Uh oh! Did Phil Plait just come out and say it in the most blunt and direct way one could? I think he did. Well, it’s still worth a read, mostly because everything he says makes sense and is… um… true. Check it out here. I predict some feathers ruffled, but I second everything he has to say. Good job, Phil.

Too bad there aren’t actually Vulcans like Mr. Spock to keep our logic in line…

 However, the website logicalfallacies.info comes pretty close to having Mr. Spock on hand.   In science, debate, policy and everyday decisions, there are certain mistakes which are commonly made.   Sure, they may seem logical at the time, but if you really examine them, it turns out to be a bit weak.   These include fallacies of relevance, presumption and ambiguity.   This website lists many of the common ones.   *I* have even been accused of making logical fallacies… of course… wrongly.

I can’t say I agree with everything on the page.   For example Ad Hominem:  Some people really just deserve it (Uri Geller, for example).   Also, there are a few others I might add to the site.  But then again, it’s still one of the best references I have found and definitely worth looking at.  It might help next time you have a disagreement.  Then again, it might do more harm to your side than help.

I found this post on slashdot and obviously had to take note. It links to the article: Diluting the scientific method: Ars looks at homeopathy. Homeopathy is used as a good example of something that is, well, when it comes down to it – not only scientifically invalid but also just plain illogical and stupid. It’s a good read and really helps to completely take apart all the claims relating to homeopathy and show how baseless they fundamentally are.

It’s worth a read, if only to reenforce the astoundingly simple yet cryptic question I keep asking myself: How is it that this did not die a century ago?

Oh that’s right… ignorance

Out good friend Alison has recently returned from Dragoncon, where she took on some of the psuedo-science and paranormal info being put out and came out on top (as usual). In recognition of this and of her efforts in the area of skepticism, it’s worth noting that she has a pretty damn good website and investigative thing going on. It can be found at http://www.skepticalanalysis.com/ and goes by the short name “SAPS.” But make no mistake, this is no sappy site.

The investigations and background are very well written and researched. Alison started this after being inspired by “Ghost Hunters,” a show on the Sci Fi channel which searches for ghosts and seems to find them, despite the lack of any real evidence. Being a television show, it wouldn’t be that exciting if it constantly found nothing at reportedly haunted sites and in the world of TV ratings rule. But somebody has to take a stand for science and that’s where Alison comes in.

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I always love hearing some of the stories and commentary from our good friend James Randi. On August 6th he spoke at Google’s offices in California. It’s good to see a company as big and relevant as Google supporting skepticism by sponsoring a speaker like Randi. The Google Talks series of course has no shortage of fascinating speakers. It’s definitely worth watching.

What could be more fun than going to a coin-operated entertainment establishment for some challenging matches that pit man against machine? Well, apparently one machine took the “challenging” aspect a bit too far. The Japanese-manufactured arm-wrestling challenge seems to win by a larger margin then one might want from time to time. Yes, in at least three cases it has actually broken the arm of the player.

And so what does this champ get for this? A title belt? Product endorsements? NO! It’s been recalled.

According to this article:

“We think that maybe some players get overexcited and twist their arms in an unnatural way,” said Atlus spokeswoman Ayano Sakiyama of the incidents, adding, amusingly, that the machine is actually so weak that “even women should be able to beat it.”

Oh well… guess some people take their arcade play VERY seriously!

As mentioned here before, I am a skeptic and I appreciate those who further good science and take on bad science. And of all those out there, Dr. Phil Plait, who runs the website www.badastronomy.com and who wrote the book Bad Astronomy is one of the best.

Not only does he work hard to bring the wonders of science to the public but he also has been committed to opposing ridiculous misinformation like the whole “Moon Landing Conspiracy.” It’s obvious he truly enjoys it and is energized by the work he does.

He’s just about the best example of a guy who is passionate and driven for good science and against bad science. He’s also pretty cool in person and has an interesting sense of humor.

So tell me… is it wrong to want to hug a man?

The Free Energy/Perpetual Motion Machine that wasn’t.

(I love the shirt. It’s so poetically ironic)

The plot is thinning in the perpetual boondoggle which was Orbo, the thermodynamics-defying energy machine from Steorn which was going to destroy the oil companies, rewrite the laws of physics and lead to a world of limitless energy… only not.

Apparently, enough people on the “Development forum” had put two and two together (and gotten four, as opposed to Steron, which got seventeen), and with the device’s public debut, a few people got a good look at the device. The results of the reverse-engineering of Obro have been posted on this website.

Here’s a diagram of the basics, which was posted on the website:

(click to enlarge)

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Most of us have been told our whole lives that it’s very rude and unsanitary to cough or sneeze without covering one’s mouth, presumably with one’s hands. After all, coughing and especially sneezing are great ways to share your germs with others. Few actions work better than sneezing for aerosoling and projecting your own saliva.

But one thing which has gone unmentioned in the past is how big a roll one’s hands play in spreading of disease. Once you sneeze into your hands, you’ve just contaminated the one part of your body which is most likely to touch common surfaces and others. Even if you don’t shake hands or hold hands, simply handing common objects or touching surfaces can spread infection to others. It’s easy to forget just how many things one touches in a day.

So what’s a cold or allergy sufferer to do? Sneeze into the air? Or go running to the restroom to scrub up after each sneeze? You could carry tissues around, but that’s not always going to entirely prevent your hands from getting contaminated, and they might not always be there.

A better plan of action: Turn your head away from others and sneeze downward, if necessary, using your upper arm, shoulder or elbow to block that nasty spray. And just the same, if you’re under the weather, wash your hands!

More info here

This is a joke, right? I mean, it has to be a joke… No. It’s not a joke.

When you want to make a point about how ridiculous something is, some of the quintessential examples of “just plain absurd” ideas in medicine, science and society come to mind. These include such things as Bloodletting, The Flat Earth Society, Tea Leaf Reading, and of course Phrenology.

Phrenology, for those who might not be familiar with the term, is often referred to as “head reading.” It’s the basic idea that one can determine a person’s personality, potential psycological issues, physical health and numerous other things by the shape of one’s head and the presence of any bumps on the scalp. A map of the head, often in the form of a bust, is then used to determine what these bumps correspond to, such as love, violence, intelligence and so on. It was first conceived by Franz Joseph Gall, in 1800, but was dubious from the start, and was already being called psuedo-science by 1843.

Despite this, it was all the rage in the Victorian Era, and had been claimed to be a means by which immoral or inferior persons could be detected, before they even commit a crime – which according to Phrenology they were likely to do, being that criminal-actions were the direct result of moral defecates, detectable by head-reading. (That’s a bit scary.) By the early 20th century, Phrenology was the domain of a few of the fringe quacks and nutters and had been rejected entirely by science. However it reared it’s ugly head (no pun intended) again in the 1930’s as a means of justifying racism and eugenics by the Nazis and others.

Needless to I don’t really need to get into all the reasons why something like Phrenology is absurd, and to most modern people it should be laughable. It’s a good example of “Oh how far we have come.” When you consider that people took it seriously.

BUT: In a prime example of how “It takes all kinds,” and that “You can find anything.. ANYTHING on the internet,” a simple search for the term turns up a few who still actually take the idea seriously. Here’s an example: www.phrenology.org

“The main aim of this page is to advocate a positive approach to scientific Phrenology which is considered a valuable and powerful instrument for: self-knowledge, self-achievement, education, human relationships, human resources, law enforcement…”

YES! They are pro-Phrenology and do indeed believe it has merit. Given how much homeopathy and astrology sites are out there, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…