What sites do you all find the best for countering the broad range of woo

[Adsos Letter]

on the internets?

[realisticphish]

1. Aside from this group

SGU has a good forum, though I don't post there
Pharyngula
Respectful Insolence
Skepchick
Neurologica
Science Based Medicine
Bad Astronomy

and of course Cracked ;)

[Adsos Letter]

2. Thanks!

:toast:

[mr blur]

3. And I like Bad Science:

http://www.badscience.net/

[LeftishBrit]

4. As well as others mentioned here...

I like Science Based Medicine (www.sciencebasedmedicine.org)

Another good blog by a scientist is Dr. Aust's Spleen (www.draust.wordpress.com)

Quackometer is good, though less prolific (www.quackometer.net/blog/)

Education Watch has interesting stuff on education, especially in maths and science (www.kelvinthroop.wordpress.com)

There is a good blog by my fellow developmental psychologist Dorothy Bishop (http://deevybee.blogspot.com)

For anything to do with autism in particular, Left Brain Right Brain is great (www.leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk)

And then there is the great Quackwatch, scourge of Mercola et al (www.quackwatch.org)

[semillama]

5. There's also Bad Archaeology

http://www.badarchaeology.net/

"Archaeology is extraordinarily diverse. From the field technicians knee deep in mud in a Hebridean winter to the Classical specialist examining frescoes on a wall at Pompeii, from the geneticist tracing ancient bovine DNA to the linguist refining our understanding of Maya inscriptions, the range of specialisms and viewpoints is enormous. Nevertheless, there are commonalities of approach and boundaries to that diversity, united by what may be termed ‘the scientific method’.

These boundaries are best explained by showing what archaeology is not. Someone who uses explanations that involve unknown civilisations, extraterrestrial contact, the inerrancy of religious texts or the operation of paranormal powers, belongs to a very different intellectual tradition from mainstream archaeology. The orthodoxy – itself a mass of contradictory, competing and often abstruse arguments – generally relegates these other investigators to a ‘fringe’ or ‘cult’ status, as a result their claims go unchallenged.

The aim of this site is to explore the main strands of thought within the ‘fringe’, to explain how and why they are different from orthodox archaeology. Although much of what we have written is aimed at debunking the misconceptions and distortions of the past promoted by fringe writers, we are always open to the idea that they may be able to tell orthodox archaeology something of value. The fringe is interesting and entertaining in its own right; this site can only scratch the surface of such a huge area of human endeavour but we will continue to dig away, exposing Bad Archaeology wherever we find it. "

Hasn't been updated in a while and focuses on British/European stuff, but otherwise a good starting point.

I'll note that Glenn Beck cited some woo-archaeology in one of his latest rants, which the Rude Pundit brought to my attention a couple weeks ago.

[onager]

11. Biblical Archeology Review walks a fine line...

Surprising as this may sound - coming from a Fundamentalist Atheist - I often check out B.A.R. But they have always made it clear that they do archeology first and Biblical second. They also have a long history of busting religious archeo-con artists like Ron Wyatt.

A few years ago, as a subscription premium, B.A.R. offered small replicas of ancient pagan god statuary.

Their (many) Fundie readers went rabid and sent in tons of letters complaining about "graven images" etc.

The next month, B.A.R. ran the same ad with a big disclaimer: Pagan idols are for entertainment only. Do not worship.

:rofl:

One of the most elegant examples I ever saw of subtly calling people dumbasses...

Every month, they publish irate (and hilarious) letters from Fundies, demanding to know when them smart-ass archeologists are going to find the real Noah's Ark. Or the Garden of Eden - preferably complete with 2 fig-leaves, 1 apple core and a snake-skin.

http://www.bib-arch.org/#

Oh, here's an example of that fine line, from the current issue:

The Destruction of Pompeii — God’s Revenge? By Hershel Shanks

Nine years, almost to the day, after Roman legionaries destroyed God’s house in Jerusalem, God destroyed the luxurious watering holes of the Roman elite.

Was this God’s revenge?

That’s not exactly the question I want to raise, however. Rather, did anyone at the time see it that way? Did anyone connect the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70?

[jberryhill]

15. The Pagan Idol of Entertainment?

[Odin2005]

14. Please don't get me started on Graham Hancock's BS!

:rofl:

[HuckleB]

6. This is a new source for good science blogs.

http://scientopia.org/blogs/

And I don't think anyone has mentioned skepchick yet.

[realisticphish]

7. i have

so THERE ;)

[HuckleB]

9. Yeah, yeah.

Yer so cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqJt87hpgn4&feature=related

:toast:

[laconicsax]

8. Huffington Post.

Oh, you said countering woo...sorry.

[onager]

10. Am I going blind, or did nobody mention Randi's site?

James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF).

Home of the million-dollar prize for any verified demonstration of woo abilities. Key word being "verified," which saddens many when they discover that it does not mean "take my word for it, Jebus loves me." Or, "Hell yes my powers are verified! My sister-in-law's cousin saw them dowsing rods moving all on their own!"

http://www.randi.org/site/

[realisticphish]

12. wow, yeah we missed that one

it's like the google of skepticism... every just KNOWS that's the first place you look ;)

[realisticphish]

13. I forgot another EXTREMELY IMPORTANT one

http://fakescience.tumblr.com/

[LeftishBrit]

16. Oh, and another great one from psychology/neuroscience is 'Neuroskeptic'

http://neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/

And a new one that I like:

http://manmusology.blogspot.com/