The SciencesSeptember 1, 2005
Rumsfeld's Wisdom
Where the known meets the unknown is where science begins
Stories by Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer is publisher of Skeptic magazine (www.skeptic.com) and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. His new book is Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia (Henry Holt, 2018).
HealthAugust 1, 2005
Full of Holes
The curious case of acupuncture
HealthJuly 1, 2005
Hope Springs Eternal
Can nutritional supplements, biotechnology and nanotechnology help us live forever?
The SciencesJune 27, 2005
The Woodstock of Evolution
The World Summit on Evolution, held in the Galapagos Islands, revealed a science rich in history and tradition, data and theory, as well as controversy and debate
The SciencesJune 1, 2005
Fahrenheit 2777
9/11 has generated the mother of all conspiracy theories
TechnologyMay 1, 2005
Turn Me On, Dead Man
What do the Beatles, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, Patricia Arquette and Michael Keaton all have in common?
The SciencesApril 1, 2005
The Feynman-Tufte Principle
A visual display of data should be simple enough to fit on the side of a van
EvolutionMarch 1, 2005
The Fossil Fallacy
Creationists' demand for fossils that represent "missing links" reveals a deep misunderstanding of science
Mind & BrainFebruary 1, 2005
Abducted!
Imaginary traumas are as terrifying as the real thing
The SciencesJanuary 1, 2005
Quantum Quackery
A surprise-hit film has renewed interest in applying quantum mechanics to consciousness, spirituality and human potential
The SciencesDecember 1, 2004
Common Sense
Surprising new research shows that crowds are often smarter than individuals
The SciencesNovember 1, 2004
Flying Carpets and Scientific Prayers
Scientific experiments claiming that distant intercessory prayer produces salubrious effects are deeply flawed
The SciencesOctober 1, 2004
The Myth Is the Message
Yet another discovery of the lost continent of Atlantis shows why science and myth make uneasy bedfellows
TechnologySeptember 1, 2004
Mustangs, Monists and Meaning
The dualist belief that body and soul are separate entities is natural, intuitive and with us from infancy. It is also very probably wrong
The SciencesAugust 1, 2004
Miracle on Probability Street
The Law of Large Numbers guarantees that one-in-a-million miracles happen 295 times a day in America
The SciencesJuly 1, 2004
God's Number Is Up
Among a heap of books claiming that science proves God's existence emerges one that computes a probability of 67 percent
The SciencesJune 1, 2004
Death by Theory
Attachment therapy is based on a pseudoscientific theory that, when put into practice, can be deadly
The SciencesMay 1, 2004
The Enchanted Glass
Francis Bacon and experimental psychologists show why the facts in science never just speak for themselves
The SciencesApril 1, 2004
Magic Water and Mencken's Maxim
Social critic H. L. Mencken offers a lesson on how to respond to outrageous pseudoscientific claims
The SciencesMarch 1, 2004
The Major Unsolved Problem in Biology
Three books try to explain consciousness
The SciencesMarch 1, 2004
None So Blind
Perceptual-blindness experiments challenge the validity of eyewitness testimony and the metaphor of memory as a video recording
The SciencesFebruary 1, 2004
A Bounty of Science
A new book reexamines the mutiny on the Bounty, but science offers a deeper account of its cause
TechnologyJanuary 1, 2004
Bunkum!
Broad-mindedness is a virtue when investigating extraordinary claims, but often they turn out to be pure bunk
The SciencesDecember 1, 2003
What's the Harm?
Alternative medicine is not everything to gain and nothing to lose