– Date – June 19, 2012
– Send your cool ‘SCIENCE!’ shout-outs to
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– Theme song by Steve Seamans of the Daisy Dillman Band. Get the song HERE.
– Thank you to everyone who has been purchasing books, Skepticality stuff, or using our Amazon link to help us out!
Skepticism, Past and Future
– Edwards v. Aguillard marked the end of creationism in U.S. schools, decided June 19, 1987.
– The Kenneth Arnold UFO incident of June 24, 1947 set off the entire “flying saucers” craze.
– The Maury Island incident took place on June 21, 1947.
– The Roswell UFO incident originates with a U.S. Army press release on July 8, 1947.
– Amelia Earhart disappeared July 2, 1937, spawning many theories.
– Slactivism is a term formed from “slacker” and “activism.”
– The skeptic campaign to get David Mabus arrested required both online and real-world activism.
– Budget Travel’s article “15 More Places Every Kid Should See Before 15” does not include the Creation Museum, despite huge efforts to bomb the poll.
– Bridget Gaudette also wrote an excellent essay on this topic called, “Are You an Atheist Slacktivist?” last week.
– Tim’s workshop on crowdsourced skepticism will be held at The Amazing Meeting on July 12th.
– Skeptic History facts are posted daily on social media find out where on this page at Tim’s blog.
Unnatural Virtue
– René Prosper Blondlot (1849-1930), a French physicist claimed discovered a new type of radiation. His folly repeated by Pons and Fleischmann with cold fusion (1989) and Jacques Benveniste with water memory claims (1988).
– Spirit scientists have deceived themselves about statistical significance and the use of meta-analysis in studies on ESP, psychokinesis, and healing prayer and distance healing.
– “Hidden persuaders” in The Skeptic’s Dictionary
– Science, self-deception, control-group studies, and the experimenter effect in The Skeptic’s Dictionary.
– “How We Know What Isn’t So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life” by Thomas Gilovich
– “Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time” by Michael Shermer
– “Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things” by Madeleine L. Van Hecke
– “Why Smart people Can Be So Stupid” by Robert J. Sternberg, ed.
– According to Jacob Bronowski’s in “The Ascent of Man“, science “is a tribute to what we can know although we are fallible.”
– The Skeptic’s Dictionary
– “Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism, and Science Exposed!“
The Odds Must Be Crazy
– This week’s featured story is “God & Pizza in Vermont“
– Story was submitted by friend of the blog, Alison Smith.
– Please visit the story link for a more detailed analysis and to add your comments
– Additional thoughts and considerations provided by Barbara Drescher
– Our producer and audio engineer is Brian Hart
– Our theme music debuting this week comes to us courtesy of Brian Keith Dalton, AKA Mr. Deity
– Please visit The Independent Investigations Group Los Angeles
– The Odds Must Be Crazy can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+
– Wendy Hughes is on Twitter
– Jarrett Kaufman is on Twitter
– Barbara Drescher is on Twitter
– Brian Hart is on Twitter
– Brian Keith Dalton is on Twitter
Tribal Science – Mike McRae
– Tribal Science by Mike McRae
– Mike McRae’s website
– What drives people to their beliefs
– Humans are social animals which have brains which evolved to be social
– This book was created by Mike as an ‘easy to read’ version of “Demon Haunted World“
– Something ‘sparked’ human curiosity and critical thinking
– Occam’s Razor was actually conceived by a highly religious man
– Flip-Flopping in politics should actually be praised and never be a bad thing
– It is okay for people to have crazy ideas, until they infringe upon your life or society
– Where is the line for skeptics or critical thinkers when it comes to wild claims
– Lots of people do get a free pass due to our tribal nature
– Maybe we shouldn’t call the odd quirks of our brains ‘flaws’
– The Double Helix Club in Australia
– Australian department of science works with Mike to create communications tools
