Skeptical Inquirer Print Magazine

I don’t always agree with everything but definitely is not provoking humorous and informative

Dispelling ghosts and ghost hunters, demons and exorcists, miracles and evangelicals, bigfoot and related beasties and their hunters, psychics, mediums, and lots more of things that go bump on network TV and the mainstream press, SI is a breath of fresh air for those tired of the unending, uncritical coverage of the "paranormal." Pseudo-scientists and charlatans beware!

Superstition is a plague. Science holds the key to life, not psychics or Jesus or the virgin Mary appearing on a tortilla.

give lots of information that you can't get anywhere else. Just wish it came more often. Every other month is a long time

Preaching to the choir is the main thrust of this magazine. I wish they would broaden their horizons and stop screaming.

This is the only readily available US magazine that presents factual analyses of a good variety of the various crazy claims that the US media are filled with. There are problems, however. First, the coverage is generally far more than a day late and a dollar short... it is very rare that I find anything about claims less than a few years old. Second, if you subscribe, based on my experience, you may not get many of the issues you pay for--- the magazine comes loose and unwrapped with your name and address faintly printed by some ancient dot-printer on the center bottom of the rear page. It is not unusual for me to fail to receive 2 of the 6 yearly issues. Third, the magazine, despite the great public interest in its subject matter, tends to be very, very, very dull. I find the lists of newly published books in the back of each issue to be far more valuable than the editorial contents of the magazine itself.

I enjoy science in its many forms and enjoy the Skeptical Inquirer for its thorough and logical explanation of "weird" events. While it takes the "fun" out of things like ghosts and UFOs, having the phenomena explained rationally is a treat in itself. Unfortunately I find the journal a little difficult to read at times. The intolerance of the beliefs of others gets a little difficult to take when it's so much in your face. Often the authors are condescending, sometimes outright insulting, with resepct to non-scientific points of view. There are times when they literally attack the individuals themselves instead of the ideas they propose. No matter how logical the discussion, it seems inappropriate for a journal whose purpose is the scientific explanation of events and phenomena to take such an emotional posture. Surely the attitude will do more harm than good, since those who sense that they are personally under attack will rise to their own defense and become even more entrenched in their beliefs. Instead of learning a new way of analyzing data and becoming less credulous, they will become even more resistant to a logical approach. Since some of the journal's own readership may be among these, the authors' risk losing the opportunity to teach and end up preaching to the choir of the convinced. What's the point? It seems to me that an entirely non-judgemental, just-the-facts approach would be in the best interests of the periodical and its readership.

This magazine is put out by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP for short). Their mission statement is "Encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminates factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community and the public" and the Skeptical Inquirer magazine is one of the main ways the information is disseminated.The articles in any typical issue cover a wide range of subjects from ESP and alien abductions to the claims of efficacy of various alternative medicine practices. The point being with all of these topics, to apply the scientific method to either prove or disprove a claim. I've always found the articles to be unbiased. If a test is inconclusive the results are reported as readily as a positive result. In addition, since the magazine is intended for the public and not specifically scientists, the writing is always very clear and easy to read.