Skepsis is a

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 refe ...

organization of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

founded in 1987.

Purpose

Its mission is to promote objective, impartial and critical investigation of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Skepsis organizes public lectures and publishes articles and books related to skepticism, including a quarterly magazine '' Skeptikko''. Skepsis works in collaboration with other scientific skepticism organizations and is a member of the

European Council of Skeptical Organisations The European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) is an umbrella of skeptical organisations in Europe. Goals Founded on 25 September 1994, the ECSO aims to co-ordinate activities of European organisations and individuals that aim at critic ...

(ECSO). Skepsis is known for its annual Huuhaa (" humbug") Prize which is awarded to a person or an organization that has diligently promoted pseudo- or fringe science, and for its Socrates Prize which is awarded for work promoting Socratic, rational thinking. Skepsis also offers a prize of €10,000, sponsored by the astronomer Hannu Karttunen and the magician Iiro Seppänen, to anybody in Finland who can produce paranormal phenomena under satisfactory observing conditions. The same sum is also offered as an ET scholarship to anyone who can prove that she/he/it is an

extraterrestrial Extraterrestrial refers to any object or being beyond ( extra-) the planet Earth ( terrestrial). It is derived from the Latin words ''extra'' ("outside", "outwards") and ''terrestris'' ("earthly", "of or relating to the Earth"). It may be abbrevia ...

by providing a DNA (or equivalent) sample for investigation.

Huuhaa Prize

The Huuhaa Prize has been given annually by Skepsis since 1989 to a person or an organization who has actively promoted

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...

. The recipients since 2004 are the following: *2004: Helsinki University of Technology's (nowadays Aalto University) Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory for presenting

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

as a natural science seminar *2005: The

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...

of Varsinais-Suomi for including pseudoscientific topics in its curriculum *2006: All those pharmacies and pharmacy organizations who promote the sales of homeopathic products and offer them as alternatives for science-based medicine *2007: Suomen Kinesiologiayhdistys (a Finnish kinesiology association) for successfully promoting applied kinesiology *2008: Publisher Uusi Tie for promulgating pseudoscience by publishing books by Finnish

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

supporter Tapio Puolimatka *2009: Rokotusinfo for promoting one-sided and pseudoscientific claims on vaccines *2010: The

Power Balance Power Balance is the original brand of hologram bracelets claimed by its manufacturers and vendors to use "holographic technology" to "resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body" to increase athletic performance. Numerous ...

bracelet and its Finnish importers and retailers *2011: Kärkkäinen retail store for publishing the free weekly newspaper ''

Magneettimedia ''Magneettimedia'' is a Finnish free and online newspaper. It was initially published by retail chain J. Kärkkäinen but currently it is published by Pohjoinen perinne, a society linked with the Finnish Resistance Movement.Leppävuori, AnnaKohutt ...

'' that promotes pseudoscience and conspiracy theories *2012: Valkee Oy (a Finnish company) for successfully marketing a poorly researched bright light headset which they claim cures a multitude of symptoms such as jet lag, migraine and seasonal affective disorder *2013: GMO-Vapaa Suomi, a non-governmental organization promoting the ban of

GMO A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...

crops from Finland. The price was given for twisting scientific knowledge and their fear-mongering style of discussion. *2014: Suomen Terveysjärjestö for divulging misleading information about health issues such as nutrition, vaccination and homeopathy

Socrates Prize

The group's Socrates Prize is given annually to a person or an organization who has actively promoted rational thinking or public understanding of science. Recipients include: *2007:

Docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

Marjaana Lindeman and her research team for promoting critical thinking *2008: Journalist Kirsi Virtanen for promoting critical thinking in her radio programs *2009: Academy professor Kari Enqvist for promoting the public understanding of science *2010: Professor, astronomer and author

Esko Valtaoja Esko Jorma Johannes Valtaoja (; born 20 June 1951) is a Finnish professional astronomer and writer. Valtaoja worked as a professor at the University of Turku where he studied quasars. Valtaoja retired in 2015 after holding a popular farewell lectu ...

for meritorious promotion of a scientific worldview

Chairs

* Otto Mäkelä 2013– * Pertti Laine 2008–2012 * Matias Aunola 2004–2007 * Jukka Häkkinen 1999–2003 * Ilpo V. Salmi 1995–1998 * Veli Toukomies 1994 * Lauri Gröhn 1993 * Nils Mustelin 1989–1992 * S. Albert Kivinen 1987–1989

References

External links

Official website

Official YouTube channel
{{Authority control Skeptic organisations in Finland Non-profit organisations based in Finland Organizations established in 1987 Prizes for proof of paranormal phenomena