Science & Technology – Page 9

What’s this nonsense about mushrooms?

In the middle of a video parody on YouTube that skewers council on our new rec facilities, there’s a comment about “the mushroom farm debacle.” It then goes on, rather erratically, to rail about “two yanks” and mushrooms growing in manure and “enobe” mushrooms. What debacle? Clearly the video’s creator never actually watched the public presentation made to council a year ago about a possible use for the terminals as an indoor mushroom farm. Or read the stories in both newspapers. Or heard the news reports on local radio. Or asked anyone on staff or council about the proposal. Or ……… click below for more ↓

It’s snowing, snowing, snowing…

2013-01-18 2013-01-18 Critical Thinking / Places & Geography / Politics / Science & Technology2 Comments

I was looking outside today as the snow fell in Collingwood (-11C when we awoke, -10C when I first walked my dog…) and thinking of my brother-in-law in England, where they are getting walloped by a Canadian-style winter. He must be perplexed by the weather this week. It’s very Canadian. These pictures are from the Daily Mail, sent in by their readers from all over the country. You don’t normally think of Britain in the snow. Rain, yes, fog, yes, but not often snow. After all, there are places in England where palm trees grow in the warmth provided by ……… click below for more ↓

Four words about the Mayan Apocalypse

2012-12-21 2012-12-21 Atheism & Spirituality / Balderdash & Hoaxes / Memes; Internet & Social / Science & Technology / Social Order & Disorder3 Comments

For all of you New Agers who expected something momentous to happen, December 21, because an obscure, millennium-old calendar ended on that date, and are disappointed that the world didn’t end, I have four words for you: I told you so. Let me further educate you with a few choice bits of practical wisdom in case the lesson of Dec. 21 hasn’t yet sunk in: Astrology isn’t a science. Homeopathy isn’t a science. UFO-ology isn’t a science. Numerology isn’t a science. Iridology isn’t a science. Reflexology isn’t a science. Allopathy and aromatherapy aren’t science. Bioharmonics isn’t a science. Acutonics isn’t a ……… click below for more ↓

Someone is wrong on the internet

2012-12-08 2012-12-08 Balderdash & Hoaxes / Memes; Internet & Social / Science & Technology / Social Order & DisorderLeave a comment

I discovered an entertaining site recently called Skeptic North. It’s a Canadian equivalent to several similar sites and blogs I read that are mostly American-based. It challenges popular assumptions, ideas, trends and pseudoscience and other claptrap. In a Canadian way, of course. Meaning that it’s usually much too polite in how it handles some of the balderdash online. I’m less gracious. Bullshit is bullshit and should be called out. I discovered it when I was looking for some additional backup material on COLD FX, an over-the-counter, made-in-China product (I hesitate to call it a medicine; is pseudo-medicine a proper word? or should ……… click below for more ↓

How to Survive the Mayan Apocalypse

2012-12-05 2012-12-05 Balderdash & Hoaxes / Humour & Satire / Memes; Internet & Social / Religion / Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

How will anyone survive the “end of the world” predicted for December 21, 2012? Easy: by breathing. That’s because it won’t happen. That the Mayans never predicted it would seems to have bypassed a few of the tin-foil-hat brigade. The complex Mayan calendar simply ends one of its long cycles – just like ours ends its annual cycle on December 31. Just like we end decades, centuries and millennia on Dec. 31 with a year that ends in zero (10, 100, 1000). But most important: it’s a calendar, fer cryin’ out loud. It’s not a Magic 8 Ball. You think the ……… click below for more ↓

Another popular myth debunked: moon doesn’t make crazies

2012-11-24 2012-11-24 Balderdash & Hoaxes / Faith / Memes; Internet & Social / Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

“Myth Debunked: Full Moon Does Not Increase Incidence of Psychological Problems,” says the headline on a story on Science Daily. I was amused by the notion that, in 2012, anyone would seriously believe that the moon affected human psychology – especially supposed educated people. In this case, it was very serious and resulted in a paper with the lengthy and ponderous title, “Impact of seasonal and lunar cycles on psychological symptoms in the ED: an empirical investigation of widely spread beliefs.” The abstract says: This study evaluates the impacts of seasonal and lunar cycles on anxiety and mood disorders, panic ……… click below for more ↓

Evolution, Creationism, and Elections

2012-10-31 2012-10-31 Atheism & Spirituality / Balderdash & Hoaxes / Faith / Religion / Science & Technology2 Comments

Earlier this summer, Gallup released the results of its latest poll on American belief in evolution, creationism and “intelligent” design. The results are among the most depressing numbers ever posted about the decay of American thought and education. Yet although this should set off the warning bells to both US presidential candidates that something needs to be done to stem this problem, none of this has been raised in the debates or on the campaign trail. How can this have happened in one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world? How is it that the only nation to put a ……… click below for more ↓

Are internet polls valid?

2012-09-24 2012-10-09 Collingwood / Internet & Social Media / Science & Technology / Social Order & Disorder6 Comments

How valid are internet polls? Are they credible for making serious or significant decisions, or merely as general – even vague – indicators of intent? Are they equivalent to paper (and phone) surveys? No. At least that’s what many experts say. Yes, they can be cost-effective, and good tools to engage the community. But like online petitions, they seldom have sufficient controls that restrict access to the relevant respondents. Anyone with a basic knowledge of how the internet works can easily bypass the limited security and vote numerous times. Often all it takes to get another vote is deleting cookies ……… click below for more ↓

The lingering wisps of memory, the subtle newness of a moment…

2012-07-26 2012-10-09 Language & Grammar / Science & Technology2 Comments

“Can the simple act of recognizing a face as you walk down the street change the way we think?” Thus opens a story posted on Science Daily. “Or can taking the time to notice something new on our way to work change what we remember about that walk?” Intriguing questions. The act of recognition, the act of discovery; both can change how we both process information about an act, and how we create a memory of it. This novel finding suggests that our memory system can adaptively bias its processing towards forming new memories or retrieving old ones based on ……… click below for more ↓

Super-fast evolution: new species in just 6,000 years

2012-07-25 2012-07-25 Pets & Animal Behaviour / Science & Technology2 Comments

According to a recent story in Science Daily, new species of sea stars may have arisen in as little a time as 6,000 years. Researchers studied the diversity in DNA sequences from sea stars of two related species to estimate how long it has been since the two species diverged. Their results showed a range from roughly 6,000 to 22,000 years ago. That rules out some ways new species could evolve. For example, they clearly did not diverge slowly with genetic changes over a long period of time, but were isolated quickly. Over the last 11,000 years, the boundary between ……… click below for more ↓

The Oldest Art: 40,800 Years Ago

2012-06-20 2012-06-20 Arts / History & Biography / Science & TechnologyOne Comment

Paleolithic paintings in El Castillo cave in Northern Spain date back at least 40,800 years — making them Europe’s oldest known cave art, according to new research published June 14 in Science. That’s the lead to a fascinating story about the origins of art. Cave art seems to have been practiced 10,000 years earlier than previously thought. That age could make the artists either the first modern humans or even Neanderthals. That latter possibility is pretty exciting. We know from burials found in the Middle East that Neanderthal people practiced ritual burial and made musical instruments. This find suggests that ……… click below for more ↓

Diablo III: Hype or Gaming Excellence?

2012-06-09 2012-06-11 Memes; Internet & Social / Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

The hype was huge and long. Diablo III was rumored, hinted at, promised, delayed, and even denied for years. Then it was embraced when it finally arrived after more than a decade’s hibernation since the success of Diablo II, released in 2000 (and 16 years since the original, released in 1996). Good technique for raking in the money: the anticipation meant huge sales initially. The spammers love it, of course, because it provides a wonderful, accessible platform for scams through its live in-game chat system that allows them to post text ads promising in-game gold and experience points in exchange ……… click below for more ↓

A Pyramid Hoax Reappears on Facebook

2012-05-29 2012-05-29 Atheism & Spirituality / Balderdash & Hoaxes / Memes; Internet & Social / Science & Technology6 Comments

This Facebook headline caught my skeptic’s eye right away: “Energy beam coming from the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun.” After I finished guffawing at the gullibility of some folks, I decided to spend a little time researching how widespread this silliness had become. As expected, and sad to relate, it was all over the Net. Seems every psychic-New-Age-crystal-therapy-astrology-aura-UFO-conspiracy-theory-Atlantis-Elvis-is-alive obsessed wingnut site has repeated the claims, usually copying and pasting them directly from the original source without even bothering to investigate the claims: A team of physicists detected an energy beam coming through the top of the Bosnian Pyramid of the ……… click below for more ↓