The Round-up w/e 6/1/2013

via @unboredme

Happy New Year and welcome to the first round-up of 2013. I predict it’s going to be another great year for Birmingham Skeptics and if you look at the speakers we already have lined up I’m sure that you’ll agree.

I don’t need psychic powers to for that particular prediction but how well did the people that claim to have them do last year? Here are a few stats. No psychic powers on the next forecast apparently, but past SitP speaker Nick Pope is being pretty specific on his speculations about the discovery of alien life. Not wanting to be left out of the prophecy game the BBC presents its Technology Teaser for 2013.

If you do find that you get uncontrollable urges to constantly consult the clairvoyants and their ilk, you might find help here.

We’ll change direction now and look back instead of forward for a bit. Ephphenom has rounded up some of the best stories from last year and put them in a blog. Wish  I’d thought of that! It’s a good list and regular readers might spot a couple we’ve included in there. Sense about Science bring us the celebrities that scored an F for science, and in a similar theme some dangerously influential dimwits.

If your waistline is suffering post festive celebrations and diet and exercise seem too harsh a solution, perhaps this is for you. If you do cut down though, don’t skimp on the bacon, it has amazing restorative properties. (Sorry veggies and piggies). If that hasn’t got the old taste buds quivering, how about a Pi Pie?

Here’s a sex text boot (sext book?) featuring hairy two headed babies.

If you missed Ben Goldacre on Radio 4 fear not, you can still download thepodcast.

 Another bastion in the fight against nonsense and quackery is Edzard Ernst who gives us some tongue in cheek advice on becoming a charlatan. In the interests of not getting sued I’d like to state that I’m placing this next link on Brain Based Therapy after the Ernst article for no reason other than aesthetics.

It’s incredible that something that has saved as many lives as vaccination should still be a matter of debate. One of the anti-vaccers many spurious claims is that vaccination is responsible for the rise in autism diagnoses. But no more, the real reason has at last been identified!

Maybe we should sign some of those anti-vaccination people to this pseudoscience class.

Pretty much all you could ever want to know about the narwhal followed by video of the wonderful and elusive giant squid.


There’s a bit of a witchy welcome in the hillside apparently.

I love a good bit of pareidolia me, but this is just cheating. Still if you want something nifty to feast your eyes on here is a great optical illusion.

Here’s some stuff on Big Foot evidence. I’ll say no more, watch it and make your own mind up before shaking your head in disbelief. I’m not saying that people who believe in the paranormal are mad though.

We’ve got Robert Llewellyn very very soon and we’re very excited about that. If you want to come then have a quick read of this. We also have our first book club coming up this month and a host of great talks in the offing. Like our Facebook page and get all the up-to-date news about our happenings first.

And now to finish on a song, hit it boys!

This week’s round-up was compiled by Patrick (@paddyrex) with much help from the indomitable Roy Beddowes.