Robert Sheaffer
Encyclopedia
Robert Sheaffer in Chicago, IL is a freelance writer and a prominent investigator of unidentified flying objects, Christianity
, academic feminism
, and many other subjects. He is an outspoken skeptic
and critic
of the above topics, and has written numerous critiques of feminist beliefs and ideas, Christian beliefs regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the theory that UFOs may be alien spacecraft or some other unknown phenomena and not simply hoaxes or misidentifications of known phenomena. He is also a strong defender of the theory of evolution
, and a critic of the theory of creationism
, or the belief that God
or a supernatural being created the universe. He is a graduate of Northwestern University
.
Sheaffer writes for Skeptical Inquirer
(for which he writes the regular "Psychic Vibrations" column), Fate Magazine
, and Spaceflight. He was a founding member (with Philip J. Klass
and James Oberg
) of the UFO Subcommittee of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal), and is a fellow of that organization. He is a member of MENSA
.
Sheaffer has frequently been quoted in the news media regarding UFOs and psychic predictions.
On July 7, 2010 a flight crew preparing to land in Hangzhou
's Xiaoshan Airport in China reported an UFO. As a precaution 18 flights were "delayed or redirected". Sheaffer's article in Skeptical Inquirer Magazine's Nov/Dec 2010 issue is a discussion of how photographs and videos are used. "Reporters want an exciting story, and UFOlogists want to win converts. They will typically grab onto any photo or video that is supposed to represent the object and report as fact practically any claim that is made regardless of its source or veracity." In the case of the Xiaoshan Airport, most of the footage shown was actually taken a year previous to the July 2010 incident.
UFOologist Kevin D. Randle
is interviewed by Sheaffer for Skeptical Inquirer Magazine's January/February 2011 issue. Looking to "explore their points of agreement and disagreement, finding that Randle gives more weight to 'eyewitness testimony' than skeptics typically do."
Interviewed by the Toronto Sun
Newspaper December 20, 2010, Sheaffer is asked by columnist Thane Burnett to debate UFO enthusiast Chris Rutkowski to "debate the known realities". When asked "Is it reasonable to conclude a UFO – something that was beyond our comprehension and understanding – has ever crashed on Earth?" Sheaffer relies "No, because no one has ever produced any proof of any extraterrestrial technology being retrieved, despite many claims. Talk is cheap, show us the evidence."
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, academic feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, and many other subjects. He is an outspoken skeptic
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
of the above topics, and has written numerous critiques of feminist beliefs and ideas, Christian beliefs regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the theory that UFOs may be alien spacecraft or some other unknown phenomena and not simply hoaxes or misidentifications of known phenomena. He is also a strong defender of the theory of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, and a critic of the theory of creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
, or the belief that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
or a supernatural being created the universe. He is a graduate of Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
Sheaffer writes for Skeptical Inquirer
Skeptical Inquirer
The Skeptical Inquirer is a bimonthly American magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry with the subtitle: The magazine for science and reason....
(for which he writes the regular "Psychic Vibrations" column), Fate Magazine
Fate Magazine
Fate is a U.S. magazine about paranormal phenomena. Fate was co-founded in 1948 by Raymond A. Palmer and Curtis Fuller, suspended print publication in July 2009, and launched a new website in January 2010 featuring news, articles, and blogs written by experts and paranormal researchers.Promoted as...
, and Spaceflight. He was a founding member (with Philip J. Klass
Philip J. Klass
Philip Julian Klass was an American journalist and UFO researcher, known for his skepticism regarding UFOs. In the ufological and skeptical communities, Klass tends to inspire strongly polarized appraisals. Klass has been called the "Sherlock Holmes of UFOlogy"...
and James Oberg
James Oberg
James Edward Oberg is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian space program.-Biography:...
) of the UFO Subcommittee of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal), and is a fellow of that organization. He is a member of MENSA
Mensa
Mensa meaning table in Latin, may refer to:*Mensa International, an organization for people with high IQs*Mensa , a southern star constellation*Mensa , a term used by geologists to refer to an extraterrestrial mesa...
.
Sheaffer has frequently been quoted in the news media regarding UFOs and psychic predictions.
On July 7, 2010 a flight crew preparing to land in Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
's Xiaoshan Airport in China reported an UFO. As a precaution 18 flights were "delayed or redirected". Sheaffer's article in Skeptical Inquirer Magazine's Nov/Dec 2010 issue is a discussion of how photographs and videos are used. "Reporters want an exciting story, and UFOlogists want to win converts. They will typically grab onto any photo or video that is supposed to represent the object and report as fact practically any claim that is made regardless of its source or veracity." In the case of the Xiaoshan Airport, most of the footage shown was actually taken a year previous to the July 2010 incident.
UFOologist Kevin D. Randle
Kevin D. Randle
Dr. Kevin D. Randle , is a prominent ufologist. Within the UFO community he is often regarded as one of the preeminent experts on the reported crash of a UFO near Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947....
is interviewed by Sheaffer for Skeptical Inquirer Magazine's January/February 2011 issue. Looking to "explore their points of agreement and disagreement, finding that Randle gives more weight to 'eyewitness testimony' than skeptics typically do."
Interviewed by the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
Newspaper December 20, 2010, Sheaffer is asked by columnist Thane Burnett to debate UFO enthusiast Chris Rutkowski to "debate the known realities". When asked "Is it reasonable to conclude a UFO – something that was beyond our comprehension and understanding – has ever crashed on Earth?" Sheaffer relies "No, because no one has ever produced any proof of any extraterrestrial technology being retrieved, despite many claims. Talk is cheap, show us the evidence."