Monthly Archives: March 2010

30,000 Votes

Posted on March 30, 2010 by

Lazio just lost a wonderful opportunity. By about 30,000 votes. Not so bad, really.

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Weird Medicine

Posted on March 28, 2010 by

I began to wonder what was really going on when my own family began telling me of their positive experiences with alternative medicine. The first lesson I learned was not to ask too many questions. As a result I only … Continue reading →

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Word of the Day: Apophenia

Posted on March 25, 2010 by

According to Wikipedia, apophenia is: the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. The term was coined in 1958 by Klaus Conrad, who defined it as the “unmotivated seeing of connections” accompanied by a “specific experience of an abnormal … Continue reading →

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Don’t Get Scammed

Posted on March 24, 2010 by

I spent most of the last week reading Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst’s Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial. Besides being written in clear, understandable English – always a plus – the book is full of information that might … Continue reading →

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Eric Kaufmann: Inheriting the Earth

Posted on March 19, 2010 by

The Friendly Atheist has an interview with Eric Kaufmann, author of the just-released book Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century. Kaufmann’s book appears to be an attempt to persuade us, using demographic statistics, … Continue reading →

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Goodbye, Alex

Posted on March 19, 2010 by
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Now Reading: Trick or Treatment?

Posted on March 16, 2010 by

Fearless, intelligent and remorselessly rational, the authors exemplify the same Enlightenment spirit of criticism that animated The Lancet in its early days. One by one, they go through the most influential alternative therapies (acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic and herbal medicines) and … Continue reading →

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David Cross: “Perfect Ruby Starfruit”

Posted on March 16, 2010 by

Here is comedian David Cross on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The routine is from a few years ago. It’s hilarious and unsparing.

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A Special Kind of Sin

Posted on March 13, 2010 by

Italy’s Il Messaggero has published an interview with Monignor Gianfranco Girotti, who makes some amazing claims. The Church is embroiled in sex scandals up to its ears: Holland, Germany, Ireland and even Vatican City itself are on the block. In … Continue reading →

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Now Reading: The Seduction of Unreason

Posted on March 13, 2010 by

Read the introduction here. “That postmodernists rely unwittingly on arguments and positions developed by proponents of Counter-Enlightenment does not mean they are conservative, let alone reactionary. The study that follows is not an exercise in guilt-by-association. Nevertheless, such reliance suggests … Continue reading →

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