There are some ideas that are so silly that one REALLY wishes they didn’t have to be addressed at all. An article appearing here was my introduction to a new, very confused and counterintutive concept: aquifers cause cancer and health problems for humans. Mr. David Reecher, who runs the website “Aquifers and Health Institute,” has… Read More »
There are so many ghost hunting groups wandering around in the dark that they trip over each other. I attempted to count paranormal investigation groups and gave up at around 1500 without even searching Facebook. We all have our opinions about what they try to do – find evidence of life after death. Those of us… Read More »
I’m off inside my own head these days… My main project is my Masters’ thesis in Science and the Public. I started gathering data this summer; fall will be consumed with crunching data, making sense of it and writing it up. I’ll graduate in February, barring any unforeseen disasters. The hardest part about a thesis… Read More »
This past March, I registered for a seminar on Scientific Paranormal Investigation at CFI – Washington, DC. Ben Radford was presenting and the event description mentioned his upcoming book of the same name. This was fortuitous since I was working on developing a thesis project about the prevalence of sham inquiry, focusing on amateur investigation… Read More »
Cryptozoological websites continue to promote the coelacanth as the icon of cryptozoology. I heartily disagree. You can see my post about it here: The coelacanth is a red herring. This fish was not “ethno-known” in the same sense as the Yeti, Bigfoot and sea serpents, etc. No one was LOOKING for the fish. Sure, it… Read More »
I used to have a cat. That cat was pretty mean. He hated other people and animals. He messed up my house. I’ll never have another cat because they don’t make good house pets. The little story above is an anecdote. It has characters, reflects a real-life experience in a narrative form and is intended… Read More »
Conclusion to “Sham Inquiry” The coelacanth is a red herring Mainstream science, which is respected and functions very well with its current methodology, excludes those fields who don’t pass muster. For a theory to be considered as an explanation for observations of the natural world, even the public realizes it ought to be scientific. Using… Read More »
Continuing with “Sham Inquiry” Elbowing in on good science The Journal of Scientific Exploration is the published by the Society for Scientific Exploration which describes itself as “a professional organization of scientists and other scholars committed to studying phenomena that cross or are outside the traditional boundaries of science and…are ignored or studied inadequately…” Many… Read More »
Thousands of eyewitnesses report ghostly encounters from ancient history to modern times. Contact with the dead is very much part of our modern culture. With the expansion of television content and the internet, stories about hauntings have surged in popularity. Ghost hunting is a popular hobby for thrill seekers. It’s fun to be scared. The… Read More »
Cryptozoology is “the study of hidden animals” (called ‘cryptids’). More precisely, it is the pursuit of animals that science does not recognize as existing and, in some situations, be considered ‘monster hunting’ in comparison to the ghost hunters in a forthcoming discussion. Like the closely related field of UFOlogy, cryptozoology can accurately be described as… Read More »
Fancy jargon and complexity Science is loaded with jargon which serves as an efficient way to get a complex idea across in a neat package. Scientists name everything and give precise definitions. Thus, jargon is a hallmark of science. Whereas the jargon of science is meant to be precise and useful, the jargon of pseudoscience… Read More »
A wrapup of anomalous phenomena associated with earthquake precursors and an assessment of their predictive potential
How many good books about the world of lake monsters are out there? If you discount the plethora of Loch Ness books, not many. One with a skeptical tone was absolutely needed.
Examining claims of earthquake weather and lights.
I examine ideas about natural indicators for coming earthquakes. Do animals (and plants) react? Are there other clues from nature.
A selection of great words have evolved to describe unclear mystery objects. Let’s talk blobs, globs, and blurs.