Skeptic (Altadena, CA) articles from June 2002

Skeptic (Altadena, CA) archives from June 2002

What is a skeptic?
June 22, 2002... What does it mean to be a skeptic? Some people believe that skepticism rejection of new ideas, or worse, they confuse "skeptic" with "cynic" and think that skeptics are a bunch of grumpy curmudgeons unwilling to accept any claim that...

I was brilling: Sylvia Browne, John Edward, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Bad Astronomy, and more.
June 22, 2002... Where is Sylvia? Psychic Sylvia Browne has accepted completely the terms of the million-dollar test, which I clearly outlined on a September 3rd appearance with her on the Larry King Live TV show. This is very encouraging, and we've been...

Number manipulation: the not 'So Spooky' Tim McVeigh.
June 22, 2002... RECENTLY I RECEIVED A MASS-DISTRIBUTED E-MAIL that's been circulating throughout the United States regarding the now-executed convicted mass murderer and terrorist Timothy McVeigh, in which the subject line read, "This is So Spooky!!!"...

Forum.
June 22, 2002... The New Look I just picked up the new SKEPTIC today and I wanted to compliment you on the making some nice changes in the overall appearance of the magazine which really add some visual snap and modernization to the look. But what happened...

Skeptical sayings: Wit and wisdom from skeptics past & present.
June 22, 2002... In January, 2001, we posted a request to the E-SKEPTIc list of 10,000 people to send us their favorite quotes from skeptics, scientists, humanists, free thinkers, and scholars, past and present. We begin with four of my favorites, gleaned from...

On the fringes of credibility: the boundary question between science and non-science.
June 22, 2002... In 1980, as a field trip of sorts, I took my students to visit Sister Hedwig, the last living member of the Koreshan Unity, in the town of Estero, Florida. Like so many of the utopian movements in the late 19th century, the Koreshans held...

Nine crazy ideas in science.
June 22, 2002... HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED why so many of the ideas in modem science sound so crazy, or how to evaluate which of the current crop of crazy ideas might be true? As a physicist, I have always had an affinity for crazy ideas. Please don't...

The future of life: the solution; An excerpt from the future of life.
June 22, 2002... THE HUMAN SPECIES IS like the mythical giant Antaeus, who drew strength from contact with his mother, Gaea, the goddess Earth, and used it to challenge and defeat all corners. Hercules, learning his secret, lifted and held Antaeus above the...

The real state of the world.
June 22, 2002... Excerpted from The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World, by Bjom Lomborg, with permission from Cambridge University Press, [C] 2001 Cambridge University Press. TRULY UNDERSTANDING THE STATE OF THE WORLD is vital...

Skeptical of the skeptical environmentalist.
June 22, 2002... A review of The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World, by Bjorn Lomborg, Cambridge University Press, 2001. 515pp. ISBN: 0-521-01068-3 BJORN LOMBORG discusses a wide range of topics in his book and implies,...

Rape, sex and the srsearch of evolutionary psychology. (Book Reviews).
June 22, 2002... A review of A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion, by Randy Thornhill and Craig T. Palmer, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2000 I HAVE VERY LITTLE PATIENCE WITH both evolutionary psychology and its detractors. Much of...

Alas Poor Evolutionary Psychology: Unfairly Accused, Unjustly Condemned.
June 22, 2002... A review of Hilary Rose Steven Rose. Alas Poor Darwin: Arguments Against Evolutionary Psychology, 2000. New York: Harmony Books. IN ALAS POOR DARWIN (hereafter APD), Steven and Hilary Rose and the other contributors to this edited volume...

Darwin Redux.
June 22, 2002... Appleman, Philip: Darwin: A Norton Critical Edition. (Third ed.) W. W. Norton & Co., New York and London 2001. 682 pp. (Third ed.) NORTON'S FIRST CRITICAL EDITION of Darwin appeared in 1970, the second in 1979. Now, 22 years later, comes...

Madman of magic.
June 22, 2002... "Pick a card--any card" This famous phrase is often the lead--in to what performers call a "magician's force." A volunteer from the audience is asked to freely choose a card from a deck, and they suppose that they have made a free choice....