Ongoing Skeptic Thread

[troutman]

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by troutman

John Oliver's show is becoming the sharpest tool against woo (even better than Stewart and Colbert).

woo?

[photon]

Woo

[troutman]

http://www.skepdic.com/woowoo.html

Woo-woo (or just plain woo) refers to ideas considered irrational or based on extremely flimsy evidence or that appeal to mysterious occult forces or powers.

Here's a dictionary definition of woo-woo:

adj. concerned with emotions, mysticism, or spiritualism; other than rational or scientific; mysterious; new agey. Also n., a person who has mystical or new age beliefs.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by photon

Woo

Originally Posted by troutman

http://www.skepdic.com/woowoo.html

Woo-woo (or just plain woo) refers to ideas considered irrational or based on extremely flimsy evidence or that appeal to mysterious occult forces or powers.

Here's a dictionary definition of woo-woo:

adj. concerned with emotions, mysticism, or spiritualism; other than rational or scientific; mysterious; new agey. Also n., a person who has mystical or new age beliefs.

Damn it I knew this was gonna be something stupid that would take up a part of my deminishing brain capacity...

[Thor]

Woo has really caught on because Deepak Chopra HATES this word with a freakin passion. He loses his cool when he hears it and thus in the skeptic community this word is blowing up

[troutman]

BBC staff told to stop inviting cranks on to science programmes

BBC Trust says 200 senior managers trained not to insert 'false balance' into stories when issues were non-contentious

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/t...rogrammes.html

“Science coverage does not simply lie in reflecting a wide range of views but depends on the varying degree of prominence such views should be given.”

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by troutman

BBC staff told to stop inviting cranks on to science programmes

BBC Trust says 200 senior managers trained not to insert 'false balance' into stories when issues were non-contentious

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/t...rogrammes.html

“Science coverage does not simply lie in reflecting a wide range of views but depends on the varying degree of prominence such views should be given.”

CNN is terrible for this but not just about science, about everything. Of course the cranks are often Tea Baggers or their ilk.

[troutman]

[troutman]

Interactive Table:
http://www.crispian.net/PTIR/Nonsense.html

[Street Pharmacist]

Really great take on vitamins by fivethirtyeight blog:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/...your-vitamins/

Given the consistency of these results — large effects in observational data, nothing in randomized trials — it’s worth asking what might be going on to better understand whether or not other relationships we see in observational data on vitamins are likely to be replicated in randomized trials.

One glaring issue is whether people who take vitamins are different from those who do not, and whether those differences also relate to differences in health. To give a sense of just how closely the patterns line up, the chart below shows the relationship between education and taking vitamin D supplements (in the 2009-2010 NHANES), and also the relationship between education and whether the individual is overweight or has diabetes. The chart also shows the same thing for race.

It is therefore not surprising that when randomized data comes along, the results are very different. And of course this should lead us to be equally cautious when the next new, non-randomized study arrives to tell us what we should — or should not — add to our diets.

Basically, don't believe everything am observational study tells you

[troutman]

How did I miss this? Woolapalooza at the Grey Eagle (Calgary Body Soul & Spirit Expo):

https://www.facebook.com/events/687405201330633/

http://www.bodysoulspiritexpo.com/

Lectures - for Real!

http://bodysoulspiritexpo.com/expo/l...s.php3?city=72

The Power of Thought – the Power of Water

Unlocking the Divine Code of your Akashic Record

Guides, Angels and Soul mates

Bio Energy Healing

Near Death Experience - A Survivor's Story

Sole to Soul Reflexology

DIRECT PAST LIFE READINGS

[Knut]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...vastem-hockey/

Did Stem Cells Really help Gordie Howe ?

The science is dubious for sure.

[troutman]

2014, a bad year for homeopathy.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by troutman

2014, a bad year for homeopathy.

http://theconversation.com/2014-a-ba...oeopathy-35788

[Charcot]

http://genome.fieldofscience.com/201...pplements.html

Whether they do anything or nothing at least herbal supplements should have what they claim to have in them.

Study shows many do not contain what they claim to.

I sure it is just a mistake, and not that rice powder is cheaper than ginseng.

[Thor]

For you Calgary peeps, do check out the Skeptics in the Pub in Calgary group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/27658914163/

[troutman]

[Thor]

Such an unfair fight, I hope her "army" of idiots does partake though. I love how almost always these people immediately assume industry funding to people that are skeptical and base themselves on science instead of people like Food Babe...

[Nyah]

Great read in this months issue of National Geographic magazine. Grab a copy of it if you get a chance: