Michael Shermer

Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society , and Editor in Chief of zijn magazine Skeptic , ^[1] welke is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and Supernatural claims. The Skeptics Society Currently has about 55,000 members. ^[2] Shermer ook engages in debates on topics pertaining to pseudoscience and religion in welke he emphasizes scientific skepticism .

Shermer is ook the producer and co-host of the 13-hour Fox Family television series Exploring the Unknown . Since April 2001, he has leg a monthly columnist for Scientific American magazine with his Skeptic column. He is ook a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). ^[3]

Shermer was once a fundamentalist Christian , but ceased to believe in the existence of God prolongation his graduate studies. He accepts the labels Agnostic , ^[4] nontheist , ^{[5] [6]} Atheist and others. ^{[7] [8] [9]} He has Expressed reservations about zoals labels for his Lack of belief in a God, however, as he sees Them being-used in the service of “pigeonholing”, and prefers to simply be called a Skeptic . ^[9] He’ll be describes himself as an advocate for humanist philosophy ^[10] as well as the science of morality . ^[11]

Early life

Michael Brant Shermer was born on September 8, 1954. ^{[12] [13]} He was born an only child, and raised in Southern California , specifiek the La Cañada area in the foothills Surrounding Los Angeles. ^{[7] [14] [15]} His parents divorced-when he was four ^[14] and later remarried, his mother to a man with three children, who became Shermer’s step-sister and two step-brothers, and his Father to a woman with Whom he had two daughters, Shermer’s half-sisters. His Father mayest or a heart attack in 1986, and his mother or brain cancer in 2000. ^{[7] [16]}

Hoewel de Shermer went to Sunday school, he says dat Neither his biological parents, stepparents nor siblings ulcers religious nor non-religious, if they ‘did not Discuss therein topic of or in, nor did they attend church or pray together. Shermer Began his senior year of high school in 1971-when the evangelical movement in the United States was beginning to gain popularity. One night at the behest of his best friend George Whose parents ulcers Christian, Shermer Converted to Christianity . The next day the two friends attended the Glendale , Presbyterian Church, where a sermon was bepaald at what Shermer describes as “a very dynamic and histrionic preacher who inspired me to come forward at the end of the sermon to be saved.” For the next seven years he evangelized door-to-door as part of his profoundly held beliefs. ^{[7] [16]} Shermer attended an informal Christian study fellowship group at a place called “The Barn” in La Crescenta, California , welke Shermer describes as “a Quintessential 1970s-era hanging out with a long-haired hippie type, guitar-playing leader who read Bible passages therein, we discussed at length. ” Shermer Enjoyed the social aspects of religion, and met name relished zijn theological debates. ^[7]

Shermer was raised with guns. His stepfather was a hunter who took Shermer en hun hunting dogs with im on hunting excursions half a carton times a year, shooting game zoals doves, ducks, and QUAIL with shotguns. Way Down ate everything they ‘killed, for welke Shermer’s stepfather’ll be displayed Culinary skills. Growing up, Shermer owned allow a BB-then a pellet gun, dan a 20-gauge shotgun, and-then a 12-gauge shotgun. ^[17]

Shermer graduated from Crescenta Valley High School in 1972. ^[15] Desi Ring serious theological training, he enrolled at Pepperdine University with the intent of Becoming a Theologian. He initially majored in Christian theology . In addition under to taking courses on the Bible, Shermer studied the Writings of CS Lewis , and he attended chapel Twice a week, welke was required for all students. On Despite the restrictions imposed on students, zoals a ban on dancing and visiting the dorm rooms or Opposite Sex, Shermer found the university a good experience, and have accepted zijn teachings as a valid guide for behavior. ^[7] However, als have learned therein the Ph.D. needed to be a professor or theology required proficiency in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Aramaic, Shermer, who did not find foreign languages to be his forte, switched his major to psychology. ^{[7] [15] [18]} He mastered statistics, welke he calls “one of the languages of science”, and through it, he learned about-forming hypotheses, the null hypothesis and testing hypotheses , welke led to a change in his thinking . ^[7] He COMPLETED his BA in psychology at Pepperdine in 1976. ^[19]

Graduate studies and change or beliefs

Shermer’s master’s degree in experimental psychology at the California State University, Fullerton , led to many after-class discussions with professors Bayard Brattstrom and Meg White at a local pub – The 301 Club – dat went late into tje night. These discussions, ^{[7] [20]} Along with his studies in cultural anthropology , led im to question his religious beliefs. ^{[16] [20]} He abandoned his devout religious views, fueled by what he Perceived to be the intolerance generated have at the absolute morality was taught in his religious studies; the mean time in what many believers preached and practiced what they ‘; and his growing awareness of other religious beliefs, and how they ‘ulcers Determined by the temporal, geographic, and cultural circumstances in welke hun adherents ulcers born. From this, Shermer cameramen to conclude “it obvious dat God made in our likeness and not the reverse.” ^[7]At Midway through his graduate training, he removed the Christian silver ichthys medallion dat he had leg wearing around his neck for years. ^{[16] [20]} He COMPLETED his MA degree from the California State University in psychology in 1978. ^[19]

The final step in Shermer’s abandoning religion cameramen als his college sweetheart, Maureen, was in an automobile accident dat broke re back and rendered re paralyzed from the waist down. Shermer relates: ^[7]

When I saw re at the Long Beach Medical Center ER, the full implications of what this Meant for re beginning to dawn on me. There, in the ER, day after dreary day, night after sleepless night, I took a knee and bowed my head and Asked God to heal Maureen’s broken back. I prayed with sincerity DEEPEST. I Cried out to God to look over my doubts in the name of Maureen. I willingly SUSPENDED all Disbelief. At dat time and in dat place, I was once again a Believer. I believed Because I wanted to believe dat if there was ANY justice in the universe – Any at all – this sweet, loving, smart, verantwoordelijk, devoted, caring spirit did not Deserve to be in a shattered body. A just and loving God who had the power to heal, mention anything Surely heal Maureen. He did not. He did not, I now believe, not Because “God works in mysterious ways” or “He has a special plan for Maureen” – the nauseatingly BANAL comfort believers sometimes offering zoals Trying and ultimately futile times – but Because there is no God . ^{[7] [21]}

Competitive cycling

After earning his MA in experimental psychology in 1978, Shermer was Unable to secure a position in a Ph.D. program, and landed a job writing for a bicycle magazine in Irvine, California. His first assignment, a Cycles Peugeot press conference featuring John Marino, who had just ridden from Los Angeles to New York in 13 days, one hour, and 20 minutes, made a deep impression on Shermer. ^{[7] [22]} He Bought a bike and entered the Yoplait Yogurt 50-kilometer race through Griffith Park in Los Angeles de volgende weekend. His interest Grew rapidly, and binnen a short time he had COMPLETED his first century ride (100 miles). Before long he was riding Hundreds of miles a week. ^[7]

Shermer Began competitive cycling in 1979, and have spent a decade as a professional rider. Shermer’s best known bicycling in the very long distance ultramarathon road racing discipline. Shermer is a founding member of the Ultra Cycling Hall of Fame. ^[23]

During the course of his cycling career, Shermer worked with cycling technologists in ontwikkelingslanden better products for the sport. During his association with Bell Helmets , a bicycle-racing sponsor, Shermer advised Them on design issues Regarding hun development or expanded-polystyrene for use in cycling helmets , welke mention anything absorb impact far better than the old leather ” hairnet ” helmets-used by bicyclists for decades. Shermer advised Them dat if hun helmets Looked too much like motorcycle helmets , in welke polystyrene was being Already-used, and not like the old hairnet helmets, no serious Cyclists or amateur mention anything use them. This suggestion led to hun first model, the V1 Pro , welke Looked like a black leather hairnet, but functioned on the inside like a motorcycle helmet. In 1982, Shermer worked with Wayman Spence, Whose small supply company, Spenco Medical, Adapted the gel technology Spence developed for bedridden patients with pressure sores JSON cycling gloves and Saddles to alleviate the carpal tunnel syndrome and saddle sores suffers from Cyclists. ^[24]

During the decade in welke have raced long distances, he helped to found the 3,000-mile nonstop Transcontinental bicycle Race Across America (known as “FRAME” Along with Lon Haldeman and John Marino), have in welke competed five times (1982, 1983 1984, 1985, and 1989), was an assistant race director for six years, and the executive race director for seven years. ^{[7] [25]} An acute medical condition is named for im, “Shermer Neck” is pain in and extreme Weakness of the neck Muscles found onder long-distance bicyclists. Shermer suffers the condition about 2,000 miles into tje 1983 Race Across America. ^[26] Shermer’s embrace of scientific skepticism crystallized prolongation his time as a cyclist, explanatory, “I became a Skeptic on Saturday, August 6, 1983, on the long climbing road to Loveland Pass, Colorado “, after months of training under the guidance or a “nutritionist” with an unaccredited Ph.D. After years of Practicing acupuncture , Chiropractic , massage therapy , negative ions , rolfing , pyramid power , fundamentalist Christianity , and “a host of weird things” (with the exception of drugs) to verbeteren his life and training, Shermer stopped rationalizing the failure or synthesis practices. ^[27] Shermer later produktie verschillende documentary films on cycling. ^[25]

Shermer still cycles actively, and participated in the Furnace Creek 508 in October 2011, a qualifying race for FRAME, finishing second in the four-man team category. ^{[18] [28]}

Shermer has written on the subject of pervasive doping in competitive cycling and a game theoretic view of the dynamics driving the problem in verschillende sports. He wrote about specifiek r-EPO doping , welke he saw as zowel widespread and well Berninahaus binnen de sports, welke was later shown to be instrumental in the doping scandal Surrounding Lance Armstrong in 2010. ^{[29] [30] [31]}

Earning his Ph.D. and teaching

While cycling, Shermer taught Psychology 101 prolongation the evenings at Glendale Community College , a two-year college. Wanting to teach at a four-year university, he decided to earn his Ph.D. Because Shermer’s interests lay in behaviorism and he did not believe he Could make a difference in the world by working in a lab with Skinner boxes , have lost interest in psychology and switched to studying the history of science , ^[7] earning his Ph.D. . at Claremont Graduate University in 1991. His dissertation was Titled Heretic-Scientist: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Evolution of Man: A Study on the Nature of Historical Change . ^[19] Shermer later based a full-length book on his dissertation: In Darwin’s Shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace: A Biographical Study on the Psychology of History , welke was published in August 2002. ^{[32] [33] [34]}

Earlier dat year, in his book The Borderlands of Science , Shermer rated verschillende noted scientists for gullibility toward “pseudo” or “BORDERLAND” ideas, using the Big Five model developed by Cal-Berkeley professor Frank Sulloway , and rated Wallace Extremely high (99th percentile) on agreeableness / accommodation in this housing was the key trait in distinguishing Wallace from scientists who give less CREDENCE to zoals ideas. ^{[35] [ clarification needed ]}

Shermer-then became an assistant professor of the history of science at Occidental College , California. In 2007, Shermer took a position as a senior research fellow at Claremont Graduate University. In 2011, he took a position as an assistant professor at Chapman University , ^{[36] [37]} and was later made a Presidential Fellow. ^[38] At Chapman, Shermer teaches a yearly critical thinking course called Skepticism 101 in welke have sorted out new ideas on students. ^[7]

Scientific skepticism

In 1992 Shermer founded the Skeptics Society , welke Began as a hobby his garage, but Eventually Grew JSON a full-time occupation. The Skeptics Society publiceert the magazine Skeptic , and organizes the Caltech Lecture Series . As of 2008, it has about 55,000 members. ^{[2] [39]}

Shermer is ook a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). ^[3]

Published works

Since April 2001, he has written the monthly Skeptic column for Scientific American . He has ook Contributed to Time magazine. ^[40]

In February 2002, he characterized the position that ‘God had no part in the process [of the evolution of Mankind] “as the” standard scientific theory. ” ^[41] This statement was criticized in January 2006 by the scientist Eugenie Scott , who commented dat science makes no claim about God one way or the other. ^[42]

In May 2002, Shermer and Alex Grobman published hun book Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do Way Down Say It? welke Examined and refuted the Holocaust denial movement. This book recounts meeting verschillende denialists and concludes therein free speech is the best way to deal with pseudohistory .

Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown was released in 2005. Then his 2006 book Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design , marshals point-by-point arguments Supporting evolution , sharply criticizing Intelligent Design . This book argues ook dat science can not save invalidate religion, and therein Christians and conservatives kan and arnt accept evolution.

In June 2006, Shermer, who formerly Expressed skepticism Regarding the mainstream scientific views on global warming , wrote therein, in the light of the accumulation of evidence, the position of denying global warming is no longer tenable. ^[43]

The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics was released in 2007. In it Shermer reports on the findings of multiple behavioral and biochemical studies dat address evolutionary explanations for modern behavior. It garnered verschillende critical reviews from Academics, Skeptic Robert T. Carroll saying: “He has bone Blinded by his libertarianism and seduced by the allure of evolutionary psychology to explain everything, zoals ethics and economics.” ^{[44] [45] [46] [47]}

In February 2009, Shermer published The History of Science: A Sweeping Visage of Science and its History , a 25-hour audio lecture.

In May 2011, Shermer published The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies – How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths .

Prior to work on science and skepticism, Shermer published books on cycling and others on child education in the math and science disciplines. These include Collaborations with Arthur Benjamin . ^[18]

In January 2015 Shermer published The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom .

Media appearances and lectures

Shermer Appeared as a guest on Donahue in 1994 to respondents to Bradley Smith ‘s and David Cole’s Holocaust denial claims, and in 1995 on The Oprah Winfrey Show to challenge Rosemary Altea ‘s psychic claims. Shermer made a guest appearance in a 2004 episode of Penn & Teller ‘s Bullshit! In welke have argued dat events in the Bible Constitute “Mythic storytelling,” Rather dan events DESCRIBED In English one. His stance was supported by the show’s hosts, who harbor Expressed hun eigen Atheism. The episode in question, The Bible: Fact or Fiction? , SOUGHT to debunk the notion dat the Bible is an empirically reliable historical record. Opposing Shermer was Paul Maier , professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University . ^[48]

Shermer made verschillende appearances on NBC ‘s daytime paranormal-themed show The Other Side in 1994 and 1995. After getting to know dat show’s producers, have made a formal pitch to hun production company for his own skepticism-oriented reality show Whose aim mention anything be to present points of view or bone believers and skeptics. His proposals ulcers not fruitful, but verschillende years later, one of the executives of that company went to work for the then-newly formally Fox Family Channel , and disgusted with Shermer’s show treatment, requested he pitch it to the network. The network picked up the series, Exploring the Unknown , or welke Shermer became a producer and cohost. The series, welke was budgeted at ongeveer $ 200,000 USD per episode was viewed by Shermer as a direct extension of the work done at the Skeptics Society and Skeptic magazine, and mention anything enable Shermer to reach more people. The Equivocal title was Chosen as if to not tip off guests or viewers as to the skeptical nature of the show. ^[49] Various segments from Exploring the Unknown kan be found on Shermer’s YouTube channel. ^[50]

In 1999 Shermer produktie and was the co-host for the Fox Family television series, Exploring the Unknown .

Shermer has a leg speaker at all three Beyond Belief events from 2006 to 2008. He’ll be ghosts at the 2006 TED Conference on “Why people believe strange things.” ^[51]

In 2008 Shermer delivered the COMMENCEMENT speech at Whittier College , welke Awarded im with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. ^[52]

Shermer is an Occasional guest on Skepticality , the official podcast of Skeptic . ^[29]

Shermer has debated Deepak Chopra on multiple occasions, ^{[53] [54]} waaronder prolongation hun March 2010 appearance on the ABC News program Nightline . ^[55] He has named Chopra his personal favorite debating partner. ^[18]

On August 21, 2010 Shermer was honored with an award recognizing his contributions in the skeptical field, from The Independent Investigations Group prolongation zijn 10th Anniversary Gala. ^[56]

Personal life

As of 2007, Shermer lives in Altadena, California . ^[57] He married Jennifer Graf, a native of Cologne, Germany , on June 25, 2014. ^[58] The ceremony was Performed by Shermer’s sister, Tina, who was ordained online for the occasion. ^[59]

Politically, Shermer has DESCRIBED himself as a lifelong libertarian , ^[60] but after changing his mind on some issues prolongation his research for the 2015 book The Moral Arc , stated therein have arnt never harbor called himself a libertarian. ^[61] The first president he voted for was Richard Nixon in 1972, welke in light of the Watergate scandal , he calls his “most embarrassing vote”. In 2000, he voted for Harry Browne in order to “vote his conscience”, on the assumption dat the winner of the Al Gore – George W. Bush contest mention anything be irrelevant. He later regretted this decision, believing therein Bush’s foreign policy made the world more dangerous, and he voted for John Kerry in 2004. Shermer behalf of Thomas Jefferson as his favorite president, for his championing of liberty and his application of scientific thinking to the political, economic, and social spheres. Shermer says or Jefferson, “When he dined alone at the White House there was more intelligence in dat dan cream-when John F. Kennedy hosted a dinner there for a roomful of Nobel laureates.” ^[62]

Shermer once Opposed musts gun control maatregelen, primarily Because Of his beliefs in the principle or toenemende individual freedom and decreased government intervention, and ook Because He has owned guns for musts or his life. As an adult, he owned a .357 Magnum pistol for a quarter or a century for protection, hoewel de have Eventually took it out of the house, and-then got rid of it entirely. Though he no longer owns guns, have Continues to support the right to own guns to protect one’s family. ^[17] However, in 2013, the data on gun homicides, Suicides, and accidental shootings convinced im dat some modest gun control maatregelen Might Be Necessary, ^[63] zoals background checks, limits on magazine size, and met name stronger requirements for training and safety.

Shermer ook to post favored capital punishment , primarily in sympathy for victims’ families, but later he cameramen to Oppose the death penalty, partially out of a resistance to giving Recruiters the government too much power – in light of the Hundreds of Executed personen linked ulcers later revealed to be innocent – and partially from his view dat retributive justice is driven by humanity’s baser instincts, and it does not effect Restorative Justice . ^[7] As was the case with gun control, he changed his mind about the issue prolongation research for The Moral Arc , reasoning that ‘[Capital punishment] is one or synthesis Barbaric practices dat we need to get rid of. [The United States or] America is really the last of the 19 industrialized democracies to port the death penalty. (…) The Italian enlightenment philosopher Cesare Beccaria , on his book on Crimes and Punishments , well forward the idea dat de punishment arnt fit the crime and dat de criteria arnt be Whether it keeps people from committing crimes, and the Death Penalty does not do that. ” ^[61]

Awards and receptacles

• Fellow, 2001 Linnean Society of London ^[64]
• California State University, Fullerton Distinguished Alumni Award, 2002 ^[65]
• NCAs Philip J. Klass Award, October 2006 ^[66]
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Whittier College , 2008 ^[52]

Bibliography

Books

• – (1985). Sports cycling: a guide to training, racing, and endurance . Chicago: Contemporary Books.
• – (1987). Cycling: Endurance and Speed (Sportsperformance) . ISBN  0-8092-4775-5 .
• – (1989). Teach Your Child Science . ISBN  0-929923-08-1 .
• – (2002) [1997]. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time (2nd Revision ed.). ISBN  0-8050-7089-3 .
• – (1999). Teach Your Child Math and Mathemagics . ISBN  0-7373-0134-1 .
• – (2001). The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense . ISBN  0-19-514326-4 .
• – (2001). How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science . ISBN  0-613-35413-3 .
• – Ed. (2002). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience . ISBN  1-57607-653-9 . (editor).
• – (2002). Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do Way Down Say It? . ISBN  0-520-23469-3 .
• – (2002). In Darwin’s Shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace: A Biographical Study on the Psychology of History . ISBN  0-19-514830-4 .
• – (2004). The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule . ISBN  0-8050-7520-8 .
• – (2005). Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown . ISBN  0-8050-7708-1 .
• – (2006). Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician’s Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks . ISBN  978-0-307-33840-2 .
• – (2006). Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design . ISBN  978-0-8050-8121-3 .
• – (2007). The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics . ISBN  978-0-8050-7832-9 .
• – (2011). The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies-How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths . ISBN  978-0-8050-9125-0 .
• – (2015). The Moral Arc : How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom . ISBN  978-0805096910 .
• – (2016). Skeptic : Viewing the World with a Rational Eye . ISBN  978-1627791380 .

Articles and chapters

• “Agnosticism”. Invited contribution to this club in Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices , edited by J. Gordon Melton. ABC CLIO. 2010.
• “The Chain of Accidents and the Rule of Law: The Role of Contingency and Necessity in Evolution”. Contribution for edited volume, The Nature of Nature (Bruce L. Gordon, Editor). 2010.
• “A noble conception” . Commentary. Nature Physics , 2009, 5, 162-163
• “Testing Tenure: Let the Market Decide”. Invited commentary on “Is Tenure Justified?” by Stephen J. Ceci, et al., Behavioral and Brain Sciences , December 2006, Volume 29, No. 6, 584-585.
• “Science and Pseudoscience”. Encyclopedia of Philosophy . MacMillan, 2006.
• “The Skeptic’s Chaplain Richard Dawkins as a fountainhead of Skepticism”. Contribution for edited volume in tribute to Dawkins, Oxford University Press, 2006.
• “Pseudoscience”. Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics . Carl Mitcham (Ed.) Macmillan Reference. In Press, 2004.
• “Skepticism”. Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics . Carl Mitcham (Ed.) Macmillan Reference. In Press, 2004.
• “Rethinking Stephen Jay Gould: Science and Politics in Evolutionary Theory”. Rethinking Marxism , Winter, 2003.
• “How to be Open Minded Without Your Brains Falling Out”. Journal of Thought . July, 2003.
• “Agnosticism.” Entry into Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices . J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Editors. Denver: ABC CLIO, Vol. 1: 22-23. 2002.
• “This View of Science: Stephen Jay Gould as Historian of Science and Scientific Historian”. Social Studies of Science . September 2002.
• “The Crooked Timber of History: History is complex and chaotic of or in. Can We Use This to Better Understand the Past?” Complexity , Vol. 2, No. 6. July / August 1997: 23-29.
• “Chaos Theory”. Invited entry in The Encyclopedia of Historiografie . DR Woolf (Ed.) New York: Garland Publishing. 1996.
• “Exorcising Laplace’s Demon: Chaos and Anti Chaos, History and Metahistory”. Invited paper for History and Theory . Wesleyan University. Vol. 34, No. 1. 1995. 59-83.
• “The Chaos of History: On a chaotic Model therein Represents the Role of Contingency and Necessity in Historical Sequences”. Nonlinear Science . Vol. 2, No. 4. 1993: 1-13.
• “Science defended, Science Defined: The Louisiana Creationism Case”. Science, Technology & Human Values , Journal for the Society for the Social Studies of Science. Vol. 16, No. 4 Autumn 1991: 517-539.
• “Darwin, Freud, and the Myth of the Hero in Science”. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization . Vol. 11, No. 3, March 1990: 280-301.
• Shermer, Michael (June 2010). “When ideas have sex” . Scientific American . 302 (6): 18. doi : 10.1038 / scientificamerican0610-32 .
• – (April 2013). “Proof of hallucination: did a neurosurgeon go to heaven?” . Skeptic. Scientific American . 308 (4): 67 . Retrieved 2015-05-01 .
• – (May 2013). “Gun science: how data kan help clarify the gun control debate” . Skeptic. Scientific American . 308 (5): 69 . Retrieved 2016-02-11 . ^[67]

Media work and appearances

Television

Exploring the Unknown

• “Michael Shermer and Out of Body Experiences ” ^[68]
• “Michael Shermer on How to Fake UFO Photographs” ^[69]
• “Michael Shermer on Spoonbending ” ^[70]
• “Michael Shermer Firewalking Across Hot Coals” ^[71]
• “Michael Shermer Tests the Polygraph and Lie Detection”, Parts 1 & 2 ^{[72] [73]}
• “Michael Shermer Learns the Art of Con Games”, Parts 1 & 2 ^{[74] [75]}
• “Michael Shermer Decodes the Bible Code ” ^[76]
• “Michael Shermer Explores Graphology / Handwriting Analysis”, Parts 1 & 2 ^{[77] [78]}
• “Michael Shermer Remote Viewing Experiment”, Parts 1 & 2 ^{[79] [80]}

Other television and film appearances

• August 1983 news segment on Shermer bicycling in Race Across America ^[81]
• Unsolved Mysteries , James Van Praagh segment, 1994
• The Phil Donahue Show , 1994
• Charlie Rose , April 1996
• ” The Power of Belief “, ABC News 1998
• Politically Incorrect , January 22, 2000
• 20/20 , December 5, 2003
• Dennis Miller , May 19 and May 20, 2004
• ” The Bible: Fact or Fiction ?” Penn & Teller: Bullshit! 2004 ^[48]
• The Question of God: Sigmund Freud & CS Lewis , 2004
• The Eyes of Nye on ” Pseudoscience “, 2005
• The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe , October 4, 2006
• “Doomsday 2012”, Decoding the Past 2007
• Larry King Live , June 13, 2007 and January 24, 2008
• EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed 2008
• “Does God Have a Future?” Nightline , ABC , March 23, 2010 ^[82]
• “What Were You Thinking?” Dateline NBC , April 25, 2010 ^[83]
• “Did You See That?” Dateline NBC , July 16, 2010 ^[84]
• The Colbert Report , August 21, 2007
• The Colbert Report , July 11, 2011
• Paranormal Challenge , Linda Vista Hospital , August 26, 2011
• Conspiracy Road Trip : UFOs , BBC Three , 15 October 2012
• Stossel , Fox Business Channel , January 13, 2012
• The Agenda with Steve Paikin Feb 28, 2013 “The Anti-Science Left”
• Merchants or Doubt , 2014 documentary
• Star Talk , National Geographic Channel , November 15, 2015

Audio courses

• Shermer, Michael (2009), The History of Science: A Sweeping Visage of Science and its History (audio lecture) (Audio lecture or 1991 course)
• Shermer, Michael (2009), War: History, Causes, and Solutions (audio lecture)
• Shermer, Michael (2013), Skepticism 101: How to Think like a Scientist (audio lecture), The Great Courses

Radio and Web appearances

• Coast to Coast AM , September 1, 2007 and May 21, 2011 ^[85]
• Mr. Deity and the Skeptic . Youtube. September 15, 2009 ^[86]
• Mr. Deity and the Believing Brain . Youtube. August 3, 2011 ^[87]
• Skepticality ^{[29] [88]}
• OSD , May 25, 2011
• The Rubin Report , ^[89] January 22, 2016
• The Joe Rogan Experience , ^[90] March 7, 2016
• Roaming Millenial, ^{[91] [92]} January 26, 2017

Public lectures, speeches and debates

• TED (February 2006). “Why people believe weird things” ^[93]
• TED (February 2010). “The pattern behind self-deception” ^[94]
• TED 2014 ^[95]
• TED (March 13, 2015). “Reasonable Doubt” ^[96]
• “The Moral Arc of Reason” Reason Rally (March 24, 2012) ^{[97] [98] [99]}
• “Science Refutes God” (January 5, 2012). Intelligence Squared ^{[100] [101]}