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Skeptic Magazine, Volume 16 Number 1
Table of Contents

cover art by Paul Duffield

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Cover Story

Ignorance of Bliss: We still know so little about happiness — except that we’re supposed to pursue it by Steve Salerno

News

The Saturn-Mars Effect: How a statistical effect explains
the astrological claim for
the power of Mars by Alexander Y. Panchin

Special Section:
Philosophers of Religion

Antony Flew 1923–2010: The World’s Most Notorious Atheist Who Changed His Mind by Kenneth Grubbs
Motorcycle Maintenance Without the Zen: How Robert Pirsig’s Mistakes About Atheism Continue Today by Chris Edwards

Special Section:
Martin Gardner Tribute

’Twas Brillig…: A Celebration of the Life of
Martin Gardner by James Randi
Martin Gardner, 1914–2010: Polymath Extraordinaire by Michael Shermer

Columns

The SkepDoc: Genomic Testing —
Are We There Yet?!
by Harriet Hall, M.D.
Bad Language: Turn On, Tune Out, Drop Off by Karen Stollznow

Forum

Letters
Climate Skepticism Forum: Ideology not Science; Facts;
No Predictive Validity;
Accepted on Faith
David Brin Responds

Articles

Science by Think Tank: The Rise of Think Tanks and the Decline of Public Intellectuals by Massimo Pigliucci
Can People’s Minds be Changed?: How Can We Know? by Michael J. Kane
Quantum Consciousness and Other Spooky Myths: The thought that there may be a connection between quantum mechanics and consciousness has led to a lot of pseudoscience
by Martin Bier
The Sports Dominance Mystery: Why do certain groups come to dominate some sports but not others?
by Stephen Sniderman

Reviews

Meaning-Making Neurons: The Brain and the Meaning of Life, by Paul Thagard reviewed by Michael Shermer
Science in the Spirit of Mythbusters: The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science: 50 Experiments for Daring Young Scientists, by Sean Connolly
reviewed by Harriet Hall, M.D.
A film review of The Living Matrix: A Pseudoscientific Infomercial
for Energy Medicine,
reviewed by Harriet Hall, M.D.
If You Don’t Understand Evolutionary Biology, Don’t Write a Book About it!: What Darwin got Wrong, by Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piatelli-Palmarini reviewed by Donald R. Prothero
Waterworld: The Flooded Earth: Our Future in a World Without Ice Caps,
by Peter D. Ward reviewed by James N. Gardner
Optimism v. Realism: The Case for Rational Optimism, by Frank S. Robinson
reviewed by Victoria Bekiempis
Science Faction: An Interview with Scott Sigler, and a review of his book Ancestor
reviewed by Jason Colavito

Junior Skeptic

The Origin of the Griffin

A scholar investigates
the mystery;
Ancient Fossil Discoveries:
The Bones of Heros;
Tales from the Desert:
Guardians of Gold;
Ancient Trade Routes;
Case Solved?:
Objections to the Theory;
Protoceratops Did Not
Have Wings;
Early Griffins;
The Bottom Line

Written by Daniel Loxton. Art by Daniel Loxton and Jim WW Smith. Cover art by Daniel Loxton and Ed Heck.

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