Moved

Due to technical hiccup this blog has now moved to www.undercoversceptic.blogspot.com

Apoligies for inconvenience,

Den.

Deconstructionism

I received an email this very night from a fellow sceptic that is far more knowledgeable and eloquent than I. However like the best of us he stumbled and I was fortunate enough to be the person he looked to for advice on a prickly subject area.

The word 'Deconstructionism' was mentioned and tied in with Scepticism, a very true but deliciously naughty little puzzle to throw at someone as Deconstructionism is not that widely recognized as associated with the modern sceptic's movement.

Put quite simply Deconstruction and it's verb Deconstructionism was sometimes used pejoratively to suggest nihilism and frivolous skepticism.

I could imagine it as being used against the Solipsists or in fact anyone that took Skepticism to it's most extreme, which any of us could do if we so wish, see: 'here is a hand' argument.

So deconstructionism as scepticism, true but only in the sense of questioning another branch of skepticism by belittling. I would not personally classify deconstructionism as scepticism purely on the basis of belittling, there are better ways to hammer the nail than resorting to cheap flaming tricks as found on many forum boards, including that of many sceptic sites.

In popular usage the term has come to mean a critical dismantling of tradition and traditional modes of thought.

Which is the way I feel the description of Deconstruction should stay, the ties to scepticism at best were tenuous and in the past, we are in a new age of Scepticism, I feel a better one,

Regards,

Den.

We're all Africans

Surprisingly it comes as a bit of a shock when I mention to people, especially people that partake in racist comments and jokes, that 'We all walked out of Africa'. Its a mix of shock, horror and absolute protestation in some cases and in the extreme a little colourful language when they refuse to believe me.

Now Dr Tishkoff and her team have provided a 'Genetic map' of Africa which will help study the history and culture of not just Africans but all humanity, opens the gates for further genomic and biomedical research and plays a role in identifying disease susceptibility and the different ways in which people respond to drugs," Dr Tishkoff explained.

The garden of Eden has indeed proven to bear much fruit, life did start there and such diverse life that has spread all over the world. It is only right that science should travel back there, to find the truth of our ancestry, to find the key to unlocking the secrets of our DNA, to finding the cures for mankinds deadliest of diseases.

If you want to cure something, go back to it's roots, start there, see what you can find, the tips of the branches are too late, the rot has set in.

After ten years of hard slog research the work is paying fruitfully for Dr. Tishkoff who deserves all our praise for completing such a difficult task while others gave up long before.

The part I love best is this quote from Mark Thomas, from the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at UCL.

"because the origins of African American ancestry can be seen "all the way from Senegal down to Angola, it will be a long time before a DNA test will be able to identify someone's ancestral origin.
"That's despite the ridiculous claims of some of these DNA testing companies."

Booyah, thats one for real science and a poke in the eye for these DNA companies trying to cash in on a new fad sweeping the nation!

Regards,

Den.

Local Ghostbuster spooks the ladies!

Reading my local gazette on line today (It's certainly not worth paying for) I see the Gazette's resident 'Ghostbuster' is out there spreading unfounded truths and creating credulous beliefs in the gullible yet again.

To Quote: Mr Hallowell said: "Without a doubt, the Customs House is haunted, but it is still a very welcoming place.

How can Mr Hallowell be so certain as to state in a local newspaper he has no doubts that the customs house, or any other building for that matter is haunted?

Does he have any evidence other than a few spooky campfire tales and his own blatant cognitive biases?

Does he have anything that would stand up to scientific scrutiny?

Absolutely not and I feel he never will.

Somehow he has managed a foothold in his local newspaper, something I as a sceptic have been unable to accomplish, pehaps my scepticism does not sell papers as good as a ghost story; or maybe the Gazette fears the Wrath or should that be Wraith of Mr Hallowell if they have the audacity to allow an alternative viewpoint access to his readers.

Now I do not mind ghostbusters poking around old buildings with their torches and geiger counters in the hope of busting some apparitions from the otherside, what bothers me is when they are given the voice of authority in a daily albeit local newspaper and no other opinion is allowed.

One sided blatantly biased journalism to me is not reporting, it is a form of thought control, by appearing as an authority Mr Hallowell reinforces the beliefs of the supernatural in the credulous and uninformed, which I feel is completely irresponsible.

Where is the evidence, the cold hard facts? Shadows, hot spots, cold spots, elevators moving, is this what the Ghostbusters call evidence?

My God they're clinging at straws now, undoubtedly to promote yet another of Mr Hallowell's rather credulous books that some people seem to lap up like pulp fiction.

If this is the best the Ghostbusters can provide for proof of life after death, I will not be holding my breath,

Regards,

Den.

Swine flu madness!

THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! Is it just me or are we seeing yet another chicken little 'pure madness' panic sweeping the world yet again, this time the culprit is swine flu.

Reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the 'pandemic' can not contained and they have placed swine flu at n 4 out of 6 for danger level. Does this really mean we should run round like headless chickens, which is exactly what we did a couple of years back with the avian flu pandemic that seemed to fizzle out and get forgotten about.

I fully realize the media have a job to do to in reporting the news but lets take some responsibility for reporting the news accurately instead of causing panics can we.

Firstly Swine flu is not a 'killer flu' as is being touted by various sources of fearmongers and even if we did catch swine flu there is no scientific evidence to say it is any more harmful than the influenza virus millions of people contract every year as a matter of course.

As to the irresponsibility of the Department of Health buying 32,000 face masks that are scientifically unproven to have anyy effect at halting the virus, I thought this was the age of science, it seems we are living in the dark ages!

Any flu can kill, mainly the very sick, young and elderly are the worst hit and at highest risk of danger. You are not at any increased risk of danger from swine flu in comparison to any other flu you may have contracted in your lifetime and survived. Yes there is a danger of death, but this applies to any flu virus, the only difference being when the virus transmutes from animals to people, the media make a big deal of it. Why? To make money! Panic and fear sells papers, advertising space etc.

What is swine flu?

Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A which infects pigs.

There are many types, and the infection is constantly changing.

Until now it has not normally infected humans, but the latest form clearly does, and can be spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing.

How dangerous is it?

Symptoms of swine flu in humans appear to be similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu.

These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue.

Most cases so far reported around the world appear to be mild, but in Mexico lives have been lost.

How worried should people be?

When any new strain of flu emerges that acquires the ability to pass from person to person, it is monitored very closely in case it has the potential to spark a global epidemic, or pandemic.

However there is no evidence to date that there will be a pandemic and certainly no need to worry ourselves. The best things we can do to protect ourselves against Swine flu, avian flu, Human flu are to be sensible.

Hygiene is the first barrier, remember to wash our hands, cover mouths when coughing, use disposable paper tissues when sneezing and dispose of properly.

Eating a well balanced diet, plenty of fresh fruits and exercise all help the body fight illnesses of any description.

If you receive any of the flu symptoms do not go to the hospital or GP's surgery, always phone for advice first or phone NHS direct helpline: 0845 46 47 or http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

Self solitary is the key to stopping the spread of the virus, take time off work, get a flu buddy to hand to collect medications from the pharmacy or prescriptions from your doctor and ride it out.

Take the time to read a good book, catch up on sleep or play your favourite video games, if you can muster the energy, but do lock yourself away for a few days to help reduce the risk of spreading the infection.

Be well, Be safe and do not be a chicken little, the sky will not fall in!

Regards,

Den.

Firewalk - Success!

Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to operate in spite of fear!

A few weeks back I had the fortune to happen across an article in my local Gazette discussing a fire-walk charity event in aid of the local St Clare's Hospice.

Now I had heard quite a bit previously about fire walking ceremonies, they have been practiced by many cultures , all with their own slight variations on a theme, for many years now and these ceremonies still to this day happen all over the world.

Unfortunately with the greed of the West came the businessmen that created whole weekend events around these fire-walking ceremonies, charging many thousands of dollars in many cases for the privilege of participating in what they plug as a life altering event.

I was fortunate enough to not only not have to pay thousands of dollars for the same experience but also to use this experience to raise much needed cash for a very worthy cause, this was a golden opportunity handed on a plate and I would indeed be foolish to turn it down.
My natural belief in the laws of Physics and my scepticism towards the spin doctors 'It's all mind-over-matter' carried me through until about one week before the event.

Now admittedly I have no corroboration of this and it screams against my sceptical mindset and knowledge of basic statistics, but in the week running up to the event I contracted conjunctivitis, influenza, and severe pain in the left side of my neck and shoulder. I 'believe' this was due to 'Stress (biological' whether I want to believe that or not.

Regardless I got to the night 6.30pm and downed a quick pint of Stones for purely medicinal purposes, only for one of the staff to tell me I wasn't supposed to drink alcohol before the walk, messes up the psyche and the mind bending psychic powers that will stop my feet from burning will not be as effective, apparently. Very suspicious, I feel he was in fact more of a wind up trying to put fear in me, many of my friends and family certainly had that attitude.

After registration I was issued a lovely fire-walk challenge T-shirt, which was very nice but for the fact they were all one size, large, which was a little too snug for my liking. Then off to the ante-room for a two hour intensive 'fear busting course', which I felt went far better than I expected.

It was run by a 34 year old martial artist, motivational speaker and BLAZE instructor, Tony Ferrol. It was lively, upbeat and non condescending with no gimmicks. Everything up front and all questions answered with complete honesty. After running hundreds of events over many years his health and safety record remains impeccable.

After two hours of back slapping and empowering each other with lots of laughs thrown in for good measure it was off to the coals. It felt a long walk but we were united as a group now and I feel the psychology of the group is Paramount in events such as these. We may know the physics of the Fire-walk, but going across with a crowd at surrounding you and the full knowledge that all the participants are feeling the evolutionary fear of 'fight or flight' kick in equally hard, spurred us on. I imagine on your own, no one supporting you, that fear would be dominating all but the strongest of minds.

Lined up we could see the orangey/yellow flames licking at the embers, some flying off in the winds only to be dragged back to line by the fire guardians, the smell of smoke making me gag but the heat strangely comforting in it's warmth, the glow sending a hypnotic comfort as we settled our minds and concentrated on one thing and one thing only, 'Kicking mother nature's ass'!

The BLAZE crew went first, one walking steady, the other a brisk canter almost as if he feared getting burned himself, then we stepped up to the the plate, a BLAZE arm outstretched, stopping our advance, like a bouncer working the doors, questions had to be addressed before entry permitted. Two questions were barked out and nothing less than forceful replies would be accepted. Failure would mean rejection and humiliation in front of our new team mates and the baying crowd, peer pressure was in full flow that night and our adrenaline soared.

"Whats your name!" DENNIS! I replied.

"Are you ready!" "YES!"

"GO!"

I'm off, no time to think I'm on auto pilot, by training both fists fly in the air and stay there, feel the heat on my soles, a relief after the cold hard concrete, feet moving one in front of the other, everything muffled around me whereas before They were screaming, making me wonder why the silence? Moments later what seemed like an age, I'm stepping off to the applause of the fellow walkers, hearing comes flooding back, elation fills me chest, I did it. Me the guy that struggled leaving my own front door actually walked over hot coals, my eyes scanning for my wife for a big hug and kiss, the joy on her face says it all, pride, relief and a sharing of my happiness.

I join the applause as the rest of the walkers take the shortest sponsored walk in history, sharing in a group elation, we all had fears of one form or another, we all faced that fear down and we have the tools to apply that again if we wish, it is a very liberating experience.
Back for a debriefing of general checking every ones physically and mentally fine after the event, congratulations, certificate hand outs and then we were released to the buffet area, all hand cooked by the staff and volunteers of the hospice, their generosity of time and money deserves full credit.

Over to the lounge where the local singer serenaded us with the latest pop songs as we munched and chatted excitedly with our friends and family. Raffles, tombolas and the offer to come back in October to do the 'Broken Glass walk!'

A fantastic event, a fantastic night, one that will not be forgotten in quite a while.

Warm regards,

Den.

With thanks to Tony Ferrol - BLAZE Instructor and his crew.
St Clare's Hospice a fantastic nights entertainment.
http://www.your-event-photography.co.uk/ The nights Event Photographer.
http://www.dunbarselfdefence.com/ My official sponsor.
http://www.bohemiancafe.co.uk/ All the lads that sponsored me and gave me support.
http://www.geoffthompson.com/ for helping promote me.

Acupuncture - straight to the point!

Of course Acupuncture works, how many poorly porcupines have you seen?

Todays scepticle is all about the wonderful C.A.M. known as Acupuncture. There are various off shoots of this but for now I am going to discuss the main points and go from there.

Acupuncture chart from Hua Shou (fl. 1340s, Ming Dynasty). This image from Shi si jing fa hui (Expression of the Fourteen Meridians). (Tokyo : Suharaya Heisuke kanko, Kyoho gan 1716).

The history of Acupuncture:It’s definitely not 3000 years old. The earliest Chinese medical texts, from the 3rd century BCE, do not mention it. Chinese scholar Paul Unschuld suspects the idea may have originated with the Greek Hippocrates of Cos and later spread to China.

We have the archaeological evidence of needles from that era — they are large; the technology for manufacturing thin steel needles appropriate for acupuncture didn’t exist until about 400 years ago.

Acupuncture was tried off and on in Europe around about the 1600's. It was first tried in America in 1826 as a possible means of resuscitating drowning victims. They couldn’t get it to work and “gave up in disgust.” needles were simply inserted near the point of pain, no reference to Qi or Meridians were ever recorded. Frenchman, Georges Soulie de Morant, was the first to use the term “meridian” and to equate qi with energy — in 1939.

It was Mao’s government that coined the term “traditional Chinese medicine” or TCM, however he did not use it himself because he did not believe it worked although he was not averse to allowing it's use during the “barefoot doctor” campaign in the 1960s as a cheap way of providing care to the masses.

Present day:

While the origins and early development of acupuncture remain murky, it is clear that today many people around the world believe acupuncture is an effective medical treatment for a vast variety of disorders. It is noted however that only 15% - 20% of chinese prefer TCM to orthodox medicine and even this is because many people can not afford to pay for orthodox medical treatments. China does not have universal health coverage, even though it is a Communist country.

Acupuncture points:

The 'original' amount of acupuncture points were 360, this was entirely based up on the number of days in a year and certainly had nothing to do with medical anatomy. It is reported there are now over 2.000 acupuncture points covering the human body, so it must be like pinning the tail on the donkey with no possibility of losing. No matter where you stick that damn pin you are going to get an acupuncture point.

Meridians:

There are reportedly 12 meridian points. Now I first thought this correlates to the 12 months of the year, however after a little digging it actually correlates to the 12 rivers that flow through China. It is interesting to note that after decades of research no one has been able to document the existence of Qi, Meridians or acupuncture points.

Does it work:

Now when we say work we have to be very clear on the meaning of this, what works for one may not 'work' for someone else. When people say 'it works' when arguing for unproven treatments such as Acupuncture, they are committing what is known as a 'Pragmatic fallacy'. The pragmatic fallacy is committed when one argues that something is true because it works and where 'works' means something like "I'm satisfied with it," "I feel better," "I find it beneficial, meaningful, or significant," or "It explains things for me." What 'works' means here is vague and ambiguous. At the least, it means that one perceives some practical benefit in believing that it is true, despite the fact that the utility of a belief is independent of its truth-value. Testimonials regarding how well the treatment works may be heartfelt, but they can be dangerously misleading.

Another aspect to think about is which type of acupuncture do we refer to? There are various different Chinese systems, plus Japanese, Thai, Korean and Indian modalities, most of which have been invented over the last few decades: whole body or limited to the scalp, hand, ear, foot, or cheek and chin; deep or superficial; with electrified needles; with dermal pad electrodes and no skin penetration.

After thousands of randomised clinical trials acupuncture has shown nothing but a placebo effect at best, the pills you get from the doc go through rigorous testing, peer reviewed double blind testing, ongoing improvements, not fake histories, cures created by non medical practitioners under non regulated businesses practices that charge average £50 upwards per session. This is why pharmaceuticals are accepted in mainstream medical practices, they are actually put through the RCT's and only those that pass muster are allowed on sale.

Diverting attention from original symptoms to the sensation of needling, expectation, suggestion, mutual consensus and compliance demand, causality error, classic conditioning, reciprocal conditioning, operant conditioning, operator conditioning, reinforcement, group consensus, economic and emotional investment, social and political disaffection, social rewards for believing, variable course of disease, regression to the mean — there are many ways human psychology can fool us into thinking ineffective treatments are effective.

Then there’s the fact that all placebos are not equal — an elaborate system involving lying down, relaxing, and spending time with a caring authority can be expected to produce a much greater placebo effect than simply taking a sugar pill.

Gate control theory of pain.

Gate control theory of pain was developed in the early 1960's, a full ten years before scientists were in to acupuncture. Canadian Ronald Melzack and Englishman Patrick wall jointly suggested certain nerve fibres, which conduct impulses from skin to more central junctions, also have the ability to close a so called 'gate'. When closed other impulses, perhaps associated with pain, struggle to reach the brain and are less likely to be recognized as pain, therefore shutting the 'gate' may be able to suppress major pain. Western acupuncturists jumped on this 'theory' by stating that the sensation caused by an acupuncture needle could 'shut the gate', unfortunately acupunctures ability to exploit this theory remains unproven.

Is it science?

It is not a science or medical practice, it is a cultural practice which triggers the placebo effect and is placed currently squarely in the branch of medical sociology, not a hard science and not true science in the sense of proof it 'works' (see above). It is medical in the sense of it being practiced as medicine of folklore nature where pharmacueticals are not available and I give full respect to these practices, I also agree in capitalised countries it is seen as C.A.M. however to classify it as a medical science is so wrong. Even eyewitness accounts only add to the multitude of other anecdotal evidence that does not stand up against double blind peer reviewed clinical trials.Although never perfect, the clinical trial allows us to get as close to the truth as we possibly can. In fact, it is important to remember that the clinical trial is so effective at minimizing bias that it is also a vital tool in researching conventional medicine.

One German pain trial showed real acupuncture reduced pain in about half the patients, the sham had the same effect and the no acupuncture considerably less success, which shows at best acupuncture works on placebo.Here we slip in to medical ethics and decide wether we should allow acupuncture in mainstream medicine as a placebo?

In other words does it matter the treatment is fake as long as the effect is real?

Which begs the question should we expose acupuncture for what it really is or should we have a conspiracy of silence and allow people to gain the benefits of placebo?

Regards,

Undercover sceptic.

Scambaiting!

Hi all,

Isn't it annoying when you keep getting spam in your junk filter? I know I find it extremely annoying, I know I shouldn't look but I always do, just in case it's been put there by accident.

Well the past month my junk filter has been going berserk with spam messages and it is really annoying me now! The time wasted even looking at this trash, then removing it and the annoyance that someone has hacked my email infuriates me, I do not even want it in my junk box, never mind my inbox.

What makes it worse is I am aware of these tricks and yet after receiving an email from my bank I still hesitantly clicked the link, thankfully for a phishing warning to appear so saving my bank details from being hacked in the process.

What I currently do is mark everyone of these scammers as a phishing scam, hopefully stopping these people and alerting others to the scam in the process, although I do not have a clue to the effectiveness of this technique employed.

What I used to do however when I did have a little more spare time available is play these phishers at their own game. I replied to them pretending I was their next gullible victim and carried on the conversation as long as I could to keep them busy and reduce the time they spend conning innocent victims.

Again the efficacy of this is unknown but it's always nice to get our own back on these maliciously evil people that have no ethics or morals, scamming anyone, no matter how much or little cash they have.

Here is an excellent website for anyone interested in scambaiting the spammers:

http://www.thescambaiter.com/

Cheers,

Undercover sceptic.

Firewalking ceremony

Friday the 13Th of March 2009, a date to put in your diaries, a date the undercover sceptic will put his science where his mouth is and participate in a fire walking ceremony.

Now many people know of the fire walking ceremony through self-help motivational guru's such as Anthony Robbins, known as Banana hands in the hit film Shallow Hal, starring Jack Black & Gwyneth Paltrow. Participating in one of Anthony Robbins Fire walks can easily set you back over a thousand pounds for the experience.

However as a sceptic I find the supposed motivational power of a self-help Guru to enable an ordinary person dragged off the street to suddenly be able to walk a stretch of burning hot coals and not receive third degree burns, stretches credulity to snapping point.

So I did a little checking and came up with the following points of contention:

Factors that prevent burning!

Factors that act together to prevent the foot from burning:

Water has a very high specific heat capacity (4.18 kJ/K kg), whereas coals (and lava) have a very low one. Therefore the foot's temperature tends to change less than the coal's.

Water also has a high thermal conductivity, and on top of that, the blood in the foot will carry away the heat and spread it. On the other hand, coal has a poor thermal conductivity, so the hotter body consists only of the parts of the coal which is close to the foot.

When the coal cools down, its temperature sinks below the flash point, so it stops burning, and no new heat is generated.

The coals are often covered with ash, which is a very good insulator, as it is often used to insulate ice boxes.

The coals are a very uneven surface, and the actual surface area of foot touching the coals is very small.

Fire walkers do not spend very much time on the coals, and they keep moving.
Calluses on the feet may offer an additional level of protection, even if only from pain, however most people do not have calluses that would make any significant difference.

Risks when doing fire walking improperly!

There are risks when doing fire walking improperly:

People have burned their feet when they remained in the fire for too long, enabling the thermal conductivity of the coals to catch up.

It is more likely to be burned when running through the coals as the action stirs the coals, giving them more oxygen.

Foreign objects in the coals may result in burns. Metal is especially dangerous since it has a high thermal conductivity.

Coals which have not burned long enough can burn feet more quickly. Coals contain water, which increases their heat capacity as well as their thermal conductivity. The water must be evaporated already when the fire walk starts.

Wet feet can cause coals to cling to them, increasing the exposure time.
Therefore, even if fire walking is explained with simple physics, there are still hazards. Notably in 2002, twenty managers of the KFC fast food chain in Australia received treatment for burns caused by fire walking. However, this exercise in fire walking was practiced over timber, a more efficient heat conductor than charcoal.

By the way walking on fire is not a new invention by the great Anthony Robbins: Walking on fire has existed for a few thousand of years with records dating back to 1200 B.C. Cultures across the globe, from Greece to China, used fire walking for rites of healing, initiation, and faith. Fire walking became popular in America during the 1970s when author Tolly Burkan began a campaign to demystify the practice. He offered evening fire walking courses that were open to anyone in the general public. The demand for fire walking classes became so great that in 1984 Burkan began training instructors. Recently, in the United States, fire walking is used by businesses to build teamwork and as a so-called alternative health remedy.

So from my point of view fire walking can be explained away by basic physics, however there is still a major psychological fear to overcome. A person can know and have faith in the science behind the Theatre but thousands of years of base adrenal Fight or Flight syndrome still has to be conquered before you can set foot on those coals.

Here is a more in depth review, http://skepdic.com/firewalk.html with a video clip of Michael Shermer participating in a fire walking ceremony.

Wish me luck guys, not that I have anything to be worried about being Friday the 13Th I still do not believe Jason Voorhees is realistically going to come bursting out of the shadows chasing me ..... GULP!

Regards,

Undercover Sceptic.

Hello!

I would firstly just like to say a quick hello to anyone following my blog posts now or in the future; I do hope to keep them to the point and informative without getting bogged down by technical Jargon.

I am a virgin blogger so please bear with me, so many people have encouraged me to start blogging instead of simply chatting about science/sceptical topics over coffee in the local Starbucks.

Hopefully my writing style will stay the chatty and informative tone that my friends seem to enjoy, even if we do disagree on various points, its all good jest between us.

Bertrand Russell argued that individual actions are based upon the beliefs of the person acting and if the beliefs are unsupported by evidence then such beliefs can lead to destructive actions. I am a believer of this also, especially with regards to the alternative medicine brigade that offers cures more likely to kill you quicker than the disease!

Anyway thats enough about me and my reasons for starting a blog, now I just have to hope I get the time to blog on a regular basis and that things worthy of blogging about come to my attention;

Best wishes,

Undercover Sceptic.