About This Blog
It sometimes seems like the whole world has gone
mad. Everyone I meet seems to believe in some irrational nonsense, no one can
ever back up their beliefs with evidence, and yet they view me as the one with
the problem. Psychics, psychokinesis, auras, alternative medicine, indigo
children, global consciousness, astrology, reincarnation… the list is endless.
And just when I think I’ve heard everything, along comes a new piece of drivel
I have to listen to. Does anyone ever check anything before repeating it? Doesn’t
seem like it. And if I ask for evidence to back up what is claimed, all I get
is, “you don’t understand”, or “what do you mean, ‘test’ it?”, or “I just know
it works” or “that sounds closed-minded”, or “science doesn’t know everything”.
It’s all over the news too. Sports people think
that God stops whatever he’s doing to help their team (it’s always their team)
win a game. Creationist groups want to teach “intelligent design” as though it
is science. Does anyone in the media know the difference between science and
pseudoscience? Not that you can tell.
Anyway, this site is the antidote. I aim to apply
critical thinking and humor to some of the idiotic stories I see in the news
and elsewhere. Some of the articles will be a little flippant; some will be
more serious. Check out the "Classic Posts" links on the left to get
an idea what this blog is about. Above all I hope you will leave this site
enlightened and entertained.
And to any of my friends who happen to stumble across this site: be careful what you say to me – you may find yourself quoted here tomorrow. Any comments made to me, if silly enough, may end up in this blog. I may change the names to protect the guilty, that’s all. And anyone who emails me by clicking on the email link in the left hand column, or who responds to a Skeptico-based email from me, is implicitly giving me permission to publish all or part of that email on this blog.
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