ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 21

Gamification for Misinformation Inoculation

Are we doomed to infection in the infodemic? Not according to “inoculation theory.” As we learn from cognitive scientist John Cook on the latest Skeptical Inquirer Presents, we can build up our mental immunity to misinformation and fortify our critical thinking skills with exposure to facts and the elements of false claims. It can even …

Religious Exemptions for Everything

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck another blow to secularism when it struck down California’s pandemic restrictions on gatherings in homes of more than three households, ruling that the restriction treats in-home Bible study and prayer sessions unequally as compared to commercial gatherings in places such as hair salons and retail stores. If this …

The Year’s Best Humanist Writing

The Council for Secular Humanism, the arm of the Center for Inquiry that publishes Free Inquiry magazine and operates the Freethought Trail and Robert Ingersoll Birthplace Museum, honors the best in humanist writing every year with the Morris D. and Selma V. Forkosch Awards. For calendar year 2020, the Forkosch Awards go to a trailblazing …

Battling Our Demons

A global pandemic, in which an invisible agent brings sickness to millions and indefinite isolation to many more, creates fertile ground for belief in another kind of invisible evil: demons. At Skeptical Inquirer, JD Sword explores the dire mental health implications of the COVID-19 crisis and how it likely has exacerbated fears of demonic possession …

Hubbard’s Hokum

Beware the billion-dollar psycho-religious boondoggle that is Scientology. In an op-ed for Free Inquiry magazine, Robyn Blumner wonders at how the church has been able to maintain such an ironclad grip on its adherents, especially given the absurd, B-movie sci-fi theology at the core of its beliefs. You know, the ones about the intergalactic overlord …

Mischievous Muons

Something has been disobeying the laws of physics, and that something is very, very small. Physicists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have found that muons, subatomic particles related to electrons but about 200 times heavier, are not behaving the way they’re supposed to when put through a magnetic field. That means that something else, …

OPEN DISCUSSION APRIL 2021

This thread has been created for discussion on themes relevant to Reason and Science for which there are not currently any dedicated threads. Please note that our Comment Policy applies as usual. There is a link to this at the foot of the page. If you would like to refer back to previous open discussion …

Happy Birthday Richard, from a Few Close Friends

Richard Dawkins turned 80 years old on March 26, 2021, an occasion celebrated by fans and admirers around the world through their well-wishes on social media and gifts of support to the foundation that bears his name. A collection of Richard’s friends sent him video messages as a birthday surprise, and they (and Richard) have …

Nick Little on the Tough New Legal Landscape

When he’s not going after snake oil salesmen on social media, Nick Little is the driving force behind the Center for Inquiry’s bold and pioneering legal efforts, working to defend the separation of church and state, fight for the equal status of the nonreligious, and protect consumers from being swindled by pseudoscience. On the CFI …

Intolerance for Pseudoscience

Facebook is riddled with ads for various health and wellness products, and too often they make promises that range from dubious to outright ridiculous. CFI Legal Director Nick Little stumbled upon one such ad on his own Facebook feed from a company advertising its ability to determine one’s intolerances to various foods and substances by …