15 February 2012 by Ethan Clow
Recently I was watching the History Channel when a commercial for Brad Meltzer’s Decoded came on. At first I found the commercial enraging and further eroded my lingering embers of hope that the History Channel had a legitimate interested in promoting actual history and not bunk dressed up to look like a Dan Brown book. [...]
Posted in Conspiracy Theories, Critical Thinking, History, Media, Reviews, Skepticism, Social Sciences3 Comments
05 January 2012 by John Underhay
The Mayans have been in the news a lot over the past couple of years, particularly due to their (supposed) prediction that the world will end in December of this year. This has been so thoroughly debunked that I hardly need mention it here. Reminiscent of the response to Harold Camping, there are those who [...]
Posted in History, Social Sciences5 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 [...]
08 September 2011 by Ethan Clow
Earlier in the week, I discussed how to talk about ghost on Radio Freethinker. It’s a topic that I’ve thought about for a while and there’s a possibility that my advice might serve other skeptics out there. I have several family members who believe in ghosts and have their own unique ghostly experiences they like [...]
Posted in Critical Thinking, Paranormal, Science, Skepticism11 Comments
11 August 2011 by Dianne Sousa
Some time ago, Skeptic North reviewed an episode of CBC’s Marketplace that focused on homeopathy. The program featured a parent that opted to use homeopathic vaccines instead of real vaccines. I suspected that the parent was genuinely misinformed about vaccines and homeopathy, and noted in the comments that since as a result of the program, [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Featured, Health Policy, Medicinal Advertising, Pseudoscience, Skepticism12 Comments
25 March 2011 by Ethan Clow
I have a little game I play when I go into book stores. First I make a prediction, then I head over to the history section and see if my prediction is on the ball or not. My prediction will be how many books of pseudo-history, works of outright fiction, conspiracy theories and tirades on [...]
Posted in Conspiracy Theories, History, Media, Reviews, Social Sciences2 Comments
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 December 2010 by Ethan Clow
Recently in Vancouver, the Centre for Inquiry hosted the cast of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe, with George Hrab sitting in for Rebecca Watson, for a live show on their way to Australia for The Amazing Meeting Oz. It was, simply put, a fantastic show. We spent about two months planning the event, although [...]
Posted in Critical Thinking, Events, Media, Skepticism0 Comments
29 October 2010 by Erik Davis
This is the final installment of my five-part series on Magical Thinking, which began on Monday to elaborate on the themes of my talk at Skepticamp Toronto last weekend. Previous installments: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4. Engaging the Non-Skeptic Hang around the skeptical community long enough, and you’ll inevitably [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Cognition, Critical Thinking, Science, Skepticism3 Comments
04 October 2010 by Ethan Clow
Field Agent 09345 Report: Commanding Officers, Judge and Advocates, Disciplinary Committee… With regards to the investigation into professional negligence of myself, Field Agent 09345, and aforementioned Field Report now under review by this honourable committee, I should like to offer some justification on my behalf. This is not offered to be an excuse on my [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Skepticism0 Comments
