''Skepter'' is a

popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

skeptical Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

foundation

Stichting Skepsis Stichting Skepsis is a Dutch organisation dedicated to the promotion and practice of scientific skepticism. It is a member of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO). Activities Since 1988 the organisation publishes a journal t ...

. It describes paranormal or controversial theories and methods from a skeptical perspective.

History

In its first issue, the contemporary president of Stichting Skepsis, astronomer

Cornelis de Jager Cornelis "Kees" de Jager (; 29 April 1921 – 27 May 2021) was a Dutch astronomer who specialized in predicting solar variation to assess the Sun's impact on future climate. He was the General Secretary of the IAU from 1967 to 1973 and former d ...

, wrote that the paper "could fulfill a useful task in explaining many seemingly miraculous things, and consequently to the clarification of the misconceptions that exist in many people's minds. Education of a hopefully large audience is the first and foremost task of our magazine." From 1988 until 2002, astronomer was editor-in-chief, and when he was succeeded by Rob Nanninga, the magazine first appeared in colour. In 2007, to reduce costs, increase accessibility and facilitate production and distribution, ''Skepter'' has been concentrated more and more on the Internet. In that year, the frequency of ''Skepter'' was reduced from quarterly to semi-annually. On the other hand, its size grew from 20 pages per issue in 1988 to 48 in 2014. During Nanninga's editorship (2002–2014), the number of subscribers increased from about 1500 to 2200. After Nanninga's death in May 2014, he was succeeded as editor-in-chief by science journalist Hans van Maanen in December. The layout was revamped, and since 2016 ''Skepter'' has been issued four times a year again, as was the case before 2007. Since September 2017, the staff consists of editor-in-chief Hans van Maanen and editors

Pepijn van Erp Pepijn van Erp (born 1972) is a Dutch mathematician and skeptical activist. Van Erp studied mathematics at the Radboud University Nijmegen, graduating in 1999. After graduating, Van Erp worked as a statistics consultant at the PTT. Between 20 ...

and CSI fellow Jan Willem Nienhuys. The paid circulation is more than 2300, the total circulation is at 2900.

The magazine deals with topics such as

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

and the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

. Examples include medical claims in

reflexology Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...

9/11 conspiracy theories 9/11 conspiracy theories attribute the preparation and execution of the September 11 attacks against the United States to parties other than, or in addition to, al-Qaeda. These include the theory that high-level government officials had adv ...

tidal force The tidal force is a gravitational effect that stretches a body along the line towards the center of mass of another body due to a gradient (difference in strength) in gravitational field from the other body; it is responsible for diverse phenomen ...

s, the hype surrounding the popular book '' The Secret'', forged

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

s from non-existent universities, the "ridiculous" verdict by an Amsterdam judge that the

Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij The Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij or VtdK (English: ''Association Against Quackery'' or ''Society Against Quackery'') is a Dutch organisation that investigates the claims of alternative medicine and opposes quackery. Beginnings The organisat ...

could not label orthomanual therapist M. Sickesz a "quack" (later overturned),

iridology Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosisCline D; Hofstetter HW; Griffin JR. ''Dictionary of Visual Science''. 4th ed. Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston 1997. or iridiagnosis) is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns ...

Bach flower remedies Bach flower remedies (BFRs) are solutions of brandy and water—the water containing extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s. Bach claimed that the dew found on flower petals retains t ...

ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...

, Aqua Detox,

magnet therapy Magnetic therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice involving the weak static magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet which is placed on the body. It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic t ...

applied kinesiology,

bioresonance therapy Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. Practitioners use a number of names including various synonyms for m ...

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...

and

reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a " universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the ...

. Moreover, attention is given to

clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

, auras and

dowsing Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations (radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in Ge ...

, but also to

Egyptian pyramids The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Sources cite at least 118 identified "Egyptian" pyramids. Approximately 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush, now located in the modern country of Sudan. Of ...

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

crop circle A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop, usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s by Colin Andrews. Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the ...

s and

UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

. Although Nanninga said that practices such as forging doctorates are a disgrace, he emphasised that (writing about)

critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...

can be interesting.

References

External links

Online article index
{{Skeptical magazines 1988 establishments in the Netherlands Biannual magazines Dutch-language magazines Science and technology magazines published in the Netherlands Magazines established in 1988 Paranormal magazines Scientific skepticism mass media Quarterly magazines published in the Netherlands Popular science magazines

History

Contents

See also

References

External links