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Demonology: A Study of What Is Not
Demonology is one of the most misused terms in English, particularly by those relating the phrase to the occult. But what is it? The terms demonology and demonologist are two of the most misused terms...
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The Excluded Middle: A Skeptic Explores the Extraordinary
I recently finished reading Ray Hyman's collection of papers and essays, The Elusive Quarry (1989). In it, Dr. Hyman talks about attending the Parapsychological Association convention in 1979 as a...
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When Big Evidence Isn’t: The Statistical Pitfalls of Dean Radin’s Supernormal
Dean Radin’s new book claims that the scientific evidence for supernormal human abilities is now overwhelming. Radin relies upon meta-analyses and misrepresentations of published results to produce...
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¿Me persigue Dante?
“¿Estabas hace cinco horas en el aeropuerto de Barcelona?”, pregunté el 27 de marzo por teléfono a alguien a quien no conocía en persona. Acababa de meterme en un coche en el aeropuerto de Sevilla,...
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Harun Yahya’s Islamic Creationism: What It Is and Isn’t
The works published under the name Harun Yahya promote “Islamic creationism.” A closer look at their internal logic reveals that their appeal lies in their capacity to mimic science. Creationism has...
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‘Miracle’ Statue of Fatima
After years of crossing paths with it, I finally met up with the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima (Figures 1 and 2), which has been traveling the world to relate the “message” of the Lady of...
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Schooling for Good Sleep—Interview with Richard Wiseman
Richard Wiseman holds Britain’s only professorship in the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. His research into a range of topics including luck, the psychology of...
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Psi, Sci. (Sigh!)
Some say the case for psychic ability has been made, others say it hasn’t. Yet others say someday it will be, or will never be. In 130 years, has there been progress in psychical research? Once upon a...
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The Moon Was Full and Nothing Happened
A Review of Studies on the Moon and Human Behavior and Lunar Beliefs IT IS COMMONLY assumed that a full moon brings out the worst in people. Those who do research in this area invariably begin reports...
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Milk Doesn’t Aggravate Autism: How PETA and Jenny McCarthy Became Unwitting...
Autism pseudoscience is back in the news, and this time ice cream is the scapegoat. According to the animal rights group PETA, childhood autism may be diminished with a dairy-free diet. While this is...
View ArticleA Book Not for the Faint of Heart
Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium. By Mark Edward. Feral House, Port Townsend, Washington, 2012. ISBN: 978-1936239276. 242 pp. Softcover, $18.95. This is not a book for the faint of...
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The Monster That Never Sleeps—An Investigation into the Latest Loch Ness...
George Edwards has led boat cruises on Loch Ness for the past twenty-six years; as an avid believer in Nessie, Edwards has presented the world with two photos that he claims show the monster. The...
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How to Think about Appealing Claims
Think: Why You Should Question Everything. By Guy P. Harrison. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York, 2013. ISBN 978-1-61614-808-9. 240 pp. Softcover, $16.95. You are almost certainly familiar with the...
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Would the World Be Better Off Without Religion? A Skeptic’s Guide to the Debate
The widespread assertion that the world would be better off without religion is a reasonable hypothesis. Yet data suggest that skeptics should attach no more than a modest level of probability to it....
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The Conjuring: Ghosts? Poltergeist? Demons?
The 2013 scary movie The Conjuring was very loosely based on the story of Roger and Carolyn Perron and their five daughters who moved into a “haunted” Rhode Island farmhouse in January 1971. There,...
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Eugenie C. Scott Given CFI/CSI Lifetime Achievement Award
Here are the remarks by CFI President and CEO Ronald A. Lindsay at the CFI Summit in Tacoma presenting the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Eugenie C. Scott. Where would we be without...
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CFI Summit: Impressions
Back from the CFI Summit, I am completely impressed. Not only was there no obvious twerking, but there was no drama, and in our tight little community of scientific skeptics that is a wonderful thing....
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CFI Summit: Highlights
Skeptics, Humanists Come Together in Tacoma in First Joint ConferenceSkepticism, Humanism, or Both? It was billed as the CFI Summit—An International Congress in the Pacific Northwest, and it was a...
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Skeptic Activists Fighting for Burzynski’s Cancer Patients
A group of skeptical activists has been aggressively investigating and challenging the false claims of the Burzynski clinic and its dubious cancer treatments, presenting reliable information about...
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Stanislaw Burzynski: Four Decades of an Unproven Cancer Cure
The Houston doctor Stanislaw Burzynski has been using an unproven cancer cure, “antineoplastons,” for decades, but despite its lack of proven anticancer activity, he has still not been shut down. Here...
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