. Cole, science writer; author; professor, Sus an Haack, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts Lee Nis bet, phi los o pher, Med aille Col lege tigator; writer; podcaster Univ. of Southern California’s Annenberg and Sciences, professor of philosophy, Steven Novella,* MD, assistant professor Jill Cor nell Tar ter, as tron o mer, SE TI In sti tute, School of Journalism University of Miami of neurology, Yale Univ. School of Medicine Moun tain View, CA John Cook, Center for Climate Change Harriet Hall,* MD, physician; investigator, Bill Nye, sci ence ed u ca tor and tel e vi sion host, Car ol Tav ris, psy chol o gist and au thor, Communication, George Mason University, Puyallup, WA Nye Labs Los Ange les, CA Virginia. David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, James E. Oberg, sci ence writer Fred er ick Crews, lit er ary and cul tur al crit ic; Da vid E. Thom as,* phys i cist and math e ma ti- Columbia Univ. Irm gard Oe pen, pro fes sor of med i cine (re- cian, Socorro, NM pro fes sor emer i tus of Eng lish, Univ. of CA, tired), Mar burg, Ger ma ny Berke ley Terence M. Hines, prof. of psychology, Pace Neil de Gras se Ty son, as tro phys i cist and Univ., Pleasantville, NY Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics, director of Rich ard Dawk ins, zo ol o gist, Ox ford Univ. di rect or, Hay den Plan e tar i um, New York City Doug las R. Hof stad ter, pro fes sor of hu man the Vaccine Education Center, the Children’s Indre Viskontas, cognitive neuroscientist, TV Ge of frey Dean, tech ni cal ed i tor, Perth, Aus- un der stand ing and cog ni tive sci ence, In di- Hospital of Philadelphia tral ia and podcast host, and opera singer, ana Univ. Naomi Oreskes, geologist and professor, San Francisco, California Cor nel is de Ja ger, pro fes sor of as tro phys ics, Ger ald Hol ton, Mallinckrodt Professor of departments of the History of Science and Univ. of Utrecht, the Neth er lands Stuart Vyse, psychologist, former Joanne Toor Physics and professor of history of science, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard Univ., Cummings ’50 professor of psychology, Con- Dan i el C. Den nett, Aus tin B. Fletch er Pro fes- emeritus, Harvard University. Cambridge, MA necticut College sor of Phi los o phy and di rect or of Cen ter for Deborah Hyde, skeptic, folklorist, cultural an- Lor en Pan kratz, psy chol o gist, Or e gon Health Cog ni tive Stud ies, Tufts Uni v. Ma ri lyn vos Sa vant, Pa rade mag a zine con- thropologist, Editor in Chief, The Skeptic (U.K.) Sci en ces Univ. trib ut ing ed i tor Ann Druyan, writer and producer; CEO, Ray Hy man,* psy chol o gist, Univ. of Or e gon Robert L. Park, emeritus professor of physics, Cosmos Studios Stev en Wein berg, pro fes sor of phys ics and Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist U of Maryland as tron o my, Univ. of Tex as at Aus tin; No bel Sanal Edamaruku, president, Indian Rational- emeritus Jay M. Pasachoff, professor of astronomy lau re ate ist Association and Rationalist International and director of Hopkins Observatory, Barry Karr, executive director, Committee for E.O. Wil son, Univ. pro fes sor emer i tus, organis- Williams College Edzard Ernst, former professor of complemen- Skeptical Inquiry, Amherst, NY mic and evolutionary biology, Har vard Univ. tary medicine, University of Exeter John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. Lawrence M. Krauss, foundation professor, Rich ard Wis e man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Hert- Clifford A. Pickover, scientist, au thor, editor, Ken neth Fed er, pro fes sor of an thro pol o gy, School of Earth and Space Exploration and ford shire, England Cen tral Con nec ti cut State Univ.
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