Episode #67

News Items

    Interview with Richard Wiseman

    • www.theatreofscience.co.uk/Professor Richard Wiseman started his working life as an award-winning professional magician, and was one of the youngest members of The Magic Circle. He then obtained a first class honours degree in Psychology from University College London and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Edinburgh. For the past twelve years he has been the head of a research unit at the University of Hertfordshire, and in 2002 was awarded Britain’s first Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology.Prof Wiseman has established an international reputation for his research into unusual areas of psychology, including deception, luck and the paranormal. He has published over 40 papers in refereed academic journals. He is the author of numerous books, including The Luck Factor, Parapschology, and Deception and Self Deception.

    Skepticism Myths

    • www.rpi.edu/~sofkam/papers/skeptik.html An article criticizing Skeptics and pointing out various ‘myths’ that they proffer. How do you guys react to this? It seems to be a fair bit of straw manning.HavermayerFrom the SGU forums
    • The smear against Michael J. Fox comes from Rush Limbaugh, who made baseless accusations against the actor. It’s very disappointing to hear this smear repeated on your show. This is why ultra-right wing media types do this stuff: they get this garbage repeated everywhere in the media. You just did their work for them.Rob Zuber Pittsburgh, PA
    • I read about this today. A natural rock formation that puts the face on Mars to shame.www.cbc.ca/aih/features/2006/alberta_rock_sculpture_20061026.html ?f=q&hl=en&q=medicine%2Bhat,%2Balberta&ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=50.010083,-110.113006&spn=0.009432,0.026951&t=k&om=1%20Gary McKeown Sweden

    Science or Fiction

    • Item #1 Science

      Scientists have resurrected a 5 million year old retrovirus.

    • Item #2 Fiction

      Newly published study apparently confirms a link between microwave cooking certain foods, such as potatoes, and cancer risk.

    • Item #3 Science

      New study strongly correlates salt intake and obesity.

    Skeptical Quote of the Week.