The common notion about being a "skeptic” is that you hold a generally questioning attitude or have a dubious opinion on a certain topic. At the extreme, terms like “climate skeptic” or “truther” express distrust and denial of scientific conclusions. Scientific skepticism, however, is an approach that emphasizes evaluating claims based on evidence. The process of skepticism is of great value to society to lessen the potential of believing or investing in something that isn’t all it appears to be, which may have social, financial or even tragic consequences.

"I Doubt That: The Media Guide to Skepticism" is a live workshop presented at JREF's Hollywood headquarters by Sharon Hill of DoubtfulNews.com. This presentation will provide a look into organized skepticism – what it is, what it means to be a skeptic, what skepticism isn’t, and why it’s important for everyone to know how to apply it in a world overloaded with questionable information. Come visit with some friendly neighborhood skeptics who can help you sort through the nonsense and critically evaluate some extraordinary claims. Find out the difference between merely saying “I’m skeptical” and REALLY applying skepticism.

Please join us at the JREF's Hollywood headquarters for "I Doubt That" Sunday, June 2 at 1:00pm. This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. If you plan to attend, please RSVP on our Facebook event page. And for Google Maps directions to our headquarters, click here.

Why do people believe the things that they do? While only science can generate testable hypotheses, advocates of various paranormal claims tend to rely more on anecdotes, appeals to authority and “intuition” and the general public tends to be ambivalent about the distinction between science and the supernatural. Ongoing controversies over intelligent design in schools, climate change and vaccination have demonstrated that the public perception about science is often shallow due to misunderstandings about how science works.

A recent article published in the Journal of Educational Psychology presents the results of a research study directly comparing the processes that influence how people form opinions on scientific and paranormal concepts. Written by Andrew Shtulman of Occidental College in Los Angeles, the article is part of his research program studying conceptual development relating to science education and how people weigh the actual evidence involved before forming opinions on complex subjects.

Here is a rundown of the whirlwind week in weird, the paranormal and questionable claims from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News.

It was a HUGE week for skepticism. Great press was had all around from the big story of the week: Amanda Berry found and the humiliating epic fail, once again, of Sylvia Browne. Every skeptic and not so skeptic on the planet had something to say about this example of how psychics are unhelpful and downright hurtful.

While we had this bit of good press, there was bad news - the planned departure of Eugenie Scott from the National Center for Science Education. Genie is the thinking parent's angel on earth and we're all so grateful for all she has done.

In today’s China, it appears that ancient superstitions are rising to the top of the politicians’ agenda for serious attention. The official view, their explanation for the series of misfortunes they believed to be threatening their careers last year, centered around a pair of Imperial guardian lions, traditionally known in Chinese as “shi,” and often called "Foo Dogs" in the West. They’re a pair of fierce-looking stone lions that guard so many homes and businesses, including the state-owned China Tobacco building just across the street from the government Land Bureau offices.

Well, a Land Bureau official has revealed that the secret weapon the Bureau used was “feng shui,” the ancient practice of how to arrange objects and to design architecture to supposedly improve health, prosperity and luck. For proof, he pointed at a stone wall in their parking lot that was built to block the feline statues’ harmful “qi,” or energy.

It’s a fact that Marxist ideology is fading in China, but as I’ve so often noted, ancient mystical beliefs once banned or shunned tend to gain ground and even replace one sort of nonsense with another; this happened in Russia within recent years when abandoned churches began to fill again as the grip of Communism relaxed.

Chinese fortunetellers are now eagerly offering costly sessions in astrology and numerology, and business people are consulting feng shui masters for financial guidance.