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Skepter
''Skepter'' is a popular science magazine of the Dutch skeptical foundation Stichting Skepsis. It describes paranormal or controversial theories and methods from a skeptical perspective. History In its first issue, the contemporary president of Stichting Skepsis, astronomer Cornelis de Jager, wrote that the paper "could fulfill a useful task in explaining many seemingly miraculous things, and consequently to the clarification of the misconceptions that exist in many people's minds. Education of a hopefully large audience is the first and foremost task of our magazine." From 1988 until 2002, astronomer was editor-in-chief, and when he was succeeded by Rob Nanninga, the magazine first appeared in colour. In 2007, to reduce costs, increase accessibility and facilitate production and distribution, ''Skepter'' has been concentrated more and more on the Internet. In that year, the frequency of ''Skepter'' was reduced from quarterly to semi-annually. On the other hand, its size grew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rob Nanninga
Roelof Hendrik "Rob" Nanninga (6 August 1955 – 30 May 2014) was a Dutch skeptic, writer, board member of Stichting Skepsis and editor of its magazine ''Skepter''. He became known for his critical writings about sects, alternative healers and therapists, paranormal claims and pseudoscientific trainings and courses. Early career Nanninga completed his Ubbo Emmius teacher education in the summer of 1980 as a high school teacher in Dutch and English. After only a month in military service he was discharged. Nanninga was a teacher for only a short time, being unable to keep order in class; his East Groningen pupils wanted no part of his Skinnerian ideas about rewarding and not punishing. He concluded educating rebellious teenagers was not for him. First skeptical activities In 1976, Nanninga got involved in a skeptics discussion group in Groningen via a school project of the college. He told them he knew how Uri Geller bent spoons. In the same year, the American skeptical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stichting Skepsis
Stichting Skepsis is a Dutch organisation dedicated to the promotion and practice of scientific skepticism. It is a member of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO). Activities Since 1988 the organisation publishes a journal titled ''Skepter'' four times a year, currently edited by Hans van Maanen. Skepsis also maintains the Skepsis Blog that critically examines news stories and dubious practices, and hosts an annual conference. In 2011 it participated in the 10:23 Campaign with skeptics around the world. The website ''Klopt Dat Wel?'' ("Is That Right?") emerged from Stichting Skepsis, but operates formally independently from it. Skepsis Congres The organisation's annual conference, called the Skepsis Congres, was held in Amersfoort in 1987–2001, in Amsterdam in 2002 and has been held in Utrecht (city), Utrecht ever since 2003. Each conference has a special theme that most or all lectures are about. * 2001: "Laat je niks wijsmaken!" ("Don't be fooled!"), f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Willem Nienhuys
Jan Willem Nienhuys (born 16 April 1942) is a Dutch mathematician, book translator and skeptic. He taught mathematics at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He is also a board member and secretary of Stichting Skepsis and an editor of its magazine '' Skepter''. Biography Nienhuys studied mathematics in the Netherlands, and in 1966/67 at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he met his future wife. On 14 September 1970, he earned his doctorate in mathematics at Utrecht University under guidance of his promotor Hans Freudenthal. His dissertation was published the same year in the journal ''Indagationes Mathematicae (Proceedings)''. Next, he was mathematics teacher for two years at the National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. Since 1973, he taught mathematics at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Furthermore, Nienhuys assisted several writers in completing their books, and translated books to Dutch. Nienhuys married Cheng Shan-Hwei and they have two sons. She was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9/11 Conspiracy Theories
9/11 conspiracy theories attribute the preparation and execution of the September 11 attacks against the United States to parties other than, or in addition to, al-Qaeda. These include the theory that high-level government officials had advance knowledge of the attacks. Government investigations and independent reviews have rejected these theories. Proponents of these theories assert that there are inconsistencies in the commonly accepted version, or that there exists evidence that was ignored, concealed, or overlooked. The most prominent conspiracy theory is that the collapse of the Twin Towers and 7 World Trade Center were the result of controlled demolitions rather than structural failure due to impact and fire. Another prominent belief is that the Pentagon was hit by a missile launched by elements from inside the U.S. government, or that hijacked planes were remotely controlled, or that a commercial airliner was allowed to do so via an effective stand-down of the Amer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnet Therapy
Magnetic therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice involving the weak static magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet which is placed on the body. It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic therapy, which uses a magnetic field generated by an electrically powered device. Magnet therapy products may include wristbands, jewelry, blankets, and wraps that have magnets incorporated into them. Practitioners claim that subjecting certain parts of the body to weak electric or magnetic fields has beneficial health effects. These physical and biological claims are unproven and no effects on health or healing have been established. Although hemoglobin, the blood protein that carries oxygen, is weakly diamagnetic (when oxygenated) or paramagnetic (when deoxygenated), the magnets used in magnetic therapy are many orders of magnitude too weak to have any measurable effect on blood flow. This is not to be confused with transcranial magnetic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detoxification
Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of drug withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. In medicine, detoxification can be achieved by decontamination of poison ingestion and the use of antidotes as well as techniques such as dialysis and (in a limited number of cases) chelation therapy. Many alternative medicine practitioners promote various types of detoxification such as detoxification diets. Scientists have described these as a "waste of time and money". Sense About Science, a UK-based charitable trust, determined that most such dietary "detox" claims lack any supporting evidence. The liver and kidney are naturally capable of detox, as are intracellular (specifically, inner membrane of mitochondria or in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayurveda
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population report using it. Ayurveda therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia. Therapies include herbal medicines, special diets, meditation, yoga, massage, laxatives, enemas, and medical oils. Ayurvedic preparations are typically based on complex herbal compounds, minerals, and metal substances (perhaps under the influence of early Indian alchemy or ''rasashastra''). Ancient Ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions, sutures, and the extraction of foreign objects. The main classical Ayurveda texts begin with accounts of the transmission of medical knowledge from the gods to sages, and then to human physicians. Printed editions of the '' Sushruta Samhita'' (''Sushruta's Compen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bach Flower Remedies
Bach flower remedies (BFRs) are solutions of brandy and water—the water containing extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s. Bach claimed that the dew found on flower petals retains the supposed healing properties of that plant. Systematic reviews of clinical trials of Bach flower solutions have found no efficacy beyond a placebo effect. Description The Bach flower remedy solutions, which contain a 50:50 mix of water and brandy, are called mother tincture. Stock remedies—the solutions sold in shops—are dilutions of mother tincture into other liquid. Most often the liquid used is alcohol, so that the alcohol level by volume in most stock Bach remedies is between 25 and 40% (50 to 80 proof). The solutions do not have a characteristic scent or taste of the plant because of dilution. The dilution process results in the statistical likelihood that little more than a single molecule may remain; it is claimed that the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iridology
Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosisCline D; Hofstetter HW; Griffin JR. ''Dictionary of Visual Science''. 4th ed. Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston 1997. or iridiagnosis) is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about a patient's systemic health. Practitioners match their observations to ''iris charts,'' which divide the iris into zones that correspond to specific parts of the human body. Iridologists see the eyes as "windows" into the body's state of health. Iridologists claim they can use the charts to distinguish between healthy systems and organs in the body and those that are overactive, inflamed, or distressed. Iridologists claim this information demonstrates a patient's susceptibility towards certain illnesses, reflects past medical problems, or predicts later health problems. As opposed to evidence-based medicine, iridology is not supported by quality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algemeen Dagblad
The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is headquartered in Rotterdam. Its regional focus includes the cities and regions around Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. ''AD Rotterdams Dagblad'' * ''Goudsche Courant'' -> ''AD Groene Hart'' * ''Rijn & Gouwe'' -> ''AD Groene Hart'' * ''Haagsche Courant'' -> ''AD Haagsche Courant'' * ''Utrechts Nieuwsblad'' -> ''AD Utrechts Nieuwsblad'' * ''Amersfoortsche Courant'' -> ''AD Amersfoortsche Courant'' * ''De Dordtenaar -> ''AD De Dordtenaar'' * ''Dagblad Rivierenland'' -> ''AD Rivierenland'' Chief editors Het Vaderland ''Het Vaderland'' was an independent newspaper founded in the Hague in 1869. In 1972, it became a regional supplement of Algemeen Dagblad for The Hague. In 1982, the newspaper was dissolved. Circulation In the period of 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manual Therapy
Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by physical therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it mostly includes kneading and manipulation of muscles, joint mobilization and joint manipulation. It is also used by Rolfers, massage therapists, athletic trainers, osteopaths, and physicians. A 2011 literature review indicates that placebo is one of likely many potentially relevant mechanisms through which manual therapy improves clinical outcomes related to musculoskeletal pain conditions. Definitions Irvin Korr, J. S. Denslow and colleagues did the original body of research on manual therapy. Korr described it as the "Application of an accurately determined and specifically directed manual force to the body, in order to improve mobility in areas that are restricted; in joints, in connective tissues or in skeletal muscles." According to the ''Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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