Skepticblog

I learned too late from Amanda at AstroPixie that Sunday was International Women’s Day. I wish I had known in time to write something for then, but I guess that’s OK. The point of the day is to raise awareness, and it made me think about a couple of issues. So let me talk to you about them.

Women in science is a tough issue. They are still underrepresented, and I don’t think it’s clear why. Sexism, certainly, plays a role. In fact, it plays both ends of the age game: when young girls want to go into science, they can be discouraged by their teachers, and when they are older trying to get a job in science they can be discouraged by their peers. I’ve heard way too many stories about that, and read too many studies as well.

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The following letter was sent to me in response to my column in Scientific American (which generated hundreds of letters in response, so I penned the following response) in which I discussed the now-infamous (and infuriatingly counter-intuitive) probability problem called the Monty Hall Problem, or the Three Door Problem, in which a contestant chooses one of three doors, behind one of which is a car and the other two goats. Monty then reveals what’s behind one of the other doors (only ever showing a goat and never showing you your own door pick), which is always a goat, then asks if you want to change doors. Most people say it doesn’t matter because now it’s 50/50, but the correct answer is that you should always switch, which will give you a two-thirds chance of winning. There are simulations of the game online, but my correspondent took it upon himself to test the game with his own computer program. Here are his very interesting results, which also nicely show the scientific method at work:

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Ryan asked me to put up this note for him, apologizing that he’s going to miss a week on this blog. He’s busy on a shoot. I think he said he was going to recreate a scene from Silence of the Lambs where the killer is trying on some clothes in front of a full-length mirror. I think that’s what he said, though I could be mistaken.

My shaky memory aside, Ryan will be back here next week in his regularly scheduled slot, keeping us updated on the machinations of getting critical thinking onto television. Some of us slack and do it from the comfort of our Aeron chairs with endless mochas at our elbow, but guys like Ryan actually have to get out into the real world and do the physical labor and artistic gymnastics that translate our musings into the media that the real world consumes.

So go get ‘em, Ryan, and we’ll see you back here next week.

Dr. Joe Vitale is not a real doctor, in any sense of the word. He went to Kent State but failed to graduate. Then he received a “doctorate” in metaphysics from the unaccredited University of Metaphysics in Sedona, Arizona (America’s epicenter of woo). He also has an honorary doctorate from (also unaccredited) Belford University, an online diploma mill.

This guy wants to bring you the secret of neurometaphysics. Neurometaphysics is nothing more than a fancy name for “The Secret” — the magical belief that wishing for something makes it come true.

To any thinking person that’s probably all that needs to be said about it, but the window dressing is interesting. Promoters of The Secret claim they have discovered the “Law of Attraction” (LOA) — which is the power of positive thinking. Not in the ordinary sense that if you are a positive person you are more likely to be motivated and create opportunities for yourself, but in the overtly magical sense that the universe will respond to your positive energy and make this happen — by magic.
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Next week I will be attending the Chupacabra Cruise to Mexico with the JREF. If I vanish from the face of the earth, trust that it will be only a brief respite from this blog and that I will remain in service to skeptics worldwide, hot on the trail of the fabled beast. In the absence of Big Foot and other high mountain beings, Mexico is full of tales of mysterious blood sucking animals that have been spotted, found rotting or caught on camera. BTW: It’s only goat blood they suck, so any vampire fantasies will have to be left behind in Hollywood. (continue reading…)

I spend a large portion of my time these days considering how to best explain scientific concepts or discoveries to the public. Granted, the audience is a crucial part of the equation. You don’t create something for children the same way that you do for aged academics.

But, as I look at the way that science reaches the majority of the public, and how the public responds to it, I (and I’m not alone here) find that there is something wrong. People just aren’t getting excited about science.

And, they should be getting excited! There is so much amazing work being done that will change our lives to the point that our grandchildren will laugh when we tell them about our ipods, computers, planes, and trains.

So, why aren’t people interested? Where is the information falling by the wayside? How can the trend be changed?

I’d love to hear what you think.

Polybius

Every once in a while I stumble upon an urban legend that I’m surprised I’d never heard about before. This week I had such a discovery when a listener wrote me about the 80′s video arcade game Polybius.

According to the story, this game was installed in just a few arcades in Oregon. Every week some Men in Black would come in and download logs from the games — they didn’t care about the quarters; just the player data. And then came the stories about kids who had tried Polybius going insane, even committing suicide. After only a few short weeks, the Polybius consoles all disappeared, never to be seen again. (continue reading…)

It brings me no end of wonderment that anyone would listen to anything Jenny McCarthy says. Our evolved instinct to obey authority — if you sit still when the tribe leader yells "run!" you’re likely to become saber-tooth tiger nosh, and are unlikely to contribute to the gene pool — is clearly to blame here. Still, we also have large and I’m guessing generally unused portions of our brains which are built to override such foolish impulses.

Sure, Ms. McCarthy is something of a celebrity. She’s very pretty, attracting attention, and is actually very funny (yes, I have a sophomoric sense of humor sometimes), so it’s no surprise people might be tempted to listen to her.

But what she says is so mind-numbingly mind numbing.

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The Cast and Crew of The Skeptologists aboard the Queen Mary

As we continue our journey through the production of the Pilot for The Skeptologists, we venture into the RMS Queen Mary. The majestic ocean liner now relegated to be a hotel and conference facility in Long Beach, CA, but more importantly, according to claims, one of the most haunted places on the West Coast.

The grandeur of the ship helped set the stage for what we hoped would be a fantastic paranormal treasure hunt.

Three of our Skeptologists, Yau-Man Chan, Phil Plait and Mark Edward were joined by an astrophysicist from NASA, Michelle Thaller and three Paranormal Investigators, who claimed that their experience and professional use of their scientific instruments would produce measurable evidence of the paranormal. (continue reading…)

The classics are classics because they touch our basic human nature. They tell a tale we like to hear told. Even as a hard-nosed skeptic I can appreciate the wonder that stories of ancient civilizations, mysterious beasts, and strange visitors can evoke.

Last week I wrote about Atlantis, a classic story that is so much a part of our shared cultural psyche no amount of debunking will cause it to fade. This week none other than the abominable snowman is back in the news.

In an interview with BBC TV, Sir David Attenborough is quoted as saying:

“Very, very convincing footprints have been found,” at 19,000-foot elevations, he said. “Nobody goes up to 19,000 feet just to make a joke.”

Attenborough, now 82,  is famous for his nature and animal documentaries. Unfortunately, being a nature documentary host does not necessarily prepare one with the skeptical tools necessary to deal with the fringe.

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