Author Archives: Rebecca

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics – Skeptics in the Exchange

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Come join us celebrate our 2nd birthday in the Exchange – with an inevitable jaunt to the pub (and probably cake…)

“To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, mainstream media has difficulties differentiating between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation. Yet we rely on media to inform us of events and concepts in the world around us, despite the fact that they often get it terribly wrong, especially in the fields of science and medicine. In this talk we’ll outline some of the common mistakes journalists and indeed the public make, from shocking statistics to bogus balance, as well as discuss how they can be improved, and what sceptics, scientists, doctors and you can do to help rectify the situation.”

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New Year, New You?

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As inevitable as a new year rolling around is the rash of products, articles, DVDs, “pull out and keep cards”, posters and deals to help us all with one of the most common New Year’s resolutions – losing weight. All media is a-glow with the latest diet, supplement or fitness regime, and with the promise of this is the one that will work.

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The Skeptical Humanities

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I recently had a discussion on Twitter around the way in which skepticism can be applied to the world. The conversation was kicked off by a tweet of mine in which I linked to some blog posts about feminism, following on from this a very good blogger of Three Men make a Tiger fame posited that discussions about sexism, feminism or gender don’t necessarily belong within skeptical discourse.

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Feminists need not apply

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I have to admit during the last week I could find no inspiration for a new post. Nothing sparked my imagination but today something sparked my ire. So the wonderful fan-tabulous QEDcon are hosting this year’s Skeptic Awards in which skeptics of the world can vote for their favourite podcasters, blogs etc.

As I have written about in the past I have not always identified as a feminist. However as I worked through a Masters, which led me to read a lot of scholarly works about feminist theory, and by talked to more people about it my understanding and acceptance of the term has grown. It has also become clear to me that a lot of people fundamentally misunderstand what feminism is.

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The Skeptical Museum

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Anyone who gets to know me figures out pretty quickly one of my main passions (other than the skeptical movement of course) – museums. I love museums, the way they smell, sound, feel, the odd micro climate they often harbour and even the varying forms of museum worker you find lurking within. Some of those workers are like me – the strange morlock people squirreled away in dimly lit back rooms caring for objects that the public rarely see.

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The long journey to skepticism

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As a main stay of skeptical interviews the “What made you become a ‘Skeptic’?” is a very relevant question and never really seems to become boring. As has been discussed by many in the community, skepticism is not a natural state of mind. The way in which our brain works is not always rational and I often find myself having to think myself ‘down’ when my mind jumps to easier but more irrational conclusions – be a bump in the night or serendipity. For me it was a journey in which not only was religion an accepted part of life but so were alternative practises around health and general well being.

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James Onen talks to Dublin Skeptics in the Pub

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We have been lucky enough to be included in the tour that James Onen is doing of the UK and Ireland.

So at 6pm on Sunday 9th October he will giving a talk about “The Rise of Skepticism In Uganda”. He is an author on the blog Free Thought Kampala if you would like some further reading!

Any and all donations to the cost of bringing James in Ireland are greatly welcomed, as well as donations to our wonderful hosts, Exchange Dublin.

As usual in the Exchange there shall be cake and refreshments – feel free to bring along some treats!

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Poking the bear

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It’s funny how one little quote can inspire such vitriol and anger.

When I was emailed by Ed Power about his impending article for the Irish Independent I immediately thought of one of our skeptics, Jamie. He is much more interested in the “conspiracy theory” end of skepticism and also runs a really interesting group called the Longnow Foundation for Dublin.

So this one little quote, mentioning this website brought down a small (okay, tiny) hail of brimstone down on myself today. I suppose this what happens when you put an email address out there – eventually someone will email you who doesn’t exactly agree with you world view.

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Richard Wiseman – May 5th Skeptics in the Exchange

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Once again we are lucky enough to bag ourselves an amazing guest through luck and serendipity.

Richard Wiseman has very kindly offered to give us a talk call “Researching the Impossible” at 9pm, Thursday May 5th in Exchange Dublin.

As always in the Exchange we can bring along our own cake, snacks and (non-alcoholic) drinks. Have a look at some of the pictures from the George Hrab gig to see some of delicious treats we enjoyed! Also there is a kettle and mugs, so you can even have a cuppa and enjoy a world-class talk.

See you then!

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