Digital Bits Skeptic Podcast
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Skepticism. Critical thinking. Podcast. Community.
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Digital Bits Skeptic Mission Statement To publish quality articles promoting skepticism and critical thinking. To educate the public on topics important to the skeptical and critical thought community. To provide a forum for people to share their articles and debate respectfully with others. To pay writers for published work, ensuring professional, community-built articles that span a wide range of topics.
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http://www.dbskeptic.com
A review of ?On the Origin of Species? by Charles Darwin
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Nov 23, 2009
By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1346
I have just finished reading what is now one of my favorite books. At the time of this writing, it was published precisely 150 years ago. Ever since, it’s been a brilliant, revolutionary, and even dangerous work. The book I read is “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” [...]
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The Flight of Dragons movie: Magic versus science
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Nov 16, 2009
Editor’s note #1: This article contains spoilers about The Flight of Dragons movie.
Editor’s note #2: This article uses many audio clips from The Flight of Dragons. To fully appreciate this article, listen to the podcast or use the above audio player.
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1345
“Look down there, Gorbash my friend. On that troubled earth below [...]
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The League of Scientists
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Nov 08, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1344
Hi everyone, Andy Kaiser here.
The majority of people who visit Digital Bits Skeptic are – you’ll be shocked to know – mostly skeptics. Many of us here have related interests in critical thinking, in science, and in wondering about how the world works. This is just a guess, but it’s an educated [...]
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IEDs and the futility of increased armor
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Nov 01, 2009
By James Lochbaum
Article ID: 1343
For the United States, there is probably no other weapon as symbolic of today’s conflicts as the Improvised Explosive Device, or IED. Up until 2007, IEDs were responsible for 63% of U.S. casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom (1). They have also been implemented by belligerents in Afghanistan, a place previously devoid [...]
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Enemies closer: Why we should relocate terror suspects to the United States
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Oct 25, 2009
By James Lochbaum
Article ID: 1342
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is a Naval base established at the end of the Spanish-American War. It has since become a sort of frontier outpost in a country that, while not openly hostile, is certainly not friendly. Bagram Air Base is a lifeline between the United States and its far-flung troops in [...]
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What is faith?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Oct 18, 2009
by Jeff Kilroy
Article ID: 1341
I attempt to have rational arguments with theists about their beliefs. I really do. Unfortunately, it seems that every time I present an argument that almost makes me shout “Checkmate!”, I get the dismissive reply of “You just need faith,” or “This is just MY faith”. In most religions and even [...]
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What?s the real value of a college education?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Oct 12, 2009
By David Annis
Article ID: 1340
Today I heard an advertisement on the radio urging me to go back to college. “College graduates make a million dollars more over a lifetime,” the advertisement said. It directed me to a website where I could find a college to attend. South Dakota State University has a page that breaks out [...]
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Hidden dangers with ibuprofin, Motrin and flu treatment
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Oct 04, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1339
Let me tell you about an adventure my family had a few weeks ago. I should also say that I’m not a doctor, and nothing you read here is official medical advice. This is my understanding of what happened in this specific case. I have to lead with this information because, [...]
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Modeling population and technology: Why haven?t you starved to death?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Fri, Sep 25, 2009
By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1338
Of all the interesting, insightful models produced in the last two or three hundred years of economics existence (I’m not including the models of financial markets: those are neither interesting nor insightful) few have achieved more long-range influence than the population model of Thomas Malthus.
The model (and the idea behind it) is [...]
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Global warming and climate change: Why they?re so hard to get right
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Sep 21, 2009
By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1337
1.8 trillion US dollars. That’s the cost that Climate Change will inflict upon the United States by 2100 . But there is a problem with the 2008 NRDC report that generated this figure: it’s based on 2008 technology.
One of the oldest problems facing long-term forecasters is that no one can tell what [...]
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Pagan parallels to Jesus: the forgotten sons of God
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Sep 13, 2009
By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1336
“And when we say also that… [Jesus] was produced without sexual union, and that He… was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propound nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you esteem sons of Jupiter.”
“…And if we even affirm that He was born of a [...]
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Episode 100: Big round numbers, false modesty and a big, false interview with James Randi
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Sep 07, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1335
This is it, everyone! Digital Bits Skeptic episode 100! And to start things off, I’d like to make the following point:
A 100th episode means nothing.
That’s right – I’m going to be skeptical about myself. About Digital Bits Skeptic. About big round numbers. What does 100 mean to me? Does the fact [...]
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Jesus? resurrection and mass hallucinations
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Aug 16, 2009
By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1334
Abstract: This article is a rebuttal to Gary Habermas, who defends the Jesus’ resurrection appearances against the hypothesis that these appearances were simply hallucinations. A plausible natural explanation of the facts concerning the origin of Christianity is presented and compared to the traditional Christian explanation (that Jesus was raised from the dead). [...]
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Synchronicities and “the odds”
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Aug 02, 2009
by Kevin Bridges
Article ID: 1333
A synchronicity is another word for coincidence. The difference between the two is that, with a synchronicity, there is more to the event than mere coincidence. Events in a synchronicity are said to be a part of a deeper framework.
Everyone who uses this word has their own share of stories where [...]
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Andy Kaiser interviewed by ?Warning: Radio?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Jul 25, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1332
Hi everyone, Andy Kaiser here. I’m interrupting the normal podcast with a public service announcement. And by “public”, I mean “Digital Bits Skeptic”. And by “service announcement”, I mean, “shameless self-promotion, though I honestly think you might be interested”.
I’ve been interviewed by our skeptical friends at “Warning: Radio“. Done by Bryan, Baxter [...]
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Ice cubes, cornflakes, inflation and what caused the sub-prime lending crisis: Why theories are so hard to get right
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Jul 19, 2009
By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1331
The Phillips Curve is possibly the biggest blow-up in economics that ever happened. Economists – and just about every class of social scientists – are frequently (and rightly) accused of being so infatuated with a theory, that they ignore data if it doesn’t fit in with their model.
The Phillips Curve is a [...]
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In defense of Oprah Winfrey
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Jul 13, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1330
Oprah Winfrey was nothing more to me than an unseen TV show. I knew she was there, but never wanted to watch. Why would I? Her show was usually about clothes and cooking and redecorating and various “women’s issues” that I just didn’t care about. I didn’t have time for all that. [...]
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How to be a fakir
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Jul 06, 2009
By M Parrott
Article ID: 1329
In a previous article, I covered “How to be a psychic“, telling how to recreate common psychic supernatural abilities. But there are more important problems in the world. Not a politician’s expense claims, but fakirs. Fakirs convert people to religions by performing supposed miracles that people assume would otherwise be dangerous or [...]
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Was life on Earth an alien creation? A critical look at ?directed panspermia?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Jun 28, 2009
By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1328
Life may have been the result of intelligent aliens sending bacterium to Earth. This theory is called “directed panspermia”. It was proposed thirty-five years ago by Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, and Leslie Orgel, a highly respected British chemist. I found the original paper they published. Here I examine it and provide [...]
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Can safety regulations kill you? How safe are seatbelts and seatbelt laws?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Jun 22, 2009
By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1327
Seatbelts save lives, right?
They secure people to the vehicle so that if an accident occurs, passengers are prevented from being thrown around and hitting interiors of the car and breaking their necks. They prevent passengers from crashing into each other or being thrown out of the car. Given their ability to [...]
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The ideomotor effect
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Jun 13, 2009
By M Parrott
Article ID: 1326
The ideomotor effect is a psychological accident that spans many new age traditions, séances, and other “woo-woo” practises. I must emphasise that these practises aren’t faked intentionally. People delude themselves into believing they are true. Examples of the ideomotor effect cover a wide range of supernatural games, from Victorian-era séances to examining [...]
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Answers to objections about atheism and evolution
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Jun 07, 2009
By David Annis
Article ID: 1325
Atheism and evolution are two topics that I write about and discuss with my religious friends. I encounter the same objections for both. Repeatedly.
Myth: “If you do not believe in God, you have no basis for morality. Anything is permissible.”
I can and do have a system of morality. It’s based on [...]
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?Death from the Skies!? promotion is ended
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, May 31, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1324
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the “Death from the Skies!” promotion. Per my request, you DID generously help me to run out of supplies! Sadly, all the books are gone – there’s no more to give out – but you can still purchase “Death from the Skies!” at this link.
I’m keeping [...]
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Lotteries: A sucker?s game or a rational choice?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, May 31, 2009
By David Annis
Article ID: 1323
I enjoy playing the lottery. But I often hear it described as a tax on those who can’t calculate the odds. I think that view is wrong for four reasons.
The first reason that the lottery is worth paying money for is because of the highly positive-skewed outcome.
The premise of the argument [...]
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Evolution, the genetic code, and ?message theory?: A response to Walter Remine
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, May 25, 2009
By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1322
[Editor's note: This article and its comments are here in entirety, but a continuing response by the author can be found at this link.]
This article is a response to a blog post at Uncommon Descent by Walter Remine[1]. I will begin by quoting part of his essay:
“Life is unified by an abundance [...]
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The meaning of life (and podcasting)
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, May 17, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1321
I have no idea how I first started listening to the deò’s Shadow podcast. But there I was. A skeptic. A secular humanist. An atheist. And I was listening to and enjoying a podcast that targeted pagans. Pagans! Nature-communing, naked-fire-dancing, tarot-card-reading, Winter Solstice-celebrating pagans! Many pagans believe in multiple gods and the [...]
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The swine flu crisis
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, May 11, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1320
The news lately has been buzzing about the swine flu. Excuse me, I mean the “H1N1 virus”. Or the “2009 H1N1 influenza virus”. Or the “H1N1 swine flu”.
You know what? I’m going to forego the medical designation and just call it “the swine flu”. It’s less technical yet more specific, it’s the [...]
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Anti-depressants and the placebo effect
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, May 04, 2009
By M Parrott
Article ID: 1319
It’s a growing trend to believe that a pill can cure anything. Any aches, any pains, any sores. It’s a big reason why people are still looking for a pill to make you thin. While I think we have become far too reliant on pills, I’m not saying to scrap all drugs. [...]
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Problems with prophecy from the Bible and Koran
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Apr 27, 2009
By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1318
Most world religions, especially the Abrahamic faiths, promote the idea that God has spoken to man in the past and present. If they are right, we should find strong evidence that future knowledge was handed down to man in the form of prophecy. God may also have spoken scientific facts to a [...]
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The Drake Equation
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Apr 20, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1317
I’m about to prove to you that aliens exist. I’m talking space aliens. Whether they’re the traditional Little Green Men, bug-eyed monsters, or something incomprehensible to the human mind, they exist, they’re intelligent, and they’re trying to find us.
I’m going to prove this to you by using the most powerful tool on [...]
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Trading my fingers for aliens
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Apr 13, 2009
By Nick Farrantello
Article ID: 1316
I don’t believe in anything. UFOs, Bigfoot, ESP, the Loch Ness Monster, ghosts, you name it. In my mind it’s all a bunch of hooey. Despite that, I still consider myself very open-minded. The reason for this is nothing revolutionary. It’s a reason that other skeptics cite as to why they [...]
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Sugar, acid and teeth
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Apr 06, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Expert analysis by Diane Johnson
Article ID: 1315
I like to multitask. When I listen to other podcasts, I’m not simply staring at my computer speaker or glazing over as my headphones talk to me. I do other things. I browse the web. I drive my car. I may eat, and, as what logically follows, drink.
And [...]
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How to be a psychic
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Mar 30, 2009
By M Parrott
Article ID: 1314
It is my belief that self-proclaimed psychic Uri Gellar has been deluding people for several decades by bending spoons, stopping watches, changing the movement of compasses and making predictions as to what is on a piece of paper. I am a magician and I can replicate each one of these. Contained in [...]
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A shocking lesson in human nature
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Mar 23, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1313
Hi everyone, this is Andy Kaiser. I’d like to share an interesting experience. I have a unique perspective on the Digital Bits Skeptic website, because I’m the administrator. I edit and post all articles. Some of those I write myself, and my articles interest me, no matter how odd they may seem [...]
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A critical examination of the Kalam Cosmological Argument
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Mar 16, 2009
By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1312
The Kalam Cosmological Argument was popularized by the Christian philosopher William Lane Craig, and it has become the most widely discussed argument for God’s existence in contemporary philosophy[1]. These three points make up the Kalam:
1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe [...]
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Bless me father, for I have sneezed
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Mar 09, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1311
“Oh, excuse me.”
…and that’s all that should have to happen.
Yet, in the United States, if I sneeze, someone around me will inevitably say, “God bless you.” Sometimes they leave out the “god”, and you get the more concise and cooler, “bless you”. I’d like to know: what exactly have I done to [...]
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Spontaneous human combustion and ?the wick effect?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Feb 28, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1310
Imagine you’re sitting at home on your favorite overstuffed armchair. You sink down in the stuffing and relax. You’ve got a cigarette in one hand, a drink in the other.
You smoke and drink. You’re sleepy, and the lazy trail of cigarette smoke is a gentle hypnosis. It lulls you into closing your [...]
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Anti-Republican sentiment ? and not Barack Obama ? gave the Democrats the Presidency
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Feb 23, 2009
By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 139
Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. He won by an impressive margin. But a question is worth asking: why did he win?
Finding the cause is an unusually difficult task: people are emotionally invested in Obama and really, really want to believe that he won [...]
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Orgone chips review: New Age tech versus the scientific method
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Feb 15, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 138
Orgone is a magical energy force that’s inside and outside our bodies. You can think of orgone as the Chinese culture’s “chi” or any generic “life force energy”. It permeates us and everything around us. Using special devices that manipulate orgone energies can change your life for the better.
What is orgone?
The [...]
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The skinny on the Body Mass Index (BMI)
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Feb 09, 2009
By M Parrott
Article ID: 137
Round up a group of ten-year-old children. Put each one on a scale. One third of those children are overweight. Expand your view, and you’ll see that 23% of school children are overweight. So says the British government. They also state that within four years, one out of three adults will be [...]
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Why pick on religion? Why religion matters to the non-religious
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Feb 01, 2009
Author’s note: This article was written in response to reader comments from article ID 1237: “If you can’t prove God doesn’t exist, why not believe?“
By David Annis
Article ID: 136
I have been asked why I bother trying to convince people that the God they choose to believe in does not exist. There are many common beliefs that [...]
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Put your money where my mouth was
Author: Andy Kaiser
Tue, Jan 27, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 135
Hi everyone, Andy Kaiser here. I’ll make this short and hopefully sweet:
Digital Bits Skeptic loses money. This is okay – and planned for – because it’s a labor of love. But for obvious reasons, I’d rather pay as little out of pocket as possible. Long-term plans are to make it a fully [...]
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Religious misconceptions are in the details
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Jan 26, 2009
By M Parrott
Article ID: 134
This article, instead of a long essay, is a series of short blurbs about religious misconceptions. I’ll be honest; I don’t believe any of this. I’m not a religious man. But it is important to know what you don’t believe. Or know what you do believe if you are religious. Or know [...]
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DRM is failure in action
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Jan 19, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 133
I was born in 1975. The media of my childhood consisted of cassette tapes and VHS tapes. Only years later did I get to play with CDs and DVDs. I was also born during that magical time when one could still find a functioning 8-track cassette player, or cumbersome 8-inch reel-to-reel tape [...]
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Getting dirty with bacteria panic and unjustified sterilization
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Jan 10, 2009
By David Annis
Article ID: 132
Recently I was watching The Today Show. During one segment, they cultured swabs from what looked like clean kitchens and bathrooms. I watched as they swabbed sinks, microwave ovens, and toilets. Imagine my shock when they found all sorts of bacteria. I was even more horrified when I found out that the [...]
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A Fire Officer?s Guide to Disaster Control: An expert works outside his expertise, and is attacked by UFOs
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Jan 05, 2009
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 131
The Fire Officer’s Guide to Disaster Control is a massive, 600-plus page book detailing various emergency scenarios and how to respond to them. As the Fire Department is the first service to arrive at many emergency situations, the book is a quality guide for crisis response and management.
It’s co-authored by William Kramer [...]
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2008 Year in Review: Authors, articles, statistics and planning for 2009
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Dec 29, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1266
So how was 2008 for Digital Bits Skeptic? You tell me.
But first, let me start you off with some helpful information (be sure to listen to the podcast for more information than what you see below):
Authors and Articles
In 2008, Digital Bits Skeptic published 65 articles from 18 authors. That’s an average [...]
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In defense of murderous humans: Animals at steak
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Dec 22, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1265
“Puppies.” Even the word is cute. With just a few very oddball exceptions, you’d agree with me that puppies are adorable. But at what point do people stop using the term “man’s best friend”, and start saying “pass the salt”?
I’m talking about the inherent differences between humans and every other animal on the [...]
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Christmas traditions revealed
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Dec 15, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1264
It’s the middle of December. In the northeast United States, snow blankets our houses, and ice and slush cover our roads. People curse and sweat as they shovel and salt and sand, all futile attempts to keep the frozen pestilence at bay. Our economy is sinking with the inevitably of the Titanic, yet [...]
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Funny underused crude knowledge: A vulgar examination of profanity
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Dec 08, 2008
5:35:04 +0000,
By M Parrott
Article ID: 1263
[An editor's note to parents and teachers: This article contains words considered offensive to a large portion of the sixteenth century English-speaking world. Proceed with caution.]
Profanity is an interesting subject, particularly in today’s over-sensitive culture. Some say that profanity is a big problem. They claim it can ruin a child’s upbringing and [...]
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Party politics and the false dilemma logical fallacy
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Dec 01, 2008
By Joshua Walker
Article ID: 1262
I’m an American. Just a few weeks ago, the United States elected a new President for 2009. This is the first election that I decided to forgo party politics – I voted for the person I think was best for the job. I voted based upon my political principles, instead of [...]
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A skeptical analysis of ?There are no atheists in foxholes?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Nov 24, 2008
By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1261
The phrase “there are no atheists in foxholes” has been around for a long time. It’s used with phrases like “there are no atheists in a crashing plane” or “there are no libertarians during a financial crisis”. It’s a way of saying that even those who claim to be very principled forget [...]
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More original versions of classic fairy tales
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Nov 17, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1260
[This article is a companion piece to "Original meanings of classic fairy tales".]
Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!
I smell the blood of an Englishman.
Be he live, or be he dead,
I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.
It’s a cool speech. But when you think about its literal meaning and the murderous intent of the giant [...]
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The God confusion
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Nov 10, 2008
by Science, Reason & Rationality
Article ID: 1259
“It is said that men may not be the dreams of the Gods, but rather that the Gods are the dreams of men.” ~ Carl Sagan
Hello. My name is God, and I am an atheist. I don’t believe in gods because there are no gods who created me and there’s no [...]
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Evolutionary science and creationism: A skeptical response to Duane Gish?s ?Creation Scientists Answer Their Critics?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Nov 02, 2008
By Matthew Green
Article ID: 1258
Controversy over creation and evolution persists. For most secularists, the battle was won long ago. It began with the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species and the ensuing debates between Darwin’s defenders and his opponents. Creationism persists today for a simple reason: fundamentalism persists today. Creationism is nothing more than Christian apologetics [...]
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Original versions of classic fairy tales
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Oct 27, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1257
[This article is a companion piece to "More original meanings of classic fairy tales".]
“Oh Grandmother, what big ears you have!”
“All the better to hear you with, my dear.”
“Oh Grandmother, what big eyes you have!”
“All the better to see you with, my dear.”
“Oh Grandmother, what big hands you have!”
“All the better to grab you [...]
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Political science and skepticism: Politics needs critical thought
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Oct 20, 2008
By Jason Y
Article ID: 1256
When someone thinks of the word “skeptic” or thinks about the movement in general, they get ideas about exposing Bigfoot hunters and cracking down on pseudoscience. Although issues like these are a part of the skepticism war, there are many other ridiculous claims and scams that are, for the most part, [...]
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The undecided voter: An appeal to rational voting
Author: Andy Kaiser
Wed, Oct 15, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1255
Approximately one month from the writing of this article, the United States is going to have a major election. We’re getting a new President! And the campaigns on all sides have overspent and probably overpromised. Some ran attack ads. Some have taken the high road, indicating they are above any “dirty political scheming”. [...]
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Where meat meets metal: How acupuncture works. Or doesn?t.
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Oct 11, 2008
By Thomas Gentry
Article ID: 1254
Right down the road from my house, there’s a store selling and promoting homeopathy and acupuncture. I’ve spent a couple dozen hours collecting information about the place and what it sells so that I can give an accurate depiction of its beliefs and worth. In the next few paragraphs I’ll expound [...]
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Illegal drugs and the drug war
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Oct 06, 2008
By M Parrott
Article ID: 1253
A large proportion of taxpayer money pays for a failed war on drugs. We are the proverbial ostrich, burying its head in the sand, pretending that if we can’t see a problem then it doesn’t exist. The war on drugs has been lost. A large proportion of crime is due to drugs. [...]
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Religulous review: Bill Maher?s brutal and intelligent take on religion
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Oct 04, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1252
Before we get to the good stuff, you should know that this review of Religulous contains spoilers. The spoilers give away the main topics addressed by Bill Maher. If you don’t want to know them yet, go see the movie first. If you’re considering seeing the movie and want more information, or you want someone else’s [...]
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Digital Bits Skeptic site improvements ? Facebook and site redesign
Author: Andy Kaiser
Thu, Oct 02, 2008
Hi everyone,
Andy Kaiser here. I wanted to update you on a couple of positive changes to the Digital Bits Skeptic site:
1) FACEBOOK
The DBS Facebook page has just been created. For those into the communication-overloaded world of social networking, use this page to keep track of DBS changes, updates and new article publications, and have a [...]
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Five atheist logic tests and how to pass them ? a skeptical response to ?How to make an atheist backslide?
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Sep 27, 2008
By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1250
Theists have been doing their best to try and trip atheists with ‘logic’ for a long time. (These attempts are respectable when they don’t contain raving about sin and hellfire). Digital Bits Skeptic stumbled upon a webpage adapted from a booklet titled “How to make an atheist backslide” – which turns arguments [...]
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Religious deference taken to extremes
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sun, Sep 21, 2008
By David Annis
Article ID: 1249
I live in a community of educated, intelligent people – 98% have a high school diploma, 67% have a four-year degree or better. We live in a suburb next to a major university. I send both of my kids to different elementary schools in this supposedly enlightened and educated community. I [...]
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The Loch Ness Monster versus the Lake Michigan Monster: A mythical battle
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Sep 13, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1248
What follows is an analysis of the Lake Michigan Monster. But before jumping into this amazing tale, let’s start with a better-known legend, that of the Loch Ness Monster. I’m not sure how popular it is in other parts of the world, but in the United States the Loch Ness Monster is a [...]
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The future of skepticism
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Sep 06, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1247
Things are getting worse.
Across the world, we’ve got so-called complementary and alternative medicine infiltrating legitimate healthcare and medical treatments. The United States government seems more interested in supporting Christianity than supporting religious choice. There are attacks on preventative sciences, like Jenny McCarthy and others insisting their understanding of vaccination technology trumps that of [...]
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Skepticism is a virtue: The religious don?t know what they?re missing
Author: Andy Kaiser
Tue, Sep 02, 2008
By Amr Hima
Article ID: 1246
Many people question religious truth differently than most religious philosophers. These philosophers treat the question not with curiosity, but by totally neglecting the value of truth and claiming that their beliefs make their lives better or their belief makes them happier. This is a response to that claim, I will try [...]
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The problem with retrospective studies: Why what?s good for you changes
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Aug 23, 2008
By David Annis
Article ID: 1245
I often hear the complaint how scientists “change their minds” about what makes a healthy diet. Why does that happen?
When studying human health, especially studies involving diet over an extended period of time, it’s difficult if not impossible to get subjects to agree to allow researchers to control what they eat [...]
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The limits of evidence-based medicine
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Aug 18, 2008
By David Annis
Article ID: 1244
For many years, doctors have been free to practice medicine in almost any way that they saw fit. They could use drugs to treat conditions for which they were not approved and use any procedure on any patient from whom they obtained informed consent. At times this led to doctors treating [...]
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Private Military Companies, civilian contractors and the Global War on Terror
Author: Andy Kaiser
Fri, Aug 08, 2008
By James Lochbaum
Article ID: 1243
Recently, civilians working for Private Military Companies (hereafter called “PMCs”) have attracted a lot of attention from many western media outlets. In the wake of the deaths of four security contractors (from the US-based Blackwater Worldwide in Fallujah in 2004) more attention has been paid to these people than ever. PMCs [...]
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Sexual selection and how the peacock got its tail
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Aug 04, 2008
By David Annis
Article ID: 1242
The tail of the peacock is a magnificent and beautiful thing to behold. In a previous article, I explained how complex structures (like eyes) evolve through a series of small steps, each of which gives the animal better vision. But how do ornamental things evolve, like the tail of a peacock? [...]
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Atlantic University: A degree of nonsense
Author: Andy Kaiser
Mon, Jul 28, 2008
By Todd Fritz
Article ID: 1241
ABSTRACT
This article looks at the claims and programs of study provided by Atlantic University, and it considers some of the implications from that study. A brief history of the college’s founder, Edgar Cayce, is given. It also considers the validity and meaning of the word “university”.
BIO
Todd Fritz
thefritzs@cox.net
www.thinkingiscritical.com
Todd Fritz is a member [...]
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Tunguska mystery (almost) solved
Author: Andy Kaiser
Tue, Jul 15, 2008
By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1240
It was a quiet morning on June 30, 1908. The event occurred in a remote location of heavily-forested Siberia, in the Russian Federation.
Instead of leaping ahead to the finale and just saying “kaboom”, we’ll make this a little more dramatic. So get ready.
A rustling is heard as a brown bear lumbers forward [...]
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Problems with nutritional supplements
Author: Andy Kaiser
Sat, Jul 12, 2008
By David Annis
Article ID: 1239
Walk into any supermarket, drug store, or health food store and you will find a wide variety of nutritional supplements. People use these as an alternative to “western” or “conventional” medicine. Unfortunately, when taking nutritional supplements, you aren’t treating your disease or keeping yourself healthy. You are using yourself as a [...]
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A field trip to Edgar Cayce?s Association for Research and Enlightenment
Author: Andy Kaiser
Tue, Jul 08, 2008
By Tammy Buchli, Science & Reason in Hampton Roads
Article ID: 1238
When my local skeptic’s organization (Science & Reason in Hampton Roads) announced a field trip to Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment in Virginia Beach, I was eager to attend. We planned a full afternoon at the A.R.E. First, an ESP demonstration, and then an [...]
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