General Resources

• Spirit-WWW- many links about Astrology, UFOs, ETs, Channeling, Out of Body Experiences, Alternative Healing, "Light Technology," and much much more!
• UFO Gallery
• Crop Circle Gallery
• Suggestion: search the word "skeptic" on your favorite search engine(s).

Skeptical Resources and Tools

• Recommended books
• The Demon-Haunted World -- Science as a Candle in the Dark (Carl Sagan, Random House, 1995)
• Other recommended readings
• Debunking the Paranormal: We Should Teach Critical Thinking as a Necessity for Living, Not Just as a Tool for Science. Editorial by Randy Moore (The American Biology Teacher, 54 (1) January 1992, pp. 4-9).
• A Field Guide to Critical Thinking by James Lett (Skeptical Inquirer, Winter 1990, pp. 153-160). (featuring the FiLCHeRS toolkit: Falsifiabilty, Logic, Comprehensiveness, Honesty, Replicability, and Sufficiency)
• Sum Ergo Cogito - I Am Therefore I Think: A Skeptical Manifesto, by Michael Shermer (Skeptic 1(1), Spring 1992, pp. 15-21).
• 16 Questions to Help Distinguish a Pseudoscience From a Protoscience (a new science trying to establish its legitimacy) by Lee Moller (excerpted and adapted from his article "BCS Debates a Qi Gong Master"; see below)
• Twenty Science Attitudes
• The Skeptic's Dictionary

Skeptic Sites

• sci.skeptic FAQ (frequently asked questions)
• Science:Alternative:Skeptics Yahoo directory
• CSICOP (Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal; located in Buffalo, NY; publisher of Skeptical Inquirer)
• Back issues of The Skeptic
• Jim Lippard's Home Page
• The Skeptics' Page
• Skeptical
• British Columbia Skeptics Home Page
• Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking (PhACT)
• SKEPTIC Annotated Bibliography
• Skeptics Society
• Skeptical Inquirer
• Scientists Confront Pseudoscience - A Bibliography for Librarians
• My Account of KGNW AM 820's "Street Talk"
• National Center for Science Education
• Skeptics' Books and Tapes
• Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL)
• Australian Skeptics

James "The Amazing" Randi

• Essay: "It's Time for Science To Take a Stand Against Popular Superstitions" (originally appeared in Time Magazine on April 13, 1992)
• Randi's page with animated flying pig (don't miss it!)
• Randi's home page
• Prize offers (to psychics etc.)
• The Pigasus Prize (awarded April 1 annually)
• Randi's "$10,000" Challenge (concerning psychic, supernatural or paranormal claims; originally $10,000; now in excess of $700,000)
• Randi's million dollar spoon-bending prize offer
• Randi in Korea
• Randi at Caltech
• James Randi's "Geller Hotline" (spoon-bending psychic Uri Geller's lawsuit; the countersuit, etc. etc.)

Astrology

• Astrology Page
• Astrology FAQ
• Astrology (Spirit-WWW)
• Astrology Entry in Skeptic's Dictionary
• Readings Recommended by the New York Area Skeptics -- Astrology/Horoscopes
• Studies on Astrology

Bermuda Triangle

• The Bermuda Triangle

Fortune Telling

• Tarot Reading

Loch Ness Monster

• It's a Fake!

Psychics, Parapsychology, and Paranormal

• Eyewitness Testimony and the Paranormal by Richard Wiseman, Matthew Smith, and Jeff Wisman, (Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1995 vol. 19, no. 6)
• The Evidence for Psychic Functioning: Claims vs. Reality by Ray Hyman (Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 1996 vol. 20, no. 2)
• Psychics Strike Out (Again) in 1995 (CSICOP press release, December 1995)
• CSICOP Assists in Philadelphia TV Station's Psychic `Sting' by Joe Nickell (Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1995 vol. 19, no. 6)
• Psychic Vibrations: Bra Hazards, Carpet Circles, Lunar Aliens, and Adam's Animals by Robert Sheaffer (Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1995 vol. 19, no. 6)
• The Skeptics Guide to "Clairvoyant Reading"

Psychology, Belief, Skepticism, ...

• The Belief Engine by James Alcock (Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 1995 vol. 19, no. 3) "Our brains and nervous systems constitute a belief-generating machine, a system that evolved to assure not truth, logic, and reason, but survival. The belief engine has seven major components ..."
• Putting Away Childish Things by Richard Dawkins (not online; Skeptical Inquirer, January/February 1995 vol. 19, no. 1) "Gullibility, a childhood survival skill, is harmful for adults."
• Wonder and Skepticism by Carl Sagan (not online; Skeptical Inquirer, January/February 1995 vol. 19, no. 1) "Science requires an almost complete openness to all ideas. On the other hand, it requires the most rigorous and uncompromising skepticism."
• 1994 CSCIOP Conference Exploring Mind, Memory, and the Psychology of Belief (Part I)
• 1994 CSCIOP Conference Exploring Mind, Memory, and the Psychology of Belief (Part II)
• Viruses of the Mind ("memes") by Richard Dawkins
• "Spirits, Witches, and Science: Why the Rise of Science Encouraged Belief in the Supernatural in 17th-Century England," by Richard Olson, in Skeptic 1(4), Winter 1992, pp. 34-43.

UFOs and Aliens

• UFO Directory and Forum
• UFO Entry in Skeptic's Dictionary
• UFO book review "Watch the Skies! A Chronicle of the Flying Saucer Myth". by Curtis Peebles. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1994. {Book Review by Robert R. Young in Skeptical Inquirer (Fall, 1994, vol. 18, no.5)}
• UFO Psychology "Studying the Psychology of the UFO Experience," by Robert A. Baker, Skeptical Inquirer (Spring, 1994, vol. 18, no. 3)
• UFOs & Aliens picture gallery by Australian Skeptics
• The Roswell Incident and Project Mogul by Dave Thomas (Skeptical Inquirer, July/August 1995 vol. 19, no. 4)
• 'Alien Autopsy' articles from Skeptical Inquirer, January/February 1996 vol. 20, no. 1
• 'Alien Autopsy' articles from Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1995 vol. 19, no. 6

Cryptozoology

• Bigfoot Evidence: Are These Tracks Real? by Michael R. Dennett, Skeptical Inquirer (Fall, 1994, vol. 18, no. 5)

Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon

• The Hundredth Monkey by Ken Keyes
• The Hundredth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal (edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus, 1991, collection of articles from Skeptical Inquirer)
• Follow-Up: Senior Researcher Comments on the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon in Japan by Markus Possel and Ron Amundson, Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 1996 vol. 20, no. 3

Alternative Medicine, Pseudomedicine, and Quackery

• QuackWatch Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisionmaking. Operated by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
• Dr. Bower's Complementary Medicine Home Page
• Health:Alternative Medicine
• Healing Methods (from Spirit-WWW; including Homeopathy, Qi Gong, Human Energy Field, Gemstones and Vibrational Healing, Channeling of Troubled Spirits, Boogie Busting, Chakras, …)
• Alternative Health Practices (Skeptic's Dictionary)
• Mystical Medical Alternativism by Jack Raso, Skeptical Inquirer (September/October 1995, vol. 19, no. 5)
• Office of Alternative Medicine — National Institutes of Health (USA)
• The Alternative Medicine Homepage (Falk Library of the Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh)
• Alternative Medicine Internet Resources
• National Council Against Health Fraud home page
• Alternative Medicine and Faith Healing - Skeptical Bibliography (annotated)
• Museum of Questionable Medical Devices in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Recommended book by Stephen Barrett, M.D., Consumer Advocate
• The Health Robbers -- A Close Look at Quackery in America (edited by Stephen Barrett, MD and William T Jarvis, PhD, Prometheus, 1993, 526 pp.)
• Excerpt from "The Health Robbers"
• Roundtable Interview - Dr. Stephen Barrett
• (see reference below to another book of Dr. Barrett's: The Vitamin Pushers)
• A Consumer's Guide to Alternative Medicine -- A Close Look at Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Faith Healing and Other Unconventional Treatments by Kurt Butler, edited by Stephen Barrett, Prometheus, 1992.
• The Great American Medicine Show — Being an Illustrated History of Hucksters, Healers, Health Evangelists & Heroes from Plymouth Rock to the Present, by David Armstrong and Elizabeth M. Armstrong, Prentice Hall, 1991 (out of print, but available in some libraries)
• The New Snake Oil: A Field Guide — Commentary, June 1999, pp. 24-31.

Therapeutic Touch

• Therapeutic Touch
• Hands that Heal: The Art of Therapeutic Touch
• Skeptics Challenge Pseudoscience in Nursing Rocky Mountain Skeptics
• Probing Therapeutic Touch - The first phase of an continuing investigation by PhACT President, Bob Glickman
• "Science or Pseudoscience?" Pentagon Grant Funds Alternative Health Study (in order to study the "laying over of hands," or "The Effect of Therapeutic Touch on Pain and Infection in Burn Patients"), Skeptical Inquirer (July/August 1996, vol. 20, no. 4)
• "Therapeutic Touch — Skeptics in Hand to Hand Combat Over the Latest New Age Health Fad" by Linda A. Rosa Skeptic 3(1), (1994) pp. 40-49.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

• Yan Xin Qigong Introduction
• BCS Debates a Qi Gong Master (British Columbia Skeptics; includes the "16 questions"; see above)
• Testing Qi Gong
• China, Chi, and Chicanery -- Examining Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chi Theory by Peter Huston, Skeptical Inquirer (September/October 1995, vol. 19, no. 5)
• Traditional Medicine and Pseudoscience in China: A Report of the Second CSICOP Delegation (Part 1) by Barry L. Beyerstein and Wallace Sampson, Skeptical Inquirer (July/August 1996, vol. 20, no. 4)
• Book: Qigong - Chinese Medicine or Pseudoscience by L. Zixin, Y. Li, G. Zhengyi, S. Zhenyu, Z. Honglin, and Z. Tongling (Prometheus, 1996)

Homeopathy

• Homeopathy Home Page
• Homeopathy
• Homeopathy: A Position Statement by the National Council Against Health Fraud
• "Homeopathy — Much Ado About Nothing" Consumer Reports, March 1994, pp. 201-206.
• "Human basophil degranulation triggered by very dilte antiserum against IgE" by E. Davenas et al. (the notorious paper from Benveniste's lab in Paris — published by Nature editor John Maddox, under the condition that a team be permitted to investigate; see next two items), Nature, 333, June 30, 1988, pp. 816-818.
• "High-dilution experiments a delusion" by John Maddox, James Randi, and Walter Stewart, Nature 334, July 28, 1988, pp. 287-290 (see also Benveniste's reply on p. 291)
• "Dilutions of Grandeur" by Andrew C. Revkin, (Homeopathic experiments of J. Benveniste and periodical Nature's investigation) Discover 10, January 1989, pp. 74-75.

Chiropractic

• CHIRO-WEB
• Chiropractic OnLine Today
• National Council Against Health Fraud, Inc. Position Paper on Chiropractic
• ICA Board Takes Emphatic Stand on "Orthopractic" and "Chiropractic Medicine" From the International Chiropractors Association
• Chiropractors -- Healers or Quacks. Consumer Reports, 1975, 40:542-547, 606-610.
• Chiropractors. Consumer Reports, June 1994, pp. 383-390.

Deepak Chopra and Ayurvedic Medicine

• Deepak Chopra Live in 21st Century Online
• Deepak Chopra and Maharishi Ayurvedic Medicine by Thomas J. Wheeler, Ph.D.
• A Few Thoughts on Ayurvedic Mumbo-Jumbo by Stephen Barrett, M.D.

Nutrition

• The Blonz Guide to Nutrition, Food Science and Health

Dietary Supplements, Vitamins, …

• Recommended book by Stephen Barrett, M.D., Consumer Advocate (see above)
• The Vitamin Pushers -- How the 'Health Food' Industry is Selling America a Bill of Goods (Stephen Barrett, MD and Victor Herbert, MD, JD, Prometheus, 1994, 536 pp.)
• (see reference above to another book of Dr. Barrett's: The Health Robbers)
• Articles/warnings about certain supplements
• FDA Warns Against Supplements That Contain Ephedrine (Reuters)
• CDC Officials Cite Adverse Events Associated with Ephedrine-Containing Products (Reuters)
• NIH Panel Seeks To Curb Melatonin Use (Reuters)
• Data Lacking For Accurate Dietary Supplement Recommendations (Reuters)
• FDA/CFSAN Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994
• Selected statements and lobbying positions from "dietary supplement" industry
• Healthy.Net -FDA Proposed Regulations for DSHEA Nutrition Labeling for Dietary Supplements
• Healthy.Net - NNFA ATTACKS H.R. 1951
• Healthy.Net - ON H.R. 1951
• Melatonin Central's NNFA Statement
• The Politics of Medicine

Herbalism

• Herbal Humbug by Elliott Marchant and Barry Beyerstein (Rational Enquirer, vol 3, no. 4, Apr 90)
• False Tenets of Paraherbalism by Varro E. Tyler (from Nutrition Forum, a newsletter focusing on nutrition-related fads, fallacies, and quackery)
• Herbal Roulette -- The maker's of these 'natural' remedies don't have to prove they work and don't have to prove they are safe. You have to be very careful. Consumer Reports , November 1995, pp. 698-705.

{note:the same issue has an article on psychotherapy, entitled "Mental Heatth—Does Therapy Help?" pp. 734-739.
• The Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)

Eating Disorders

• Books from feminist perspective:
• The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf (New York: William Morrow & Co., 1991)
• Am I Thin Enough Yet?: The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity by Sharlene Hesse-Biber (New York : Oxford University Press, 1996)

Placebo Effect

• Mind/Brain/Behavior -- The Pleasing Placebo
• Placebo Response
• Books and articles
• "The Mysterious Placebo" by John Dodes Skeptical Inquirer, Jan/Feb 1997
• Placebo: Theory Research and Mechanisms edited by Leonard White, Bernard Tursky, and Gary Schwartz, Guilford Press, New York, 1985
• Placebo Effects in Health and Disease: Index of New Information with Authors, Subjects and References by Joseph Hartwick, ABBE Publications, Washington DC, 1996

Conventional (Scientific) Medicine and Healthcare

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located in Atlanta, Georgia
• National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland
• U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)
• The Cochrane Collaboration - Preparing, maintaining and disseminating systematic reviews of the effects of health care
• Go Ask Alice! (Columbia University Health Question & Answer Service) - part of Healthwise
• Sexuality
• Sexual Health
• Relationships
• Drug and Alcohol
• Fitness and Nutrition
• Emotional Well-Being
• General Health
• Reuters Medical News Search
• Your Health Daily (New York Times Syndicate)

Smoking and Health

• Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
• More Evidence That Nicotine Is Addictive
• Public Strongly Supports FDA Rules
• Tobacco & America's Youth (From the Congressional Record, July 31, 1995 [House])
• Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Home Page (cigarette consumption statistics. Information sources on tobacco control. How to order publications. Statistics on the number of cigarettes smoked per day and smoking among high school seniors)
• Full Text Of "Secret" Tobacco Industry Documents (University of California, San Francisco Library)

Recovered Memory Therapy and False Memory Syndrome

• Recovered Memory Therapy and False Memory Syndrome
• The Tragedies of False Memories by Martin Gardner, Skeptical Inquirer (Fall, 1994, vol. 18, no. 5)

Facilitated Communication

• Facilitated Communication Institute at Syracuse University (Douglas Biklen, Director)
• "Facts About Facilitated Communication" by Douglas Biklen
• "Resolution on Facilitated Communication" by the American Psychological Association (1994)
• Deal Communication Centre, Inc. (Australia — Rosemary Crossley)
• Autism Society Facilitated Communication Information Package
• "Advisory to the Field Regarding the use of FC" State of New York Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
• "The Four-Object Method of Validating Facilitated Communication"  Bernard Rimland
• Facilitated Communication in The Skeptic's Dictionary (Robert T. Carroll)
• "Facilitated Communication: Mental Miracle or Sleight of Hand?" by Gina Green (Skeptic vol. 2, no. 3, 1994, pp. 68-76)
• "A History of Facilitated Communication: Science, Pseudoscience, and Antiscience: Science Working Group on Facilitated Communication" by John W. Jacobson, James A. Mulick, and Allen A. Schwartz (American Psychologist 1995, Vol. 50, No. 9, pp. 750-765)

Pathological and Fringe Science

Cold Fusion / Polywater / N-rays

• "Case Studies in Pathological Science: How the Loss of Objectivity Led to False Conclusions in Studies of Polywater, Infinite Dilution and Cold Fusion," by Denis L. Rousseau, American Scientist 80(January-February 1992):54-63.
• Rousseau, whose investigations of polywater were a major factor in its demise, simplifies Irving Langmuir's criteria of "pathological science" into three conditions, which he illustrates with examples from the polywater controversy, Benveniste's pro-homeopathy dilution experiments, and the cold fusion controversy.
• N-Rays (etc.) article from Physics Today (TBA)

Electromagnetic Fields and Cancer

• Electromagnetic fields and cancer: Scientists use statistics, biology to study suspected link
• Powerline, EMF and Cancer FAQ
• EMF-Link
• Study of biological effects of electromagnetic radiation inconclusive
• See also the article entitled "Fields of Fear" by Gary Taubes in the November 1994 issue of Atlantic magazine (pp. 94-108; the magazine cover refers to the article as "The Power-line--Cancer Myth").
• American Physical Society Statement on EMFs and Public Health
• gopher://gopher.enews.com:70/11/magazines/categ...

AIDS "Heresies"

• Does HIV Really Cause AIDS?—A Case Study in Skepticism Taken Too Far. by Steven B. Harris, Skeptic 3(2) (1995), pp. 42-79.

Antiscience

• Scientists See Broad Attack Against Research And Reason
• Book: Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science, by Paul R. Gross and Norman Levitt, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994 Reviewed by Jeffrey Shallit in Skeptic Volume 3, Number 1 (1994): Pseudomedicine

Cultural Studies and the "Sokal Affair" (Science Wars)

• Alan Sokal's page on Sokal Affair — papers and commentaries, including
• Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity

This is the original "parody" article, published in Social Text #46/47, pp. 217-252 (spring/summer 1996).
• A Physicist Experiments with Cultural Studies This is the article in which Sokal reveals the parody, published in Lingua Franca, May/June 1996, pp. 62-64.
• Sokal & Social Text — Jason Walsh's page