STEVEN PINKER Published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry on Violence Decline C I –T
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Mind Over Metal? | Psychic Failures in Boston Bombing | Degrees of Impossibility | Conspiracy Beliefs the Magazine for Science and Reason Vol. 37 No. 4 | July/August 2013 Acupuncture Advocacy: Faulty Thinking and Self-Delusion The Queen Mary ‘Ghost’ Charade Plagiarism in New Age Books The ‘Psychology Is Science, Not Witchcraft’ Campaign INTRODUCTORY PRICE U.S. and Canada $4.95 STEVEN PINKER Published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry on Violence Decline C I –T 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. Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of Mar cia An gell, MD, former ed i tor-in-chief, David H. Gorski, cancer surgeon and re searcher at Astronomy and director of the Hopkins New Eng land Jour nal of Med i cine Barbara Ann Kar manos Cancer Institute and chief Observatory, Williams College Kimball Atwood IV, MD, physician; author; of breast surgery section, Wayne State Univer- John Pau los, math e ma ti cian, Tem ple Univ. Newton, MA sity School of Medicine. Clifford A. Pickover, scientist, au thor, editor, Steph en Bar rett, MD, psy chi a trist; au thor; con sum er Wendy M. Grossman, writer; founder and first editor, IBM T.J. Watson Re search Center. ad vo cate, Al len town, PA The Skeptic magazine (UK) Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy, Willem Betz, MD, professor of medicine, Univ. of Sus an Haack, Coop er Sen ior Schol ar in Arts and City Univ. of New York–Lehman College Brussels Sci en ces, professor of phi los o phy and professor Stev en Pink er, cog ni tive sci en tist, Harvard Univ. of Law, Univ. of Mi ami Ir ving Bie der man, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Philip Plait, astronomer; lecturer; writer Harriet Hall*, MD, family physician; investigator, South ern CA Mas si mo Pol id oro, sci ence writer; au thor; ex ec u tive Puyallup, WA Sandra Blakeslee, science writer; author; New York di rect or of CI CAP, It a ly Times science correspondent C.E.M. Han sel, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Wales Anthony R. Pratkanis, professor of psychology, David J. Helfand, professor of astronomy, Sus an Black more, vis it ing lec tur er, Univ. of the West Univ. of CA, Santa Cruz of Eng land, Bris tol Columbia Univ. Terence M. Hines, prof. of psychology, Pace Univ., Benjamin Radford, investigator; research fellow, Mark Boslough, physicist, Sandia National Laborato- Committee for Skeptical Inquiry ries, Albuquerque, NM Pleasantville, NY. James “The Amazing” Randi, magician; CSICOP Hen ri Broch, phys i cist, Univ. of Nice, France Doug las R. Hof stad ter, pro fes sor of hu man un der stand ing and cog ni tive sci ence, In di ana Univ. founding member; founder, James Randi Jan Har old Brun vand, folk lor ist; pro fes sor emer i tus Educational Foundation of Eng lish, Univ. of Utah Ger ald Hol ton, Mal linc krodt Pro fes sor of Phys ics and Mil ton Ro sen berg, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Chica go Mar io Bunge, phi los o pher, McGill Univ., Montreal pro fes sor of his to ry of sci ence, Har vard Univ. Ray Hy man*, psy chol o gist, Univ. of Or egon Wal la ce Sam pson, MD, clin i cal pro fes sor of med i cine, Robert T. Carroll, emeritus professor of philoso- Stan ford Univ.; ed i tor, Sci en tif ic Re view of phy, Sacramento City College; writer Stuart D. Jordan, NASA astrophysicist emeritus; Al ter na tive Med i cine Sean B. Carroll, molecular geneticist; vice president science advisor to Center for Inquiry Office of for science education, Howard Hughes Medical Public Policy, Washington, DC Am ar deo Sar ma*, chairman, GWUP, Ger ma ny Institute, Madison, WI Barry Karr, executive director, Committee for Richard Saunders, president, Australian Thomas R. Casten, energy expert; founder and Skeptical Inquiry, Amherst, New York Skeptics; educator; investigator; podcaster; chairman, Recycled Energy Development, Law rence M. Krauss, foundation professor, School Sydney, Australia Westmont, IL of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics Dept.; Joe Schwarcz, director, McGill Office for Science John R. Cole, an thro pol o gist; ed i tor, Na tion al director, Origins Initiative, Arizona State Univ. and Society Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion Harry Kroto, professor of chemistry and Eu ge nie C. Scott*, phys i cal an thro pol o gist; ex ec u tive K.C. Cole, science writer; author; professor, biochemistry, Florida State Univ.; Nobel laureate di rect or, Na tion al Cen ter for Sci ence Ed u ca tion Univ. of Southern California’s Annenberg Ed win C. Krupp, as tron o mer; di rect or, Rob ert Sheaf fer, sci ence writer School of Journalism Grif fith Ob ser va to ry, Los Angeles, CA El ie A. Shne our, bi o chem ist; au thor; president and Fred er ick Crews, lit er ary and cul tur al crit ic; pro fes sor Law rence Kusche, sci ence writer research director, Bi os ys tems Re search In sti tute, emer i tus of Eng lish, Univ. of CA, Berke ley Le on Le der man, emer i tus di rect or, Fer mi lab; La Jol la, CA Richard Dawkins, zo ol o gist, Ox ford Univ. No bel lau re ate in phys ics Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute, Ge of frey Dean, tech ni cal ed i tor, Perth, Aus tral ia Scott O. Lil i en feld*, psy chol o gist, Emory Univ., Mountain View, CA Cor nel is de Ja ger, pro fes sor of as tro phys ics, Atlanta, GA Simon Singh, science writer; broadcaster; UK Univ. of Utrecht, the Neth er lands Lin Zix in, former ed itor, Sci ence and Dick Smith, film pro duc er; pub lish er; Ter rey Hills, Dan i el C. Den nett, Aus tin B. Fletch er Pro fes sor Tech nol o gy Dai ly (Chi na) N.S.W., Aus tral ia of Phi los o phy and di rect or of Cen ter for Cog ni tive Je re Lipps, Mu se um of Pa le on tol o gy, Univ. of CA, Stud ies, Tufts Uni v. Keith E. Stanovich, cognitive psychologist; Berke ley professor of human development and applied Ann Druyan, writer and producer; CEO, Eliz a beth Loft us*, pro fes sor of psy chol o gy, psychology, Uni v. of Toronto Cosmos Studios, Ithaca, NY Univ. of CA, Ir vine Vic tor J. Sten ger, emer i tus pro fes sor of phys ics Sanal Edamaruku, president, Indian Rationalist Da vid Marks, psy chol o gist, City Univ., Lon don and as tron o my, Univ. of Ha waii; ad junct pro fes- Association and Rationalist International Mar io Men dez-Acos ta, jour nal ist and sci ence writer, sor of phi los o phy, Univ. of CO Edzard Ernst, professor, Complementary Medicine, Mex i co City Karen Stollznow*, linguist; skeptical investigator; Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology, writer; podcaster and Plymouth, Exeter, UK Brown Univ. Ken neth Fed er, pro fes sor of an thro pol o gy, Jill Cor nell Tar ter, as tron o mer, SE TI In sti tute, Marv in Min sky, pro fes sor of me dia arts and sci en- Moun tain View, CA Cen tral Con nec ti cut State Univ. ces, M.I.T. Car ol Tav ris, psy chol o gist and au thor, Los Ange les, CA Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy, Da vid Mor ri son, space sci en tist, NA SA Ames Re- SE Louisiana Univ. search Cen ter Da vid E. Thom as*, phys i cist and math e ma ti cian, Socorro, NM An drew Fra knoi, as tron o mer, Foot hill Col lege, Rich ard A. Mul ler, pro fes sor of phys ics, Univ. of CA, Los Al tos Hills, CA Berke ley Neil de Gras se Ty son, as tro phys i cist and di rect or, Hay den Plan e tar i um, New York City Kend rick Fra zi er*, sci ence writer; ed i tor, Joe Nick ell, sen ior re search fel low, CSI S I Jan Willem Nienhuys, mathematician, Waalre, Indre Viskontas, cognitive neuroscientist, tv and pod- Christopher C. French, professor, Department The Netherlands cast host, and opera singer, San Francisco, CA of Psychology, and head of the Anomalistic Lee Nis bet, phi los o pher, Med aille Col lege Ma ri lyn vos Sa vant, Pa rade mag a zine Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths con trib ut ing ed i tor College, Univ. of London Steven Novella*, MD, assistant professor of neurology, Yale Univ. School of Medicine Stev en Wein berg, pro fes sor of phys ics and as tron- Yv es Gal i fret, executive secretary, o my, Univ. of Tex as at Aus tin; No bel lau re ate l’Union Rationaliste Bill Nye, sci ence ed u ca tor and tel e vi sion host, Nye Labs E.O. Wil son, Univ. pro fes sor emer i tus, organismic and Luigi Garlaschelli, chemist, Università di Pavia evolutionary biology, Har vard Univ.