Resources

The pages and organisations listed below are some of the sceptical and secular humanist resources we’ve found useful over the years. No personal blogs have been listed, because individual tastes differ quite substantially in that regard.

The speeches of Robert Ingersoll – if the FSI were a person, that person would be Robert Ingersoll.

Robert Ingersoll

Nicknamed ‘The Great Agnostic’, Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899) was a 19th century travelling orator during the “Golden Age of Freethought”. He was a secular campaigner and an advocate for womens’ suffrage, the abolition of slavery and other secular values that were well ahead of his time. As the son of an abolitionist preacher, he dedicated his life to travelling to deliver rousing, educational speeches on rational thinking and forward-looking values. A true thought-leader who worked to help everyone think better and live better lives, we believe that Ingersoll personifies the core principle of the Free Society Institute, which is the importance of thinking things through.

A simple guide to humanism – simple answers to frequently asked questions about humanism.

The Fine Art of Baloney Detection – a summary of a chapter from Carl Sagan’s indispensable book, The Demon-haunted World.

Media Guide to Skepticism – Sharon Hill of Doubtful News has put together this very helpful guide to what the “skeptical viewpoint” entails.

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast – your escape to reality!

Skeptical Software Tools – some very handy plugins, programmes and tips to help you avoid bad science, and promote scientific skepticism, on the web.

Proper criticism – Ray Hyman’s fabulous essay on on how we can improve the quality of our analysis and criticism.

What’s the harm? – a primer on various paranormal, supernatural and religious sources for potential harm.

Daniel Loxton’s work in skeptic history – Loxton has been researching and writing about scientific skepticism for many years, and has produced many fine resources as a result. This page collates some of his essays.

The Quackometer – Andy Lewis’s superb resource for debunking “dubious medical claims and inflated capabilities for cures”.

Twenty tips for interpreting scientific claims – A useful guide from Nature, on of the premier scientific journals.

Statistics done wrong –  A guide to the most popular statistical errors and slip-ups committed by scientists – and all of us – every day.

That’s Humanism – 4 short and eloquent videos on morality, the meaning of life and so forth, produced by the British Humanist Association and narrated by Stephen Fry.