Top 5 Posts for 2012 at Skeptical Science

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I do not generally check my blog statistics anymore, that is not why I write. Seeing thousands of hits for a specific posting might craft an illusion of approval or popularity, but perhaps is something that has simply passed into some other community and hit a few of their hot buttons. Anyway, what postings in 2012 generated … Read more

Do you believe in Magic? … a religious cleric claims he does not, and that non-believers do.

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Giles Fraser has been writing in the Guardian again, and yes, this is the C of E cleric who was once Cannon of St Paul’s but quit because he stuck to his principles and refused to eject protesters outside the cathedral. Anyway, he is arguing against magic, and uses that term to describe an irrational … Read more

2012 List of Goofy pseudo-science claims from celebrities

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At this time every year the charity Sense About Science (SAS) lists the truly daft things that various celebrities have endorsed and embraced during the past year. Amazingly 2012 was different, they were all a very sensible lot and there is nothing to report …. er, sadly no, instead it was exactly what you might expect. So … Read more

Peter Higgs and Richard Dawkins hold different views of the public criticism of daft beliefs

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The UK’s Guardian has an article that warrants some additional comment. The primary headline grabbing thrust is that the Higgs boson theorist says he agrees with those who find Dawkins’ approach to dealing with believers ’embarrassing’. “What Dawkins does too often is to concentrate his attack on fundamentalists. But there are many believers who are just … Read more

I’m not quite getting this Christmas Story … I’m a tad confused, can anybody help?

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We all know the Christmas story right? But what do we actually find if we open up the alpha source, the bible, apparently it does not align with our pre-conceived modern understanding. Where did Mary and Joseph actually live? In Matthew we discover that Mary and Joseph lived in Bethlehem in their own house. – There … Read more

Andrew Wakefield handed award for …. ‘lifetime achievement in quackery’ … it is well deserved.

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The Guardian reports that … Andrew Wakefield, the doctor struck off the medical register for his discredited research that claimed to find a link between autism and theMMR vaccine, can add another honour to his list this Christmas: the inaugural Golden Duck award for lifetime achievement in quackery, set up by the science writer Simon Singh. It is … Read more