Sunday, November 30, 2008

Skeptic or Denier?

An episode of Oprah aired recently that made me pause. The episode was Global Warming 101 with Al Gore, which originally aired on 12/05/06. During the episode Oprah asked Gore why the "skeptics" were so skeptical and disbelieving of the severity of the issue.  She also interviewed a "skeptic" for the show. What bothered me was the fact that she  wasn't really referring to skeptics. She was really talking about climate change deniers. There are many complicated facets to climate change but I don't many skeptics who deny it is a man made phenomenon. A few skeptics may disagree with some of the finer points or predictions of climate change studies but most don't disagree with scientific consensus. By calling deniers skeptics, Oprah is perpetuating a stereotype of the skeptic as a person who is quick to dismiss, close-minded and contrary. A skeptic is a person who wants evidence for a claim and uses critical thinking skills when analyzing an issue. Let's call it like it is. A denier is a denier, not a skeptic.

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Saturday, November 29, 2008

CBS: A Return to Intellegent Entertainment?

I want to take a moment to give a tip of the hat to CBS. Over the past few years they have introduced several new shows that are both smart and entertaining. This year offerings include The Mentalist and 11th Hour. The three CSI shows and Numbers have been on the air for a while now and have introduced us to main characters that use science, math and logic. Its high time that a major network has stopped dumbing down our entertainment and given us something to actually enjoy watching. While these shows may not always be accurate (most crime labs are lucky to get DNA results in weeks not hours) they are better than mind-numbing situational comedies and far-fetched soap styled dramas. Hopefully this trend of rational protagonists will continue and maybe even spread to the other networks. Now if something could be done about Ghost Whisperer....

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Friday, November 28, 2008

A New Saturn Mystery

Saturn, like Earth, has an aurora. Aurorae are caused by charged particles that upon nearing a planet are captured and funneled toward the poles by the planet's magnetic field. When the particles hit the atmosphere, they knock electrons from atoms. When they recombine and excite an atom it causes the air to emit emission lines that are visible. Recent Cassini images have captured an aurora across a broader region of Saturn than ever seen before. Scientists are unsure of why this may be. This interesting new event will lead astronomers and physicists to new discoveries about Saturn and its magnetosphere. For further reading and a beautiful infrared image click here.

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Here Be Dragons

I recently downloaded Brian Dunning's movie Here Be Dragons. This short film is an excellent crash course introduction to critical thinking and responsible skepticism. It offers a quick run through of red flags and bad arguments and how to spot them. I would actively encourage any free thinker to check out the film which can be found here. Brian Dunning's podcast Skeptoid (which is a quick, funny and interesting show) can also be found on the site. Thanks Brian for all the hard work!

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Religion and Recent Elections

Late in the recent elections a television ad was put on the air in North Carolina, where I live. The ad was from Sen. Elizabeth Dole, the republican incumbent, attacking democrat Kay Hagan, who was running against her. The ad questioned a fundraiser that Hagan attended that was sponsored by the group Godless Americans. You can find more out about the group with a quick Google search or at their website. Some people thought that the ad went to far and was questioning Hagan's faith. Hagan and others demanded the ad be pulled from television immediately or Hagan would sue. Dole refused to stop airing the ad and Hagan kept her word, filing suit for libel and defamation. She also fired back with an ad defending herself, talking about her background as a member of the Presbyterian church and her time as a Sunday school teacher. The ad ended with Hagan implying that Dole broke one of the ten commandments (#9) by bearing false witness against a neighbor. Dole responded with yet another ad (we've had what seems like an ad soap opera) saying bringing up the fundraiser was perfectly legitimate and asking voters 'if Godless Americans had a fundraiser in your honor would you go?' What I found disturbing is that no one ever backed up from the situation and really looked at what was going on here. This country was founded on the principles of democracy and fair representation of all Americans regardless of faith, race, gender, sexual preferences, etc. Atheists in America are entitled to their opinions and representation just like Christians, Jews, Muslims and every people of any other faith or lack thereof. No one even blinks an eye when a candidate goes to a fundraiser held by Methodists or any other religious group. Could you even imagine the outrage if a candidate had a tv ad attacking an opponent for going to a fundraiser sponsored by Jews? How is this series of ads any different? As a people we should be standing up for the rights of all the world's people. Ads like these are just unacceptable. As a quick side note, Dole lost her bid for re-election and Hagan has dropped the lawsuit.

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