More Numerology

Submitted by Genie

A bay area minister has calculated the day of the rapture, and it’s May 21 of this year. http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-01-01/bay-area/17466332_1_east-bay-bay-a…
As skeptics, we know that predictions of the end of the world and numerology both have very bad track records. For a wonderful summary of failed TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) predictions, scroll down at http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrld.htm.

Rev Harold Camping already has a bad track record,

having assembled his flock for the end of the world in 1994, an event that even his followers noticed did not occur. He claims he now has a better system that corrects the calculation that led to the previous erroneous date.

Camper’s current prediction is based on his reading of the Bible and his as…


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Big Science Festival Coming to San Francisco Bay Area

Submitted by admin

What if your club, institution, or company had access to a lot of the Science-interested public for a few days? What if they come to you, or meet you in a nice venue? What messages would you most want to get across? What could those contacts be best used for? What if you had 10 months to prepare?

Around San Francisco, the Bay Area Science Festival is planned for October 29 – November 6, 2011. But hardly anyone I talk to has heard about it yet!

One indication that the planning’s cast in Jell-O?? rather than concrete is that they say it’s going to be a 10-day event, but the days they list total 9. So it’s not too late to get involved. If you’re in the Bay Area, think through your optimum result from such a festival. Think through how to achieve it. Then contact …


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Oakland North reports on area psychics

Submitted by Josh

At Oakland North, a project of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, reporter Alyssa Fetini asks the pressing question: “Psychics are ubiquitous in Oakland, but are they for real?.”

Fetini interviews several store-front “psychics,” as well as the proprietor of the Berkeley Psychic Institute, which purports to train anyone to exercise psychic powers. After allowing the psychics to offer their own claims, she gives UC Berkeley psychologist Kyle Jennings a chance to respond. “Psychologists,” Jennings explains, “would not believe that a person was actually psychic.”

Fetini then reviews some of the recent reports of psychics defrauding customers (as previously reported at BAS).

Director of the Berkeley Psychic Institute Richard Pozzuto gets the la…


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Kudos to Reporter Steve Rubenstein

Submitted by Genie Media

A New Living Expo treatmentFrom sfgate.com: A New Living Expo treatment

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Steve Rubenstein gets the tone perfectly right in his review of the New Living Expo taking place in San Francisco this week. He points out the unlikeliness of any of the cures actually being efficacious — though definitely beneficial to the bank accounts of the purveyors. “A whole wonderful building full of miracles. Major credit cards accepted.” http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/12/DDLE1DAK3U.DTL


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Agavalicious

Submitted by admin BASIS, Food

Bottles of organic agave nectarOh, Apartment Therapy, your credulousness is the gift that keeps on giving (specifically, giving me things to write about in blog posts).

This time, someone discovered an article that says, oh my god, agave nectar is not a magical health food: it is actually sugar! And just as bad for you as some other types of sugar, like, for example, sugar. Or even, maybe, high fructose corn syrup, which we all know is basically heroin because it will addict you and then kill you.

This basically shot the puppy of some of the commenters, who had been so sure that agave syrup — I refuse to call something nectar unless it is actually flower juice — was super healthy.

UGH! Seriously? I may be pouring mine down the drain. I just bought a HUGE bottle when it was on sale at whole foods.

I’m s…


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Berkeley High School Laboratory Story Generates Much Misinformation

Submitted by Genie Media

Readers of stories about Berkeley Unified School District considering scrapping before and after school science laboratories should not misconstrue these deliberations as anti-science activities. As with almost everything else, we can’t understand the present unless we understand the history. For many years, science education at Berkeley High School took place in long, double period science classes, where students could benefit from integrated lecture and laboratory experiences, practice inquiry learning, etc. These double period classes, however created problems in scheduling classes in non-science subjects that didn’t require double periods, as well as some other problems with staffing. In 2002 – 03, double-periods were abandoned; BHS was reorganized into a 6-period day…


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Morrison’s Column Reassures 2012 Disaster Worries

Submitted by Genie Aliens & UFOs

At the annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific this week, BAS member Dr. David Morrison, who writes the NASA “Ask an Astrobiologist” column, reported that the number of questions about the “killer planet” Niburu and “doomsday 2012” questions have expanded astronomically, so to speak. David read some of the emails he has received, and they indicate a portion of the public is being seriously alarmed by the hype about these alleged future disasters allegedly about to impact Earth.

Some have written about committing suicide, others have mentioned panic and anxiety attacks, and many have expressed great concern over whether the government is lying to them about the coming disaster. Take a look at the column for an eye-opening view of some of…


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New Skeptics’ Resource

Submitted by Genie Pseudo-science

Skeptoid publisher Brian Dunning has instituted a new Youtube series of skeptical analyses of popular claims — which are pseudoscientific. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/volleybrian

The first three posts include an analysis of the health values of wheatgrass, a discussion of the Pacific garbage patch (serious, but lots of misinformation out there), and the “2021 apocolypse”. Spread the word.


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Edmund Scientific Blows Credibility

Submitted by Genie Paranormal

Edmund Scientific, a normally respected provider of science-related laboratory supplies widely used for teaching at all levels, just lost its crediblity bigtime by offering for sale a “3-in-1 Paranormal Research Instrument”. Read about it here: http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3151280&cmss=paranormal&bhcd…

“Designed exclusively for paranormal investigators, this incredible tool has everything you need to track and detect the presence of ghosts” Cost is $149.


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