A quick missive to report two items.

My latest column for Skeptical Inquirer magazine is “Jumping to Superstitious Conclusions.” A number of recent studies show that people who believe weird things are not very diligent researchers. When asked to investigate a simple problem, they give up more quickly and jump to a conclusion. These studies seem particularly relevant in a period when people are “doing their own research” on vaccines.

Earlier in January, I had a fun conversation with writer Gary Belsky about whether his beloved but beleaguered team, the Arizona Cardinals might be under the sway of a curse. I provided a few pithy quotes at the end of his January 14th article in the New York Times. It was a particular treat to chat with Belsky because I knew him as the co-author, with Cornell University psychologist Thomas Gilovich, of the great 2010 book, Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them.

That’s it for now. Stay warm.

SV