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105 Ways to Promote Science and Advance Skepticism

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 4:59 pm
by Doug
What Do I Do Next? 105 Ways to Promote Science and Advance Skepticism

A PDF file:

See here.

From the preface:

In 2007, I called for a renewed focus on classical skeptical activism in an article called “Where
Do We Go From Here?” (released as an audio essay on Skeptic magazine’s official podcast
Skepticality,1 in PDF form at Skeptic.com,2 and in print by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry’s
Skeptical Briefs newsletter.)

Letters of response flooded in — and a common theme emerged. Many people wrote to say,
“Alright, I’m convinced. I’m ready to become a skeptical activist. Now what?”
That was a very big question. Attempting to craft a substantial answer, I re-read a concise 2004
Skeptic magazine article entitled “50 Things You Can Do To Encourage Critical Thinking.” This
point-form list of practical suggestions (by magician Andrew Mayne) captured my feelings exactly:
concrete, positive action is the point of skepticism as a movement. At the end of the day, we’re in
this thing to discover reality, to expose fraud — and to help people.

That seemed like a great foundation to build on. With Mayne’s permission, I developed an
expanded new list of over 100 suggestions for skeptical activism. Then, I invited prominent skeptical
writers, organizers, and activists to comment on each of these suggestions.

The response was exhilarating. Many leading skeptics gave generously of their time and
experience, enthusiastically sharing wisdom and advice. I collated that flood of comments into a
master document, in the format of a panel discussion — and then sent that out for further commentary.
Over months, the project went through several rounds of comment and counter-comment — followed
by many more rounds of editing, restructuring, and proofing.

The result is a sprawling and rich document, to which 13 skeptics contributed
almost 30,000 words.

...Daniel Loxton
Skeptic magazine
Editor, Junior Skeptic