Recently a group of well-known scientists and academics, some of whom were once regular speakers at Skeptics conferences around the world, published a book called “The War on Science”. Collated by physicist Lawrence Krauss, the 39 essays in the book are written by authors such as Richard Dawkins, Jordan Peterson, Jerry Coyne, Steven Pinker, Peter Boghossian, Niall Ferguson, Alan Sokal and Gad Saad.
In February it was announced by researchers that non-verified cell lines and misidentified nucleotide sequences were cited in hundreds of papers. This got picked up by the media in May:
This week I delve into fringe groups becoming politically involved (as I expected they would do so). I look into website hacking for good, and also feature some pieces from guest authors on the Russian/Ukraine war and Putin's motivations.
The author of my Bible – The Vagina Bible, Gynaecologist, columnist and author Dr. Jen Gunter was on Twitter recently, again, to educate people about how a vagina is able to self-clean, without any help from the wellness industry which is doing its best to make money out of people by shaming them into thinking they have to fix a problem that isn't there.
Where: www.stuff.co.nz
The Plausibility of Life-resolving Darwin's dilemma, by Marc Kirschner and John Gerhart. Yale University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-300-10865-6. Reviewed by Louette McInnes.
These books are all subtitled "A Reference for the Rest of Us!". Perhaps I'm prejudiced but as far as I'm concerned, dummies is a better term for anyone who uses alternative medicine. Having said that, this book, written by a chiropractor and a science writer with a PhD in the history of medicine and science, is not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Sceptics have put up $100,000 in a bid to make a controversial Australian spiritualist eat her words over claims she does not need food.
by Gavin East, from Top of the Morning Book of Epitaphs, ed Brian Edwards, Tandem Press, Auckland, 1998.
My feeling after having read the report is that when it was ready for the printer, the authors had in fact reached the point where they were about ready to consult with people experienced in such research, as a necessary preliminary to the main investigation. I would have suggested a smaller pilot sample. This should have disclosed the pitfalls that lay in wait for them. By taking such steps they could have avoided the traps that they later fell into.
The TVNZ fortnightly newsletter, Networks, recently carried the welcome news that a Senior Editor in TVNZ's news division has written a book. The Astrologer and the Paradigm Shift will, according to Networks "clear up many common misconceptions about astrology."
This is the definitive book on the scientific arguments for creationism, it is exhaustive and thorough. It is a massive book, 550 double column pages, 600 references cited, a 13 page index, 54 chapters with about 10 illustrations per chapter. As far as I can see, it covers all the main points at issue; the nature of Science, pseudoscience, entropy Omphalos, radioactive dating and creationist arguments for a young cosmos and young earth. However it is especially strong on geological arguments as befits the author, formerly Professor of Geomorphology at Columbia. Nearly half the book deals with this aspect, covering the Biblical view of the Flood and creationist ideas on plate tectonics, the rapid deposition of sedimentary rocks, evaporites and petroleum and ore deposits. It then deals with the scientific account of these matters and finally gives a thorough account of our evolutionary history. It is especially good on human evolution.