Skepticism is a method of assessing claims. It is a form of critical inquiry which can be used positively: in business; by consumers; in the defence against being defrauded or scammed; as an intellectual exercise; and in increasing one's knowledge and awareness of reality in general.
The idea is to look beyond claims, beliefs and opinions, which are often accepted at face value, and look at whether the evidence actually supports such claims. This approach also makes skepticism a valuable thinking tool where opposing or contradictory claims are made for the same issue.
For an overview of skepticism see: What is Skepticism?
Items and News
Keep an eye out for eyewitnesses
There's a new series coming soon to the BBC:
"A groundbreaking new BBC series co-produced by The Open University, Eyewitness explores the memory re-call of eyewitnesses. Will their memories help Greater Manchester Police piece together the events of the two mock crimes?"
It should be of interest as it will explore the fallibility of our perception and memory. To non-psychologists it will probably come as a surprise just how fallible we are when it comes to accurately observing and recalling details that we "have seen with our own eyes" (which is usually regarded as solid evidence that something is true).
No broadcast times yet.
Near Death Experiences - a critical examination.
There is a growing perception that the existence of near-death experiences (NDEs) poses a serious challenge to current scientific understandings of the brain, mind and consciousness. This was reaffirmed recently in a high-impact publication published in the Lancet by van Lommel, van Wees, Meyers, & Elfferich (2001); however, Dr Jason Braithwaite, an award-winning cognitive neuroscientist from the University of Birmingham (UK), notes that while the van Lommel paper is methodologically useful it contains errors of interpretation and conclusion.
In his paper 'Towards a Cognitive Neuroscience of the Dying Brain' recently published in The Skeptic magazine (UK) (edited by Professor Chris French), Dr Braithwaite argues that Survivalists have repeatedly misunderstood and misrepresented the dying-brain hypothesis when trying to argue against it.
UKS newsletter released
The second UK-Skeptics newsletter has been released.
Again, we have news, articles, commentary and a competition.
There are articles on magnetic fields and haunting experiences, understanding skepticism, an interview with UFO expert Nick Pope, and a new feature looking at skepticism and historical claims and understanding.
Follow us on twitter.
We're now tweeting! If you're on Twitter too and you want to follow UK-Skeptics then just click the link above and choose to follow us.
It's a very convenient way to share links and keep up to date with what's happening in the skeptosphere!
Aquino Landscape PhotographyHere's a website showing some excellent photographs of UK landscapes and panoramic views.
Some of the photos were taken near Muncaster Castle, the location of the UK-Skeptics conference this year. Some of the sunsets were taken at Ravenglass just half a mile down the road and there's some of nearby Irton church.
Check them out to see what a beautiful location this is!
