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A debunker is a person or organization that exposes or discredits claims believed to be false, exaggerated, or pretentious. [1] The term is often associated with skeptical investigation of controversial topics such as UFOs, claimed paranormal phenomena, cryptids, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, religion, exploratory or fringe areas of scientific, or pseudoscientific research.
However, skeptics banding together in societies that research the paranormal and fringe science is a modern phenomenon. [62] Two early important works influential to the skeptical movement were Daniel Webster Hering's Foibles and Fallacies of Science (1924) and D. H. Rawcliffe's The Psychology of the Occult. [62]
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author, and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. [1]
The Skeptics Society publishes Skeptic magazine, a quarterly magazine that examines fringe science and paranormal claims, available by subscription or on major newsstands in the U.S. and Canada. Its cover stories have included examination of alleged UFOs in religious icons , [ 13 ] theories of the likelihood of artificial intelligence , [ 14 ...
An emeritus professor of applied physics at Stanford University, [30] much of Sturrock's career has been devoted to astrophysics, plasma physics, and solar physics, but Sturrock is interested in other fields, including ufology, scientific inference, the history of science, and the philosophy of science.
Josef Allen Hynek (May 1, 1910 – April 27, 1986) was an American astronomer, professor, and ufologist. [1] He is perhaps best remembered for his UFO research. Hynek acted as scientific advisor to UFO studies undertaken by the U.S. Air Force under three projects: Project Sign (1947–1949), Project Grudge (1949–1951) and Project Blue Book (1952–1969).
Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher [1] of Skeptic magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. [2]
In science, the burden of proof falls upon the claimant; and the more extraordinary a claim, the heavier is the burden of proof demanded. The true skeptic takes an agnostic position, one that says the claim is not proved rather than disproved.