A Skeptic's Take

Films, books, television, and video games often have to take liberties with the real world, and nobody should ask that they all be completely accurate about everything. However, too many people take these things at face value and walk away believing stuff that is flat-out untrue or illogical. "A Skeptic's Take" is an effort to clear up some of the most pernicious myths in pop culture, not to disparage good entertainment, but to help reinforce the fact that there is a definite dividing line between reality and fiction.

Rethinking AGW, Part 3: The Human Contribution
How much, exactly, does mankind contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?

On Alice: Madness Returns
Alice being the victim of repressed memories makes for a great video game, but can memories really be repressed?

On Limitless
In this installment of A Skeptic's Take, the notion that we only use a small percentage of our brain power is put under scrutiny.

ALSO SCIENCE AND SKEPTICISM RELATED

4 of the Biggest Unanswered Questions in Science Author E. Magill discusses some of the big mysteries in science, one discipline at a time.	5 Logical Fallacies from the Republican Debate It's time to go over some more logical fallacies in politics, but this time they will all come from Republicans running for president.	5 More Logical Fallacies in Politics It's time to continue the exploration of bad arguments in politics with five more logical fallacies ripped from political headlines.	Bill Maher is a Cancer on Modern Medicine Author E. Magill discusses his father's recent cancer diagnosis and examines the depths of Bill Maher's insanity on the subject.
Book Review: Contested Will... Did Shakespeare write Hamlet? Many prominent people are skeptical, but James Shapiro is skeptical of the skeptics.	Book Review: The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene Author E. Magill reviews the latest from Brian Greene and discusses the possibility of multiple universes.	Caffeine: What You Don't Know Can Kill You Just how bad for you can caffeine really be?	In Defense of Homeschooling: The Story of John Freshwater Is the story of disgraced science teacher John Freshwater a case of academic oppression or an argument for homeschooling?
Digital Transitions, Digital Transmissions, and SETI Does the mandatory digital transition spell doom for the assumptions that built the Search for Extraterrestrial Life?	Do Children Enjoy Violent Cartoons? A new study suggests that children don't like violence in their television programming. A Skeptic's Take breaks it down.	The Facts Behind MSG (Plus a Recipe for Chicken & Broccoli) Author E. Magill discusses the common belief that MSG is bad for some people, and includes a recipe for take-out-style chicken and broccoli.	Global Warming Hysteria Continues Unabated Believers in anthropogenic climate change would be much more convincing if they weren't so shrill and transparently political.
The Hottest Ever: News on the Global Warming Front Are skeptics of anthropogenic global warming committing crimes against humanity?	Jenny McCarthy Murders Children... The anti-vaccination movement, personified by advocate Jenny McCarthy, is unrepentantly responsible for the deaths of children.	The LHC: God is Shrinking As the Large Hadron Collider increases our knowledge of the universe, is God getting smaller or are we just getting closer to him?	Lightbulbs and Liberty: CFLs vs Incandescents Why are we letting the government take away our right to choose our lightbulbs?
Michael Dowling's IQ is Irrelevant Michael Dowling is a celebrity because of his 170 IQ, but is IQ really worth anything?	Modern Witch-Hunts: When Skeptics Become "Deniers" Skepticism is a virtue, but when even skeptics start throwing insults, have politics gone too far?	Middle School Narcissists: What TV Reflects about the Coming Generation According to a new study of popular television, our children have become more self-absorbed than ever.	O.J., Gates, Gosslins, and Iraq: Being Skeptical about Current Events When it comes to current events, why are we all so opinionated?
On ClimateGate Author E. Magill discusses ClimateGate, the recent revelation of e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit that indicate a conspiracy to quell dissenting ideas about global warming.	On Willpower Is there a scientific basis for the concept of willpower?	Rethinking AGW, Part 1: Outline of Intent It's time for me to take a fresh, serious, and intellectually honest look at anthropogenic global warming.	Rethinking AGW, Part 2: The BEST Data on Rising Temperatures The first premise of anthropogenic global warming--that the average global temperature is on the rise--is put under scrutiny.
The Science of Spoilers A new study suggests that people tend to enjoy stories more when they already know the outcome. In our current spoiler-obsessed climate, can this possibly be true?	Top 5 Biggest Assholes of Science They say science is about ideas and not personalities. In these five cases, let's hope that's true.	Top 10 Logical Fallacies in Politics Author E. Magill discusses the prevalence of logical fallacies in political thought.	Vaccines and Autism Is there a connection between vaccines and autism?
Wake Up, It's the Future! There are plans in place for the future of space exploration that will blow your mind.	We're All Doomed: The Internet is Alive (Maybe) Science says the brain is more like the Internet than previously thought, which means we're all screwed.

GO BACK