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Intelligent design/creationism News of the Weird Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

File under: “You can’t make stuff like this up”

When you don’t have the facts on your side, can’t get published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, and have consistently failed to make a case for your hypothesis, what do you do? Well, if you’re a real scientist, you might just finally pack it in, admit that you were probably wrong, and move on to […]

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Humor Religion

Mr. Deity on fundamentalism of all stripes

I don’t know about you, but I find Mr. Deity to be hilarious. This time around, with the most recent episode, he takes on fundamentalism of all stripes and whether there should be an afterlife or not. (For a commercial-free direct link to the iTunes version, go here.) And, of course, who doesn’t want third […]

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Essential reading: Why prior probability is important in considering the results of clinical trials of so-called “complementary and alternative medicine”

I’ve become known as an advocate for evidence-based medicine (EBM) in the three years since I started this little bit of ego gratification known as Respectful Insolence™. One thing this exercise has taught me that I might never have learned before (and that I’ve only reluctantly begun to accept as true) is one huge problem […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Friday Woo Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Your Friday Dose of Woo: Cellular Feng Shui?

Balance. It’s what the woo-meisters who believe in “Feng Shui” tell us that it will bring to those who use its principles to arrange the objects in their life, be they furniture, homes, the design of buildings, or even the layouts of whole cities. Indeed, Feng Shui tells us that the way we arrange objects […]

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Announcements Skepticism/critical thinking

The 80th Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle: Is Valentine’s Day the right time for skepticism?

Of course Valentine’s Day is the right time for skepticism! What better time? If you don’t believe me, visit Bug Girl’s Blog for the 80th Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle: Valentine Edition! She’ll show you why there’s no time like today for a healthy dose of critical thinking. Next up is (I think) Sorting Out […]