Remembering Randi: 1928-2020

The Center for Inquiry issued this statement October 21, 2020. We at the Center for Inquiry are heartbroken over the death of James Randi, who died on October 20 at the age of ninety-two. Randi helped found the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the organization that would one day …

We had the contents for this issue all planned, edited, and in proofs when the news came of the death of our dear friend and colleague James “The Amazing” Randi. His has been the strongest single voice of skepticism worldwide for a half century. Although just five days from deadline, we quickly changed plans. We …

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry has elected ten new fellows for their distinguished contributions to science and skepticism. They include a political scientist who studies conspiracy theories; a microbiologist who heads a science advocacy group in Brazil; a communications researcher who studies how to present the science about climate change and other contentious issues; a …

“Science and Scientists Held in High Esteem Across Global Publics” was the headline of a September 29, 2020, news release announcing the results of a new multinational survey from the Pew Research Center. The survey examined public opinion about science and its place in society as well as several specific science-related issues. Represented in the …

It was heartwarming to see how much support and funds were raised for the case of Britt Marie Hermes, who now lives in Germany. She used to be a naturopathic “doctor” until she retired from the profession in 2014 and blew the whistle on her blog www.naturopathicdiaries.com. She was sued for defamation by American naturopath …

Launched in 2004, Pensar: Revista Iberoamericana para la Ciencia y la Razón (Think: Ibero-American Magazine for Science and Reason) was the first magazine published by the Center for Inquiry/Committee for Skeptical Inquiry for the Spanish-speaking public. Due in part to high printing and international postage costs, the magazine ended its print run in 2009. However, …

In March 2020, the Center for Inquiry (CFI) launched its online Coronavirus Resource Center (https://centerforinquiry.org/coronavirus/) to inoculate visitors against COVID-19-related misinformation. Resources include links to: 1) articles and columns providing reliable COVID-19 news and fact-checks of popular COVID-19 myths, misconceptions, and conspiracies; 2) original COVID-19 content published by CFI; 3) pages providing practical advice to …

On September 30, 2020, Scott O. Lilienfeld succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of fifty-nine, and the skeptical movement lost a valued member far too soon. Lilienfeld was the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Psychology at Emory University and also a visiting fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia. A tireless advocate for …

Some are born to skepticism. Some are called to it. And some have it thrust upon them. Liverpool-based Michael Marshall, who in September 2020 was named the new editor of Britain’s online skeptic magazine The Skeptic, thinks he was born that way. “I almost envy the moments people describe as a sort of Damascene conversion,” …

Recently, Agnieszka Wołos and colleagues published a study that dramatically complicated the picture of prebiotic chemistry (Science, vol. 369, eaaw1955 [2020]), starting with just six fundamental building blocks—but also demonstrated the synthesis of dozens of known biotic molecules, some by multiple pathways and many in as few as three steps. The authors used a desktop …

In October 1985 in Salt Lake City, Utah, two bombing murders drew attention across the United States. Then a third bombing occurred, but the victim survived. When detectives went to his hospital room to interview the man—a young Mormon who sold rare historical documents—they caught him in a lie about how he had reached in …

Atlantis? It is hidden in plain sight, under the thick ice of Antarctica! This claim was made popular in the 1990s by pseudoarcheological theories in many popular books. But the original idea was born in Italy in 1974, when engineer Flavio Barbiero first mentioned it in his book A Civilization under Ice. The premise is …

Alternative medicine includes modalities such as acupuncture and chiropractic that are widely accepted despite the evidence for their effectiveness being far from convincing. It also includes lesser known systems of treatment. In the United States, the practice of Ayurveda is not licensed or regulated by any state, although Deepak Chopra has done much to publicize …

Featured Image: Figure 1. New batteries to be tested at a supposedly haunted mansion in Clovis, California, the set for the show MysteryQuest: Return of the Amityville Horror. Photo by the author. Q: I’ve been mulling over a question for years: If batteries are supposed to be drained during ghost investigations because spirits use the …

Cover Image Source: Pixabay   My last column for Skeptical Inquirer landed me on a conservative Chicago-area talk radio program. I think something about the title, “COVID-19 and the Tyranny of Now,” caught the eye of one of the show’s hosts, so they invited me on to discuss the article in the morning drive slot. The …

Featured Image Credit: Brian Engler Perhaps it is fitting that the bad news would come during this already dreary year of a pandemic and a partially shut-down world. Our dear colleague James (“The Amazing”) Randi, one of the giants of skepticism and a fierce force for reason and rationality, died October 20, 2020, of age-related …

Featured Image Credit: An Honest Liar We invited a few noted magicians and skeptics to share their thoughts and tributes to James Randi. PENN & TELLER Randi proved so much. Randi proved that you could be a magician and be honest. He proved that a conjurer could respect knowledge and people enough to get consent …

You castoff the last shadows, shacklesfrom long life.You were a gift. Crowdswere so drawn to your cause you seemed permanently bowedby their applause. I thumb through my mind’s snapshots to findyou performing again— almost as if, some way,while I hold my breath,you escape death for another day.

This article is based on a Skeptical Inquirer Presents live online presentation on July 30, 2020. I’m going to discuss the latest polls, particularly those about COVID-19 conspiracy theories. I’m going to consider why these theories are popular or not, and then I’m going to go meta. I don’t think I need to spend that …

Carol Tavris’s book with Elliot Aronson, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), has just been published in a third edition with a lengthy added chapter, “Dissonance, Democracy, and the Demagogue.” This article is based on her Skeptical Inquirer Presents live online conversation on August 27, 2020, with host Leighann Lord,with some updates and revisions …

Science and Creationism I agree with all the arguments in Brian Bolton’s excellent article “The Continuing Assault on Science by Creationist Group Reasons to Believe” (September/October 2020), but I’m very unhappy when he uses “Christian faith” synonymously for the “word-for-word understanding of the Bible,” especially the book of Genesis. Bolton correctly notes that there are …