Simple Simon… February 8, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Discussion, politics, science.Tags: meeja, simon jenkins, woo
2 comments
If anyone hasn’t read my post on the twenty-first floor about Simon Jenkins then I advise you to. Thats the longer less ranty version. This isn’t. (more…)
Flowchart Friday #2 February 6, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Discussion, Scepticism.Tags: flowchart friday, Skepticism
2 comments
Ok so it’s Saturday… But better late then never right? Think about your answer and read the whole post before deciding though!
Jeezo what a Banker! February 5, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Discussion, economics, personal, politics.Tags: banker, bonuses
4 comments
It’s fashionable to knock bankers at the minute.
Understandably so in some ways but sometimes I do think it goes a little far. Although when you see articles like this you do sometimes wonder why lynch mobs aren’t forming up and down the country…
The article is entitled ”Banker insists he deserves his bonus” and reads something similar to a farmer trying to convince the turkeys that voting for Xmas is what they really, really want to do. Only in this case the turkeys are tax payers and the farmer doesn’t have the persuasive powers of Bernard Matthews… (more…)
PETA: don’t you need ethics to be ethical? February 3, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Animals, Psychology, politics.Tags: abuse, baby p, ethics, PETA, violence
11 comments
PETA may have been a force for good and not full of insane fundamentalist loonies whose latest trick has been to link animal abuse and child abuse (via Baby P’s killer). In this blog we will explore the grounds for assuming a link but even if one if found this does not excuse the populist and appalling tactics employed by PETA in advertising and advancing their cause. (more…)
Acceptance Speech February 3, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in personal, science.Tags: scottish roundup, speech, top science blog
9 comments
Well it has come to pass that I am Scottish Roundup’s Science blog of the year!
Thanks to everyone who voted. (more…)
Difficult choices… February 2, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in personal.7 comments
Tomorrow the winners in the “Best Scottish Science blog” over on Scottish Roundup are announced…
But before then I have a dilemma – I’ve just become involved with my good mate Les in a site called the twenty-first floor which will also have a skeptical/popular science slant. This might not leave much room for blogging on here (at least in the next few months while we try and build the sites popultarity). Although then again I could take on less of a blogging role and more of a role in the new podcast that will be hosted on the site (as well as Edinburgh (and possibly Glasgow) Skeptics on the 21st floor podcasts – negotiations currently underway…) (more…)
Homeopathy: the air guitar of medicine January 31, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Discussion, Scepticism, personal, pseudoscience, sCAM.Tags: 1023, edinburgh, homeopathy
8 comments
Homeopathy: the air guitar of medicine. (As christened by Peter Harrison)
Homeopaths are notoriously wedded to the idea that giving people water with nothing in it is better than giving them medicine.
Which just goes to show… You can lead a homeopath to science but you can’t make them think.
conversely you can take a scientist to homeopathy but you can’t make them swallow it. (As Andy Lewis of quackometer kindly pointed out although the events of 1023 might make some question that point!) Mainly because scientists require evidence and the like to accept the healing properties of the magic water…
One of the arguments homeopaths like to put forward is that big pharma is a evil and this somehow means homeopathy works…
Well ok there are issues with big pharma but take Nestle for instance. The babymilk debacle didn’t somehow make thin air chocolate does it?
If it did though it could explain the obesity epidemic.
Flowchart Friday! January 29, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Discussion, Scepticism, pseudoscience, sCAM.Tags: flowchart friday. skepticism
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Here’s to having insomnia ridden beer addled ideas!
In part inspired by the “debate” on the #ten23 hashtag on twitter and the moronic mewing sprouting up on online articles up and down the land here are a couple of flowcharts. (more…)
iPad: Rotten Apple? January 28, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Discussion, Psychology.Tags: apple, Cialdini, ipad, persuasison, psycholgoy
8 comments
is the iPad the new C5?
The iPad is an odd creature – apparently meant to fill the void between laptops and iPhones: a device that is intended to fill this void but has less functionality than both laptops and iPhones.
To fill a void I don’t recall anyone mentioning before… (more…)
Fun for skeptics and believers alike! January 26, 2010
Posted by endlesspsych in Discussion, Scepticism, pseudoscience, sCAM.Tags: 1023, close-mindedness, healthranger, mike adams, open-mindedness, shorty awards, Skepticism
31 comments
There has been some hoohaw over on natural news courtesy of everyone’s favourite healthranger (note that r is but a short keypress away from d…) Mike Adams (who I have blogged about before here). It seems the twitter based shorty awards disqualification (more here and here and here) and the 1023 campaign may have broken his fragile little naturopath mind. His ranting here is impressive – it’s scary though to see how quickly not getting ones own way translates into vast and mysterious conspiracies though… How do these peoples minds work? I don’t mean in a general why do they think what they think but literally how does one persons brain cope with so much nonsense and cognitive dissonance?
My mind boggles just trying to conceive it!
