The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine


NOW THROUGH CYBER MONDAY

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It’s our best sale of the year, on now through Cyber Monday. SAVE 25% on everything at Shop Skeptic, including: books, science lecture DVDs, clothing and other cool swag, like t-shirts and hoodies, stickers, lapel pins, Skeptic magazine subscriptions and back issues. Skeptic digital subscriptions and digital back issues are also on sale via PocketMags.com.

This sale ends at 23:59:59 Sunday, November 28, 2016 (PST).

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SAVE 25% ON PRINT & DIGITAL

subscriptions and back issues!

Skeptic Magazine 21.3 (cover)

PRINT Reg. $30.
Now $22.50
DIGITAL Reg. $14.99.
Now $11.24

Print & Digital Subscriptions

4 ISSUES PER YEAR

Stephen Jay Gould called Skeptic magazine “The best journal in the field.” The definitive skeptical journal, Skeptic magazine makes a perfect gift that lasts all year (we publish 4 issues, 1 approximately every 3 months). Promoting science and critical thinking, our in-depth articles explore and inform. Buy it. Read it. Share it. Help us make the world a more rational place by defending the role of science in society! Subscribe now and save!

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Skeptic Magazine 19.3 (cover)

PRINT Reg. $6.
NOW $4.50 ea.
DIGITAL Reg. $4.99.
NOW $3.74 ea.

Print & Digital Back Issues

Skeptic magazine examines extraordinary claims, and serves as an educational tool for those seeking a sound scientific viewpoint. Don’t miss this opportunity to complete your collection by getting the back issues you’re missing in your library. Order a back issue for a friend and introduce them to skepticism! Some back issues have completely sold out in print format and will not be printed again. Most of our back issues are available in digital format via PocketMags.com.

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About Digital Subscriptions & Back Issues

The 25% discount on digital subscriptions and back issues is only available through PocketMags.com, and purchase requires a free PocketMags account. After you’ve made your purchase(s), your PocketMags account allows you to synchronize your purchases to your phone or tablet by signing in to the Skeptic Magazine App (or PocketMags App) using the same username and password you used to make your purchase(s) on PocketMags.com. Questions? Email the Skeptic Webmaster.

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75 Collected essays from bestselling author Michael Shermer’s celebrated columns in Scientific American

AUTOGRAPHED HARDCOVER Reg. $28. NOW $21
AUDIO CD Reg. $19.95. NOW $14.96

For fifteen years, bestselling author Michael Shermer has written a column in Scientific American magazine that synthesizes scientific concepts and theory for a general audience. His trademark combination of deep scientific understanding and entertaining writing style has thrilled his huge and devoted audience for years. Now, in SKE?TIC, seventy-five of these columns are available together for the first time; a welcome addition for his fans and a stimulating introduction for new readers.

Praise for the book

Dense with facts, convincing arguments, and curious statistics, this is an ingenious collection of light entertainment for readers who believe that explaining stuff is a good idea.

Kirkus Reviews

Shermer makes a strong case for the value of the scientific endeavor and the power of rational thinking in 75 brief essays…. Each entry is insightful, informative, and entertaining.

Publishers Weekly

Michael Shermer is a beacon of reason in an ocean of irrationailty.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Skeptic Lapel Pin

Reg. $10. NOW $7.50

We’d like to see this lapel pin become world-famous, and we need your help to make that happen! Every skeptic (and his or her best friends) should have one of these lapel pins. They feature elegant gold-colored SKEPTIC letters, with a contrasting black background. They are a great size for a lapel or tie-tack — about 25mm × 6mm (1″ × .25″). The pin comes in a classy little plastic box suitable for gift-giving. At this price, you could get one for every jacket you own!

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Don’t Believe Everything You Think

Reg. $19. NOW $14.25

This enlightening book discusses how to recognize faulty thinking and develop the necessary skills to become a more effective problem solver. Author Thomas Kida identifies the 6 basic mistakes we make in thinking that leads many of us unconsciously to accept false ideas:

  1. We prefer stories to statistics.
  2. We seek to confirm, not to question, our ideas.
  3. We rarely appreciate the role of chance and coincidence in shaping events.
  4. We sometimes misperceive the world around us.
  5. We tend to oversimplify our thinking.
  6. Our memories are often inaccurate.

Kida vividly illustrates these tendencies with numerous examples that demonstrate how easily we can be fooled into believing something that isn’t true.

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The Moral Arc (cover)

AUTOGRAPHED PAPERBACK
Reg. $16.99. NOW $11.89

The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People

In his book about moral progress, Dr. Michael Shermer demonstrates through extensive data and heroic stories that, thanks to science and reason, the arc of the moral universe bends toward truth, justice, and freedom. The Scientific Revolution was so world-changing that thinkers in other fields consciously aimed at revolutionizing the social, political, and economic worlds using the same methods of science. This led to the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment, which in turn created the modern secular world of liberal democracies, civil rights and civil liberties, equal justice under the law, open political and economic borders, and the expansion of the moral sphere to include more people—and now even animals—as worthy of moral consideration. Epic in scope, The Moral Arc is the Cosmos of human history.

Steven Pinker, author of The Better Angels of Our Nature, calls The Moral Arc “A thrilling and fascinating book, which could change your view of human history and human destiny.” Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, says “The Moral Arc displays the impressive depth of Michael Shermer’s scholarship, wisdom and empathetic humanity, and it climaxes in a visionary flight of futuristic optimism. A memorable book, a book to recommend and discuss late into the night.”

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The Magic of Math (cover)

Reg. $26. NOW $19.50

The Magic of Math

A delightful assortment of examples—from ice cream scoops and poker hands to measuring mountains and magic squares—this book empowers you to see the beauty, simplicity, and magical properties behind formulas and equations that once left your head spinning. Learn key ideas of classic mathematics like: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. Have fun fooling around with Fibonacci numbers, investigating infinity, and marveling over mathematical magic tricks that will make you look like a math genius!

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The Skeptic's Dictionary (cover)

Reg. $19.95. NOW $14.96

The Skeptic’s Dictionary

The definitive short-answer debunking of nearly everything skeptical. Nearly 400 definitions, arguments, and essays on topics ranging from acupuncture to zombies. Detailed information on all things supernatural, occult, paranormal, and pseudoscientific, including: alternative medicine; cryptozoology; extraterrestrials and UFOs; frauds and hoaxes; junk science; logic and perception; New Age energy; psychics. An invaluable reference.

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A Skeptic's Guide to Global Climate Change (cover)

28-PAGE BOOKLET
Reg. $5. NOW $3.75

A Skeptic’s Guide to
Global Climate Change

Distinguish climate change skepticism from climate change denialism; get 25 answers to classic climate denier arguments; examine a summary of the scientific evidence and climate data and discover what’s behind the debate on climate change; find out why scientists think climate is changing and how we know global warming is real and human caused. This booklet has 28 pages at 8.5 × 11 inches.

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The Baloney Detection Kit (cover)

16-PAGE BOOKLET
Reg. $5. NOW $3.75

The Baloney Detection Kit

This 16-page booklet, designed to hone your critical thinking skills, includes suggestions on what questions to ask, what traps to avoid, specific examples of how the scientific method is used to test pseudoscience and paranormal claims, 25 fallacies of thinking, a list of highly-recommended skeptical books, a how-to guide for developing a class in critical thinking, and more…

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How to Debate a Creationist (cover)

28-PAGE BOOKLET
Reg. $5. NOW $3.75

How to Debate a Creationist

This 28-page booklet is perfect for anyone who wants to know how to converse with a creationist. It contains 25 creationist arguments and 25 evolutionist answers (some philosophical and some scientific); describes what the theory of evolution is and isn’t and explains why creationism is not science; provides an in-depth understanding of Intelligent Design, its pitfalls and logical fallacies, and much more.

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AWARD WINNING BOOKS

by the Editor of Junior Skeptic

Ankylosaur Attack! (cover)

32-PAGE HARDCOVER / AGES 4+
Reg. $16.95. NOW $12.71

Ankylosaur Attack!

This mind-blowing feast for the eye depicts photorealistic CGI dinosaurs in their natural environment. A young ankylosaur (a plant-eating, heavy-plated dinosaur) living along the lush banks of a lake encounters an old ankylosaur. Gently, he endeavors to make contact, only to be rebuffed. Then a T. rex attacks, and old dinosaur is in grave danger. Will the T. rex triumph? It looks that way, until the young ankylosaur comes to the rescue, tail club swinging. This is book one in the Tales of Prehistoric Life series. Dramatic stories + eye-popping visuals = a surefire hit with young dinosaur lovers.

“Even by current high standards, the full-spread art is uncommonly photorealistic.” —Kirkus Reviews

Awards for the book
  • WINNER: Selected for Vancouver, British Columbia’s 2015 Reading Lights Program (2015)
  • WINNER: Best Books for Kids & Teens, Canadian Children’s Book Centre (2012)
  • Finalist: Silver Birch Express Award, Ontario Library Association (2013)

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Pterosaur Trouble (cover)

32-PAGE HARDCOVER / AGES 4+
Reg. $16.95. NOW $12.71

Pterosaur Trouble

In this science-informed followup to Ankylosaur Attack, Daniel Loxton tells a dramatic paleofiction tale of perhaps the largest flying animal ever to exist—the mighty pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus. While stalking a riverside for breakfast, the giraffe-sized pterosaur finds himself on the menu for a pack of small but ravenous feathered Velociraptor-like dinosaurs called Saurornitholestes. Can the giant escape from his Lilliputian assailants? Inspired by real-world fossil discoveries, this photorealistic adventure will delight and astonish. This is book two in the Tales of Prehistoric Life series.

“[A] riveting picture book…visually stunning…intriguing and original…an imaginative, scientifically based gem…”

—Jurors, Victoria Book Prizes

Awards for the book
  • WINNER: Victoria Children’s Book Prize Winner (2014)
  • Finalist: Lane Anderson Award for the Canadian Science Book Prize (2013)

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Plesiosaur Peril (cover)

32-PAGE HARDCOVER / AGES 4+
Reg. $16.95. NOW $12.71

Plesiosaur Peril

A group of plesiosaurs—ocean-dwelling cousins of the dinosaurs—keeps safe by swimming in a family pod. But then a baby plesiosaur swims too far from its mother, attracting the attention of something very large and hungry. The struggle for survival is on! A unique blend of digital artwork and landscape photography illustrates this thrilling encounter. This is the third and final book in the Tales of Prehistoric Life series, and a Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award for Best Science Book for Young Readers in 2014.

“It is apparent from the accurate appearance of the plesiosaurs that they were thoroughly researched. …the same is true for other prehistoric creatures… ichthyosaurs, ammonites, belemnites…. They are the best I’ve seen in any book of this kind. …this is a lovely and visually striking book that makes the perfect bedtime story for any child…”

—Dr. Adam S. Smith, The Plesiosaur Directory

Award for the book
  • Finalist: Lane Anderson Award for the Canadian Science Book Prize (2014)

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Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be (cover)

HARDCOVER
Reg. $18.95. NOW $14.21

Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be

Can something as complex and wondrous as the natural world be explained by a simple theory? The answer is yes, and now Evolution explains how in a way that makes it easy to understand. Based on the acclaimed articles from Junior Skeptic (Skeptic magazine’s science magazine for kids), and combining lavish illustrations, breezy prose, and deep science, this spectacularly illustrated introduction to the theory of evolution (written for ages 8–13) takes us from Charles Darwin to modern-day science. Along the way, Evolution answers common questions (and clears up misunderstandings) that sometimes confuse people about the history of life on Earth. This book has been applauded by expert reviewers including the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Center for Science Education.

Awards for the book
  • WINNER: Best Books for Kids & Teens, Starred Selection, Canadian Children’s Book Centre (2011)
  • WINNER: Lane Anderson Book Award, Fitzhenry Family Foundation (2011)
  • Finalist: Norma Fleck Award, Canadian Children’s Book Centre (2011)
  • Finalist: Silver Birch Award, Ontario Library Association (2011)

Buy the hardcover

MORE IN STORE!

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SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

Make your tax-deductible donations before the end of the year

It is time again to support your Skeptics Society. Your donations matter! Thanks to your support, 2016 has been another great year for science, skepticism, and critical thinking. We are looking forward to 2017 and are pleased to report that we have had many successes this year, which you can read about in a 4-page update from Michael Shermer, the Skeptics Society’s Executive Director.

Read the letter from Michael

FUNDRAISER STAR PARTY

at the Mt. Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Los Angeles

The historic 60-inch telescope at the Mt. Wilson Observatory

Click image to enlarge. The historic 60-inch telescope at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. We will be using this, or perhaps the even larger 100-inch telescope. (Photo by Heven729 (own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

For donations of $500 or more, you are invited to join Michael Shermer at an epic Star Party at the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory where Edwin Hubble discovered the expanding universe (situated in the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Los Angeles). We will meet for dinner at a place to be determined and then drive up Angeles Crest Highway to Mt. Wilson where we will tour the observatory grounds and spend as many hours as we like looking through one of the giant telescopes that Hubble used, and enjoy the company of fellow skeptics and science lovers. Date to be determined, likely to be in the March–May 2017 time frame for optimal weather and viewing. For reservations call our office at 1-626-794-3119. Good cause, good fun. Join us!

Ways to Make Your Tax-Deductible Donations

Your donations help your Skeptics Society—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization—to promote science and critical thinking. You can make a tax-deductible donation online using your credit card, or by downloading a printable donation card to make your donation by cheque in the mail. You may also make a donation by calling 1-626-794-3119. All donations are tax deductible.

Make a tax-deductible donation
to The Skeptics Society

FREE FACTSHEET DOWNLOAD

The Top 10 Myths of Terrorism

As usual, each year, we give away an informative booklet to thank you for your generous donations. This year, our free booklet examines whether terrorism is an “existential threat” to our way of life or even to our survival.

The Rise of the Use of the Term “Existential Threat”

Top 10 Myths of Terrorism (page 1 of free booklet)

Click image to enlarge. The historic 60-inch telescope at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. We will be using this, or perhaps the even larger 100-inch telescope. (Photo by Heven729 (own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

Is terrorism really an “existential threat” to our way of life? Tracking the phrase with a Google Ngram search shows that it didn’t come into use until the late 1950s, most likely for describing the growing threat of global thermonuclear war. It crawls along the bottom of the curve through the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. Then, around 1983, its use takes off in a steady upward trend line to 2001, after which it spikes dramatically upward in a hockey-stick like increase, clearly in response to 9/11. If ISIS or any of the other terrorist organizations grounded in Islamism were successful in their global jihad to bring about Sharia law, terrorism could become an existential threat. But will they succeed? No. Here are 10 myths about terrorism that explain why. Feel free to download, print and share this 4-page booklet.

Download the free booklet

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