12 December 2012 by Scott Gavura
There are probably as many paths to becoming a scientific skeptic as there are skeptics. Admittedly my framework for skepticism was in the background for decades, but it’s only been over the past several years that I’ve started to really understand skepticism as a way of thinking. It was driven by my work as a [...]
Posted in Cognition, Critical Thinking, Logic and Fallacies, Probability and Statistics, Reviews, Skepticism, Social Sciences16 Comments
16 August 2011 by Scott Gavura
It’s the lazy days of summer, folks. We’re thinking skeptically, but let’s just say we’ve been, well, distracted. Here’s what we’ve been reading, dockside. Homeopathy Homeopathic manufacturer Boiron is threatening to sue an Italian blogger regarding the homeopathic remedy Oscillococcinum, claiming posts are “defamatory” Here’s his blog, translated into English. In yet another example [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Diet and Nutrition, Probability and Statistics, Skepticism2 Comments
16 June 2011 by Erik Davis
It must be true. A little bird told me. That little bird of course was Cosmo the Amazon Parrot of the Vancouver Aquarium, who went on CBC and Global a few weeks back to predict a quick win by Vancouver. Watch: A Strong Track Record? At the time, it seemed reasonable to trust Cosmo – [...]
Posted in Canada, Cognition, Critical Thinking, Culture, Logic and Fallacies, Media, Probability and Statistics, Skepticism1 Comment
02 June 2011 by Michael Kruse
Picking up where I left off yesterday, here is a short discussion about the application of the Precautionary Principle and the Weight of Evidence approach to evaluating scientific claims. The Precautionary Principle In many discussions of the “dangers” of WiFi and cell phones, the precautionary principle is evoked. It is the idea that we have [...]
Posted in Critical Thinking, Health, Health Policy, Probability and Statistics, Skepticism21 Comments
19 April 2011 by Dianne Sousa
During elections my ears perk up when law and order issues come up. Are politicians doing business differently this time round? Do they show that they understand what they’re talking about? The claims thrown around in these discussions deserve careful scrutiny because the data that they depend on are often ambiguous or misleading. Surprise! The evidence [...]
Posted in Canada, Critical Thinking, Probability and Statistics, Social Sciences4 Comments
04 February 2011 by Darren McKee
Today’s guest post is from Darren McKee, an contributor to the Ottawa Skeptics podcast. Want to contribute a review? Contact us. I predict that you will find this review informative. If you do, you will congratulate my foresight. If you don’t, you’ll forget I was wrong. My playful intro summarizes the main thesis of Gardner’s [...]
Posted in Critical Thinking, Culture, Probability and Statistics, Reviews, Skepticism5 Comments
15 September 2010 by Marion Kilgour
Back in November, I wrote a post about Canadian Blood Services (CBS), and their indefinite ban on donations from men who have had sex with men (MSM). The point of the post was that an indefinite ban is not supported by science. Well, the ruling for Canadian Blood Services v. Kyle Freeman is in, and [...]
Posted in Canada, Health, Health Policy, Probability and Statistics1 Comment
03 September 2010 by Chris Hebbern
The bed bug resurgence Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, have been infesting human habitations for thousands of years. About the size of an apple seed, the bugs can hide in electronics, such as radios, in drawers, in and under furniture, behind baseboards, under loose wallpaper, behind paintings and posters, in small cracks and in the curtains. They [...]
Posted in Canada, Critical Thinking, Health, Logic and Fallacies, Media, Medical Conditions, Ontario, Probability and Statistics, Science, Skepticism12 Comments
24 August 2010 by Marion Kilgour
In the past three months, the Harper government has said some things about statistics that are blatantly wrong and received some media attention, which is a bit unusual. What things did the government say, and were they actually correct? First, in June the government announced that it would be replacing the mandatory long form census [...]
Posted in Canada, Critical Thinking, Economics, Probability and Statistics8 Comments
24 June 2010 by Erik Davis
Recently, I filed a post about food allergies in the schoolyard, which was driven by catching myself in several common logical fallacies. You see, before writing the article, I had a general sense that school policies designed to protect allergic kids from peanut exposure were getting out of hand. After all, back when I was [...]
Posted in Cognition, Critical Thinking, History, Logic and Fallacies, Probability and Statistics, Science, Skepticism12 Comments
More consequences of calling sugar pills “safe and effective”
Crack Your Back instead of a Vial of Vaccine?
Toronto Media, false balance, and the lack of evidence for claims about MIA vet John Hartley Robertson
How Western journalists in Vietnam and POW NGOs were not fooled by tales of MIA Vet back from the dead
Did a Canadian filmmaker find a left behind Vietnam vet or did credulous Toronto media give new life to an old scam?
