THE CONJUROR’S CONUNDRUM: My Life in Magic and
Skepticism. Jamy Ian Swiss. Swiss, a professional magician and
longtime book reviewer for Genii magazine, has
been active in the skeptical movement for nearly forty
years. The title of his new book comes from the seeming
paradox that many magicians (e.g., Houdini, James “The
Amazing” Randi, Banachek, Ray Hyman, and Richard
Wiseman) become activists who dedicate themselves to
protecting the public from deception. The book is
handsomely produced, square shaped, and has gold foil
lettering. The book is divided into two parts:
“Beginnings: Becoming an Honest Liar” (the latter phrase
the title of the award-winning 2014 documentary about
Randi) and “Continuings: My Life in Skepticism.” Swiss
takes readers on a brisk and engaging tour of the rise
of both Spiritualism and skepticism, focusing on men of
science who were fooled by psychic mediums—and the
magicians who offered insight into how the tricks were
done. The Amazing Randi and his Million Dollar Challenge
are discussed, and the book ends with a look at modern
claimants and how magic and skepticism continue to
expose them. Along the way, Swiss offers many anecdotes,
from his boyhood visit to the World’s Fair that sparked
his skepticism to meeting—and later working closely
with—Randi. In a section titled “Stories from the
Trenches,” Swiss takes the reader through some of the
vagaries (and occasional indignities) of being a
skeptical spokesperson, many of which ring all too
familiar. Swiss saves special venom for magicians, such
as Kreskin, who exploit ambiguity and play both sides of
the fence. Kreskin implies he has special powers (or
not) depending on his audience and where he can make a
buck. There are many—though not enough—books on
skepticism from various approaches. However, there are
notably few memoirs about skepticism per se. If
The Conjuror’s Conundrum sometimes comes off as
brash, brilliant, and opinionated, well, that’s Swiss
coming through loud and clear. An index would have been
nice, but the book does offer a small bibliography.
Overall it’s a fun, educational, and passionate read.
Available at jamyianswiss.com, 2021, 158 pp, $25.
WEIRDNESS! What Fake Science and the Paranormal Tell
Us about the Nature of Science. Taner Edis. Physics professor Edis teaches a university
course titled “Weird Science,” in which his students
discuss and debate the nature of dubious (and seemingly
mysterious) phenomena—of the type that fill these pages.
Here, over the course of six chapters (including “Beyond
the Evidence,” “Gods and Demons,” “Knowledge and
Meaning,” and “Reasons to Believe”), Edis reflects on
what he’s learned from the class and how it applies more
broadly. He notes that “Popular weird beliefs can be an
easy target: Do we really want to train our big critical
guns on Bigfoot? Our best reason to do so might be if
Bigfoot is a training exercise. What students learn
while debating Bigfoot might help them better analyze
other weird claims. And why stop with what is obviously
weird? If the students get better acquainted with
intellectual mistakes, they might be better equipped to
notice intellectual pathologies cloaked in
respectability—hiding, perhaps, in their own
disciplines.” Weirdness! is as unapologetically
idiosyncratic as Edis—from his physics-related t-shirts
he likes to wear to politics in his native Turkey to the
sign outside his office door at Truman State University
identifying the contents within as “Physics and
Weirdness.” It is also broad in scope, touching on
epistemology, academia, religion, philosophy,
creationism, overlapping magisteria, and more with a
focus on the erosion of trust in scientific
institutions. Pitchstone Publishing, 2021, 280 pp.,
$16.95