Issues in Science and Skepticism
To mark our fortieth anniversary, we invited distinguished scientists, scholars, and investigators associated with the Skeptical Inquirer and Committee for Skeptical Inquiry to give us their thoughts. In contrast to earlier anniversaries emphasizing our founding leaders, this time we gave priority to scientists and skeptics who have come to prominence in the skeptical world in more or less the last twenty years. We had such a resounding response that we have decided to do two anniversary issues: in this first one we present a series of insightful essays on Issues in Science and Skepticism; in the next we will present personal Odysseys in Scientific Skepticism.
In this brief space, we can’t begin to summarize all the issues and provocative ideas you will find in these pages. They vary widely. Here are just a few. Bill Nye calls for putting science and reason to work against science deniers and biblical literalists and preventing an impending climate catastrophe. We used to be a nation of innovators, he notes; with regard to climate we may have stalled, but our old get-it-done determination can be reinvigorated. Neil deGrasse Tyson describes what science is and isn’t. Not fooling yourself is the crucial starting point. Another lesson: the objective truths that science eventually establishes—after much to and fro—exist outside your own personal perception of reality. “They are true whether or not you believe in them.” Lawrence M. Krauss warns of the dangers of ignorant demagoguery and calls for more open questioning in all aspects of public and private life.