Archive for the ‘New Age’ Category.
8th July 2008, 12:19 am
By Tammy Buchli, Science & Reason in Hampton Roads
Article ID: 1238
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When my local skeptic’s organization (Science & Reason in Hampton Roads) announced a field trip to Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment in Virginia Beach, I was eager to attend. We planned a full afternoon at the A.R.E. First, an ESP demonstration, and then an educational film about Mr. Cayce, ending with a tour of the Association building. I knew very little about Mr. Cayce before our field trip, and I opted not to do any preparatory research, deciding instead to let the A.R.E. itself serve as Mr. Cayce’s monument.
Continue reading ‘A field trip to Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment’ »
6th July 2008, 03:01 pm
By David Annis
Article ID: 1236
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One frequent objection that creationists use about evolution is to question how a complex structure could evolve - what good is half an eye? What possible evolutionary path could there be that would lead to such a complex structure?
Continue reading ‘What good is half an eye?’ »
9th June 2008, 11:30 pm
By Rodrigo Neely
Article ID: 1230
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Since becoming a dedicated and pro-active skeptic, I have observed some troubling trends. One is the under-representation of women. I submit that all of my data on this issue is anecdotal. But some of my anecdotes are pretty compelling. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area where I live, I’m a member of the local skeptic group, the North Texas Skeptics. I’m also the president of a skeptical club at my university. In these two areas I have seen about 1 woman for every 10 men.
Continue reading ‘Women in skepticism’ »
4th June 2008, 10:16 pm
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1229
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In writing this article, I tried to use ten percent of my brain. I really did. But I got stuck pretty fast on the method of how to actually use only ten percent of my brain. There seem to be many ways to go about it. For example, I could just think this article in my head, and only write down every tenth word. But the results would be incomprehensible. I could decrease my writing quality to 10% of its usual stellar technique. But that would be annoying for any future readers. I could remove 90% of my writing tools, and type this article using only one finger. But that would just slow me down significantly, when I’d be getting the same final result. Wait: I could encode the characters in this article into their base-10 ASCII equivalents. I’d then take the resulting numeric string and increase its value by a factor of 10, then convert the results back from ASCII into plain text. Mathematical perfection. Granted, it would be unreadable mathematical perfection. That’s counterintuitive to the purpose of Digital Bits Skeptic, so maybe that’s not the best idea.
Continue reading ‘The ten percent of the brain myth: a fractional truth’ »
29th May 2008, 09:59 pm
By ScienceReasonRationality.blogspot.com
Article ID: 1228
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Do you want to learn how to knock out an opponent without touching them? How about learning the art of fighting ghosts with the power of “The Force“? Well, here’s your chance! Japan’s Yanagi Ryuken can teach you now. He holds a 10th degree black belt in five traditional martial arts, and his system is based on martial arts like Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu and spiritual paths like Qigong. Yanagi Ryuken supposedly won over 200 Vale Tudo competitions (these are “anything goes” fights, involving unarmed combat and minimal rules). According to the author of the video below, you need 500,000 yen (about $5,000 USD) in order to get a chance to fight with Yanagi Ryuken. However, if you win the fight, Yanagi Ryuken will pay you back double: 1,000,000 yen ($10,000 USD)! Good deal, right?
Continue reading ‘The “Bullshido” of martial arts and no-touch knockouts’ »
12th May 2008, 08:48 pm
By M Parrott
Article ID: 1224
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Homeopathy finds its origins in the 18th century with a German named Samuel Hahnemann (we won’t address the honour of his doctorate). This was a time when blood-letting, leeches, mercury and arsenic were utilised in medical practice. Mr. Hahnemann’s idea was to create a less-harsh form of medicine straying away from the dangerous medicines of the day. This seems a good idea. A shame it doesn’t work. We’ll come back to him later.
Continue reading ‘Homeopathy: Diluted and deluded’ »
31st March 2008, 08:16 pm
Article ID: 1215
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Skepticism is a philosophical commitment to doubt. However, to doubt without end is of no use.
Committed skeptics include Harry Houdini, Penn and Teller, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, James Randi, Christopher Hitchens, and many other intellectual giants.
Continue reading ‘Punk skepticism: A perfect mix of skeptic and rebel’ »
16th March 2008, 12:57 am
9th March 2008, 09:08 pm
By ScienceReasonRationality.blogspot.com
Article ID: 128
When I watched The Secret for the very first time, I couldn’t believe the things people do for money and how people in general would give up their ability to reason and simply accept every fantastic claim that comes along next, especially if it’s supported by some celebrity like Oprah.
Continue reading ‘“The Secret” movie delusion’ »
18th February 2008, 04:54 pm
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