(Linking does not constitute endorsement or agreement. Stay skeptical.)
• David Dobbs discusses The Atlantic, Scientology, and the Theft of Credibility.
• Fake and falsely attributed quotations do matter. Case in point: the gun debate.
• Experts and skeptics (including Robert J. Blaskiewicz, Benjamin Radford, and DJ Grothe) debunk the Sandy Hook conspiracy video.
• What’s the harm in conspiracy theories? How about the harassment of a man who helped Sandy Hook kids?
• Meanwhile, Benjamin Radford (again) analyzes why the Sandy Hook massacre spawned conspiracy theories in the first place.
• Elsewhere, Radford asks, “Do Scientists Fear [Investigating] the Paranormal“? (Does this man never sleep?)
• Heina’s marvelous reflection, “The Great Face-Paint Debate,”has made me think differently about cosmetic judgments.
• Prometheus Books, a vital publisher of skeptical and humanist books, has struck a distribution deal with Random House.
• The latest in an excellent series: “Girls Learning Coding Is Key to Closing the Skills Gap.”
• Another fine piece I’ll be using with my students is “Searching for Home: The Dual Displacement of the Black Academic.”
• A study claims that Shakespeare and Wordsworth boost the brain, but is that the simplest and most likely explanation for what’s going on?
• More principled courage from young people: a 19-year-old Louisiana Student Fights for Accurate Science in the Classroom.
• Amy Frushour Kelly on the nuances of Teaching Kids to Learn.
• Researchers examine racial bias and perceptions of clinical care among Black and Latino patients.
• And finally — I knew it! — a new study finds that some instances of grapheme-color synesthesia may be traced to Fisher-Price alphabet magnets.
