Description

Dr. Michael Shermer (michaelshermer.com) is the founding Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic magazine, since 1992 an international science magazine in print, online, and available in every bookstore in North America (skeptic.com). From 1992 through 2015 he hosted the Skeptics Society’s Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech, which evolved into the Michael Shermer Show podcast in which Dr. Shermer converses with leading scientists, scholars, and intellectuals on a wide range of topics (www.skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show/). For 18 years he was the “Skeptic” monthly columnist for Scientific American in which he penned 214 consecutive monthly essays read by millions each month. His two TED talks from the main TED stage in 2006 and 2010, viewed over 10 million times, were voted in the top 100 of the more than 2000 TED talks, for which he was invited to deliver an All-Star TED talk in 2014.

Dr. Shermer received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. He has taught courses in psychology and the history of science at Glendale College, Occidental College, and Claremont Graduate University. For twelve years he was a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he taught a critical thinking course titled Skepticism 101: How to Think Like a Scientist. He is also a New York Times bestselling author of numerous books including: Truth, Conspiracy, Heavens on Earth, The Moral Arc, The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, and Why People Believe Weird Things. 

Abstract

In this talk Dr. Michael Shermer cuts through the noise (“Fake news!” “Alternative facts!” “Post-truth!” ) to argue that not only does truth still matter—but also that it's essential to our individual and collective flourishing. Shermer explores why truth deserves our attention, how falsehoods take hold in the public’s imagination, and how we can resist manipulation through reason, evidence, and open inquiry. He introduces powerful tools for evaluating claims, including the concepts of causality, correlation, and Bayesian reasoning. Beyond these abstract ideas, Shermer also examines how we determine truth in specific domains—such as science, history, and religion—and brings clarity to hot-button topics like miracles, mystical experiences, consciousness, morality, God, and even existence.