skeptical

If you are looking for an an analysis of the current state of belief in alien UFOS, this is quite dispassionate and even handed without getting down into the weeds Are UFO Sightings Real? I rather like that as a conclusion. Pass it along to those who are on the fence and not too deeply in to...

Take your favorite organization in the skeptical movement. Consider the level of influence they have, their membership, their overall impact. Where do you think they will be in regards to these things in say 50 years time?

Okay, why am I skeptical? This is a really cool acheivement for someone who is overcoming a different way to get around the world, but this seems to me to be a bit over-blown. Is there something else going on? Could this be verified? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APRTkG__bww...

In reading through all the threads that have erupted on the middle-east and extremist muslim versus the rest of the world in the past few weeks, some members here such as Claus Larsen demand the same sort of scientific evidence they seek in verifying claims of the paranormal. While it is not a...

I found myself wondering if any here identified at all with the way or the Tao. I also somewhat wonder if any here have ever looked into Taoism at all. I do not consider myself taoist but I am very partial to the philosophy. I agree with much of it but have found that I am happy with how I am...

hi there, excuse the noob stylee post. i'm a longtime skeptic, but i'm trying to find a way to deal with what appears to be a changing cultural climate in america. also, i'm trying to ferret out how much of that is just my perception (or my shrinking patience for weird woo beliefs in being...

hi all, sorry if this had been done, but i thought it would be fun to hear people's formative memories...sort of "when did you become skeptical?" for me, the first thing that sticks in my head is very innocuous, but i guess it often starts that way. it was a commercial for an otc drug- i think...

Coast to Coast will air a show tonight (4/6/06) with a fellow named Paul Smith. He claims to have been part of something called the Stargate Project, and will discuss - ready for this? - the "skeptical conspiracy" to keep evidence of the paranormal away from the public. (The term "skeptical...

This question's been bugging me so I'd appreciate an answer.

I would think the completely frozen squirrel falling out of the tree would have a flag or two. Let's quote: Oh yeah. It was that cold that a squirrel was flash frozen then fell with enough force to puncture through laminated safety glass... The potato behind the brake pedal is my favorite...

from the last part of the story:

Due to a slight delay in getting the Australian Skeptics web site out this week, webmaster Ratbag has a lot on his plate right now, here is the link to first new "Skeptic Tank" podcast. This link will be active for a few days only, then the show will move to the Australian Skeptics site...

I was listening to CNN this morning, and there was a debate about the Katrina response going on. A comment during that discussion prompted me to do a little research. Here's what I found: Tsunami - Dec 26, with little warning, a tsunami hit Asia, destroying and displacing millions of people...

Let's say I make a factual claim: "This artifact is X years old. I know because I used carbon dating." As a skeptic, you could go look at the report online and read about the methodology and accuracy of Carbon dating. You could actually watch a similar test being performed. You could go...

All I have to do is shave my head and grow a beard. http://randi.org/jr/072205meters.html#10 :D

I live in England, and it seems the whole nation is very excited about the fact that we will be hosting the Olympic games in 2012. I'm not very excited. In fact, I fail to see how it will affect me any more than if it had been held in Paris or any of the other prospective venues. I mentioned...

Inspired by a night of watching Penn & Teller's "BS", my girlfriend and I came up w/ a great prank to play on your local psychic. 1)Call up the psychic & ask the price of a reading. 2)Withdraw this much money from your bank account in the form of pennies, nickels, and dimes. 3)Unroll the coins...

It's virtually impossible to read any decent skeptical viewpoint in any newspaper (including the quality broadsheets), such viewpoints are normally relegated to a single paragraph at the end of the 2 page spread covering the latest dozy claim of some chancer. So it was with great pleasure that...

If James Randi suddenly became a Christian,gave his life to Christ, became a reverend, started a Church, denounced atheism and begged all other skeptics to turn to Christ, what would you think? Would you open up your mind to the possibility that God showed James Randi the way and rethink your...

All this forum hub-bub has me thinking about whether there are other skeptical organizations out there that I should consider supporting. I know of... <ul>JREF (already a member) American Atheists (already a member) CSICOP (didn't know until today they even had memberships)[/list] Does anybody...

Source: Scotsman.com I was disapointed that the article never names the monster, but I thought it funny that it had somehow made an endangered species list.

I vould like to assemble a bunch of skeptical essays suitable for courses on Critical Thinking that are more user friendly than Shermer's book for undergrads or for HS students. What do you think?

They had a 15-minute interview with the author on NPR today. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1903816483/qid=1071201019/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-7862523-9618500?v=glance&s=books They asked him, "who was Nostradamus". He said "Ten years ago I would have told you he was a doctor, an...

If something paranormal (ie telekinesis) was proven to you, would that make you less skeptical regarding other wacky outer-limits type things? If I could prove to you that I could move a couch by simply 'willing' it to move, then would you be more likely to believe another person who says they...

Ted Serios was mentioned briefly in Randi's commentary this week. Strangely there are few skeptical Web pages on the topic of Serios, and there is very little info about Serios being debunked by Randi or anyone else apart from a brief entry in the Skeptics Dictionary. I did some searching and...