Skeptical Inquirer Volume 33, Number 3
May / June 2009

SPECIAL REPORT

Life and Planet
Evolution, Climate Change Two Grand Themes of AAAS Science Fest
by KENDRICK FRAZIER

ARTICLES

Science and Pseudoscience in Adult Nutrition Research and Practice
Human nutrition research and practice is plagued by pseudoscience and unsupported opinions. A scientific analysis separates reliable nutrition facts from nutritional pseudoscience and false opinion.
by REYNOLD SPECTOR

Playing by the Rules
It is useless for skeptics to argue with someone who doesn’t play by the rules of science and reason. If no amount of evidence will change your opponent’s mind, you are wasting your breath.
by HARRIET HALL

Ghosts, Doughnuts, and A Christmas Carol
Investigating New Mexico’s ‘Haunted’ KiMo Theater
A careful investigation into one of the most famous haunted theaters in the Southwest reveals much about how ghost stories get started—and are perpetuated.
by BENJAMIN RADFORD

The Roots of Skepticism
Why Ancient Ideas Still Apply Today
Some of the central ideas of ancient skepticism have historical significance and still influence contemporary skeptical and scientific inquiry.
by CHRISTOPHER diCARLO

COMMENTARY

The Great Global Cooling Myth and the Politics of Science
by JOHN FLECK

POLICY FORUM

Repower America? Science Communication and the Obama Presidency
by MATTHEW C. NISBET

COLUMNS


NEWS AND COMMENT
Autism-Vaccine Link Researcher Andrew Wakefield Accused of Faking His Data / More Studies Reject Vaccine-Autism Link / Scientists Hail Gallo’s ‘Unsung’ Role in Nobel HIV/AIDS Discovery / Selective Memory at Work When Patients ‘Predict’ Own Death / A Modern Witch Craze in Papua New Guinea / Remembering Henry Gordon, Magician, Skeptic, Debunker / Report Knocks Baylor Claim about American Religiosity / Spanish Skeptics Magazine Pensar Suspends Publication / CFI/Los Angeles Celebrates Darwin’s 200th Birthday with Readings, Plays, Lecture

INVESTIGATIVE FILES
Demons in Connecticut
by JOE NICKELL

THINKING ABOUT SCIENCE
Hard and Soft Science: Physics vs. Psychology
by MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI

NOTES ON A STRANGE WORLD
Eusapia Palladino, the Queen of the Cabinet, Part 1
by MASSIMO POLIDORO

THE SKEPTICAL INQUIREE
The Pseudoscience of Personalysis
by BENJAMIN RADFORD

REVIEWS

FLAT EARTH: THE HISTORY OF AN INFAMOUS IDEA
By Christine Garwood
review by ROBERT ASHTON

A COLOSSAL HOAX: THE GIANT FROM CARDIFF THAT FOOLED AMERICA
By Scott Tribble
review by JOE NICKELL

THE MIND OF THE MARKET: COMPASSIONATE APES, COMPETITIVE HUMANS, AND OTHER TALES FROM EVOLUTIONARY ECONOMICS
By Michael Shermer
review by JOSEPH KEIERLEBER