The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
Encyclopedia
The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience is a collection of articles that discuss the Skeptics Society's scientific findings of investigations into popular pseudoscientific
and supernatural
claims. It has been called "a 2-volume set with an attitude."
The editor, Michael Shermer
, director of the Skeptics Society, pulled together articles originally published in Skeptic magazine
with some conceptual overviews and historical documents to create this two-volume encyclopedia
. Pat Linse is listed as a contributing editor. It was published by ABC-CLIO
in 2002.
The encyclopedia has five sections. The first volume is composed of alphabetical write-ups on the scientific view of pseudoscientific concepts such as the "Bermuda Triangle and dowsing, Shroud of Turin and Feng Shui, spiritualism and biorhythms, placebo effect and graphology, Alien abductions and UFOs, crop circles and astrology", followed by a section of investigations and discussions. The second volume explores such subjects in more depth with sections containing case studies, "for and against" essays, and historical documents. This final section has been criticized for containing only five documents.
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
and supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
claims. It has been called "a 2-volume set with an attitude."
The editor, Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer
Michael Brant Shermer is an American science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and Editor in Chief of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. The Skeptics Society currently has over 55,000 members...
, director of the Skeptics Society, pulled together articles originally published in Skeptic magazine
Skeptic (U.S. magazine)
Skeptic is a quarterly science education and science advocacy magazine published internationally by The Skeptics Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs...
with some conceptual overviews and historical documents to create this two-volume encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
. Pat Linse is listed as a contributing editor. It was published by ABC-CLIO
ABC-CLIO
ABC-CLIO is a publisher of reference works for the study of history and social studies in academic, secondary school, and public library settings.-History:...
in 2002.
The encyclopedia has five sections. The first volume is composed of alphabetical write-ups on the scientific view of pseudoscientific concepts such as the "Bermuda Triangle and dowsing, Shroud of Turin and Feng Shui, spiritualism and biorhythms, placebo effect and graphology, Alien abductions and UFOs, crop circles and astrology", followed by a section of investigations and discussions. The second volume explores such subjects in more depth with sections containing case studies, "for and against" essays, and historical documents. This final section has been criticized for containing only five documents.
See also
- Scientific skepticismScientific skepticismScientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
- Skeptic's DictionarySkeptic's DictionaryThe Skeptic's Dictionary is a collection of cross-referenced skeptical essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book. The skepdic.com site was launched in 1994 and the book was published in 2003 with nearly 400 entries. As of January 2011 the website has...
- An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and SupernaturalAn Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and SupernaturalAn Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural is a 1995 book by James Randi with a foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. It serves as a reference for various pseudoscience and paranormal subjects....
External links
Publisher's description of the book- The Skeptic encyclopedia of pseudoscience Google Book's page