Category: Commentary

The Heilpraktiker (translated literally as healing practitioner) is an officially recognized healthcare professional practicing so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) in Germany. The profession is seen as exemplary by many proponents of SCAM, while others feel that it presents an unacceptable danger to health and progress. The Heilpraktiker might be perhaps best understood by looking at its fascinating …

Science simplification is considered one of the most useful tools for communicating about science, whether through scientific books, articles, interviews, or documentaries. Depth of the scientific writing employed varies greatly depending on its intended audience. It can range anywhere from educational material for secondary and primary schools, to material appropriate for those pursuing undergraduate degrees, …

On June 15, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the first draft of its Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030 to Strengthen Implementation of the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (WHO 2021). I’m all for reducing harmful alcohol use, but I was taken aback by the advisement that “appropriate attention should …

In 2015, I warned a friend of mine that the newly minted “alt-right” should not be taken lightly. We disagree politically; she identifies as a conservative and would eventually be a Trump supporter. She was expressing amusement, via Facebook, over liberal worrywarts who were clutching their pearls because of the rhetoric of people such as …

Both in my classrooms and in public forums, I have seen most discussions of the relative merits of evolution and creationism falter due to confusion over use of the terms theory and fact. Creationists try to challenge the validity of evolution by asserting that it is merely a theory, while evolutionists counter by asserting that …

The aftermath of George Floyd’s cruel death made it clear that many Americans are largely unaware of the history of racial lynchings in their own country. From this ignorance came the corrosive insensitivity displayed by numerous white television pundits, journalists, radio hosts, and podcasters who commented endlessly on the details of Floyd’s death and the …

Protecting the environment is a worthy goal. The quality of our lives depends on the quality of the environment. We all need clean air, clean drinking water, and healthy food to have a healthy life. Poor air quality increases the risks of respiratory illnesses. Degrading soil health and warming global temperatures challenge continued food production. …

Despite the beliefs of many people, scientists have yet to find any compelling evidence for life beyond Earth. But that doesn’t mean we’re alone. If our world is the only place where biology exists, then life isn’t a frequent product of natural processes; it’s a miracle. The support for this daring statement is simple. In …

“There is general scientific agreement that … mankind is influencing the global climate … through carbon dioxide release from the burning of fossil fuels. … There are some potentially catastrophic events that must be considered. … Man has a time window of five to ten years before … hard decisions regarding … energy strategies might …

Cover Image: A “witch” shelter in Ghana. Photo from Vice News.   One of the state’s overarching obligations is protection of its citizens. Accordingly, a modern state must fulfill—or be made to fulfill—this duty. The state is supposed to ensure the security of lives and property. Discussions on the responsibility to protect human lives have …

If you’re reluctant to believe the latest round of media claims that alien spacecraft are lurking around our airspace and surprising Navy pilots, well, you are not alone. The New York Times leaned toward aliens as the reason Navy pilots have seen unexplained flying objects,1 and the Washington Post made a similar case in its news coverage …

Pseudoscientists and Eastern mystagogues have been propagating the myth that only objects that have mass are material. Their efforts have been so successful that even some physicists adhere to that myth. Here is an astrophysicist describing the myth to a gleeful Dalai Lama: “You can see [energy transforming into mass] happening in elementary particle processes. …

The turf war over science education recently took a new turn. Marilyn Teed told the Methacton School District, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that it was teaching what could be an outright lie: that Earth is a sphere. She then explained, in all seriousness, her case that Earth is actually flat. I’m going to defend Teed, but …

We scientific skeptics, we skeptical inquirers, do it all. I am sure one of us somewhere is right now going after some extraordinary claim none of us has even heard of yet, studying it in depth and critiquing it with all the tools of science and skepticism.  She—or he—will soon let the rest of us …

I am often asked to examine seemingly mysterious and inherently ambiguous photos. Usually the person asking has already settled—sometimes tentatively, more often strongly—on a specific interpretation. They know what the photo shows and want my independent confirmation that their favored interpretation is correct. That shadowy blur in the distant forest is a Bigfoot; that weird …

Today, skeptics fight not only false assertions and misinterpretation of facts but also a fundamental distrust of science and a deep-seated paranoia about reputable institutions lying to the entire culture.

I am always interested in seeing how countries and cultures honor their scientists, thinkers, and innovators. Today, entertainers and athletes get the bulk of popular acclaim. I don’t begrudge their fame—it is well deserved—but it is always nice to see when people who have advanced our understanding of the world in profound ways get their …

As an illustrative example, a 1982 Gallup poll asked a question regarding opinions on human evolution. At the time, 44 percent said they believed God made man supernaturally in our current form. In a 2014 poll, 42 percent still answered the same (Gallup 2015). The future does not hold promise of rapid improvement. Michael B. …

Charles’s foolishness in respect to the promotion of quackery has, in my opinion, been demonstrated multiple times.

The potential and kinetic energy devoted to counter the flat-earth movement is wasteful and misguided. It reveals a broad naiveté about which forms of pseudoscience have real gravitas.

We all must support critical inquiry and evidence-based thinking. We must honor those who do it, often at some considerable sacrifice to themselves.

The academic community doesn’t seem to take the spread of pseudoscience seriously. This is a serious problem that skeptics must face. Three facts made me aware of the necessity of teaching pseudoscience at colleges and universities. The first was the visit of a doctor—a friend of the family—who, when I started to debunk pseudoscience, replied: …

Skeptics cannot support political claims that are simply at odds with reasonable interpretations of the existing evidence. However, they should, when speaking as skeptics, stop short of denigrating an entire political viewpoint.

These are remarks by psychologist and CSI Fellow Elizabeth Loftus accepting an honorary doctorate at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

The full text of invited testimony by the Center for Inquiry at the April 20, 2015, hearing of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on “Homeopathic Product Regulation: Evaluating the FDA’s Regulatory Framework After a Quarter-Century.”

Just over forty years ago, the world was awash in unexamined paranormalism. But a scientific response to all the nonsense was beginning to brew.

My experience suggests a contrarian view on the climate change debate that may be worth sharing with my fellow skeptics, including those of you skeptical of climate science.

I want to give some brief historical perspective about the skeptical movement, take a look at some new trends, and revisit a theme I’ve emphasized before, reminding ourselves why we do this: the higher values of skeptical inquiry.