Recently the Environmental Working Group released a report on sunscreen, recommending only 39 of 500 sunscreens investigated. The report has been picked up by media outlets and now sunscreen is being touted as cancer-causing and hormone-disrupting. Let’s examine some of the issues and concerns the report raises.
Book review
The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice (1995), by
Christopher Hitchens
The beauty in television snow
I’ve been looking at different complex systems lately; I’m becoming more and more fascinated with a term called “Emergence.” It’s when you perceive a complex and beautiful pattern from a huge amount of individual, simple objects guided by simple rules.
Come on (or out!), skeptics—we need you
James Randi came out of the closet last month and I speak for the Association for Science and Reason when I say, “Congratulations, Randi!”
Let’s get some movement in the movement
I love that there is a skeptical ‘movement.’ I love knowing that there are like-minded people out there, compatriots with whom I can bitch and moan, hash out ideas, learn something, debate, and have some laughs. I love that here in Toronto we meet once a month at our Skeptics in the Pub event to do exactly these things. Having a movement provides a sense of belonging, of community — some might even say family.
Science: It’s the law!
I recently overheard something that no doubt many of us have heard in one form or another — that you can pay a heavy price for breaking the laws of nature. Since I wasn’t party to the conversation I resisted the urge to butt in, but there was definitely some squirming on my part.
Religion was not born of fear
“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.”
- Francis Bacon, Of Death
Natural Health Products Symposium protest
On Sunday, November 29, early in the morning, Dave Bailey and I stood outside of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto to hand out brochures about homeopathy and display some clever signs decrying the Natural Health Products Symposium taking place inside.
Vaccines and autism: Is the message finally getting through?
Article by:
Dave Bailey @
8:14 pm |
September 19, 2009
Filed under: Antivaccination,Conspiracy Theories,Critical Thinking,Newsletter Articles,Skepticism
Filed under: Antivaccination,Conspiracy Theories,Critical Thinking,Newsletter Articles,Skepticism
Most skeptics will be familiar with the unfortunately popular notion that there is a link between vaccinations and autism. For the most part we see it as a manufactured controversy that has had only negative effects, such as decreased confidence in science-based medicine, increased and misplaced confidence in alternative medicine, and the suffering and death of children who have not received vaccinations or have not been protected by herd immunity.
Lies about Canadian health care
« Newer Posts — Older Posts » 
As a rational Canadian watching the completely irrational American ‘debate’ on health care these past few months, I find that it would almost be funny if it weren’t so infuriating. As a skeptic, I can’t understand why other skeptical organizations/blogs/podcasts are not debunking the outright lies being promoted by anti-reformers, especially given the number of doctors in the skeptical movement.