This argument is so bizarre it’s not even wrong: it’s wrong’s cousin who’s never been the same since that nasty accident with the Klein bottle.
skepticism
– the rigorous methodology summed up by Carl Sagan as a Baloney Detection Kit
The mantle of Galileo
“Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo it is not enough that you be persecuted by an unkind establishment, you must also be right.” — Robert Park This quote was presented in comments at Pharyngula some months ago now, reacting… Read More ›
MSM vs Bloggers Smackdown: MSM still languishing in coma.
Wiggle in her Walk: Anatolian Neolithic Goddess Anyone who still has faith in the veracity of mainstream media “science reporting” really, really needs to start reading Ben Goldacre at badscience.net, despite his grating misuse of prostitution metaphors. Goldacre has blasted… Read More ›
Butbutbutbut the US is the world, isn’t it?
This is the gist of a recent formulaic dummy spit from global warming skeptic Michael Duffy, arguing that a minor shift in US figures after re-analysis somehow implies something crucial about global changes which were measured differently. Penguin Unearthed dissects… Read More ›
Your friends make you fat
(Subtext: so if any of your mates are a wee bit plump you better drop them quick smart or you’ll be rooned, rooned! Yay, let’s make fat people even more socially isolated and scorned!) So say all the headlines and… Read More ›
New Yorkers always tell us not to bother with Long Island anyway
If I never go to Long Island then I never have to worry about some unfortunate accident bringing me or someone I love under the knife of neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, who is a professor of neurosurgery and paediatrics at State… Read More ›
1Q: How relevant are motives in assessing the public policy stance of a politician or commentator?
This week’s One Question is from Harry Clarke, who writes in an earlier post: In assessing testimony in a court of law motives are important. Elsewhere they are less so but they pervasively affect our attitudes. Some have argued that… Read More ›
How to talk to a global warming skeptic
An inadvertent companion piece to Suzoz’ earlier find from New Scientist (A guide to the Perplexed on Climate Change), from Gristmill comes How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic. a complete listing of the articles in “How to Talk… Read More ›
There’s an Office of the Messiah
It’s in Tasmania. Terence from the Office of the Messiah in Tasmania sends Richard Dawkins (and cc’s PZ Myers) long emails pointing out their multitudinous errors. Breaking News Be advised that the awaited Messiah and Divine Saviour and Just Leader… Read More ›
Yes and No
This post has been hanging around as a draft since February, because I wasn’t quite happy with it. Lindsay’s recent post (and my response), on how misusing “moderate” to describe faith positions which don’t preach intolerance imputes that the intolerant… Read More ›