Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Monday, April 28, 2008
"Science leads to killing people" - Ben Stein
What a sorry excuse for a human being. Ben Stein = BS.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Expelled Exposed
The most recent anti-science, anti-evolution attempt by the horribly misnamed Discovery Institute is a trashbag of a movie called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. For those who do not know, The Discovery Institute is an organization in the U.S. that aims to further fundamentalist religious propaganda, more specifically, Creationism.
The deception and dishonesty starts even BEFORE the movie was being produced. First it sets up a shell company called Rampant Films to hide the real company behind it, Premise Media. Then they proceed to lie to the scientists they wanted to interview for the movie, saying that the movie was entitled "Crossroads", and that it was an unbiased look at evolution and creationism. They later claim that it was during filming that they changed the title of the movie. However, when the website of Expelled went up, it was found that they registered for the url MONTHS before they started interviewing the scientists. I guess lying and deceiving are sins unless they are done in Jesus' name huh?
What's even worse, they EXPELLED biologist and Intelligent Design critic PZ Myers (who was one of the scientists duped for an interview in the movie) from attending one of their screenings in Minnesota. The film does all it can to appeal to free speech, freedom to dissent, and freedom of thought (yeah religion sure values those things). How ironic then, that they go through every effort to keep critics out of any public screenings; and they suck at it too!
The movie was chockfull of logical fallacies, disinformation, and just plain bad taste. It was so bad, they had to PAY people to watch it! Rumor has it though, that they've already started on a sequel. :)
The deception and dishonesty starts even BEFORE the movie was being produced. First it sets up a shell company called Rampant Films to hide the real company behind it, Premise Media. Then they proceed to lie to the scientists they wanted to interview for the movie, saying that the movie was entitled "Crossroads", and that it was an unbiased look at evolution and creationism. They later claim that it was during filming that they changed the title of the movie. However, when the website of Expelled went up, it was found that they registered for the url MONTHS before they started interviewing the scientists. I guess lying and deceiving are sins unless they are done in Jesus' name huh?
What's even worse, they EXPELLED biologist and Intelligent Design critic PZ Myers (who was one of the scientists duped for an interview in the movie) from attending one of their screenings in Minnesota. The film does all it can to appeal to free speech, freedom to dissent, and freedom of thought (yeah religion sure values those things). How ironic then, that they go through every effort to keep critics out of any public screenings; and they suck at it too!
The movie was chockfull of logical fallacies, disinformation, and just plain bad taste. It was so bad, they had to PAY people to watch it! Rumor has it though, that they've already started on a sequel. :)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Another example of crappy journalism
Another prime example of how the media loves to jump on the bandwagon without doing much research.
Supposedly, a 13 year old German boy calculated that there is a 1-in-450 chance of Apophis, an asteroid, hitting Earth in 2036, as opposed to NASA's 1-in-45,000. Supposedly, NASA has corresponded with this boy and has revised their calculations because he was right.
Turns out, it wasn't true.
It's a sad case of very bad sensational journalism. I mean, how hard is it to pick up a phone and call NASA to verify these claims??? Just shows how the media would do anything to sell a story. We all love these David and Goliath stories, of how a 13 year old boy trumps nerdy scientists and big bad government, but the truth is, it doesn't really happen.
Even worse, they're acting like this was a prediction of a doomsday scenario. Sure 1-in-450 sounds so scary compared to 1-in-45,000, but if your doctor told you that you only have a 1-in-450 chance of living past tomorrow, would you jump for joy? 1-in-450 translates to 0.002%! That's a tiny TINY fraction! It's the same as the percentage of effort used by the media to check the veracity of their reports.
Supposedly, a 13 year old German boy calculated that there is a 1-in-450 chance of Apophis, an asteroid, hitting Earth in 2036, as opposed to NASA's 1-in-45,000. Supposedly, NASA has corresponded with this boy and has revised their calculations because he was right.
Turns out, it wasn't true.
It's a sad case of very bad sensational journalism. I mean, how hard is it to pick up a phone and call NASA to verify these claims??? Just shows how the media would do anything to sell a story. We all love these David and Goliath stories, of how a 13 year old boy trumps nerdy scientists and big bad government, but the truth is, it doesn't really happen.
Even worse, they're acting like this was a prediction of a doomsday scenario. Sure 1-in-450 sounds so scary compared to 1-in-45,000, but if your doctor told you that you only have a 1-in-450 chance of living past tomorrow, would you jump for joy? 1-in-450 translates to 0.002%! That's a tiny TINY fraction! It's the same as the percentage of effort used by the media to check the veracity of their reports.
Monday, March 10, 2008
They're Certainly Persistent...
Wow these guys can't get over it. Check out this photo.
Can't see it? Let's zoom in a little closer...
They "strongly oppose" the Population and Reproductive Health Management Policy. Why? Because it is deceptive? Because it endangers the lives of women and unborn children? How so? I'm willing to bet that the Church will say it promotes promiscuity and abortion. Never mind that the Church doesn't really have a good track record for treating women properly, but that's for another post.
Teaching people about reproductive health, and raising their awareness about sex is a good thing. It protects women (and men!) from disease and from unwanted pregnancy.
Does it promote promiscuity? Hardly. No one is telling the kids to go out and experiment with sex. In fact, informing them about it could possibly take away the element of curiosity, and therefore even minimize the chances. Besides, it's not like people won't try sex if they're kept ignorant about it.
Does it promote abortion? Of course not. In fact, it helps to avoid needing abortion. The more informed you are, the less chance of an unwanted pregnancy, the less need for abortion.
But as usual, the Magisterium.... I mean, the Church says, "evidence schmevidence!" They would rather put dogma and ideology over logic and reason.
Now if I was a conspiracy nut, I would say the Church is doing this on purpose, so they can keep the general populace poor and uneducated. As we all know, the main source of funds for the Church is from the masses. If the general populace were to be highly educated, God forbid that the clergy would actually have to WORK for a living. But I'm not a conspiracy nut so I wont say it. :)
Can't see it? Let's zoom in a little closer...
They "strongly oppose" the Population and Reproductive Health Management Policy. Why? Because it is deceptive? Because it endangers the lives of women and unborn children? How so? I'm willing to bet that the Church will say it promotes promiscuity and abortion. Never mind that the Church doesn't really have a good track record for treating women properly, but that's for another post.
Teaching people about reproductive health, and raising their awareness about sex is a good thing. It protects women (and men!) from disease and from unwanted pregnancy.
Does it promote promiscuity? Hardly. No one is telling the kids to go out and experiment with sex. In fact, informing them about it could possibly take away the element of curiosity, and therefore even minimize the chances. Besides, it's not like people won't try sex if they're kept ignorant about it.
Does it promote abortion? Of course not. In fact, it helps to avoid needing abortion. The more informed you are, the less chance of an unwanted pregnancy, the less need for abortion.
But as usual, the Magisterium.... I mean, the Church says, "evidence schmevidence!" They would rather put dogma and ideology over logic and reason.
Now if I was a conspiracy nut, I would say the Church is doing this on purpose, so they can keep the general populace poor and uneducated. As we all know, the main source of funds for the Church is from the masses. If the general populace were to be highly educated, God forbid that the clergy would actually have to WORK for a living. But I'm not a conspiracy nut so I wont say it. :)
Friday, February 8, 2008
At least SOMEONE still has some sense
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is right. Believe in all the supernatural stuff you want, but please, don't ignore medical science because of it.
"Healing Priest" Father Fernando Suarez claims to be able to heal the faithful of their illnesses, and has been holding "healing masses" all over the country. Of course, the danger here is that people will forego science-based medicine in exchange for "faith healing". In fact, more than a hundred people in total have fainted and 2 people actually died during these "healing masses", something a healing priest could have easily prevented, given that the limitless power of the Lord was on hand.
Some would argue that the mere hope of a cure is good for the people; that it gives them the strength to fight. I contend that false hope is worse than no hope at all. Having no reasonable hope for a cure enables the person to better accept their plight and make do with what they have left. If I had a terminal illness and had only 6 months to live, I would strive to accept the reality and make the most of my remaining six months with my loved ones.
Having false hope only ruins what is left of the person's life. If I had false hope of a cure from Father Suarez, then I would be wasting away the remaining six months of my life chasing Father Suarez, and most probably wasted all the money I would have otherwise left to my children.
Faith healing has been omnipresent throughout human history, but the desired effect of relative good health and longevity hasn't. In fact a large study has found that prayer had absolutely no effect on heart surgery patients. In some cases, those who were prayed upon actually had more complications than those who weren't.
Science, or more particularly Medical Science, isn't perfect. but it doesn't claim to be perfect. It is, however, the best tool we have. It is no coincidence that life expectancy shot up and mortality rates went down with the advent of modern, science-based medicine. Not convinced? Check out the life expectancy of countries with almost no access to science-based medicine (i.e. the African nations).
"Healing Priest" Father Fernando Suarez claims to be able to heal the faithful of their illnesses, and has been holding "healing masses" all over the country. Of course, the danger here is that people will forego science-based medicine in exchange for "faith healing". In fact, more than a hundred people in total have fainted and 2 people actually died during these "healing masses", something a healing priest could have easily prevented, given that the limitless power of the Lord was on hand.
Some would argue that the mere hope of a cure is good for the people; that it gives them the strength to fight. I contend that false hope is worse than no hope at all. Having no reasonable hope for a cure enables the person to better accept their plight and make do with what they have left. If I had a terminal illness and had only 6 months to live, I would strive to accept the reality and make the most of my remaining six months with my loved ones.
Having false hope only ruins what is left of the person's life. If I had false hope of a cure from Father Suarez, then I would be wasting away the remaining six months of my life chasing Father Suarez, and most probably wasted all the money I would have otherwise left to my children.
Faith healing has been omnipresent throughout human history, but the desired effect of relative good health and longevity hasn't. In fact a large study has found that prayer had absolutely no effect on heart surgery patients. In some cases, those who were prayed upon actually had more complications than those who weren't.
Science, or more particularly Medical Science, isn't perfect. but it doesn't claim to be perfect. It is, however, the best tool we have. It is no coincidence that life expectancy shot up and mortality rates went down with the advent of modern, science-based medicine. Not convinced? Check out the life expectancy of countries with almost no access to science-based medicine (i.e. the African nations).
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
What is Skepticology?
What is Skepticology?
Skepticology is a blog that I decided to start because I felt the need to address a lot of the scientifically unsupported distortions of reality like religion, complementary and alternative medicine, paranormal claims and such.
Why did I feel the need? Because skepticism, critical thinking and rationality are in very short supply where I live (and in many other places for that matter). I live the Philippines, where faith healers, witch doctors and fortune tellers are a pretty common part of the average Filipino's life; Where religious organizations meddle in our daily lives; Where people so readily accept supernatural explanations above scientific ones. Where scam artists and alternative medicine practitioners reign free to part the foolish (and not so foolish) from their hard-earned money.
My goal here is not to convert or convince you that your view is wrong and that my view is right. My goal is to inform, educate, and provide proof, or at least help you to ask the relevant questions about some of your particular beliefs. I will be the first to tell you NOT to take my word for it. Ask your own questions. Do your own research. Ultimately, it is you yourself who will decide what you will and will not believe.
Skepticology is a blog that I decided to start because I felt the need to address a lot of the scientifically unsupported distortions of reality like religion, complementary and alternative medicine, paranormal claims and such.
Why did I feel the need? Because skepticism, critical thinking and rationality are in very short supply where I live (and in many other places for that matter). I live the Philippines, where faith healers, witch doctors and fortune tellers are a pretty common part of the average Filipino's life; Where religious organizations meddle in our daily lives; Where people so readily accept supernatural explanations above scientific ones. Where scam artists and alternative medicine practitioners reign free to part the foolish (and not so foolish) from their hard-earned money.
My goal here is not to convert or convince you that your view is wrong and that my view is right. My goal is to inform, educate, and provide proof, or at least help you to ask the relevant questions about some of your particular beliefs. I will be the first to tell you NOT to take my word for it. Ask your own questions. Do your own research. Ultimately, it is you yourself who will decide what you will and will not believe.
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