Counterknowledge
   HOME
*





Counterknowledge
''Counterknowledge: How We Surrendered to Conspiracy Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science and Fake History'' is a polemic by British writer and journalist Damian Thompson which examines the dissemination and reception of Fringe theory, fringe theories. It was published on 1 January 2008 by Atlantic Books and is Thompson's third book. Overview Thompson argues that we are experiencing a "pandemic of credulous thinking". People are increasingly surrendering the values of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment to accept a barrage of "counterknowledge", which he defines as "misinformation packaged to look like fact". This concept embodies both theories for which there is no supporting evidence, and theories against which there is already evidence that directly contradicts them. Thompson does not consider religious teachings to be counterknowledge because their claims are Metaphysics, metaphysical, and are thus inherently unverifiable. Among the forms of counterknowledge Thompso ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Damian Thompson
Damian Thompson (born 1962) is an English journalist, editor and author. He is an associate editor of ''The Spectator''. Previously he worked as editor-in-chief of the ''Catholic Herald'' and for ''The Daily Telegraph'' where he was religious affairs correspondent and later blogs editor and a Saturday columnist. Career Thompson was educated at Presentation College, Reading (later known as the Elvian School), and read history at Mansfield College, Oxford. In 2003, he received his Ph.D in the sociology of religion from the London School of Economics for his thesis, ''The problem of the end: a sociological study of the management of apocalyptic belief at Kensington Temple, a London Pentecostal church, at the end of the millennium''. He was religious affairs correspondent of ''The Daily Telegraph'' from 1990 to 1994, and subsequently editor-in chief of the ''Catholic Herald.'' He is a director of the ''Herald''. Thompson was a Saturday columnist for ''The Daily Telegraph'' from 2 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pseudohistory
Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohistory derived from the superstitions intrinsic to occultism. Pseudohistory is related to pseudoscience and pseudoarchaeology, and usage of the terms may occasionally overlap. Although pseudohistory comes in many forms, scholars have identified many features that tend to be common in pseudohistorical works; one example is that the use of pseudohistory is almost always motivated by a contemporary political, religious, or personal agenda. Pseudohistory also frequently presents sensational claims or a big lie about historical facts which would require unwarranted revision of the historical record. A common feature of pseudohistory is an underlying premise that there is a conspiracy among scholars to promote so-called "mainstream history" over ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Fix (book)
''The Fix: How Addiction Is Invading our Lives and Taking Over Your World'' is a non-fiction book by the British writer and journalist Damian Thompson in which Thompson examines addiction and how it is being harboured in society. His fourth book, it was published in May 2012 by HarperCollins, Collins. Shortly after release, its core contention that addiction is not a Pathology, pathological disorder provoked controversy from left-wing journalists. Overview In addition to his research, the book is informed by Thompson's experience as a former alcoholic and his participation in the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve-Step Program, Twelve-Step sobriety program.Thompson, Damian. (2012) ''The Fix: How Addiction is Invading our Lives and Taking Over Your World.'' Collins. He rejects the Neurological disorder, brain disease theory of addiction (an example of which is disease theory of alcoholism), arguing that addiction is instead a voluntary and reversible behavioural disorder based on the B ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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]  




Catholic Herald
The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly newspaper and starting December 2014 a magazine, published in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and, formerly, the United States. It reports a total circulation of about 21,000 copies distributed to Roman Catholic parishes, wholesale outlets, and postal subscribers and describes itself as "a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values". History ''The Catholic Herald'' was established as a weekly newspaper in 1888. It was first owned and edited by Derry-born Charles Diamond until his death in 1934. After his death the paper was bought by Ernest Vernor Miles, a recent convert to Roman Catholicism and head of the New Catholic Herald Ltd. Miles appointed Count Michael de la Bédoyère as editor, a post he held until 1962. De la Bédoyère's news editor was writer Douglas Hyde, also a convert who arrived from the Communist ''Daily Worker''.Kev ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Tim Lott
Tim Lott (born 23 January 1956) is a British author. He worked as a music journalist and ran a magazine publishing business, launching ''Flexipop'' magazine in 1980 with ex-''Record Mirror'' journalist Barry Cain. Early life and education In 1956, Lott was born in Southall, West London. He graduated with a degree in history and politics from the London School of Economics in 1986, at the age of 30. Career In the late 1980s, Lott briefly worked as the editor of ''City Limits'', a magazine based in London. Lott was a TV producer and a Sunday magazine featured writer. In 1996, Lott's first book, a memoir, ''The Scent of Dried Roses'', was published and won the PEN/Ackerley Prize for autobiography. It is now published as a Penguin Modern Classic. His next work, and first novel, ''White City Blue'', was published in 1999 and won that year's Whitbread Award for Best First Novel. He was shortlisted in the Best Novel category of the 2002 Whitbread Awards and the Encore Awards for ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph & Courier''. Considered a newspaper of record over ''The Times'' in the UK in the years up to 1997, ''The Telegraph'' generally has a reputation for high-quality journalism, and has been described as being "one of the world's great titles". The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since 19 April 1858. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, descending further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2019, having declined almost 80%, from 1.4 million in 1980.United Newspapers PLC and Fleet Holdings PLC', Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1985), pp. 5–16. Its si ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The Skeptic (UK Magazine)
''The Skeptic'' is a British non-profit skepticism magazine. It describes itself as "the UK’s longest running and foremost sceptical magazine, which examines science, skepticism, secularism, critical thinking and claims of the paranormal." History, format and structure The Skeptic was founded in 1987 by Wendy M. Grossman, and subsequently edited from 1988 to 1998 by Toby Howard (The University of Manchester, UK) and Steve Donnelly (University of Huddersfield, UK). From 1998 to 2011 it was edited by Chris French, and from 2011 to 2020 by Deborah Hyde. Since 2020 magazine has been edited by Michael Marshall and Alice Howarth, and published by the Merseyside Skeptics Society. Regular columnists and authors contributing articles to the publication have included Mark Duwe, Chris French, Wendy M Grossman, Mike Heap, Paul Taylor and Mark Williams. Neil Davies routinely provides artwork for the cover, whilst centrefold pieces were contributed by Crispian Jago. Other artwork is r ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, the paper's main news ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Peter Stanford
Peter James Stanford (born 23 November 1961) is an English writer, editor, journalist and presenter, known for his biographies and writings on religion and ethics. His biography of Lord Longford was the basis for the 2006 BAFTA-winning film ''Longford'' starring Jim Broadbent in the title role. A former editor of the ''Catholic Herald'' newspaper, Stanford is also director of the Longford Trust for prison reform. Education and career Born on 23 November 1961 in Macclesfield to Reginald and Mary Catherine Stanford, Peter Stanford was educated at St Anselm's College, Birkenhead, an Irish Christian Brothers school. He later read history at Merton College, Oxford. He began his journalistic career in 1983 at the Catholic weekly newspaper ''The Tablet''. He was the editor of the ''Catholic Herald'' from 1988 to 1992. His resignation, to concentrate on writing books, coincided with the publication of ''Catholics and Sex'', which he co-authored with fellow journalist Kate Saunders. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only the online edition. The newspaper was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Irish Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to the Russian oligarch and former KGB Officer Alexander Lebedev in 2010. In 2017, Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in it. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. The website and mobile app had a combined monthly reach of 19,826,000 in 2021. History 1986 to 1990 Launched in 1986, the first issue of ''The Independent'' was published on 7 October in broadsheet format.Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p. 330 It was produc ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]