This site is best viewed in Firefox or Safari
Estimating probabilities and being 'right' or 'wrong'
|

It is mid-June in 2004 and a federal election campaign is in full swing. The newspapers have Canada’s two main parties in a dead heat. Here’s a conversation between a friend and myself, starting with the friend:

(more…)

Do skeptics know nothing — or everything?
|

There are several misconceptions or accusations that confront skeptics constantly.

The top two in my experience are (1) “Skeptics don’t believe anything” and (2) “Skeptics think they know everything”. Strangely, these charges often come from the same sources.

(more…)

Can a skeptic believe in God?
|

Premises regarding skepticism:
A skeptic bases belief upon evidence and reason. He or she uses critical inquiry—the scientific method—to examine claimed phenomena. A skeptic holds beliefs provisionally, rather than absolutely, accepting that new evidence and reason may be found to require a revision in beliefs.

(more…)

What are the odds? Greater than you think
|

At the August 2001 meeting of skeptics in Toronto, I carried out an experiment to illustrate how poorly people estimate the chances of coincidences occurring. I asked people entering the meeting to give their birth dates in months and days, like August 12 or October 31.

(more…)

Some myths about computers
|

No one can deny that computers have enabled humans to do amazing things, like watch movies of the insides of our bodies, golf on the moon, and shrink the planet with a world-wide communication Net. And computers do keep getting faster and roomier. For about twenty years now, “Moore’s law” has held true, as every two or three years we’ve seen a tenfold improvement in computer capacity and speed. But factual reports of quantitative progress can easily slip into science fiction speculation, as has happened with the next three myths.

(more…)

What is science?
|

From the keynote address to the OSSCI Psychic UnFair and Symposium, October 27, 2001.

(more…)

Thank You!
|

Your email submission was successful. You are now in the know! Look for our eNewsletter in the middle of every month. Thanks for your support and interest.

Are we being poisoned by our fillings? The mercury amalgam scare
|

No matter how many fillings you may have, it is probably true to say that it is far more than you would like to have. If you listen to what some dentists are now saying, we would be better off with none.

(more…)

« Newer Posts