17 April 2013

Skeptic Presents: The Con Academy (Vol.1)

This is volume 1 of The Con Academy videos—another resource in the Skeptics Society's arsenal of Skepticism 101 for teaching critical thinking and promoting science through the use of humor, wit, and satire. In this faux commercial for The Con Academy you'll see how psychics count on the confirmation bias to convince people that their powers are real when, in fact, they are just remembering the hits and forgetting the misses. We also demonstrate how psychic "organizations" con people by taking their money for services that are not real.


5 April 2013

"Skepticism about the Future: Techno-Optimism vs. Reality" - TAM 2012

In this panel discussion from TAM 2012, moderator Julia Galef leads Steven Novella, Michael Vassar, Michael Shermer, and Stephen Macknik in an exploration of how skeptical we should be about the idea that technology will continue to trend our society in a positive direction.

2 April 2013

2013 Pigasus Awards Announcement

Since 1997, the JREF's annual Pigasus Awards have been bestowed on the most deserving charlatans, swindlers, psychics, pseudo-scientists, and faith healers—and on their credulous enablers, too. The awards are named for both the mythical flying horse Pegasus of Greek mythology and the highly improbable flying pig of popular cliche. These are the awards for 2012. Find out more about this year's winners here: http://ow.ly/jDZwg


29 March 2013

Ben Goldacre - "Squabbles About Homeopathy" - TAM 6

Dr. Ben Goldacre of BadScience.com chronicles his experiences arguing against the pseudoscience of homeopathy both in and out of the media.