Bay Area Skeptics

The San Francisco Bay Area's skeptical organization since 1982

by Herb Masters

Greetings Voters for Science (and Future Voters too!)

What can every adult in the country do to promote and protect science? VOTE!!!   VOTE FOR SCIENCE!!! What can every kid do to help? Tell everyone you know that is old enough to vote that they need to make sure their voter registration is up to date, and they need to vote for science, reason, and critical thinking. Why is this so important? I’m only going to address one subject for this need now. I think there is a good case to be made that we need to get rid of people in places of power or leadership that say things like this or this. By voting we can help make it a better world for all of us.

Do you take “dietary supplements”? Do you think they are a waste of money? Have you ever considered that most of them have some sort of disclaimer saying they haven’t been tested for efficacy or safety? Here’s an article that might make you a bit more concerned about the information your MD may have when you ask her about any problems with them, whether you take prescription meds or not.

The part that I have trouble with is that while I am a firm believer in democracy and the reliability of science, I have to allow that many don’t believe in science when it is inconvenient for them accept it. I think this might be an interesting read for many of you, Skeptics versus Deniers: Creating a Climate of ‘No!’   Dive in here if you are looking for a wealth of info.

The Bay Area Science Festival is starting very soon. It will start on October 26th. Registration for the tours starts this Friday October 19th. If is anything like the past these will fill up very fast so get ready to log in on Fri morning. Be sure to check their calendar as they add events faster than we can keep up with them!

As always there are an incredible number of opportunities to learn new stuff about what is going on in science these days. We have 172 listed here for the next two weeks! You may have noticed some creative ways of making 3 recommendations in the last few SciSchmoozes. It’s like having to choose your favorite pet. There is one but there a lot of other worthy of attention as well. Here’s my stab at it for the next week:

  1. From Cowboys to Communities: Changing the Face of Space Exploration Tue 7PM Menlo Park
  2. Xtreme Cell Biology Thu 5PM Palo Alto
  3. A Celebration of Mind: Mathematics, Art, and Magic Sat 7:30PM Stanford

3+1! – Check out ‘No Belles’ at Stanford, Santa Cruz, and San Jose

Plan ahead for this, order your tickets this Friday: Open Wide: 500 Years of Dentistry in Art Exhibit – Self-Guided Tours

I’ve mentioned before that I think there is a very interesting cross between science and art. They both help us understand how we fit in to the universe. Microscopy is a special science/art fusion of beauty. The next time you “knock on wood” this might change how you think about doing this! Here’s a link to getting started at home! This is for the next time you think about how time flies!

Here’s a bit more from where I started this missive; Scientific American had this to say 16 years ago: 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense. Today we’re pretty sure to never downplay the importance of ancestors! More on politicians denying…

Have a great week learning amazing things. Be sure to check the source though!
 

herb masters
 

“When scientific research is increasingly funded by private corporations that have a financial interest in particular outcomes of that research—is the drug effective or not?—scientific objectivity is undermined. When universities are more interested in patent royalties than in the open sharing of scientific information, the public suffers. There are hundreds of important political and economic issues surrounding science and technology. Sociology of science, at its best, has done much to clarify these issues. But sloppy sociology, like sloppy science, is useless or even counterproductive.”
Alan Sokol


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