Skepticon

Rugby World Cup Hype

Darcy Cowan • Jun 29, 2011

• comedy,
• football,
• historic,
• hype,
• Mitchell and Webb,
• overhyped,
• pointless,
• rugby,
• Sciblogs

I try not to just post videos but I was reminded of this skit when contemplating an ad for the highly priced (and prized) RWC 2011 tickets, and remarks over it being an “Historic Event”. Filed under: Sciblogs, Uncategorized Tagged: comedy, football, historic, hype, Mitchell and Webb, overhyped, pointless, rugby … Read More

A Better World Through Video Games

Darcy Cowan • Jun 15, 2011

• behaviour,
• gaming,
• prosocial behaviour,
• Psychological,
• Psychology,
• Sciblogs,
• Social Sciences,
• video games

Over the last few years evidence has been mounting that violence in the media and especially interactive media such as video games contributes to aggression displayed by individuals.[1] This ability to influence our behaviour in such a way is concerning and may undermine attempts to build a peaceful society that nevertheless respects a person’s right [...] … Read More

Thoughts About Taniwhas

Darcy Cowan • Jun 14, 2011

• Herald,
• Kepa Morgan,
• New Zealand,
• New Zealand Herald,
• nz,
• NZ Herald,
• Psychological,
• rail,
• religion,
• Sciblogs,
• Skepticism,
• taniwha

This is probably a very ill considered post. I do feel compelled to write something on this subject however. Today in the NZ Herald Kepa Morgan has a piece relating why we should listen when Maori raise concerns regarding respect for the traditional dwelling places of Taniwha. I think he raises a very good point [...] … Read More

Holy Hyperbole Batman!!

Darcy Cowan • May 25, 2011

• Codex Alimentarius,
• complementary and alternative medicine,
• Conspiracy,
• Conspiracy Theories,
• fluoride,
• Hoaxes,
• Nazi,
• paranoid,
• Psychological,
• Sciblogs,
• skeptic,
• Skepticism,
• Warped Science,
• WHO

Apparently the Armageddon predicted by Harold Camping is not the only one we have to contend with. Watch out, it’s The Next Armageddon! Did you know that the WHO is not the health promoting organization we think it is but really the most nefarious institution in human history?[1] According to one conspiracy nut[2] the WHO [...] … Read More

It’s the End of the World as we Know it and I Feel Fine

Darcy Cowan • May 17, 2011

• Benjamin Keach,
• Christian,
• Christianity,
• end of the world,
• Eschatology,
• Harold Camping,
• Hoaxes,
• Melchior Hoffman,
• Peter Ruckman,
• Psychological,
• Rapture,
• religion,
• Sciblogs,
• Seventh-day Adventist Church,
• Sextus Julius Africanus,
• skeptic,
• Skepticism

By now you will have probably heard that this Saturday (21-May-2011 for future historians) is the beginning of the end, the Rapture. Don’t panic*, please conduct yourselves in an orderly manner at the appointed time. I recommend congregating in open spaces with no overhead power lines or air traffic. Safety first[1]. Ok that’s enough fun. [...] … Read More

’I was a Skeptic, but…’

Darcy Cowan • Apr 24, 2011

• medicine,
• sceptic,
• Sciblogs,
• Science in Society,
• scientific method,
• Skeptical Inquiry,
• Skepticism

I wish people wouldn’t say this, it’s usually followed by some lame reason why we should trust their anecdotal experience over empirical data. Sure the word skeptic (or sceptic if you prefer) has a certain colloquial definition and to a large extent words are defined by the way they are used, I mean no-one uses [...] … Read More

Fraudulent Bomb Detectors

Darcy Cowan • Apr 04, 2011

• Alpha 6,
• ben goldacre,
• bomb detectors,
• Dowsing,
• fraud,
• Hoaxes,
• Ideomotor effect,
• Iraq,
• James Randi,
• pseudoscience,
• Psychological,
• Questionable Techniques,
• Reiki,
• Sciblogs,
• Skepticism,
• woo

Those with a good memory for quirky media stories about things that have no direct bearing on their own lives might recall this article or this one from last year. These stories covered the use of proven fraudulent explosive detectors at Iraqi checkpoints by police and security personnel. Ben Goldacre also covered the story a [...] … Read More

Five Signs You Might Be Wrong

Darcy Cowan • Mar 25, 2011

• biases,
• Common sense,
• critical thinking,
• Ken Ring,
• misunderstandings,
• nonsense,
• philosophy,
• pseudoscience,
• Psychological,
• scepticism,
• Sciblogs,
• Science in Society,
• scientific method,
• Skeptical Inquiry,
• Skepticism

Over the last few weeks several things have been happening both in my own life and in the wider public (Ken Ring) that have made me think about good rules of thumb to determine whether a claim is likely to be right or wrong. In particular when is it reasonable to perform a self examination [...] … Read More

Lemon: The New Miracle Cure!

Darcy Cowan • Mar 07, 2011

• Alternative medicine,
• altmed,
• big pharma,
• bigpharma,
• cancer,
• Chemotherapy,
• Citrus,
• complementary and alternative medicine,
• Conspiracy,
• crazy,
• cure,
• fantasy,
• Health science,
• lemon,
• medicine,
• Miracle,
• Sciblogs,
• Skepticism

The surprising benefits of lemon! Institute of Health Sciences, 819 N. L.L.C. Charles Street Baltimore , MD 1201. This is the latest in medicine, effective for cancer! Read carefully & you be the judge. Lemon (Citrus) is a miraculous product to kill cancer cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy. Why do we not [...] … Read More

MOONQUAKE: What Does the Science Say?

Darcy Cowan • Mar 03, 2011

• Christchurch,
• Crust (geology),
• Earth,
• Earth Sciences,
• earthquake,
• Ken Ring,
• moon,
• New Zealand,
• pseudoscience,
• Questionable Techniques,
• Sciblogs

As usual I’m late for the bandwagon, hey, guys, wait up! Ok, so David Winter over at The Atavism has already compared Ken Ring’s predictions to the actual data around the latest quake and done an excellent job[1]. Several other Scibloggers have also contributed articles around this topic (1,2,3,4)[2], hopefully I can provide a slightly [...] … Read More