George Orwell Versus the Flat Earth (2015)

Daniel Loxton (Old) Insight blog, Posts March 12, 2025flat earth, George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell, Junior Skeptic 0 Comment

This article was originally published at the defunct Insight blog at Skeptic.com on March 3, 2015. An archived version is available here.

In recent months I’ve been hard at work on a three-part series of Junior Skeptic articles exploring fringe theories regarding the shape of the Earth. The issue on newsstands now [archive link] considers the peculiar history of claims that our world is as flat as a pancake. Our upcoming issue considers the (surprisingly) much more reputable history of hollow-Earth thinking through to the end of the 19th century. To complete the series, I am working now on an issue about 20th century hollow-Earth beliefs with their frankly creepy intersections with conspiracy theories, flying saucers, Nazis, and madness. Read more

Carl Sagan and the Dangers of Skepticism (2015)

Daniel Loxton (Old) Insight blog, Posts March 9, 2025books, Carl Sagan, history of skepticism, Junior Skeptic, skepticism 0 Comment

This article was originally published at the defunct Insight blog at Skeptic.com on May 19, 2015. An archived version is available here.

This is an excerpt from Junior Skeptic 50 (published in 2014 inside Skeptic magazine Vol. 19, No. 1), which is a ten-page biography of Sagan emphasizing his work in scientific skepticism. Junior Skeptic was written for (older) children, and did not include endnotes. Here, I’ve included some relevant citations here for your interest.

Carl Sagan cared a lot about kooky, far out, pseudoscientific topics. He knew this was quite unusual. He introduced a book section on these fringe science topics by saying, “The attention given to borderline science may seem curious to some readers. … The usual practice of scientists is to ignore them, hoping they will go away.”¹ He wished other scientists would care more, and that they were more willing to share their criticisms in public:

I believe that scientists should spend more time in discussing these issues…. There are many cases where the belief system is so absurd that scientists dismiss it instantly but never commit their arguments to print. I believe this is a mistake.²

American Mastodon on the Cover of Junior Skeptic 61

admin Posts December 13, 2016digital painting, illustration, Junior Skeptic, mastodon, paleoart 0 Comment

Daniel’s latest Junior Skeptic cover illustration for his story “Mammoth Mysteries Part Two,” bound inside Skeptic Vol. 21, No. 4. The image is a digital painting depicting an American Mastodon. The story continues Part One‘s intellectual history of the discovery of mammoths and mastodons and the startling truths these fossils revealed about extinction, evolution, and time. Daniel also discusses 19th century media hoaxes that claimed mammoths were still alive—and critically considers far-fetched cryptozoological claims that this might even be true today.

Read the table of contents for this story.

Revealing the Cover for Junior Skeptic 54

admin Posts March 12, 2015dinosaurs, Hollow Earth, illustration, Junior Skeptic 0 Comment

The upcoming issue of Junior Skeptic—Part One of Daniel Loxton’s two-part story “Journey Inside the Fantastical Hollow Earth,” bound inside Skeptic Vol. 20, No. 1—features this spiffy new digital painting! Read the table of contents for this story at Skeptic.com.