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Tag Archives: skepticism
Conspiracies and other stories that make us human
Early last week I read Brian Dunning’s Conspiracies Declassified: The Skeptoid Guide to the Truth Behind the Theories. I used to listen to Skeptoid over a decade ago, enjoying Dunning’s research into the facts behind popular theories and unsolved mysteries. … Continue reading
The Faith Healers
© 1987 James Randi 328 pages Recently I chanced to watch a lecture by “The Amazing” James Randi, a professional magician who, in the 1980s, began investigating paranormal racketeers — and exposing them. As someone who used people’s assumptions to … Continue reading
The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe
The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake© 2018 Dr. Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Burnstein512 pages …wow. Okay, so…back in 2006 I … Continue reading
The Believing Brain
The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies – How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them As Truths© 2011 Michael Shermer400 pages The human brain is an incredible organ, capable of storing vast amounts of information and … Continue reading
50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True
50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True© 2011 Guy Harrison458 pages “Just because it’s vivid, detailed, and expressed with confidence and emotion…doesn’t mean it’s true.” Chances are you know someone who harbors what you know to be irrational beliefs, … Continue reading
A Devil’s Chaplain
A Devil’s Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love© 2003 Richard Dawkins263 pages Charles Darwin mused that a devil’s chaplain might write quite a book on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low, and horridly cruel works of nature. A Devil’s … Continue reading
A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science
The Canon: A whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science© 2007 Natalie Angier293 pages Science is amazing! Why is so much of the writing about it so lame? Natalie Angier’s The Canon first reviews the principles of scientific thinking … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, science
Tagged biochemistry, biology, chemistry, evolution, geology, Physics, science, skepticism
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Wonder and Skepticism
Last night I suddenly wanted to listen to Carl Sagan’s last address to the Committee for the Scientific Investigation for Claims of the Paranormal (now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry). I needed to hear Sagan’s voice, his … Continue reading
SCIENCE! ..and other stuff
Dear readers: I am still scratching an itch for science and science fiction, both in books and on the screen. Over the weekend I read A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age, on inculcating scientific habits of mind. It’s rather … Continue reading