YouTuber and behavioural scientist Pete Judo presents the infamous #PACEtrial which he describes as "what is possibly the worst medical trial in modern history. (contd)”
“(Contd) Worst in its bizarre practices, worst in terms of its potentially fraudulent reporting of results, and worst of all its potential harm it has caused to a very vulnerable group of people".
Hypnotism has demonstrable therapeutic value for curing addictions and reducing pain – and without a need for dangerous opioids. Does it also tell us something about to what extent pain is in the mind? This week’s episode of Big Picture Science is “Skeptic Check: Hypnotism.”
One of Sweden's strongest and most productive #science popularisers, debunkers and enlighteners, the writer Peter Olausson, died this morning aged 52 after a long illness. He leaves a small library of excellent books behind that I can heartily recommend. Peter is going to be missed!
Be skeptical about everything you hear about the Israeli//Palestinian conflict.
There's a lot of false information out there. Be highly skeptical of EVERYTHING you hear from both sides.
"The White House has walked back President Joe Biden’s claim that he saw pictures of beheaded children following Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel.
The reversal came after Biden on Wednesday described seeing images of mutilated children during a meeting with Jewish leaders at the White House.
Biden’s claims were featured on the front pages of Western newspapers, and reports of beheaded babies have been cited in some quarters as justification for revenge attacks and the collective punishment of civilians in Gaza.
The Israeli army has said that it cannot confirm the claims, which were repeated on Wednesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson Tal Heinrich."
VIDEO:
The claim that 40 babies were maybe beheaded in Israel is already being walked-back by the reporter who made the claim, but here is a real video from Gaza today...
but...
I recently saw a mentalist show where the guy pulled off very impressive tricks that appeared to be psychic powers of prediction. Of course like James Randi he was clear that he has no special powers it is all slight of hand. I used to say that my biggest problem with psychics/mediums was them bilking vulnerable desperate people of money. But watching these displays I'd say it is even more insidious than that. #skeptic#skepticism The Most Brutal Psychic Fail Compilation Pt. 2
Got marketing email for an event headlined by M. Shermer, P. Boghossian, J. Diamond and one M. Shellenberger, introduced as an associate of E. Musk. No thanks.
If the US skeptical movement wants to promote pro-science causes effectively, it needs non-political associations, like the Planetary Society and the Swedish Skeptics.
My mom emails me so much fake news and conspiracy theory nonsense everyday that I made a mail rule to automatically move any of her email to a folder. I’ve asked her to stop but she doesn’t. 🙄
This rule has been running for a couple of years. I have hundreds if not thousands of these by now. I never open any of it but as you can see there’s a lot of wild stuff. This is just from this week. #fakenews#psuedoscience#skeptic
My colleague Jason Colavito provides important context for those sensational “alien spacecraft” claims.
"Grusch may well be telling the truth about hearing these stories, but the stories were old when ‘The X-Files’ was new. Congress must do better than take them at face value."
I grew up in a repressive fundamentalist conservative environment. I was homeschooled k-12 so I could be indoctrinated in creationism, far-right politics, and general closed-minded, hateful bigotry.
I wonder how I was able to rid my mind of such nonsense while so many of the people I grew up with have barely changed at all.
I think growing up with Star Trek prevented it all from fully seeping into my brain. Many episodes were more impactful to me than any Bible story. #StarTrek#skeptic
This is an award-winning documentary that pulls no punches and goes into detail on what blockchain is, how it works, and all the other crypto schemes and how they inter-relate. The second half of the documentary goes into examining specific claims made by crypto proponents. A must watch for anybody who wants to fully...
The tutorial demands (gently suggests) an #introduction and who am I to not give it one, even though I finished everything and came back to post later.
I am Terrorskull, clearly, and I am new to #calckey. I have been on #Mastodon for about a year but decided I should check out what else the #Fediverse has to offer. For now, at least, this will be my backup account to @terrorskull, but I still plan to post here from time to time. The web interface seems significantly better, dare I say... modern!
This concludes my introduction. Thank you for reading. Feel free to follow me here and/or on my @terrorskull account for random musings and sharing/boosts of various science and gaming related information.
Before I forget, the required cat photo is included, as a cat photo is always required for an introduction.
The Bible: So Misunderstood It's a Sin (www.newsweek.com)
Religious rationalizers twist phrases and modify translations to prove they are honoring the Bible's words....
Blockchain - Innovation or Illusion? (Offical - Full Documentary) (www.youtube.com)
This is an award-winning documentary that pulls no punches and goes into detail on what blockchain is, how it works, and all the other crypto schemes and how they inter-relate. The second half of the documentary goes into examining specific claims made by crypto proponents. A must watch for anybody who wants to fully...
Reddit censors it's largest crypto critical community - we're now setting up a presence on kbin (www.youtube.com)