• Do girls naturally prefer dolls to trucks? Evidence from 2 primate studies – Can looking at primate behavior help us determine how nature vs. nurture affects gender roles? From Shawn.
• MIT climate scientist’s wife threatened by deniers – “Prominent MIT researcher Kerry Emanuel has been receiving an unprecedented “frenzy of hate” after a video featuring an interview with him was published recently by Climate Desk.”
• New Hampshire Republicans propose bills that prevent police from protecting domestic abuse victims - From Mark.
• The craziest conspiracy theorist ever? – Francis E. Dec, “The time cube guy was probably inspired by him. But you’ve probably never heard of him. And if it weren’t for his letters, you never would.” From Josh.
• Cute Animal Friday! From the king of CAF, nowoo, kitten agility training! From Ubermoogle on Twitter, some adorable boreal chickadees. And from Madfishmonger, the teeny tiny snores of a sleeping dormouse.

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I can’t recall if we’ve had had this discussion here before — I apologize for the repeat if we have — but as lead organizer for the Houston Skeptic Society, I am teaching a quarterly course on the basics of critical thinking and the processes of skepticism. The class is geared for those just discovering skepticism, or for those who might want to brush up on their critical thinking skills.

Now I have a basic outline for the course, and I know pretty much how the class will unfold, but I thought I’d pick your brains for even more ideas; especially since most of you who comment are established and polished critical thinkers. So . . .

How would you approach teaching Critical Thinking 101? What hints might you offer by way of course materials? What might you avoid? Any other suggestions/comments? Should I expect to get an apple from my students? Beer? Whiskey?

The Afternoon Inquisition (or AI) is a question posed to you, the Skepchick community. Look for it to appear Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 3pm ET.

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Despite being an ex-Muslim, i.e. someone who learned so much about Islam that she was appalled enough to leave it, I’ve been accused of being an apologist for Islam.

Incidents like the actions of the New York Police Department are what make me sound like I love Islam rather than have left it.

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• TIME tells ladies to stop kvetching about doing more chores than men – Because it’s only 20 more minutes a day, which doesn’t add up to anything, right? From John.
• This paper on men falling asleep after sex is Exhibit A for weak evolutionary psychology – “So… what does the study actually prove? Nothing. It’s a flawed study that proves only that people are eager for “findings” that prop up gender stereotypes.”
• HPV vaccine does not cause autoimmune disease – From Kathy, who links to the original in her post if you want to go read it.
• A ghost in the church window – What happens when you send a completely bonkers letter to a famous psychic?

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When you are trying to change the world, how do you know when you’ve succeeded? Last week, when Skepchick went dark, did it do any good?

Last year, I put together a workshop on skeptical activism with the fantastic Desiree Schell. I thought it might be useful to share some of the components of this workshop in a few blog posts, and to provide some examples of activism that are working or that are not.

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We here at Skepchick got an email from Maryam Namazie asking us to help promote an event being held in London on February 11 called: A Day to Defend Free Expression. Nothing could make us prouder than to endorse this event and ask you, our readers, to participate if you can, spread the word, and maybe even send them some money. Click below to find out more.

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• If you spot Bigfoot, should you shoot him? Inquiring minds want to know.
• Man’s defense for being accused of punching his wife? A ghost did it. (From Brad.)
• “An Indonesian civil servant who posted “God does not exist” on his Facebook page has been taken into police custody for his own protection after he was badly beaten.” (From Madfishmonger.)
• Meghalaya, India: Where women rule, and men are suffragettes.

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Hey Oklahoma, you’re about to lose a delicacy.

Oklahoma State Senator Ralph Shortey, in a move proving that the skepticism is officially dead, is introducing a bill banning fetuses in food. Apparently he’s heard a rumor that a bunch of unspecified foods are being made out of aborted fetuses and rather than asking Snopes to check it out, he instead is outlawing it.

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