Skeptic212 articles archived since 1845

Climbing Mount Immortality: Death, Cognition and the Making of Civilization

How awareness of our mortality may be a major driver of civilization

How We Opt Out of Overoptimism: Our Habit of Ignoring What Is Real Is a Double-Edged Sword

The willful distortion of reality to extremes can be harmful

Lies We Tell Ourselves: How Deception Leads to Self-Deception

How deception leads to self-deception

In the Year 9595

Why the singularity is not near, but hope springs eternal

Sacred Salubriousness: Why Religious Belief Is Not the Only Path to a Healthier Life

New research on self-control explains the link between religion and health

The Real Science behind Scientology

It's not what you think

The Decline of Violence

Be skeptical of claims that we live in an ever more dangerous world

What Is Pseudoscience?

Distinguishing between science and pseudoscience is problematic

Globaloney: Why the World Is Not Flat...Yet

The Believing Brain: Why Science Is the Only Way Out of Belief-Dependent Realism

Extrasensory Pornception: Doubts about a New Paranormal Claim

Does new research prove paranormal precognition or normal postcognition?

UFOs, UAPs and CRAPs

Unidentified aerial phenomena offer a lesson on the residue problem in science

Financial Flimflam: Why Economic Experts' Predictions Fail

Houdini's Skeptical Advice: Just Because Something's Unexplained Doesn't Mean It's Supernatural

Before you say something is out of this world, first make sure that it is not in this world

The Science of Right and Wrong

Can data determine moral values?

The Conspiracy Theory Detector

How to tell the difference between true and false conspiracy theories

The Skeptic's Skeptic

In the battle for ideas, scientists could learn from Christopher Hitchens

Can You Hear Me Now? The Truth about Cell Phones and Cancer

Physics shows that cell phones cannot cause cancer

Democracy's Laboratory: Are Science and Politics Interrelated?

Mixing science and politics is tricky but necessary for a functioning polity

Our Neandertal Brethren: Why They Were Not a Separate Species

Genome sequencing has revealed our common humanity