As a journalist for the Daily Planet, Clark Kent fought for truth. Using journalism to protect the people, he shined light into the darkest shadows. He even transformed into Superman when super powers were required. And like all great heroes, Superman has a fascinating origin story, harkening back to his birth on a dying planet.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Clark Kent, Superman, and origin stories. These thoughts started in October 2023 during my flight to CSICon while reading Kendrick Frazier’s new book, Shadows of Science. Much like the book The Demon Haunted World was a key part of Carl Sagan’s legacy, Ken’s new book is one of his greatest contributions to the world.
We had to take this opportunity to publish Ken’s words in Skeptical Inquirer, another of Ken’s greatest contributions. The cover story comes from the opening of chapter five. Ken writes: “When I joined the staff of Science News magazine in Washington early in my career as a science journalist, someone handed me a nicely printed sheet of hints on writing science. On the back of this sheet was a small type, two-column section, ‘Stories That Should Be Handled with Care.’”