Dear @ohdahlia.bsky.social Are you familiar with polydactyly? It's a congenital condition resulting in extra fingers or toes caused by genetic mutations. Does this mean that 5-fingers is not the norm—that digits is on a spectrum between 1 & 6? Intersex people are not a 3rd sex. Sex is binary

Dear @grumblekitty.bsky.social I say that there are only 2 sexes: male and female. You say I'm wrong. Is there a 3rd sex of which I (and all biologists) are unaware?

Dear @profrichardson.bsky.social You say you "do not engage with inflammatory personal attacks & threats," but in Lancet you said anyone who thinks sex is binary (me, Pinker, Hooven & almost all biologists) is bigoted and driven by "political aims". That seems inflammatory & a personal attack. No?

Dear @profrichardson.bsky.social You: "The goal of my work is to build conversations across fields and disciplines...." O-kay, but in Lancet you say anyone who thinks sex is binary is a bigot & "it facilitates their political aims" I think sex is binary (as do almost all biologists) Am I a bigot?

"menstruating individual" If only we had a word for such a person What do you call a menopausal individual? A "post-menstruating individual"? What if they're pregnant? A "temporarily-paused menstruating individual"? A child? A "pre-menstruating individual"?

I really enjoyed this chat with @michaelshermer.bsky.social about the epic Report from Iron Mountain hoax, its strange afterlife and what it tells us about the roots of the 'deep state' fear. Have a watch/ listen: www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...

Why are conspiracy theories so good at creating cult followings? In this interview, @michaelshermer.bsky.social explores how conspiracy theories undermine the generally accepted scientific, materialist paradigm. iai.tv/video/conspi... #philsky #socsky

My convo with @phil_tinline author of one of my favorite books, out Tuesday. Must read in the context of current Military Industrial Complex. Hoax worked because there was so much truth in it! My copy of the original assigned in college as real! skeptic.com/michael-sher...

Getting some queries about the April 18–20, 2025 workshop on science & spirituality at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur that I am hosting. 3/4 full. Will sell out. It's a magical place (if a skeptic can use such language). Register here: www.esalen.org/workshops/sc...

The slew of new books on female-male differences in sexual psychology all owe a debt to the late Donald Symon's 1979 book The Evolution of Human Sexuality. Excellent obit/overview of evolutionary psychology's history by @sapinker.bsky.social quillette.com/2025/02/04/s...

Can Science Find God? Stephen Meyer vs. Michael Shermer evolutionnews.org/2025/02/can-...

What's it like to be a sugar baby? Who are sugar daddies? Can young women really put themselves through college or make a great living on sex work? Brook Urick pulls back the curtain on the reality of what really goes on behind closed doors. Watch/listen: www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...

Wokeness Poisons Science Part II of my series on why I am no longer woke open.substack.com/pub/michaels...

Dear @sobekhotep97.bsky.social Here is a study in the journal for the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine: "The finding of low suicide rates and no evidence of benefits of gender reassignment continues to challenge the practice of youth transitions" segm.org/Suicide-Gend...

Dear @sobekhotep97.bsky.social Here is the biologist Colin Wright on why biological sex is binary and not on a spectrum: www.realityslaststand.com/p/sex-is-not...

Dear @sobekhotep97.bsky.social Here is a general overview of all the trans issues in the debate, which we released free in Skeptic. It is politically/ideologically neutral, best piece I've read on the subject: www.skeptic.com/reading_room...

You will be called a transphobe for even suggesting this @mrsamericano.bsky.social The counter is: these adolescents will commit suicide if they don't get gender affirming care. "Would you rather have a dead daughter or a living son?" But new studies debunk the suicidality claim.

The case for assisted death for the terminally ill is well made here by Coleman Hughes that includes a deeply moving account of his mother's agonizing death from cancer. IMO, the government has no business controlling people's choices on how they want to die. www.thefp.com/p/coleman-hu...

Key points screen shots: www.realityslaststand.com/p/the-truth-...

Re Gender Affirming Care, study finds minors undergoing gender dysphoria are fast-tracked into puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones & surgery, ignoring comorbid conditions: autism, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use disorders, suicidality www.realityslaststand.com/p/the-truth-...

Hypnosis, mind control, MK-Ultra, altered states of consciousness, suggestibility vs. gullibility, magic and illusion, and how rational an animals are humans anyway? My convo with psychologist Amir Raz: www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...

The real mystery of the drone wave over New Jersey is how the Chinese, Iranians, Russians, & aliens are able to cloak their advanced UAPs to look so similar to airliners, planes, helicopters, commercial drones, and the bright planets Venus & Jupiter (in the early night sky now). DARPA beware!

If you're so inclined come join us for a weekend workshop on Science and Spirituality April 18-20, 2025, at what is surely one of the top 10 most beautiful places on the planet... open.substack.com/pub/michaels...

Dear @queenwaifu.bsky.social Please read the Cass Report. European and UK medical institutions and practitioners are ceasing gender affirming care on minors for lack of evidence that it works + considerable evidence that it harms. Practice watchful waiting cass.independent-review.uk/home/publica...

Dear @lancecstcuddy.bsky.social I am a classical liberal. I am not a conservative. My positions are based on what is true and just. The vast majority of liberals today do not endorse far-left illiberal positions. I am simply reflecting old-school liberalism in my posts on DEI & trans issues.

Dear @ree81.bsky.social What disinformation? What lies? Can you be more specific? I posted an article summarizing the research showing DEI programs not only don't work but make people more racist & another on a woman who regrets transitioning & is suing her doctors. Where's the lying?

Here's an idea: instead of cutting off her breasts, how about getting her the professional help she needs for PTSD from sexual abuse? A school counselor? A successful verdict here should open the legal floodgates and bury these butchers in lawsuits and end this madness. nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-...

“I wish that somebody had suggested real, genuine therapy first, instead of gender-specific therapy, because really the only therapy that I received until much later was specifically focused on gender dysphoria, and didn’t connect my gender dysphoria to anything else.” yahoo.com/news/ucla-st...

The Great Drone Panic of 2024...and 1914 Guest columnist Robert Bartholomew considers the panic over New Jersey drone sightings (as Chinese or Iranian threats) and compares it to the panic of 1914 (people worried it was the Germans) open.substack.com/pub/michaels...

Not only do DEI training programs make matters worse: 1. The vast majority of Americans are not racist/misogynist 2. The few who are either don't take DEI training programs or if they do just ignore the message open.substack.com/pub/paresky/...

$8 billion/yr in DEI training. Does it work? "We found that on average, those exposed to anti-racist materials saw more racial bias in ambiguous scenarios where there was no evidence of bias than those who were not exposed to such material" open.substack.com/pub/paresky/...

"The Suggestible Brain" The Michael Shermer Show @michaelshermer.bsky.social 14 Dec 2024 [1:28:53] #Cult https://s.cultpodcasts.com/nO94aekKhkWJNUeuD8vMuQ

It's a collective action problem that needs to reach a tipping point in which so many people are speaking out against wokeism that the woke will know—and everyone will know they know, and they will know that we know that they know—and that will put an end to the madness.

I wish I could share the emails I get from scientists thanking me & others for saying what everyone with 2 eyes & 2 neurons knows—sex is binary—but are afraid to speak out for fear of being called transphobic & even losing their jobs. This must stop. Truth still matters. Say it!

Well worth reading as Steven Novella is a case study in how woke ideology corrupts an otherwise rational mind. He even canceled Harriet Hall at Science Based Medicine for positively reviewing Abigail Shrier's book. Harriet died feeling betrayed by Novella. realityslaststand.com/p/when-skept...

My workshop at Esalen (Big Sur, CA), Science & Spirituality: The Search for Meaning in a Secular Age, is filling up soon! April 18–20, 2025 We just added psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Lewis to the program to assist me as he wrote a book on the topic! Register: esalen.org/workshops/sc...

There are nearly 1800 comments on @michaelshermer.bsky.social 's video for @quillette.bsky.social about the downfall of Scientific American. Check it out 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=l471...

Audio/video version of my commentary on woke Scientific American youtu.be/l471fRbAbcs

If you are stressed/anxious about the election results, instead of leaving the country or checking yourself into an institution, go for a walk outside, enjoy the sunset, be grateful for all we have, regulate your emotions, & get on with your life. Everything is going to be fine.

When Biden won in 2020, did any Republican celebrity Trump supporters check themselves into facilities or leave the country? These actions (Ellen moving to England) make Democrats look like the snowflakes Republicans accuse them of being. Grow a spine & get some agency in life!

When does life begin? I asked America's most well-known late-term abortion doctor. Here's what he said: x.com/i/status/186...

How dangerous is pregnancy? And is that good justification for abortion? Evan late-term abortion? x.com/i/status/186...

New Jaguar ad is an example of "woke capitalism": "trend to include historically marginalized groups (currently primarily in terms of race, gender, and religion) as mascots in advertisement with a message of empowerment to signal progressive values." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpora...

PNAS study on how female and male brains are intrinsically organized. Refutes “continuum hypothesis” of sex differences by firmly demonstrating binary (male/female) sex differences in the functional organization of the brain. Blank Slate-ism refuted beautifulminds-newsletter.com/p/researcher...

OK state superintendent Ryan Walters wants to mandate Bible lessons in public schools. Unconstitutional 2. Non-generalizable: Ok to teach Quran? 3. Counterfactual: Prohibits private Christian schools? 4. A-historical: America is purposefully secular to thwart such people. foxnews.com/media/oklaho...

I can't understand why students at elite colleges and universities (here U.C. Berkeley) don't seem to understand economics, capitalism, and how markets work. I wonder why that is...? (RT @NellieBowles who's tracking the trends for @thefp.bsky.social ) open.substack.com/pub/bariweis...

Woke Politics Poisons Everything Latest casualty...Jaguar. From this to this. 30-second commercial sells...what? DEI? youtu.be/rLtFIrqhfng

yeah just to confirm (sorry I am apparently still googling these dingbats despite also leaving the job that made me do it)

Vacation reading. I love ghost, UFO, psychic, magic books, etc., but it's also important to read the OTHER side from time to time!!! (I read this book back in 1999 or 2000. Let's see what 20+ years does to the text...) #skeptics #books #feedyourhead

An Unscientific American Editor-in-chief Laura Helmuth’s departure from ‘Scientific American’ last week is an object lesson in the dangers of mixing facts and ideology. My analysis for @Quillette @clairlemon quillette.com/2024/11/21/a...