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What we’re up against: The issues skeptics examine
Article by: Skeptics Canada @ 3:42 pm | August 8, 2007
Filed under: Critical Thinking,Skepticism

Skepticism, in the sense that we use the word, is an approach of critical inquiry. It does not claim that we can know nothing. Nor is it opposed to belief. We all have and need beliefs to get through life.

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Proper criticism
Article by: Ray Hyman @ 3:41 pm |
Filed under: Critical Thinking,Skepticism

Used by permission of the Skeptical Inquirer

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Do skeptics know nothing — or everything?
Article by: Eric McMillan @ 3:41 pm |
Filed under: Critical Thinking,Skepticism

There are several misconceptions or accusations that confront skeptics constantly.

The top two in my experience are (1) “Skeptics don’t believe anything” and (2) “Skeptics think they know everything”. Strangely, these charges often come from the same sources.

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Can a skeptic believe in God?
Article by: Eric McMillan @ 3:38 pm |
Filed under: Critical Thinking,Religion,Skepticism

Premises regarding skepticism:
A skeptic bases belief upon evidence and reason. He or she uses critical inquiry—the scientific method—to examine claimed phenomena. A skeptic holds beliefs provisionally, rather than absolutely, accepting that new evidence and reason may be found to require a revision in beliefs.

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Calculating Christ: The discovery of the ‘Lost Tomb of Jesus’
Article by: Eric McMillan @ 3:38 pm |
Filed under: Conspiracy Theories,Pseudoarchaeology,Religion

The Lost Tomb of Jesus documentary has made a public sensation. A DVD of the film has also been released and a book adapted from the documentary (entitled The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation, and the Evidence That Could Change History, no less) is also available now. (more…)

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The prophecies of Malachy
Article by: Dave Bailey @ 3:37 pm |
Filed under: Religion

Part of “Pseudoscience A to Z”, a series of articles in the Skeptics Canada newsletter.

Malachy O’Morgair is known today as Saint Malachy, and like many saints, he had humble beginnings.

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Reverse-reading a psychic, or Can I con a con artist?
Article by: Timothy Campbell @ 3:37 pm |
Filed under: Psychics,Skepticism

Note: Some details in the following article, such as names, have been altered to allow for further investigations.

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Cold Reading: Confessions of a ‘psychic’
Article by: Colin Hunter @ 3:36 pm |
Filed under: Psychics,Skepticism

This article is based on an interview with OSSCI executive member Timothy Campbell.

A diligent channel surfer should notice a new trend in TV talk shows: psychic guests supposedly channeling the dead relatives of audience members, often conveying information they could not possibly have known in advance. Can psychics really divine the future by speaking to the dead, or do they, as skeptics insist, just use an old magician’s parlour trick called “cold reading”?

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A closer look at psychics
Article by: Timothy Campbell @ 3:35 pm |
Filed under: Critical Thinking,Psychics,Skepticism

On February 13, 2004, Toronto-area skeptics attended a reenactment of highlights from the December 3, 2003 instalment of Larry King’s phone-in show. Skeptic Deirdre Breton, sporting a blonde wig, played purported psychic Sylvia Browne. David Gower wore Larry King’s suspenders. Francesca Groves stood in for the callers by adopting a variety of accents.

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Why you shouldn’t take Lenny Briscoe’s lie-detector test
Article by: Eric McMillan @ 3:34 pm |
Filed under: Pseudoscience

You’ve seen it on Law and Order or one of the other cops-and-lawyers shows.

The suspect claims he didn’t do it. “Then you won’t mind taking a lie detector test to clear your name,” suggest the detectives.

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