The Sciences
Is God Dying?
The decline of religion and the rise of the “nones”
Skeptic212 articles archived since 1845
Mind
A Tale of Tax Returns and Tax Scams
How weird beliefs can land you in jail
The Sciences
Why We Should Choose Science over Beliefs
Ideology needs to give way
Mind
The Danger for Scientists of Keeping an Open Mind
Why great scientists make great mistakes
The Sciences
The Five Myths of Terrorism—Including That It Works
Why terror doesn't work
The Sciences
How Beliefs in Extraterrestrials and Intelligent Design Are Similar
Arguments of divine intervention—alien or otherwise—start with ignorance
Mind
Searching for the True Sources of Crime
Where neuroscience meets criminology
Policy & Ethics
The Science of Guns Proves Arming Untrained Citizens Is a Bad Idea
How data can help clarify the gun-control debate
Mind
Why a Near-Death Experience Isn’t Proof of Heaven
Did a neurosurgeon go to heaven?
The Sciences
How Skeptics Can Break the Cycle of False Beliefs
Pluralistic ignorance and the last best hope on Earth
Sustainability
The Liberals' War on Science
How politics distorts science on both ends of the spectrum
Mind
The Mind’s Compartments Create Conflicting Beliefs
How our modular brains lead us to deny and distort evidence
Mind
How Communities Shape Our Morals
Nazis did not just blindly follow orders
Mind
What Milgram’s Shock Experiments Really Mean
Replicating Milgram's shock experiments reveals not blind obedience but deep moral conflict
Mind
Why Your Brain Is Irrational about Obama and Romney
Subliminal influences guide our voting preferences
Mind
Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories
Why people who believe in one conspiracy are prone to believe others
The Sciences
How Free Will Collides with Unconscious Impulses
Volition as self-control exerts veto power over impulses
Mind
What Happens to Consciousness When We Die
The death of the brain means subjective experiences are neurochemistry
Evolution
Evolution Explains Why Politics Is So Tribal
Morality binds us together into cohesive groups but blinds us to the ideas and motives of those in other groups
The Sciences
Much Ado about Nothing
Science closes in on why there is something instead of nothing
