From: "James J. Lippard" Subject: Skeptic magazine Message-ID: <9209182358.AA24803@lll-winken.llnl.gov> Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1992 16:56:22 -0700 I recently received in the mail my copy of _Skeptic_ magazine, vol. 1, no. 1. It is published by the Los Angeles-based Skeptics Society, a successor organization to the defunct Southern California Skeptics. It's a big (56-page), glossy-covered magazine aiming for national circulation. It contains advertising, unlike the _Skeptical Inquirer_. The first issue's contents are: Skeptical News Skeptics Forum (letters to the editor) A Tribute to Isaac Asimov (by Steve Allen, Harlan Ellison, and Martin Gardner) Sum Ergo Cogito - I Am Therefore I Think: A Skeptical Manifesto (by Michael Shermer and the Skeptics Society) Randi at Caltech: A Report From the Paranormal Trenches (by James Randi) How to Avoid Legal Problems in Skepticism (by Elie Shneour) Skeptical Perspectives (by Michael Shermer) In Print: In Brief and In Review (book reviews by Paul V. McDowell) The next issue will feature an article (or more than one article) on cryonics. Some excerpts from "About the Skeptics Society" which appears in the magazine: "The Skeptics Society will investigate claims by scientists, pseudoscientists, and non-scientists on a wide variety of theories and conjectures including but not limited to: life after death and the quest for immortality; the differences between science and pseudoscience, magic and the paranormal; the use and abuse of theory and statistics in science and pseudoscience; the role of skepticism in the modern world; medical and psychiatric claims; the scope and limitations of science and technology; gender and race issues in science and society; cultural influences on science and scientific influences on culture; the capacities and limitations of the human mind and body; scientific and academic fraud and hoaxes; the application of science to solving social problems such as war, poverty, economic depression, monetary inflation, crime, racism, sexism, social conflict, and failing education. We have been offered claims of both causes and solutions to all of these effects by a variety of people outside of science, in the physical, biological and human-action sciences, as well as by psychological, economic, and political practitioners. The question the Skeptics Society asks about all claims it investigates is this: How well do they hold up under scientific scrutiny?" Subscriptions are $30/year for four issues. Send to: Skeptics Society, 2761 N. Marengo Ave., Altadena, CA 91001.