Skepticism • AIPT

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When I first saw the marketing copy for The Sound of Silence, my heart sank. The independent film about a New York City "house tuner," someone who balances the "frequencies" of all the objects in your home in an effort to cure, well, whatever issue was beleaguering you at the moment, seemed to be glorifying the kind of charlatan chicanery that keeps feng shui practitioners in business, and sells people water as medicine. And it was being supported by Sloan Science & Film, no less!

When I first saw the marketing copy for The Sound of Silence, my heart sank. The independent film about a New York City "house tuner," someone who balances the "frequencies" of all the objects in your home in an effort to cure, well, whatever issue was beleaguering you at the moment, seemed to be glorifying the kind of charlatan chicanery that keeps feng shui practitioners in business, and sells people water as medicine. And it was being supported by Sloan Science & Film, no less!

Movies

What note is your toaster? ‘The Sound of Silence’ is an unlikely, unintentional skeptic anthem

A beautiful story that also informs.

By Russ DoblerSeptember 30, 2019

Dinosaurs: The Myth-Busting Guide to Prehistoric Beasts (2019, Happy Fox Books) is a collection of reprinted, full-color BBC Science Focus magazine articles from 2017 and 2019, available in both hardcover and paperback. Being such, it’s a little surprising that this book only has four credited authors. This includes two articles by paleobiologist Darren Naish, who first walks readers through the rise of the dinosaurs during the Triassic Period (p. 16-23) and then discusses dinosaur biomechanics (p. 38-45), and two by writer John Pickrell, asking how we can know what dinosaurs looked like (p. 26-35) and considering Dougal Dixon’s classic work of speculative-evolution, The New Dinosaurs (1988), and how well it holds up today.

Dinosaurs: The Myth-Busting Guide to Prehistoric Beasts (2019, Happy Fox Books) is a collection of reprinted, full-color BBC Science Focus magazine articles from 2017 and 2019, available in both hardcover and paperback. Being such, it’s a little surprising that this book only has four credited authors. This includes two articles by paleobiologist Darren Naish, who first walks readers through the rise of the dinosaurs during the Triassic Period (p. 16-23) and then discusses dinosaur biomechanics (p. 38-45), and two by writer John Pickrell, asking how we can know what dinosaurs looked like (p. 26-35) and considering Dougal Dixon’s classic work of speculative-evolution, The New Dinosaurs (1988), and how well it holds up today.

Books

‘Dinosaurs: The Myth-Busting Guide to Prehistoric Beasts’ perpetuates some myths of its own

But there's some good stuff in here, too.

By Justin MullisSeptember 20, 2019

Earlier this week, The Comics Beat, one of the most respected comic sites on the internet, ran a story called "Haunted comic shop captures proof on video." With a headline like that, you HAD to know the hard-nosed evidence-seekers here at AiPT! Science would have to take our own look, so we invited Kenny Biddle, paranormal video investigator extraordinaire, to give a second opinion.

Earlier this week, The Comics Beat, one of the most respected comic sites on the internet, ran a story called "Haunted comic shop captures proof on video." With a headline like that, you HAD to know the hard-nosed evidence-seekers here at AiPT! Science would have to take our own look, so we invited Kenny Biddle, paranormal video investigator extraordinaire, to give a second opinion.

Pop Culture

‘Proof’ of a haunted comic shop? A paranormal investigator says, not so fast ….

It's actually nothing we haven't seen before.

By Kenny BiddleSeptember 11, 2019

Skunk Ape, Yetis, Sasquatches, Dewey Lake and Mongollon Monsters -- the Bigfoot scene is pretty crowded. Some of these stories are laughed off even by amateur cryptozoologists as nothing more than mass hysteria or cries for attention, and even more are easily waved away with even the briefest of critical thought or study. Some of them, though, have staying power. Momo, the eponymous Missouri Monster in Small Town Monsters' newest feature-length documentary, which haunted the small town of Louisiana, Missouri, in the early 1970s, has staying power.

Skunk Ape, Yetis, Sasquatches, Dewey Lake and Mongollon Monsters -- the Bigfoot scene is pretty crowded. Some of these stories are laughed off even by amateur cryptozoologists as nothing more than mass hysteria or cries for attention, and even more are easily waved away with even the briefest of critical thought or study. Some of them, though, have staying power. Momo, the eponymous Missouri Monster in Small Town Monsters' newest feature-length documentary, which haunted the small town of Louisiana, Missouri, in the early 1970s, has staying power.

Movie Reviews

‘Momo: The Missouri Monster’ Film Review

Shining a sometimes effective, always fun light on one of the weirder corners of the Bigfoot scene.

By Forrest HollingsworthSeptember 7, 2019

“The question of the ‘Great Sea Serpent,’” as observed by cultural critic Paul A. Lester, “for many years constituted the public image of the ‘great unknown' of science. It predated such comparable popular 20th century phenomena as the Abominable Snowman, Loch Ness monster, and flying saucers.” No case is as celebrated as that of the Gloucester Sea Serpent, sighted by hundreds of residents of the port town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, between the years 1817 and 1819.

“The question of the ‘Great Sea Serpent,’” as observed by cultural critic Paul A. Lester, “for many years constituted the public image of the ‘great unknown' of science. It predated such comparable popular 20th century phenomena as the Abominable Snowman, Loch Ness monster, and flying saucers.” No case is as celebrated as that of the Gloucester Sea Serpent, sighted by hundreds of residents of the port town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, between the years 1817 and 1819.

Books

‘Disentangled: Ethnozoology and Environmental Explanation of the Gloucester Sea Serpent’ — book review

Pulling the threads on one of American history's weirdest mysteries.

By Justin MullisAugust 24, 2019

The stretch of I-10 between Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, is unique. In the 275 miles you'll find beautiful desert landscape and only a small handful of towns, some which are mostly or totally abandoned. From the eerie dust storm signage in the barren land of New Mexico's Animas Valley, to the humongous, precariously stacked boulders at Arizona's Texas Canyon, there's always something amazing to peep out.

The stretch of I-10 between Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, is unique. In the 275 miles you'll find beautiful desert landscape and only a small handful of towns, some which are mostly or totally abandoned. From the eerie dust storm signage in the barren land of New Mexico's Animas Valley, to the humongous, precariously stacked boulders at Arizona's Texas Canyon, there's always something amazing to peep out.

Pop Culture

Travel to Arizona’s ‘Mystery of the Desert,’ to see ‘The Thing?’

If your idea for a last minute summer getaway involves aliens, dinosaurs, and conspiracy theories, I know just the place.

By Kendra ReedAugust 21, 2019

Jonathan Hickman is not averse to playing with high concept stuff in his comics. In two issues each of House of X and Powers of X, he's already turned our perceptions of all things X-Men completely around, in unanticipated ways. But were those panels of Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert in House of X #2 really "the most important in the history of the X-Men," as advertised?

Jonathan Hickman is not averse to playing with high concept stuff in his comics. In two issues each of House of X and Powers of X, he's already turned our perceptions of all things X-Men completely around, in unanticipated ways. But were those panels of Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert in House of X #2 really "the most important in the history of the X-Men," as advertised?

Comic Books

House of X: How would reincarnation work? Would we know it when we saw it?

Is it a mutant power, or something that happens in the real world, too?

By Russ DoblerAugust 16, 2019

When I was a kid, my mom used to gripe at me, “Don’t believe everything you see on TV,” but I always just rolled my eyes and scoffed. While we agree on some topics as adults, we argue about a lot of things -- climate change is a hoax, there is no plastic problem, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, etc. When she calls me to chat over a report on a new study, I often find myself repeating the same back at her with a slight twist, “Don’t believe everything you see on TV … or in magazines, on the internet, in photographs, and especially on the news!”

When I was a kid, my mom used to gripe at me, “Don’t believe everything you see on TV,” but I always just rolled my eyes and scoffed. While we agree on some topics as adults, we argue about a lot of things -- climate change is a hoax, there is no plastic problem, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, etc. When she calls me to chat over a report on a new study, I often find myself repeating the same back at her with a slight twist, “Don’t believe everything you see on TV … or in magazines, on the internet, in photographs, and especially on the news!”

Books

‘Nibbling on Einstein’s Brain’ awakens critical thinking — book review

There are no zombies in this book, but you'll enjoy it enough that you won't even miss them.

By Kendra ReedAugust 10, 2019

In celebration of everyone's favorite web-head, July is Spectacular Spider-Month at AiPT!. We have a series of amazing articles in store for the month. Movies, television, gaming, and of course comics will all be covered with great responsibility as we honor one of comics' greatest heroes.

In celebration of everyone's favorite web-head, July is Spectacular Spider-Month at AiPT!. We have a series of amazing articles in store for the month. Movies, television, gaming, and of course comics will all be covered with great responsibility as we honor one of comics' greatest heroes.

Comic Books

Demystifying Mysterio: A mentalist looks at Spider-Man: Far From Home’s magical character

Examining the psychology behind his illusions.

By Eric WaltonJuly 4, 2019

In celebration of everyone's favorite web-head, July is Spectacular Spider-Month at AiPT!. We have a series of amazing articles in store for the month. Movies, television, gaming, and of course comics will all be covered with great responsibility as we honor one of comics' greatest heroes.

In celebration of everyone's favorite web-head, July is Spectacular Spider-Month at AiPT!. We have a series of amazing articles in store for the month. Movies, television, gaming, and of course comics will all be covered with great responsibility as we honor one of comics' greatest heroes.

Comic Books

With great power comes marginally more responsibility: An ethicist looks at Spider-Man’s famous motto

Or: 'Peter Parker can take a damn day off if he wants to'

By Aaron RabinowitzJuly 2, 2019

Some people can do really weird, amazing things with their bodies or minds. While I myself have no strange talents or unique abilities, I've always been curious about those who do. How is it possible for someone to fold themselves into tiny spaces, or spend more time underwater without breathing than it takes me to build and eat a sandwich?

Some people can do really weird, amazing things with their bodies or minds. While I myself have no strange talents or unique abilities, I've always been curious about those who do. How is it possible for someone to fold themselves into tiny spaces, or spend more time underwater without breathing than it takes me to build and eat a sandwich?

Books

‘Extreme Abilities’ sadly brings pseudoscience to children’s lit

Some amazing human feats, but maybe the science is a little too simple?

By Kendra ReedJune 26, 2019

Fire-Breathing Dinosaurs? The Hilarious History of Creationist Pseudoscience at Its Silliest (2019, Cambridge Scholars Publishing), by Philip J. Senter, Professor of Zoology at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, represents the culmination of his research over the last decade on Young Earth Creationists' thoughts about dinosaurs. "Young Earth Creationism" refers to a subset of Christian fundamentalists -- roughly 8-22% of the American population -- who deny not only the validity of Darwinian evolutionary theory, but also the geological evidence indicating that our planet is billions of years old.

Fire-Breathing Dinosaurs? The Hilarious History of Creationist Pseudoscience at Its Silliest (2019, Cambridge Scholars Publishing), by Philip J. Senter, Professor of Zoology at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, represents the culmination of his research over the last decade on Young Earth Creationists' thoughts about dinosaurs. "Young Earth Creationism" refers to a subset of Christian fundamentalists -- roughly 8-22% of the American population -- who deny not only the validity of Darwinian evolutionary theory, but also the geological evidence indicating that our planet is billions of years old.

Books

Don’t give Jurassic World ideas — ‘Fire-Breathing Dinosaurs? The Hilarious History of Creationist Pseudoscience at Its Silliest’ book review

Yes, people actually believe this.

By Justin MullisJune 22, 2019

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