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Sharon A. Hill

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Sharon A. Hill
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materUniversity at Buffalo (2010)
Pennsylvania State University (1992)
Known forGeology, Scientific skepticism
Websitehttps://sharonahill.com/

Sharon A. Hill is a science writer and speaker known for her research into the interaction between science and the public, with a focus on education and media topics. Hill's research has dealt particularly with topics of the paranormal, pseudoscience, and anomalous natural phenomena, and began at the University at Buffalo, where she performed her graduate work in this area. Hill attended Pennsylvania State University, earning her B.S. degree in Geosciences, and works as a geologist in Pennsylvania.

Hill is the founder of Doubtful News, a news site that links synopses and commentary to original news sources, and provides information to critically assess claims made in the media (no longer being updated). She is also producer and host of the Doubtful News podcast called 15 Credibility Street. She has also created the Spooky Geology website.

Hill has been a contributor to The Huffington Post blog and has appeared in written and podcast media discussing related topics. She wrote the Sounds Sciencey column for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), has contributed reports and articles to Skeptical Inquirer and Skeptical Briefs and contributed to various skeptical, science and paranormal blogs. Hill also has been a speaker at various science-related and science-fiction-related conferences, including Balticon, The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM), NECSS, and Dragon Con.

She published her first book, Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers, in 2017.

Professional career

Hill has worked as a geologist with the Pennsylvania State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in the department's mining office. As a geologist and public policy expert, Hill has been involved in the investigation and remediation efforts of sinkholes and has presented on public policies related to sinkholes as well as on mining regulatory issues.

Scientific skepticism

Interested in ghosts and monsters from a young age, as Hill grew older she realized that "science was a better way of explaining the world." She credits the works of Stephen Jay Gould as her gateway into skepticism. In her 2011 Meet the Skeptics! podcast interview, she states that becoming a skeptic was a gradual process and that she realized "there was a better way to look at these subjects in a more critical way." Neither her websites nor her podcast use the word “skeptic," due to issues she finds with the label's connotations.

Hill partnered with former ghost-hunter turned skeptic Kenny Biddle to form and organize the Anomalies Research Society, a network of professionals that focus on ethical, evidence-based investigation of paranormal and anomalous events.

Hill was also a contributing blogger for The Huffington Post as "a researcher specializing in the interaction between science, the media and the public" and has contributed to various skeptical, science and paranormal blogs such as Skeptoid and Aaron Sagers' Paranormal Pop Culture.

March 29, 2013

Study of paranormal investigative groups

The topic of amateur research and investigation groups (ARIGs) was also the subject of Hill's Masters thesis, which examined the "community of amateur paranormal investigators and how they used science." Hill researched paranormal groups that studied ghosts, UFOs, and monsters and that were not affiliated with any institution or scientists, groups with no connection to the scientific community. She looked at how they used science, specifically the words "science" or "scientific" in their websites. She wanted to see if science was in their methods and/or goals and to see if any of these groups were scientific at all. She found that the groups "used science almost exclusively as a way to look legitimate...These people didn't have any scientific training." She told Meet the Skeptics! that the groups used science "as a stereotype: the jargon, the equipment, the attitude."

Doubtful News

In 2011, Hill started the Doubtful News web site, which curates news sources while providing commentary and background information. Hill stated on Skepticality that Doubtful News is "a way to look at weird news in a more skeptical light."

15 Credibility Street

On October 17, 2016 Doubtful News launched a podcast named 15 Credibility Street for which Hill is both producer and host with cohosts Torkel Ødegård and Howard Lewis. (Lewis left the show in May 2017). The podcast is intended to "be a platform to discuss items that appear on the Doubtful News website for further reflection and comment as well as other topics of a skeptical or Fortean bent."

Role of skepticism

Hill has criticized narrowing the focus of skepticism to target religious belief specifically, stating that "riticism of religion really doesn't have a place in scientific framework... But when religious claims cross over into testable claims, then they are fair game for the skeptic." Although Hill works to investigate claims of the paranormal, she has stated that "'Does God exist' is not a skeptic question," and that "cientific skepticism and atheism are very different things."

Hill has encouraged an increase in dialog between paranormal believers and skepticism groups, encouraging skeptics to "take time to listen to the other side, especially ... the believers, because there is something to learn from them." In April 2013, Hill reviewed a skeptic conference for Aaron Sagers' paranormal entertainment site Paranormal Pop Culture.

In a May 2013 interview for The Paranormal Podcast by Jim Harold, Hill described ways in which the efforts of both skeptical and paranormal investigators could benefit from sharing viewpoints. In dialog with Hill, Harold stated that "we as believers can maybe take some useful things from , be a little more critical when we're looking at things and still maintain our beliefs, our viewpoint."

Skepticism as consumer protection

On an April 14, 2013, interview on Strange Frequencies Radio, Hill stated that she views the role of scientific skepticism as one of "consumer protection" to help people better evaluate even everyday claims: "We really need to apply skepticism every day in life, or else we'll get scammed, taken by some product that doesn't work, or it could affect our health or checking account."

Bibliography

  • Hill, Sharon A. (December 8, 2017). Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers. McFarland. ISBN 1476672474.

Honors

In 2012, Hill was named as a Scientific and Technical Consultant for the Center for Inquiry.

See also

References

  1. "Sounds Sciency". CSICOP. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  2. Hill, Sharon A. (2017). Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers. McFarland. ISBN 9781476630823. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  3. Esack, Steve (2004-02-06). "Route 33 bridge in fast lane — Span split by sinkhole may be replaced by autumn for $6 million. ". Morning Call. Allentown, Pa., United States. p. B1. ISSN 0884-5557.
  4. Hill, Sharon A. (2005-09-23). Resolving Sinkhole Issues: A State Government Perspective. American Society of Civil Engineers. pp. 520–28. doi:10.1061/40796(177)55. ISBN 978-0-7844-0796-7. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  5. 21st Century Noncoal Regulatory Issues (PDF). 46th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey. May 2010. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  6. ^ Christopher Brown (9 August 2011). "Podcast:Meet Sharon Hill". Meet the Skeptics!. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  7. Palmer, Rob (September 14, 2018). "The Well-Known Skeptic: I'm Keeping My Skeptic's Card!". CSI. Center for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  8. Hill, Sharon (26 February 2017). "15 Credibility St #11: It's One Louder". Doubtfulnews.com. Doubtful News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  9. Brocious, Jason (5 December 2017). "LVH Annual Meeting: Kenny Biddle's Investigations Of Paranormal CLAIMS". lvhumanists.org. Lehigh Valley Humanists. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  10. "Sharon Hill". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  11. "Sharon Hill – Skeptoid". Skeptoid.com. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  12. ^ Hill, Sharon A. (April 29, 2013). "Believe it (or not) but there is a lot to learn at a skeptic-con". Paranormal Pop Culture.
  13. ^ "2012 PA State Atheist Humanist Conference: Sunday Morning Welcome / Sharon Hill". PA Nonbelievers. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  14. "Another Doubtful Year". Skepticality. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  15. Radford, Benjamin (June 2012). "Doubtful News blog launched". Skeptical Inquirer. 36 (3): 6. ISSN 0194-6730.
  16. Mongia, Gurmukh (Spring 2017). "A Visit to 15 Credibility Street". Skeptical Briefs. 37 (1): 13.
  17. "The Skeptical Review: 15 Credibility Street by Doubtful News". Skepreview.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  18. ^ Jim Harold (27 May 2013). "The Skeptical Perspective – Paranormal Podcast 287" (Podcast). Paranormal Podcast. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  19. "Episode 235". Strange Frequencies Radio (Podcast). April 14, 2013.
  20. "Five New Fellows, Two Consultants Elected to Committee for Skeptical Inquiry". The Skeptical Inquirer. 37 (2): 8. 2013.

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