How a competitive cyclist became the world's most prominent advocate for scientific skepticism.

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Michael Shermer transitioned from a fundamentalist Christian evangelist to a leading voice in scientific skepticism. His journey, shaped by a tragic accident and the rigors of ultramarathon cycling, led him to found the Skeptics Society and dedicate his career to investigating the psychology behind why intelligent people believe weird things.

Born in 1954, Michael Shermer’s path to skepticism was unconventional. Raised in a non-religious household, he embraced Christian fundamentalism as a teenager, even evangelizing door-to-door for seven years. His faith collapsed during graduate school, a shift he attributes to the paralysis of his girlfriend in a car accident; he reasoned that if a benevolent God existed, she would not have suffered such a fate. This disillusionment was compounded by his academic training in psychology and the history of science, which highlighted how religious beliefs are often products of cultural and geographic circumstances.

Shermer’s skepticism crystallized during his decade as a competitive ultramarathon cyclist. While training for the 3,000-mile Race Across America, he realized that his reliance on unaccredited nutritionists and pseudoscientific practices like pyramid power and acupuncture provided no tangible benefit. He famously pinpointed August 6, 1983, on a climb in Colorado as the moment he stopped rationalizing these failures. This period also saw him co-founding the Skeptics Society in 1991, which grew from a garage hobby into a major organization that publishes Skeptic magazine and promotes critical thinking.

Throughout his career, Shermer has explored the cognitive mechanisms behind belief, coining the term 'patternicity' to describe the human tendency to find meaningful patterns in random noise. His work often bridges the gap between evolutionary psychology and modern social issues, though his approach has drawn criticism. Some academics argue that his libertarian political views and his tendency to frame science as an ideology can compromise his objectivity. Despite these debates, he remains a prolific author and public intellectual, recently joining the UAP Science Advisory Council to apply scientific inquiry to unexplained aerial phenomena.

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