Another week and another open thread. Here is a space where you can ask questions, share links, or just say hi.
Poly is a very skeptical chicken. Photo by ADT
This week’s open thread sponsored by Polymerase Chain Reaction, our very skeptical chicken.
A couple weeks ago, lots of people were talking about Rayfish, a hoax website claiming to produce genetically modified stingray sneakers. What other ocean-product claims are you skeptical about?
Speaking of skeptics, if anyone’s been following the recent explosion in the skeptical movement over the gradual realization that women are actually people and that some skeptics are hateful garbage monsters (it doesn’t start with this post at Skepchick, but it’s as good a place as any to pick up the thread), Coyote Crossing has a fantastic analyses that doesn’t hesitate to pull punches where punches need to be pulled: A few thoughts about sexism in the skeptics movement. And, of course, you really should just read everything Almost Diamonds has written about the issue.
And if you really want to be depressed, or think you can deny that there’s a problem, just read the comment threads.
On an unrelated note, John Bruno at Seamonster has an excellent primer on Sea Level Rise: Sea Level Rise 101.
Have you seen this little gem?
http://www.readersdigest.ca/magazine/true-stories/why-whales-are-people-too?page=0,1
More folks trying to make us think whales are people.
I’m skeptical that a whale is a person. Actually, I think it’s BS…
Wow. That’s just. Wow. I’m with you there.
I wrote a little on the historical origins of this belief that whales are people last year – http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=11698
“The science proves it”. I can’t read any further than the headline.