Adding to our non-fiction collection is Brian Dunning, with his title Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena:
Skeptoid is a collection of skeptical factoids — short pro-science essays debunking a broad variety of phenomena in pop culture with pseudoscientific or paranormal foundations: Everything from wheatgrass juice, Bigfoot, alien abductions, and the Philadelphia Experiment to organic foods, the Amityville Horror, the Bible Code, and chemtrails. Skeptoid is supported by the popular podcast of the same name, hosted and produced by author Brian Dunning. Foreword by James ‘The Amazing’ Randi.
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on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 7:48 am and is filed under New Books.
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November 15th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
What a wonderful surprise to find this type of material on Podiobooks.com. I couldn’t stop- ended up listening to the whole thing in one day. I highly recommend this collection for the skeptical and credulous alike. Five stars all around, with a big thank you to Mr. Dunning for sharing his entertaining and thought-provoking work.
December 3rd, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Some interesting stuff, however some of this definitely falls into the category of political opinion rather then scepticism.
Not that there’s anything wrong with political opinion mind you, but wrapping it the title of scepticism lends it more validity then it perhaps deserves. Both Skepticality and a The Skeptics’ Guide To The Universe seem to have done a better job stopping personal politics from mixing with their scepticism.
December 9th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Great stuff! And thanks for not foaming at the mouth or demeaning ‘the opposition’ like some other ’skeptical’ sources which have become predictable and occasionally polemic driven.
December 16th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Most of the arguments were well thought out and presented, however I don’t think any of them would convince someone who fell on the opposite side of the argument to change their mind.
If you’re on the fence about anything, check out the subject that interest you, that’s what I did and it pretty much confirmed most of what I thought about that subject anyway. (I’m a skeptic about a lot of things myself.)
December 18th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Generally pretty good though I thought sometimes the arguments were cynical but not in a funny or amusing way. Overall though it was an interesting read just because I haven’t heard of some of these oddities before.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I’m a skeptic, and while I agree with a lot of what is said, I must say that I was extremely disappointed. From what I listened to, there are no sources/references, and no real depth to this. For example, the “sustainability” episode sounds like a rant any random person without any knowledge of the issue would give you. I think it was completely missing the point, full of straw men, and just without any real substance.
For what that’s worth, the author might as well just given us a list of subjects linked to the wikipedia page so that we could look them up ourselves. At least wikipedia is more neutral and has sources.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:14 am
If your looking for critical thinking and facts to debunk the issues being discussed, you will have to keep looking. This book is a collection of the author’s opinions on different subjects and opinions are a dime a dozen. In one section he states there is no reason to believe in God due to lack of scientific evidence and then in another section advises the reader not to dismiss the existence of Bigfoot just because there is no scientific evidence. He excuses his not providing facts by saying that readers should investigate them for themselves. I consider my self a skeptic, but I’m a logical one who demands prooof either for or against a concept, not just opinions.