Skepticblog

The official blog of the Skeptologists

This blog is one of the best rationality blogs out there. Add this blog to My Feeds.

I Was a Skeptic Too Until I Tried…

Mar 11, 2010 2:00am

We’ve all heard the infamous anecdote used in a multitude of advertisements for various flavors of woo, “I was a skeptic too until I tried (insert your favorite alternative woo product here).” It’s an effective and compelling sales pitch to laypeople, so much so that it’s become so old and...

A victory for reality in Texas

Mar 10, 2010 5:00am

I am pleased to write that the creationist and generally anti-reality Don McLeroy has lost his bid for re-election to the Texas State Board of Education! Yay! The man who ousted him is Thomas Ratliff, who is — gasp! — an actual educator who has vowed to try to remove the politicization...

Pentagon Gunman a Conspiracy Theorist & 9/11 Truther

Mar 10, 2010 5:00am

What’s the harm in believing nonsense? I get asked this all the time: “Oh come on Shermer, let people have their delusions, what’s the harm?” I have a laundry list of retorts to this challenge, from the value of living in a rational world that is based in reality to tales...

Another Energy Scam

Mar 8, 2010 5:14am

A Utah company, Manna of Utah, is planning on building a plant in Odessa MO that will, among other things, build generators for home use. I wrote recently about another home generator company, Bloom Box, cautioning against accepting corporate hype at face value. Bloom Box appears to be a legitimate...

Cat’s Out of Bag

Mar 6, 2010 2:50pm

I’m not normally prone to mystical cats or too much Internet craziness, but since I’ll be off on the Skeptics of the Carribean cruise with Randi and lots of other fun loving folks next week, I thought I would leave you all with some silliness to ponder. We all need some time off and...

Further Thoughts on Atheism

Mar 5, 2010 4:40pm

Even before I started writing Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be I knew that it would very briefly mention religion, make a mild assertion that religious questions are out of scope for science, and move on. I knew this was likely to provoke blow-back from some...

“The Standard Pablum” — Science and Atheism

Mar 1, 2010 9:01pm

I’m pleased to say that the release of Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be has been enjoying quite a bit of attention from skeptics — which has helped this full-color kids’ book get off to a great start. Perhaps the most rewarding moment for me so far was...

Armchair Skeptics

Mar 1, 2010 6:21am

I am often asked if skeptics and skeptical organizations should undertake first-hand investigations. Of course, it depends upon what your goals are. But I think the question can be re-phrased to mean – is there any value or benefit to first hand investigation, and to this the answer is a...

The Results of Booze on Telepathic Ability

Feb 28, 2010 2:41pm

The results are in: alcohol and telepathy don’t mix. At least they didn’t this past Saturday, when after over two years of negotiations with alleged telepath Regan Traynor, his test ended in a complete wash-out for him and his “receiver” Fernando.CFI hosted this much awaited preliminary test for their $50,000 challenge....

Some feedback on the Large Hadron Collider

Feb 25, 2010 2:00am

As Skeptoid listeners know, occasionally I like to go the Listener Feedback files to hear what people have to say. I found a note from Nick from Albuquerque, who disagreed strongly with the way I discussed the safety of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. I offer my response to...