Michael Shermer | |
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![]() Shermer in 2007 | |
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | September 8, 1954
Education | Pepperdine University (BA) California State University, Fullerton (MA) Claremont Graduate University (PhD) |
Occupation(s) | writer, historian of science, editor |
Title | Editor-in-chief of Skeptic, adjunct professor at Chapman University |
Website | Official website |
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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] The author of over a dozen books, Shermer is known for engaging in debates on pseudoscience and religion in which he emphasizes scientific skepticism.
Shermer was the co-producer and co-host of Exploring the Unknown,[3][4] a 13-hour Fox Family television series broadcast in 1999. From April 2001 to January 2019,[5] he contributed a monthly Skeptic column to Scientific American magazine.
Shermer was raised in a non-religious household,[6][7] before converting to Christian fundamentalism as a teenager.[8] He stopped believing in God during graduate school,[7][9] influenced by a traumatic accident that left his then-girlfriend paralyzed.[10] He identifies as an agnostic and an atheist,[11][12][13] but prefers "skeptic".[14][13] He also advocates for humanism.[15][16]
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