pseudoscience
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Podcast
My Nemesis the Lithosphere (About That Jade Amulet COVID Study)
This week on the Skepchick podcast, Rebecca chats with Maria D’Souza and Bjørnar Tuftin about the study that claimed jade amulets can protect you from COVID-19 (since retracted). Links! Bjørnar’s previous post on the topic Retraction Watch’s coverage of this debacle The European Space Agency’s map of the lithosphere What is serpentinization? Bjørnar’s website https://media.blubrry.com/skepchick/p/content.blubrry.com/skepchick/My_Nemesis_the_Lithosphere.mp3Podcast: Play in new window |…
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Science
What does COVID, Jade Amulets, Earth’s Weakening Magnetic Field, Atmospheric CO2-increase, and the kitchen sink have to do with each other?
I learned about this paper from the early twitter buzz, but it took so long to write that title and subtitle I got scooped by Retraction Watch. Their write up is a bit brief, barely skimming the surface on how far out there this paper is, but they did receive comments from the author and the editors, and you should…
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Quickies
Quickies: Racism at the CDC, bad COVID decisions, and more…
I find myself catching up after a week in my online-teaching hide-y hole… Employees of the Centers for Disease Control call out a “toxic culture of racial aggressions.” Meanwhile, the Trump administration orders hospitals to bypass the CDC and send data to the White House, likely in an attempt to continue to deny reality. Due to a huge public outcry,…
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Feminism
“Nannogenic” – because “we put sand in our pads” doesn’t sell product
I don’t pay a lot of attention in the sanitary products aisle when I go shopping, but this box caught my eye. (Images below.) I initially thought the illustration on the box showed molded plastic, with some sort of speaker and that this was a truly weird product that would hum period pains away. I freely admit it is possible…
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Quickies
Quickies: Food Lies, Gender Science, “Hurt” Thor…
Happy Friday, y’all! Before I get into the Friday Quickies, I wanted to remind you that Mad Art Lab has re-launched! I’m a huge fangirl of that site and the writers because they take the blend of science and creativity to new heights. Want to read about werewolf telepathy? The physics of paint pouring? Getting your ass kicked in-game? Messing…
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Anti-Science
Throwback Bad Chart Thursday: The TRUTH about Bad Measles Charts the Mainstream Media Is Suppressing
This post was originally published February 5, 2015, but the measles situation has only worsened since then, with anti-vaccination propaganda leading to the worst outbreak since measles was all but eradicated in 2000, so this post is unfortunately timely once again. Roman Bystrianyk and Suzanne Humphries have a cherry to pick with proponents of vaccination. Their article on the measles…
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Featured
Bad Chart Thursday: Pseudoscientific Chart Judges Science Reporting
A chart purporting to rank credible science journalism uses the most unscientific means ever: opinion presented as fact. Editors for the American Council of Science and Health (ACSH), an industry-funded “science” site, and Real Clear Science (RCS), a news aggregator with some original material, co-created and published a chart using a design aesthetic beloved by marketers of online pyramid schemes…
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Meta Stuff
It’s the Skepchick Sundaylies! Space Image Editing for Dummies, Illness Caused by Emotions, and more!
Sunday Funny: Truth and Politics (via SMBC) Mad Art Lab Mad Art Cast Pigment The Gang discuss the Forbe’s Collection of pigments and how science uses it to protect historical masterpieces. Raw Space Image Editing for Dummies Julie teaches herself how to edit raw space images. WIP Weekend – Beachy Necklace Part 2 Robin learns to see the beauty in…
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