In a desperate attempt to secure its electoral base, the government is shamefully wooing religious extremists
Rationality
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RichardDawkins.net
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Where are all these militant atheists ruining Britain?
21 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm -
Let the War on Christmas Begin. Atheist style.
21 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pmIn fact, this holiday is more ours than yours, because ours is everyone's and yours is close minded, selfish, parsimonious and pompous. -
Too Good to Be True, Too Obscure to Explain: Cognitive Shortcomings of Belief in God
21 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pmThis essay originally appeared in 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists, edited by Russell Blackford and Udo Schuklenk and published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. -
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: If only I could explain where this violence comes from
21 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm -
Gene change in cannibals reveals evolution in action
20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm..."the discovery of an "anti-kuru" gene is the most clear-cut evidence yet of human evolution in action."
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Overcoming Bias
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It’s News On Academia, Not Climate
22 Nov 2009 | 10:00 amElectronic files that were stolen from a prominent climate research center and made public last week provide a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes battle to shape the public perception of global warming. … “I can’t see either of these papers being in the next IPCC report,” Jones writes. “Kevin and I will keep them out somehow — even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!” In another, Jones and Mann discuss how they can pressure an academic journal not to accept the work of climate skeptics with whom they disagree.. …… -
Byron vs. Wordsworth
22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am[Lord Byron] chose to be noisily “immoral” not because he was any worse (or any better) than the average aristocrat of his time but as a weapon against the moralism of Wordsworth. I don’t mean “moralism” in a normative sense – God no. I remember sifting through the elderly Wordsworth’s letters looking for any comment at all on the Great Famine which was extirpating the Irish, and finding only one remark, in which the great moralist earnestly prays that England will not weaken, ie provide any aid whatsoever. It’s one of the curiosities of English literary history that… -
Smile Till It Hurts
21 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amKate Tuttle reviews Bright-Sided: When Barbara Ehrenreich was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, the sharp-eyed social critic found herself nearly as discomfited by the “pink ribbon culture” surrounding the disease as by the illness itself. Relentlessly upbeat, cloyingly inspirational, the breast cancer world, as Ehrenreich describes it, is a place where anger, fear and depression — all perfectly reasonable responses to a potentially mortal diagnosis — are frowned upon and the cancer itself is lauded as a great opportunity for spiritual growth. … Why do so… -
Praise Results
20 Nov 2009 | 7:30 amI am deeply honored by Tyler Cowen’s blog post “In praise of Robin Hanson.” My first instinct is to respond in kind, but doing so now would seem forced; better to wait until no one expects it. Instead let me use this opportunity to make a point about signaling: the world would be better if we praised folks more for what they did than who they are. Most eulogies, introductions, reviews, etc., whether in praise or criticism, tend to discuss what a person has done mainly as clues to what sort of person they are. For example, music reviews talk about what a new album says… -
Movies As Detached Detail
20 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amPrecious and An Education were the last two movies I saw on a big screen, and both seemed to me to support the idea that movies are basically believable detail intended to be processed in near mode, combined with an overall story arc intended to be processed in far mode. Both movies get high marks for believable environment and actor micro-expression detail, and a lot of relatively realistic setting and character features. But the overall story arcs are rather predictable and not especially believable – they affirm standard morals and myths of modern viewers. While in real life…
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James Randi Educational Foundation
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Bull**** Artist?
20 Nov 2009 | 8:20 pmA rawtha angry letter by Rupert Sheldrake will appear in the next issue of Skeptic, in response to Chris French's ("reverential") interview of James Randi in the summer issue. The letter has its points -- for example, when it accuses Randi of occasional grumpiness (It's true! He can be grumpy!) -- but the bulk of the thing is an attack upon Randi's character and qualifications. Mostly, Sheldrake seems discomfited by a document passed out by Randi, Andrew Mayne, and Michael Shermer at The Amaz!ng Meeting 3, entitled "Communicating Skepticism To The Public." We have no copies of this document. -
Glorious Dawns, Etc.
19 Nov 2009 | 3:10 pmScientific skepticism is the simple process by which provisional conclusions are reached through a systematic examination of evidence. The tools of science fill our workbench while emotions and spirituality are left still wrapped in cellophane under the table -- pretty, and seemingly pretty useless. As such, it would seem that the humanities would have little to offer the skeptical community. What can poetry tell us of Occam's razor? How can a song express the quadratic equation? As I write this, I'm listening to "Glorious Dawn" by ColorPulse, also know as John Boswell. This viral piece… -
Ask The Skeptics: My Son's a Witch
18 Nov 2009 | 8:06 pmEditor's Note: Approximately 30% of the correspondence we receive at the JREF is woo. About 20% is friendly chit-chat, another 20% is well-wishing, and the rest is a mix of media requests, hate mail, and earnest questions about skepticism. This new column is concerned with the latter.After reading enough of these questions, it occurred to us that some of them may be of general interest. Furthermore, since the answers to these questions are more a matter of opinion than of fact, they are probably most effectively addressed by Swift's readership at large. Many of these questions deserve a… -
Earn $50 for the JREF!
17 Nov 2009 | 10:14 amSupport the JREF by applying for the CapitalOne JREF Platinum Visa! Through a partnership with CapitalOne, you can earn $50 for the JREF with your first purchase. Subsequent purchases will earn the JREF 1% of sales, which is tax deductible for US residents! This is a great way to show your support without having to do anything other than switching your credit card. Card benefits include: $50 donation to JREF with first purchase before December 30, 2009 1% of all purchases donated to JREF (may be tax deductible) No annual fee JREF branded card or design your own! 24/7 Travel and emergency… -
The Principle of The Thing
16 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pmEditor's Note: Steve Cuno is the founder of the RESPONSE Agency, an evidence-based marketing firm in Salt Lake City. He has spoken at the last two TAMs, and has been invited to write for Swift to share his knowledge of marketplace behavior as it pertains to skepticism — and vice versa.) When a friend teaching a college scriptwriting course told students that standard videotape runs at 30 frames per second, a hand shot up. "Actually," corrected the young man who owned the arm to which the hand was attached, "it's 29.97 frames per second." Thus it began. For the rest of the semester, no gnat…
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Rationally Speaking
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Massimo's picks
22 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am* MSNBC, the liberal-leaning news channel, criticizes President Obama's performance so far, for pretty goot reasons.* Wendy Grossman explains why Karen Armstrong's take on religion and morality is frankly annoying, although hard to criticize too loudly.* Earl Blumenauer, the author of the (non-existent) "death panels" provision for health care reform, explains why the Republicans went nuts about it.* One problem with public acceptance of global warming: apocalypse fatigue.* No compulsory hugging for humanists!, argues CFI president Ronald Lindsay. I agree.* The problem with so-called… -
The incoherence of free will
19 Nov 2009 | 9:41 amI recently re-read a classic piece by J.L. Mackie (April 1955), entitled “Evil and Omnipotence,” a stupendous philosophical essay about why theologians like Richard Swinburne are forced by their belief in an omnipotent, omnibenevelont and omnipowerful god into incredible and rather painful feats of mental gymnastics. One of Mackie’s minor points in the essay is that the so-called “free will defense” for the existence of evil in the world is problematic because the concept of free will itself is incoherent. Although, sometimes accusations of incoherence are thrown around a bit too… -
Massimo's picks
14 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am* xkcd's take on the vacuousness of some academic specialties...* One more from xkcd, on the meaning of life, if you will.* A New York Times article about the possible physiological function of dreams.* In defense of metaphysics (though not entirely in a convincing way).* A UK judge ruled that belief in climate change has the same protection as religious belief. Not a good move, in my opinion.* Austin Dacey on why religion has nothing to do with ethics.* Why did 30 Republican Senators vote against a bill that gives rape victims the right to sue when the crime happened outside the US? Because… -
On the difference between science and philosophy
11 Nov 2009 | 9:01 amAttentive readers of this blog may have noticed that those who post comments to my entries often show two interesting and complementary attitudes: a fundamental distrust of (if not downright contempt for) philosophy, coupled with an overly enthusiastic endorsement of science. Take, for instance, my recurring argument that some (but not all!) of the “new atheists” engage in scientistic attitudes by overplaying the epistemological power of science while downplaying (or even simply negating) the notion that science fundamentally depends on non-empirical (i.e., philosophical) assumptions to… -
Massimo's picks
9 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am* How to build secular communities, by Emily Cadik, published in the New Humanist. * My review of "Understanding Philosophy of Science," by James Ladyman.* An absolutely brilliant satire by Jon Stewart of news networks' punditry.* Philosopher's pick: Anthony Appiah.* A somewhat old, and yet insightful, article in the New York Times on the historic repealing of obscenity laws in the United States.* The "other" 150th anniversary (other than Darwin's Origin): John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty," a foundational classic of the open society.* A commentary by National Center for Science Education's…
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Applied Rationality
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Applying Bayes' theorem to breast cancer screening
20 Nov 2009 | 6:06 amBayes' theorem gives the formula that statisticians use for calculating conditional probabilities.Suppose that you have two events A and B that have joint probabilities. From Bayes' theorem, the probability that A occurs given that B has occurred, Prob(A|B) isProb(A|B) = Prob(B|A)*Prob(A)/Prob(B)where Prob(B|A) is the probability that B occurs given A, Prob(A) is the unconditiional probability of A occurring, and Prob(B) is the unconditional probability of B occurring.Let's apply this to cancer screening. According to the American Cancer Society, the unconditional… -
You've come a long way baby
17 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pmYou needed that college admission. And you were the best qualified. But they had to give it to a man because of a gender quota. Is that really fair?Inside Higher Ed reports The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has started an inquiry into the extent to which liberal arts colleges discriminate against female applicants in an attempt to minimize gender imbalances in the student body. On Friday, the commission agreed on a set of colleges -- primarily in the Washington area -- to investigate, but declined to release a full list.The issue is an extremely sensitive one for liberal arts colleges, many… -
Cost benefit in cancer screening
17 Nov 2009 | 5:21 amThe U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has issued a stunning recommendation. It recommends against routine screening mammographies for women 40-49 years old with no other risk factors for breast cancer and recommends only biennial mammographies for women 50-74 years old. It also recommends against teaching women how to self-examine.The recommendations reverse those made by the same group in 2002.The task force reviewed evidence from numerous studies in making its recommendation.It concluded that there is a benefit to regular screening mammographies; the evidence demonstrates that they reduce… -
What's not in my wallet
17 Nov 2009 | 5:15 amI got home last night to find a letter from Sears kindly informing me that the interest rate on my seldom-used Sears card was going up to "the U.S. Prime Rate plus 21.99%." Effectively, that was going to make the interest rate just a bit over 25% and well into usury territory, so much for the "softer side of Sears."I can take a hint. I cancelled the card shortly thereafter.This morning CNN.money reports One in four consumers plan to pay with cash this holiday season, according to a new survey by the National Retail Federation. That's up 9.1% from a year ago.That's not too surprising… -
CNN at 7 p.m. may soon be worth watching again
12 Nov 2009 | 4:25 amHurray! The grouch is gone.No, not Oscar, that other trashy malcontent, Lou Dobbs. Dobbs has quit CNN, raising the channel's on-air IQ by several points in the process.Dobb's ill-informed rants (he calls it "advocacy journalism") have grated for years and made the 7 p.m. CNN slot unwatchable. His screeds against immigration and trade were bad enough. But this year, the emperor was laid bare when he persisted in questioning President Obama's citizenship.Maybe it's time to tune into CNN after dinner again.
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Skepfeeds-The Best Skeptical Blogs
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Homeopathy for cats
20 Nov 2009 | 12:55 pmAs if this nonsense wasn’t bad enough as is, I ran accross the following question and answer in some obscure website (rel=”no follow”-ed of course!), I’d never heard off: Question 1: I have 2 cats who are great feline companions-unless the weather turns stormy, with lots of lightning and thunder, or they’re about to have their toenails trimmed. Are there any natural ways I can help them calm down? Friend of Felines Response: When “meow” turns to “yeeoowwwww,” we all need help with calming crazed kitties. In addition to keeping them in a safe… -
The Great Skeptical Blindspot
9 Nov 2009 | 10:01 amThe Atheism issue revisited My entry on skepticism and atheism from a while ago, has been getting quite a bit of attention lately with comments being posted on the comments section of the entry itself and on Twitter. The issue of atheism has become quite sticky, I think, in the skeptical circles. My diagnosis is that some skeptics are not applying skepticm consistently when the issue of religion/God is involved. In this entry I will try to rehash the arguments and hopefully be a little more clear as to why I take such a position. My only request to would-be commenters is to criticize my… -
Putting God out of the ethics business
6 Nov 2009 | 9:24 amREAD THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE AT PSYCHOLOGY TODAY By now you may have heard about or seen the “good without God” posters in the subways of New York City and elsewhere. Media outlets from the New York Times to Fox News have characterized them as ads promoting atheism. Yet while the campaign aims to reach out to nonbelievers, it also raises a broader issue–something most people seem to have missed. The obvious meaning of “good without God” is that atheists can be good people. But a closer look reveals a more universal message: people can be good regardless of their… -
Stand up, stand up, against Jesus
6 Nov 2009 | 9:21 amREAD THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE AT THE GUARDIAN Religious teachings promise us much — eternal life, spiritual salvation, moral direction, and a deeper understanding of reality. It all sounds good, but these teachings are also onerous in their demands. If they can’t deliver on what they promise, it would be well to clear that up. Put bluntly, are the teachings of any religion actually true or not? Do they have any rational support? It’s hard to see what questions could be more important. Surely the claims of religion — of all religions — merit scrutiny from every angle, whether… -
Behold the Jesus Venn Diagram
3 Nov 2009 | 1:54 pmClusterflock brings us this cutie: Posted in Skepdude Tagged: Jesus
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Unreasonable Faith
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I Get Email: Ask the Holy Spirit
22 Nov 2009 | 8:23 amThis fundie thinks I sound confused and should see if the Holy Spirit talks back to me: Hey dude you sound confused, it is never too late to change your heart and mind ’bout the LORD cause the “day you see hell it will be to late”…for all your reasoning’s are not good enough. You need to ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth. Give yourself a chance when I ask the Holy Spirit a ???’s he answers me. Someone said in the comments a few days back that they don’t fear people who talk to God — they fear people who think God talks back. I think this… -
Darwin Photographic Competition
22 Nov 2009 | 2:00 amThere are some beautiful and interesting photographs in the Darwin Photographic Competition. Here is the winner: -
SIGN OUR BOOKS! SIGN OUR BOOKS!
21 Nov 2009 | 9:42 amCome on Sarah, give your redneck followers what they want (else you might be sorry, remember they have god & guns): From the video description: Angry crowd shouts at Sarah Palin at her book signing in Noblesville, Indiana on November 19, 2009 after Palin quits and refuses to sign books for around 300 families that spent about 3+ hours getting wristband and another 3+ hours waiting in line to get the Palin book signed. At Borders bookstore it was announced that 1,000 individuals would be given wristbands and could get two books signed each. By the time Sarah Palin quit, there were still… -
Deepak Chopra Owned by Red Shirt Guy
21 Nov 2009 | 7:50 am(via) -
Pray for Obama
20 Nov 2009 | 10:00 amWe heard about Pastor Wiley Drake praying for God to kill Obama. Now it seems others are too. There’s a cafepress gift shop with slogans like “Pray for Obama – Psalm 109:8″ which seems to be Christianese for “Kill the President.” Psalm 109:8 says: May his days be few; may another seize his position. (NRSV) Of course God works in mysterious ways and often needs his followers to do his dirty work. So if this movement gets enough momentum, it’s only a matter of time before some lunatic tries to act on this “biblical advice.” The ironic…
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Skepticblog
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Vote for Skeptoid in the Podcast Awards
19 Nov 2009 | 8:06 amI’m excited to announce that Skeptoid has made it to the final round of the annual Podcast Awards for 2010! The real voting starts now. As you may know, Skeptoid has been my labor of love for over three years. Unlike most other nominated podcasts, I do it almost entirely on my own: I have no co-hosts, producers, company, or sponsors behind me, like most. So I make my pitch that (if you like Skeptoid) it deserves your vote through all my hard work, even if there are other shows also nominated that you also like. You may note that there are several of your favorite skeptical podcasts… -
With a rebel yell, they cried Maher, Maher, Maher
18 Nov 2009 | 3:59 amOh, that Bill Maher. It’s time to change his show’s name to "Antireality Time". Because when he talks vaccines, he wanders into major woowoo territory. I don’t need to debunk his antivax nonsense, since actual doctors who have facts at their fingertips do it so well, like in this tirade from Orac and in Steve Novella’s more measured (but just as devastating) response. But there is one thing I want to mention. My favorite part is when Maher says: I agree with my critics who say there are far more qualified people than me — its [sic] just that mainstream… -
Junior Skeptic Goes Rogue
17 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amWelcome Daniel Loxton to the Pantheon of Skeptical Bloggers Another person north of the border goes rogue this week, and I don’t mean Sarah Palin. I am pleased to announce that Daniel Loxton, the editor and illustrator for Junior Skeptic magazine, the artist and designer for many Skeptic magazine covers, the author of the forthcoming (in February) of the best damn evolution book for kids ever, period, will now be blogging at Skepticblog.com — joining myself, Phil Plait, Steve Novella, and the other skeptics who enlighten us each week with their timely and cogent observations on all things… -
Deepak Chopra Mangles Quantum Mechanics – Again
16 Nov 2009 | 5:06 amDeepak Chopra has made a career out of misunderstanding quantum mechanics (QM) – and through his popularity, confusing the public. Like many others, he has found a superficial way in which to interpret quantum mechanics to make is seem as if it is congruent with Eastern metaphysics. And now he has done it again, in that anti-science rag the Huffington Post. Chopra goes beyond the typical New Age distortion of QM, which is basically the claim that QM is really weird, therefore magic is real. Chopra assumes some very specific, and common, misinterpretations of QM. He writes: Quantum… -
PTN
14 Nov 2009 | 11:09 amWell, we knew it had to happen. It wasn’t a matter of where, only when. Get your flashlights out ghosthunters! We are about to embark on an new era of supernatural fiction the likes of which have never been seen or heard of in any other civilized country. Watch as the glimmer of skepticism that was once a bright new concept in television gets buried under an avalanche of dung masquerading as entertainment. Ahhhhhhhh. Only in America… And will we be treted to a Fox-news style “paranormal news” section hosted by Dan Ackroyd? You think I’m kidding don’t…
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Derren Brown Blog
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Are there asexuals among us?
22 Nov 2009 | 12:15 amJesse Bering over at Scientific American writes. “Gay people are often asked by the curious: When did you first realize you were gay?” In my case, I remember undressing my Superman doll–and being terribly disappointed at the result–as well as being motivated to befriend the more attractive boys in third grade. But hormonally speaking, it wasn’t until I was about fourteen that I first looked in the mirror and thought to myself, ah, that’s what I am all right, it all makes perfect sense now. It wasn’t much of a mystery. After all, lust isn’t exactly a subtle thing. -
The Symphony os Science
21 Nov 2009 | 7:10 pmI just got a good telling off from “Spike”. He wanted to know how we missed this one. Well, we can only apologise. The Symphony of Science is a geeks dream – and being a Carl Sagan fan it at least raises a lasting smirk in my inner nerd. Carl Sagan (on drums), Neil deGrasse Tyson and Stephen Hawkins laying it down in the style of T-Pain. I think my favourite lyric is “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe”. There’s a couple of them, both available for download. If only hip hop / R&B was like this. -
Business man visits every country on earth in record time
21 Nov 2009 | 4:27 pmHe began his epic journey to 194 countries with a visit to Holland in July 2002 and finished his mission in Kosovo in May of this year – six years, ten months and seven days later – with plenty of drama along the way. Mr Samaddar, an Indian national who now lives in Dubai, said of his trip to Afghanistan: ‘The hotel where I stayed in Kabul was blown apart an hour after I left my room. ‘I have travelled through regions with bullets flying thick and fast all around. It’s a miracle I didn’t get killed. ‘In East Timor, I stayed without food for three days… -
2012 both sides of the argument in clear graphic form
21 Nov 2009 | 4:10 pmWe like to report on conspiracy theories in all their glorious forms. Quite often you only get one, well formed side of the argument – whether right or wrong there’s always 2 sides (sometimes more) and usually one side is better funded, more backed up, easier to grasp than the other. But let’s not bury our heads in the sand and see all sides. I love a “fake moon landing” documentary as much as the next, but I can watch it safe in the knowledge it really happened because I used to work in a special effects department and I know fake TV when I see it. Some of them… -
Official disclosure of extraterrestrial life is imminent
21 Nov 2009 | 12:34 pmAn official announcement by the Obama administration disclosing the reality of extraterrestrial life is imminent. For several months, senior administration officials have been quietly deliberating behind closed doors how much to disclose to the world about extraterrestrial life. Dissatisfaction among powerful institutions such as the U.S. Navy over the decades-long secrecy policy has given a boost to efforts to disclose the reality of extraterrestrial life and technology. The impending disclosure announcement follows upon the secret implementation of a year long openness policy on UFOs and…
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Skepchick
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AI: Good Shit
22 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pmOnce upon a time, I watched a Food Network show about people who travel seven hours for a St Louis pizza with extra provel (’cheese’), and other stories of submitting to crazy food cravings. Scoff if I will, but yesterday, I drove some 30 miles to buy some hippie honey from Beekind and some malt (barley malt powder) from Andy’s Market, among other ‘treats’. I know it’s hardly pizza, or heroin, but I am fucking addicted…it’s good shit, man. What’s the “good shit” for you? How far would/do you travel for the good shit? The… -
AI: Craziness for Charity
21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pmFor the last few years, a group of crazy awesome people have been playing several day marathons of Penn & Teller’s Desert Bus to benefit Child’s Play. They’ve essentially created the internet telethon. People can follow along via blog posts, tweets, and a live video feed as they play the most boring and pointless video game ever created. They keep playing (and being, as they say, “your monkey” for large donations with special requests) as long as the money comes in, up to the preset limit of 103 hours. I like that it’s a reversal of the traditional TV… -
Drinking Skepchickally, Atlanta, featuring Boy Skepchick Wonder, Sam!
20 Nov 2009 | 2:02 pmCome one, come all, to see the wondrous MALE SKEPCHICK! Our own Sam Ogden is coming to visit from far-off lands. Ok, actually from Texas, but still… When: December 4, 2009 7:30 PM Where: Thinking Man Tavern 537 W Howard Ave Decatur, GA 30030 (404) 370-1717 Let’s show him a nice Georgia welcome! If you can make it, please RSVP at Meetup! -
AI: Maternity Leave
20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pmIn the UK, maternity leave is 52 weeks. A year off after having a baby, the first 39 weeks of which are paid for by your employer. In addition, the mother is entitled to 13 weeks unpaid leave until the child is five. That is of course incredibly fantastic for the mother and child, and a very good incentive for large companies who want to encourage valued female staff to return to work after, but a minefield for small companies like mine. In theory, if I employed a woman who became pregnant, and she decided to take the full year off, I would be able to afford to pay the maternity leave because… -
Skepchick Quickies 11.20
20 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amNew “reversible” paralysis rays turn victims blue, flaccid – Nope, not making it up, that really is the headline. From Zapski. Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban – “Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that Algeria and Pakistan have taken the lead in lobbying to eventually bring the proposal to a vote in the U.N. General Assembly.” From James Fox. Girls can be scientists, say women scientists – A group of women scientists wrote in to The Guardian in response to an article which said that girls should be ‘realisitic’ about…
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WhyWontGodHealAmputees.com
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A 16-year-old Christian is hesitantly becoming an atheist - asks questions about atheism
19 Nov 2009 | 4:35 pmA great thread in the forum from a 16 year old Christian with questions: Ab Initio The responses to his questions so far are enlightening. The questions are: 1) Due to the assortement of various religions on Earth, is it possible that even one of them may be the “true” religion? 2) In some books, Christian authors point out to the delicate and firm balance of ‘life/molecules, et cetera’ needed on Earth to sustain life which should require intelligent design and a designer but not random chance. Is this true? From what I know, Christians pointed to the structure of the… -
It’s about time - Churches could lose tax-exemption
18 Nov 2009 | 4:59 pmGay Marriage Supporters Threaten to Strip Churches of Tax Exemption More than 75,000 Americans have joined an online movement seeking the revocation of tax-exempt status from churches that were involved in the repeal of Maine’s gay marriage law. This quote makes your skin crawl: Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, however, reject the claim that churches violated IRS policy. “Pastors and churches have a right to speak about biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of punishment,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “They can encourage their… -
A message to atheists from an evangelical
18 Nov 2009 | 4:54 pmWhat If Jesus Meant All That Stuff? This radical Christian’s ministry for the poor, The Simple Way, has gotten him in some trouble with his fellow Evangelicals. We asked him to address those who don’t believe. -
Build strong families by going to church
18 Nov 2009 | 4:31 pmThis video is discussed in the forums. It’s an episode of the Today show. The title is “Six crucial tips to help you be a better parent”. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy The recommendations: 1) Family dinner 5 nights a week 2) Taking your children to church weekly 3) Check child’s homework nightly 4) Demanding the truth from your children and getting it 5) Take your kids on vacation and leave your blackberry at home. 6) Encourage your kid to participate in a team sport Why go to church? “It’s the idea that… -
Witnessing a new species
18 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pmCreationists like to say that there are no new species, but science sees speciation happen on a fairly regular basis. Here is one example: Birth of New Species Witnessed by Scientists On one of the Galapagos islands whose finches shaped the theories of a young Charles Darwin, biologists have witnessed that elusive moment when a single species splits in two.
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William Lobdell
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“Losing My Religion” honored as one of the top 10 religious books of 2009
18 Nov 2009 | 11:12 amFrom Booklist: Lobdell’s trajectory from agnosticism to belief to atheism, prompted by covering religion for the Los Angeles Times, is fascinating, ironic, even astonishing. -
(Another) smoking gun found in Cardinal Mahony’s mishandling of sexually abusive priests
18 Sep 2009 | 6:25 pmMahony ignored church policy and didn’t inform parishioners about allegations of clergy sexual abuse, one of his top lieutenants testified. In an institution that supposedly devotes itself to God and truth, you had to wonder: When would someone within Cardinal Roger M. Mahony’s inner circle break ranks and tell the truth about how His Eminence actually handled claims of clergy sexual abuse? Since the Catholic sex scandal broke in 2002, Mahony, with the help of his PR team, created a persona as a a long-time reformer who was way ahead of the curve when it came to tackling the… -
Listen to a sermon based on “Losing My Religion
10 Sep 2009 | 2:57 pmTim Rowland, senior pastor of River Oaks Community Church in Goshen, Indiana, recently delivered a sermon based, in part, of my “Losing My Religion” memoir. Christianity could use more incredibly honest pastors such as Rowland. You can listen to the sermon here. I start to get some love after minute 7. -
Ah, sorry …
10 Sep 2009 | 12:08 pm… for the lack of posts. Just been incredibly busy with two young businesses, the Newport-Mesa Daily Voice (an online local paper) and Greer’s OC (an online website and free daily e-mail that gives the latest in Orange County fashion, dining and trends). Here’s a video I just made for the Newport-Mesa Daily Voice about being a boat cleaner for a day in Newport Harbor. -
Our strange way of marking the death of someone famous
27 Aug 2009 | 9:05 pmToday, the body of Sen. Edward Kennedy traveled from Hyannis Port to Boston along a route that included some of the late politicians favorite places. Spectators cheered respectfully as the hearse went by. Television and radio reporters talked reverently about Kennedy taking his final trip through Massachusetts. Hello? With all due respect, he wasn’t taking the journey. It was his dead body. I kept thinking, wouldn’t it have been better if the LIVE Ted Kennedy covered that same route a few weeks ago, taking in the love of his state’s residents while he was still alive and…
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Tony Youens Skeptical Website
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Negative Feedback
The most useless items on eBay? -
Chris Robinson - living the dream
The dream world of a psychic -
Religious persecution
It's them doing the persecuting -
Calling all psychic detectives
Can any of them find Madeleine McCann? -
Joe Power II
"Inaccurate" doesn't do him justice
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Denialism Blog
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This day in Crankery, November 16th
16 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amSo who here has actually read the health care bill?. I've been devoting a bit of time each week to peruse more and more of it, and while there are endless obstacles to a complete understanding of it (including legalese and the annoying tendency of legislation to contain edits to other bills without including the text of the other bills being edited) it is telling that opponents of the bill are having some difficulty coming up with real criticisms of it. For example, the now infamous death panel fiasco was a willful misunderstanding of a completely wholesome concept, the idea that physicians… -
Get the H1N1 Vaccine Where the Poors Are!
14 Nov 2009 | 8:23 pmThe Viking and I ventured out early this morning to get the H1N1 vaccine and found long lines in the tony neighborhoods. SF Gate reports that the Marin public vaccination clinic was swamped. (The irony!--Marin is a hotbed of the anti-vaccination movement.) So where can you get the vaccine quickly? Downtown! We were in and out in less than an hour! There's almost no one there. Read the comments on this post... -
I Increasingly Am Horrified by My Sex and Apologize Collectively for All Men to All Women
13 Nov 2009 | 10:03 amExhibit 1001, on our great college and university campuses, this wretch can complain of coyote ugly. The nerve. Nice hat, BTW. Do you have a matching jersey? Ladies, imagine waking up with this puffy misogynist! Via Gawker. Exhibit 1002, Southern Football's Dating Game in Today's WSJ. Read the comments on this post... -
One More for the Ayn Rand Deprogrammer
13 Nov 2009 | 8:24 amThe Bitch is Back, by Andrew Corsello: "2009's most influential author is a mirthless Russian-American who loves money, hates God, and swings a gigantic dick. She died in 1982, but her spawn soldier on. And the Great Recession is all their fault..." Read the comments on this post... -
Who Peruses Playgirl?
8 Nov 2009 | 1:54 pmAll this excitement about Levi Johnston in Playgirl Magazine is pretty interesting. We have the forthcoming tell-all book about Sarah Palin and fam, and the author posing naked. And who reads Playgirl anyway? It occurred to me this morning that we could get some idea from looking at the magazine's datacard, which at least would tell us something about subscribers. So, not that many subscribers. Not much of a surprise. And over 30% male...not much of a surprise. And only 230 from Canada! Could you imagine having a dinner party for the Canadian subscribers to Playgirl magazine? That might be an…
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Skepticon
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Rats, Bad Decisions and Jelloshots
12 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pmIt is an accepted fact of life that alcohol and good decision making have only loose a acquaintance with one another. Like ships passing in the night, they may meet or they may not. This is true for the momentarily intoxicated but does that propensity for poor choices follow us even after the libations cease? Adolescents who drink alcohol from an early age appear to suffer from impaired decision making skills later in life but the connection is not clear cut as to whether the alcohol lead to that ill advised life choice or if the bad decisions lead to the alcohol. In an effort to tease out… -
TXT Language Redeemed
5 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pmWorking in a laboratory, as I do, abbreviations and acronyms are a way of life. Seriously, if we had to enunciate all of those chemical names, procedures and tests work would grind to a halt. Even so I find myself despising TXT speak, reducing otherwise comprehensible words to single letters, whole sentences becoming a jumble of alphanumeric sequences drives me crazy. And what’s up with “BayB” it’s the same letters in a different order, what do you gain by that?! (Deep Breath) Even so, perhaps I’m overly harsh on users of this emerging dialect, perhaps we should… -
Twitter, The End Of The World as I Know It
2 Nov 2009 | 11:24 amAlright, up until this point I have viewed the phenomenon known as Twitter to be the vacuous outgrowth of a shallow internet culture and considered it beneath contempt accordingly. That said we should always allow ourselves the opportunity to change our minds with evidence, with this in mind I have been persuaded to give Twitter a try. After only a few hours and having made only a single twat* I still like it better than Facebook. Hopefully this new tool will help me bring to you, my reader, interesting info in a timely manner. Currently the average time between something coming up on my… -
Backing Up Evolution
2 Nov 2009 | 12:14 amI’ve said it before and no doubt I’ll say it again but we know science works because it makes predictions that we can then measure against the universe and determine if the models we have created to describe it are accurate or not. One of the more successful models is the theory of evolution by natural selection. A criticism levelled against the theory of evolution by detractors is the claim that new information can not be introduced into the system, only taken away. This is actually false but lets consider how we might tackle this question scientifically First, the underlying… -
Beware the Demons!!!!!*
1 Nov 2009 | 11:41 amCatching up on blogs from over the weekend this one on the Center For Inquiry blog particularly stood out in the category of conspicuous displays of crazy. Beware of demons in your Halloween treats. I try not to do posts that are just “Look at this other Blog” but this one was too good. *And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head.’ — Terry Pratchett,Maskerade Posted in Psychological, Religion, Sciblogs, skepticism Tagged: center for inquiry, demons, halloween, Other
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Skepticat
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CNN: Actor Blasts Evolution
20 Nov 2009 | 1:26 pmCNN: Actor blasts evolution -- 3 min 42 secFormer teen idol Kirk Cameron is on a crusade to debunk evolution. CNN's Carol Costello reports.From: Thunderf00tCreationist Cowards Diss Darwin -- 12 min 53 secSo Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron of The way of the Master have again chosen to let their actions speak to the worth of character that their religion instills. In their latest publicity stunt they have decided to take a book written 150 years ago by Charles Darwin and put in the front a 50 page introduction, a significant portion of which is devoted to bad mouthing the dead.Yup thats right,… -
Uppity Women of Medieval English History
19 Nov 2009 | 10:35 amJust a note that I consider Medieval English History to have ended with the death of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Also, while Joan of Arc was indeed "uppity" and had a profound impact on English History, her influence was not for the betterment of England and it is sometimes nice to remember that there were other women who impacted that part of English History whose stories are less well known. #5. Queen Catherine of Valois -- Although, being the: Daughter of King Charles le Fol or le Fou (the mad) of France, the Queen Consort of King Henry V of England and the… -
Ivanhoe
19 Nov 2009 | 7:34 amIvanhoe (1997) -- 4 hrs 45 minuteshttp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C286789EDB3C93D2A sweeping, six-part BBC adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's rich 1819 adventure novel chronicling the exploits of Saxon knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe following the Norman conquest. Young Ivanhoe's code of chivalry and his rivalry with the corrupt Templar Bois-Guilbert, combined with his conflicted romantic feelings for his intended Rowena and his true love Rebecca, bring him into contact with many of Great Britain's most storied characters, including Richard the Lionhearted, Robin Hood, and the Black Knight. -
About Using the rel="nofollow" Tag for Links to Crazy People's Websites
17 Nov 2009 | 9:37 pmWhat reminded me of this was a thread on another forum discussing a pretty dangerous brand of pseudoscience and the way that the discussion was framed it really wasn't possible to take a position without posting links to some sites which promote some pretty dangerous stuff. And, at this point, there are easily over 100 links to crazy sites that spout a bunch of nonsense that isn't true.I think that most people are aware that the position of a given webpage in the hierarchy of a Google search is determined by how many other pages link to that site. Needless to say a given page's PageRank from… -
The Eyes of Nye - Race
16 Nov 2009 | 2:24 pmThe Eyes of Nye - Race -- 25 min 43 sechttp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D00C5A0A7DFA4DDEIn this episode of Bill Nye's "The Eyes of Nye", Bill talks about how the notion of race in our species, Homo sapiens sapiens, is completely wrong and outdated. He and his colleagues in the scientific community show us how we are all of the same race, and that the notion of different races/sub-species in humans today is 100% scientifically incorrect.
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Skeptic Zoners
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Darwin’s Bulldogs At Dragon*Con
30 Oct 2009 | 9:51 amThe episode out today on the Skeptic Zone podcast features a panel discussion from the Science Track at Dragon*Con – called “Darwin’s Bulldogs, Teachers on the Front Lines”. This panel was proposed by the moderator Matt Lowry, who is a high school physics teacher and a part-time Physics and Astronomy college professor. Joining him was myself, C. Kevin Barrett (a writer and biological anthropologist), Martin Bridgstock of Griffith University and author of the forthcoming book ‘Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal‘, Barbara Drescher, a cognitive… -
Skeptic Zone Live! 2GB Radio, Tune In For The Saturday Show!
23 Oct 2009 | 3:02 amYes, there’s a new video on the Skeptic Zone page – and you can hear presenters Richard Saunders and Dr Rachie on Sydney Radio! Here’s the details, which you can catch world-wide: www.2GB.com – Sydney Talkback Radio! 8pm – 9pm on Saturday nights Sydney time – here’s the live web-cam for the studio they’ll be recording in. Expect to see Richard be particularly flamboyant (has he packed his feather boa?) and Rachie laughing her laugh for the sake of science and reason. Here’s the equivalent times, world-wide for Saturday 8pm - Melbourne… -
Facebook Page Fun And Help Us Help You in this Halloween Season!
11 Oct 2009 | 10:03 amOur Facebook Page! Hello to all our listeners and thanks so much for being a part of making the show fun and informative! By the way – seen all the vodcast films we’ve got on the Facebook page? Go check out Dr Rachie standing on George Hrab and Richard Saunders helping out with the ‘Twitter Song’ at Dragon*Con! Recently we’ve done two great episodes, #50 and #51 – with insights and information on a number of pro-skeptic activist groups. They’ve included skeptic-parents, skeptics in the pub (both new and established, world-wide), teachers, blog-groups… -
Skeptic Zone’s Token Skeptic Blog /Pod /Con Round-Up!
2 Oct 2009 | 7:07 amFirstly, Skeptic North is the first blog to have a truly pan-Canadian scope. They have a great team of Canadian skeptic authors from across the country and from a wide-range of backgrounds, both academic and professional. Their site is skepticnorth.com and you should check out the blog interview with Junior Skeptic’s Daniel Loxton, by Skeptically Speaking host Desiree Schell. The Skeptic Zone is a big supporter of the Parsec award winning 365 Days of Astronomy. Reports include May 14th with Tiffany Day, Kylie Sturgess on July 1st and now Richard Saunders has contributed an episode for… -
Live Skeptic Zone Audience [Flickr]
27 Sep 2009 | 12:51 pmskepticzone posted a photo: Spot anyone you know?
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Small Town Skepticism
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Simply repeating lies does not make them truths
12 Nov 2009 | 7:56 amOver the past many weeks, I've encountered a great number of people who are misinformed about vaccinations/immunizations and the concern of the novel Influenza A H1N1. Previous posts have addressed the science and statistics behind this but I am constantly bombarded with "it was rushed through" or countless "personal stories" (anecdotes).I must first say that anecdotes would be more useful if they weren't regularly complete lies. I had a follower of my blog (who wishes to remain anonymous) send me an email about statements posted on Facebook relating to Gary Null and a response that he (the… -
If only facts spoke for themselves...
29 Oct 2009 | 8:09 amBefore I get into my posting, let me apologize to religious people - but not all religious people, the ones that practice it privately and don't let it affect their logical thinking when it comes to other aspects of life. Having said that, people making decisions based on non-existent sky deities are silly, don't get me wrong. The decision to support an organization that preaches the existence of a sky fairy is mind-boggling. Apparently that doesn't piss me off as much as people speaking (preaching) with authority on things which they are ill-informed. I don't have a problem with a person… -
Paul Morden Gets It Right: There is no God
28 Oct 2009 | 7:32 amPaul Morden is a reporter at our local paper, The Sarnia Observer. He recently posted a column about being too lazy to get the H1N1 vaccine. As much as I can understand the lack of desire for people to wait in line to get the flu shot, unlike the virus itself, the wait won't potentially kill you.In Paul's column, he speaks about being able to get anywhere in our city in about 10 minutes. We don't have much traffic (though right now, we have lots of construction) and our pedestrian traffic hardly slows turns at intersections. He says "We treat having to wait for a pedestrian to clear an… -
Really Paul? That's the craziest part of the religion?
27 Oct 2009 | 6:32 amAs, I'm sure, many of you have already heard, Paul Haggis has left the Church of Scientology after 35 years. Paul Haggis was born in London, Ontario - about an hour from where I call home and is known for writing and directing films such as "Crash" and writing "Million Dollar Baby". Having another member of the cult (Scientology is definitely a cult) leave is a good thing - having some of the darkest and deepest crazy ideas exposed is even better. Unfortunately, however, Paul sees "homophobia" as the craziest part. Admittedly, being against Prop8 or against equal rights for all humans is… -
Bonnie Kearns' Letter to the Editor
26 Oct 2009 | 10:11 amAs a primer, check out BBC News (UK) and their article on "Anglicans ponder Rome invitation".Bonnie Kearns (the person who submitted the following letter to the editor of our local newspaper) points out the oddity of the Church being led by men (As Bill Maher says in Religulous (and I paraphrase) "and by men, I mean people with penises") - oh, and the obvious part about religion being oppressive.A STEP FORWARD FOR MANKIND?Sir: I've been following the news about the reconciliation between the Anglican and Catholic churches. Hallelujah, hallelujah, for now after many years they are coming…
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The Skeptic's Field Guide
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Steven Novella on moon hoax conspiracy theorists
17 Nov 2009 | 4:44 amSteven Novella of SGU fame has a good post on the simple minded certitude of moon hoax conspiracy nuts and the predictability of their goalpost moving in light of the recent NASA images. -
Not all Truth comes from science
15 Nov 2009 | 3:49 pmOften it's found in humor -
Gillard's argument is made of straw
12 Nov 2009 | 6:45 pmAbout using high stakes tests, such as NAPLAN, Education Minister Julia Gillard says "To those who say we aren't measuring the whole of a child's character development, I say I agree. But I don't believe our aim is to have schools full of happy, illiterate, innumerate children." So who exactly is saying this is their aim Julia? Yup, no-one holds this position, but it's an easy straw man to knock down. She goes on to say: "Our aim is to have happy, confident children who are getting the skills they need for work and life, like reading, writing and maths." And I'd say it's safe to say everyone… -
Posting to Blogger using Google Wave via Posterous...
1 Nov 2009 | 2:24 amPosting to Blogger using Google Wave via Posterous... I have been lucky enough to get a google wave invite and wanted to test it out as a blogging tool. Unfortunately the Blogger robot "bloggy" isn't working, so I thought I'd try this work around. Anyone with a wave account who wants to wave me, I'm theojclark@googlewave.com via google-wave-robot Posted via web from theojclark's posterous -
Humbug now google "searchable"
18 Oct 2009 | 4:15 pm
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Bad Astronomy
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Enceladus update | Bad Astronomy
22 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pmJust a quick note: Emily, at The Planetary Society Blog, just posted a way cool mosaic made up of four pictures from Cassini showing the Enceladus icescape. I love the perspective on it, and how you can tell you’re looking down on the tiny moon from an oblique angle. It’s quite lovely. Go look! And in case you missed it, here are links to 3D red/green anaglyphs of Enceladus too. Awesome. -
IPMU in Tokyo Needs Support | Cosmic Variance
22 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pmJapan has had a long and distinguished tradition in modern physics. Just to pick one example, the amazing efforts of Shin’ichirō Tomonaga to understand quantum electrodynamics, anticipating the work of Schwinger and Feynman while remaining essentially isolated from the rest of the world during World War II. More recently, Japan has continued to do forefront experimental work, including the SuperKamiokande neutrino detector and the Belle particle physics experiment at KEK. Nevertheless, in my own areas of physics — theoretical particle physics and cosmology — Japan… -
Midwest megameteor makes media madness | Bad Astronomy
22 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am[For those complaining about my title, I said "midwest" because the meteor was seen as far east as Colorado, which sits on the west/midwest border, and, duh, I needed a word that started with "M".] By now you’ve probably heard of the extremely bright fireball over Utah last Wednesday, proving once again that really cool stuff happens when I’m on travel and can’t write about it. Worse, it was seen from Denver, which means I might’ve had a shot at seeing it myself. Sigh. Anyway, this meteor was so bright it overexposed security cameras, turned night into day, and cast… -
New Moon Kiss | The Intersection
21 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pmThe Sunday Snog -
Let The Senate Health Care Debate Begin | The Intersection
21 Nov 2009 | 6:02 pmAfter passing in the House 220-215, the Senate has opened debate on their version of the health care bill with a 60-39 preliminary vote. Now onto the main event…
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The Skeptics Guide - The Rogues Gallery
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Curious Quantum Questions
20 Nov 2009 | 6:14 amWe recently received the following email question: I have been studying quantum physics for a bit now and was hoping that Bob could give his explanation of The Uncertainty Principle and Wave/Particle duality. My first question is… Is the drawing of a wave (on paper) just a 2D representation of a more abstract idea of what a wave really is? or can we literaly imagine a particle flying through space oscillating up and down along it’s amplitude.(quantum oscillation?) My second question is how this relates to Photon slit experiments… Does the photon display the properties of a… -
People’s Choice Awards For Podcasting
16 Nov 2009 | 7:27 amThe Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe has been nominated by our listeners as the people’s choice for best podacst in education. From the website PodCastAwards.com This is the Fifth annual event that will recognize the best podcasters in the world by allowing the people (Listeners and Podcasters) to nominate, and then vote for their favorite podcast. Thanks to any and all that nominated us to get our name on the final list. As best as I can remember, this was an unsolicited effort on our part. I can not recall us mentioning this on the show, so this is truly an unexpected honor. If you would… -
Sleepy-Time Post
13 Nov 2009 | 6:22 amDon’t you love sleeping and dreaming? I’ve loved it since I was a kid. Not just the act itself though but the whole ritual; the moment you say to yourself “Yup, today is essentially over and I’m going to bed”, the ablutions, slipping under the covers (I like lots of covers), the reading or watching tv, finally giving in and turning onto my stomach and putting my arms under the pillow (yes, I know this is poor sleep posture). The drifting-off period can be fun too. Sometimes I hear noises that I know are just audio hallucinations. These are a form of hypnagogia, a… -
Rotten Eggs, Flatulence, and Suspended Animation
6 Nov 2009 | 7:36 amWe recently received the following email about suspended animation: A Big hello to SGU from Darwin Australia, I am writing in to seek your opinion on something I came across on a paranormal and believers pod cast…As painful as it is to listen to them, in the interest of being a good skeptic I find it compulsory to get both sides of the story. They mentioned a possible development in mans quest to cheat death itself. They reported that there could be a way to shut down your body and organs and reanimate them without any ill effects. Of all things, by using poison gas. A biologist named… -
Fantasies Are Good For Your Math Skills
2 Nov 2009 | 11:06 amWho says skeptics should not indulge themselves in fantasies? Stoic, rational, logical, critical, evidence-based, scientific are just a few of the adjectives that help define us. But in the context of skepticism, you seldom hear a skeptic embracing fantasy as a practical tool on our skeptical utility-belts. It’s time to make room for a new tool: fantasy sports. Yes, fantasy sports is being utilized in classrooms, and is apparently playing a big role in helping students achieve higher math scores. According to a University of Mississippi research report presented back in September, math…
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The NESS Blog
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Curious Quantum Questions|Bob Novella|Rogues Gallery
20 Nov 2009 | 6:14 amWe recently received the following email question: I have been studying quantum physics for a bit now and was hoping that Bob could give his explanation of The Uncertainty Principle and Wave/Particle duality. My first question is… Is the drawing of a wave (on paper) just a 2D representation of a more abstract idea of what a wave really is? or can we literaly imagine a particle flying through space oscillating up and down along it’s amplitude.(quantum oscillation?) My second question is how this relates to Photon slit experiments… Does the photon display the properties of a… -
“Move along. Nothing to see Here”- F. Drebin|Mark Crislip|Science-Based Medicine
20 Nov 2009 | 1:58 amI am, I think, the slowest writer in the SBM stable. I start each entry about 10 days before it is due, and work diligently on it through the week. As such, I run the risk that events may make my work pointless. Case in point. I have been slogging away at this entry for the last week and had the final draft up and ready to go, only to find this morning that the Health Care Reform bill no longer carries the language that was the crux of this entire post. So what is a poor, slow, SBM writer to do? Chuck the whole thing? Repost my 12 reasons you are a dumb ass not to get the flu vaccine yet… -
Update from Hobbiton|Steven Novella|Neurologica
19 Nov 2009 | 8:06 amI have been following the story of Homo floresiensis, dubbed the Hobbit by the media because of its short stature. In 2003 scientists discovered a fairly complete skeleton (skull, jaw, pelvis, arms, legs, hands and feet) on the island of Flores in Indonesia. The skeleton is 18,000 years old and is probably an adult female about 3 feet 6 inches in height and with a brain capacity of 417 cc. There are other specimens of H. floresiensis, but none with cranial parts. The type specimen described above, designated LB1, is the only good specimen. There has been a controversy surrounding how to… -
What’s in the water at waterbirth?|Amy Tuteur, MD|Science-Based Medicine
19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amWaterbirth has been touted as an alternative form of pain relief in childbirth. Indeed, it is often recommended as the method of choice for pain relief in “natural” childbirth. It’s hardly natural, though. In fact, it is completely unnatural. No primates give birth in water, because primates initiate breathing almost immediately after birth and the entire notion of waterbirth was made up only 200 years ago. Not surprisingly, waterbirth appears to increase the risk of neonatal death. Perinatal mortality and morbidity among babies delivered in water: surveillance study and… -
The USPSTF recommendations for breast cancer screening: Not the final word|David Gorski|Science-Based Medicine
18 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pmPreface: On issues such as this, I think it’s always good for me to emphasize my disclaimer, in particular: Dr. Gorski must emphasize that the opinions expressed in his posts on Science-Based Medicine are his and his alone and that all writing for this blog is done on his own time and not in any capacity representing his place of employment. His views do not represent the opinions of his department, university, hospital, or cancer institute and should never be construed as such. Finally, his writings are meant as commentary only and are therefore not meant to be used as specific health…
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Pro-science
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Will the US finally get universal health care?
8 Nov 2009 | 2:21 amI have never hidden my stance on universal health care. I am completely in favor it. What's more, I consider it an atrocity that any western country can have millions of citizens who haven't got basic health care coverage.It looks like the US has finally realized this as well. Obama made it one of his key issues during the election (as did the other Democratic candidates), and has been working hard to get it through since he stepped into office. What's more, every poll shows that the majority of the US population backs his efforts.Now, it looks more likely that this effort will become… -
One more strike against a JFK conspiracy
8 Nov 2009 | 1:33 amEver since John F. Kennedy was murdered there have been accusations of a conspiracy with Lee Oswald as the fall guy. At first it was just a small fringe group, but since then, these views have gained more foothold in the mainstream. A major reason for this was Oliver Stone's atrocious 1991 movie JFK, which contained numerous factual errors.One of the earliest claims of evidence for a conspiracy, is the supposed fakeness of the photo of Lee Harvey Oswald standing in a backyard with the riffle used to kill President John F. Kennedy.Now, throughout computer analysis of the photo, shows that it's… -
Helping people helping others
4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 amEver so often someone sends me something they thought I might want to share with my readers. Most of the time, it's some kind of money making scheme or something, but on rare occasions, it's actually something worthwhile.Today was one of these occasions.I was made aware of this collaboration between the Fresh Air Fund and OneSightOne out of four school children in the U.S. has vision problems, and 86% do not get their vision checked before age 12.Many Fresh Air children do not have access to affordable vision care. Glasses break, are too expensive to replace, or are never prescribed in the… -
Want to avoid errors? Sleep more
1 Nov 2009 | 1:20 amI thought this was pretty well established science, but apparently it's not. A new study has found that sleep deprivation can negatively affect information processing.A study in the Nov.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that sleep deprivation causes some people to shift from a more automatic, implicit process of information categorization (information-integration) to a more controlled, explicit process (rule-based). This use of rule-based strategies in a task in which information-integration strategies are optimal can lead to potentially devastating errors when quick and accurate… -
The stupidity ... it burns! D'Souza edition
31 Oct 2009 | 6:59 amI haven't been posting in a while, so I thought that I would look a little around on the internet, and see if I could find something to write about. I came across a few things, but nothing that really made me think "that'll work". Until I came to an article titled What Really Riles Muslim Extremists? by Dinesh D'Souza. Jackpot.Let the fisking begin.More insurgent bombings in Iraq. More Taliban strikes in Afghanistan. What's up with these people? Just Wednesday, a deadly car bomb exploded in Peshawar, Pakistan, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Islamabad. Is Islam the…
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The Skepbitch
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(Paranormal) Superstar
17 Nov 2009 | 6:25 pmSo you wanna be a rock paranormal superstar and live large? A big house, five cars, you’re in charge… In the last week, anybody who is somebody, and even everybody who’s nobody was approached by the producer of Seekers 2012, a new History Channel Documentary Series. I’m no psychic, but somehow I predict this “END OF DAYS documentary” will be more doomsday drama with precious little “history”… Just in case there’s anyone who hasn’t had their fucking fifteen minutes of fame on a reality TV show, Stephanie Fiasco Frasco harassed… -
Jesus Fucking Christ, it’s Blasphemy Day!
1 Oct 2009 | 12:30 amToday is Blasphemy Day! (Alright…it’s blasphemy day every day in my household. ) International Blasphemy Day is a loose day of observance, and an informal campaign to promote free speech. The delightful Penn Jillette covers the history of Blasphemy Day in the Penn Says episode Happy Blasphemy Day and offers an example of blasphemy. The date, September 30, was chosen to commemorate the incident whereby a set of Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad stirred a violent outcry throughout Islamic communities on an international level. Okay, so that was more of a semiotic… -
Paranormal Punk’d
21 Aug 2009 | 7:10 pmIn my two previous posts Ghost Hunting Can Be A Real Pain in the Ass, and No Sex Please, We’re Ghost Hunters!, I lampooned the article “Sex after ghost hunting – exorcisms of a womb or anal ghosts: And when is the right time to have sex afterwards?” by one Maryanna Chatelaine Moresby, as published at Haunted America Tours. In response to these posts, a reader named Timothy commented: Here’s a thing. I’ve just finished searching all over the net for ‘maryanna chatelaine moresby’ and all I can find are references and postings that mostly trace… -
No Sex Please, We’re Ghost Hunters!
3 Aug 2009 | 12:39 amWhile your sex life during Ghost Hunting may continue normally, sex after the a real Ghost Encounter is probably going to be the last thing on your mind. Many women who hunt for ghost and paranormal beings often suffer from this and many other paranormal woes. This post continues the ‘wisdom’ of ghost hunter Maryanna Chatelaine Moresby… Is that an EMF reader in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? Many Ghost Hunters will tell you that sex is the last thing on their minds after hunting for ghost. Though their partners never seem to see eye to eye on this matter. -
Ghost hunting can be a real pain in the ass…
3 Jul 2009 | 12:56 amHave you ever wondered when you should resume sex safely after ghost hunting? How can you exorcise a ghost that has possessed your womb? Or how can you remove a ghost from your rectum? (After you’ve finished with it, presumably.) Look no further! Maryanna Chatelaine Moresby has treated these common problems in her article Sex after ghost hunting – exorcisms of a womb or anal ghosts: And when is the right time to have sex afterwards? For today, let’s focus on “Anomalous Anal Ghost Phenomena”. According to Moresby, when a person dies, their physical body ceases to…
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Skeptic
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Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs
6 Dec 2009 | 1:00 pmEvolution, Extinction, and the Future of Our Planet Donald R. Prothero’s science books combine straightforward research with first-person narratives of discovery, injecting warmth and familiarity into a profession that desperately needs a more appealing approach to nonspecialists. Bringing his trademark style to an increasingly relevant subject of concern, Prothero links the climate changes that have occurred over the past 200 million years to their effects on plants and animals, especially contrasting the extinctions that ended the Cretaceous period, which wiped out the dinosaurs, with… -
Bright-Sided
15 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pmHow the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal 19th-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to “prosper” you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments… -
The Tangled Bank An Introduction to Evolution
1 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pmZimmer, an award-winning science writer (New York Times, Discover), takes readers on a fascinating journey into the latest discoveries about evolution. In the Canadian Arctic, paleontologists unearth fossils documenting the move of our ancestors from sea to land. In the outback of Australia, a zoologist tracks some of the world’s deadliest snakes to decipher the 100-million-year evolution of venom molecules. In Africa, geneticists are gathering DNA to probe the origin of our species. In clear, non-technical language, Zimmer explains the central concepts essential for understanding new… -
Whole Earth Discipline An Ecopragmatist Manifesto
26 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pmNOTE SPECIAL DAY/TIME FOR THIS LECTURE: Monday, October 26 at 7:00pm According to Stewart Brand, a lifelong environmentalist (and creator of the Whole Earth Catalog) who sees everything in terms of solvable design problems, three profound transformations are under way on Earth right now. Climate change is real and is pushing us toward managing the planet as a whole. Urbanization — half the world’s population now lives in cities, and 80% will by midcentury — is altering humanity’s land impact and wealth. And biotechnology is becoming the world’s dominant engineering tool. In light of… -
09-10-26
26 Oct 2009 | 2:30 pmIn this eSkeptic: obituary: Farewell to Norman Jay Levitt (1943–2009) feature article: Science: A Four Hundred Page Hissy-Fit Farewell to Norman Jay Levitt (1943–2009) It is with much sadness that we report the death of Norman Jay Levitt on Saturday, October 23, 2009, due to heart failure. His wife of 38 years, Renee Greene Levitt, reported the news to friends and colleagues of Norman, and announced that a memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 1 at 1:30 PM at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, 630 Amsterdam Avenue at 91 St. She also asked that in leu of flower memorial…
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Genomicron
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Microbial Art — now with user generated content!
19 Nov 2009 | 5:56 amIf you have been enjoying Microbial Art, I suggest that you sign up for the feed because it is now set up to showcase artwork contributed by users. Microbial Art — now with user generated content! is a post from Genomicron. -
NCSE to EZ: Do not want.
18 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pmAfter linking to the NCSE’s mocking “Don’t Diss Darwin” site, I sent them an email asking if they might add a link to Evolver Zone (which has long had a prominent link to NCSE on the main site). Apparently they “link only to permanent institutional websites” to prevent broken links to fly-by-night pages. Nevertheless, they link to Ray Comfort’s site, Funny or Die, Youtube, and various others that are not permanent institutions as far as I can see. Given that EZ is a free educational resource created by an evolutionary biologist who also happens to be… -
Don’t diss Darwin.
18 Nov 2009 | 5:38 amThe good news, there will be free copies of On the Origin of Species handed out at various universities, including mine. The bad news, it comes with a tragically silly introduction by creationist banana-man* Ray Comfort. Thankfully, the NCSE is on the case. They have a site devoted to this issue, Don’t Diss Darwin. Click here to get your safety bookmark or counter-misinformation pamphlets. Bonus: The Kirk Cameron Action Kit The Kirk Cameron Action Kit – watch more funny videos * Here’s why the whole “Ray Comfort is bananas” thing is being emphasized. -
Drawing Flies.
16 Nov 2009 | 9:17 amJay Hosler is an Associate Professor of Biology at Juniata College and a very skilled cartoonist who writes comic-style books that are meant to entertain as well as educate. One of them, Optical Allusions, focuses (no pun) on eye evolution. I asked eye evolution researcher Todd Oakley to review it for the special issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach on eyes that I edited last year (read here), and I also reviewed it for Reports of the NCSE (coming soon). We both recommend it enthusiastically. Now, Jay has a blog called Drawing Flies. Check it out. Drawing Flies. is a post from… -
Where am I? – The answer.
13 Nov 2009 | 8:37 amThanks to everyone who participated in the Where Am I? game. That was fun. And now, the answer… Where? (i.e., here and here) Why? Where am I? – The answer. is a post from Genomicron.
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Evolver Zone
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Darwin’s Brave New World (CBC)
18 Nov 2009 | 7:12 pmA three-part series on the life and work of Charles Darwin on the CBC program The Nature of Things. -
The Evolution of Charles Darwin (CBC Radio)
18 Nov 2009 | 7:03 pmCBC Radio's program Ideas pays tribute to Charles Darwin in this four-part series. -
*Special issue of Journal of Effective Teaching — Evolution education
5 Oct 2009 | 5:37 pmA special issue of the Journal of Effective Teaching on evolution education. -
Evolutionary Genealogy
3 Oct 2009 | 6:53 amA website that seeks to promote the teaching and acceptance of the biological theory of evolution by emphasizing one of its great lessons: that life on Earth is one big extended family. -
*Special issue of Science — Ardipithecus ramidus
1 Oct 2009 | 8:08 pmA special issue devoted to the early hominid species Ardipithecus ramidus.
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NeuroLogica Blog
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Update from Hobbiton
19 Nov 2009 | 8:06 amI have been following the story of Homo floresiensis, dubbed the Hobbit by the media because of its short stature. In 2003 scientists discovered a fairly complete skeleton (skull, jaw, pelvis, arms, legs, hands and feet) on the island of Flores in Indonesia. The skeleton is 18,000 years old and is probably an adult female about 3 feet 6 inches in height and with a brain capacity of 417 cc. There are other specimens of H. floresiensis, but none with cranial parts. The type specimen described above, designated LB1, is the only good specimen. There has been a controversy surrounding how to… -
Evidence in Medicine: Correlation and Causation
18 Nov 2009 | 5:48 amThe following was cross-posted at ScienceBasedMedicine. There are two general approaches to subverting science-based medicine (SBM): anti-science and pseudoscience. Anti-scientific approaches are any that seek to undermine science as the determinant of the standard of care, often overtly advocating for spiritual or subjectively-based standards. Some attack the validity of science itself, usually with post-modernist philosophy. Pseudoscientific proponents, on the other hand, praise science, they just do it wrong. In reality there is a continuum along a spectrum from complete pseudoscience to… -
Some Muddled Thinking from Bill Maher
17 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amBill Maher has been getting a lot of heat lately and seems to be getting a bit defensive. He was particularly stung by Michael Shermer’s open letter in which Dr. Shermer thought it necessary to give Maher a basic lesson in germ theory. Unfortunately, Maher has responded not by thoughtfully engaging his critics, but with a rambling defensive diatribe in which he simultaneously protests the criticism pointed his way while repeating and amplifying the pseudoscientific nonsense that garnered criticism in the first place. Maher presents what we call a target rich environment for skepticism,… -
Chopra Mangles Quantum Mechanics – Again
16 Nov 2009 | 5:04 amDeepak Chopra has made a career out of misunderstanding quantum mechanics (QM) – and through his popularity, confusing the public. Like many others, he has found a superficial way in which to interpret quantum mechanics to make is seem as if it is congruent with Eastern metaphysics. And now he has done it again, in that anti-science rag the Huffington Post. Chopra goes beyond the typical New Age distortion of QM, which is basically the claim that QM is really weird, therefore magic is real. Chopra assumes some very specific, and common, misinterpretations of QM. He writes: Quantum… -
Tracking Down Consciousness
13 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amThe holy grail of modern neuroscience, and perhaps one of the toughest scientific problems we face, is understanding at a fundamental level the nature of consciousness. What is it about our brain function that makes us aware of our own existence? It is not simply an emergent property of having enough neurons wired together. A popular notion in science fiction is that artificial intelligence may unexpectedly emerge out of a sufficiently powerful computer – such as Vger or SkyNet. But this scenario is highly unlikely. Consciousness appears to be a specific function of thinking systems,…
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Epsilon Clue
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I Get Spam
17 Nov 2009 | 3:15 pmI just saw this go by in the spam report. Why hello associate forum people! I straight wanted to interpose myself here as this looks like a sheer attractive forum! I myself am provocative in things like writeing and computer revamping so if anyoune needs steal forgive me identify! I also Suffer from Sciatica so if you aslo have this infection allow in me have knowledge of so we can share some stretches! I love the way that although it’s all over the map, as though written by a random sentence generator, it nonetheless manages to teeter on the edge of intelligibility. Or maybe I’m… -
Google Criticized Over Name of Its New Language
12 Nov 2009 | 10:09 amSlashdot has a story entitled Google Under Fire For Calling Their Language “Go”. I can certainly understand that: Go has got to be the least-googlable language name since C. -
No Pr0n Policy at UMD
12 Nov 2009 | 5:33 amA while back, I mentioned that a student group at the University of Maryland was going to show a porn flick. A state legislator got bent out of shape at the thought that 18-20-year-olds might be thinking about sex, and threatened to cut off state funding to the university. Eventually, the university was told to come up with a policy regulating which movies can be shown on campus. According to the Post, Regents of Maryland’s state university system voted Wednesday to defy a legislative order to regulate pornography on campus, concluding that any such rules would be impossible to… -
The Sun Is A Miasma
9 Nov 2009 | 3:17 pmThey Might Be Giants’ new album Here Comes Science is all sorts of awesome. One of the things I like is the inclusion of both Why Does The Sun Shine? and a new song, Why Does the Sun Really Shine?. The first one, a cover of Tom Glazer and Dottie Evans’s song, begins: The sun is a mass of incandescent gas A gigantic nuclear furnace Where hydrogen is built into helium At a temperature of millions of degrees The second, on the other hand, tells us: The sun is a miasma Of incandescent plasma The sun’s not simply made out of gas No, no, no The sun is a quagmire It’s not… -
Colbert Endorses BillDo?
6 Nov 2009 | 9:45 amThis will not come as news to some of you, but ε-Clueful Reader Fez pointed out the blurbs on Bill Donohue’s new book, Secular Sabotage. The most surprising one is the last one, by none other than über-pundit Stephen Colbert: “Wake up, America! The secular minority has cut the brake cables on America’s In-God-We-Trust-Mobile™! Not even all 43 of our Christian presidents can save us now.” Which raises a question: does BillDo not realize that Colbert’s act is just a act, or whether he’s catering to those of his readers who don’t realize that…
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Bad Science
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Oh, that was quick
20 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pmBen Goldacre, Saturday 21 November 2009, The Guardian Once your medicines regulator decides it should change the side effects warnings on the patient information of a drug taken by millions of people, how long do you think it would take for that change to be implemented? In February 2008 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory [...] -
wtf?
13 Nov 2009 | 5:21 pmBen Goldacre, Saturday 14 November 2009, The Guardian It’s always interesting when people take pseudoscience out of its natural habitat – Islington – and off into a place where the stakes are quite high. Like the polio vaccine scare in Nigeria. Or Aids denialism in South Africa. Or detecting bombs in Iraq, where the New York [...] -
The Nutt Sack Affair (part 493)
6 Nov 2009 | 4:06 pmBen Goldacre, Saturday 7 November 2009, The Guardian Obviously it’s pleasing to see, in the storm of commentary over Professor Nutt’s sacking, that everyone outside of politics now recognises the importance of scientific evidence in devising laws. But a strange reasoning twitch has appeared, in the arguments of politicians and right wing commentators. Science can tell [...] -
Political woo
30 Oct 2009 | 4:03 pmBen Goldacre, Saturday 31 October 2009, The Guardian. Every now and then it’s fun to dip into the world of politics and find out what our lords and masters are saying about science. First we find Brooks Newmark, Conservative MP for Braintree, introducing a bill to reduce the age for cervical cancer screening to 20. The [...] -
This is what the Spectator sent when they cancelled their Aids denialism extravaganza
28 Oct 2009 | 5:24 amI’m at a conference (on communicating evidence to patients with… GERD GIGERENZER!!!) in Frankfurt and late for lunch, but I thought it might amuse you to see the language the Spectator are using. From: Events [mailto:events@pressholdings.com] Sent: 26 October 2009 12:19 Subject: URGENT – [...]
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Respectful Insolence
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"Politics is always intruding into the world of breast cancer"
22 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amBefore I try to leave this topic for a while (which, like so may topics in the past, has temporarily taken over the blog for the last few days), one of the comments I've kept hearing since I started blogging about the new USPSTF mammography guidelines is something along the lines of, "Well, if the government runs health care, naturally politics will impact any attempts at science-based guidelines. That may be true, but in fact excessive politicization has always been a problem in that area, particularly for breast cancer. There's a good interview with to Dr. Barron Lerner, associate professor… -
The 124th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle
21 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amIt's time for another installment of that venerable (gasp!) blog carnival of skepticism, science, and critical thinking, The Skeptics' Circle. This time, it's the 124th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle, and it's finally landed, late but still brimming with skeptical goodness at Beyond the Short Coat. Next up, two weeks hence, on December 3, will be TechSkeptic at Effort Sisyphus. His instructions for submitting your work are here. General instructions for what we look for in a Skeptics' Circle entry are here. So, by the way, is the schedule. If you're interested in hosting one of these puppies… -
Why people ignore vaccine denialists
21 Nov 2009 | 8:00 amA lesson that's worth learning. Of course, I only wish people ignored vaccine denialists; unfortunately, enough people don't that vaccines are a frequent blog topic for me: Read the comments on this post... -
"Obama's fixin' death panels for your mama": The USPSTF recommendations for mammography used as a political weapon
20 Nov 2009 | 8:00 amAs I discussed in detail when I analyzed them, the new USPSTF recommendations for screening mammography for breast cancer have sparked a debate that has degenerated from a scientific and public policy debate into pure emotional rhetoric. When last I visited this topic, yesterday, I had intended it to be my last post for a while, perhaps ever. However, the amount of idiocy that I was dealing with became so overwhelming and the post grew to even huger than Orac-ian proportions. So I decided to split the post into two parts, because the particular argument I'm about to discuss deserves its very… -
"Obama's fixin' death panels for your mama," the misogyny gambit, and other idiotic responses to the updated USPSTF mammography recommendations
19 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amI knew when I first heard about them that the new United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on breast cancer screening would be controversial. I tried to discuss these guidelines and the issues involved in a calm and rational way, relatively devoid of Insolence, Respectful or not-so-Respectful, yesterday, pointing out that screening guidelines were clearly due for revision but also recognizing the problems with the USPSTF recommendations and valid criticisms of them. In the end, I concluded that, among the critics, the ASCO discussion of the proposed guidelines…
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Science After Sunclipse
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Stuff To Do While I'm Away
19 Nov 2009 | 5:45 amI'll be busy on through the weekend. The good news is that some of the busy-ness derives from art and mathematics and writing, although a dismaying proportion comes from less enjoyable stuff. I might be away from my computer during much of regular working hours, so comment moderation will be slowed. Local events I might as well announce now, as I won't likely get a chance to do so later: Symposium on the Evolution of the Vertebrate Eye, Friday the 20th, at the Whitehead Institute (via Jeffrey Shallit). This weekend: Open Studios at the Brickbottom and Joy Street artist communities,… -
Score!
18 Nov 2009 | 10:59 amI snared two copies of Ray "I like the feel of a good banana in my hand" Comfort's idiotically amended edition of The Origin of Species. Hearing that his minions were giving them out a day early, I swung by MIT and scoped out the places where I figured they might set up. No luck finding the Bananamobile itself, but a few copies had been left in the Student Center by, it appears, students who picked them up and then decided they didn't care. I asked the young woman sitting next to one such copy where it'd come from, and she said that it had been discarded there, but that the people giving them… -
Book Giveaway: The Monty Hall Problem
17 Nov 2009 | 2:51 pmI just noticed on my blag sidebar that the ScienceBorg Collective is offering ten free copies of Jason Rosenhouse's much-lauded book, The Monty Hall Problem (2009). Ten winners will be chosen, one each day for ten days, and the urn will be refilled anew each day. Enter now (no purchase necessary, offer void where prohibited, etc.). Read the comments on this post... -
Comedy Gold
17 Nov 2009 | 8:09 amNow, this is entertainment! Creationist pseudo-mathematician Bill Dembski, unable to respond cogently to a critique of his "work", threatens to sue the critic for copyright infringement. (I guess he was just upset that his information was conserved, ha ha.) You know, creationists really shouldn't talk about respecting intellectual property. Dembski: following in the hallowed footsteps of Conservapædia. Read the comments on this post... -
Currently Reading: Directed Percolation Edition
16 Nov 2009 | 2:40 pmThe American Physical Society, in addition to pwning global warming denialists, runs a regular publication called, simply, Physics, which "spotlights" recent items of interesting research. One such item I saw today turns out to be relevant to my research interests: The directed percolation phase transition, a phenomenon much mathematicized about, has finally been spotted in the laboratory. As the abstract of Takeuchi et al. (2009) says, This is a comprehensive report on the phase transition between two turbulent states of electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals, which was recently found…
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Snopes - New Urban Legends
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Red Robin Coupon
22 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amCan an Internet-distributed coupon be redeemed at Red Robin restaurants for a free hamburger and sundae? -
Team Project
20 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amWas accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan 'an advisor to the Obama Homeland Security team'? -
Cleaning for a Reason
19 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amNon-profit offers free cleaning services to women undergoing treatment for cancer. -
Eiffel Tower Suicide
18 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amPhotograph purportedly shows a suicide victim stepping off the Eiffel Tower just before plunging to his death. -
Veterans Day
17 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amPhotograph shows President Obama during a 2009 Veterans Day ceremony?
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Sorting Out Science
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Casual Friday — Monkey showers
20 Nov 2009 | 5:20 amIt turns out that Capuchin Monkeys use citrus to get rid of skin parasites and help keep themselves clean. Better keep a sharp eye on your lunch... -
Carnivalia — 11/11 – 11/17
18 Nov 2009 | 5:18 amThe past week's selection of science-related blog carnivals... -
Scientific tourist #98 — the D-21 drone
16 Nov 2009 | 6:27 amToday you get a bunch of photographs, of a single subject, taken at a variety of venues -- and it's all about the D-21 drone... -
Casual Friday — “The Matrix” as a silent movie
13 Nov 2009 | 4:56 amA fun skit from the Russian actor's group "Big Difference" (Bolshaya Raznitsa), postulating what "The Matrix" would have looked like if it had been made back in the silent movie era... -
Carnivalia — 11/04 – 11/10
11 Nov 2009 | 5:17 amThe past week's selection of (mostly) science-related blog carnivals...
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The Lay Scientist
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‘Raped by Demons’ or ‘The Haunted Cheese Sandwich’
21 Nov 2009 | 7:52 amI’ve read my latest free copy of ‘City News’ – have you? It’s a fab free publication by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an international Pentacostal organisation of Brazilian origin. Reading about other people’s problems to alleviate desperation at your own may not be the most morally sound pastime, but it’s a human constant. My eye was caught by this one: "This may sound bizarre and unbelievable, but since a long-term relationship break up I have been getting feelings of something having sex with me. I can fell myself being pushed down and this thing on top of me… -
The Drink Spiking Myth Part 2
20 Nov 2009 | 5:26 amAs promised, here's the second part of my look at the myth of drink spiking. Last time, we saw that the idea that drink-spiking is a widespread problem is a myth, with the evidence showing that in fact in the vast majority of cases where people believe their drinks have been spiked, this simply isn't the case - the symptoms they experience have been down to alcohol poisoning. In this post, we'll look at the reasons why this myth has become so widespread, as discussed in Burgess et al's "Embodying Uncertainty?: Understanding Heightened Risk Perception of Drink 'Spiking'" [1]. Their study found… -
Dating Advice for Geeks
20 Nov 2009 | 3:40 amHello dearest internet nutters and demi-gods alike, Have you missed me? I'm sure you're bored of me apologising for not being able to blog daily, even my Twitter feed has been running a bit dry as of late, so I'll just crack on with the meaty post, shall I? (Incidentally, vegetarianism is doing well, euphemisms shall continue as normal... normal for me anyway). This blog post has been brought to you today by the number 4. 4 is the number of points I shall be making, and point 4 happens to be the most important point in this post - there's actually little point in reading all this, you… -
The Pod Delusion #10
20 Nov 2009 | 3:40 am__________________ See archives and the latest from skeptical podcast The Pod Delusion! -
The Great Geopolitical Battle Over Energy Transit Routes
20 Nov 2009 | 3:40 amAs we all live in the present, it is very hard to fully assess the future implications of decisions supported or made by political and business leaders. An extraordinary game of geo-strategy is under way to lock in long-term agreements, notably in the energy sector. At a global level, the transit routes of future oil & gas pipelines become the object of a power struggle involving not only the suppliers and end-users but also the transit countries. Intensive courtships are under way where a ménage à trois, or more, may be the best option to prevent any country from being in a dominating…
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WhiteCoat Underground
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Skeptics' Circle #124 is up
21 Nov 2009 | 10:24 amThe latest Skeptics' Circle is up at Beyond the Short Coat. The Giants' Shoulders #17 is also up at scibling Eric Michael Johnson's place. Go and read!\ Read the comments on this post... -
Science-based medicine: we are not automatons
21 Nov 2009 | 5:32 amOpponents of science-based medicine like to accuse the rest of us of failing to be "holisitc", of failing to see the whole individual who comes to us for health care. I've argued many times that this is not only wrong, but that so-called alternative docs, by recommending unproven treatments and giving false hope are actually harming their patients. The new USPSTF mammogram recommendations are likely to fuel this debate as well as the one regarding health care reform and rationing. There's already been a great deal of debate new mammogram recommendations, most of it good. For a comprehensive… -
Why I won't be prescribing medical marijuana
19 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pmIn November, the citizens of my home state approved a medical marijuana law. The very next day, I started getting calls from patients (often not may own) asking how they could get it. I'm not fan of draconian laws that imprison people for getting stoned, but when it comes to medical interventions (rather than legal ones) I have an informed opinion. The new law allows Michigan residents to grow weed for their own consumption if they have approval. The law does not allow doctors to prescribe marijuana, rather it allows them to certify that the patient has a condition designated by statue as… -
"I'm not getting a flu shot because I never get the flu"
19 Nov 2009 | 10:47 amBasing medical practice on science helps us avoid the pitfalls of relying on our own reasoning and experience. If I want to start a patient on a new medicine, the individual characteristics of the patient are important (Is the drug meant for their condition? Will it interact with other drugs they are on? Are they allergic to it? Can they tolerate it?) but at least as important is how the drug performs when used on large numbers of people. This attenuates the large differences that can be seen among individuals, and allows us to predict how in general the drug will act. One of the… -
No shame: antivaccine ghouls defame the dead, and elevate the disgraced
18 Nov 2009 | 4:57 pmThere are a couple of quotes circulating widely claiming that major players in flu vaccine development are "denouncing" the vaccine. From (shudder!) mercola.com: "Dr. Anthony Morris, a distinguished virologist and former Chief Vaccine Office at the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA), states that "There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza" and that "The producers of these vaccines know they are worthless, but they go on selling them anyway." And: And in November 2007, the UK newspaper The Scotsman,…
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Science-Based Pharmacy
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Magician Prescriptions
14 Nov 2009 | 10:39 amGo check out my latest post on Bill 179 and naturopath prescribing, over at Skeptic North. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, none of this will be a surprise. Please let your friends and colleagues know – the window to provide input into the bill is closing quickly. Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: bill 179, naturopathy -
Your Urine is Not a Window to Your Body: pH Balancing – A Failed Hypothesis
13 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amOne of my first encounters with “alternative” health was the “pH balance” idea. A customer approached me at the pharmacy counter and asked for “pH test strips.” I asked him about kidney stones, diabetes – the usual reasons you test your urine. He told me he was healthy, and he was just monitoring his body’s “acid balance” and that he kept his body “alkali” to be healthy. “You can’t change your body’s pH, sir – if your pH changes, you’ll die,” I explained, in my most reassuring… -
Reality-Based Medicine:0 Naturopathy: 1
9 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amThe Ontario Government has reversed course and embraced bad medicine: It’s going to give naturopaths prescribing privileges. I’ve been blogging about Bill 179 and naturopathy for some time now. When the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HPRAC) recommended the Ontario government legislate a significant expansion of practice for naturopaths, health professionals dedicated to science-based health care were understandably concerned, and many contacted the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care during the consultation period. And in what appeared to be a victory… -
Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?
2 Nov 2009 | 7:20 amNo. It is considered unethical for modern medical practitioners to sink to this kind of deception that denies the patient his or her autonomy. Secondly, by opening the door to irrational medicine alongside evidence-based medicine, we are poisoning the minds of the public. Finally, if we don’t put a brake on the increasing self-confidence of the homeopathic establishment, they will cease to limit their attention to self-limiting or nonspecific maladies. More, from Michael Baum and Edzard Ernst, writing in this month’s American Journal of Medicine, here. Posted in updates… -
The Physics of Homeopathy – Finally Explained!
28 Oct 2009 | 5:58 amThis has to be seen to be believed. It’s the physics of homeopathy – as explained by a an optometrist who dabbles in homeopathy. Watch it – but I take no responsibility for the brain cells that will rupture upon viewing. We discovered a few days ago that even the light reflecting off Saturn can made into a remedy. When groups lilke naturopaths claim that homeopathy is science, what does this say about their ability to provide reality-based health care? And why do pharmacists continue to enable this antiquated practice by selling homeopathic products in pharmacies? Go…
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PodBlack Cat
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Little Kitten – Lomography Photograph Sessions
22 Nov 2009 | 9:18 amI neglected to post this earlier – Lomography photo session, as mentioned in the blog earlier! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoGrjuNlPXI You can see shots that we took here on Flickr and also on the Facebook group for Pigeonhole. Here’s a favorite: ShareThis -
Rupert Sheldrake Correctly Quotes JREF Document – No Bull
22 Nov 2009 | 6:28 amI’m a little sad and embarrassed for the JREF Swift blog today… A Swift article implied Rupert Sheldrake was a ‘Bull**** artist’, for correctly citing a document they produced at TAM3… Mostly, [Rupert] Sheldrake seems discomfited by a document passed out by Randi, Andrew Mayne, and Michael Shermer at The Amaz!ng Meeting 3, entitled “Communicating Skepticism To The Public.” We have no copies of this document. Perhaps you can help us. I do have a copy of it. I attended the workshop at TAM3. From the JREF page for the Amazing Meeting 3: Thursday… -
Scientologists ‘Targeting’ Schoolchildren
22 Nov 2009 | 2:21 amI’ve come across rather dodgy efforts disguised under genuine educational materials getting into schools before… but this is a new one to me, which I think should be better known to people. ABC News reports: The New South Wales Government says the Church of Scientology is targeting Year 6 students using “marketing” material that claims to promote human rights. Education Minister Verity Firth has ordered principals not to distribute DVDs and booklets funded by the church and sent to schools by a group called Youth For Human Rights. The material outlines the United… -
Little Kitten – Ben Goldacre Song By RatherGood.com
22 Nov 2009 | 1:48 amI have no comment. Apart from those I’d only share with Dr Rachael Dunlop. ShareThis -
Shaun Tan In The New York Times!
21 Nov 2009 | 7:29 amFrom the NY Times: Tan’s work overflows with human warmth and childlike wonder. But it also makes a perfect adult bedtime story, a little something to shake loose your imagination from the moors of reality right before your own dreams kick in. If you have a look through my Skeptical Books for Children series, you may notice that I’ve referred to teaching the works of Shaun Tan before. I’ve forgotten how long I’ve collected his work, but I first remember meeting him around the time that ‘The Rabbits’ was released. I now have several of his prints hanging in my…
