Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Asshole Skeptic Honour Roll #7 - Justified Disgust

If you haven't heard Tracey Spicer's discussion with Meryl Dorey about anti-vaccination and the declaration by the BMJ that Andrew Wakefield is a fraud on Australian radio, you have to do yourself a favour.

So often false balance is given to the opponents of reason.  You can't say that here.  It feels a little dirty that Spicer cuts Dorey off, but why give her any more opportunity to publicize her website?  Why give her the opportunity to gish-gallop away from the facts?

Ah... how refreshing.

For that I put Tracey Spicer on the Asshole Skeptic Honour Roll.

On a related note... check out Anderson Cooper serving Wakefield himself a nice helping of derision.  Do you get the feeling that beneath his well justified ire that Anderson is enjoying the shit out of himself?  "I'm not here to have you pitch your book.  I'm here to have you answer questions."  Tee hee.

And more... "we believe in facts here at 3-60."

Not Wakefield specifically, but more of the pastiche.  You know - the FACTS.

Oh wait!  Some Doctor on (no-longer a) Doctor action.

I could keep on posting links from the same series of related stories, but they are all on the same page as the videos above.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Star Wars vs. Armageddon

Courtesy largely of Phil Plant, there is a habit among skeptics to malign the bad science of Armageddon.

This chart puts it in starlight relief... as bad as it's science is, Armageddon only gets as much wrong as the widely beloved Star Wars gets right.



Image from The High Definite.

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