The infiltration of pseudoscience in academia, either universities proper or academic health centres, is very real. Dr. David Gorski is doing a great job reporting on the American side of this disturbing inroad, but I thought it was time to tackle the Canadian (and more specifically the Quebec) perspective. The Prince Arthur Herald recently published … Continue reading
The question being asked may be “Are We Alone?”, but I don’t think I will be alone Monday and Tuesday night, attending an all-new edition of the Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium. Dr. Joe Schwarcz hosts a two-night event on the subject of life in the universe, with four qualified speakers: Jim Bell, Jill Tarter, Sarah … Continue reading
If you listen to my podcast, Within Reason, you know my thoughts on Vani Hari’s crusade against ingredients whose names she can’t pronounce. On her blog, FoodBabe.com, she regularly commits logical fallacies in her attempt to “educate” the public on what constitutes healthy food. Kathleen Purvis of the Charlotte Observer recently wrote a fairly lengthy article addressing the … Continue reading
The Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium returns to Montreal on October 6 and 7. “Are We Alone? Searching for Life Out There” is this year’s theme, and the guests are: Dr. Jill Tarter, SETI Institute; Dr. Jim Bell, President of the Planetary Society; Dr. Sara Seager, MIT; Dr. Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow at CSICOP. … Continue reading
To listen to the episode in question, head over here and download episode 106. Continue reading
Via @edyong209 on Twitter, here is some good news for people like The Food Babe. Prestigious scientific journal Nature Chemistry has published a fantastic paper by A.F.G. Goldberg and C.J. Chemjobber entitled “A comprehensive overview of chemical-free consumer products”. I invite all of you to have a look at it. It’s a short read. If you’re still … Continue reading
Readers of this blog probably know that I also have a monthly podcast entitled Within Reason, which explores contentious issues from a rational perspective. While the topics are not always science-related, our latest episode features Dr. Joe Schwarcz, director of the Office for Science and Society at McGill University, on the subject of chemophobia. We talked … Continue reading
Three words fly in my head in a tight formation, constantly looping back to my consciousness as I watch the video: “such a shame.” The video is one of the many amateurish agglomerations of stills and monotonous voice-over narration that seem to populate the skeptical trenches of YouTube. My friend Andrew, whom fans of our … Continue reading
It used to be I would be glad to see the sign “NO MSG” when looking at the menu of my favourite East Asian stir-fry restaurant. Why? Well, as everybody knows, MSG is bad for you. MSG stands for monosodium glutamate, which causes all kinds of health problems. I heard my hairdresser’s sister got asthma … Continue reading
As a prelude to this year’s Lorne Trottier Symposium on Public Science, I encourage you to take a look at Joe Schwarcz’s latest article in The Montreal Gazette. Here’s an excerpt: “In science we don’t cherry pick. We shake the tree, collect all the cherries, mash them together and then taste. And that’s just what … Continue reading
Cracked Science 
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