At some point near the end of last semester I checked out Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton from the SFU library. As a graduate student I had access to term loans from the library so I took the book out knowing
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Terahertz: John Horgan on Smart Meters
I wrote this morning’s post last night and scheduled it, assuming in part that it would be a few weeks to never when I received a reply (as if often the case with many politicians). It was to my surprise then that one of the first emails I read this
Continue readingTerahertz: Putting conspiracy theories to the vote
Inspired by the success of the No HST campaign that saw British Columbians of all stripes push back against a government bent on implementing policies against the popular will of the people an with no mandate, some fear mongers are hoping to repeat that success in the hopes of banning
Continue readingTerahertz: Skeptical leadership and CFI drama
I have a huge 3000+ word post over at Canadian Atheist on drama at CFI Canada. If you dislike the messy underbelly of egos and in-group politics, take a pass. Related to the entire theme though is a recent Dan Gardner article on leadership in isolation. In it he discusses
Continue readingTerahertz: Is Zero Tolerance the best response to bullying?
School bullying, especially bullying targeted against LGBTQQ children, is finally getting the attention it merits. Rick Mercer’s viral rant on teen suicides (see below) has been viewed nearly half a million times in a mere week. This morning on the radio, Mercer discussed the video with local indie rock station The Peak, and admitted he […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Skeptical triple play
Every so often a number of stories pile up in my “I have opinions I want to express about this piece of news” list. Today’s theme is stories of interest to skeptics. Cell phones are safe This first story adds to the growing list of evidence demonstrating the safety of wireless technology. Further study is […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Oh Georgia Straight, why do you publish such crap?
Sometimes I appreciate the local coverage that the Georgia Straight provides. They’re coverage of the Vancouver election is extensive, and they’ve provided pages for every school and parks board candidate so far to get their word out. Hell, they questioned Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts on whether she though George Bush should be arrested for torture. […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Troofer is no Gandhi
I subscribe to a lot of blogs and news feeds and read a lot in a day. Out of all of these words that cross my eyes, some are worth sharing, and appear on my Google+ or Facebook streams. Some annoy me a bit more and I feel like writing about them. Sometimes I have […]
Continue readingTerahertz: I want science in my milk
While opposition to wi-fi, Smart Meters, and wind turbines annoys me, nothing is more absurd to me than those who oppose milk pasteurization. Schmidt said the danger in unpasteurized milk comes in large industrial production centres, where milk from several farmers is pooled and any one providing bad milk can ruin the whole batch. He […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Bad media: Smart Meters
I joined Angus Reid Forums a while ago as a way to do two things I like: Making money and giving opinions. One survey that has come up a number of times for me has been about BC Hydro’s Smart Meter program. The goal is to install these meters in every house so that the […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Lorne Gunter spews hot air
It’s continually depressing to see professional denialist Lorne Gunter continue to sap money that could be going to actual journalists and columnists. Yesterday he had this to say: Over the past decade, global surface temperatures have flatlined. While 2010 was a warm year in the northern hemisphere and 2011 has been warm in much of […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Someone take May’s shovel away
After erupting on Twitter yesterday, Green Party leader Elizabeth May is trying to defend her comments on her blog. She repeatedly falls back on the “precautionary principle,” stating that if we don’t really know if Wi-Fi is safe, then we should be careful. Never mind the similarities between this and the “teach the controversy” or […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Those kooky Greens
I’ve been considering running in the upcoming Vancouver municipal election and the thought of seeking a Vancouver Greens nomination had crossed my mind, but I think I don’t think I’m quite ready to sign on with them yet. Two news items today reminded me how prominent anti-science environmentalism is in the party. First, the BC […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Canadian airports x-ray homeopathy now
I got a message today from a friend who works in airport security that represents another skeptic win (that makes two this week): I thought you all might be interested in the fact that homeopathic medication is no longer exempt from going through the X-Ray at the airport. I’m not sure what prompted this change, […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Hookahs at SFU go up in smoke
The Pakistan Student Association at my school, Simon Fraser University, was planning a party/fundraiser to build municipal spirit in the aftermath of the Stanley Cup riots. As part of their party they planned to have hookah smoking. While possibly popular in the hipster/stoner crowds, the fact is that hookahs are at least as dangerous and […]
Continue readingTerahertz: On the Vancouver riots
Wow things got ugly here last night, and I don’t mean downtown. Critical thinking gave way to mass condemnation online as an arms race of criticism took over any actual analysis of the situation. First, to get it out of the way, yes, the riots were bad. A lot of property was destroyed, people were […]
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