Skeptico » Matharu's Rants and Raves

Is that taxpayer’s money being wasted (again)?

Mar 282009

We all know that the mechanisms that psychics use are based on lying to people, fooling people, to fraudulently represent what they are doing. So I am at a loss to explain why the government knowingly awarded cash to “self styled” mediums Paul Rees and Deborah Rees. If anything, in my opinion, those who claim they are “real” psychics or mediums should be treated as criminals.

Skeptico http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2009/03/i-claim-my-government-cash.html has a report from The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5054558/Psychics-given-4500-government-funding-to-teach-people-to-communicate-with-the-dead.html with further details.

Funny Psychic Fraud Exposed Comedy Is Hilarious – The best bloopers are a click away

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2009

“Provenance” from Skeptico

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Aug 252008

I’ve been away on holiday so there are a number of blogs that I’m catching up on. The “Provenance” article from Skeptico is noteworthy, not only because it describes a key attribute of scientific progress but also because it touches on the work done by James Clerk Maxwell whose equations I studied and enjoyed during my undergraduate days.

Maxwell’s Equations are certainly one of my favourite equations. Robert P Crease has an old article at physicsworld.com on “The greatest equations ever”. Good read.

Psychics. The scum, leeches and dregs of society?

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Jun 202008

Actually, that’s a bit unfair to leeches. I got quite fond of them (eventually!) in the jungles of Borneo. Quite attached, actually!

But these so-called “psychics” are obvious frauds. I’d even call them liars, cheats and criminals. Larry King, Oprah Winfrey and other TV presenters pander to these psychics and it’s all about ratings and money. These presenters sold their souls and I have no respect for them. Their shows lend an air of authority about psychic abilities and promulgates the lie that psychics are real.

And this leads to scary situations where people in positions of responsibility take actions based on psychic lies information that have serious repercussions in society. Read this Bad Psychic article from Skeptico for an example of such a sorry tale. In brief, a mother was accused of sexually abusing her daughter based on a statement made by a psychic that a child called “v” was being abused. The mother was investigated. Luckily, the mother was able to prove her innocence thanks to the fortuities use of a GPS device. So much for innocent until proven guilty. But if that mother had not been using the GPS device then who knows how far that investigation would have gone. It seems that anything, even those based on fantasy, are enough to criminalise and socially castigate people in such situations.

Where are the controls to stop such aberrant and abhorrent behaviour from occurring? Are school officials the guardians of our children? It seems not.

Skeptico is far more articulate than me so please go read his article.

Good and Evil in the MySpace world

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Feb 022008

Thanks to the heads-up from Pharyngula’s “Should I go or should I stay?” article, it is now clear that MySpace are systematically banning all groups related to atheism. Skeptico also has an article on this subject. Go check them out! Evil

There is something profoundly immoral about the way MySpace is run. In some ways this seems to be in much the same vein as the Extremists ban popular children’s books article. However, with MySpace it is far more insidious…they’ve been described as bigots but I would go further and call them religious fanatics and extremists. This world doesn’t need them. Murdoch and his ~~evil~~ empire are things that I’ve normally ignored until now. But their actions have now attracted my attention and this is something that I’m now keen to see unfold.

My advice is to steer clear of MySpace.

Quackery!

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Jan 232008

Skeptico has an article that Quackometer is being sued again. Skeptico has a valid point that Quackometer’s domain hosting company or ISP is a bit of a chicken…or is that a ~~lame~~ duck?

I’ve certainly seen a lot of fakers in my own industry and it’s funny, when I’ve called them on something technical and they get found out, that they get really defensive and then abusive! Ethics don’t mean a thing to them.

The Bad Science Forum has an article on this too.

Unsupported claims

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Jan 152008

Skeptico has a great article on something that I’ve felt strongly about for some time. I’ve tried to introduce critical thinking processes to some people and have tried using various arguments for showing the perilous foundations that homeopathy, astrology, chiropractice, etc are built on. But most people are set in their ways and although I will continue to be quite vocal in my arguments I no longer expect people to change their minds. It’s hard for people to admit that they’re wrong and to let go of ideas they’re fond of. Of course some people do see the light and start the processes of questioning, to use critical thinking. But such people are rare. I haven’t given up. Gentle persuasion is the way to go with most people, especially with friends. However, when it comes to organisations…well, they’re fair game. Give them all you’ve got! You be the judge of the situation and act accordingly.

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