Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
One manifestation of the rising tide of the non-scientific anti-vaccine movement has been the arrival of the pox party. The idea is that when somebody has a kid who has chickenpox they hold a party and invite all their friends around so that their kids can catch it and thus get it all over and done with early. … Read more
As I’m sure you are aware, scary sounding headlines (“Processed meats cause cancer“) have been popping up all over the place, and some of it is more than slightly over the top and not warranted by the actual research. Here is the Express Headline … OK, the short summary is this : “eating Bacon is … Read more
Isaac Asimov is often credited with the following quote, and while I’ve never been able to confirm that he really did say or write this, it still does resonate with many … “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” (I found it!) but “That’s funny … Read more
Generally, if something is sold and does not do what it is claimed to do, then there will be repercussions, but we still live in an age where there are a few exceptions to that, which itself is indeed rather odd. One such exception that is often granted a free ride has been homeopathy, the … Read more
It is once again the time of year when the Nobel Prizes are awarded, and so each day this week we will be hearing about an award for one specific category. The roadmap is as follows: Mon 5 Oct – Physiology or Medicine Tues 6 Oct – Physics Wed 7 Oct – Chemistry Thur 8 Oct – Literature Fri 9 Oct … Read more
Ian Dunt writes in Politics UK about how homeopathy provides a moral test because it functions as a litmus test for belief in objective truth. His argument rolls out as follows … There’s no point going into the research – there’s nothing left to say. Homeopathy is no more effective than a placebo. So when people … Read more