As its name suggests, 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. The foreword is by James "The Amazing" Randi, probably the world's best known debunker of psychics and paranormal frauds. Skeptoid's chapters are adapted from the first 50 episodes of the popular critical thinking podcast of the same name. Just about every popular pseudoscience is represented here: Everything from paranormal phenomena such as haunted houses, Bigfoot, and ghost lights to quack health trends like organic food, chiropractic, and wheatgrass juice.
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About the Author
Brian Dunning is the producer and host of the popular critical thinking podcast "Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena" at skeptoid.com.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Brian Dunning is fantastic at taking a critical perspective on popular topics such as hauntings, science, new age movements, organics, and more, and conveying it to believers and disbelievers alike. Whether you're a hardened skeptic, a new age hippie who wakes up every morning to organic wheat-grass juice while discussing chemtrails on your blog, or somewhere in the middle, you cannot afford to miss this book. Highly recommended.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By B. Justin
Skeptoid by Brian Dunning is indeed a great book. It is a fairly quick read, and made for great quick breaks at work and around the house. As a fairly recent subscriber to the podcast (last 3 months) I hadn't read or heard most of the first 50 which are included here. My favorite was #29, Orbs in the camera. This one holds a special place in my heart, my brother and I would go out to graveyards when we were younger and take polaroids of this "phenomenon" and be excited that we captured ghosts on film. After getting older (and thanks to some critical thinking) Ive always wondered what those things actually were, and now I know. Hopefully we can look forward to Skeptoid #51-100 in book form soon.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
This is a remarkable collection of incorrect beliefs laid bare. Brian has a knack for finding these nuggets of BS, researching the truth, and presenting the unbiased evidence mixed with insightful opinion. It's also very entertaining - I laughed out loud many times. Highly recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great little read! A good coffee table book, or supplement to...
In this book, Brian Dunning provides in written format many of the investigations he so thoroughly examines each week on his popular Skeptoid podcast. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. W. Helms
5.0 out of 5 stars
Skeptiod: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena
Extremely entertaining and valuable book to read! I will say that through reading this book I am very much surprised to realize how many faulty ideas and generalizations there are... Read more
Published on October 22, 2009 by Maciej Stanczak
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fair and balanced (yes, really!)
Brian Dunning is one of the fairest and most reasonable people who speak publicly about rational thinking. Read more
Published on August 10, 2009 by G. Perera
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subscribe to the podcast
I don't have the book yet, but have listened to the podcast episodes, and the amount of research and analysis Brian Dunning does every week is mind blowing. Read more
Published on July 15, 2009 by C. Carpenter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Critical Thinking introduction
Skeptoid provides a significant number of real life examples that help to remove the mystery of critical thinking.
Published on September 6, 2008 by Dr. Ronald Fountain
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK but not spectacular
I bought and read this book several months ago, and I don't remember reading it. As a result, it was probably OK but it did not change my life. Read more
Published on August 27, 2008 by John M. Lamade
5.0 out of 5 stars
not debunking by a curmudgeon
Brian focuses on the existing scientific evidence. If you don't buy into his presented conclusion, you're always encouraged to look up information on your own. Read more
Published on August 13, 2008 by G. Wolfram
5.0 out of 5 stars
Skeptoid is terrific!
Well written, concise and to the point. Dunning has a wonderful sense of humor that makes this a pleasant very informative read.
Published on May 27, 2008 by Richard Hodill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent quick reference handbook for skeptics
Mr. Brian Dunning is making his incredibly well researched podcast more accessible to everyone. I bought this for a professor of mine and she loved it! Read more
Published on May 2, 2008 by David A. Schwarz Iglesias
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and funny
Brian Dunning takes a thoughtful, scientific approach to dissecting faulty thinking. He is an equal-opportunity critic of flawed logic. Read more
Published on April 19, 2008 by Matthew Carson
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