Skepticism 101: How to Think like a Scientist. Professor Michael Shermer Ph.D. 18 lectures | 30 minutes per lecture. Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman said, 'The first principle is that you must not fool yourselfand you are the easiest person to fool.' These words are no less insightful today than they were when he wrote them in 1985. Despite our best efforts, we are all vulnerable to believing things without using logic or having proper evidenceand it doesnt matter how educated or well read we are. Our brains seem to be hardwired to have our beliefs come first and explanations for our beliefs second. And although we are skilled at recognizing the cognitive biases in other peoples thinking, we often have blinders on when it comes to our own. But there is a method for avoiding these pitfalls of human nature, and its called skepticism. By using rational inquiry and seeing subjects from a scientific perspective, we can approach even the most sensitive claims with clear eyes to ultimately arrive at the truth. And today, the need for skepticism has never been more dire as superstition and magical thinking experience a resurgence in our society and around the world. Professor Michael Shermer of Claremont Graduate University and Chapman University calls the hallmarks of skepticism the 'best tools ever devised in human history for thinking about anything,' including lifes biggest questions. In Skepticism 101: How to Think like a Scientist, he reveals how to use these concepts and techniques to better comprehend the world around you. Over the course of 18 thought-provoking lectures that will surprise, challenge, and entertain you, you will learn how to think, not just what to thinkand youll come to understand why extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Fascinating case studies illustrate how you can apply the methods of skepticism to detect specious claims and faulty logic in any scenario you encounter. Among the topics youll inspect are: the methodology employed by Holocaust deniers; arguments made by proponents of creationism; the biology of near-death experiences and the sensed-presence effect; psychic abilities and other 'paranormal' phenomena; and how UFOlogists differ from mainstream scientists engaged in SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. As the author of 10 books on science and skepticism, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, Professor Shermer brings a wealth of experience, research, and insight to this course that few could match. This seasoned and captivating lecturer is a popular speaker on the TED Talks lecture circuit and is the executive director of the Skeptics Society, which sponsors the monthly Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at the California Institute of Technology.