Brian Dunning, host of the skeptical podcast Skeptoid, has produced a well-made and well thought out movie, a sort of primer on skepticism. It's entitled Here be Dragons. You can download it for free at the website or you can view it on YouTube.
It lays out skepticism and what it's all about in easy to understand terms. Whether you're an atheist or not, it's a good movie to watch to learn more about critical thinking, and how it can help us in a world full of snake oil salesmen and pseudoscience.
Showing posts with label skepticism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skepticism. Show all posts
Monday, August 4, 2008
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
