Skeptical Inquirer - Content

Content

The content consists of articles, columns, and book reviews that critically examine a variety of topics, such as extrasensory perception, homeopathy, astrology, SETI, the creation–evolution controversy, global warming, AIDS denialism, the historicity of legendary figures such as King Arthur, and controversial medical diagnoses like ADHD. In addition to topics that concern scientists and academics, the magazine also has a stated mission of examining subjects that interest the general public.

For the thirtieth anniversary of the Skeptical Inquirer in 2006, CSICOP founder Paul Kurtz listed four long-standing policies:

  1. to criticize claims of the paranormal and pseudoscience
  2. to replicate the methods of scientific inquiry and the nature of the scientific outlook
  3. to seek a balanced view of science in the mass media
  4. to teach critical thinking in the schools.

If an article criticizes a proponent of a paranormal claim, he or she is always given an opportunity to respond. Some have taken advantage of that opportunity (Suitbert Ertel and Michel Gauquelin, for example).

Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope calls the Skeptical Inquirer "one of the nation's leading antifruitcake journals".

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