Michael Shermer
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| − | '''Michael Shermer''' (b. September 8, 1954) is an [[American]] | + | '''Michael Shermer''' (b. September 8, 1954) is an [[American]] historian of [[science]], writer, professional [[skeptic]], and ex-professional cyclist. |
| − | He | + | He is a noted "skeptical [[agnostic]] non-[[theist]]," the author of many writings on skepticism, and the founder of the American Skeptic Society. |
==A modern Paul== | ==A modern Paul== | ||
Revision as of 01:05, 31 August 2013
Michael Shermer (b. September 8, 1954) is an American historian of science, writer, professional skeptic, and ex-professional cyclist.
He is a noted "skeptical agnostic non-theist," the author of many writings on skepticism, and the founder of the American Skeptic Society.
Contents |
A modern Paul
Like Paul, Shermer found his way on the long (bike) road to Damascus Mt. Elbert, in Colorado, when he realized that all the prayer, New Age pyramids, meditation, and homeopathy would not take the pain of 10 years of cycling away, and that these remedies and the philosophies behind them were all bunk. Like Paul, Shermer began to preach and teach, writing for Scientific American in the Skeptics column, writing books like Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time[1] (as well as the far more exciting Cycling: Endurance and Speed[2]), and lecturing across the US on topics ranging from Holocaust denial to creationism.[3]
Useful comparisons to John, George, and Ringo are less forthcoming, however.
Inverse stopped clock?
Shermer leans heavily libertarian and is known to be less than introspective where economic issues are concerned; occasional hilarity results with the rest of the skeptical community (one incident featured a thoroughly inept attempt to map economic freedom onto the Kardashev scale).
While Shermer's other work has been well received, his book Mind of the Market has been widely criticized in skeptical circles for being mostly full of bullshit pop evolutionary psychology used in order to rationalize his libertarianism.[4] This has led some to say there are "two Michael Shermers," "skeptical Shermer" and "libertarian Shermer." Others contend he never really stopped drinking the Randroid Kool-Aid. Of course, he has denied these charges.[5]
Initially an "environmental skeptic," Shermer returned to the warm embrace of reality, saying that "data trumps politics."[6]
Sexual misconduct accusations
On August 8, 2013, PZ Myers published a blog on his Pharyngula account[7], stating a particular but unnamed woman came to him with the story that "a big name" had sexually harassed her and that, according to Meyer's blog, when she reported it to the proper channels, it was "swept under the rug." After several paragraphs of angst, he eventually decides to tell the world that the accused is none other than Michael Shermer. In the Pharyngula blog, Myers claims to quote the victim, stating "At a conference, Mr. Shermer coerced me into a position where I could not consent, and then had sex with me." There are few other details about this situation, however it has become the feminist and skeptics "drama of the week", and everyone[8] is chiming[9] in with their opinion of Shermer, Myers[10][11] and the unknown woman[12].
Shermer has threatened a lawsuit against Meyers[13] for claiming he is a rapist, and Meyers has held to his position that publicly shaming Shermer is the right thing to do, since the authorities at (presumably) the school[14] have chosen not to address the situation.
Quotes
- "On the deepest level, our brains are wired up to believe just about everything we encounter..."[15]
- "Science is the best tool we ever devised. It's the only hope we have," he said. But "it's counterintuitive. People are not naturally inclined to think skeptically and scientifically."[15]
See also
External links
- Michael Shermer at Skepticblog: The collaberative blog of the cast of the (yet non-existent) show The Skeptologists.
- The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine
Footnotes
- ↑ Why People Believe Weird Things:
- ↑ Cycling: Endurance and Speed (Sportsperformance)
- ↑ MichaelShermer.com
- ↑ Massimo Pigliucci's beef with Shermer, Skeptic's Dictionary review of Mind of the Market
- ↑ How I Became a Libertarian
- ↑ The Flipping Point
- ↑ the Blog in question
- ↑ http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/4419
- ↑ http://www.atheistrev.com/2013/08/more-internet-vigilantism-as-shermer.html
- ↑ http://thetimchannel.wordpress.com/tag/michael-shermer/
- ↑ http://thepigmancometh.com/2013/08/11/pz-myers-accuses-michael-shermer-of-rape/
- ↑ http://www.skepticink.com/prussian/2013/08/12/about-the-shermer-allegations/
- ↑ http://www.uncommondescent.com/humor/breaking-news-michael-shermer-issues-cease-and-desist-order-against-pz-myers/ Granted, this is a blog, and not a news article. But this whole story is more about the blogisphere than news.
- ↑ Again, the unnamed victim claims that she took this case to "the proper channels", and Meyers claims in his original and subsequent blogs that his primary motivation was because of the lack of action by "the proper channels".
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Taking life with a grain of salt