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.