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.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
The Skeptic Zone
The Skeptic Zone is the podcast from the Australian Skeptics
The history of the podcast is a bit confusing, and I am probably going to explain it wrong, but I'll try. It started out as an internet radio show in 2001 called The Skeptic Tank. This ran until 2002.
In 2005, The Skeptic Tank was revived, and it 2006 it changed its name to The Tank Podcast, before it was turned into a vodcast in 2007, named The Tank Vodcast. Finally, in 2008 it returned to the podcast format, this time under the current name of The Skeptic Zone.
The show tend to comment on current events related to skepticism and the episodes often contains interviews with prominent skeptics from around the world. It also has regular segments such as Dr Rachie Reports, where Dr Rachael Dunlop goes into alternative medicine.
The history of the podcast is a bit confusing, and I am probably going to explain it wrong, but I'll try. It started out as an internet radio show in 2001 called The Skeptic Tank. This ran until 2002.
In 2005, The Skeptic Tank was revived, and it 2006 it changed its name to The Tank Podcast, before it was turned into a vodcast in 2007, named The Tank Vodcast. Finally, in 2008 it returned to the podcast format, this time under the current name of The Skeptic Zone.
The show tend to comment on current events related to skepticism and the episodes often contains interviews with prominent skeptics from around the world. It also has regular segments such as Dr Rachie Reports, where Dr Rachael Dunlop goes into alternative medicine.
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.
Good Math, Bad Math
Good Math, Bad Math is the blog of computer scientists Mark Chu-Carroll, and is one of the definite go-to places for math and all things innumerate. It's hosted on ScienceBlogs, and generally tend towards science content rather than skepticism content.
When Mark Chu-Carroll started his blog, he was a regular commenter at Respectful Insolence, and he claims Orac as his blog-father (meaning his main inspiration), so the blog is firmly grounded in skepticism, and he has, among other things, written debunkings of the mathematical claims of the Discovery Institute.
When Mark Chu-Carroll started his blog, he was a regular commenter at Respectful Insolence, and he claims Orac as his blog-father (meaning his main inspiration), so the blog is firmly grounded in skepticism, and he has, among other things, written debunkings of the mathematical claims of the Discovery Institute.
Skeptic North
Skeptic North is a fairly new (it's been up since August) blog written by Canadian skeptics. On the welcome page, the blog is described thus:
While the blog is new, many (all?) of the contributors have been writing and talking about skepticism for much longer, and have already contributed great hard-hitting stuff to the blog.
Skeptic North is the first Canada-wide blog for skeptics. There are currently many localized, and regional groups that have been doing absolute yeoman's work for several years, but there has been no blog with a truly nation-spanning scope and reach.
This is where we come in.
We've cobbled together a rag-tag team of skeptic misfits from across the country to provide you with a one-stop shopping destination for all things Canadian-skeptic related. We're not limited to just Canadian issues, but if it's a skeptical concern in Canada, we'll be covering it.
While the blog is new, many (all?) of the contributors have been writing and talking about skepticism for much longer, and have already contributed great hard-hitting stuff to the blog.
Bad Astronomy
Bad Astronomy is the blog of Phil Plait, who is an astronomer, the author of two books (Bad Astronomy and Death from the Skies!), and the current president of the JREF.
The Bad Astronomy blog is a spin-off of the book by the same name, and focuses mostly on astronomy related subjects - often the pseudo-scientific ones (e.g. moon landing hoax). Occasionally other skeptic subjects will be thrown in as well.
The blog is hosted at the website of the Discover Magazine
Related links:
Bad Astronomy archive
The Bad Astronomy blog is a spin-off of the book by the same name, and focuses mostly on astronomy related subjects - often the pseudo-scientific ones (e.g. moon landing hoax). Occasionally other skeptic subjects will be thrown in as well.
The blog is hosted at the website of the Discover Magazine
Related links:
Bad Astronomy archive
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.)
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