Swift, named for Jonathan Swift, is the JREF's daily blog, featuring content from James Randi, the JREF staff, and other featured authors.
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Swift
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Written by Eve Siebert
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The following is a contribution to the JREF’s ongoing blog series on skepticism and education. If you are an educator and would like to contribute to this series, please contact Bob Blaskiewicz.
In a recent article for Skeptical Inquirer, I wrote about the ways some Young Earth Creationists distort, misinterpret and mistranslate Beowulf and use it to support their discredited worldview. Briefly, the argument is as follows: Beowulf is a true story; all the monsters in the poem are really dinosaurs or similar reptiles; since the story is true and features dinosaurs, dinosaurs and men must have co-existed relatively recently; therefore, the theory of evolution is wrong. At the end of the article, I noted that this idiosyncratic interpretation of Beowulf has found its way into works intended for homeschooled children. In this post, I want to elaborate on the ways Christian homeschooling families approach Beowulf and English literature more generally.
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Swift
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Written by Sharon Hill
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Here is a rundown of the top stories in pseudoscience, monkeys, hoaxes and the paranormal from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News.
Two monkey stories. A monkey on the loose was reported running down the road in Meadowood, British Columbia. That's ridiculous. Everyone knows it was a baby Sasquatch!
Iran gets the hairy eyeball for their space monkey mess up.
Indigo Mom and anti-vaxxer celeb, Jenny McCarthy, thought she had a gig lined up to speak at a health event in Ottawa. Alas, pro science folks didn't take to kindly to that. She's out.
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Swift
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Written by Dr. Harriet Hall
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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo-woo in medicine.
Is acupuncture as effective as antidepressants? Part 2. Blinding readers who try to get an answer (James Coyne) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/is-acupuncture-as-effective-as-antidepressants-part-2-blinding-readers-who-try-to-get-an-answer/ This continues the discussion of the flaws in a study comparing acupuncture to antidepressants. The study is junk science; it lacks transparency and its methodology violates the standards of meta-analysis. PLOS journals are perpetrating misleading mischief and propaganda.
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Swift
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Written by Leo Igwe
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As the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets underway in South Africa, it is pertinent to critically examine the role of witchcraft in African football. In sub Saharan Africa, it is widely believed that magic can affect the performance of players, that juju, charms or muti can influence the outcome of matches. Though many Africans acknowledge the importance of coaching and technical skills, talent, training and team spirit etc in football, they also believe these are not enough, and that some ‘magical abracadabra’ by a witchdoctor or marabou, is needed to compliment a team’s effort to secure a victory. Before embarking on major tournaments, some players and team officials consult witchdoctors and spiritualists. The witchdoctors subject them to some rituals or supply them with charms or muti which they rub on their bodies, carry with them or bury on the pitch. At the 2002 AFCON, the former goalkeeper of Cameroun, Thomas Nkono, was caught:
“burying bones under the turf and spraying a strange elixir, in order to cast a spell on the playing field’ before a crucial semi final match with Zambia. He was arrested and detained by the police.
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Swift
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Written by Dr. Karen Stollznow
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There are many “Most Haunted” cemeteries in America. As the eternal home of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans claims to be the most haunted cemetery. Another location that claims this title is Resurrection Cemetery in Chicago, allegedly haunted by the hitchhiking ghost of Resurrection Mary.
Silver Cliff Cemetery is a lesser-known most haunted cemetery. For over 40 years people have reported seeing “dancing lights” that appear between the tombstones in the burial ground at night. Silver Cliff is a three-hour drive south of Denver. The tiny town is nestled in the Wet Mountain Valley of Colorado, with a backdrop of the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains. During its days as a mining town Silver Cliff had a population ranging from 5,000 to 16,000 people. Today, less than 600 people live there, but the town draws a large number of visitors in search of the lights. Once it was an attraction for its silver deposits, now it is an attraction for its silvery lights.
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