http://www.ottawaskeptics.org com_fireboard en-us Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:40:57 -0700 http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/components/com_fireboard/template/default/images/english/emoticons/fb_rsspower.gif http://www.ottawaskeptics.org 88 http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3979&catid=6 There is a lot of chatter about a new theory of Multiple Sclerosis, called Chronic Cerebral Spinal Vascular Insufficiency, CCSVI, ( invoving narrowing of the veins draining blood from the brain)and a method to treat it called Liberation Therapy (using balloon angioplasty to correct said narrowing). The doctor who discovered it is a vascular surgeon from Italy and was featured on W5 on CTV last November. There was an initial flurry of stories about how effective it was in treating MS, but newer research (pub... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3978&catid=10 If you were to take an average person and ask them to swim and run. Which would they find more demanding?... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3977&catid=3 Say it ain't so, Canada Dry! I love Canada Dry ginger ale. Never this thing though. Glad someone's taking someone to task for this kind of thing, though a bit bizarre a situation. It's "no this doesn't have antioxidants" instead of "no, whether it has antioxidants or not, they don't do that crazy shit." Of course, products don't need to lie, they just need to say "antioxidant", "omega 3" or "probiotic" and the existing misinformation overblowing the importance of such things in your diets does the ... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3976&catid=12 pressedham_d wrote: It's unreasonable to expect a magician to reveal his tricks. Isn't it enough for them to simply acknowledge that they are performing a trick (and not using "real" magic)? I never said that I expect magicians to reveal their tricks. The thing is that James Randi isn't a performing magician anymore. His life's work is no longer to be a magician, but to be an advocate of critical thinking. And the question is what's the best way for him to advance critical thinking through his kn... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3975&catid=12 MindMe wrote: One of the dangers I think of showing you how to do a trick is you will just then assume that's THE way to do the trick. But magicians typically know 8 different ways. So if you're like "I know how that's done" and the guy uses another method, you'd be "whoa, he must have teh true powerz!" I've heard of that possibility. I'm not sure whether that's true or not though. It seems to me that the more you're told about how tricks work, even different tricks rather than multiple versions o... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3974&catid=12 It's unreasonable to expect a magician to reveal his tricks. Isn't it enough for them to simply acknowledge that they are performing a trick (and not using "real" magic)? If Randi told an audience he was going to perform some tricks for them, and someone leaves thinking he has magic powers, is that Randi's fault? No. If someone wants to believe in "real" magic, they will. If you explained to that sort of person how half of the world's tricks were done, they'd probably still believe the other half were real.... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3973&catid=3 FDA warns green tea makers against health claims (http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-fda-tea-20100908,0,6545244.story) http://www.antharia.com/assets/29_canadadrygreenteaginger.jpg The FDA is cracking down on food manufacturers making false health claims. Good for them! I wonder if the CFIA will follow suit?... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3972&catid=2 tried to think so, but i found it was not as the same in the actual process. As you mentioned, I still have doubts, but really thank you for sharing! _______________________________________________ link of london (http://www.elinkslondon.org/)/links of london jewellery (http://www.elinkslondon.org/)/links of london bracelets (http://www.elinkslondon.org/links-of-london-bracelets.html)... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3971&catid=12 One of the dangers I think of showing you how to do a trick is you will just then assume that's THE way to do the trick. But magicians typically know 8 different ways. So if you're like "I know how that's done" and the guy uses another method, you'd be "whoa, he must have teh true powerz!"... http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/forum?func=view&id=3970&catid=12 I just had a couple of comments about this. First of all, I thought it was strange that Randi believes that the US police don't abuse their power. Certainly I think he has a legitimate grievance, but it seems strange to me to believe that it's a Canadian thing. Secondly, regarding not revealing his tricks, the reason he gave was that he wanted people to know that they could be fooled. But if people come away believing that Randi can really do magic, then they've come away believing that they know th...