Dynamic pricing can optimize profits but alienate customers
10 minutes ago
Showing posts with label skeptic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skeptic. Show all posts
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
BBC Bullsh!t Detectors expose psychic frauds
This is a really good video that exposes how psychics really get information about the spirits they contact... google! and amazingly it works even when the people are just made up!
Zing!
Gotcha, you slimy charlatans!
Zing!
Gotcha, you slimy charlatans!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
James Randi tests Psychic Investigator
In this video, a very young James Randi puts a 'Psychic Investigator' to the test. It is from a TV series of his called James Randi: Psychic Investigator.
I think we would all agree with her statement at 2:52
The real question is why would a self-aware fraud put themselves through a test like this on national television? There can be a few answers.
She may truly believe in her 'power', which sounds like a difficult thing to do, but it is actually quite easy for someone to give it a go, get some positive feedback (whether true or not), which becomes a self perpetuating feedback loop. It is not often that such a person would be tested and they then have the blinkers of the old 'counting the hits and ignoring the misses' fallacy. Thinking that she has a good chance to be able to display her powers to the public and change some people's minds, she decides to give it a go.
Or she may be a fraud who thinks that she can outwit James Randi (watch out, he's pretty sharp!) with some Barnum statements and cold reading techniques. Out of the three items that she 'receives psychic energies' from, one, she says may have been used for something innocent (which covers her for both a crime situation, or a mundane one), the hammer 'makes her feel glass', which isn't a stretch, using a hammer to smash glass is probably the most common use of the item in a crime situation. She also goes out on a limb with the axe/pick, saying that it makes her think of a heavy vehicle tyre. This could mean it was used to damage such a tyre, that it was transported in such a vehicle, that the crime was committed near one, or that somebody involved in the crime owned such a ehicle. It sounds specific, but has cast the net pretty wide, increasing the chance of a hit. I would say that in a less controlled situation, where she would be able to discuss back and forth abit, it wouldn't take long before she hits on some information that sounds pretty amazing (if you'll pardon the pun, Randi) but is actually no different to a cold reading, fortune cokie or astrological reading.
Have a think about whether she is truly self-deluded, or a charlatain. Enjoy her explaination at 2:52.
I think we would all agree with her statement at 2:52
The real question is why would a self-aware fraud put themselves through a test like this on national television? There can be a few answers.
She may truly believe in her 'power', which sounds like a difficult thing to do, but it is actually quite easy for someone to give it a go, get some positive feedback (whether true or not), which becomes a self perpetuating feedback loop. It is not often that such a person would be tested and they then have the blinkers of the old 'counting the hits and ignoring the misses' fallacy. Thinking that she has a good chance to be able to display her powers to the public and change some people's minds, she decides to give it a go.
Or she may be a fraud who thinks that she can outwit James Randi (watch out, he's pretty sharp!) with some Barnum statements and cold reading techniques. Out of the three items that she 'receives psychic energies' from, one, she says may have been used for something innocent (which covers her for both a crime situation, or a mundane one), the hammer 'makes her feel glass', which isn't a stretch, using a hammer to smash glass is probably the most common use of the item in a crime situation. She also goes out on a limb with the axe/pick, saying that it makes her think of a heavy vehicle tyre. This could mean it was used to damage such a tyre, that it was transported in such a vehicle, that the crime was committed near one, or that somebody involved in the crime owned such a ehicle. It sounds specific, but has cast the net pretty wide, increasing the chance of a hit. I would say that in a less controlled situation, where she would be able to discuss back and forth abit, it wouldn't take long before she hits on some information that sounds pretty amazing (if you'll pardon the pun, Randi) but is actually no different to a cold reading, fortune cokie or astrological reading.
Have a think about whether she is truly self-deluded, or a charlatain. Enjoy her explaination at 2:52.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
God is just a theory
This weeks eSkeptic concentrates on '27 ways to honor Charles Darwin' and comprises a list of 27 terrific resources for people wanting to learn more about and be able to defend evolution.
Check it out and order yourself some swag. Their store is just brimming with awesome merchandise. Also, make sure you get a chance to browse around the main site. There's a lot of really good resources there.
This edition of eSkeptic also contains a link to Shermer's "God is Just a theory" editorial, which suggests a mandatory insertion at the beginning of all church services, explaining that the material contained within the service cannot be validated and must be viewed as 'theoretical'
Check it out and order yourself some swag. Their store is just brimming with awesome merchandise. Also, make sure you get a chance to browse around the main site. There's a lot of really good resources there.
This edition of eSkeptic also contains a link to Shermer's "God is Just a theory" editorial, which suggests a mandatory insertion at the beginning of all church services, explaining that the material contained within the service cannot be validated and must be viewed as 'theoretical'
Here's the original:
God is Only a Theory
I have given much thought to the creationists’ demand that evolution be stricken from public school science classes, or that it be taught side-by-side with creationism because “evolution is only a theory” and since “no one was there to witness the creation” we cannot say for sure what really happened.
I have come to the conclusion that what’s fair is fair, and that the creationists have a good point. After all, isn’t education all about hearing both sides of an issue? And they are correct, no one was there to witness the creation, so any ideas about who or what caused the creation can only be speculative theories and therefore never provable.
Therefore, I am certain that Ministers, Priests, Rabbis, and religious leaders of all sects will be pleased to read the following disclaimer to their respective congregations every Sunday morning, or before any sermon delivered:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, God bless and welcome to [fill in the name of your church, temple, mosque, or center of worship here].
This morning we are going to talk about the creation of the universe and the origins of life on Earth. According to the Bible, Genesis 1:1–3: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”Now, it is important for us to understand that no one was actually present at the creation so we don’t really know what happened. Genesis 1:1–3 is only a theory, and as such cannot be treated as fact. And it is only fair that I share with you that there are other theories of the creation.
For example, some Sumerians and Babylonians, Gilbert Islanders, Koreans, and Greeks believed that the world was created from the parts of a slain monster; some Zuni Indians, Cook Islanders, and Tahitians have a theory that the world was created by the interaction of primordial parents; and some Japanese, Samoan, Persian, Chinese, and Hindu have a theory that the world was generated from an egg.” And, of course, there is that dogma being foisted upon us by the liberal media and intelligentsia, the theory of evolution.
As for the origins of human life, that is spelled out in Genesis 1:27: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Of course, not only was no one present to witness this act — except for Adam and Eve after they were created — I should point out that this theory has a counter theory in Genesis 2:7, where “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In this theory Adam is all alone without a mate, so in Genesis 2:21–22 “the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”
Since everyone here was blessed by the almighty with a brain that thinks, I will allow you to decide which theory is the correct theory of the creation of humans, Genesis 1 or Genesis 2. Weigh the evidence and decide for yourselves. You be the judge.
Oh, there is one other minor detail. Adam and Eve begat Cain and Abel, and as you all know Cain — as firstborns are wont to do to their laterborn siblings who compete for the limited parental resources — slew him. That left Adam, Eve, and Cain as the only humans on the entire Earth. But in Genesis 4:17 we read that “Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch.” Now, I don’t mean to burden you with more of the liberal media’s fascination with smut and porn, but I think as created beings endowed with intelligence and critical thinking skills blessed to us by the good Lord, it might be reasonable to ask just who it was that Cain “knew.” Unless Adam was himself blessed with both types of reproductive organs, or Cain was capable of parthenogenesis, then we are left with the theory that Cain “knew” his mother. But that’s just a theory, and as we all know, theories are just wild guesses and should not be taken seriously.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Jesus is everywhere!
My favorite bit is at about 4:00, when they start going on about cheesus.
Another great moment is at 5:40
"I don't see her"
"I don't either, but it's still a good story"
Unless you've been under a skeptic proof rock, you'll know that this is the result of pareidolia (1 2 3), which is basically a perceptual illusion which comes from our pattern recognition system. The human brain is wired to selectively perceive things that look like a human face, which may be an inherited survival mechanism, or just one of many floors in our "intelligently designed" perceptual systems (ahem).
Either way, I find illusions and perceptual psychology incredibly interesting. There is even an audio type of pareidolia, an example of which is the 'Angel in the choir'. This is when a choir is singing in perfect harmony, which creates a harmonic resonance that creates the illusion of an additional, etherial voice singing amongst the choir. I'm not sure if anyone has ever claimed to have smelled Jesus (I wouldn't be surprised), but I'd guess he wouldn't be too fresh after all this time!
Some famous examples of pareidolia are:
Grilled cheesus
Allah gristle
The face on mars
The bigfoot on mars
The Moon Rabbit
Aliens
ET's Nutrigrain
And of course the Jesus is and arsehole
It seems that most of the images are somehow connected to a myth, superstition or folklore, but the one example of pareidolia that really clinces for me is this one.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Michael Shermer at the Big Night of Science
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Memories From The Amazing Meeting 6
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sceptics Dinner Meeting with Victor Stenger
Last night was the sceptics dinner meeting, where we were graced by the presence of Vic Stenger, author of the bestseller God: The Failed Hypothesis.
As always, the dinner meeting was a great opportunity to chat with fellow questioners of bunkum and the turnout was quite impressive, with 170 attendees all up. The agenda favoured the buffet dinner over the guest speaker, which was a slight dissapointment (RSL club buffets aren't the most vegetarian friendly affairs, it was roast pumpkin and lettuce all the way!). We were lucky to get there early enough to get some good seats and ended up in the company of 'the regulars' from sceptics in the pub.
At about 8:30pm, after dessert was served, Richard Saunders gave a news rundown where he spoke about the recent bigfoot controversy and his involvement in 'The One' before handing the mic to Martin Hadley, who introduced Stenger.
Stenger began with a joke. "Australia got all the convicts, America got the christians. Australia must have had the first choice" before moving on to explaining that agnostics are actually atheists and defining the god that his work referrs to as the theistic god of the Judeo/Christian/Islamic traditions, which he differentiated from the pantheisic and deistic varieties of god mythologies. He will be covering the other types of gods in his next book "The Quantum Gods".
Stenger's argument is based on the assumtion that if the theistic god existed, there should have been some evidence to support it by now. He rejects the common addage 'abscence of evidence is not evidence of abscence' and says that the abscence of evidence means that we have no reason to believe in the proposition of a god and that the evidence against the existance of a god, through testing the claims made by religious followers (such as prayer, supernatural intervention etc), leads one to the conclusion that the existence of god has been disproved beyond a reasonable doubt. This definition of 'proof' has more in common with the legal tradition than the scientific model, which has been one of the main arguments against Stenger's book.
Stenger then went on to quickly debunk the main arguments for the existence of god;
the cosmological argument;
the argument from creation/design, to which he explained some instances of 'unintelligent design' including the single hole for food and air leading to hundreds of deaths by choking each year;
the argument from revelation, which could be supported if anybody produces new information through a revelation experience;
the fine tuning argument, to which the inherent hostility of the universe was enough;
and the hiddenness argument, where Stenger said that a god that deliberately hides from people who want to believe cannot be a moral god. "An evil god would btter fit the data" was Stenger's response.
The night then opened up for a QnA session.
Stenger was asked to clarify a point where he refered to a 40 billion year old universe, which he explained as an artifact of the expansion of the universe, to which the age is 13.7 billion years, but there are objects 40 billion light years away.
Stenger was then asked to speak about his involvement in paranormal research. He explained that his interest in the subject lies in the misuse of quantum mechanics and spoke about some particularly terrible examples such as 'What the Bleep do we Know?', 'The Secret' and Deepak Chopra's work on quantumn healing.
All in all, it was a pretty good night. I wish Stenger had have been given more time, but it was a good quick overview of his major arguments. After his talk, we had the opportunity to meet him and have a quick chat and we found him to be quite personable.
Stenger will be taking part in the IQ2 debate on Tuesday 19th of August. The topic will be "We'd be better off without religion". It will be a 3 a side debate and Stenger will be flanked by Richard Ackland and Lyn Allison. They will battling it out against John Lennox, Suzanne Rutland and Ian Plimer.
We'll let you know how it goes.
For more info on Stenger, look here. To read some reviews on God: The Failed Hypothesis, go here and here.
As always, the dinner meeting was a great opportunity to chat with fellow questioners of bunkum and the turnout was quite impressive, with 170 attendees all up. The agenda favoured the buffet dinner over the guest speaker, which was a slight dissapointment (RSL club buffets aren't the most vegetarian friendly affairs, it was roast pumpkin and lettuce all the way!). We were lucky to get there early enough to get some good seats and ended up in the company of 'the regulars' from sceptics in the pub.
At about 8:30pm, after dessert was served, Richard Saunders gave a news rundown where he spoke about the recent bigfoot controversy and his involvement in 'The One' before handing the mic to Martin Hadley, who introduced Stenger.
Stenger began with a joke. "Australia got all the convicts, America got the christians. Australia must have had the first choice" before moving on to explaining that agnostics are actually atheists and defining the god that his work referrs to as the theistic god of the Judeo/Christian/Islamic traditions, which he differentiated from the pantheisic and deistic varieties of god mythologies. He will be covering the other types of gods in his next book "The Quantum Gods".Stenger's argument is based on the assumtion that if the theistic god existed, there should have been some evidence to support it by now. He rejects the common addage 'abscence of evidence is not evidence of abscence' and says that the abscence of evidence means that we have no reason to believe in the proposition of a god and that the evidence against the existance of a god, through testing the claims made by religious followers (such as prayer, supernatural intervention etc), leads one to the conclusion that the existence of god has been disproved beyond a reasonable doubt. This definition of 'proof' has more in common with the legal tradition than the scientific model, which has been one of the main arguments against Stenger's book.
Stenger then went on to quickly debunk the main arguments for the existence of god;the cosmological argument;
the argument from creation/design, to which he explained some instances of 'unintelligent design' including the single hole for food and air leading to hundreds of deaths by choking each year;
the argument from revelation, which could be supported if anybody produces new information through a revelation experience;
the fine tuning argument, to which the inherent hostility of the universe was enough;
and the hiddenness argument, where Stenger said that a god that deliberately hides from people who want to believe cannot be a moral god. "An evil god would btter fit the data" was Stenger's response.
The night then opened up for a QnA session.
Stenger was asked to clarify a point where he refered to a 40 billion year old universe, which he explained as an artifact of the expansion of the universe, to which the age is 13.7 billion years, but there are objects 40 billion light years away.
Stenger was then asked to speak about his involvement in paranormal research. He explained that his interest in the subject lies in the misuse of quantum mechanics and spoke about some particularly terrible examples such as 'What the Bleep do we Know?', 'The Secret' and Deepak Chopra's work on quantumn healing.
All in all, it was a pretty good night. I wish Stenger had have been given more time, but it was a good quick overview of his major arguments. After his talk, we had the opportunity to meet him and have a quick chat and we found him to be quite personable.
Stenger will be taking part in the IQ2 debate on Tuesday 19th of August. The topic will be "We'd be better off without religion". It will be a 3 a side debate and Stenger will be flanked by Richard Ackland and Lyn Allison. They will battling it out against John Lennox, Suzanne Rutland and Ian Plimer.We'll let you know how it goes.For more info on Stenger, look here. To read some reviews on God: The Failed Hypothesis, go here and here.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Resources for Freethinkers:Books
Books are probably the best source of information when it comes to the topics covered by freethinking, which include science, religious criticism, scepticism, philosophy etc. The importance of books is getting somewhat lost amongst the milieu of information available to the regular broadband-packing layman. In a world of point and click soundbite snippet based media it's important to take a break from the digital intertubes and hold a few pounds of paper in your fist and do some old school learning.
This list is by no means comprehensive, and is in no particular order. It is the first 50 books that came to mind which I felt were important to the freethinking world. If you think I've left out a particularly important book (which I no doubt have) please feel free to let us all know by posting a comment.
Demon Haunted World- Carl Sagan
The God Delusion- Richard Dawkins
God is not Great- Christopher Hitchens
The Origin Of Species- Charles Darwin
Why People Believe Weird Things- Michael Shermer
God: The Failed Hypothesis- Victor Stenger
Atheist Universe- David Mills
Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal- Lynne Kelly
Letter to a Christian Nation- Sam Harris
The End of Faith- Sam Harris
The Science of Good and Evil- Michael Shermer
Darwin's Dangerous Idea- Daniel C. Dennet
Unweaving the Rainbow- Richard Dawkins
The Cannon- Natalie Angier
The Atheist Manafesto- Michael Onfray
Climbing Mount Improbable- Richard Dawkins
Why Darwin Matters- Michael Shermer
Bad Astronomy- Phil Plait
Origins- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Quirkology- Richard Wiseman
The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick- Peter Lamont
Skeptical Essays- Bertrand Russell
Why I am NOt a Christian- Bertrand Russell
The Varieties of Scientific Experience- Carl Sagan
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion- David Hume
Brocas Brain- Carl Sagan
The Portable Atheist- Christopher Hitchens
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing- Richard Dawkins
The World Treasury of Modern Science Writing- Timothy Ferris
Last Chance to See- Douglas Adams with Mark Carwardine
Evolution vs Creationism- Eugenie Scott
The Stuff of Thought- Stephen Pinker
The Blank Slate- Stephen Pinker
How the Mind Works- Stephen Pinker
Death by Black Hole- Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Sky id not the Limit- Neil deGrasse Tyson
An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural- James Randi
Flim-Flam!- James Randi
The Faith Healers- James Randi
The Doors of Perception- Aldous Huxley
The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Psuedoscience- Michael Shermer
How We Believe- Michael Shermer
The Pandas Thumb- Stephen Jay Gould
The Gods and Other Lectures- Robert G Ingersoll
The Voyage of the Beagle- Charles Darwin
The Descent of Man- Charles Darwin
A Brief History of Time- Stephen Hawking
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
The Discworld Series- Terry Pratchett
This list is by no means comprehensive, and is in no particular order. It is the first 50 books that came to mind which I felt were important to the freethinking world. If you think I've left out a particularly important book (which I no doubt have) please feel free to let us all know by posting a comment.
Demon Haunted World- Carl Sagan
The God Delusion- Richard Dawkins
God is not Great- Christopher Hitchens
The Origin Of Species- Charles Darwin
Why People Believe Weird Things- Michael Shermer
God: The Failed Hypothesis- Victor Stenger
Atheist Universe- David Mills
Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal- Lynne Kelly
Letter to a Christian Nation- Sam Harris
The End of Faith- Sam Harris
The Science of Good and Evil- Michael Shermer
Darwin's Dangerous Idea- Daniel C. Dennet
Unweaving the Rainbow- Richard Dawkins
The Cannon- Natalie Angier
The Atheist Manafesto- Michael Onfray
Climbing Mount Improbable- Richard Dawkins
Why Darwin Matters- Michael Shermer
Bad Astronomy- Phil Plait
Origins- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Quirkology- Richard Wiseman
The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick- Peter Lamont
Skeptical Essays- Bertrand Russell
Why I am NOt a Christian- Bertrand Russell
The Varieties of Scientific Experience- Carl Sagan
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion- David Hume
Brocas Brain- Carl Sagan
The Portable Atheist- Christopher Hitchens
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing- Richard Dawkins
The World Treasury of Modern Science Writing- Timothy Ferris
Last Chance to See- Douglas Adams with Mark Carwardine
Evolution vs Creationism- Eugenie Scott
The Stuff of Thought- Stephen Pinker
The Blank Slate- Stephen Pinker
How the Mind Works- Stephen Pinker
Death by Black Hole- Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Sky id not the Limit- Neil deGrasse Tyson
An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural- James Randi
Flim-Flam!- James Randi
The Faith Healers- James Randi
The Doors of Perception- Aldous Huxley
The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Psuedoscience- Michael Shermer
How We Believe- Michael Shermer
The Pandas Thumb- Stephen Jay Gould
The Gods and Other Lectures- Robert G Ingersoll
The Voyage of the Beagle- Charles Darwin
The Descent of Man- Charles Darwin
A Brief History of Time- Stephen Hawking
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
The Discworld Series- Terry Pratchett
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Visit To A Psychic Fair
Today we went along to a “Psychic Fair”. We did not hold high expectations as it was in a very small nearby suburb, however upon arrival we were surprised to see a fairly good turn out. Out the front were signs promoting “psychometry”, “clairvoyance” and “tarot readings”. It was $15 for a reading of your choice, held in a hall at small tables. There were lots of women holding crystal balls, pendulums, tarot cards and other woo. There were large queues for a reading, with a ticket issued upon payment. There were a variety of stalls selling books on "past life therapy", "tarot", "life after death", "homeopathy" and even UFO's! One woman told Alan that he was "smiling too much!", and she didn't even know we were skeptics... (or did she...!). We purchased a variety of books (for a dollar each) which will certainly provide a number of hours of enlightened reading. There was a stall selling "psychic wax pictures" - "As seen on the Kerri Ann Show!"... (Alan too was seen on the Kerri Ann show).
On our way out, I took some photos of the signs out the front, and a man came over to us and exclaimed that he had never had anyone take photos of his signs. He then showed us his palms and said "see this line here? that means I should work with animals." He told us a number of anecdotal stories about palm reading, and I could no longer hold back. I began to question some of the claims he was making, for example he claimed that a television in his house jumped two or three feet off the ground, but the vase stayed on top and didn't break. "TWO OR THREE FEET?" I asked, demonstrating with my hand how high that is. "Well," he said, "it jumped off the ground" and then he moved off that topic onto another. I told him about the Australian Skeptics $100 000 prize for anyone who can demonstrate what it is they can do under experimental conditions. He said that they are not interested in the money, so I asked why they were here charging $15 for a reading on a Saturday, to which he replied it was fund raising for their church. We pointed how great for them it would be for their church if they took the test and won the money, but he kept jumping from topic to topic. I tried to give him an Australian Skeptics card with details on it, but he refused to take it, and even refused to give it to anyone else. He also said that he feels very sorry for James Randi, as he just doesn't believe in anything... I happily told him that we has met Randi just a few months ago at The Amazing Meeting 6, and explained that he is extremely happy, has led a very fulfilled (and honest!) life. He ended the discussion by saying to us that we will one day believe. "Show us one shred of evidence, and we'll be happy to believe" we replied.
It is often hard to tell apart the people who are truly deluded and those who are out right frauds. Many of the people attending for readings are desperate people who are looking for answers and help in their lives. Unfortunately, they turn to this type of money making credulous woo woo, instead of seeking out practical and constructive methods that will actually help them. We ran into a lady we know who is a single mum and has a severely autistic son, which she is really struggling with. It is terribly sad to think that she, and countless others, are taken advantage of by this type of rubbish.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
