Insight into a couple of “Get rick quick” scams

The UK’s Mirror has a rather good article (yes really, the Mirror) that exposes a couple of fraudsters who are conning gullible people. So lets take a quick tour of each in turn. Simon Stepsys – “Buy my plan and get instantly rich” The first in our rogues gallery is a chap who claims that he can … Read more

No more Climate Change Deniers … with a stroke of a pen they are all gone

So the news is in fact about the news itself, or to be more precise, is about a decision that has been taken by Associated Press, they have decided that they will no longer deploy the term “skeptic” or “denier” to describe those that reject the current scientific consensus regarding manmade climate change. Their blog explains … Read more

Will there be another TAM?

TAM, also known as the Amazing Meeting, that has been taking place in Las Vegas in July, just might, or perhaps might not have come to an end. What has happened is that the JREF has issued an announcement that puts a question mark over it all … Since James Randi’s retirement earlier this year, the Board … Read more

Smart does not equate to being right

Dr Jim Pearl is a resident of Hayden Lake who happens to have a PhD. Strangely enough he also holds some truly bizarre beliefs and so he writes an article that outlines his reasons for these bizarre beliefs that starts off with a pro-science stance, then rapidly retreats into an anti-science religious stance. Read and you will discover the … Read more

How can you test an Ouija Board?

In a darkened room group of people gather around a traditional Ouija board, everybody then puts their hands on a small heart-shaped piece of wood and ask a question. In response the spirits mysteriously make it move to give an answer …. oooh spooky, and obviously proof that something supernatural is going on. Oh wait a second, because … Read more

Top 10 Weirdest Things people believe

Michael Shermer, an American science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and Editor in Chief of its magazine Skeptic, has a list of the top ten weirdest things that people truly believe, you can find it here. It is of course a topic he will be familiar with, because not only is he a well-know skeptic who … Read more