Michael Shermer
Publisher Skeptic Magazine, Presidential Fellow Chapman University, author Heavens on Earth, The Moral Arc, & more.
Thought Leader
#6 The New Center
Last synced from Twitter 1m ago
America is a Christian nation ft. Dinesh D'Souza | #TruthStraightUp
YouTube 4h 1 tweets
What does it mean to live in a "Christian nation?" The value of human life. The dignity of human beings. Equality. Compassion. These values are all the legac...
Michael Shermer No America is not a Christian Nation. It is a Constitutional Republic. POTUS & SCOTUS swear not to Jesus but to the Constitution to uphold the laws protecting rights derived through natural law, not God. I refuted your book in The Moral Arc. 4h
Florida Deciding Whether To Prosecute Woman Who Turned In Estranged Husband's Guns
NPR.org 11h 3 tweets
Her husband was jailed overnight after police said he rammed his vehicle into hers. She was jailed for six days after she allegedly broke into his home, took his guns and gave them to law enforcement.
Michael Shermer After being physically assaulted by her ex Courtney Irby took his guns & gave them to the police. They arrested her. He got 1 day in jail for assault, she got 6 for theft. A gun in a domestic violence situation = 5x more likely a woman will be murdered. 6h
Robert Zubrin — The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility
Michael Shermer - Skeptic 8h 1 tweets
In Science Salon # 72, Michael Shermer speaks with visionary astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin where he lays out the plans for how humans can become a space faring, multi-planetary civilization.
Michael Shermer Science Salon #72 Michael Shermer in conversation with... Robert Zubrin The Case for Space We also discuss: —what type of government on Mars —what type of new species we will become —is human progress inevitable? —the role of freedom in human progress 8h
The Sisyphean Challenges of Skepticism or, Start by Disbelieving
Michael Shermer - Skeptic 12h 1 tweets
Social psychologist Carol Tavris reminds us that justice requires us to assess the evidence, and that this requirement is especially imperative when public opinion and emotion are weighted heavily in favor of one side.
Supreme Court rules L.A. clothing maker can trademark ‘scandalous’ brand name
latimes.com 13h 1 tweets
The Supreme Court rules for free speech and an L.A. clothing maker's right to get trademark protection for his FUCT brand.
Michael Shermer Supreme Court decision a victory for free speech but that this even made it to SCOTUS is scandalous! You can trademark "Praise the Lord" for a game but not "Madonna" for wine or "Ko Kane" for a drink? Ridiculous. One again... Religion. Poisons. Everything. 13h
Inside Cryonics: Will These Bodies Come Back From Death?
YouTube 48h 1 tweets
Until the day he died, in 2011, Robert Ettinger hoped humanity would figure out a way to cheat death. Today, his body is stored in a chamber filled with liqu...
Michael Shermer If you're curious how Cryonics works this 12-min film is quite good (& dramatic). The problem with Cryonics Institute's method of freezing without transfusing with anti-freeze (cf Alcor) is that patients have 0 chance of revival because of ice damage. 48h
Focal Point: Harvard Professor Steven Pinker says the truth lies in the data
Harvard Gazette 56h 16 tweets
Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology, points to a number of instances where the use of anecdotes over data creates a false narrative.
Frankie Moreno Eleanor Rigby PBS
YouTube 5d 1 tweets
Michael Shermer Just heard from our (me & Jennifer) friend We're seeing him perform in Vegas next month. We're not leaving the theater until he covers Eleanor Rigby! Take five minutes to watch one of the greatest rock performances of all time: 5d
Philosophy shrugged: ignoring Ayn Rand won’t make her go away – Skye C Cleary | Aeon Ideas
Aeon 369d 27 tweets
<p>Philosophers love to hate Ayn Rand. It’s trendy to scoff at any mention of her. One philosopher told me that: ‘No one needs to be exposed to that monster.’ Many propose that she’s not a philosopher at all and should not be taken seriously. The ...
Coleman Hughes Testifies at House Hearing
C-SPAN.org 6d 2 tweets
Reparations Hearing on June 19, 2019.
Michael Shermer Take 5 minutes to watch testimony to Congress on slavery reparations (Bill HR 40). "Reparations, by definition, are only given to victims. So the moment you give me reparations, you’ve made me into a victim without my consent." 6d
Shapiro: Not Spewing Racism an Impossible Standard to Meet
edbrayton - Dispatches From the Culture Wars 6d 1 tweets
The vile Ben Shapiro is leaping to the defense of Kyle Kashuv, the Parkland High student whose acceptance at Harvard was just rescinded because he sent off a bunch of racist comments, including one Twitter message with the N word 11 times. He says...
Michael Shermer The whole point of the Kyle Kashuv/Harvard affair is that he DID apologize! Did you read no further on the matter than tweets by and me? Any skeptic worthy of the name would at least read up on the matter before commenting! 6d
Why People Believe Weird Things: Michael Shermer | Edhat
Edhat.com 6d 1 tweets
Michael Shermer Our live Science Salon events provide nourishment for both the mind and the body (a different type of mind-body dualism)... 6d
Why Champions of Science and Reason Need Free Will
Ben Bayer - New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism 6d 2 tweets
The power to control our own minds is an indispensable requirement of scientific objectivity.
Exchange of material between solar systems by random stellar encounters | International Journal of Astrobiology
Cambridge Core 7d 1 tweets
Exchange of material between solar systems by random stellar encounters - Robert Zubrin
Michael Shermer ~1 per 25 Myr large cometary impacts on Earth "is not caused by a periodic astrophysical phenomenon, but is a simple consequence of the random motion of the sun with respect to the surrounding star field" says Paywall: email author for copy 7d
The Evidence for Planet Nine’s Existence
Pbs.org 7d 1 tweets
Why do some astronomers think there’s a massive planet on the edge of our solar system?
Michael Shermer The Hunt for Planet 9. Given that it is the estimable Caltech astronomer Mike Brown who thinks it's real, and given that he's known as "the man who killed Pluto", I think this is all driven by guilt... 7d
‘KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps,’ by Nikolaus Wachsmann
Nytimes.com 7d 1 tweets
A historian depicts the concentration camps where many of the Holocaust’s millions died.
Michael Shermer A few years ago I read this monumental history of the Nazi concentration camp (KL: Konzentrationslager) system, an 865-page compendium of human depravity, cruelty, and evil. Good to remind ourselves what lies within. Just came across this excellent review: 7d
Dr. Michael Shermer — What is Truth?
Michael Shermer - Skeptic 7d 2 tweets
In this live podcast event hosted by the Santa Barbara Science Salon in conjunction with the Skeptics Society and the Unitarian Society, co-hosted by Dr. Whitney Detar, Dr. Shermer reflects on the question “What is Truth?” in the context of his...
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Michael Shermer Science Salon #71 Dr. Michael Shermer What is Truth? A live podcast lecture and AMA event... 7d
Michael Shermer ICYMI... Science Salon #71 Dr. Michael Shermer What is Truth? (Or, why dark chocolate is truly better than milk chocolate, why Stairway to Heaven is the best rock song of all time, Free Bird notwithstanding, & why Jesus was crucified but not resurrected.) 3d
6 things I wish people understood about atheism in America
Vox 12d 4 tweets
10 percent of Americans identify as atheists — but there’s a lot that people don’t know about us.
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Michael Shermer "how would you feel if the dollar bill said 'There Is No God' and the Pledge of Allegiance proclaimed that we are 'one nation under no God whatsoever, yay'? How would you like it if your kids were forced to say that every day before class?" You wouldn't. 8d
Impossible Burger shortages hit restaurants as the meat-free firm races rivals
latimes.com 9d 1 tweets
Shortages of meat-free patties at restaurant chains underscore the pressure Impossible Foods is facing to manufacture for the mass market.
Michael Shermer A delicious problem to have...for a delicious plant-based burger... 9d
Measles Don’t Care What Jessica Biel Believes
James Hamblin - The Atlantic 11d 10 tweets
As several states move to limit exemptions to required vaccines, the actor hit a nerve in a larger debate about personal belief in science.
Michael Shermer "Researchers at Ohio State recently reviewed cases across the country from 1905 to 2016 & found that a majority of the time refusing vaccination was found to be neglect." Unless parents cite “genuine and sincere religious beliefs.” Religion is the problem. 9d