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The one thing that gets my goat is how gullible some people are. For example, I once had a girlfriend whom I loved deeply, but she had this thing about visiting a fortune-teller. Once every 6 months or so, she'd book an appointment with this woman and then go along and be fed some line or other. She'd never tell me what was said (apparently revealing the predictions would invalidate them), only that this woman 'seemed' to know everything about her. Having read about cold-reading (the ability to read people's expressions and body language and direct one's hesitant stabs at the truth based on them: "I see someone whose name is Jim or Joe or something beginning with J", etc, etc), I would try and convince her that it was all a complete con, to no avail. I seem to remember even trying to persuade her to tape the conversation once. Another one, and don't get be started on this, is Creationism. Without further ado, check this lot out, people, and wonder at the world. The Skeptics Dictionary: written and maintained by Bob Carroll, a Professor teaching critical thinking and philosophy, this site is thought-provoking to the highest degree. Some of the links are hilarious (for example, I loved the one for selling you tachyonic water at $30 a small bottle). Well worth a visit if you want to know about such diverse subjects as ESP, Nessie, multi-level marketing, or the aforementioned tachyonic products. One of the latest gross-you-out therapies he talks about is Urine Therapy. The Talk Origins Archive: an absolutely brilliant site on the Evolution/Creationism controversy. Unfortunately lately this site has not been updated very regularly (their Post of the Month is regularly 3 months out of date), but it is worth reading the erudite, sometimes complex, articles. I don't pretend to understand everything in the geology articles (as an example) but as a refutation of the Young Earthers (those people who believe the Earth is only 10,000 years old) they are demolishing. QuackWatch: Another vital site in this day and age of quack doctors, quack remedies and dodgy therapies. This site looks at medical quackery in all its many guises. Written by doctors for the layman, this is worth checking out before you shell out the dosh for a visit to the chiropractors (get a massage instead). James Randi: the site for James Randi, Magician and FlimFlam debunker. The organization behind him has over $1,100,000 ready for the first person to demonstrate some kind paranormal or supernatural activity under controlled conditions. I also recommend several of Randi's books. CSICOP: The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, the publishers of Skeptical Inquirer. They have selected articles from SI on these pages (worth a subscription) and yet more links. Bad Astronomy: a fun site on astronomy and the ridiculous things people say about it. |
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