Stop Sylvia Browne is a single issue website, dedicated to debunking the claims of US psychic Sylvia Browne.
There is a lot of resources for debunking the claims of not only Sylvia Browne, but also other psychics making the same sort of claims.
The website is the effort of Robert S. Lancaster, who unfortunately suffered a stroke last year, and hasn't been updated since Lancaster's stroke.
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Snopes
The premier website for debunking urban legends, Snopes is a very valuable resource for checking the validity of any claims you might come across on the internet.
The editors of Snopes tend to err on the side of caution, and not call a claim "false" unless there is overwhelming evidence for this, yet most of the claims that they have investigated are indeed classified as false.
The editors of Snopes tend to err on the side of caution, and not call a claim "false" unless there is overwhelming evidence for this, yet most of the claims that they have investigated are indeed classified as false.
James Randi Educational Foundation
The James Randi Educational Foundation, or the JREF as it's usually called, is one of the major skeptic organizations, and as such their website merits a mention, but even if that hadn't been the case, the website would still be worth mentioning.
The website contains a blog, a forum, and content more closely related to the JREF (e.g. a store). It also contains An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, which is a great resource on classic subjects in skepticism (ghosts, Uri Geller etc.)
The website contains a blog, a forum, and content more closely related to the JREF (e.g. a store). It also contains An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, which is a great resource on classic subjects in skepticism (ghosts, Uri Geller etc.)
The Young Australian Skeptics
It's hard to say whether The Young Australian Skeptics is a website or a blog - while the front page is a blog, there is also a forum, and a podcast ("Pseudo Scientists" which I will cover in a later post).
In the end, I'll go with it being both a website and a blog. No rule against a resource belonging to more than one category.
The Young Australian Skeptics, are - as the name says - young, Australian Skeptics, and tend to write about things from a youthful and slightly Australian perspective. They also have a somewhat anti-religious bent.
In the end, I'll go with it being both a website and a blog. No rule against a resource belonging to more than one category.
The Young Australian Skeptics, are - as the name says - young, Australian Skeptics, and tend to write about things from a youthful and slightly Australian perspective. They also have a somewhat anti-religious bent.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
RichardDawkins.net
Richard Dawkins is one of the best known atheists on the planet, but he is first and foremost a scientist, and while the RichardDawkins.net website focus to a large degree on atheism, it also contains a lot of science and skepticism resources.
Truthfully, I was considering whether I should include this website or not, since it's closely tied to atheism, rather than science and skepticism, but in the end, I decided that it's better to err on the side of inclusiveness.
Truthfully, I was considering whether I should include this website or not, since it's closely tied to atheism, rather than science and skepticism, but in the end, I decided that it's better to err on the side of inclusiveness.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
2012hoax
One of the current hot issues in skepticism at the moment, is the doomsday scenario, where the world gets destroyed in 2012. Fueled by the current Hollywood blockbuster movie, it appears to be of real concern to many people. Eugenie Scott wrote this in a comment to a blogpost Brian Dunning had written:
We saw the same tendencies during the Y2K scare (though that scare actually had some foundation in the truth).
Luckily there is a website dedicated to debunking the 2012 myths, called 2012hoax - Debunking the "2012 Doomsday". Written by people with backgrounds in astronomy, it points out the many factual errors in the doomsday scenarios presented by the 2012 proponents.
A good resource to point to, next time someone starts babbling about how the world is going to end in a couple of years.
Our skeptic friend David Morrison (NASA’s “Ask an astrobiologist”) reports an unusual number of very, very frightened emails from people who have heard the 2012 hype and are worried about impending disaster.
We saw the same tendencies during the Y2K scare (though that scare actually had some foundation in the truth).
Luckily there is a website dedicated to debunking the 2012 myths, called 2012hoax - Debunking the "2012 Doomsday". Written by people with backgrounds in astronomy, it points out the many factual errors in the doomsday scenarios presented by the 2012 proponents.
A good resource to point to, next time someone starts babbling about how the world is going to end in a couple of years.
Friday, November 13, 2009
what's the harm
One of the common questions often raised when debating pseudo-science and anti-science is "what's the harm in [X]" or "what's the harm in people believing in [X]" where [X] stands for the particular pseudo-science or anti-science subject debated at the moment.
The site what's the harm? aims at answering that exact question for a number of subjects such as acupuncture, chiropractic, and HIV/AIDS denial. There are also some more flimsy subjects as "What's the harm in moon landing denial?" It turns out that one person has indeed been harmed because of moon landing denial.
Still, even with the occasional silliness, the site is a great resource.
The site what's the harm? aims at answering that exact question for a number of subjects such as acupuncture, chiropractic, and HIV/AIDS denial. There are also some more flimsy subjects as "What's the harm in moon landing denial?" It turns out that one person has indeed been harmed because of moon landing denial.
Bart is a major proponent of moon hoax misinformation. When he decided to harrass astronaut Buzz Aldrin about it, Buzz fought back. Bart became the recipient of a punch to the face.
Still, even with the occasional silliness, the site is a great resource.
Expelled Exposed
A website created by the National Center for Science Education, which is a US organization dedicated to defending the teaching of evolution in public schools.
Expelled Exposed is dedicated to debunking the falsehoods in the pro-creationism movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.
The movie have had very little impact in the US, and even less outside the US, but it's a good resource to know if someone uses that movie as a reference.
Expelled is probable best known for the fact that Richard Dawkins, Eugenie Scott, and PZ Myers were interviewed for it under false premises, and for the fact that PZ Myers was expelled from a screening of the movie (if you haven't read about this, read PZ Myers' post written just after the fact, it's hilarious).
Interestingly, an off-shot of the movie was the creation of Richard Dawkins - Beware the Believers - an animated movie using humor to attack science, which probably have had more views than the actual Expelled movie.
Expelled Exposed is dedicated to debunking the falsehoods in the pro-creationism movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.
The movie have had very little impact in the US, and even less outside the US, but it's a good resource to know if someone uses that movie as a reference.
Expelled is probable best known for the fact that Richard Dawkins, Eugenie Scott, and PZ Myers were interviewed for it under false premises, and for the fact that PZ Myers was expelled from a screening of the movie (if you haven't read about this, read PZ Myers' post written just after the fact, it's hilarious).
Interestingly, an off-shot of the movie was the creation of Richard Dawkins - Beware the Believers - an animated movie using humor to attack science, which probably have had more views than the actual Expelled movie.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Grassroots Skeptics
A resource for connecting skeptics with other skeptics in their local area.
Grassroots Skeptics is a quite new resource (from September, 2009), and so far, it seems mostly to be utilized by US skeptics. Hopefully, it will become more global in reach over time.
Two of the three people behind Grassroots Skeptics also blogs at Skepchick.
Grassroots Skeptics is a quite new resource (from September, 2009), and so far, it seems mostly to be utilized by US skeptics. Hopefully, it will become more global in reach over time.
Two of the three people behind Grassroots Skeptics also blogs at Skepchick.
TalkOrigins
Probably the premium website for debunking claims by creationists and the intelligent design crowd. TalkOrigin is an off-shot of the Talk Origins newsgroup on usenet, and much of it's content originates from that newsgroup.
One particular noteworthy feature of TalkOrigins is their An Index to Creationist Claims, which covers just about all claims commonly made by creationists.
The site also has some great resources for learning more about biology.
One particular noteworthy feature of TalkOrigins is their An Index to Creationist Claims, which covers just about all claims commonly made by creationists.
The site also has some great resources for learning more about biology.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)