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developed by JhackAbout Skeptikai
Skeptikai defends science and exposes pseudoscience. Living in Japan also allows for an interesting opportunity to discuss fascinating stories that go unnoticed elsewhere. Psychological phenomena and intriguing cases from around the globe are also regularly highlighted.
Should You Let Your Kid Date in Middle/High School? Science Gives a Surprising AnswerYoung love can show you things about yourself you've never known. It can bring you to…
In Japan, Strangers are More Likely than Family to Give CPR for Cardiac ArrestWhen it comes to Japanese people giving CPR to someone suffering a cardiac arrest, it…
Power and Rape – Part 2: How to Create a Breeding Ground for Sex OffendersAs I mentioned in Part 1, rape is tolerated in the military because the acknowledgment of…
Power and Rape – Part 1: Rape in the Military is a Career Killer… for the VictimIf you ever wanted to know just how bad "blaming the victim" can get, look no further than the…
Does Chewing Gum Help You Concentrate?If you want to be a rocket scientist, you might want to start chewing that stick of gum.…
Possessed by Demons, Animals, and Nonsense"Japan doesn't have that stuff. That's more of a Western thing." Just like I constantly…
SATIRAN – Part 3: “Judicial Theatre,” or Judgment for the 2010 IsraeliIn May 2010, the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" was sent to give humanitarian aid and…
Study: Close Relationships Aren’t Necessarily BetterIt makes sense, doesn't it? The closer you are to someone, the better your relationship…
Are Religious People More Charitable, Generous, and Altruistic than Atheists?According to a Canadian study from 2008, religious people are "more helpful, honest and…
Gender, Age, Socioeconomic, and Cultural Differences in Social Networking Site UsageOnline social networks has become an interesting platform for research, and hundreds if…
Category Archives: Media
Bollywood Zombies and The Westernization of Indian Pop Culture
Go Goa Gone, the first Western-style zombie flick to be made in Bollywood, was just announced last week. The trailer was released a few weeks ago and seems to be quite popular, with already over 2.5 million hits on YouTube. This may not seem like a particularly significant thing, but it’s just another example of how Indian TV and movies are taking cues from their American counterparts, effectively transforming their pop culture. What effect might this have on Indian popular culture?
The 2013 Pigasus Awards
Every year, the James Randi Educational Foundation gives awards to recognize the special few uncritical thinkers who do more to peddle pseudoscience and damage the public in ways that only celebrities could. Below are five “winners” of various categories whose success in nonsense have given actual science communicators like myself a greater challenge – not only to inform the general public of the way things are, but to do so while battle the faulty preconceptions caused the non-scientific thoughts and beliefs caused by such purveyors.
Posted in Aggregators/lists/rankings, Biographical, Culture, Media, Science, Skepticism, Technology
Tagged alternative medicine, cancer, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, reiki
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Gender, Age, Socioeconomic, and Cultural Differences in Social Networking Site Usage
Online social networks has become an interesting platform for research, and hundreds if not thousands of studies around the world are investigating how we interact with others online. This article looks into recent studies that analyzed data regarding differences in age, culture, gender, and socioeconomic status.
Gender Differences
Researchers from the Santa Fe Institute used a multiplayer game “Pardus” to analyze social networks. Online video games have become increasingly seen as a gold mine of data on social interactions in recent years, and, as it turns out, many of the same gender differences seen in the real world were observed in the social networks in Pardus.
Posted in Culture, Media, Technology, Video Games
Tagged age-related, America, China, economy, facebook, gender, internet, social networking
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What are the Most Corrupt Countries In the World Today?
There is plenty of malice, crime, and corruption in today’s political systems around the world. Elections are sometimes paid for, politicians often work only with their own self-interest in mind, and citizens around the world are fighting uphill battles against authorities at every level. But recent reports show us where each country stands in comparison to the other, and that is the topic of this article. Which countries are corrupt to the core? Which are a model for the world?
Posted in Aggregators/lists/rankings, Culture, Legal Issues, Media
Tagged politics, rankings
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The Brain is Not Simply Split into Two Totally Separate Halves, and Other Lessons on Skepticism
One year ago, I wrote an article that skewered the infographic that one website had been sending to the public. I showed the evidence that contradicted what was claimed, and I ended up busting two persistent myths in that article. The first myth was that the two hemispheres of the brain (right and left) were radically different sections of the brain; the second myth was that people have distinct learning styles, which make some people “visual learners,” while others are “audial learners,” etc. I don’t mind explaining this stuff to laypeople, but there’s something unnerving about the email I got from one of the creators of the infographic.
Posted in Blogging, Media, Neuroscience, Psychology, Science, Skepticism
Tagged brain, movies
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Egyptian Satirists Are in Serious Danger of Angering the Authorities
If you watch any of the English-subtitled videos of Bassem Youssef, you get the distinct feeling that his TV show “AlBernameg” is the Middle Eastern equivalent of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This is by no means a coincidence, because Youssef, an Egyptian satirist, modelled his show after the American comedian’s. In fact, Youssef has even been on Stewart’s show before. But unlike Stewart, Youssef does not live in a country where free speech is a constitutional right. That’s why he is now at threat of being prosecuted for insulting the highest authority in the country.
Posted in Biographical, Culture, Legal Issues, Media
Tagged comedy, Egypt, Jon Stewart, satire
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Tortured Confessions – The Science of Waterboarding, Torture, and “Intense Stress”
With the new movie “Zero Dark Thirty” raising a lot of eyebrows with its depiction of waterboarding, there has been a lot of talk regarding the veracity of such techniques. Namely, does torture yield the intended results? Did the results assist in the hunt for Osama bin Laden? There are the anecdotes that make this an interesting case to look at, but we also have the science to give a more conclusive answer to the question of whether or not waterboarding works.
Posted in Culture, Media, Medicine & Health, Neuroscience, Psychology, Science
Tagged America, false confessions, interrogations, Osama bin Laden, stress, terrorism, torture, waterboarding
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Skeptikai’s 2012 Year-End Review (January – June)
The year has come to an end, and it’s time to look back at some of my favourite pieces from 2012. The first half of 2012 saw lots of misconceptions. For example, hypnosis, neuroscience, intelligence, etc. These are some of the things people constantly misunderstand because of the way they are being reported in the media by people who likewise have only a rudimentary understanding of it.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of China Copying Everyone Else
Anyone who knows China well enough can attest to the fact that a lot of what you see in China was taken from elsewhere. That’s why there are high profile cases like the Huawei telecommunications company, which was featured on 60 Minutes - the investigative American TV program – for its alleged role in stealing trade secrets and espionage. But not all of what China has been doing – stealing, copying, imitating, or whatever you want to call it – is a bad thing. In fact, there are some imitations that should even be celebrated. The question is really about how much should be celebrated vs. condemned.
Posted in Aggregators/lists/rankings, Culture, Japan, Media
Tagged Austria, China, Iran, Korea, North Korea, plagiarism, satire
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The International Gangnam Style Phenomenon
Music videos aren’t usually, in my opinion, news worthy. But one video has gone so viral that it should probably now be described as a worldwide infection. It seems like everyone has caught the “PSY” bug, and this English-speaking Berklee-educated Korean pop star is now one of the most famous people in the world. The music video for his satirical song “Gangnam Style” has become the most watched video in the world, skyrocketing in popularity shortly after its release in the middle of July, and it’s now a global phenomenon.