Posts Tagged skeptic
Derren Brown Investigates… Joe Power
Posted by Marsh in Joe Power, Psychics, cold-reading on April 30th, 2010
Sometimes, just sometimes, I could almost be convinced that there’s someone up there listening. Not all the time, of course, and only half-heartedly – I’m not about to go all Goddy on you guys – but who could blame me, when things like this happen:
Derren Brown – beardy mind-meddler and generally top fella – investigates those who claim to have psychic powers… starting with my old mate Joe Power. I’ll come to Joe in a moment (we’ve a bit of a history), but first I’d like to say well done to Derren. I remember after his ‘Messiah’ show, it looked like he was heading into a more publicly skeptical position. While that hasn’t happened quite as far as we’d have liked (the lottery show for example), this latest show, coupled with his role in ‘Science of Scams’ suggests that skepticism is something Derren’s focusing on a little more. If that’s the case, this is excellent news – where Randi has been a major figurehead for decades (possibly even centuries, he seems to always have existed), he needs somebody to help shoulder the weight and take up the slack. With his public persona, showmanship, reputation and expertise, I really think Derren can play that role, should he desire to.
One person who certainly can’t play that role, is Mr Joe Power. For those of you not aware, Joe and the Merseyside Skeptics Society (and myself in particular) have something of a past – in fact, long before the 10:23 Campaign, taking on Joe Power was one of the first pieces of skeptical activism I got involved in. Having criticised his appearance in a local paper, blindly promoting him as ‘The Man Who Sees Dead People’, I decided to meet Joe Power at his Liverpool book signing, and invited him to take the million dollar challenge. What I got wasn’t polite declination, but bizarre insults – with Joe genuinely comparing all skeptics to paedophiles. You can read the whole account here, and I recommend you do, to really get a feel for the kind of man Joe Power is. It was during this conversation that I heard Joe had been investigated for a prominent TV show, and at the time I put two and two together and predicted it was Derren Brown who he was referring to.
I can’t wait to see the show on May 10th.
Atheism: Those Who Know Do Not Say, Those Who Say Do Not Know
Posted by Allan in Atheism, Religion, Skepticism on March 31st, 2010
Your New Facebook Profile Photo
With the coming of a very low-key, very gentle pro-atheism awareness campaign on facebook in ‘A’ week (http://www.aweekonfacebook.com/, Facebook event, #aweek Twittertag ), I’ve been reminded of the hesitation that many atheists feel towards the promotion of atheism in any way. Talking about any type of promotion or advocacy in favour of atheism as annoying because “this is the sort of thing that X-, Y- or Z-ians/-ists/ers do” may not be exactly how the majority of atheists feel, but I’d say, and only from my own feeling (not very skeptical, but still), that a large majority of atheists either couldn’t care less in trying to spread ideas and grow our mostly merry, but sometimes quite grumpy band of disbelievers, or are very uncomfortable with the thought of trying to actively or passively win people over to the idea that, maybe, they should give up the idea of an invisible Daddy In The Sky who grants wishes a little less frequently than you see the evil evidence of His Divine, or more humanly – if not humanely – divined, Will
But when you see the damage that religion does, and the toxic effect that a supreme, unquestionable authority and unquestioned afterlife can bring – from the banality and stupidity of the penny candle, crap wine and drain-filtering devices (pieces of The Christ’s Holy, suspiciously bread-like, Flesh must be saved from the insult of the sewers) of Catholicism (though after 2000 years on a bread and wine diet, I’m certain Jesus could make excellent use of modern facilities) to the horrendous tradition of wife-burning in Hindu ‘Sati’, thankfully both illegal and much reduced in modern India, or the unholy union of extreme Christianity in demonising a contraceptive layer of latex that could do so much to help the AIDS crisis – doesn’t this, shouldn’t this drive anyone with a rational bent and compassion for humanity towards doing what we can to reduce the influence of The Beast, even to simply kick the giant’s toe? Read the rest of this entry »
Question of The Week: What Nonsense Facts Can You Ascribe To A Skeptic?
Posted by Colin H in Question of the Week, Skepticism on January 29th, 2010
Chuck Norris doesn’t read books: he stares them down till they give him the information he wants. Oh, and Rome? He did build that in a day. And you know what’s underneath that beard? Another FIST!
These are just a few of the nonsense ‘facts’ ascribed to martial-arts yeti Chuck Norris that fly about the internet. Fortunately for him, none of them touch on his acting ability. If you listened to our podcast, Skeptics With a K, yesterday, you will have heard Mike ‘The Health Ranger’ Adams’ completely un-ironic list of facts about Skeptics. You know the score: Skeptics don’t believe in anything, we work for Big Pharma, kill babies, that kind of thing… So for this week’s Question of the Week, we thought he’d give a Chuck Norris inspired response to Adams’ drivel.
The Question of The Week is this: What kind of Chuck Norris style nonsense facts can you ascribe to Skeptics that Mike Adams missed?
The funniest answer won’t recieve anything except our undying admiration, but if that’s good enough for Chuck Norris then it’s good enough for us!
Skeptics in the Pub: Anniversary Special (formerly Andy Lewis)
Posted by Mike in Skeptics in the Pub on January 17th, 2010
Anniversary Bonanza
When: Thu, Feb 18, 2010 8.00 – 11.00 PM
Where: The Vines (aka the Big House), 81 Lime Street, Liverpool
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances our booked guest speaker Andy Lewis is unable to make this event. However, all is not lost – in honour of the first anniversary of the Merseyside Skeptics Society we’ve decided to replace Andy’s talk with a number of short talks on a variety of topics:
- Emotional Freedom Technique, by Allan Callister – a look at the latest craze for face-tapping therapy
- Bad Logic, Mike Hall – examining logical failures, with examples from the world of religion
- PR and the Media, Michael Marshall – how PR gained control of journalism, and where we go from here
- How Science Works, Tom Williamson – what is science, how do we do it and how do we know it works?
Plus, a live recording of the Skeptics with a K show.
Question of the Week: What Woo Does Your Family Believe In?
Posted by Colin H in Question of the Week, Skepticism on January 15th, 2010
What was that? There was no ‘Question of the Week’ last week? And we’ve missed it on other occasions, too? I find that hard to believe! We’ve never missed a ‘Question of the Week’!
Ahem.
If you read this blog, then you most likely consider yourself a person of the Skeptical persuasion. Objectivity and critical thinking are your cornerstones. Unfounded beliefs and woo of all kinds do not penetrate your hardened Skeptical exterior as you stride across the globe unearthing logical fallacies… Or something along those lines. At the very least, you will probably consider youself a rational thinker who wouldn’t be caught dead believing something silly.
However, the same might not be true of your family; and while you can choose your beliefs, you can’t choose your family. As much as you may like to think you are safely cocooned from all the woo and guff out there by the warm fires of the Skeptical community, we all have to interact on a daily basis with those close to us who may have beliefs which are – let’s put this delicately - a bit distanced from our own.
So, this week’s question of this week is this:
What woo does your family believe in? Are there any strange beliefs or ideas held by those close to you which raise the hairs on your hardened Skeptical hide? How do you deal with it: do you confront it head on, or do you ignore it for fear of upsetting family harmony?
Don’t worry, you can change names if you wish; the last thing we want is to have any Skeptics disowned by their parents due to comments they’ve written on this site!
So, don’t be afraid: What woo does your family believe in? Please leave a reply in the comments box below.
Skeptics in the Pub: Simon Singh
Posted by Mike in Skeptics in the Pub on November 12th, 2009
Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial
by Simon Singh
When: Thu, Jan 21, 2010 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Where: The Vines (aka The Big House), 81 Lime Street, Liverpool, L1 1JQ
Summary
Prince Charles is a staunch defender and millions of people swear by it; most UK doctors consider it to be little more than superstition and a waste of money. But how do you know which treatments really heal and which are potentially harmful? Simon Singh and his co-author Professor Edzard Ernst investigated the evidence for and against alternative therapies and published their conclusions in “Trick or Treatment?”, an honest, impartial and hard-hitting examination and judgement of more than 30 of the most popular treatments. Singh, who has also authored “Fermat’s Last Theorem” and “Big Bang”, will discuss how and why he got involved in writing about alternative medicine. In particular, he will discuss the origins, philosophy and testing of acupuncture and homeopathy, two of the most popular forms of alternative medicine. Singh, who is currently being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association, will also comment on his ongoing legal battle and the impact of libel laws on scientific journalism.
Read the rest of this entry »
