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John Jackson © UK-Skeptics

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“I’m entitled to my opinion”, “you’re entitled to your opinion”. Both of these expressions come up frequently in debates but what do people mean by them and are they of any relevance in a debate?

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All over the media last week were reports of the finding that drinking coffee can lead to people seeing ghosts. Headlines such as:

• Three cups of brewed coffee a day ‘triples risk of hallucinations’;
• ‘Visions link’ to coffee intake; and the alarmist
• Danger from just 7 cups of coffee a day.

all had the same theme: that drinking coffee can lead to an increased risk of hallucination and therefore seeing ghosts or sensing dead people around you. (more…)

See: Critical Thinking petition.

A new petition has been started to petition the Prime Minister to introduce Critical Thinking as part of the core curriculum in primary and secondary schools.

From the petition’s creator:

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vbloke © 2006

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Let’s assume for a minute that astrology actually works. No questions, it just does. Now, when the astrological signs were drawn up originally, it was done around 600BC. Each sign (e.g.: Scorpio) are exactly 30° wide – they are measured eastward along the ecliptic from the vernal equinox, which is the intersection of the elliptic and the celestial equator and is the zero point.

When the system was originally set up, the zero point was in Aries and was called the “first point of Aries”. (more…)

Claims are often put forward by proponents of alternative remedies and therapies stating that they have tested their treatment and it has passed the test: proof that it works. Skeptics, however, insist that unless a treatment has passed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, it is not valid.

Why is this? What is so special about the double-blind, placebo-controlled test? To find the answer, we need to look at the different ways that treatments can be tested and what the pitfalls are. (more…)