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The Pseudo Scientists
The Young Australian Skeptics (YAS) is an Australian skeptical organisation whose primary focus is its collaborative blog, which attempts to address topics central to science, critical thinking and scientific skepticism. The group has published a ''Skeptical Blog Anthology Book'' reviewed in ''Scientific American'', and has been represented in national broadcast media in Australia and North America, skeptically addressing conspiracy theories, as well as discussing topics specific to young members of the skeptical movement. Overview The Young Australian Skeptics (YAS) organisation was founded in 2008 by Elliot Birch, with its web site functioning "as an experimental community-style blog." They have been described in a guest post at ''Scientific American'' as "an affiliation of skeptically-minded people, primarily college students, scientists and artists living in the city of Melbourne." The group caters specifically to young people, defined as individuals who are in the age r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropolitan area known as Greater Melbourne, comprising an urban agglomeration of 31 local municipalities, although the name is also used specifically for the local municipality of City of Melbourne based around its central business area. The metropolis occupies much of the northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the Mornington Peninsula, part of West Gippsland, as well as the hinterlands towards the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong and Macedon Ranges. It has a population over 5 million (19% of the population of Australia, as per 2021 census), mostly residing to the east side of the city centre, and its inhabitants are commonly referred to as "Melburnians". The area of Melbourne has been home to Aboriginal Victorians ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
702 ABC Sydney
ABC Radio Sydney (official call sign: 2BL, formerly 2SB) is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 hertz, kHz on the AM broadcasting, AM dial. The station transmits with a power (Effective radiated power#CMF, CMF) of 3,110V, which is equivalent to 50 kW (the maximum permissible in Australia) from a site west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD. History ABC Radio Sydney is the first public broadcasting, public radio station in Australia opened in Sydney at 8:00pm on 23 November 1923. Its first callsign was ''2SB'' where ''2'' denotes the States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales and ''SB'' stood for Sydney Broadcasters Limited. However, the callsign was soon altered to ''2BL'' for Sydney Broadcasters Limited. The change was due to the audio similarity of the sounds FC and SB. In May 1928 the Sydney Broadcasting Compan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skeptic Organisations In Australia
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the person doubts that these claims are accurate. In such cases, skeptics normally recommend not disbelief but suspension of belief, i.e. maintaining a neutral attitude that neither affirms nor denies the claim. This attitude is often motivated by the impression that the available evidence is insufficient to support the claim. Formally, skepticism is a topic of interest in philosophy, particularly epistemology. More informally, skepticism as an expression of questioning or doubt can be applied to any topic, such as politics, religion, or pseudoscience. It is often applied within restricted domains, such as morality (moral skepticism), atheism (skepticism about the existence of God), or the supernatural. Some theorists distinguish "good" or modera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Plait
Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objects, as well as engaging in public outreach advocacy for NASA missions. He has written two books, ''Bad Astronomy'' and '' Death from the Skies''. He has also appeared in several science documentaries, including ''How the Universe Works'' on the Discovery Channel. From August 2008 through 2009, he served as president of the James Randi Educational Foundation. Additionally, he wrote and hosted episodes of ''Crash Course'' Astronomy, which aired its last episode in 2016. Early life Plait grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. He has said he became interested in astronomy when his father brought home a telescope when Plait was 5 years old or so. According to Plait, he "aimed it at Saturn that night. One look, and that was it. I was hooked." ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discover Magazine
''Discover'' is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Publishing since 2010. History Founding ''Discover'' was created primarily through the efforts of ''Time'' magazine editor Leon Jaroff. He noticed that magazine sales jumped every time the cover featured a science topic. Jaroff interpreted this as a considerable public interest in science, and in 1971, he began agitating for the creation of a science-oriented magazine. This was difficult, as a former colleague noted, because "Selling science to people who graduated to be managers was very difficult".Hevesi, Dennis"Leon Jaroff, Editor at Time and Discover Magazines, Dies at 85" ''The New York Times'', 21 October 2012 Jaroff's persistence finally paid off, and ''Discover'' magazine published its first edition in 1980. ''Discover'' was originally launched into a burgeoning market for science magazines aimed at educated non-professionals, intended to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quackery
Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, qualification or credentials they do not possess; a charlatan or snake oil salesman". The term ''quack'' is a clipped form of the archaic term ', from nl, kwakzalver a "hawker of salve". In the Middle Ages the term ''quack'' meant "shouting". The quacksalvers sold their wares on the market shouting in a loud voice. Common elements of general quackery include questionable diagnoses using questionable diagnostic tests, as well as untested or refuted treatments, especially for serious diseases such as cancer. Quackery is often described as "health fraud" with the salient characteristic of aggressive promotion. Definition Psychiatrist and author Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch defines quackery "as the promotion of unsubstanti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to Peer review, evaluation by other experts; absence of systematic practices when developing Hypothesis, hypotheses; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited. The demarcation problem, demarcation between science and pseudoscience has scientific, philosophical, and political implications. Philosophers debate the nature of science and the general criteria for drawing the line between scientific theory, scientific theories and pseudoscientific beliefs, but there is general agreement on examples such as ancient astronauts, climate change denial, dowsing, evolution denial, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Skeptics
Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australian skeptical groups which are of this mindset. The name "Australian Skeptics" can be confused with one of the more prominent groups, "Australian Skeptics Inc", which is based in Sydney and is one of the central organising groups within Australian Skeptics. Origins In 1979, Mark Plummer (later president of Australian Skeptics) sent a letter to the American skeptical magazine '' The Zetetic'' in which he expressed interest in beginning a skeptical organisation in Australia. Sydney electronics entrepreneur Dick Smith responded to the letter, and offered to sponsor a visit to Australia by James Randi, the principal investigator for the American-based Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desiree Schell
Desiree Schell is the host of the live Canadian call-in radio talk show and podcast, "Science for the People". An advocate for scientific skepticism, Schell is a strong advocate of critical thinking and is strongly interested in the promotion of skepticism publicly. In her work as a labour organizer Schell creates curricula and teaches courses on effective activism, drawing on the experience of other social movements. Desiree has also blogged for The Paltry Sapien. Skeptical Activism In 2011 Schell was a featured speaker at The Amazing Meeting and has, "emerged as one of skepticism’s most open and innovative public voices". She has made numerous appearances including SkeptiCamp Alberta in July 2010, LOGICON, SkepchickCon, Imagine No Religion 2, the CFI Student Leadship Conference, and the Women In Secularism 2 conference in May 2013. Schell is a member of the Speaker Bureau for the Center for Inquiry. Along with Maria Walters, Trevor Zimmerman, and K. O. Meyers, Schell crea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmonton, Canada
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor". As of 2021, Edmonton had a city population of 1,010,899 and a metropolitan population of 1,418,118, making it the fifth-largest city and sixth-largest metropolitan area (CMA) in Canada. Edmonton is North America's northernmost large city and metropolitan area comprising over one million people each. A resident of Edmonton is known as an ''Edmontonian''. Edmonton's historic growth has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities ( Strathcona, North Edmonton, West Edmonton, Beverly and Jasper Place) hus Edmonton is said to be a combination of two cities, two towns and two villages./ref> in addition to a series of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skeptically Speaking
''Science for the People'' (formerly ''Skeptically Speaking'') is an Edmonton-based, weekly podcast and radio show that aims to explore issues pertaining to science, skepticism and rational thinking through interviews. The show has featured interviews with prominent skeptics, researchers, and scientists including Adam Savage, Derek Colanduno, Phil Plait, and Carl Zimmer. Production ''Science for the People'' is hosted by Desiree Schell, and produced by Rachelle Saunders. The show's theme song is by Edmonton band Fractal Pattern, and is called "Binary Consequence". The podcast's first episode, on the subject of the secular movement in Alberta, was broadcast on the 20th of March 2009. Since then, a show has been offered every week. The live show broadcasts every Sunday at 6PM and invites its listeners to contribute their questions either via email, phone call, or by posting in the live chat-room during the shows. While its home station is the campus-based CJSR-FM CJSR-FM (''CJ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites, locating potential resources on the Moon, characterizing the radiation environment, and demonstrating new technologies. Launched on June 18, 2009, in conjunction with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), as the vanguard of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, LRO was the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years. LRO and LCROSS were launched as part of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program. The probe has made a 3-D map of the Moon's surface at 100-meter resolution and 98.2% coverage (excluding polar areas in deep shadow), including 0.5-meter resolution images of Apollo landing sites. The first images f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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