Happy first day of Spring!

I’ve had a busy couple of months at the end of winter. On February 21, I was honored to give the keynote address for the conference of the Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan (BAAM) at Eastern Michigan University n Ypsilanti, MI. The talk was entitled “Can the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Adapt to the Environment?” My message was not particularly encouraging, but the talk was well received.

The dome of the Islamic Center of America

One of the treats of the Michigan trip was spending an evening with a former student, now a graduate student at the University of Michigan, who took me on a quick tour of Dearborn, Michigan, which has one of the largest Muslim communities in the country. We sampled some wonderful Yemeni food and visited the Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in North America.  It was a wonderful experience to be in a place where women wearing hijab was commonplace and many varieties of middle eastern culture were everywhere on display. 

Soon after returning home from the BAAM conference, I headed down to Rockville, Maryland to record an audio course entitled “The Science of Irrationality: How to Think

The Now You Know Media recording studio.

Better.” I delivered fifteen 25-minute-long lectures that were videotaped as I stood at a lectern in front of a very learned looking backdrop. The publisher of the course is Now You Know Media, and at some later date, they will decide whether to offer the course on DVD as a video course. In April, the course will be released as an audio course in all of the usual forms (CD, MP3, Audible, etc.). So, for any students who might be missing the sound of their old professor’s voice, this course will provide a good solution. In addition, you might learn something about how to be less irrational.

After returning from Maryland, I went back to writing my “Behavior & Belief” column for Skeptical Inquirer magazine. This month I took on a recent controversy in the psychological literature in an article called, “Who Are More Biased: Liberals or Conservatives?” A recent study by Peter Ditto of the University of California at Irvine in collaboration and several colleagues suggested that conservatives and liberals are equally biased. This conclusion was immediately challenged by Jon Baron of the University of Pennsylvania and John Jost of New York University, who cited considerable research showing that conservatives are more rigid and supportive of the status quo than liberals. Much of that same research shows that liberals are more open to new experiences. All of which would point to liberals being less biased than conservatives. At the end of the article, I make a few comments about what is and isn’t useful about this line of research.

That’s all for now. Spring is officially here, and the days are getting longer. Enjoy the growing light and warmth.

SV

Just a brief note to share some exciting news. I was recently asked to write an article for Time magazine as a tie-in to the new edition of my book, Going Broke: Why Americans (Still) Can’t Hold on to Their Money. The article is entitled “How to Have Your Kid Go to College — But Not Go Broke,” and it includes a number of suggestions for getting a good education with little or no student loan debt. 

The article went online on September 28th, and it also appears in the October 8th issue of the print magazine. The magazine has already been mailed to subscribers and should be on newsstands next week.

That’s all for now!

SV

The wait is over. The fully updated post-Great Recession edition of Going Broke: Why Americans (Still) Can’t Hold on to Their Money is now available from online booksellers and at better bricks-and-mortar bookstores. I could not be more pleased with the all-new design of this large-format paperback. Authors care about things like paper quality, and the paper in this book is beautiful, as is the new cover design.

GB is also available for Kindles and in audiobook format. My first audiobook!

Welcome to the world little book!

Astrology, crystals, and all manner of New Agey things seem to be surging in popularity again. A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by a reporter for the ABC Good Morning America website for a story on the subject of crystals. These pretty rocks have lately become a fashion item, showing up on high-priced shoes and water bottles.

As usual, I was called in as the token skeptic to throw water on the possibility that crystals have magical powers. I suppose we should be thankful that the author bothered to seek out a science-based point of view as a counterpoint to those making money on pseudoscientific claptrap. Many writers on these trendy subjects never do.

That’s all for now.

SV

Here in New England, we have arrived at the dog days of summer—no offense to either dogs or Florence + The Machine. It is quite warm here as it is throughout the northern hemisphere. I hope you are all getting some time off and finding a cool place to spend it.

My most recent article for Skeptical Inquirer online is “Autism Wars: Science Strikes Back.” It outlines the latest controversies surrounding the pseudoscientific treatment methods Facilitated Communication (FC) and Rapid Prompting Method (RPM). In

Facilitated Communication

previous columns, I have outlined the reemergence of FC and the surging popularity of RPM. The good news, as outlined in this new article, is that the science-minded autism researchers are striking back and making some progress.

This has been my year for astrology and other forms of divination. I was interviewed for a Netflix/Vox series called the “Explained.” The episode was a very good introduction to the history of astrology. My contribution is quite brief and near the end of the episode. 

Finally, I was quoted in a recent article, “Why millennials are looking for meaning in tarot cards,” in the British outlet the New Statesman. The reasons are very similar to the reasons for the apparent growing popularity of astrology. It is a nice article, but the author seems to both understand there is no evidence behind tarot card readings and still kind of believe in them. A common dilemma.

That’s it for now. Enjoy what’s left of summer, and try to stay cool during these dog days.

SV

It has been quite a while since I last posted anything here, and things have started to pile up. I have published two columns on the Skeptical Inquirer website, and a couple of other things have happened. Here is a quick roundup.

There is some evidence that astrology is gaining popularity among millennials, who are more secular than previous generations but no less spiritual. In my May SI column, I offered some suggestions as to why this might be the case.

I wrote this article after being interviewed by a film crew for a Vox “explainer” on astrology that will appear on Netflix in August. So, May was my astrology month.

Anthony Bourdain

In a single week in June we experienced the tragic deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. I used these events as the motivation for an article about the role of the media in copycat suicides and homicides. There is considerable research evidence suggesting that many lives could be saved if the media—particularly television and internet news sources—were to adopt some simple standards for reporting suicides and mass shootings. Unfortunately, there has been very little movement in this direction.

In the week before the arrival of the new scary movie, Hereditary, Cari Romm, a writer for The Cut, called to ask me why people go to horror movies. Why do people voluntarily pay money to be scared? I offered some thoughts based on the available research, and the resulting article was quite fun. Later I went to see Hereditary and was not particularly impressed. The movie disappeared very quickly from the local megaplex, so it appears that audiences, in general, may have agreed with me. Nonetheless, I recommend the article in The Cut.

Over the Memorial Day weekend and the week following, I was fortunate enough to take a vacation in southern California. I gave an invited address at the convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, which, if you are interested, you can read here, and I vacationed in San Diego, Los Angeles, Joshua Tree National Park, and Topanga Canyon. I leave you with my favorite self-portrait from that trip, taken at a waterside establishment called Burgers, Bait, & Beer on the south embarcadero in San Diego. One of my favorite stops on the trip.

Until next time.

SV

Happy Friday the 13th! Today I was lucky enough to be quoted in an article in the Toronto Star, and I participated in a discussion of superstition on BBC 5. If the audio of the interview becomes available, I will link to it here. In the meantime, here is a link to the Toronto Star article, “Superstitions Are a Control Issue.”

My latest Behavior & Belief column for Skeptical Inquirer, “How Not to Combat Obesity,” is up on the website. In this column, I investigate a USDA web page that once had some very useful information about the nutritional value of food purchased or consumed away from home. I think you will find the story interesting. A week after the column went up, new information came to light, so I appended a brief final chapter to the story.

That’s it for Friday the 13th. Have a wonderful weekend!

SV

I am very happy to announce that the second, post-recession edition of Going Broke: Why Americans (Still) Can’t Hold on to Their Money (note the slight name change) is scheduled for release on September 3. Although the economy has almost completely recovered since the first edition was published in 2008, Americans are still struggling with debt and financial insecurity. The nature of our money problems has changed, but in many respects, our circumstances are no better than in the years before the crash.

It has been a great privilege to be able to revisit a topic I covered a decade ago. I learned a lot. I also love the cover of the new edition. Going Broke 2 is available for pre-order on the Oxford University Press site and at Amazon.com.

My latest column for Skeptical Inquirer, “The Enduring Legend of the Changeling” went up earlier this month. The changeling myth is very old and widespread and its roots are universal. In the article, I draw a connection between changelings and the motivations of parents who embrace Facilitated Communication, the pseudoscientific treatment for autism, as well as those who become anti-vaxxers.

That’s all for now. Happy Spring!

SV

Hello from the depths of February.

I recently attended oral arguments at the United States Supreme Court, and the experience prompted me to write a short piece in The Coffeelicious about the experience. The essay is called “Miss Jeanne Louise, Stand Up,” and it is an unabashed appreciation of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The January/February issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine included my column, entitled “Yes, We Do Need Experts,” and this week it became available online for the first time. In it, I review an important recent book by Tom Nichols entitled, The Death of Expertise.

Finally, on Wednesday there was yet another mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Once again a legally purchased AR-15 assault weapon was used to kill—in this case—seventeen people—high school students and teachers—in seven minutes. The gun control debate has begun again, and yesterday Skeptical Inquirer magazine reposted my December 2015 article, “Guns: Feeling Safe Does Not Equal Being Safe,” which once again sparked a lively debate on the SI Facebook page. 

That’s all for now. On a positive note, it feels like spring might be coming soon. Let’s hope.

SV

Happy New Year! It has been over a month since I last visited your inbox. For those of you who are not in New England this picture shows the world outside my window this morning.

My latest Behavior and Belief column for Skeptical Inquirer is entitled “William James and the Psychics.” It’s based on a new book that provides evidence that the famous 19th century psychologist and philosopher’s interest in spiritualism was much more central to his life and career than otherwise thought. Séances and mediums were very popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and despite the criticism of his colleagues, James attended dozens of séances and maintained that psychical research was a productive way to investigate the possibility of life after death.

This one is for psych majors. The January, 2018 Behavior Therapist, a journal of the Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, is a special issue on the topic of Pseudoscience in Mental Health Treatment. I wrote an article entitled “What’s a Therapist to Do When Clients Have Pseudoscientific Beliefs?” A pdf copy of the article can be found here. If you are interested in the entire special issue, a pdf is located here.

Finally, the January/February issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine is on news stands now. I have two articles this time, but unfortunately they are both print only. If you want to read them, you will have to pick up a copy of the magazine or email me directly. The issue includes a special section called “A Skeptic’s Guide to Racism,” inspired by the sad and disturbing events of Charlottesville.  I wrote a short piece for this section called, “Combating Racism through Shared Goals.” My regular column is entitled “Yes, We Do Need Experts.” It reviews a great book called “The Death of Expertise” by Tom Nichols.

That’s it for now.

Happy winter, SV