This is a list of notable people that promote or practice scientific skepticism . In general, they favor science and are opposed to pseudoscience and quackery . They are generally skeptical of parapsychology , the paranormal , and alternative medicine .
James Alcock , psychologist. Author of several skeptical books and articles.[ 1]
Isaac Asimov , biochemist, author. Wrote or edited over 500 popular science, other nonfiction, and science fiction books, including the Foundation series . Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI) .[ 2]
Robert A. Baker , psychologist, author. Wrote books on ghosts, alien abductions and false memory syndrome .[ 2]
Banachek , mentalist . participant in Project Alpha. Real name Steve Shaw[ 3]
Stephen Barrett , psychiatrist. Cofounder of the National Council Against Health Fraud , critic of alternative medicine . Founder of the Quackwatch website.[ 2]
Barry Beyerstein , psychologist. Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 4]
Susan Blackmore , parapsychologist. Author, lecturer, and broadcaster.[ 1]
Maarten Boudry , philosopher and author.[ 5]
Derren Brown , mentalist, critic of alleged psychics and spiritual mediums.[ 6]
Robert Todd Carroll , philosopher. Author of The Skeptic's Dictionary book and website.[ 7]
Milbourne Christopher , magician. Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 8]
Derek Colanduno and Robynn McCarthy, co-hosts of the podcast Skepticality: The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine .[ 9]
David Colquhoun , pharmacologist and author of the website Improbable Science .[ 10]
Brian Cox , physicist[ 11]
Narendra Dabholkar , author and the founder-president of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti .[ 12]
Richard Dawkins , evolutionary biologist and author known for promoting the gene-centric view of evolution (in his book The Selfish Gene ), coining of the term meme , and atheist activism.[ 2]
Daniel Dennett , philosopher. Author of Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life and Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon .[ 13]
Jared Diamond , scientist, author and member of the editorial board of Skeptic .[ 14]
Ann Druyan , popular science author and current head of the Planetary Society . Widow of the astronomer Carl Sagan .[ 15]
Brian Dunning , host of skeptical podcast Skeptoid .[ 6]
Mark Edward , formerly worked as a psychic,[ 16] currently exposes psychics and is the author of a tell-all book on that subject,[ 17] member of editorial board of The Skeptics Society ,[ 18] invented the term Guerrilla Skepticism .[ 19] : (Ref is at 2 minutes)
Richard Feynman , theoretical physicist known for his work in quantum mechanics.[ 20]
Kendrick Frazier , Editor of the Skeptical Inquirer .[ 2]
Martin Gardner , author, recreational mathematician . Writer of the long-running 'Mathematical Games ' column in Scientific American , and a longstanding columnist for the Skeptical Inquirer . Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 2]
Pamela L. Gay , astronomer, co-host of Astronomy Cast , assistant research professor in the STEM center at SIUE and project director for CosmoQuest.[ 21]
Susan Gerbic , the founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia which has the mission of improving the skeptical content of Wikipedia.[ 22]
Ben Goldacre , physician, journalist. Author of the "Bad Science " column in The Guardian (UK newspaper).[ 23]
David Gorski , surgical oncologist. A.k.a. Orac of Respectful Insolence . Critic of complimentary and alternative medicine .[ 24]
Stephen Jay Gould , paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, historian of science, Harvard University.[ 2]
Harriet A. Hall , physician, former US Air Force flight surgeon . Critic of alternative medicine and quackery .[ 25]
Sven Ove Hansson , philosopher. Founding Chairperson of the Swedish Skeptics (Vetenskap och Folkbildning) and Editor of the organisation's journal Folkvett .[ 26]
Sam Harris , neuroscientist and author.[ 27]
Sharon A. Hill , founder of Doubtful News , a news site that links synopses and commentary to original news sources, and provides information to critically assess claims made in the media.[ 28] She is also producer and host of the 15 Credibility Street podcast.[ 29]
Christopher Hitchens , journalist and author.[ 30]
Douglas Hofstadter , physicist, artificial intelligence researcher. Author of Pulitzer Prize -winning book Gödel, Escher, Bach: The Eternal Golden Braid and Scientific American column "Metamagical Themas ".[ 31]
Harry Houdini , magician. Critic of Modern Spiritualism who exposed fraudulent psychics and mediums and publicized their methods.[ 2]
George Hrab American skeptical musician, podcaster, speaker and emcee at The Amaz!ng Meeting [ 32]
Ray Hyman , psychologist, critic of parapsychology . Longstanding contributor to the Skeptical Inquirer . Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 2]
Jamie Hyneman , co-creator of the TV show MythBusters .[ 33]
Leo Igwe , Nigerian human rights advocate.[ 34]
Edward Jenner , English physician and scientist who pioneered smallpox vaccine .
Penn Jillette magician, half of Penn & Teller duo. Creator and host of the television series Bullshit! [ 35]
Philip J. Klass , aerospace journalist. Known for his investigations of UFOs . Longstanding contributor to the Skeptical Inquirer . Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 2]
Paul Kurtz , philosopher, author. Founder of CSICOP (now CSI), Publisher of the Skeptical Inquirer .[ 2]
Michael Leunig , cartoonist.[ 36]
Ash Lieb, artist, comedian and writer.[ 37]
Scott Lilienfeld , professor of psychology, author, Consulting Editor for Skeptical Inquirer and Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Fellow[ 38]
Pat Linse , illustrator. Cofounder of the Skeptics Society, Copublisher and Art Director of Skeptic magazine. Creator of Junior Skeptic magazine.[ 39]
Daniel Loxton , illustrator, writer. Editor of Junior Skeptic magazine (bound into Skeptic magazine).[ 40]
Tim Minchin , comedian, musician, actor. Has many songs illustrating his skepticism, most notably, Storm .[ 6]
Rob Nanninga , writer and editor of Skepter .[ 41]
Joe Nickell , investigator of the paranormal, author. Columnist for the Skeptical Inquirer .[ 2]
Steven Novella , neurologist. Founder of the New England Skeptical Society and host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast.[ 6]
James Oberg , aerospace journalist. Critic of UFOs and claims of a moon landing hoax .[ 42]
Robert L. Park , physicist, and author of Voodoo Science .[ 43]
Massimo Pigliucci , professor of philosophy at City University of New York and co-host of the skeptical podcast, Rationally Speaking .[ 44]
Steven Pinker , Canadian experimental psychologist , cognitive scientist , linguist, popular science author, Harvard College Professor and advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind .[ 1]
Philip Plait , astronomer, author. Founder of the Bad Astronomy website.[ 45]
Sébastien Point , engineer and PhD physicist, author,[ 46] [ 47] and columnist at French skeptical quarterly magazine Science et pseudosciences , where he deals with the lack of scientific basis of popular pseudotherapies.[ 48]
Massimo Polidoro , writer, journalist. Student of James Randi , Co-Founder and Executive Director of CICAP , Research Fellow of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 49]
Basava Premanand publisher of the Indian Skeptic magazine and chairman of the Indian CSICOP.[ 50]
Benjamin Radford , Managing Editor of the Skeptical Inquirer ,[ 6] co-host of Squaring the Strange podcast.[ 51]
James Randi , magician. Founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation . Notable for offering a million dollar cash reward for verifiable demonstration under laboratory conditions of any paranormal ability or event. Conceived and directed Project Alpha . Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 2]
Emily Rosa , Guinness World Record youngest medical researcher; at age 11, published her study in the Journal of the American Medical Association on therapeutic touch , showing practitioners couldn't feel the "human energy field" when not looking.[ 52]
Carl Sagan , astronomer, popular science author, and media personality. Advocate for SETI , founder of the Planetary Society , host of the TV series Cosmos and author of The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark . Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 2]
Cara Santa Maria , a science communicator, journalist, producer, television host, and podcaster.[ 53] She currently is a co-host on the The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast,[ 54] and hosts her own podcast Talk Nerdy. [ 55] [ 56]
Adam Savage , co-creator of the TV series MythBusters .[ 33]
Eugenie Scott , anthropologist. Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), critic of creationism and intelligent design .[ 57]
Robert Sheaffer , author. UFO investigator, columnist for the Skeptical Inquirer .[ 58]
Michael Shermer , historian, popular science author, founder of the Skeptics Society . Copublisher and Editor of Skeptic magazine. Also current writer for the Scientific American column "Skeptic".[ 2]
Simon Singh , popular British science author.[ 59]
Julia Sweeney , actress, comedian, author and performer of Letting Go of God .[ 60]
Teller , magician, half of Penn & Teller duo. Creator and host of the television series Bullshit! [ 35]
Marcello Truzzi , sociologist. First editor of the Skeptical Inquirer . Critic of organized skepticism. Founding member of CSICOP (now CSI).[ 8]
Rebecca Watson , founder of Skepchick blog.[ 61]
Richard Wiseman , psychologist.[ 1]
Paul Zenon , magician and comedian.[ 62]
See also
References
^ a b c d Edwin C. May; Sonali Bhatt Marwaha (June 23, 2015). Extrasensory Perception: Support, Skepticism, and Science [2 volumes]: Support, Skepticism, and Science . ABC-CLIO. pp. 131–. ISBN 978-1-4408-3288-8 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Skeptical Inquirer Magazine Names the Ten Outstanding Skeptics of the Century
^ "Banachek - Mentalism and Skepticism" . Point of Inquiry. November 13, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2016 .
^ Bryan Farha (2007). Paranormal Claims: A Critical Analysis . University Press of America. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-0-7618-3772-5 .
^ "Maarten Boudry" . Konrad Lorenz Institute. Retrieved April 17, 2016 .
^ a b c d e "What is Skepticism?" (PDF) . Doubtful News. 2013. p. 7. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ "Books by Robert Todd Carroll" . The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ a b Paul Kurtz (October 29, 2010). Exuberant Skepticism . Prometheus Books. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-1-61592-970-2 .
^ "Derek Colanduno and Robynn McCarthy" . Skepticality. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ Colquhoun, David (June 1, 2013). "If a medical cure looks too good to be true, it probably is" . The Guardian. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
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^ Shermer, Michael (January 12, 2016). Skeptic: Viewing the World with a Rational Eye . Henry Holt and Company. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-1-62779-138-0 .
^ "Deniers are not Skeptics" . The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). December 5, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ "Mark Edward - Guerrilla Skepticism (part 1)" . YouTube. 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2011-03-14 .
^ Edward, Mark (July 1, 2013). "National Geographic Supports Pseudoscience" . Skeptic Blog. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ "Editorial Board" . Skeptic Society . Retrieved 31 May 2016 .
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^ "Why Science Remains Culturally Irrelevant" . The Atlantic. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ Gay, Pamela. "About Me" . Star Stryder. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
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^ Hegarty, Shane (September 7, 2007). "Surely it's not the sceptics?" . The Irish Times . via HighBeam (subscription required) . Retrieved April 18, 2016 . The author of the Guardian's weekly Bad Science column, Dr Ben Goldacre, and physicist and author Vic Stenger will also speak.
^ Gorski, David (April 18, 2016). "Acupuncture does not work for menopause: A tale of two acupuncture studies" . Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ "Articles by Harriet Hall - CSI" . www.csicop.org . Retrieved 13 October 2017 .
^ Dugan, Dan; Daar, Judy (March 22, 1994). "Are Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf Schools 'Non-Sectarian?' " . Free Inquiry . via HighBeam (subscription required) . Retrieved April 18, 2016 . Waldorf schools are the most visible activity of the international Anthroposophical Society, which has been called "the most successful occult religion in Europe" by Sven Ove Hansson, a Swedish skeptic.
^ Fields Millburn, Joshua. "Waking Up: Sam Harris Discusses the Benefits of Mindfulness" . The Minimalists. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ Mongia, Gurmukh (Spring 2017). "A Visit to 15 Credibility Street". Skeptical Briefs . 37 (1): 13.
^ Saunders, Richard (March 3, 2013). "The Skeptic Zone #228" . The SkepticZone (Podcast). Event occurs at 0:06:40. Retrieved 2013-03-17 .
^ Shermer, Michael (November 1, 2010). "In the battle for ideas, scientists could learn from Christopher Hitchens" . Scientific American. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ Romm, Joseph (November 5, 2015). Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know? . Oxford University Press. pp. 189–. ISBN 978-0-19-025019-5 .
^ Plait, Phil (November 14, 2015). "George Hrab Shows You How to Think" . Slate. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
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^ Plait, Phil (January 8, 2010). "African skeptic needs our help!" . Discover Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ a b Jillette, Penn (July 3, 2008). " 'I don't know' -- and that's no act" . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ "Michael Leunig, Conscience, and The Choice to Vaccinate" . Evidence please. Retrieved November 18, 2016 .
^ James Willow Jr (September 2016). The art and times of Ash Lieb . University of Tasmania. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-1-8629587-5-3 .
^ Karen Stollznow (March 19, 2010). "Scott Lilienfeld - Real Self-Help" . www.pointofinquiry.org . Center for Inquiry . Retrieved 2 January 2017 .
^ "Meet Pat Linse" . skeptic. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ "Editor, Daniel Loxton" . skeptic. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ Nienhuys, Jan Willem (September 2014). "IN MEMORIAM: Rob Nanninga, Skeptic Leader and Editor". Skeptical Inquirer . 38 (5): 11–12.
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^ http://www.pseudo-sciences.org/spip.php?rubrique48
^ Carroll, Robert (July 29, 2012). Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism, and Science Exposed! . Lulu.com. pp. 35–. ISBN 978-1-105-90219-2 .
^ Singh, Rahul (November 2, 2009). "The Spell Breaker" . Outlook Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ "Squaring the Strange" . squaringthestrange.libsyn.com . Squaring the Strange. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017 .
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^ "Podcast #524 - July 25th, 2015" . Theskepticsguide.org . The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017 .
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^ Watson, Rebecca (October 24, 2012). "It Stands to Reason, Skeptics Can Be Sexist Too" . Slate. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
^ Zenon, Paul. "Paul Zenon" . Retrieved 14 June 2013 .
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