Recently, At Science-Based Medicine
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- Written by Harriet Hall, MD (The SkepDoc)
- Category: Newsflash
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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last recently at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.
Colbert On Geller
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- Written by James Randi
- Category: Swift
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Apparently, Uri Geller is sticking by his decision that no matter what people say about him, it's all good publicity, just as I'm sure that mentalist Kreskin probably celebrates the existence 
of the movie The Great Buck Howard, even though it's a devastating and hilarious exposé of him and his methods. Geller delights in quoting Oscar Wilde: "The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about." Take a look here at the latest major comment on the professional spoon-bender, this time by Stephen Colbert, and decide whether Geller will celebrate this event or summon his lawyers – one of his very favorite pastimes – to bleat and moan once again. Colbert being Colbert, he could not possibly have passed up an opportunity to show just how ridiculous the latest from Geller really is. Even Geller’s devoted teenyboppers might gag at this claim.
Of course, we're still waiting for Geller to announce that he has succeeded in bringing back one of the cameras that the lunar astronauts left on our satellite 39 years ago; an intention he announced long ago, but which has so far not been achieved, for some strange reason.
Ben Goldacre on the Squabbles Around Homeopathy from TAM 6
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- Written by Michael Blanford
- Category: Swift
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In an effort to make our extensive video library available online free of charge, The James Randi Educational Foundation is posting high quality digital video lectures and sessions from previous Amaz!ng Meetings and other events on randi.org. Check back often to see the latest video content.
Science writer and psychiatrist Ben Goldacre takes a historical look at homeopathy and its critics while reviewing the often misrepresented results of over 200 scientific trials. His talk gives an, at times, humorous explanation of what homeopathy is and why its principles are implausible and even “childish”.
Of Cars and Conspiracies
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- Written by Dragonrock
- Category: Swift
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Jeff Wagg’s article about the extreme lack of casualties on board the AIRES 737 in Columbia brought to mind a similar story from 2009. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was instituted in 1959 to test and promote auto safety. To celebrate their 50th anniversary they decided to throw a big bash, or rather, a big crash. They slammed two cars together, which is what they do fairly often. What made this crash different was that they weren’t testing crash worthyness. While Mythbusters has shown us that breaking things is fun, that wasn’t the purpose either. In this case they were doing it to show off.
In an effort to demonstrate the improvements brought about by 50 years of engineering knowledge, they crashed a 1959 Chevy Bel Air into a 2009 Chevy Malibu. It was a 40mph head on offset driver side crash; which was probably chosen because it allowed the cars to go head to head and see who came out standing. The cars were both 4-door sedans of roughly the same weight so it wasn’t a David vs. Goliath at least where momentum was concerned. The video to the right shows the crash from several angles, including from inside the cabin. Watch it, then we’ll continue talking.
My Sweet Lord — He's So Fine!
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- Written by Jeff Wagg
- Category: Swift
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This is a follow up to my article The Media Miracle.
Immediately after posting that article, I was contacted by Patrick Smith, who asked if his article influenced my article. What happened next was very interesting, so I'm going to tell the story in some detail.
As soon as Patrick sent that e-mail, I immediately looked at his article, and I thought... Wow, there's a lot of similarity here. But I hadn't read his article before I wrote mine, so how could that be? And then I remembered.
On the morning of August 18, 2010, I sleepily grabbed my iPad and browsed through two periodicals: USAToday and Slate, using their respective iPad apps. One of the featured articles in Slate was indeed Patrick's article. With horror, I thought "Holy cow, I've stolen his article."
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