Michael Shermer

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Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer (born September 8, 1954 in Glendale , California ) is an American science journalist , science historian and founder of the Skeptics Society .

Life

Shermer is the author of several books including The Moral Progress: How Science Makes Us Better People (2018) , Why People Believe Weird Things (1997), and How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science (2000), and published since April 2001 the column "Skeptic" in Scientific American , which is published in Germany under the title Spectrum of Science . He taught psychology and the history of science for 16 years, is the editor of SKEPTIC magazine and director of the Skeptics Society in Altadena , Los Angeles .

He made a name for himself primarily as a critic of creationism and the Holocaust denial scene. He was also the producer and co-host of the US television series "Exploring the Unknown". He is a co-organizer and multiple participant of the Race Across America bike race .

Shermer sees himself as a scientific humanist . He has also called himself a skeptic , agnostic , non-theist, and atheist . He claims to have once been an evangelical Christian , but to have broken away from Christianity and belief in God during his theology studies .

He has been married to Jennifer Graf from Cologne since 2014 .

education

  • Ph.D. Claremont Graduate School: 1991 History of Science (Dissertation: Heretic-Scientist: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Evolution of Man: A Study on the Nature of Historical Change. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation Information Service)
  • MA California State University, Fullerton: 1978 Experimental Psychology
  • BA Pepperdine University: 1976 Psychology / Biology

activities

  • 1980–1986 Instructor of Psychology, Glendale College
  • 1986–1991 Assistant Professor of Psychology, Glendale College
  • 1989–1999 Adjunct Professor, History of Science, Cultural Studies Program, Occidental College
  • 1991–1993 Adjunct Professor, History of Science, California State University, Los Angeles
  • 1991 – until today: Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic Magazine
  • 1991 – until today: Managing Director, Skeptics Society
  • 1991 – until today: Host, Skeptics Distinguished Lecture Series at the California Institute of Technology
  • 1998 – to date: Science Correspondent, KPCC, 89.3 FM, NPR affiliate for LA
  • 1999–2000 consultant and host “Exploring the Unknown” 13-hour TV series, Fox Family
  • 2001 – present: SKEPTIC Editor-in-Chief and Columnist, Scientific American

Honors

  • Fellow, 2001, Linnean Society of London
  • Alumni of the Year, 2001, California State University, Fullerton
  • Isaac Asimov Award, 2001, New York Area Skeptics
  • Robert Ingersoll Award, Rationalists of East Tennessee
  • Carl Sagan Award, 2000, American Humanist Association, "For those: whose efforts include educating the public about science and its methods."
  • Best Books of 2000, How We Believe, Washington Post Book World Biography, Contemporary Authors, 1999, Published by the Gale Group
  • Visiting Scholar for 1998, Pasadena City College
  • Distinguished Speaker, Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, Claremont McKenna College, 1998
  • Honored Speaker, Urania, Berlin, Germany, October 12, 1998
  • Alumni of the Year, 1997, Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton
  • Top 100 Books of 1997, Why People Believe Weird Things, Los Angeles Times Book Review
  • Since February 2019 member of the advisory board of the small German party "Party of Humanists".

Books

English

  • Sport cycling. A Guide to Training, Racing, and Endurance . 1985, ISBN 0-8092-5244-9 .
  • Cycling: Endurance and Speed ​​(sports performance) . 1987, ISBN 0-8092-4775-5 .
  • Teach Your Child Science . 1989, ISBN 0-929923-08-1 .
  • Teach Your Child Math and Mathemagics . 1999, ISBN 0-7373-0134-1 .
  • The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense . 2001, ISBN 0-19-514326-4 .
  • How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science . 2001, ISBN 0-613-35413-3 .
  • Denying History. Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It? 2002, ISBN 0-520-23469-3 .
  • In Darwin's Shadow. The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace. A Biographical Study on the Psychology of History . 2002, ISBN 0-19-514830-4 .
  • Why People Believe Weird Things. Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. 2nd Edition. 2002, ISBN 0-8050-7089-3 .
  • The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience . (Editor) 2003, ISBN 1-57607-653-9 .
  • The Science of Good and Evil. Why People Cheat, Gossip, Share, Care, and Follow the Golden Rule . 2004, ISBN 0-8050-7520-8 .
  • Science Friction. Where the Known Meets the Unknown . 2005, ISBN 0-8050-7708-1 .
  • Why Darwin Matters. The Case Against Intelligent Design . 2006, ISBN 0-8050-8121-6 .
  • The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies . 2011, ISBN 978-0-8050-9125-0 .
  • Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality and Utopia . 2018, ISBN 978-1-62779-857-0 .
  • Giving the Devil his Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist . 2020, ISBN 978-1-108-48978-2 .

German

  • Michael Shermer, Arthur Benjamin (Eds.): Mathemagie. Amazing tricks for lightning-fast mental arithmetic and a phenomenal number memory . Heyne, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-453-61502-1 .
  • Michael Shermer, Lee Traynor (ed.): Promise of healing. (= Skeptical Yearbook. 3). 2nd, revised edition. Alibri, Aschaffenburg 2004, ISBN 3-932710-86-X .
  • Michael Shermer, Benno Maidhof-Christig, Lee Traynor (eds.): Endzeittaumel. Prophets, predictions, propaganda. (= Skeptical Yearbook. 2). Alibri, Aschaffenburg 1998, ISBN 3-932710-11-8 .
  • Michael Shermer, Benno Maidhof-Christig, Lee Traynor (eds.): Arguments and criticism. Racism, Holocaust Denial, AIDS without HIV, and other questionable claims. (= Skeptical Yearbook. 1, 1997). Alibri et al., Aschaffenburg et al. 1996, ISBN 3-9804386-3-5 .
  • Moral Progress: How Science Makes Us Better People. Alibri, Aschaffenburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-86569-285-6 .

swell

CV at http://www.skeptic.com

Web links

Commons : Michael Shermer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Shermer: Giving the Devil his Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist. Cambridge University Press, February 1, 2020, accessed June 11, 2020 .
  2. ↑ TBS Staff: Michael Shermer Interview. April 30, 2015, accessed June 11, 2020 (American English).
  3. ↑ Michael Shermer: Anomalous Events That Can Shake One's Skepticism to the Core. In: Scientific American. October 1, 2014, accessed March 6, 2020 .
  4. ^ Party of the Humanists. Retrieved May 25, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Shermer, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science journalist, science historian, and founder of the Skeptics Society
DATE OF BIRTH September 8, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Glendale , California