Michael Shermer

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Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer

@michaelshermer

Publisher Skeptic Magazine https://t.co/i81i0rp1HP | Host The Michael Shermer Show | NEW BOOK “TRUTH”: https://t.co/0FvkBGFl26

Santa Barbara, CA Katılım Nisan 2009
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
“They’ve been praying for me for a month.” Responding to a letter from a class of eighth graders in Texas:
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Here's SuperGrok's explanation: 1. The 25,000 mph figure is mostly for re-entry, not the outbound trip •Orion reaches speeds around 24,500–25,000 mph (about 11 km/s) primarily during Earth re-entry from lunar distances, when it's falling back toward Earth and accelerating due to gravity. •This is similar to Apollo missions. Outbound, after the translunar injection (TLI) burn (a short engine firing that flings the spacecraft onto a trajectory toward the Moon), Orion doesn't maintain anywhere near that speed for the entire journey. It coasts most of the way, and its velocity drops significantly as it climbs out of Earth's gravity well. 2. It's not a straight-line trip at constant speed—it's a transfer orbit •Spacecraft follow elliptical (or hyperbolic) trajectories shaped by gravity. After TLI, Orion is placed on a path where it gradually slows down as Earth's gravity pulls it back (like throwing a ball upward—it rises fast at first, then slows near the top). •In an elliptical orbit or coasting trajectory: •Speed is highest near Earth (right after the burn). •Speed is lowest near the Moon (the farthest point, or "apogee"). •Average effective speed to the Moon is much lower than peak speed. For example, during Artemis I, Orion was observed cruising at only ~1,600–2,500 mph in parts of its journey farther out. •Simple division (250,000 miles ÷ 25,000 mph = 10 hours) ignores this deceleration. Real coast time is measured in days because the spacecraft is "falling" along a long, curved path. 3. Mission design prioritizes safety, efficiency, and testing over raw speed •Apollo missions took about 3 days to reach the Moon using a relatively direct "fast" transfer. •Artemis missions (like Artemis I and the planned Artemis II) often use more energy-efficient or "free-return" trajectories. These can take 4+ days outbound (or longer for some profiles) because: •They allow time for spacecraft checkouts in high Earth orbit (e.g., ~25 hours for Artemis II before TLI). •They provide a safe "free return" path—if the engines fail, gravity will naturally loop the spacecraft back to Earth without additional burns. •Artemis I used a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon, extending the total mission to ~25 days with legs taking 6+ days in some phases. Artemis II is a ~10-day round trip with ~4 days to lunar flyby. •Shorter times require more fuel for faster/higher-energy transfers, which adds mass and risk. Slower paths save propellant and allow better testing of systems like life support, navigation, and the European Service Module. 4. Gravity and timing matter •The Moon is also moving (orbiting Earth at ~2,000 mph), so the spacecraft must aim for where the Moon will be when it arrives—not a fixed point. •Continuous thrusting at 25,000 mph isn't feasible: Orion's engines provide short burns for course corrections, not constant acceleration. Fuel limits prevent "flooring it" the whole way.
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Congrats NASA. Finally! In case you're wondering (as I was) why it takes so long for Artemis to get to the moon, given that it is ~250,000 miles away & the spacecraft nearly hits 20,000 MPH...Earth's gravity well slows it down all the way out, speeds it back up on the way back.
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
10 rules to determine if a conspiracy theory is true or false Your very own "Conspiracy Detection Kit." Excerpt from my Conspiracy book, for Big Think bigthink.com/thinking/10-ru…
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
The deeper epistemological problem behind the entire phenomena is confusing Internal Subjective Truths ("I feel like an XX or XY inside") & External Objective Truths ("you can't change sex & there's no such thing as being 'born in the wrong body' because you are your body")
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer

Decades from now historians, sociologists & linguists will make a list like this as a case study in how, in the early part of the 21st century, the left took liberal tolerance to absurd lengths to the point of illiberalism. (Didn't they have a word for "vagina-haver"?)

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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Decades from now historians, sociologists & linguists will make a list like this as a case study in how, in the early part of the 21st century, the left took liberal tolerance to absurd lengths to the point of illiberalism. (Didn't they have a word for "vagina-haver"?)
Michael Shermer tweet media
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Yes, water (H2O) is real (unless one means "water" is an emergent property of lots and lots of these hydrogen and oxygen molecules). I am committed to "universal realism": there is a reality and we can know something about it through science. howthelightgetsin.org/festivals
Michael Shermer tweet media
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Should we call this debate "Epic Fury"? Rowan Williams was the Archbishop of Canterbury who believes the resurrection literally happened (I think it's a mythic truth), is a theist (I'm an atheist/agnostic), among other differences. howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay/…
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Aliens are very probably out there somewhere. Aliens have very probably not come here. The belief that they have is a type of religion. I explain how and why here. (I am willing to change my mind when the evidence changes—show us the bodies/craft.) skeptic.com/article/why-ua…
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Have you ever experienced gas lighting or bullying? Jennifer Fraser breaks it all down for me in our convo: who does it and how, why people allow it, what to look for, and what to do about it. We also explore the psychology of cults & persuasion. skeptic.com/michael-sherme…
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Identifying as the other sex ≠ attracted to the same sex. Re POTUS decision on conversion therapy for gender identity @LisaSelinDavis explains "many of the laws banning conversion therapy relating to gender identity had relied on irrelevant research." thefp.com/p/conversion-t…
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
Exactly Steven @middleofmayhem Why, oh, why do otherwise rational people not get this? Show them photos of blurry Loch Ness or grainy Big Foot or double-exposure ghosts and they're exercise their rational faculties. Tell them it's "aliens" and their brains turn to mush.
Steven Greenstreet 🐷@MiddleOfMayhem

UFOs are only UFOs when they're blurry and pixelated. Once they're in-focus and HD, they are no longer UFOs. There's never, ever, been a clear, HD image of an otherworldly UFO behaving in non-human ways. Because they don't exist.

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Michael Shermer retweetledi
Gerald Posner
Gerald Posner@geraldposner·
Today’s 8-1 Supreme Court decision is another turning point in one of the most contentious areas of modern medicine and culture: pediatric “gender affirming care.” The court ruled that bans on so-called “conversion therapy” may violate the First Amendment when they restrict what licensed therapists can say to their clients. This is not a narrow technical ruling. It goes to the heart of whether the state can dictate ideological viewpoints in therapeutic conversations. As both a lawyer and a journalist, I’ve been tracking this for years. In my February 2024 article, “Who Put the Kids in Charge,” I warned: “A particular problem with gender affirming care is that it is at odds with therapeutic exploration. It requires that therapists only confirm a minor’s self-diagnosis of transgender and facilitate their access to hormones and surgeries. The professionals cannot question whether the gender dysphoria is a ‘transient phase’ or possibly the result of an underlying mental disorder. To do so would be to question the self-diagnosis, and that is forbidden. In lay talk, that means that professional discretion is eliminated.” That tension is now front and center. The Court made clear: when the government regulates speech based on viewpoint—even in therapy—it faces the highest constitutional scrutiny. This case is not just about the one counselor in Colorado who filed a legal action against the state’s prohibition. It is about whether, in one of the most sensitive areas of modern medicine, the government can dictate not just what treatments are offered—but what questions may be asked. And that is an issue that goes well beyond medicine. It is, I believe, a scandal to ban therapists from using their professional judgment in questioning and challenging minors who present as gender dysphoric. scotusblog.com/2026/03/suprem…
Gerald Posner tweet media
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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
5 weeks ago I didn't think the Republicans could do anything remotely as illiberal & regressive as the Democrat's Woke Progressive movement. Then they invaded Iran. So much for wasteful wars in the Middle East. So much for the US economy. So much for GOP midterms & POTUS 2028.
Nate Silver@NateSilver538

Trump's approval rating just fell below 40 percent in our tracking for the first time. And his net approval rating is now -17.4, also a new low and down about 5 points over the past several weeks.

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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
This is the problem with "independent journalists" @SwipeWright : they have no editors, no fact checkers, no one to remind them "before we speak publicly you need to actually read the article under question."
Colin Wright@SwipeWright

All the large accounts that present themselves as truth-seeking journalists or commentators, then quote posts like this and act utterly baffled—“What the hell!?” “WTF!?” “What’s going on here???”—are frauds. It took me less than a minute to see what the court documents actually said and understand what they meant. They do not show that the bullet was not fired from the gun. They show only that the bullet was too fragmented to confidently link it to ANY gun. This is not uncommon, and DOES NOT mean the bullet didn’t come from Robinson’s gun. Of course the defense attorneys are going to spin this as evidence that Robinson is innocent. That is what defense attorneys do. They scrape together every possible fragment of doubt and present it as if it were fully exculpatory. It’s not. Defense lawyers are paid to downplay or ignore evidence pointing to guilt, exploit people’s cognitive biases, and make fallacious arguments sound persuasive. This information about the bullet doesn’t erode the case for Robinson’s guilt in any way. It is totally neutral on that front. And it in no way invalidate the mountain of positive and mutually corroborating lines of evidence we do have for Robinson’s guilt. You should expect more from the commentators you follow, and hold them accountable by refusing to give them your attention in the future. If they could not be bothered to spend even one minute checking the facts before spreading confusion to you and millions of others on X, they do not deserve your attention. They are nothing more than grifting engagement farmers.

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Michael Shermer
Michael Shermer@michaelshermer·
How do we know what is true? What should we believe or not believe? My convo with professor @LaulPatricia Pooja Arora
Pooja Arora@LaulPatricia

I recently had the pleasure (and honor) of speaking with @michaelshermer, founder of Skeptic Magazine, a publication that has shaped debates on science, skepticism, and truth for decades. It was a privilege to discuss questions that have occupied philosophers and scientists for centuries: How do we know what is true? Why do humans believe things that are not true? And what role should science, philosophy, and public reasoning play in an age increasingly shaped by narratives and technology? Our conversation went from science and religion, tribalism and conspiracy theories, to artificial intelligence, biotechnology, morality, free will, and even the possibility of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. What I particularly appreciated was the opportunity to engage across intellectual traditions, bringing perspectives from Western philosophy as well as ideas rooted in Indian thought, including reflections inspired by the Bhagavad Gita and the ideal of Satyamev Jayate: truth alone triumphs. It was a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion with someone whose work has shaped these debates for decades.

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