Michael Brant Shermer (born 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, and founder of The Skeptics Society. His work explores the intersection of science, skepticism, and belief.
Shermer earned his PhD in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University and has written extensively on evolution, pseudoscience, and the psychology of belief. He founded Skeptic Magazine and has been a columnist for Scientific American.
While generally skeptical of supernatural claims, Shermer has engaged thoughtfully with questions about the future of intelligence and technology, including what he calls “Shermer’s Last Law”—that any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence would be indistinguishable from God.