Archive for August, 2009
60 Uncomfortable Seconds for Dr. Andrew Parker
Posted by Marsh in Creationism, Evolution, Media, Religion on August 15, 2009
In his recent interview in the Metro’s ’60 Seconds’ column on August 4th, Dr. Andrew Parker – a biologist from Oxford University – could have been forgiven if he’d expected a pretty easy ride. It’s a free paper, it’s a quick interview, it’s bound to be a cake-walk, you might think. But you might well be wrong… especially given that his new book is titled ‘The Genesis Enigma: Why The Bible Is Scientifically Accurate’ and claims that Genesis matches the history of the universe so accurately it could only have been written with divine intervention.
As it happens, the interviewer eschews the soft-ball questions you’d expect to find in a quick interview like this, and really pulls no punches – producing what is actually a highly entertaining read. Read the rest of this entry »
The View from the Top of the Mountain
Posted by Colin H in Creationism, Evolution, Religion, Skepticism on August 15, 2009
Am I paranoid?
Everywhere I look lately, creationism seems to be springing up from cracks in the pavement like the pernicious weed that it is. Back in March, there was a kerfuffle in Hampshire about attempts to push it into the classroom (read about it here), a case worryingly similar to oh so many, from the Scopes trial of 1926 to the Kitzmiller vs Dover School District trial in 2005 (an excellent documentary on this can be viewed here). Every five minutes, random evangelical preachers seem to burst forth from their woo-cocoons to badmouth ‘Darwinists’ and ‘Evolutionists’ as being part of some scientific anti-truth cabal.
Skeptics in the Pub: October 15th – Ariane Sherine
Posted by Marsh in Skeptics in the Pub on August 14, 2009
The Atheist Bus Campaign and The Atheist’s Guide To Christmas
Ariane Sherine, Comedy writer and journalist
When: Thu, Oct 15, 2009 8:00 – 11:00 PM
Where: Crown Hotel, 43 Lime Street, Liverpool.
Summary
Journalist and comedy writer Ariane Sherine talks about creating the global Atheist Bus Campaign, now running in twelve countries across the world, and how it started with just 700 words on The Guardian’s website. She’ll also talk about editing the new charity book The Atheist’s Guide To Christmas, which features 42 of the world’s most entertaining atheists, including Richard Dawkins, Charlie Brooker and Derren Brown.
Read the rest of this entry »
Australian Skeptics vs AVN Propaganda
Posted by Marsh in Media, Public Health, Skepticism, vaccination on August 13, 2009
Immunization: Get the Facts (click to enlarge)
Businessman, aviator, and explorer, Dick Smith, has funded an Australian Skeptics’ advertisement to urge parents to access factual information on vaccination, in the wake of the country’s largest Whooping Cough epidemic.
The advertisement, placed in the Thursday, August 6 edition of The Australian newspaper, directly addresses the Australian Vaccination Networks’ stated position of being ‘pro-choice’ on vaccines – when realistically they’re actually very much anti-vaccine.
The AVN is headed up by Meryl Dorey – who says vaccinations are dangerous, who says no one dies of pertussis, who says that it’s better not to vaccinate and who insinuates that doctors only vaccinate children because it’s profitable for them. This, of course, is total bullshit – in fact this year alone three children in Australia have died of pertussis, some too young to vaccinate – such as Dana McCaffrey, the four-week old infant who caught pertussis and died due to vaccination rates in her home town of Lennox Head, New South Wales dropping too low and compromising herd immunity.
The advert from the Australian Skeptics is a great, emotive piece showing how to reach the public with real information – at a time when here in the UK herd immunity has been severely damaged due to the MMR hoaxes, with the most serious outbreak of measles in Wales since the time the MMR vaccine was introduced, there’s a lesson here for us in the UK too.
Well done to the Australian Skeptics and to Dick Smith for speaking out against this dangerous propaganda.
Skeptics with a K – Episode #002
Posted by Mike in Podcast, Skeptics with a K on August 12, 2009
The guys discuss Mars, Ben Stein, giant sun-reflecting clouds, and more. Simon Perry from the Adventures in Nonsense blog calls in to talk about his campaign against chiropractors who claim to treat colic.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Skeptics in the Pub: September 17th – Chris French
Posted by Marsh in Skeptics in the Pub on August 11, 2009
The Psychology of Anomalous Experiences
Professor Christopher C French, Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London
When: Thu, September 17, 2009 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Where: Crown Hotel, 43 Lime Street Liverpool, L1 1JQ
Summary
Ever since records began, in every known society, a substantial proportion of the population has reported unusual experiences many of which we would today label as "paranormal". Opinion polls show that the majority of the general public accepts that paranormal phenomena do occur. Either the paranormal is real, in which case this should be accepted by the wider scientific community which currently rejects such claims, or else belief in and experience of ostensibly paranormal phenomena can be fully explained in terms of psychological factors. Anomalistic psychology attempts to provide non-paranormal explanations for anomalous experiences in terms of known psychological factors. This approach will be illustrated with examples relating to a range of ostensibly paranormal phenomena.
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