13 July 2012 by Ethan Clow
As a dog owner I have frequently heard of César Millán the Dog Whisperer. Millán is a Mexican-American dog trainer, best known for his National Geographic TV show, The Dog Whisperer, in which he rehabilitates trouble dogs. Here is a typical video showing what Millán does with aggressive dogs. When watching his show, one can’t [...]
Posted in Media, Skepticism25 Comments
08 December 2011 by Richelle McCullough
Over the course of my graduate degree, I slowly became more and more aware of the bad information in the media about science, ultimately leading to my interest in the skeptical movement. When I decided to a talk at Skepticamp Winnipeg 2011, I realized that I needed to address the way science exists in the [...]
07 December 2011 by Richelle McCullough
Image credit: B Tal Near my house in Winnipeg, there’s a summertime Farmer’s Market that I used to go to every weekend to buy fresh local fruits, vegetables and honey. I grew up in rural farming communities and come from a long line of farmers, so I like supporting the little guys who still run family [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Diet and Nutrition, Prairies16 Comments
01 October 2011 by Kim Hebert
(Photo by monkeywing.) Pictured: An actual homeopathic remedy. I am not kidding. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has drawn criticism recently for their bizarrely-worded policy proposal regarding alternative medicine, most notably from the Canadian Medical Association (general organization feedback here). Common concerns were that the policy is insufficiently objective and science-based, [...]
Posted in Alberta, Alternative Medicine, British Columbia, Canada, Health16 Comments
30 August 2011 by Marion Kilgour
Recently, I stopped adding salt to my water for cooking pasta. I had always been told by my mother that adding salt makes the water boil faster…but everything seemed to be taking the same amount of time. This seemed like something I hadn’t thought about before but could now easily apply some critical thinking to. [...]
Posted in Critical Thinking, Diet and Nutrition, Science14 Comments
29 December 2010 by Marion Kilgour
I recently moved into a new place and, for the first time since I moved out of my parent’s house for university, I have enough room to unpack all of my books. One that I pulled out of the box of beloved children’s books was Scary Science: The Truth Behind Vampires, Witches, UFO’s Ghosts and [...]
Posted in Canada, Reviews, Skepticism1 Comment
17 December 2010 by Ethan Clow
Over the last couple weeks controversy erupted in the world of anthropology. No, they didn’t find more Hobbits. The problem began when the American Anthropology Association altered their mandate removing science from their long range goals. When the organization met for its annual meeting a decision was reached to strip the words “science” from their [...]
Posted in Critical Thinking, History, Skepticism, Social Sciences19 Comments
01 November 2010 by Ethan Clow
Recently a Creationist, one Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, (his PhD is in chemistry) has been touring in British Columbia speaking on the subject of evolution. The title of his talk is “Evolution: The Greatest Hoax on Earth” which is his way of suggesting that he can refute the claims made by Richard Dawkins in his latest [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Canada, Evolution, Science, Skepticism4 Comments
01 October 2010 by Melany Hamill
Carl Sagan was a champion of science. He made physics and astronomy accessible to everyone, and did it in a way that inspired hope and wonder. He was also a well-known skeptic, but he was not known as a debunker. In the The Demon-Haunted World, however, he pulls no punches while challenging superstitious beliefs. The [...]
Posted in Reviews3 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
