Skeptics may deny the more startling phenomena of dreams as things they have never personally observed, but failure to wonder at their basic mystery is outright avoidance of routine evidence.

Skeptics say that if clairvoyance were a reality it would have become abundantly clear.

Skeptics claim that there is a lack of a viable theory of the mechanism behind ESP, and that there are historical cases in which flaws have been discovered in the experimental design of parapsychological studies.

Skeptics have claimed that he did so by hypnosis, which, in one study, actually has proven to relieve symptoms because it lowers stress levels and therefore diminishes the symptomatology of haemophilia.

Skeptics dismissed the photos as frauds ; seeing that the bird is in roughly the same position in both photos, they suggested they may have been of a mounted specimen.

Skeptics such as James Randi suggest that his reputation as a prophet is largely manufactured by modern-day supporters who fit his words to events that have either already occurred or are so imminent as to be inevitable, a process sometimes known as " retroactive clairvoyance " ( postdiction ).

Skeptics such as Antony Flew have cited the lack of such a theory as their reason for rejecting the evidence for psi.

Skeptics have also contended that people's desire to believe in paranormal phenomena causes them to discount strong evidence that it does not exist.

Skeptics such as Milbourne Christopher have found that some cases of poltergeist activity can be attributed to unusual air currents, such as a 1957 case on Cape Cod where downdrafts from an uncovered chimney became strong enough to blow a mirror off of a wall and knock things off shelves.

Skeptics such as Paul Edwards have analyzed many of these accounts, and called them anecdotal.

Skeptics question its scientific value while proponents contend the practice can lead to higher levels of consciousness and have a positive influence on society.

Research reviews of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique show results ranging from inconclusive to clinically significant .< ref > Skeptics have called TM or its associated theories and technologies a pseudoscience.

Skeptics and debunkers have questioned the interpretation of sea serpent sightings, suggesting that reports of serpents are misidentifications of things such as cetaceans ( whales and dolphins ), sea snakes, eels, basking sharks, baleen whales, oarfish, large pinnipeds, seaweed, driftwood, flocks of birds, and giant squid.

Skeptics have pointed to this discrepancy between the two revealed sets of Enochian texts as an indication that Enochian is not a consistent language.

Skeptics argue they are cases of postdiction ( prophecy after the events have already occurred ).

Skeptics such as James Randi have become famous for debunking claims related to some of these.

Skeptics have claimed that Lin's decision to flee to the Soviet Union was illogical, on the grounds that the United States or Taiwan would have been safer destinations.

Skeptics such as Robert T. Carroll, Claus Larsen, and others have questioned the methodology of the Global Consciousness Project, particularly how the data are selected and interpreted, saying the data anomalies reported by the project are the result of " pattern matching " and selection bias which ultimately fail to support a belief in psi or global consciousness.

Skeptics have decried kleptomania as an invalid psychiatric concept exploited in legal defenses of wealthy lady shoplifters.

Skeptics have ridiculed the story presented by Benjamin Creme, or have taken issue with the possibility that his predictions might have come true.

The Skeptics were to have a larger impact on Western reasoning than the Cynics ; but this would not occur until after its having been reified during the middle years of the Roman Empire when it passed into the mainstream of Western thought.

Skeptics of the creature claim the Kongamato is a hoax or a misidentification of a huge bat or a large stork.

Skeptics point out that the region would benefit from tourist revenue and a hoax might attract visitors.

Derrida utilized, like Heidegger, references to Greek philosophical notions associated with the Skeptics and the Presocratics, such as Epoché and Aporia to articulate his notion of implicit circularity between premises and conclusions, origins and manifestations, but-in a manner analogous in certain respects to Gilles Deleuze-presented a radical re-reading of canonical philosophical figures such as Plato, Aristotle and Descartes as themselves being informed by such " destabilizing " notions.

Skeptics note that a small subset of doctors are responsible for diagnosing the majority of individuals with DID.

The Skeptic a newsletter of The North Texas Skeptics, reported in 1989 on criticism from a participant that was a staff volunteer until becoming disgruntled with the organization.

According to the book Skeptics Dictionary, Chopra's " mind-body claims get even murkier as he tries to connect Ayurveda with quantum physics .” Chopra also participated in the Channel 4 ( UK ) documentary The Enemies of Reason, where, when interviewed by scientist Richard Dawkins, he admitted that the term " quantum theory " was being used as a metaphor and that it has little to do with the actual quantum theory in physics.

Skeptics disagreed with that conclusion, pointing to the lack of scientific evidence.

Skeptics contend that the match with the Shroud is based on a polarized image overlay technique, which may be subjective and unreliable.

She has a strong involvement with the Australian Skeptics, and has written for both their in-house magazine and Quadrant Magazine, a conservative journal.

Second, Trantor ’ s Junin-Sector “ Preservers vs Skeptics Society ” debate whether mechanical beings endowed with artificial intelligence should be built.

Skeptics argue that the paranoia behind a conspiracy theorist's obsession with mind control, population control, occultism, surveillance abuse, Big Business, Big Government, and globalization arises from a combination of two factors, when he or she: 1 ) holds strong individualist values and 2 ) lacks power.

In addition, the Skeptics Society hosted the " Origins Conference " in October 2008 with Nancey Murphy, Hugh Ross, Leonard Susskind, Sean Carroll, Paul Davies, Stuart Kauffman, Christof Koch, Kenneth R. Miller, Donald Prothero, and Victor J. Stenger.

Every issue of the magazine opens with a description of The Skeptics Society and its mission statement, which is to explore subjects such as creationism, pyramid power, Bigfoot, pseudohistorical claims ( as in the examples of Holocaust denial and extreme Afrocentrism ), the use or misuse of theory and statistics, conspiracy theories, urban myths, witch-hunts, mass hysterias, genius and intelligence, and cultural influences on science, as well as controversies involving protosciences at the leading edge of established science, and even fads like cryonics and low-carb diets.

* Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity, with Don Stewart, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1981.

Skeptics think the goal of using reprogenetics to increase genetic IQ is rendered less likely by the very great complexity of the genome with respect to intelligence ( half of all genes are expressed somewhere in the brain ), not to mention the environmental influences from conception to adulthood.

It is also linked to the long running London based monthly lecture series, Skeptics in the Pub, along with Prof Chris French's Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit lectures at Goldsmiths.

His books include Armed: New Perspectives On Gun Control, Restricting Handguns: The Liberal Skeptics Speak Out, Firearms and Violence: Issues of Public Policy, and The Great American Gun Debate: Essays on Firearms and Violence ( with Gary Kleck ).

A keen member of the Australian Skeptics he entertained many people at Skeptic's conventions with his demonstrations of glossolalia and going into trances.

Skeptics point out that the device strongly resembles a standard transformer, with the exception of a permanent magnet and two actuator coils being included in the design.

No Answers in Genesis is a website affiliated with the Australian Skeptics organisation that provides information to defend the theory of evolution, and, more specifically, counter young Earth creationist arguments put forward by Answers in Genesis.

The recently renamed Skeptics and Humanist Aid and Relief Effort ( previously the name began with the phrase " Secular Humanist ") provides " an alternative for those who wish to contribute to charitable efforts without the intermediary of a religious organization in times of great need.

In 2002, he presented at the " Evolution and Intelligent Design " session of the CSICOP 4th World Skeptics conference in Burbank, California, along with Massimo Pigliucci, Kenneth Miller, Paul Nelson, and William A. Dembski.