The Skeptics Society has retired Skepticblog (while preserving all posts online at their original urls for future reference), but we’re proud to announce our bigger, better new blog: INSIGHT at Skeptic.com! Dedicated to the spirit of curiosity and grounded in scientific skepticism’s useful, investigative tradition of public service, INSIGHT continues and exp […]
Some people say, "Oh, there's anti-science on both sides of the political aisle." But that neglects one important fact: in only ONE political party are the leadership and the party platform dominated by science denial.
Would you believe there is a patch of trapped garbage floating in the North Pacific bigger than the state of Texas? It's called the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch".
While at Dragon*Con 2012, I gave an incredibly well-attended lecture (standing room only!) on the recent “discovery”(?) of the Higgs boson and our modern theories of particle physics (known as the Standard Model). The lecture was followed by a very fruitful Q&A session which was made all the more interesting because attending the lecture was an engineer who actually works on a detector at the Large Hadron Collider and a theoretical particle physicist!
I recorded the audio of the lecture in order to share it, and I have embedded that audio into the PowerPoint file I used for my lecture. Enjoy! 🙂
A couple of weeks ago I attended Dragon*Con 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia where I was heavily involved in the Science Track. I helped to run three panels and gave a lecture while there, and I wanted to share those with you here. The first panel I helped to run (I moderated it) was on the question of how real and/or dangerous are various doomsday scenarios. The panelists included me, Bad Astronomer Phil Plait, Bob Novella of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe, psychologist Barbara Drescher, and disaster researcher (and science consultant to the Stargate franchise) Mika McKinnon, and we had a wide-ranging and alternately funny yet serious discussion. I recorded the audio and share it with you below. Enjoy! 🙂
Killer asteroids, LHC-generated black holes, nuclear meltdowns, alien invasion, zombie apocalypse, global ecological collapse, financial recession/depression, the Mayan 2012 prophecy… AAAGGHH! Run for your lives! We’re all doomed, DOOMED!!! Or are we? What are some real or imagined doomsday scenarios, how dangerous are they really, and how likely is it that each could occur? If you’re looking for a good scientific look at these questions, with a few chuckles along the way, then this is the panel for you. Join us for a discussion of all things apocalyptic, because talking about the end-of-the-world is fun!
This past September I attended Dragon*Con in Atlanta, and I participated in many events and interviews, etc. However, in my role as both a skeptic and a teacher, one of the most fruitful things I did was to participate in the Skeptrack discussion of how to approach the question of debunking in the context of education. The panel was an important discussion moderated by JREF President, D.J. Grothe on the topic of Education vs. Debunking, how they are different and when and how each should be used to the greatest effect. The discussion dealt with the issue in the context of the classroom as well as beyond in the broader culture. Below is the video footage of the discussion; I hope you find it useful…
Image and video footage courtesy of the fine folks at Skeptrack.org 🙂
In this quick post, I wanted to share the footage from the physics demonstration show I did at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA over Labor Day weekend, 2011. Working with me on the show was Dr. Pamela Gay (of Astronomy Cast fame) and Jerry Hester (physics demo expert at Clemson University). We had a really fun time doing all of these demonstrations, and I think you can see the show was quite a hit! So sit back and enjoy the show 🙂
It should be noted that at one point in the show, right before the final bed-of-nails demo, the audience is watching a video off to the side. To see what they were watching and why they were laughing so hard at the end of it, see my “Bed of Nails Blooper” video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9RLfUmju2A (start at the 3 minute 45 sec mark).
While I was at Dragon*Con a couple of weeks ago, one of the things I did was to participate in a very useful panel discussion on the Skeptrack. The title of the panel was “Education vs. Debunking”, and the panel was an important discussion moderated by JREF President, D.J. Grothe on the topic of Education vs. Debunking, how they are different and when and how each should be used to the greatest effect. The discussion dealt with the issue in the context of the classroom as well as beyond in the broader culture. The entire discussion was recorded and is being broadcast on the Skepticality podcast, so if you’re interested check it out…
I’m happy to report that we had another successful free vaccine clinic at Dragon*Con this year. In total, we gave out about 125 vaccinations for TDaP (tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis) and 100 vaccinations for the flu! In addition to the vaccines, the clinic also provided free HIV testing. Props to the groups that put on the clinic, including the Women Thinking Free Foundation, Skepchick, the Hug Me I’m Vaccinated campaign, and the Cobb & Douglas Public Health District of Georgia.
Yup, that’s us… saving lives and giving Andrew Wakefield the finger, all in one go 🙂
Well, very soon I’ll be on my way to Dragon*Con 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, where I’ll be engaging in all manner of sciencey, skepticky fun and general weirdness (if you’ve ever been to Dragon*Con, you know what I mean 🙂 ). While there I will be giving a lecture on cosmology, participating in a panel on skepticism and education, and helping put on a kick-ass physics demonstration show. But in addition to all of that, I am proud to say that I’ll also be helping out with another free vaccination clinic!
Here are some details on the clinic from Skepchick. If you’re at Dragon*Con, come by to see if you’re up to date on your shots…
Me and Skepchick Rebecca Watson, showing off our freshly vaccinated guns from last year’s D*C clinic 🙂
We’re very excited to announce that this year’s Dragon*Con will once again feature a vaccination clinic! The Atlanta Skeptics, in coordination with the Cobb & Douglas Public Health District and the Hug Me, I’m Vaccinated campaign, will be providing free pertussis boosters, plus flu shots and STD testing! So if you’re attending Dragon*Con and checking out Skeptrack, make sure you stop by and get your shot
When: Sept 3-4, 2011, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Where: Atlanta Marriott Room M 109. (On the Marquis Level)
Why? For a first hand story about why it’s important to get your pertussis shot, check out Mickey’s story!
Note: You *will* need a Dragon*Con badge to get to this area.
Want to help out? Donate a few bucks to the Hug Me campaign to help offset the costs for promoting and setting up the event!
Some of you who have been around a while will remember that we (hastily) put together a clinic last year but were not able to host it on Dragon*Con premises. This year promises to be even bigger and better as we’ve had the time and it will be at Dragon*Con itself! Many thanks to the folks at Dragon*Con who have worked with us to make this happen, as well as to Bill Atkinson, with the CDC who is the driving force behind the clinics we’re able to put together.
At the Dragon*Con clinic, we vaccinated over 200 people in two days, which was – according to the clinic workers – a massively successful clinic. But we aren’t satisfied with that success, which became apparent when our clinic at TAM9 blew that record away by vaccinating a whopping 306 people in 5.5 hours! W00t!!! 🙂
A lot of people came up to me during the clinic and thanked me and my skeptical colleagues at the WTFF and JREF for doing this work, but I have to say that one of the biggest reasons why we can do this at all is because of the generous support from people like you. We want to keep doing these clinics, and we’re planning to do another one at Dragon*Con 2011 – but we cannot do it without your support. So please consider making a donation to this worthy cause…
As most people within the skeptical community know, next week The Amaz!ng Meeting 9 will be coming to Las Vegas. It will probably be the biggest gathering of skeptics ever, and the lineup of speakers and workshops (one of which I’m helping to run) promises to be quite illuminating and informative. Something else which will be taking place at TAM9 is a vaccine clinic, held in conjunction with the JREF, Skepchick, and the Women Thinking Free Foundation as part of the WTFF Hug Me, I’m Vaccinated! campaign; this will be very similar to the highly successful clinic held at Dragon*Con last year. The clinic will be giving away free vaccinations for TDaP (tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis) to anyone who wishes to receive one – so if you’re at TAM9 and you’re not sure you have had your vaccinations updated, come on by the clinic!
In addition, even though these vaccines are free for those obtaining them, they still cost money, so we are looking for donations to help us facilitate future clinics. If you are interested in donating to this worthy cause, click here…
As another quick follow up to the successful launch of the “Hug Me, I’m Vaccinated!” campaign at Dragon*Con last weekend, I wanted to share with you all an interview conducted by the fine folks at the Skeptic Zone Podcast. In it, Dr. Rachael Dunlop interviews me, Brian Anders (husband of the WTFF’s fearless leader, Elyse Anders), and Dr. Bill Atkinson of the CDC. Check it out (start at the 30:30 mark for the relevant section of the podcast)…
The Skeptical Teacher 