''Skeptical Inquirer'' is a bimonthly American general-audience
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 ...
published by the
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the US non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "pro ...
(CSI) with the subtitle: ''The Magazine for Science and Reason''.
Mission statement and goals
Daniel Loxton, writing in 2013 about the mission and goals of the skeptical movement, criticized the idea that people wanted to read about the paranormal,
Uri Geller
Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other i ...
and
crystal skulls not being relevant any longer. Paul Kurtz in 2009 seemed to share this sentiment and stated that the organization would still research some paranormal subjects as they have expertise in this area, but they would begin to investigate other areas. S.I. "has reached an historic juncture: the recognition that there is a critical need to change our direction." While editor Frazier did expand the scope of the magazine to include topics less paranormal and more that were an attack on science and critical thinking such as
climate change denialism
Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or the ...
,
conspiracy theories and the influence of the alt-med movement, Frazier also added that "paranormal beliefs are still widespread" and quoted surveys that state that the public, given a list of ten general paranormal topics, will select four as topics they believe in. While the general skeptic community believes that we should not waste more time debunking the paranormal, topics long ago discredited, Frazier says "millions of Americans accept them today."
Writing for ''Scientific American'',
Douglas Hofstadter
Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, a ...
states that the purpose of ''Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine is to "combat nonsense... nonsensical claims are routinely smashed to smithereens." He writes that articles are written for everyone that can read English—no special knowledge or expertise is needed; the only requirement is "curiosity about truth".
History
The magazine was originally titled ''The Zetetic'' (from the Greek meaning "skeptical seeker" or "inquiring skeptic"), and was originally edited by
Marcello Truzzi. About a year after its inception a
schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
developed between the editor Truzzi and the rest of the
(CSICOP). The side represented by CSICOP was more "firmly opposed to nonsense, more willing to go on the offensive and to attack supernatural claims" and the other side ("The relativist faction (one member)", i.e. Truzzi) wanted science and pseudoscience to exist "happily together". Truzzi left to start ''The Zetetic Scholar'' and CSICOP changed the magazine's name to ''Skeptical Inquirer''.
Historian
Daniel Loxton
Daniel Loxton (born 1975) is a Canadian writer, illustrator, and skeptic. He wrote or co-wrote several books including ''Tales of Prehistoric Life,'' a children's science trilogy, and '' Abominable Science!'', a scientific look at cryptozoology. A ...
speculates on the answer to the question that if CSICOP was not the first skeptical publication, why is it considered to be the "'birth of modern skepticism' (at least for the English-speaking world)"? Loxton writes that it was because CSICOP organized "this scholarship collectively
ndcomprised a distinct field of study." The organization was the first to establish "best practices... specialist experts... buildings... periodicals and professional writers and researchers."
Magazine content
2009 Jan/Feb – 2020 May/June art director Christopher S. Fix until his death in March 2021.
The magazine contains several regular columns (and contributors). These have changed over the years as follows:
Print magazine columns and columnists
* ''Notes of a Fringe-Watcher'' (originally titled, ''Notes of a Psi-Watcher'') –
Martin Gardner, 1983–2010
* ''Investigative Files'' –
Joe Nickell, 1995–present
* ''Psychic Vibrations'' –
Robert Sheaffer, 1977–2017
* ''Notes of a Strange World'' –
Massimo Polidoro
Massimo Polidoro (born 10 March 1969) is an Italian psychologist, writer, journalist, television personality, and co-founder and executive director of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Pseudosciences (CICAP).
Early lif ...
, 2002–present
* ''Thinking About Science'' –
Massimo Pigliucci, 2002–2015
* ''Skeptical Inquiree'' –
Ben Radford, 2006–present
* ''Science Watch'' – Kenneth Krause, 2010–present
* ''The Science of Medicine'' –
Steven Novella, 2010
* ''The Science of Science Communication'' –
Matthew Nisbet, 2016–present
* ''Behavior & Belief'' –
Stuart Vyse, 2016–present
* ''The Last Laugh'' –
Ian Patrick Harris, 2017–present
* ''Reality Is the Best Medicine'' –
Harriet Hall
Harriet A. Hall (born July 2, 1945) is a U.S. retired family physician, former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and skeptic who writes about alternative medicine and quackery for '' Skeptic'' and ''Skeptical Inquirer''. She writes under the name ...
, 2018 (began with issue 42.5)
Online magazine columns and columnists
The magazine's website includes current articles, as well as an archive dating back to 1994. A small selection of articles also have Spanish versions available. Most articles are organized into the following columns:
* ''Special Report'' – Various columnists, 2007–present
* ''Curiouser and Curiouser'' –
Kylie Sturgess, 2010–present
* ''Guerrilla Skepticism'' –
Susan Gerbic, 2013–present
* ''Behavior & Belief'' –
Stuart Vyse, 2014–present
* ''Conference Report'' – Various columnists, 2014–present
* ''SkepDoc's Corner'' –
Harriet Hall
Harriet A. Hall (born July 2, 1945) is a U.S. retired family physician, former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and skeptic who writes about alternative medicine and quackery for '' Skeptic'' and ''Skeptical Inquirer''. She writes under the name ...
, 2015–present
* ''Consumer Health'' –
William M. London, 2015–present
* ''CSICon'' –
Susan Gerbic and others, 2016–present
* ''The Well-Known Skeptic'' – Rob Palmer, 2018–present
* ''The Wide World of Science'' – Jamie Hale, 2018–present
* ''A Closer Look'' – Kenny Biddle, 2018–present
* ''European Skeptics Chronicles'' – Annika Merkelbach, 2018–present
* ''The Thoughtful Conduit'' – Russ Dobler, 2018–present
* ''In Memoriam'' – Various columnists, 2019–present
* ''Letter to America'' –
Wendy M. Grossman
Wendy M. Grossman (born January 26, 1954) is a journalist, blogger, and folksinger. Her writing has been published in several newspapers, magazines, and specialized publications. She is the recipient of the 2013 Enigma Award for information secu ...
, 2019–present
* ''But What Do I Know'' – Ada McVean, 2020–present
* ''The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science'' – Nick Tiller, 2021–present
Influence
Several notable skeptics have described the magazine as influential to the early stages of their development as scientific skeptics. In 1995,
Perry DeAngelis and
Steven Novella were friends that played
Dungeons and Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
together until DeAngelis noticed a ''Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine on the table in Novella's condo. DeAngelis, also an avid reader of the magazine, pointed out the back page to Novella and said "What is missing?" DeAngelis stated that what was missing was a Connecticut skeptic group, he said "we should do this" to which Novella agreed. They started the
New England Skeptical Society and eventually the
Skeptic's Guide to the Universe (SGU) podcast.
Writing for ''
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...
'',
Douglas Hofstadter
Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, a ...
asked the question, why would ''Skeptical Inquirer'' succeed when the only people who read it are people who do not believe in the paranormal? The answer, he says, lies in the back of the magazine in the "Letters to the Editor" section. "Many people write in to say how vital the magazine has been to them, their friends and their students. High school teachers are among the most frequent writers of thank-you notes to the magazine's editors, but I have also seen enthusiastic letters from members of the clergy, radio talk-show hosts and people in many other professions."
Daniel Loxton, in his essay "Ode to Joy" about discovering ''Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine as a freshman at his University writes...
Levy and Olynyk art project
Inspired by the four decades of ''Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine, an exhibition titled ''Some Provocations from Skeptical Inquirers'' by artists
Ellen Levy
Ellen K. Levy is an American multimedia artist and scholar known for exploring art, science and technology interrelationships since the early 1980s. Levy works to highlight their importance through exhibitions, educational programs, publications ...
and
Patricia Olynyk, was held at the
Baruch College Mishkin Gallery in February 2016. Reviewer Eileen G'Sell wrote that the artists "plumb the depths of the murky ontological sea that is empirical belief." Writing for ''
The Brooklyn Rail'', reviewer William Corwin stated that the artwork represented "this built-in confrontation between fact and fiction (which) was the basis of the Skeptical Inquirer itself and its playful willingness to consider the most unlikely phenomena."
''Pensar''
In June 2020, CFI announced the "newly launched CFI online publication", ''Pensar'', "the Spanish language magazine for science, reason, and freethought." It is published by Alejandro Borgo, director of CFI Argentina.
Photo gallery
File:Ken Frazier in office 2018 (1).jpg, Kendrick Frazier
Kendrick Crosby Frazier (March 19, 1942 – November 7, 2022) was an American science writer and longtime editor of '' Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine. He was also a former editor of ''Science News'', author or editor of ten books, and a Fellow of ...
in his office, 2018
File:Barry Karr reading Skeptical Inquirer.jpg, Barry Karr
Barry Karr is an American skeptic and paranormal researcher, currently the executive director of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has been consulted by the media on the paranormal. Karr has been involved in many investigations including fa ...
reading ''Skeptical Inquirer'' at Amherst headquarters, 2014
See also
*
CSICon
*
''Skeptic'' (U.S. magazine)
*
''The Skeptic'' (UK magazine)
* ''
The Skeptic's Dictionary''
*
Skeptical movement
*
Snopes.com
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1976 establishments in the United States
Bimonthly magazines published in the United States
Quarterly magazines published in the United States
Science and technology magazines published in the United States
Biannual magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1976
Magazines published in New York (state)
Paranormal magazines
Scientific skepticism mass media