Tim Farley is a computer software engineer, skeptic, and creator of the
popular website What's the Harm? His site answers this salient
question with over 670,000 stories of people who have indeed been
harmed, damaged, injured, or even killed by pseudoscience and the
paranormal
What's the Harm's catchphrase is: "368,379 people killed, 306,096
injured and over $2,815,931,000 in economic damages." However, these
statistics are calculated from randomly-caught, modern cases documented
in English-speaking countries. Many stories are left untold. How much
bigger could the problem be?
In this interview with Karen Stollznow, Tim reveals the real-life
dangers, and the hidden dangers, of these beliefs and practices. He
treats the lack of regulatory bodies for these industries, and what
recourse can be taken when harm is done. Tim talks about the question
"What's the Harm?" as used in defense of pseudoscience and the
paranormal, and why this is wielded as a "checkmate" argument. He
discusses the power of anecdotal evidence, and whether people are
influenced by cautionary tales, or more persuaded by their own personal
experiences.
Tim is a prominent activist and a frequent speaker at events including
Skeptics in the Pub, Skepticamp, and the James Randi Educational
Foundation's Amazing Meetings. An expert in computer security and
reverse engineering, he is at the forefront of the Skepticism 2.0
movement. He talks about finding your own "niche" as an online activist,
how you don't need to be a magician or have a PhD to be a skeptic, and
how we all have our own expertise to bring to the skeptical movement.
