Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
What do we actually know about Halloween? Most of us happily accept the traditions and do not give too much thought to the origins of it all. Given that today is the day, let’s mull over it all a bit with a couple of questions. Where does the name “Halloween” come from? Traditionally, Halloween is Hallows’ … Read more
It is perhaps now being increasingly appreciated by many people that Homeopathy is utter nonsense and does not work, and yet it has been granted accreditation by the UK’s Government run PSA (Professional Standards Authority). As a quick bit of background, just to be clear, homeopathy really is a sham and does not work … … Read more
Did you know that Harry Houdini and Abraham Lincoln were good friends and would often meet up? For example, see the picture above. There is of course one rather glaring flaw here. Lincoln was rather famously assassinated on 15 April 1865, and Houdini was born after that in 1874. How then is a picture such … Read more
Often when faced with some pseudoscientific stuff that appears to be benign, it can be very tempting to think “Well, what is the harm“. Only later do we discover that it comes with a heavy price, one that has a considerably negative impact. One such example concerns the rising popularity of Healing Crystals. The Guardian … Read more
A bit of fun today, but first some background. You might, or perhaps might not, be aware that the answer to life, the universe, everything is 42. If you are familiar with this specific cultural meme then you will of course instantly recognise this as part of the plot from the 1979 book by Douglas … Read more
You might have seen a few media stories about the latest Loch Ness monster hunt resulting in a claim that it just might have been a giant eel. It was global – the story ran in the Guardian, the BBC and USA Today. Well yes, welcome to the monster factor; any mention of Loch Ness and monsters is like … Read more