A Note from Michael Shermer
Executive Director of Your Skeptics Society
FREE PDF DOWNLOAD
The Science Behind Why People See Ghosts (and gods, angels, demons, and aliens and why they float, fly, and travel out of their bodies)
Do you know someone who has had a mind altering experience like the examples that we list in this FREE PDF booklet? If so, you know how compelling they can be. A life can be changed or an entire religion founded on the basis of a single brain-generated hallucination. These phenomena are so powerful that throughout history seekers of knowledge have sought to induce them. They are one of the foundations of widespread belief in the paranormal. But as skeptics are well aware, accepting them as reality can be more than a waste of time and energy. It can be dangerous for both the individual and larger society.
While science has made considerable progress in discovering how the brain is hard-wired to produce these illusions, the public is largely unaware of much of this research. This is where your Skeptics Society comes in—we provide the scientific explanation. Join us in our many efforts to do that.
It is time again to support
your Skeptics Society!
Below are some examples of new projects we have undertaken, as well as our ongoing endeavours. You can help support The Skeptic Society in our efforts by making a tax-deductible donation online using your credit card, or by downloading a printable donation card to make your donation by cheque. You may also make a donation by calling 1-626-794-3119.
Promoting science and critical thinking through humor, wit, and satire
The Internet is packed with video clips supporting belief in every kind of paranormal claim, conspiracy theory and irrational belief system. As a resource for our Skepticism 101 offerings, and to reach more people through the power of YouTube we have begun to produce a series of videos to promote critical thinking through the use of humor, wit, and satire.
Thanks to generous donations we have produced four marvelous videos featuring Michael Shermer and Brian Dalton (aka: Mr. Deity). Dalton, a brilliant videographer and film maker produced these videos for a fraction of the cost of a production company, so your donations go a long way. You can watch all four videos in the playlist below.
Help Us Make More Videos Like These
Show your support for these videos and other educational projects by making a tax-deductible donation to the Skeptics Society. With your support we can spread the message of the power of science and skepticism to make the world a saner, safer place.
These and many more resources will be available at Skeptic.com for free for teachers, professors, educators and students to access as part of this Skeptical Studies Program.
To that end please take a moment to donate and support this worthy project.
Big names. Even Bigger Ideas.
Science lectures, on-line, on-demand.
The Skeptics Society’s Distinguished Science Lecture Series has featured 350 top science writers lecturing on controversial and cutting edge science. We are currently working on a project to make these lectures available for rental online, on demand, around the world, at a price we think you will really like! Stay tuned to our free weekly email newsletter for details coming soon…
We produce educational materials
for young people.
Our flagship effort for young people is Junior Skeptic magazine, crafted by editor Daniel Loxton, whose beautifully illustrated multi-award-winning book Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be continues to be a bestseller. Junior Skeptic magazine, bound within every issue of Skeptic magazine, is the skeptical movement’s most sustained and substantial educational outreach project for children— and it needs your support. Help share that rare and beautiful tradition of scientific skepticism with a new generation of skeptics.
We offer educational adventures!
Led by geologist and paleontologist Dr. Donald R. Prothero, our often multi-day tours and excursions take you to some of the best geologic wonders in the United States. Visit some of the richest dinosaur-bearing deposits in the world, and collect amazing trilobites. Decipher the geologic story behind the amazing scenery at Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reef National Parks, Death Valley, Kelso Dunes, the Great Basin, Redrock Canyon and more. Along the way, we stop frequently to learn about the rocks beneath our feet, or gaze over breathtaking scenic vistas that tell a remarkable story. Be among the first to hear about our next geotour!
We make college and university-level courses available to everyone.
Over the past three years we have built up an extensive Skeptical Studies Curriculum Resource Center at skeptic.com that we call Skepticism 101. It is designed to be used in any classroom anywhere in the world, from middle school to universities. It includes free for the downloading resources such as: reading lists, course syllabi, in-class exercises, videos, PowerPoint/Keynote presentations, YouTube links, and educational and entertaining demonstrations that illustrate key points of skeptical thinking. Your donations help us to continue expanding this resource center, helping to teach people not what to think, but how to think.
We fit in your pocket.
Skeptic magazine (every issue of which includes Junior Skeptic magazine) is available in both paper and digital versions in their entirety for your favourite handheld tablet or phone, as well as your PC or Mac computer! We also have apps for our two podcasts: Skepticality and MonsterTalk.
We continue to expand and improve
our website: skeptic.com.
We keep you informed.
In addition to our website and magazine, as well as seeing you at University and college lectures around the world, we keep you informed through many other platforms:
- media interviews on national TV, radio and articles in national print: opinion editorials, commentaries, and reviews
- eSkeptic: our free, weekly email newsletter, brings you awesome articles, book reviews, podcasts, announcements and commentaries. If you don’t already get it, subscribe to it for free right now!
- Michael Shermer’s Scientific American “Skeptic” column
- Skepticblog: a collaboration among some of the most recognized names in promoting science, critical thinking, and skepticism including. Regular bloggers include: Brian Dunning, Daniel Loxton, Donald Prothero, Mark Edward, Michael Shermer, and Steven Novella.
- Follow us on Google+
- Follow our Facebook pages for Skeptic, Junior Skeptic, and Michael Shermer
- Follow Michael Shermer and Daniel Loxton on Twitter — one of the fastest, most responsive platforms for skeptical updates.
An Evening with Michael Shermer
for donations of $500 or more
Join Michael Shermer in his cliff-side home as he hosts a dinner party, wine tasting, and stargazing event on Saturday, December 14, 2013. We’ll have a spectacular sunset view of all of Southern California, and an 8-inch Meade telescope for some star gazing that night. The cost is $500/plate and it is tax deductible. For information or to reserve your seat call our office at 1-626-794-3119.
We’re in this together.
We need your support.
The Skeptics Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. Please help us make the world a more rational place and defend the role of science in society by making a tax deductible donation now…
