The Skeptic's Dictionary Newsletter

Volume 15 No. 4

April 2016

What's New?

reader comments: Rick Simpson's cannabis oil as a cancer cure incompetently defended.

updated: Newsletter 119: Jim Humble still pushing his poison in the name of religion; New Thought (more evidence that positive-thinking isn't everything it's been made out to be); Dr. Dragan Dabic (Radovan Karadžić) found guilty of war crimes; now 70, he was sentenced to 40 years; diploma mills (feds set up fake school leading to the arrest of 21 brokers, recruiters, and employers for 'a wide-ranging scheme to defraud … the United States in connection with student visas.')

Critical Thinking Handbook

In 2004, Greg Haskins put together a handbook for critical thinking based on Becoming a Critical Thinker and The Skeptic's Dictionary. He has recently updated the guide to include a section on cognitive/natural biases based on The Critical Thinker's Dictionary.

I hosted the original “A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking” at skepdic.com/essays/Haskins.html

Over the years, Haskins' "A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking" has become internationally adopted or referenced by educational institutions, medical institutions, militaries, government agencies, blogs, and newsletters as a handy guidebook on critical thinking. It continues to be one of the most frequently visited posts on skepdic.com.

The second edition is available as an eBook at a modest price. As noted above, the second edition has been updated to include new material on hindrances due to natural biases. "A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking" is available from Amazon.com.

SkeptiCal 2016

There are still seats available for SkeptiCal-16. Space is limited to 250 registrants for the Northern California science and skepticism conference on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Main presenters include Carolyn Porco, planetary scientist and imaging team leader for the Cassini mission at Saturn, neuroscientist Indre Viskontas, Homo erectus specialist Henry Gilbert, and science writer Steve Silberman. Breakout speakers include Jeff Sheehy (CRISPR and the promise and perils of gene editing), Jerry Schwarz (Experience Testing Claims of Psychic Powers), Debra Berliner (Vaccinating Every California Child: SB 277 and Beyond), and Frank Mosher (Workshop for Producing Skeptical Children). Entertainment will be provided by San Francisco magician and comedian Ryan Kane.

Discount registration of $40 ($25 for students) is available at http://www.skepticalcon.com/contact/ until May 1.

Skeptic Tries Her Hand at the Art of the Novel

Karen Stollznow, paranormal investigator and co-host of Monster Talk (along with Blake Smith) has recently expanded the art of her skeptical inquiries into the realm of novel writing. No, she's not examining paranormal fiction; she's created a novel about a skeptic who is having a difficult time trying to expose a cunning and charismatic psychic medium. Her novel is called Hits & Mrs.

The famous mentalist Banachek features as one of the main characters, and the book discusses many skeptical themes such as cold reading, hot reading, and the Forer effect. What happens when the world's greatest psychic medium is repeatedly challenged by a skeptic who tries to expose him as the world's greatest fraud? You'll have to read the book to find out. The end game may surprise you.

Written by Bob Carroll
with the assistance of John Renish
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