http://www.scienceandreason.ca science, reason and critical thinking Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:54:33 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I come from pretty strong religious roots. One of the things that was impressed upon me as a kid was that if I were ever faced with a difficult situation that was out of my control, I should pray. This was a way to keep me hopeful in times of strife, or in times of [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/newsletter/hope-without-faith/ You’ve probably seen umpteen numbers of e-mails that start something like this: I am making this contact with you on behalf of my colleagues after a satisfactory information we gathered from an international business directory. My colleagues and I are members of the Contractor Review Committee of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). I have [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/newsletter/scamming-the-scammers/ As a species we can’t seem to tolerate incomplete pictures. We can’t accept that the ruddy, pitted and incomplete landscape of experience and knowledge is beautiful in its own right, full of potential and possibility. The extent of reality we currently know about is a mere drop in the ocean when compared to the questions [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/newsletter/the-gold-in-the-gaps/ Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America is a funny and poignant book examining America’s obsession with positive thinking. In it Ehrenreich not only details her own experiences with the positive-thinking movement, but delves into its history and evolution. The book begins with Ehrenreich’s diagnosis of breast cancer in 2000 and her personal [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/book_reviews/bright-sided-how-positive-thinking-is-undermining-america-by-barbara-ehrenreich/ Those of us who believe we are familiar with Charles Darwin often think of the quiet man who went about his work with little fanfare; a man who was so gracious that when Alfred Wallace sent him a manuscript that seemed to anticipate Darwin’s own evolutionary theory, he arranged a joint reading before the Linnean [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/book_reviews/darwins-armada-four-voyages-and-the-battle-for-the-theory-of-evolution-by-iain-mccalman/ You don’t have to spend too much on time online before you run into conspiracy theorists who claim dubious forces are manipulating the world’s financial systems. They say the system is unfairly set up to make it impossible for the average person to be successful. Believers in this conspiracy would do well to remember the [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/book_reviews/the-big-short-inside-the-doomsday-machine-by-michael-lewis-review-by-peter-mosier/ On November 28, three members of ASR’s Steering Committee — David Bailey, Aysha Khan, and Lisa Johnson — attended the Whole Life Expo at the Convention Centre in Toronto. The expo is billed as “Canada’s largest showcase of natural health, alternative medicine, and eco-friendly lifestyles.” Dave, Aysha, and Lisa attended with a group of approximately [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/newsletter/review-of-the-whole-life-expo/ Here we go again. The seemingly unending evolution/creation ‘debate’ (I use that word very loosely). One of the latest pathetic salvos from the anti-evolution side was from the notorious Glenn Beck, who went on a rant in which the usual ridiculous claims were made. Perhaps the most laughable was the old “I haven’t seen the [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/newsletter/the-electric-chair-periodic-thoughts-and-reflections-from-the-chair-of-asr/ In the increasingly divided left-wing/right-wing world in which we live, science is still being politicized to serve the agenda of various governments. This is not only disturbing, but there is a little bit of irony involved because science is both extremely liberal and extremely conservative. In fact, it is the occupation of both ends of [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/newsletter/political-science-as-it-should-be/ It’s a whack world out there, and the past couple of weeks have convinced me that organisations like Association for Science and Reason (ASR) are needed now more than ever. Let’s take a look at the events that spurred me to write this. First up was the decision by the Ontario Supreme Court that found [...]]]> http://www.scienceandreason.ca/newsletter/the-news-is-giving-me-grey-hairs/