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 may even doubt the reliability of their own senses.

Skeptics and some supporters believe that dowsing apparatus has no power of its own but merely amplifies slight movements of the hands caused by a phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect: people's subconscious minds may influence their bodies without their consciously deciding to take action.

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

Skeptics of claims involving ghosts and near-death experiences, such as Mobb and Watt ( 2011 ) have found evidence from MRI studies that experience of other-worldly substances may be due to neurotransmitter levels in the brain.

Skeptics such as Robert Todd Carroll contend that auras may be seen for reasons such as migraines, synesthesia, epilepsy, a disorder within the visual system, a disorder within the brain, or due to the influence of psychedelic drugs such as LSD .< ref name =" fole ">< ref name =" ASID "> Eye fatigue can also produce an aura, sometimes referred to as eye burn.

Skeptics believe the Jersey Devil to be nothing more than a creative manifestation of the English settlers, Bogeyman stories created and told by bored Pine Barren residents as a form of children's entertainment, and rumors arising from negative perceptions of the local population (" pineys ").

The series, which was budgeted at approximately $ 200, 000USD per episode, was viewed by Shermer as a direct extension of the work done at the Skeptics Society and Skeptic magazine, and would enable Shermer to reach more people.

Skeptics argue that evidence would suggest that the Bavarian Illuminati was nothing more than a curious historical footnote since there is no evidence that the Illuminati survived its suppression in 1785.

Skeptics claim that, in many cases, prison education produces nothing more than " better educated criminals ".

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.

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 generally consider beliefs in the extraterrestrial hypothesis ( ETH ) and psychic powers as misguided, since no empirical evidence exists supporting such phenomena.

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

Skeptics often focus their criticism on claims they consider to be implausible, dubious or clearly contradictory to generally accepted science.

Some skeptics, such as the members of The Skeptics ' Guide to the Universe podcast, oppose certain cults and new religious movements because of their concern about what they consider false miracles performed or endorsed by the leadership of the group.

Skeptics reason that the only benefit to eyesight gained from such techniques is itself imagined, and point out that familiar objects, including letters on an eye chart, can be recognized even when they appear less than clear.

Skeptics argue that the current gambit of contemporary conspiracy theorists who use The Protocols is to claim that they " really " come from some group other than the Jews such as fallen angels or alien invaders.

Skeptics argue that fears of population control can be traced back to the traumatic legacy of the eugenics movement's " war against the weak " in the United States during the first decades of the 20th century but also the Second Red Scare in the U. S. during the late 1940s and 1950s, and to a lesser extent in the 1960s, when activists on the far right of American politics routinely opposed public health programs, notably water fluoridation, mass vaccination and mental health services, by asserting they were all part of a far-reaching plot to impose a socialist or communist regime.

Skeptics of the ban have suggested that the airlines support the ban because they do not want passengers to have an alternative to the in-flight phone service such as GTE's Airfone.

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 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 have judged the film a hoax with a man in an ape suit, but theorists contend the film depicts a cryptid, a creature unknown to science.

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

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

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, such as Michael Barkun and Chip Berlet, have observed that right-wing populist conspiracy theories about a New World Order have now not only been embraced by many seekers of stigmatized knowledge but have seeped into popular culture, thereby inaugurating an unrivaled period of people actively preparing for apocalyptic millenarian scenarios in the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

A branch of the popular Skeptics in the Pub movement was created in 2011 in Lewes, based at the Elephant and Castle.

Before starting the Skeptics Society, Shermer was a professor of the history of science at Occidental College, California.

Skeptics argue that conspiracy theorists grossly overestimate the influence of ex-Nazis and neo-Nazis on American society, and point out that political repression at home and imperialism abroad have a long history in the United States that predates the 20th century.

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.

On May 29, 2011 Carroll led a discussion concerning the " Five Myths About Skeptics " at the 2nd annual SkeptiCalCon event held in Berkeley, CA.

He has been the keynote speaker at several of The Skeptics Society's annual conventions.

Skeptics often point to other failed attempts at economic coalition building like the Central American Common Market ( CACM ) as an example of the instability of the region.

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.

Dietz was an outspoken critic of creationism, and was the faculty advisor of two student groups at Arizona State University in 1985, Americans Promoting Evolution Science ( APES ) and the Phoenix Skeptics.

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

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.