The Skeptics Society
Encyclopedia
The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism
and resisting the spread of pseudoscience
, superstition
, and irrational
beliefs. The Skeptics Society was originally founded as a Los Angeles
-area skeptical group to replace the defunct Southern California
Skeptics. After the success of its magazine, Skeptic
, introduced in Spring 1992, it became a national and then international organization.
"The Science Guy", Saturday Night Live alumna Julia Sweeney
, biologist Richard Dawkins
and popular astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson
.
A primary activity of the Skeptics Society is the publication of Skeptic magazine. Skeptic is a quarterly science education and science advocacy magazine available by subscription or on major newsstands in the U.S.
and Canada
. Over 100 pages long, the magazine examines many of the aforementioned topics. Its cover stories have ranged from examination of alleged UFO
s in religious icons and theories of the likelihood of artificial intelligence
, skeptic.com to tributes to luminaries such as Isaac Asimov
and Ernst Mayr
. Some editions feature special sections devoted to a particular topic or theme that is examined through multiple articles by different authors, such as intelligent design
, a frequently recurring topic in the magazine, given the ongoing creation-evolution controversy
.
The magazine also features a large correspondence section called "Forum", that includes not only letters from lay readers, but also in-depth comments and rebuttals from professionals for extended academic debate across issues from past editions. Bound into most issues is also a 10-page young readers section called Junior Skeptic, which focuses on one topic, or practical instruction that is written and illustrated in a style more appealing to children.
In 2007, Skepticality
was adopted as the group's official podcast
.
, like the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the James Randi Educational Foundation
, investigates extraordinary claims, such as extra sensory perception, Atlantis
, 9/11 conspiracy theories
, the Loch Ness Monster
, Bigfoot
, creationism
, pyramid power
, etc. It does not limit itself to potentially pseudoscientific claims, but also investigates such controversies as pseudohistory
(as in the examples of Holocaust denial
and extreme Afrocentrism
), the use or misuse of theory and statistics, conspiracy theories, urban legend
s, witch hunts, mass hysteria, genius
, and intelligence
, and cultural influences on science, as well as controversies involving protoscience
s at the leading edge of established science, and even fad
s like cryonics
and low-carb diets.
, Richard Dawkins
, Philip Zimbardo
, Dinesh D'Souza
, Steven Pinker
, Carol Tavris
, and Sam Harris
at California Institute of Technology
. The lectures occur on Sunday afternoons, and are open to the public for a nominal fee. The Skeptics Society also sell recordings of the lectures.
In addition, the Skeptics Society hosted the "Origins Conference" in October 2008 with Nancey Murphy
, Hugh Ross
, Leonard Susskind
, Sean Carroll
, Paul Davies
, Stuart Kauffman
, Christof Koch
, Kenneth R. Miller
, Donald Prothero, and Victor J. Stenger
.
Scientific skepticism
Scientific 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...
and resisting the spread of pseudoscience
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...
, superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
, and irrational
Irrationality
Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate reasoning, emotional distress, or cognitive deficiency...
beliefs. The Skeptics Society was originally founded as a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-area skeptical group to replace the defunct Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
Skeptics. After the success of its magazine, Skeptic
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...
, introduced in Spring 1992, it became a national and then international organization.
History
Formed in 1992, in 2008 it has 55,000 members worldwide including Bill NyeBill Nye
William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...
"The Science Guy", Saturday Night Live alumna Julia Sweeney
Julia Sweeney
Julia Anne Sweeney is an American actress, comedian and author best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for her autobiographical solo shows.-Personal life:...
, biologist Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
and popular astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, a science communicator, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History...
.
Activities
- Maintaining a websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
for eSkeptic on breaking science and pseudoscience news. - SkepticalitySkepticalitySkepticality is the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. It explores rational thought, skeptical ideas, and famous myths from around the world and throughout history...
is the group's official podcastPodcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
.
A primary activity of the Skeptics Society is the publication of Skeptic magazine. Skeptic is a quarterly science education and science advocacy magazine available by subscription or on major newsstands in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Over 100 pages long, the magazine examines many of the aforementioned topics. Its cover stories have ranged from examination of alleged UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
s in religious icons and theories of the likelihood of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, skeptic.com to tributes to luminaries such as Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
and Ernst Mayr
Ernst Mayr
Ernst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...
. Some editions feature special sections devoted to a particular topic or theme that is examined through multiple articles by different authors, such as intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
, a frequently recurring topic in the magazine, given the ongoing creation-evolution controversy
Creation-evolution controversy
The creation–evolution controversy is a recurring cultural, political, and theological dispute about the origins of the Earth, humanity, life, and the universe....
.
The magazine also features a large correspondence section called "Forum", that includes not only letters from lay readers, but also in-depth comments and rebuttals from professionals for extended academic debate across issues from past editions. Bound into most issues is also a 10-page young readers section called Junior Skeptic, which focuses on one topic, or practical instruction that is written and illustrated in a style more appealing to children.
In 2007, Skepticality
Skepticality
Skepticality is the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. It explores rational thought, skeptical ideas, and famous myths from around the world and throughout history...
was adopted as the group's official podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
.
Skeptic
The Society's magazine SkepticSkeptic (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...
, like the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the James Randi Educational Foundation
James Randi Educational Foundation
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...
, investigates extraordinary claims, such as extra sensory perception, Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, 9/11 conspiracy theories
9/11 conspiracy theories
9/11 conspiracy theories are theories that disagree with the widely accepted account that the September 11 attacks were perpetrated solely by al-Qaeda. These theories arose because of what proponents of the conspiracy theories believe to be inconsistencies in the official conclusions or some...
, the Loch Ness Monster
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
, Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
, creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
, pyramid power
Pyramid power
Pyramid power refers to alleged supernatural or paranormal properties of the ancient Egyptian pyramids and objects of similar shape. With this power, model pyramids are said to preserve foods, sharpen or maintain the sharpneses of razor blades, improve health , function "as a...
, etc. It does not limit itself to potentially pseudoscientific claims, but also investigates such controversies as pseudohistory
Pseudohistory
Pseudohistory is a pejorative term applied to a type of historical revisionism, often involving sensational claims whose acceptance would require rewriting a significant amount of commonly accepted history, and based on methods that depart from standard historiographical conventions.Cryptohistory...
(as in the examples of Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
and extreme Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism is cultural ideology mostly limited to the United States, dedicated to the history of Black people a response to global racist attitudes about African people and their historical contributions by revisiting this history with an African cultural and ideological center...
), the use or misuse of theory and statistics, conspiracy theories, urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s, witch hunts, mass hysteria, genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
, and intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
, and cultural influences on science, as well as controversies involving protoscience
Protoscience
In the philosophy of science, a protoscience is an area of scientific endeavor that is in the process of becoming established. Protoscience is distinguished from pseudoscience by its standard practices of good science, such as a willingness to be disproven by new evidence, or to be replaced by a...
s at the leading edge of established science, and even fad
FAD
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...
s like cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
and low-carb diets.
Caltech Lecture Series
The Caltech Lecture Series offers speakers on a wide range of topics relating to science, psychology, social issues, religion/atheism, skepticism, etc. Past speakers include Julia SweeneyJulia Sweeney
Julia Anne Sweeney is an American actress, comedian and author best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for her autobiographical solo shows.-Personal life:...
, Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
, Philip Zimbardo
Philip Zimbardo
Philip George Zimbardo is an American psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is president of the Heroic Imagination Project...
, Dinesh D'Souza
Dinesh D'Souza
Dinesh D'Souza is an author and public speaker and a former Robert and Karen Rishwain Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is currently the President of The King's College in New York City. D'Souza is a noted Christian apologist and conservative writer and speaker....
, Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, linguist and popular science author...
, Carol Tavris
Carol Tavris
Carol Anne Tavris is an American social psychologist and author. She received a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan, and has taught psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and the New School for Social Research...
, and Sam Harris
Sam Harris (author)
Sam Harris is an American author, and neuroscientist, as well as the co-founder and current CEO of Project Reason. He received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Stanford University, before receiving a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA...
at California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
. The lectures occur on Sunday afternoons, and are open to the public for a nominal fee. The Skeptics Society also sell recordings of the lectures.
In addition, the Skeptics Society hosted the "Origins Conference" in October 2008 with Nancey Murphy
Nancey Murphy
Nancey Murphy is Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. She received the B.A. from Creighton University in 1973, the Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1980, and the Th.D...
, Hugh Ross
Hugh Ross (creationist)
Hugh Norman Ross is a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist.He has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics, and later established his own ministry called Reasons To Believe, that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism...
, Leonard Susskind
Leonard Susskind
Leonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch Professor of Theoretical Physics at Stanford University. His research interests include string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum cosmology...
, Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll may refer to:*Sean B. Carroll , US evolutionary biologist*Sean M. Carroll , US theoretical physicist*Seán Carroll , Irish Sinn Féin politician...
, Paul Davies
Paul Davies
Paul Charles William Davies, AM is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, currently a professor at Arizona State University as well as the Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science...
, Stuart Kauffman
Stuart Kauffman
Stuart Alan Kauffman is an American theoretical biologist and complex systems researcher concerning the origin of life on Earth...
, Christof Koch
Christof Koch
Christof Koch is an American neuroscientist working on the neural basis of consciousness. He is the Lois and Victor Troendle Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology at California Institute of Technology, where he has been since 1986...
, Kenneth R. Miller
Kenneth R. Miller
Kenneth Raymond Miller is a biology professor at Brown University. Miller, who is Roman Catholic, is particularly known for his opposition to creationism, including the intelligent design movement...
, Donald Prothero, and Victor J. Stenger
Victor J. Stenger
Victor John Stenger is an American particle physicist, outspoken atheist, and author, now active in philosophy and popular religious skepticism....
.
External links
- The Skeptics Society, Official webpage, skeptic.com
- Skeptic Magazine Official webpage, skeptic.com