Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
The deployment of straw men is often used to craft the illusion of a strong argument. The metaphor is one in which your opponent will surreptitiously substitute your actual argument for a weak passive dummy and then rapidly demolish it. It conjurers up images of assault troops marching out to do battle against a field … Read more
Starting tomorrow (1st Sept) you will no longer be permitted to buy or sell magic spells on eBay. Really!! you could actually do that? … apparently yes, it was a thriving business. Within their September 2012 update they explain … The following items are also being added to the prohibited items list: advice; spells; curses; … Read more
Last Tuesday ( 28th Aug) the BBC broadcast a very interesting program Islam: The Untold Story.In this,historian Tom Holland examines the real evidence regarding the origins of Islam. Traditionally, Muslims and non-Muslims alike have believed that Islam was born in the full light of history. But a large number of historians doubt that presumption, and … Read more
It has been confirmed that 2012 is indeed a record breaking year for the loss of sea ice in the Arctic and is now the lowest in the satellite era. The image on the left here shows the extent as of yesterday. Yes, that is newer data than the recent press reports, we have already … Read more
The latest news is what we have now come to expect from the religious lunatics within Afghanistan, 17 people including two woman have been beheaded in a southern Afghanistan village … The party-goers, including two women, were holding a gathering with music in a southern Afghanistan village. “I can confirm that this is the work of … Read more
News24 is a well-known vector for daft claims, perhaps because much of what you get there is user generated and has not been filtered. I came across an article by a chap called Kevin King that is a great example of an appeal to authority. What is that? OK, quick basic summary Person, book, etc… … Read more