Category: Skepticism
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Pink is for girls and Blue is for boys?
It’s so embarrassing when scientists use poorly-constructed studies to blithely reinforce societal stereotypes. Today, LPH at Second Innocence brings us the latest example. A new study by scientists from Newcastle University gives substance to the old adage ‘Pink for a girl, blue for a boy’. Evolution may have driven women’s preference for pink, according to…
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Dawkins: The Enemies of Reason
It’s up on Google video – and embedded here. Enjoy! H/T Factition and Bad Science.
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Skeptics’ Circle Number 66 – Summary of Abstracts
Welcome to the 66th meeting of the International Society of Skeptics. Abstracts from attendees: Straw Men and Circular Reasoning Author: Skeptico Introduction The problem of debunking crop circles persists despite many previous valiant efforts (See Sagan, C.S. Demon Haunted World). Results In this study the author evaluates current research into the formation of crop circles.…
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Again with the Marijuana
What is it about reporting on pot that makes people so Puritanical? Today I read in the Guardian Cannabis joints damage lungs more than tobacco – study. A single cannabis joint may cause as much damage to the lungs as five chain-smoked cigarettes, research has found. Is that so? Let’s take a look at the…
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Skeptics’ Circle #66 – Abstract Deadline
Just a reminder, I would like all submissions to the 66th Skeptics Circle by today.
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Does Smoking Cannabis Cause Schizophrenia?
A lot of people are talking about a new study showing a 40% increase risk of “psychosis”, which I first heard news of in this story, from the Daily Mail: A single joint of cannabis raises the risk of schizophrenia by more than 40 percent, a disturbing study warns. The Government-commissioned report has also found…
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I can has souls?
I couldn’t resist when I read this Guardian story about Oscar, the death predicting cat. When the two-year-old grey and white cat curls up next to an elderly resident, staff now realise, this means they are likely to die in the next few hours. Such is Oscar’s apparent accuracy – 25 consecutive cases so far…
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Skeptics’ Circle Number 66 – Request for Abstracts
I’m putting out my request for nominations for the 66th Skeptics Circle, to be held Thursday August 2nd (eight days from now). I’d like to have entries in by Tuesday July 31st at the latest. Either self-promote some of your own entries or recommend others’ you’ve enjoyed to mark at denialism dot com.
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The Independent needs its environmental credentials to be taken away
Between electronic “smog” and their incessant bleating that every weather event is due to global warming, I have come to the conclusion that the Independent, with stories like this one, are trying to bring down the science of global warming from the inside. It’s official: the heavier rainfall in Britain is being caused by climate…
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This is why you should never source Wikipedia
So, who has heard of the Rife Machine? It is a quack device that purports to destroy diseases by homing in on their resonant frequency, and disrupting them with radiofrequency (RF) waves (like a soundwave shattering a wine glass). I’ve met true believers of this stuff before, and there is little you can do to…