Daniel Loxton

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Daniel Loxton

Daniel Loxton
Nationality Canadian
Occupation Writer, editor

Daniel Loxton is a Canadian writer, illustrator, and skeptic. He is the Editor of Junior Skeptic magazine, a kids’ science section bound into the Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. He writes and illustrates most issues of Junior Skeptic.[1]

Work

Prior to his involvement with the Skeptics Society, Loxton worked as a professional shepherd along the British Columbia side of the Alaska Panhandle.[2]

Loxton has published two major essays on skeptical activism "Where Do We Go From Here?"[3] in 2007, dealing with the focus and direction of the new generation of skepticism, and which helped to inspire the SkeptiCamp community organized conferences on scientific skepticism, and "What Do I Do Next?"[4] in 2009, providing ideas and suggestions for individual involvement in the skepticism movement. This Op-Ed was also featured on an episode of the Skepticality podcast.[5]

He was featured in an interview on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast #194, and again in #414.[6] He also appeared in an interview on the JREF podcast, For Good Reason in the episode dated February 6, 2010 and on Christopher Brown's Meet the Skeptics! podcast.[7][8]

Loxton at book signing TAM 2013

Loxton is the author of a book explaining evolution for young readers, Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came To Be,[9] which has been nominated for the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Norma Fleck Award for Children's Non-Fiction.[10] When pitching Evolution to U.S. publishers, Loxton was told "‘Well of course I love it, but we just think it’s a little too hot,’... Which is a strange thing to say about fundamental biology.” Not so in Canada. About writing a children's book on the topic of evolution Luxton states "People forget to see kids as thinking beings, as people who have existential questions that they want answered. They just need the best information available,” he said. “Keep it simple, but make it true.” Evolution has been nominated for the Lane Anderson Award for Canadian science writing.[11]

Loxton at podium at TAM 2013 - Preserving Skeptic History

His 2011 book, Ankylosaur Attack (Tales of Prehistoric Life), was nominated for a Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express award from the Ontario Library Association.[12]

Loxton credits Barry Beyerstein for his interest in skepticism. In several interviews Loxton talks about attending a science fiction conference in British Columbia in 1991 and hearing Beyerstein speak on behalf of the BC Skeptics. "He calmly and kindly fielded questions from the audience—and I was shocked by almost everything he said. This wasn’t the usual fluff: this guy really knew what he was talking about, in a way that I had never encountered before. Even his “I don’t know”s were substantial in a way that I wasn’t used to hearing."[13][14]

Books

  • Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be. (Kids Can Press, Ltd, 2010) ISBN 1-55453-430-5
  • Ankylosaur Attack (Tales of Prehistoric Life) . (Kids Can Press, Ltd, 2011) ISBN 1-55453-631-6

References

  1. ↑ Jones, Jason B. (March 16, 2010). "The Junior Skeptic Explains Evolution". Wired. Retrieved 2011-02-24. 
  2. ↑ "Skeptic Magazine 'Meet the Creators'". 
  3. ↑ "Where Do We Go From Here?". 
  4. ↑ "What Do I Do Next?". 
  5. ↑ Swoopy; Colanduno, Derek (October 16, 2007), "Ep. #63 - Where Do We Go From Here?", Skepticality (Skeptic Magazine), retrieved November 27, 2011 
  6. ↑ "Episode 194". Official Skeptics' Guide Site. 
  7. ↑ "Evolution for Kids". Official Site. 
  8. ↑ "MTS: Meet Daniel Loxton". Christopher Brown. March 16, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-04. 
  9. ↑ Loxton, Daniel (2010). Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came To Be. Kids Can Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-55453-430-2. 
  10. ↑ Angela Hickman (2011-06-14). "Shortlists for Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards released". 
  11. ↑ "Evolution of an author". Times Colonist. September 8, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-11. 
  12. ↑ "Silver Birch Express 2013 Nominated Titles". Forest of Reading. Ontario Library Association. Retrieved October 23, 2012. 
  13. ↑ "Interview With Daniel Loxton of Junior Skeptic Magazine". University of Phoenix - Geek Mom. September 1, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-04. 
  14. ↑ "MTS: Meet Daniel Loxton". Christopher Brown. March 16, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-04. 

External links

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