Daniel Loxton
WHAT: Haunted Humanity: The Fringe Is Not Fringe, and That’s a Big Deal
Paranormal, pseudoscientific, and fringe beliefs are chronically understudied major aspects of the human condition — and significant drivers of world events since antiquity. He explores why baseless beliefs are consistently dismissed until it is too late, and why we are so often unprepared for events we were warned about, from climate change to pandemics to the ascendancy of paranoid conspiracy theories in American politics. Paranormal and similar weird beliefs are neither a “rising tide” nor a winnable battle, but a challenging endemic reality that must be continually faced and managed. ¿What would it take to get serious about the overlooked central role that weird beliefs play in shaping society?
WHO: Daniel Loxton is a Canadian writer and illustrator who studies allegedly paranormal and other fringe claims for the nonprofit Skeptics Society. Since 2002, Daniel has been the Editor and primary creator for Junior Skeptic, the 10-page kids’ science section bound within Skeptic magazine. He is the coauthor with Donald Prothero of Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids (Columbia University Press, 2013). He has also written and illustrated four books for children, including the Canadian national Lane Anderson Award-winning Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be.
WHEN: Thursday 11 March 7:30PM
WHERE: Online link coming soon.
HOW: This event is presented FREE by the Bay Area Skeptics.
WHY: Because we’re curious creatures.
Previous SkepTalks:
| 11 Feb |
2021 |
From Junk to Genes: The birth of new miRNA genes in the human genome – Nathan Lents, Ph.D. |
| 14 Jan |
2021 |
The Continuing Relevance of America’s Eugenic Legacy – Paul Lombardo, Ph.D., J.D. |
| 10 Dec |
2020 |
Deepfakes, GANs and Visual Misinformation – Nick Dufour |
| 12 Nov |
2020 |
The Debate about Dark Matter: Is the Matter Settled? – Don Lincoln, Ph.D. |
| 8 Oct |
2020 |
Facilitated Communication: Holding on to (False) Hope – Janyce Boynton |
| 10 Sep |
2020 |
Mad Myths: The Case for Using Persuasion to Promote Critical Thinking – Jay Diamond |
| 13 Feb |
2020 |
Big Data: What it is, how it’s used, where it’s headed – Mike Olson |
| 12 Dec |
2019 |
Are you sure that sippy-cup is safe? – Layla Katiraee |
| 7 Nov |
2019 |
Why Do People Reject Good Science? – Eugenie Scott |
| 10 Oct |
2019 |
Shit Students Say: Chem trails, hollow earths, and other strange ideas – Steven Newton |
| 12 Sep |
2019 |
Successful Skepticism: Creating Lasting Community – Tucker Phelps |
| 9 May |
2019 |
The Bitter M&Ms of Climate Change: Misconceptions and Misinformation – Brad Hoge |
| 11 Apr |
2019 |
The Year in Anti-Science-Education Legislation – Glenn Branch |
| 14 Mar |
2019 |
Australia’s Psychic Detectives and Psychic “Predictions” – Richard Saunders |
| 14 Feb |
2019 |
What Would Darwin Say to Today’s Creationists? – Eugenie Scott |
| 10 Jan |
2019 |
Common Misconceptions About CRISPR Genome Editing – Kevin Doxzen |
| 13 Dec |
2018 |
BAS BAH Fest |
| 8 Nov |
2018 |
A Skeptic’s Guide to Planet Hunting – Josh Lofy |
| 11 Oct |
2018 |
Beyond a Candle in the Dark – Mick West |
| 13 Sep |
2018 |
When a Biology Meets a Biology – David Almandsmith |
| 10 May |
2018 |
Misconceptions in Anthropology – Julie Hui |
| 12 Apr |
2018 |
Skepardy! — Bill Patterson |
| 8 Mar |
2018 |
A Quirky Colloquium Quashing Quantum Quackery — Miriam Diamond |
| 8 Feb |
2018 |
The Human Drive to Explain — Tania Lombrozo |
| 14 Jan |
2018 |
Neuroscience and the Great Questions — Ransom Stephens |
| 14 Dec |
2017 |
Top Ten Myths of Homelessness — Carrie Sager |
| 9 Nov |
2017 |
Myths of Mass Extinctions — Kevin Padian |
| 12 Oct |
2017 |
Hurricanes and Heat Waves: Is This Climate Change? — Brad Hoge |
| 11 May |
2017 |
Beyond the Choir – Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia — Susan Gerbic |
| 13 Apr |
2017 |
An Invisible Plague: the Growing Threat of Tuberculosis — Lauren Popov |
| 9 Feb |
2017 |
Are Saturated Fats Bad for You? Separating Fat from Fiction — Kent McDonald |
| 12 Jan |
2017 |
Harry Houdini vs. Psychics & Mediums — Mark Tarses |
| 29 Dec |
2016 |
Too Good to be True? – Richard Saunders |
| 10 Nov |
2016 |
Myths of Astronomy — Thomas Targett |
| 8 Jan |
2015 |
The Manson Family, Cults, and the Psychology of Commitment – Dr. Patrick O’Reilly |
| 12 Feb |
2015 |
Quantum Pseudoscience and the Nature of Mind — Russel Willcox |
| 9 Apr |
2015 |
Herding Cats and Teaching Science — Dan Pemberton |
| 14 Nov |
2012 |
Climate Change: From the Biotic to the Exotic — Minda Berbeco |
| 10 Oct |
2012 |
Writing About Vaccines When Evidence Doesn’t Matter — Liza Gross |
| 12 Sep |
2012 |
Gay Conversion Therapy: You Make Me Sick — Sheldon Helms |
| 8 Aug |
2012 |
Documentary & Skype — “In God We Teach” |
| 11 Apr |
2012 |
A Skeptical View of Climate Change Skeptics — Mark McCaffrey |
| 12 Oct |
2011 |
A Unicorn in Your Tank: Magic Tablets That Won’t Improve Gas Mileage — Yau-Man Chan |
| 14 Sep |
2011 |
Catastrophes! — Don Prothero |
