New Videos from The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012: Eugenie Scott and Carrie Poppy
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If you missed The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012, you can still catch great talks, panels, and workshops on science and skepticism given live at TAM 2012 on our YouTube page. Today, we are happy to share two more exceptional talks.
Dr. Eugenie Scott: The Future of the Creationism and Evolution Controversy
Dr. Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education discusses the tactics employed by creationists in denying the science behind evolution. Live on stage at TAM 2012.
Carrie Poppy: If You Were Me: Using In-Group Language to Reach Out
Carrie Poppy, Director of Communications at the James Randi Educational Foundation and co-host of the popular "Oh No, Ross and Carrie!" podcast, discusses the importance of using inclusive language while doing outreach. Combining communication strategy and a spirit of friendly investigation, Carrie suggests that skeptical activists mirror themselves after a group she investigated and joined... the Mormon church.
Watch for new talks from The Amaz!ng Meeting every week, right here on randi.org. And enjoy new videos the moment they are posted by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
Book Review: 'The Scope of Skepticism'
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- Written by D.J. Grothe
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I first met Kylie Sturgess a number of years ago at Dragon*Con, the large Southeast science fiction and fantasy fan convention, which at that time was just beginning its skeptical programming, SkepTrack. In addition to speaking at Dragon*Con, she has spoken at the World Skeptics Congress, The Amaz!ng Meeting, QEDCon, and has twice hosted the Global Atheist Convention in Australia. She also writes for a number of skeptical organizations and publications, teaches philosophy at the high school and college level, and serves on the JREF’s educational advisory panel. But all of this is in addition to her regular podcast, the Token Skeptic. (The woman is a whirlwind of skepticism.)
She recently compiled various interviews and transcriptions from her podcast, and made them available as a book: The Scope of Skepticism. For folks interested in the important conversations skeptics have among themselves, this is a good read. Featuring scientists like Bruce Hood, Caroline Watt and Pamela Gay, skeptic journalists and writers like Sharon Hill and Daniel Loxton, investigators like Ben Radford and Hayley Stevens, and celebrities such as Tim Minchin and Stephen Fry, the book compiles some of the best content from the nearly 150 video and audio programs that Sturgess has produced over the years.
The transcript of her interview with Daniel Loxton is a standout. They explore well-traveled ground for the serious skeptic: what science has to say about religion, how to inculcate the scientific spirit in youngsters, if skepticism is different from atheism. But they also manage to provide fresh insights. Loxton defends a limited stope for skepticism, and, as an example, explains why he thinks that the application of scientific skepticism to ideological claims is a “catastrophe for skepticism,” pushing back against the eagerness others show to “turn skepticism into a partisan political position or a religious affiliation . . . . [which] is a misuse of the language of skepticism and science.” I appreciated that when his science book for children came out (Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be), he unwittingly stumbled into an “ongoing turf war between different brands of atheists” — contrary to his basic intention when addressing religion in the book, which was merely to “emphasize that the skeptical project should be closely tied to science and . . . the burdens and responsibilities of science.”
This Week In Doubtful News
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Here is a rundown of the top stories in paranormal, un-science and anomalous news from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News.
Several stories came up this week that were almost instantly revealed as hoaxes, some took a little longer but we had been saying, "Hmm…" pretty early on. The biggest reveal was that of the latest Loch Ness monster picture. It showed a stationary hump in the water that was difficult to correlate to a real, known animal, especially considering the story surrounding it. Well, this week, it was revealed that the hump in the picture is a match with a fiberglass prop used in a National Geographic special from a few years ago. The prop still exists. And, yes, it is a very good match. While details of what exactly happened here is fuzzier than the picture itself (since no one seems to be telling the whole story), we can safely conclude that this is not evidence supporting the existence of any new creature. But, certainly a tale of intrigue and deception.
Shame on the news sources that touted this completely awful video supposedly of Bigfoot crossing an ATV trail in Ohio. As Joe Nickell might say, it looks like another appearance of Bigsuit.
Last Week At Science-Based Medicine
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- Written by Dr. Harriet Hall
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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.
Dr. Gorski pontificates about the Gerson Therapy on Uprising Radio (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/dr-gorski-pontificates-about-the-gerson-therapy-on-uprising-radio/ Announcement providing a link to a radio interview.
Related by coincidence only? University and medical journal press releases versus journal articles (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/related-by-coincidence-only-journal-press-releases-versus-journal-articles/ Why are scientific studies reported so badly in the press? Press releases from universities and journals are partly to blame. They are often biased, distorted, and omit critically important information. They hype preliminary research, fail to provide context, and offer over-enthusiastic quotes from the researchers.
New Videos from The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012: Skepticism and the Future
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If you missed The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012, you can still catch great talks, panels, and workshops on science and skepticism given live at TAM 2012 on our YouTube page. Today, we are happy to share two more wonderful videos.
Steven Novella, Harriet Hall, David Gorski, and Rachel Dunlop: The Truth About Alternative Medicine
Expert doctors Steven Novella, Harriet Hall, David Gorski, and Rachel Dunlop discuss so-called "alternative" medicine. What kinds of treatments does that term include? Are these treatments effective or even ethical? How can practitioners be held accountable for the services they provide? Plus, questions from the live audience at TAM 2012.
Tim Farley: You are the Future of Skepticism on the Internet
JREF research fellow Tim Farley, creator of WhatsTheHarm.net, details how skeptics are using the vast resources of the internet to educate the public about pseudoscience and the paranormal, and how skeptics on the web are holding peddlers of nonsense accountable for their actions. Live on stage from TAM 2012.
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