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List Of Skeptics And Skeptical Organizations
This is a list of notable people that promote or practice scientific skepticism. In general, they favor science and are opposed to pseudoscience and quackery. They are generally skeptical of parapsychology, the paranormal, and alternative medicine. * James Alcock, psychologist. Author of several skeptical books and articles. * Isaac Asimov, biochemist, author. Wrote or edited over 500 popular science, other nonfiction, and science fiction books, including the ''Foundation'' series. Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI). * Robert A. Baker, psychologist, author. Wrote books on ghosts, alien abductions and false memory syndrome. * Banachek, mentalist. participant in Project Alpha. Real name Steve Shaw. * Stephen Barrett, psychiatrist. Cofounder of the National Council Against Health Fraud, critic of alternative medicine. Founder of the Quackwatch website. * Barry Beyerstein, psychologist. Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI). * Susan Blackmore, parapsychologist. Author, lecturer, and bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific Skepticism
Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly references the examination of claims and theories that appear to be beyond mainstream science, rather than the routine discussions and challenges among scientists. Scientific skepticism differs from philosophical skepticism, which questions humans' ability to claim any knowledge about the nature of the world and how they perceive it, and the similar but distinct methodological skepticism, which is a systematic process of being skeptical about (or doubting) the truth of one's beliefs. in The skeptical movement (British spelling: sceptical movement) is a contemporary social movement based on the idea of scientific skepticism. The movement has the goal of investigating claims made on fringe topics and determining whether they are supported by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quackwatch
Quackwatch is a United States-based website, self-described as a "network of people" founded by Stephen Barrett, which aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and to focus on "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere". Since 1996 it has operated the alternative medicine watchdog website quackwatch.org, which advises the public on unproven or ineffective alternative medicine remedies. The site contains articles and other information criticizing many forms of alternative medicine. Quackwatch cites peer-reviewed journal articles and has received several awards. The site has been developed with the assistance of a worldwide network of volunteers and expert advisors. It has received positive recognition and recommendations from mainstream organizations and sources, although at times it has also received criticism for perceived bias in its coverage. It has been recognized in the media, which cite quackwatch.org a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolutionary Biology
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life forms on Earth. Evolution is based on the theory that all species are related and they gradually change over time. In a population, the genetic variations affect the physical characteristics i.e. phenotypes of an organism. These changes in the phenotypes will be an advantage to some organisms, which will then be passed onto their offspring. Some examples of evolution in species over many generations are the Peppered Moth and Flightless birds. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biology emerged through what Julian Huxley called the modern synthesis of understanding, from previously unrelated fields of biological research, such as genetics and ecology, systematics, and paleontology. The importance of studying Evolutionary biology is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An atheist, he is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. Dawkins first came to prominence with his 1976 book ''The Selfish Gene'', which popularised the gene-centred view of evolution and introduced the term '' meme''. With his book ''The Extended Phenotype'' (1982), he introduced into evolutionary biology the influential concept that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment, for example, when a beaver builds a dam. His 2004 The Ancestor's Tale set out to make understanding evolution simple for the general public, by tracing common ancestors back from humans to the origins of life. Over time, numerous religious people challenged th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS; or Committee for Eradication of Blind Faith, CEBF) is an organisation dedicated to fighting superstition in India, particularly in the state of Maharashtra. It was founded by Narendra Dabholkar in 1989. since 2010, the organization has been headed by Avinash Patil. History and work It was founded by Narendra Dabholkar in 1989. In 1999, MANS had protested the canonisation of Mother Teresa on the basis of purported miracles, but they had praised her service to the ailing and diseased. The organisation campaigned against immersion of Ganesha idols in water bodies and urged people to use smaller idols and vegetable dyes to avoid polluting rivers and lakes. MANS proposed that citizens could instead immerse the idols into the tanks built specially for this purpose on the riverbanks. In 2011, MANS protested the torture of mentally ill people under the superstitious belief that it will cure them. Such practices are carried out in a dar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narendra Dabholkar
Narendra Achyut Dabholkar (1 November 1945 – 20 August 2013) was an Indian physician, social activist, rationalist and author from Maharashtra, India. In 1989 he founded and became president of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS, ''Committee for Eradication of Superstition in Maharashtra''). Triggered by his assassination on 20 August 2013, the pending Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Ordinance was promulgated in the state of Maharashtra, four days later. In 2014, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri for social work. Personal life Dabholkar was born on 1 November 1945 to Achyut and Tarabai, being the youngest of ten children. His elder siblings included the educationalist, and socialist Devdatta Dabholkar and Shripad Dabholkar. He is the uncle of Atish Dabholkar. Narendra did his schooling at New English School Satara and Willingdon College, Sangli. He was a qualified medical doctor, having obtained an MBBS degree from the Government Medical Col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Cox (physicist)
Brian Edward Cox (born 3 March 1968) is an English physicist and former musician who is a professor of particle physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester and The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science. He is best known to the public as the presenter of science programmes, especially the ''Wonders of...'' series and for popular science books, such as '' Why Does E=mc²?'' and ''The Quantum Universe''. Cox has been described as the natural successor for the BBC's scientific programming by both David Attenborough and Patrick Moore. Before his academic career, Cox was a keyboard player for the British bands D:Ream and Dare. Early life and education Cox was born on 3 March 1968 in the Royal Oldham Hospital, later living in nearby Chadderton from 1971. He has a younger sister. His parents worked for Yorkshire Bank, his mother as a cashier and his father as a middle-manager in the same branch. He recalls a happy childhood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Colquhoun
David Colquhoun (born 19 July 1936) is a British pharmacologist at University College London (UCL). He has contributed to the general theory of receptor and synaptic mechanisms, and in particular the theory and practice of single ion channel function. He held the A.J. Clark chair of Pharmacology at UCL from 1985 to 2004, and was the Hon. Director of the Wellcome Laboratory for Molecular Pharmacology. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1985 and an honorary fellow of UCL in 2004. Colquhoun runs the website ''DC's Improbable Science'', which is critical of pseudoscience, particularly alternative medicine, and managerialism. Early life and education Colquhoun was born on 19 July 1936 in Birkenhead, UK. He was educated at Birkenhead School and Liverpool Technical College. After working unhappily as an apprentice pharmacist, he was motivated to go into research. He obtained a BSc from the University of Leeds with a specialisation in pharmacology, and went o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher (23 March 1914 – 17 June 1984) was a prominent American illusionist, magic historian, and author. President of the Society of American Magicians, an honorary vice-president to The Magic Circle, and one of the founding members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Christopher wrote a number of books, including a biography of Harry Houdini titled ''Houdini: The Untold Story,'' a chronicle of his own craft titled ''The Illustrated History Of Magic,'' and thousands of essays relating to magic and mentalism. Debunking work Christopher regarded those individuals who claimed extrasensory perception or psychic powers to be actually using magic trickery. He wrote three book-length exposés regarding those he said were false seers or psychics: ''ESP, Seers & Psychics;'' ''Mediums, Mystics & The Occult;'' and ''Search For The Soul.'' In the latter book he found no evidence for the existence of the soul. Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell who was influenced by C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skeptic's Dictionary
''The Skeptic's Dictionary'' is a collection of cross-referenced skeptical essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book. The skepdic.com site was launched in 1994 and the book was published in 2003 with nearly 400 entries. As of January 2011 the website has over 700 entries. A comprehensive single-volume guides to skeptical information on pseudoscientific, paranormal, and occult topics, the bibliography contains some seven hundred references for more detailed information. According to the back cover of the book, the on-line version receives approximately 500,000 hits per month. ''The Skeptic's Dictionary'' is, according to its foreword, intended to be a small counterbalance to the voluminous occult and paranormal literature; not to present a balanced view of occult subjects. Contents According to Carroll, :“The Skeptic’s Dictionary is aimed at four distinct audiences: the open-minded seeker, who makes no commitment to or disavowa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Todd Carroll
Robert Todd Carroll (May 18, 1945 – August 25, 2016) was an American author, philosopher and academic, best known for The Skeptic's Dictionary. He described himself as a naturalist, an atheist, a materialist, a metaphysical libertarian, and a positivist. In 2010 he was elected a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He was a professor of philosophy at Sacramento City College from 1977 until his retirement in 2007. Life Carroll was born in Joliet, Illinois, on May 18, 1945. His father worked in a coal processing plant. In 1954 the family moved to San Diego, where Carroll grew up. He described his early years in Ocean Beach as an ideal childhood. He was raised Catholic. Carroll went to the University of San Diego High School and then received a Catholic education from the University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derren Brown
Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author. He began performing in 1992, making his television debut with ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, and has since produced several more shows for stage and television. His 2006 show ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'' and his 2012 show ''Svengali'' won him two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Entertainment. He made his Broadway debut with his 2019 stage show ''Secret''. He has also written books for both magicians and the general public. Brown does not claim to possess any supernatural powers; conversely, his acts are often designed to expose the methods of those who do assert such claims, such as faith healers and mediums. He often begins live performances by stating that his results are achieved through "magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection, and showmanship". Early life Derren Brown was born in the Croydon area of London on 27 February 1971, the son of Chris and Bob B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
