A compilation of some of the most eye-opening skeptical articles pertaining to extraordinary claims and pseudoscience. Articles explore paranormal, extraordinary, or fringe-science claims and reveal logical explanations or outline the deceptive tactics involved in convincing the vulnerable.

"An earlier version of this work was published as Paranormal claims: a critical analysis in 2007"--Title page verso.

Foreword: Science and pseudoscience: the difference in thinking and the difference it makes -- Preface -- Why smart people believe weird things -- How to argue -- Cold reading: how to convince strangers that you know all about them -- Long Island chicanery -- Why bogus therapies often seem to work -- Power balance products: a skeptical look -- Consensus on climate change -- Why traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis is worthless -- The case for and against astrology -- Looking up to logic -- The lunar effect and confirmation bias -- Prayer and healing: the verdict is in and the results are null -- Confessions of a skeptic -- Pseudoscience in contemporary clinical psychology: what it is and what we can do about it -- Number manipulation: the not "so spooky" Tim McVeigh -- Deconstructing the dead -- Bigfoot at 50: evaluating a half-century of bigfoot evidence.