Skeptic News

Mass Media Bunk - Discover Article on Acupuncture

Mass Media Bunk - Discover Article on Acupuncture

This Mass Media Bunk article of the Skeptic's Dictionary comments on the article "Needles and Nerves," by Catherine Dold, appearing in the September 1998 issue of Discover Magazine.

Science and Miracles

Science and Miracles

The Secular Web has posted an article by Theodore M. Drange. "Using the simplified definition of a 'miracle' as an event which violates a law of nature, Drange investigates the relation between science and miracles. He argues that scientists, as scientists, can't believe that such events ever occur, but leaves open whether they could consistently believe in miracles apart from their scientific work. If they do, it would only be in virtue of having compartmentalized minds."

FMS Foundation Newsletter, October Issue

FMS Foundation Newsletter, October Issue

The October issue of the newsletter of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation is now available. Items in this issue include "But It's in the DSM-IV," "Tyroler," "Legal Corner," "Make a Difference," "From Our Readers," and "Bulletin Board."

Reality Check, September Issue

Reality Check, September Issue

The September issue of the newsletter of the Rationalists of East Tennessee is now on their web site. Topics include their proposed bylaws, an upcoming presentation by Michael Shermer, their book club, and an upcoming canoe trip. Wait ... canoe trip?! Are skeptics allowed to have fun?

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

The Rationalists of East Tennessee have added a "Letters to the Editor" section to their site. The first entry is a letter from Massimo Pigliucci which begins, "It has been with trepidation that I picked up this week's 'Metro Pulse' and opened it at Mike Gibson's article 'Out there'." I think we've all felt that trepidation before, haven't we?

Hawaii Rational Inquirer, September 24 Issue

Hawaii Rational Inquirer, September 24 Issue

There's a new issue of Victor Stenger's Hawaii Rational Inquirer. Articles include "US Government Anti-Science?," "Senate Bill Boosts NIH to $15.6B - Creates Dilemma," "Criticism of Discover Article on Quackupuncture," and "Kissing Hank's Ass."

Dave Palmer's Home Page Moves, Rest of Planet Stays Still; or Vice Versa if Einstein is Right

Dave Palmer's Home Page Moves, Rest of Planet Stays Still; or Vice Versa if Einstein is Right

Dave Palmer's home page has moved to http://members.xoom.com/dwpalmer/home.htm. Not much else to say about that!

Salon Magazine Says, "Take Us to Your Professor"

Salon Magazine Says, "Take Us to Your Professor"

There's an article in Salon Magazine about academic interest in UFOs. An excerpt: "Since the time of Galileo, astronomers have pointed their telescopes at the heavens and asked, 'Are we alone in the universe?' Now, that same question is being posed by historians, political scientists, psychologists and sociologists who don't use telescopes but the more elusive instruments of the soft social sciences: research, oral history, theory and, finally, conjecture."

Roahn Wynar Listens to Abductees in Austin

Roahn Wynar Listens to Abductees in Austin

In this new article on Roahn H. Wynar's Clearinghouse of Pseudoscience and Quackery in Central Texas (quick, say that five times fast!), Roahn says, "In the first lecture, author, radio personality, metaphysics educator and alien abductee Robert Perala filled us in on the contents of his new book, The Divine Blueprint, available now at Barnes and Noble. If you roll up greed, self-delusion and shamelessness in a single piece of pita bread, then you have just constructed Perala's brain." But tell us how you really feel, Roahn! Later in the same article, Roahn reports, "we spent a half hour at a lecture called 'The Metaphysics of Being Gay,' delivered by a sincere but wacky guy named Kurt Wagner. Metaphysics is the systematic investigation of 'first principles' and the philosophical examination of ultimate reality. It is a fascinating subject that is legitimately studied by philosophers all over the world. We did not know, however, that it shed light on being gay." Hey, any theory involving "chakras" has to be fun!

Proof that People Actually Read The Skeptic's Dictionary

Proof that People Actually Read The Skeptic's Dictionary

As if there was ever any doubt that such a useful site as the Skeptic's Dictionary is read. Two readers recently wrote about a couple of entries. The first is Reader Comments About "E-rays", the second is Reader Comments About "James Van Praagh".