Sharon A. Hill

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[3] and has presented on public policies related to sinkholes[4] as well as on mining regulatory issues.[5]

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 [ghosts] in a more critical way." [6]

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.[7][8]

On a March 2013 episode of The Skeptic Zone, Hill was interviewed by Richard Saunders.[9] During the interview, Hill discussed the founding of her Doubtful News web site, the process by which information is gathered, as well as using social media to improve coverage.[9]

In March 2013, Hill launched the "Media Guide to Skepticism" document, an informational resource developed in cooperation with other skeptical thinkers about scientific skepticism "licensed through Creative Commons for reproduction."[10] In an April 2013 episode of the Token Skeptic Podcast, Hill detailed how she assembled drafts of the guide, inspired by Wired.com's "Media Guide to Volcanoes", with the aim of assisting reporters looking to write about scientific skepticism, as well as those new to the movement.[11] Hill's guide focuses on defining skepticism, outlining its importance, and addressing common misconceptions.[11]

Hill was a main program speaker for the James Randi Educational Foundation's The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM) 2013 in July 2013, delivering a presentation entitled "The Honest Broker of Doubtful News," where she also participated in a panel discussion on "Bigfoot Skeptics: Abominable Science!", and moderated a panel on the "Skeptical Scope and Mission."[12] Hill led a workshop on coalition building at TAM 2012, which included panelists David Silverman and David Niose.[13]

Hill has appeared as a panelist on Virtual Skeptics, a weekly web series featuring "news and discussion of topics of interest to skeptics."[14]

Hill was also a contributing blogger for The Huffington Post as "a researcher specializing in the interaction between science, the media and the public"[15] and has contributed to various skeptical, science and paranormal blogs such as Skeptoid[16] and Aaron Sagers' Paranormal Pop Culture.[17]

In 2018, Hill publicly eschewed the "skeptic" label due to perceived negative connotations of the term and issues she has with organized skepticism. She stated "the label is limiting and is overwrought with mistaken assumptions of being elitist, arrogant, and closed-minded." She also stated "Atheism adherence and advocacy, a separate and narrower niche, continues to be conflated with skepticism." She maintains her support for the "philosophy and process of scientific skepticism".[18] This attitude was foreshadowed in her Sounds Sciencey column in 2013 in which she stated the terms “skeptics” and “believers” are limiting, especially how both terms are perceived culturally. Neither her websites nor her podcast use the word “skeptic.” [19]

March 29, 2013

Hill has criticized narrowing the focus of skepticism to target religious belief specifically, stating that "[c]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."[21] Although Hill works to investigate claims of the paranormal, she has stated that "'Does God exist' is not a skeptic question," and that "[s]cientific skepticism and atheism are very different things."[21]

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."[21] In April 2013, Hill reviewed a skeptic conference for Aaron Sagers' paranormal entertainment site Paranormal Pop Culture.[17]

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.[35] In dialog with Hill, Harold stated that "we as believers [...] can maybe take some useful things from [the skeptical perspective], be a little more critical when we're looking at things and still maintain our beliefs, our viewpoint."[35]

Hill attended the Fringe NJ Spring 2016 Conference[36] in Hamilton NJ and discussed this at length on her 15 Credibility Street podcast.[30]^{:(Episode 4, 53:30)} She concluded with a discussion of the importance of skeptics going to non-skeptical events of this type:

People will always believe weird things. They always have. They always will [...] They don't necessarily want to know if they're true or not [...] And if we want to understand why people are like that and maybe what we can do to change those behaviors when they turn out to be something kind of harmful or dangerous to society... how can we sway the population into thinking a little bit more critically... we have to know what they're thinking and what they're experiencing. We can't just sit back here and say 'Oh, ghosts are stupid. People who believe in them are stupid.' You need to go to these events and see how emotional people get when they talk about these things... that they really, really do believe them. And that they're really, really part of their lives. And the only way you're going to do that is if you go to these events and observe.[30]^{:(Episode 4, 1:18:25)}

Historian Brian Regal reviews Hill's first book Scientifical Americans for Skeptical Inquirer magazine. He says that this is a timely book as it comes during an era when many question science. Hill gives a historiography of the field of "modern paranormal interest: monsters, UFOs, and ghosts." She does not insult or ridicule the people she writes about, but explains their stories through case studies. Regal feels that this book will not deter believers in the paranormal, but it is an important part of a "growing literature on amateur paranormal research".[38]

Hill discusses her book with Richard Saunders in a Skeptic Zone podcast on 27 May 2018. "It's about the culture of amateur paranormal investigators; it's about how they understand science and try to use science. It's more about the public understanding of science, but focusing in on those paranormal researchers and what they do." "In the book I talk about not only ghost hunters but also cryptozoologists and ufologists who do the same thing in a different way. Each of the fields is slightly different. And I talk about how science has looked at these fields already and discovered that there isn't really anything there to investigate.[39]

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

In 2012, Hill was named as a Scientific and Technical Consultant for the Center for Inquiry.[40]

• 
  At Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, 2010
• 
  "How to Think About Weird News" talk at CSICon Nashville, 2012
• 
  "The Honest Broker of Doubtful News" talk at TAM 2013 in Las Vegas
• 
  With Simon Singh and Susan Gerbic in a workshop at TAM 13 in Las Vegas, 2015

• The Amaz!ng Meeting

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sharon Hill (geologist).

• Doubtful News
• 15 Credibility Street podcast on iTunes
• Media Guide to Skepticism
• Sounds Sciencey column at Skeptical Inquirer
• Virtual Skeptics vodcast
• Spooky Geology
• Coalition Building for the Skeptical Activist – TAM 2012