Tectonic Plates and Dark Matter: Björk and Science in Music
In the first post in this series, I investigated the way indie singer-songwriter Andrew Bird fused science into a good proportion of the songs in his discography. The Icelandic musical artist...
View ArticleBe Reasonable: A Fresh Approach To Skeptical Interviewing
Being a skeptic can be tough sometimes. Socially, that is. You gain a reputation among your friends as being “the cynical one” or someone who “just can’t leave people’s personal beliefs alone”. Sure,...
View ArticleQuestion of the Week: Human Species or Every Non-Human Species?
This post is devoted to the question we asked on Episode 76 of The Pseudoscientists podcast: Would you rather wipe out every other human on Earth (besides yourself), or wipe out the near-total majority...
View Article6 Household Objects You Won’t Believe Contain Actual Chemicals
Nothing good has ever come of chemistry. From the toxic gases that slaughtered billions in World War I, II and III, to the toxic liquids pumped into our innocent, crying children daily under the...
View ArticleQuestion of the Week: When Would You Become a Cyborg (If Ever)?
This post is devoted to the question we asked on Episode 77 of The Pseudoscientists podcast: How quickly would you adopt a brain-computer interface (essentially becoming a cyborg), if at all? Would you...
View ArticleAlternative Medicine as a Guilty Pleasure: The Confession of a Relaxed Skeptic
I’m a skeptic and I think alternative medicine is great. Okay, that’s definitely going to be misconstrued, so I should clarify: I don’t think alternative medicine is medicinally effective (in the vast...
View ArticleQuestion of the Week: Which End-of-the-World Scenario Worries You Most?
This post is devoted to the question we asked on Episode 78 of The Pseudoscientists podcast: Which end-of-the-world scenario worries you most? Do asteroid impacts keep you up at night? What about viral...
View ArticleQuestion of the Week: Should There Be Restrictions on Scientific Research?
This post is devoted to the question we asked on Episode 79 of The Pseudoscientists podcast: Do you think there should be restrictions on scientific research? Is human cloning too unethical to be done?...
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The Young Australian Skeptics — Now on Wikipedia!
As recently highlighted by Luke Freeman, Wikipedia is currently undergoing a skeptical makeover through the actions of the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia project — new pages are being created for...
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Captain Atheist, Dr Evolution, Gay Man and The Feminist are… “Culture Warriors”
From the minds over at SMBC Theatre, comes this nifty little animation about the real war on conservative religious values. I’m just glad we don’t have any of that kerfuffle down here in Australia. Oh....
View ArticleABC1’s “The Checkout” takes on Complementary Medicine
Two members of Australian satirical comedy group The Chaser (responsible for cult shows like The Chaser’s War on Everything, CNNNN and The Hamster Wheel) — Craig Reucassel and Julian Morrow — are...
View ArticleThinking with a Mouth of Blood: Intelligent Design, Bad Design and Wisdom Teeth
About 48 hours ago, I was sitting in a hospital admissions room with four more teeth than I currently possess and a bundle of thoughts running through my mind. One of them was about the nature of...
View ArticleQuestion of the Week: Futuristic Technology, Today
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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SMBC on (Skeptical) Internet Infighting
For a skeptical group blog, the Young Australian Skeptics has kept reasonably distant from certain, uh, happenings in the skeptical and atheist communities of late. It’s probably going to stay that way...
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Doctor Who and the Science of Science-Fantasy: The Bells of Saint John
The following post contains plot information (spoilers, I guess?) about the recent Doctor Who episode “The Bells of Saint John”. If you haven’t seen it — and would like to see it someday — then be...
View ArticleQuestion of the Week: Societal Implications of Aliens
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Question of the Week: Gender Identity
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Handy Charts and Diagrams for the Visually-Inclined Skeptic
UK skeptic Crispian Jago is lauded by many for his brilliantly skeptical charts and diagrams, but have you seen them? If not, you’re in luck: he’s just recently released two corkers (that’s the correct...
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Question of the Week: Mars Colonisation
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Christian Lobby Groups Need To Keep An Eye On Their Domain Registration…
The Australian Christian Lobby is not a particularly nice organisation. If you’re Australian and at all socially progressive or critical of religious tampering in the political system, then you’d...
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Question of the Week: Terrifying Science
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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PZ’s Problem: Does Skepticism Makes An Exemption For Religion?
He’s got one of the most widely-read blogs of anyone related to the skeptic/atheist/freethought/etc. community, so you’ve probably read it by now, but PZ Myers has “officially” left the scientific...
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Secular Student Alliance Week 2013 — Donate Now!
The Secular Student Alliance is a great organisation in the US dedicated to help further skepticism and secularism on college campuses all across the US, and they’re currently in the middle of “Secular...
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Question of the Week: What Can’t Science Answer?
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Question of the Week: Complexity in Science Communication
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Question of the Week: Science in TV Fiction
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Just What Is This Thing Called Science?
As Luke F. demonstrated earlier in the week, YouTube is a great medium for communicating science to a wide audience. An engaging video can go a long way (both educationally and geographically, with...
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Telling Heroic Stories of Science: The Laborastory
Might just be my unfamiliarity with the local art and performance scene here in Melbourne, but there appears to me to be a growing collection of storytelling nights popping up all over the CBD and...
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Question of the Week: Misrepresented Science in the Media
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Too Many, Too Soon: The Anti-Vaccine Fallacy
A common argument against early childhood vaccination is that it’s dangerous to exposure children to too many antigens (the molecular patterns that elicit an immune response) at once. But is this true?...
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Question of the Week: Testing Psychic Powers
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Question of the Week: What If There Were A Conspiracy?
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Question of the Week: Science Under a New Parliament
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite points are...
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Question of the Week: Best Science Jokes
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Question of the Week: Favourite Thought Experiments
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Question of the Week: Scientifically Unrealistic Superheroes
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Perspectives on Climate Change: An Introduction
This is really two introductions: one to a collection of articles over the next month about climate change, and another to the very concept of the Perspectives series. As I always say, “if you can do...
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Question of the Week: Favourite Podcast Moments (Episodes 1–100)
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Question of the Week: Pseudoscientific Wishful Thinking
Every week we ask a question of our readers, to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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An Introduction to Perspectives on Australian Skepticism
Perspectives is a series of collections of articles highlighting the diversity of opinions, ideas and — yes — perspectives young people in Australia have about complex, serious and/or light-hearted...
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Question of the Week: Uploading Your Consciousness to the Internet
Every week we ask a question of our audience to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Two is Usually Better Than One: The Importance of Duplication in Biology
Take me down to Duplication City, where the grass is tetraploid and girls are all having twins… Biology revolves around duplication: this is impossible to deny. Well, you could try to deny it, but then...
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Question of the Week: The Challenge for Australian Skepticism
Every week we ask a question of our audience to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Question of the Week: Unnecessary Science Funding
Every week we ask a question of our audience to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Question of the Week: Proving/Disproving the Existence of God
Every week we ask a question of our audience to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Question of the Week: Does Skepticism Have an Image Problem?
Every week we ask a question of our audience to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Waxing Drosophilosophical: Why I Study Fruit Flies
Whenever I tell someone the focus of my research is flies, a strange look usually passes across their face. “No no,” I hastily add, “not the big ones you’re probably thinking about — fruit flies. Tiny...
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Question of the Week: Children and Imaginary Beings
Every week we ask a question of our audience to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about an issue or topic relating to science, skepticism, technology or religion. Our favourite comments are...
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Science, Coffee and Young People: The Birth of the Unfiltered Thoughts Podcast
We at the Young Australian Skeptics have a new podcast! Okay, so it’s not entirely new — episodes of Unfiltered Thoughts had been a part of The Pseudoscientists since last October — but now it has its...
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Trying to Stay Sane: How to Argue on the Internet
The Internet has revolutionised the way we communicate, right? It’s brought us all together and enables instantaneous knowledge transfer between people who would otherwise never meet? Well, on paper,...
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