Scientist and science fiction writer David Brin carries Intelligent Design creationism to its logical conclusion by showing the numerous “other alternatives” to Darwinian evolution that creationists don’t want you to know about, such as the designer of the Intelligent Designer, Panspermia, and others.
For decades now computer scientists and futurists have been telling us that computers will achieve human-level artificial intelligence soon. That day appears to be off in the distant future. Why? In this penetrating skeptical critique of AI, computer scientist Peter Kassan reviews the numerous reasons why this problem is harder than anyone anticipated.
An article excerpted from Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature, by David J. Buller, with permission from the publisher, MIT Press.
The new science of evolutionary psychology has generated considerable controversy since its rise in the 1990s, with critics and proponents taking shots at one another. Skeptic magazine devoted an issue to the controversy in 1996 (Vol. 4, No. 1), and in 2005 a major critique was published in book form by MIT Press. In Skeptic Vol. 12, No. 1, we ran an excerpt from this book, by David Buller, with a reply to it from Frank Miele, which follows here.
Robert Sheaffer takes a critical look at Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
Frederick V. Malmstrom asks: “Are UFO Alien Faces an Inborn Facial Recognition Template?”
Michael Shermer exposes James Van Praagh and discusses some of the techniques ‘psychics’ use to ‘talk’ to the dead.
Barry Rein reviews Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It by Gary Taubes (Knopf, 2011, ISBN-13: 978-0307272706).
In the tradition of making end-of-the-year lists of the “Top 10 X” Michael Shermer presents his personal picks for the Top 10 Science Books of 2010.
This concise pamphlet provides answers to common objections to evolution, such as: If humans came from apes, why aren’t apes evolving into humans?; Only an intelligent designer could have made something as complex as an eye; The second law of thermo-dynamics proves that evolution is impossible; Evolution can’t account for morality; and more… DOWNLOAD the free PDF
Dr. David Morrison, direttore della NASA Lunar Science Institute e Senior Scientist della NASA Astrobiology Institute, risponde alle prime 20 domande su 2012. (Dr. David Morrison, Director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and Senior Scientist in the NASA Astrobiology Institute, answers the top 20 questions about 2012.)
El Dr David Morrison, Director de el Instituto de Ciencia Lunar de la NASA y cientifico principal de el Instituto de Astrobiologia de la misma, responde las 20 preguntas mas importantes acerca del 2012. (Dr. David Morrison, Director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and Senior Scientist in the NASA Astrobiology Institute, answers the top 20 questions about 2012.)
This debate between Deepak Chopra and Michael Shermer came about after the widely read and referenced debate the two had last year on the virtues and value of skepticism. Deepak and Michael thought it would be stimulating to have a debate on the topic. Michael read Deepak’s book and goes first in the debate, offering his assessment of the “proofs” presented in Deepak’s book, then Deepak responds.
Psychic readings and fortunetelling are an ancient art — a combination of acting and psychological manipulation. While some psychics are known to cheat and acquire information ahead of time, these ten tips focus on what is known as “cold reading” — reading someone “cold” without any prior knowledge about them…
Will the world end in 2012? Dr. David Morrison, Director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and Senior Scientist in the NASA Astrobiology Institute, answers the top 20 questions about 2012.
Maia Caron reviews 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein (Pantheon Books, 2010).
In your criticism of Freud you say that no theory should have to live itself out through its own tenets: “Only psychoanalysis demands that its founder’s life, his childhood, and even his self-analysis that led to this discovery follow his theory.” Yet in many ways hasn’t your life embodied your own theory?
Let me admit from the start that I have a murky and conflicted relationship with the quaint concept of “psi”. On the one hand, trained as a physical scientist, I find little to admire about a field that has almost nothing to show after a century and a half of strenuous and diligent effort…
Carl Sagan was a scholar and a visionary. He changed the world. His work still does. As Bill Nye thinks back on the time he got to spend in Sagan’s classes, he realizes what made Sagan the best science communicator of his day.
David Morrison reviews two books: Carl Sagan: A Life by Keay Davidson (1999, John Wiley and Sons) and Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos by William Poundstone (1999, Henry Holt)
