Categories
Entertainment/culture Movies Science fiction/fantasy

Greatest. Movie. Ever.

While trying to avoid working on my grant yesterday, I was idly flipping channels. I had planned on killing a few minutes while psyching myself up to go back into the Bat Cave that is my office, ignoring a gloriously perfect sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s, to do battle with the grant […]

Categories
Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

I thought they were just kidding…

This is disturbing. Yesterday, I did a rather light-hearted edition of Your Friday Dose of Woo about “ionic foot detoxification.” A reader pointed out that in a story in which Randi had also discussed this woo, there was a comment along the lines of “I think autistic children should really do this.” How prophetic! Sadly, […]

Categories
Announcements Skepticism/critical thinking

A friendly reminder

Don’t forget, everybody, that the 67th Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle is due to land at The Bronze Blog on Thursday, August 16. Bronze Dog will host. As you may know, Bronze Dog is the creator of a great list of “doggerel” commonly used by the credulous to defend pseudoscience or the paranormal. It’s up […]

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

Your Friday Dose of Woo: A soothing footbath of woo

After over a year of doing Your Friday Dose of Woo, I can’t believe I’ve never come across this one before. Sometimes there’s a bit of woo that comes my way that’s so off the wall, so unexpected, the claims for which are so unrelated to reality that it startles even me. Moreover, unlike truly […]

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Spot the flaw in the argument in this pitch…

Somehow, I don’t know how, I managed to wind up on the mailing list of über-woomeister Dr. Joseph Mercola, who’s almost as bad as Mike Adams, only less blatantly crazy in pushing conspiracy theories. Yesterday, I received this pitch by e-mail: