Categories
Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Three things about Carl Sagan

Today is the tenth anniversary of Carl Sagan‘s death from myelodysplasia at the too-young age of 62. On this day, as part of the Carl Sagan Memorial Blogathon (more here), I’d like to explore three observations about Sagan. First and foremost, Carl Sagan was brilliant at expressing the sense of wonder at the universe and […]

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

FAQ: Woo versus non-woo

I don’t think I could have done it much better, if at all. Dr. R.W. presents, in FAQ-form, a primer on the difference between woo and conventional medicine, even conventional modalities that are weakly grounded in evidence. A couple of examples: Many of mainstream medicine’s conventional treatments are not evidence based. Aren’t they a form […]

Categories
Announcements Skepticism/critical thinking

The Skeptics’ Circle: Dedicated to Carl Sagan

Yes, I know that skepticism and Christmas don’t exactly mix. After all, most people, even highly skeptical and unreligious ones, tend to enjoy at least a few, if not many, of the myths that accompany the season, myths such as Santa Claus. But we won’t let that stop us from having a bit of skeptical […]

Categories
Skepticism/critical thinking

Podcast recommendations

I’ve become a big fan of podcasting and now like to listen to podcasts when I happen to be in my office while I’m working and in my car while driving to and from work. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of good skeptical podcasts, at least in comparison with the number of credulous ones. I […]

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

What a fine belated blogiversary present: The return of the microfascists (and their micro brownshirts and microtruncheons)

Believe it or not, I missed my own blogiversary. It’s true. It was two days ago. For some reason, as the date approached I got the idea that it was the 13th, when in fact this blog was born on December 11, 2004 on a dreary Saturday afternoon when, after reading the TIME Magazine story […]