Editing The Skeptic's Dictionary (section)

==Contents==
According to Carroll,
:“The Skeptic’s Dictionary is aimed at four distinct audiences: the open-minded seeker, who makes no commitment to or disavowal of occult claims; the soft skeptic, who is more prone to doubt than to believe; the hardened skeptic, who has strong disbelief about all things occult; and the believing doubter, who is prone to believe but has some doubts. The one group this book is not aimed at is the '[[True-believer syndrome|true believer]]' in the occult. If you have no skepticism in you, this book is not for you.”

Carroll defines each of these categories, explaining how and why, in his opinion, his dictionary may be of interest, use, and benefit to each of them. He also defines the term “skepticism” as he uses it and identifies two types of skeptic, the [[Apollonian]], who is “committed to clarity and rationality” and the [[Dionysian]], who is “committed to passion and instinct.” [[William James]], [[Bertrand Russell]], and [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] exemplify the Apollonian skeptic, Carroll says, and [[Charles Sanders Peirce]], [[Tertullian]], [[Søren Kierkegaard]], and [[Blaise Pascal]] are Dionysian skeptics.<ref>[http://skepdic.com/intro.html Introduction], ''Skeptic's Dictionary''.</ref>

The articles in the book are in several categories:

* [[Alternative medicine]]
* [[Cryptozoology]]
* [[extraterrestrial life|Extraterrestrial]]s and [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]]s
* [[Fraud]]s and [[hoax]]es
* [[Junk science]] and [[pseudoscience]]
* [[Logic]] and [[perception]]
* [[New Age]] beliefs
* The [[paranormal]] and the [[occult]]
* [[Science]] and [[philosophy]]
* The [[supernatural]] and the [[metaphysics|metaphysical]].

Print versions are available in Dutch, English, Japanese, Korean, and Russian.<ref>[http://skepdic.com/preface.html Preface], ''Skeptic's Dictionary.''</ref> Numerous entries have been translated for the Internet in several other languages. A newsletter<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.skepdic.com/news/| title = newsletter}}</ref> keeps interested parties up to date on new entries and an archived list of previous newsletters is available online. Norcross et al. state that Carroll has made considerable progress in exposing pseudoscience and quackery.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Norcross, J.C. |author2=Koocher, G.P. |author3=Garofalo, A. | year = 2006 | title = Discredited psychological treatments and tests: A Delphi poll | journal = Professional Psychology: Research and Practice | volume = 37 | issue = 5 | pages = 515–522 | url = http://content.apa.org/journals/pro/37/5/515  | access-date = February 12, 2008 | doi = 10.1037/0735-7028.37.5.515}}</ref>