Recently at Science-Based Medicine
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- Written by Dr. Harriet Hall
- Category: Newsflash
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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared recently at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.
Skeptic History: A Big Birthday
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- Written by Tim Farley
- Category: Swift
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Earlier this month skeptics celebrated Carl Sagan Day, held to commemorate the birthday of the late skeptic. Like many in skepticism, Sagan came
to it via the sciences. There’s another date this week that is the birthday of not just one, but several legendary skeptics who come to skepticism from the arts.
November 30, 1667 was the birthday of Irish author Jonathan Swift. A relentless social critic, he was also highly skeptical of topics such as astrology. He famously hoaxed a well-known London astrologer by predicting his death. Because of this and his other works, Swift is the namesake of the JREF's SWIFT newsletter.
Miracle Mineral Solution Part 1 – Just The Facts, Ma'am
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- Written by Jay Walker
- Category: Swift
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“Miracle Mineral - The Miracle Mineral of the 21st Century”. This is the headline to Jim Humble’s website about his perennial product, The Miracle Mineral Solution, a compound so powerful and miraculous that it can cure almost every ill known to mankind including cancer and HIV. If you think that this sounds too good to be true, give yourself a pat on the back. For those of you who think this sounds like a wonder that you can’t wait to try, run away…very fast.
Read more: Miracle Mineral Solution Part 1 – Just The Facts, Ma'am
An Interview with Red Tani of the Filipino Freethinkers
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- Written by Brian Thompson
- Category: Swift
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The JREF recently announced that Red Tani of the Filipino Freethinkers is volunteering to invite paranormal claimants in the 
Philippines to take part in our Million Dollar Challenge. He will also be blogging for us on some of the unique challenges a skeptic faces in the Philippines. I asked him to elaborate on some of those challenges, and our conversation follows:
Brian: How widespread is belief in the paranormal and pseudoscience in the Philippines?
Red: As a predominantly Catholic country, less than one percent of the population consider themselves naturalists; the majority believe in some form of the supernatural. Even those who consider themselves Catholic believe in all sorts of things not taught by the Church -- from fortune telling and feng-shui to demons.
Brian: What are some of the most pernicious paranormal beliefs in the Philippines, and are some more harmful than others?
Red: Belief in horoscopes, psychics, and fortune tellers seems harmless, but many Filipinos lose a lot of money looking for answers in the wrong places. This reinforces the supernatural and wishful thinking that keeps Filipinos from effectively solving their problems, be they money- or health-related. The most harmful ones are those related to alternative medicine. Faith healing, psychic surgery, albularyo (medicine men) -- Filipinos rely on them because of lack of resources or education, needlessly wasting their money and keeping them from effective and safe cures.
Read more: An Interview with Red Tani of the Filipino Freethinkers
Thriving
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- Written by Kyle Hill
- Category: Swift
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It is ironic that the people who claim to be "enlightened" or "awakened" are the very same people who offer theories which so clearly and completely contradict everything we know about human interactions and nature.
I recently started doing my skeptical due diligence with a link on Facebook that was connected to the newest conspiracy theory movie, "Thrive", released just last week on 11/11/11 (you can watch the trailer here). If you are unfamiliar with it, this movie is basically Zeitgeist 2.0. It talks about ancient codes "burned into atomic structures", huge energy company conspiracies and free energy technology, as well as the standard Federal Reserve, Rockefeller, and economic policy rants. Supporting these claims are people like David Icke, world-renowned conspiracy theorist who believes that a secret reptilian race controls the world, and our old friend Mr. Chopra. The movie also proffers that the Illuminati (useless conspiracy placeholder) are covering up free energy technology (which contradict the laws of physics) which was given to us by aliens who make coded crop circles, and have crashed on Earth numerous times, which the government covers up. When you align all of the claims that this movie purports to be true, it is hard not to think it is some kind of joke.
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