Add Your Blog | Login | Signup

A skeptical analysis of claims, discussion of scientific literature, suggestions for critical thinking education and activism, and fun.

Invite Friends to Follow Syndication

Written by 1 Author

Followed by 44 People (invite friends)

View All

ICBS Everywhere Knowledge, science, reason, education, philosophy, behavior, politics, religion, and B.S.

English - Science, Skepticism, Psychology

http://icbseverywhere.com/blog/

Follow

ICBS Everywhere · 3W ago

Are Atheists More Compassionate or Prosocial Than Highly Religious People?

I hope I grabbed your attention with that title, but do not expect to find the answer to that question here. What I am going to discuss today is a study that many people seem to think answers that question, but it doesn’t. As I noted in my last post, the study I’ll be discussing was grossly misrepo

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 3W ago

Science and Spin Are Very Bad Bedfellows

It seems that the best motivation for me (to write) is frustration. A press release by UC Berkeley about a study that was recently published on the relationships among religiosity, compassion, and prosocial behavior has been making the rounds over the last couple of days, waved by proud atheists as

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 3W ago

You Can’t Judge an Argument by Its Conclusion

I had promised myself that I would spend less time ranting about the problems of the activist community, but I was so disappointed and frustrated during a Twitter exchange with Melody Hensley (of CFI-DC, caveat: she was speaking for herself, not necessarily CFI) the other night that I felt it pruden

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 1M ago

Wrap Your Brain Around Monty Hall

NOTE: this post also appears on the wonderful site about crazy coincidence, theoddsmustbecrazy.com. I have always been amused and intrigued by responses to “The Monty Hall Problem”, especially when I talk about it to audiences with a high concentration of engineers and mathematicians. If you are fam

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 6M ago

Why the “Critical” in Critical Thinking

In an age in which many teens and young adults seem to equate criticism and not getting what they want with disrespect, it should not be surprising that some argue for unconditional positive regard in education and elsewhere. However, criticism is essential to gaining knowledge. I am sure that most

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 7M ago

Paved With Good Intentions

From a NY Times article which appeared last week: Some years ago, Dr. Robert A. Burton was the neurologist on call at a San Francisco hospital when a high-profile colleague from the oncology department asked him to perform a spinal tap on an elderly patient with advanced metastatic cancer. The patie

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 8M ago

Skeptrack at Dragon*Con 2011

Tuesday I returned home from my third Dragon*Con, “the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe!” I’m not a big fan of crowds, so I probably would not choose to attend such an event witho

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 9M ago

Take Back Skepticism, Part III: The Dunning-Kruger Effect

First, if you have not read Parts I and II, please read them now. The most important parts of those posts are: Arguments over scope and the conflation of atheism and skepticism have reached a fever pitch, as have arguments over tone. I will talk about some of this, but I will not attempt to explain

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 9M ago

Take Back Skepticism, Part II: The Overkill Window

First, if you have not read Part I, please read it now. The most important part of that post is: …I suggest is this: Skepticism, as a movement, is not hindered so much by the conflation of atheism and skepticism, the ridicule of believers, or attempts to promote values-based ideology as it is hinder

0 Vote Up · Share

ICBS Everywhere · 9M ago

Take Back Skepticism, Part I: The Elephant in the Room

I was planning a short rant about some ironically irrational arguments made by self-described rationalists at the World Atheist Convention in Dublin a couple of months ago. However, events of the past two weeks have left me frustrated, angry, and a little bit sick. Since they are all connected, I ha

0 Vote Up · Share

More Stories

More