From Abracadabra to Zombies - 745 entries | View All

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Sample the Skeptic's Dictionary

slate writing

Slate writing was a trick used by mediums that involved school slates and the claim that spirits were writing messages on them. Usually, a pair of slates would be used. They would be shown to the viewer clean, hidden in some way, and then shown to the viewer again but now with a written message. Henry Slade (1840-1905) is credited with inventing slate writing and incorporating it in his act as a psychic medium. Slade called himself a spiritual doctor and is often referred to as Dr. Henry Slade. Whether he invented slate writing or not, I can't say, but he popularized the trick and was found guilty of fraud several times for his efforts.>>more

sample Mysteries and Science (for kids 9 and up)

scientific skepticism

In a nutshell: Scientific skepticism holds that science is the best way to find out things about the world and ourselves. Scientific skeptics don't trust claims made by people who reject science or who don't think that science is the best way to learn about the world.

Scientific skepticism thinks that the best way to find out what makes things tick in the universe is the way of science. Science uses reason, logic, observation, experiments, and math to discover how things work. >>more

a blast from the past

My Opinion on Opinions

In the fall of 1974, I landed my first full-time teaching job. My doctoral dissertation had been published earlier that year, but all I had to show for it was a piece of paper signed by Ronald Reagan (who was governor of California at the time) and several hundred rejection notices from philosophy departments around the country. Lassen College hired me to teach philosophy, creative writing, music appreciation, sociology, and journalism. In addition, I was hired as the baseball coach. I was hired as a one-year replacement for a teacher who taught philosophy, creative writing (he'd actually published some poems), music appreciation (he was an accomplished musician), and skiing [He was an accomplished skiier and famous climber: his name is Joe Fitschen and he's written a book I highly recommend]. My Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California at San Diego meant little to getting the job. My willingness to spread myself thin and my showing up to the interview in jeans and a pullover shirt were more important.>>more