by Bob Carroll * est. 1994

From Abracadabra to Zombies - 731 entries | View All

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See the most recent entries, updates, and reader comments

Sample the Skeptic's Dictionary

framing

"Every word is defined relative to a conceptual framework," claims George Lakoff. Conceptual frameworks can be big—like a concern for the level of rational thinking in American society—or small—like doing a puff piece on a successful author who claims she's psychic. The former will rarely, if ever, be found in the mass media. The latter is all-too-common. Allen Pierleoni's "The medium has a message" does more, however, than give Allison DuBois a platform for her new book. The Sacramento Bee's Public Editor Armando Acuña writes in his weekly column that of all the stories in last week's paper, the one more readers contacted him about was the one about DuBois. Both Acuña and Pierleoni brush off criticisms of the article as being misguided ("the critics want me to do an investigative piece to show that [DuBois] is a fraud or for me to challenge her and accuse her of being a fraud") or misread ("The story wasn't intended to be an investigative piece about DuBois or mediums. It's a straightforward discussion with a successful author peddling a new book on a subject most people find ludicrous.") >>more

sample the Skeptic's Dictionary for Kids

flying saucers

In a nutshell: Some people think flying saucers are spaceships from other planets. Scientists don't think so.

Some people say that aliens have come to Earth in flying saucers. It's not likely that anyone from another planet has reached Earth in a flying saucer or a flying teacup, for that matter. (See the entry on UFOs for an explanation of why travel between stars is unlikely.) Where did the idea of a flying saucer come from?>> more

a blast from the past

Creating Your Own Pseudoscience

part one

4 June 2010. One of the exercises in my critical thinking book asks students to create their own pseudoscience.

Invent a pseudoscientific theory regarding (a) the healing power of color; (b) math anxiety; (c) romantic love; (d) sexism; (e) I. Q. enhancement through power breathing; or (f) some phenomenon of your own choosing.

The purpose of the exercise is to get students to approach pseudoscience from the inside out, rather than just lecturing them on the various weird ideas people have come up with and defended in bizarre and Byzantine ways. Of course, the exercise is impossible if the students don't have some guidance as to what kinds of things define pseudoscience. >>more

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