Carlos Orsi
@carlosorsi.bsky.social
Journalist (science), writer (non-fiction, plus mystery, sf-f, horror), author of What Science Says About Astrology (Columbia University Press) posts in English and/or Portuguese.
Substack:
https://carlosorsi.substack.com
Substack:
https://carlosorsi.substack.com
Pinned
Carlos Orsi
@carlosorsi.bsky.social
· Nov 18
Here's an even prettier page to send readers to, with all of your articles in order, as well as your author profile:
www.skeptic.org.uk/author/carlo...
www.skeptic.org.uk/author/carlo...
Carlos Orsi
Carlos Orsi is a journalist, editor-in-chief of Revista Questão de Ciência, author of "O Livro dos Milagres" (Editora da Unesp), "O Livro da Astrologia" (KDP), "Negacionismo" (Editora de Cultura), and...
www.skeptic.org.uk
So, this is a much better landing page for my content in @skeptic.org.uk !
And I am translated into Russian! "What Science Says About Astrology" in Moscow Book Week!
October 9, 2026 at 1:20 PM
And I am translated into Russian! "What Science Says About Astrology" in Moscow Book Week!
Questioning belief is not necessarily questioning character or competence. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/whats-wron...
What's wrong with being wrong?
Everyone misunderstands, misinterprets, and generally gets things wrong all the time
carlosorsi.substack.com
October 9, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Questioning belief is not necessarily questioning character or competence. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/whats-wron...
Halloween is coming! So, during this month, my essays will be even spookier than usual. Starting with a survey of otherworldly phenomena throughout the millennia! carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-incred...
The incredible shrinking supernatural
Two thousand years ago, a ghost could tower over five meters and bring down thunder
carlosorsi.substack.com
October 5, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Halloween is coming! So, during this month, my essays will be even spookier than usual. Starting with a survey of otherworldly phenomena throughout the millennia! carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-incred...
When you enter a debate, or when someone tries to convince you of something, knowing how the question is being framed may be as important as analyzing the arguments. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/on-the-fra...
On the framing of an argument
Much of our present culture wars are really framing wars, and we should be aware of that
carlosorsi.substack.com
September 28, 2026 at 12:34 PM
When you enter a debate, or when someone tries to convince you of something, knowing how the question is being framed may be as important as analyzing the arguments. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/on-the-fra...
With Strange New Worlds approaching the end of its journey, some hard truths from an old fan... carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-pseudo...
The pseudoscience of Star Trek
The greatest sci-fi series of all times contains heavy doses of scientific bullshit
carlosorsi.substack.com
September 24, 2026 at 5:32 PM
With Strange New Worlds approaching the end of its journey, some hard truths from an old fan... carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-pseudo...
Why do people insist that everything that makes them feel better must be real? carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-purpor...
The purported "benefits" of being deceived
"The New York Times" resurrects the oldest argument for psychic fraud: "what's the harm?"
carlosorsi.substack.com
September 21, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Why do people insist that everything that makes them feel better must be real? carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-purpor...
Yesterday, my book What Science Says About Astrology appeared at the top of the "five of the best science books" list posted on Nature's website!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The roots of astrology, the mysterious nature of time and more: Books in brief
Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.
www.nature.com
September 15, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Yesterday, my book What Science Says About Astrology appeared at the top of the "five of the best science books" list posted on Nature's website!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
People who dismiss doomsday predictions have the comfort to know nobody will be around to blame them that one time they'll be wrong. In this week's newsletter. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/so-whats-t...
So, what's the beef with AI?
Wrongheaded talk about extinction-level dangers go hand-in-hand with wrongheaded dismissals of any danger at all
carlosorsi.substack.com
September 14, 2026 at 5:10 PM
People who dismiss doomsday predictions have the comfort to know nobody will be around to blame them that one time they'll be wrong. In this week's newsletter. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/so-whats-t...
Again we see a tension betewwen the so-called “doomists” and the self-proclaimed “rationalists". I've written about it some time ago: carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-not-th...
The "not the end of the world" fallacy
What doesn't kill us can still be much more than a mere nuisance
carlosorsi.substack.com
September 14, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Again we see a tension betewwen the so-called “doomists” and the self-proclaimed “rationalists". I've written about it some time ago: carlosorsi.substack.com/p/the-not-th...
Would reinstating duels be a way out of political polarization? A little historical analysis (with some irony). carlosorsi.substack.com/p/pistols-or...
Pistols or swords at twelve paces
There's one form os political violence that seems to have been completely abandoned
carlosorsi.substack.com
September 9, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Would reinstating duels be a way out of political polarization? A little historical analysis (with some irony). carlosorsi.substack.com/p/pistols-or...
So, why should we care about “extraordinary,” and what counts as extraordinary anyway? Check out this week’s essay! carlosorsi.substack.com/p/extraordin...
Extraordinary claims vs. extraordinary evidence
What does the old skeptical adage really mean?
carlosorsi.substack.com
September 2, 2026 at 12:47 PM
So, why should we care about “extraordinary,” and what counts as extraordinary anyway? Check out this week’s essay! carlosorsi.substack.com/p/extraordin...
The end of reimbursed homeopathy in Germany edzardernst.com/2026/08/the-...
The end of reimbursed homeopathy in Germany
It has long been predicted to come; now it has arrived: Germany - the birthland of homeopathy - has finally decided to stop reimbursing homeopathic and anthroposophic medicine through statutory health...
edzardernst.com
August 27, 2026 at 3:44 PM
The end of reimbursed homeopathy in Germany edzardernst.com/2026/08/the-...
The lies men tell live after them; the truths, especially when disappointing, may very well be interred with their bones. Or, how people wanted to be hoaxed by Edgar Allan Poe. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/edgar-alla...
Edgar Allan Poe's inadvertent hoax
When a horror short story was taken as scientific fact, and the author's effort to correct it
carlosorsi.substack.com
August 26, 2026 at 1:10 PM
The lies men tell live after them; the truths, especially when disappointing, may very well be interred with their bones. Or, how people wanted to be hoaxed by Edgar Allan Poe. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/edgar-alla...
When the boundaries between science and magic begin to blur, charlatans prosper. It's happening now; it happened before. A little piece of history in today's newsletter! carlosorsi.substack.com/p/paris-in-t...
Paris in the Age of the Great Charlatans
In the aftermath of the Enlightenment, the French capital became a pseudoscience magnet
carlosorsi.substack.com
August 19, 2026 at 12:43 PM
When the boundaries between science and magic begin to blur, charlatans prosper. It's happening now; it happened before. A little piece of history in today's newsletter! carlosorsi.substack.com/p/paris-in-t...
I just finished the first chapter of my next book, on the birth and evolution of the belief that life after death could be a legitimate subject for scientific research. Much of the research for the book has informed essays in my Substack Channel, which you can read here: carlosorsi.substack.com
Idea Smasher | Carlos Orsi | Substack
A collider of concepts, ideias and culture with a skeptical, scientific bent. Click to read Idea Smasher, by Carlos Orsi, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
carlosorsi.substack.com
August 12, 2026 at 4:09 PM
I just finished the first chapter of my next book, on the birth and evolution of the belief that life after death could be a legitimate subject for scientific research. Much of the research for the book has informed essays in my Substack Channel, which you can read here: carlosorsi.substack.com
Today I post another essay free from the paywall, but if you appreciate my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/whos-afrai...
Who's afraid of "materialism?"
When words don't mean or imply what most people think
carlosorsi.substack.com
August 12, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Today I post another essay free from the paywall, but if you appreciate my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/whos-afrai...
Before "scientific" creationism was even born, there was natural theology... Or, how Newton's followers tried to find God in physics carlosorsi.substack.com/p/newtonian-...
Newtonian gods
Before "scientific" creationism in biology, there was "natural" theology in physics
carlosorsi.substack.com
August 5, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Before "scientific" creationism was even born, there was natural theology... Or, how Newton's followers tried to find God in physics carlosorsi.substack.com/p/newtonian-...
When a silly summer blockbuster becomes the great cultural debate of our age, what are we doing, exactly? My somewhat exasperated take on "The Odyssey" in another free post for Idea Smasher. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/what-about...
What about "The Odyssey"?
Myths are not stories, they are vehicles for stories
carlosorsi.substack.com
July 29, 2026 at 12:33 PM
When a silly summer blockbuster becomes the great cultural debate of our age, what are we doing, exactly? My somewhat exasperated take on "The Odyssey" in another free post for Idea Smasher. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/what-about...
I am moving my Substack behind a paywall, but from time to time I am still going to post some fully free stuff. Like this one: why "cultured" people don't consider science "culture"? carlosorsi.substack.com/p/who-is-cul...
Who is "cultured" after all?
Once again, the media tries to define "culture" by excluding science
carlosorsi.substack.com
July 22, 2026 at 2:53 PM
I am moving my Substack behind a paywall, but from time to time I am still going to post some fully free stuff. Like this one: why "cultured" people don't consider science "culture"? carlosorsi.substack.com/p/who-is-cul...
Hi everybody! Here goes one more podcast on the science book everybody is (or should be!) reading! ffrf.org/news/freetho...
Freethought Radio – July 16, 2026
After reporting national Christian-nationalist news and local state/church victories in the schools, we talk with journalist Carlos Orsi, author of the new book, ”What Science Says About Astrology.”
ffrf.org
July 20, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Hi everybody! Here goes one more podcast on the science book everybody is (or should be!) reading! ffrf.org/news/freetho...
May 6, 2026, marked the 170th anniversary of Freud's birth. There were some enthusiastic eulogies, but the darker side of his legacy also demands remembrance. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/psychoanal...
Psychoanalysis and its unreliable narrators
Sigmund Freud's legacy of lies, misconduct, negligence, and arrogance lives on
carlosorsi.substack.com
July 15, 2026 at 1:13 PM
May 6, 2026, marked the 170th anniversary of Freud's birth. There were some enthusiastic eulogies, but the darker side of his legacy also demands remembrance. carlosorsi.substack.com/p/psychoanal...
Why is "spirituality" always running after the latest scientific buzzwords? carlosorsi.substack.com/p/is-the-hum...
Is the human soul radioactive?
Spirituality and its curious habit of piggybacking on materialistic science
carlosorsi.substack.com
July 8, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Why is "spirituality" always running after the latest scientific buzzwords? carlosorsi.substack.com/p/is-the-hum...
Promoting my Substack channel! Most of the stuff is free, but consider becoming a paying subscriber...
July 3, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Promoting my Substack channel! Most of the stuff is free, but consider becoming a paying subscriber...
I am preparing to put more and more content from my Substack channel behind a paywall. But before that, I'll share again some of my oldies: open.substack.com/pub/carlosor...
Science is uncertain, but then everything is
Public understanding of science requires public understanding of uncertainty
open.substack.com
July 2, 2026 at 2:12 PM
I am preparing to put more and more content from my Substack channel behind a paywall. But before that, I'll share again some of my oldies: open.substack.com/pub/carlosor...
Everything you need to know about this "Mercury retrograde" thing, and some news... carlosorsi.substack.com/p/buckle-up-...
Buckle up for Mercury retrograde!
Well, not really. But if you want to know what all the hype is about, read on...
carlosorsi.substack.com
July 1, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Everything you need to know about this "Mercury retrograde" thing, and some news... carlosorsi.substack.com/p/buckle-up-...