C0nc0rdance Videos 1. Sam Harris: The Fireplace Delusion 2. Burzynski Clinic: The Merola-Friendly Version

Sam Harris: The Fireplace Delusion

I hate to have to point this out, but: I DID NOT WRITE THIS ESSAY. I'm just READING IT ALOUD.

This essay came to my attention recently, and it's an excellent exercise for a skeptic or atheist to experience this feeling of loss of innocence and the painful feelings it summons. See it through to the end before posting, please.

The source:
http://samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion

Next gun video is in production. First up is Australian gun control policy.

Burzynski Clinic: The Merola-Friendly Version

Poor Eric Merola. He objected to my "Fair Use" of a small low-res image of his movie poster. He used the legal thuggery tactic of submitting a false DMCA in order to force me to give him my home address so that I can be the subject of legal harassment and intimidation by his lawyers and media thugs.

Then, when I posted a short video pointing out the false DMCA and posting his public email address... he had it flagged for "Scams and Spam". Poor Eric. A guy can't use perjury to silence his critics without a lot of headache anymore. At last count, there were over 80 copies of this "unscrubbed" video on YouTube. My thanks to those who deemed that necessary.

To ease his troubled mind, I've removed any and all references to anything he ever worked on in this "scrubbed" version of my previous video. I dare him to take this one down. Go on, Eric... I'm game if you are. Let's dance.

Madness Mayhem and Charity 2013

Gun Control: 2nd Amendment

Gun control is a supremely contentious issue in the US. The Framers had a clear vision in mind of an armed citizenry resisting tyranny. Of course they did, they had just overthrown their own lawful government. In this video, I'll take a brief trip through the legal tradition of gun ownership.

Future videos will examine the effectiveness of gun control legislation, best gun practices, and debunking of gun control myths so popular on Facebook.

Wikipedia on the 2nd amendment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_amendment

Pennsylvania's Constitution of 1776; the template for the later Bill of Rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Constitution_of_1776

Federalist #28:
http://constitution.org/fed/federa28.htm

United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1876):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Cruikshank

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._Heller

Alex Jones on Piers Morgan. (I detest Alex Jones):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gWQPZ-taYBs

PZ Myers and the Definition of Trolling

The formatting here was done in a rush, forgive the white screens. I had to throw it together quickly due to work and family. This issue has been rattling around in my head ever since the Google Hangout last weekend. This is my catharsis, drawing an end to any references to PZ Myers or Pharyngula on this channel.

The Pharyngula Dungeon.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/dungeon/

1. You can read NoelPlum99's last comment chain here:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2013/01/20/so-do-they-stamp-a-symbol-on-the-side-of-the-cockpit-for-each-one/comment-page-1/#comment-540934
NoelPlum99's blog: http://noelplum99.blogspot.com/

2. Michael Hawkins's terminal conversation is documented here:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/01/01/this-is-not-my-new-years-resolution/comment-page-1/#comment-234238
Here's Michael's blog: http://forthesakeofscience.com/

3. Edward Gemmer's last stand:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2013/01/01/neither-bullied-nor-cajoled/comment-page-1/#comment-524882

4. Huntstoddard's demise is documented here:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/09/14/yep-thats-the-debate-right-now/comment-page-1/#comment-455838

Gun control is coming up, hopefully by Friday! It will likely be a multi-parter.

Peter Atkins: "Science As Truth"

DON'T MISS THE DISCUSSION THIS WEEKEND:
PZ Myers, TheTruePooka, SkepticalHeretic, and me
Saturday, February 2nd, 2013
4 PM Eastern US time, 3 PM Central US time, 1 PM Pacific US time.
The format will be a Google Hangout, to be broadcast on YouTube via TheTruePooka.
The topic/discussion: http://youtube.com/watch?v=K2TTDqpfCYY
The announcment/format: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2kAUaRu2U14

----
More about Peter Atkins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Atkins

There's a good deal more in this essay that I could not include. Some discussion of why real scientists tend to scorn the paranormal or supernatural might be of interest to my atheist or skeptical viewers.

http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/quote-of-the-week-peter-atkins-on-woo-and-faith/

Flu Vaccine Statistics and NaturalNews

I'm always amused by the response of people to bad reporting. This is a classic example. The author, Ethan Huff, blogging at NaturalNews, the website of Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, has confused percentile change and percentage POINT change and the result is hilariously misinformed. He accuses the CDC of deceptive statistics in stating that the seasonal flu vaccine is 60% effective. No, he disputes, the accurate descriptor is "less than 2% effective". *facepalm*

http://naturalnews.com/038826_flu_vaccine_victims_hospitals.html

XKCD illustrates the difference far better than I ever could:
http://xkcd.com/985/

For a basic primer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percentage_point
http://mathsisfun.com/percentage-points.html

The Burzynski Clinic

Feel free to pass this on to anyone considering their options in alternative cancer treatments at the Burzynski Clinic. It's also CCMA, so feel free to mirror or repost.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I caught an error in post-production: The Burzynski Clinic has only started 61 clinical trials, not 62. The last came up in my query because one of the authors has the same name. Otherwise the figures are correct.

Fact 1: The Burzynski Clinic has attempted 61 clinical trials, but only completed 1.

Check it out here:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=Burzynski&Search=Search

Fact 2: The Burzynski Clinic charges its patients to participate in a study of their patented medication that exposes them to risk.
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/05/05/harnessing-peoples-good-to-pay-for-woo/

Fact 3: The Burzynski Clinic makes heavy use of marketing techniques not normally associated with clinical practices and not in the best spirit of research medicine.

For example, you can see here that they are abusing libel laws to silence critics.
http://guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/30/burzynski-clinic-cancer-libel-laws
And threatening and bullying of a 17 year old blogger by a media consultant:
http://rhysmorgan.co/burzynski-morally-reprehensible/

The Magic Sandwich Show Special; 2012 in review

Don't miss the show this Sunday; 2012 in review with a long lineup of special guests. Check here for more details: http://magicsandwichshow.com/category/announcements/

Watch the show at:
http://blogtv.com/people/magicsandwich/

DATE AND TIME:
http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Magic+Sandwich+Christmas+Special%2C+30+December&iso=20121230T20&p1=1323

"Probable" guests:
TheThinkingAtheist
darkmatter2525
NonStampCollector
Professor Phil Moriarty
ZOMGitsCriss

"Possible" guests:
David Silverman
Sean Faircloth
Potholer54

For more details:
http://magicsandwichshow.com/

Magic Sandwich Show LIVE in Austin at the Texas Freethought Convention

WARNING: Audio is painfully bad to listen to. I've decided to simply post this and work on audio improvement later. Aron and I knew that we would have to improvise an audio recording solution once we got "on-site". Unfortunately, the uncompressed audio has been such a pain to move around and share out with some very nice folks who offered to help me with clean-up, that I'm going to wash my hands of it for now. Too many important projects at work to mess with this.

The License (as in all my videos) is set to CCA. That means you are welcome to download, re-process the video or audio, and repost on your own channel.

For the record, this was recorded by Aron's son, MiniRa using my cheap handheld camcorder. Good camera work by MiniRa, and thank you to him for holding the camera steadier than I could.

The audio was recorded in Audacity with my Blue Yeti USB microphone. Unfortunately, the format put us at separate tables and the distance to source required a high gain setting and hence a lot of reverb. YouTube adds its own defects in encoding as well.

The discussion was fun and I found it interesting. Aron is really in his element in front of a crowd, and got a few good rants going on.

Rebutting Brad Harrub: Mutations produce nothing new

This week, Dr. Brad Harrub demonstrates a shocking lack of understanding of the mechanisms by which evolution explores fitness space. I'll explain how actual biologists mentally think about the processes that lead to changes in fitness.

Evolution doesn't, as most people think, move like an arrow towards higher fitness. It's more like a drunk walk. It gets there in the end, but explores a lot of area looking for landmarks. This "random walk" effect is important to allow for exploration of new fitness peaks, even when getting there involves accepting a decrease in fitness.

This is the last of the pre-produced Harrub videos. It may be a few weeks before I can get around to producing another set.

PZ Myers and the Principle of Free Expression

I want to recommend that at the completion of this video, you simply go watch:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jyoOfRog1EM

Christopher Hitchens says more eloquently than I ever could why it is important that we choose to allow a culture of free (and offensive) expression. He also explains very clearly why it is important not just to allow a person to SPEAK, but that we have an obligation to make sure that person is HEARD.

This is triply true for atheists, freethinkers, skeptics and rationalists. We shelter under the shield of free expression. Religious groups would prefer we kept our ideas to our own forums, that we remain silent in their presence. Honoring the idea that no-one has a right not to be offended is core to our very existence as a group.

PZ is within his legal rights and within the terms of service of YouTube to close comments and ratings, but in doing so offends the principles of free expression. I can think of no compelling argument to close comments and ratings, and several good reasons to leave them open. Treat Pharyngula like a blog, PZ, and YouTube like the unmoderated forum it was meant to be.

I disagree with PZ, I disliked the tone he took with me, but I don't hold a grudge on this. Two people can disagree without one of them having to be either mentally incompetent or maliciously deceptive. If you are just here to disparage PZ as a person, don't expect me to join in.

My honest intent is to persuade him with a reasoned argument to re-open comments and ratings.

Rebutting Brad Harrub: Haeckel's Embryo Fraud

Ernst Haeckel was an amazing scientist at a crucial time in the history of biology. The legend of his fraud is largely manufactured.

His work reflected a certain ignorance of comparative embryology, and he probably skewed his illustrations to demonstrate his own theory, the biogenic (or "biogenetic") law. There is no evidence he was every convicted of fraud, he was not "kicked out" of the University of Jena, and all of Dr. Brad Harrub's assertions are based on poor research and factually false claims made by creationist author Jonathan Wells in his book "Icons of Evolution".

So, let's be clear on something that is often confused.
1. Haeckel's illustrations were an attempt to prove his own biogenic law, not evolution.
2. Comparative embryology, the similarities between tissues during development, show the same branching pattern that is seen in phylogenetics. That is, closely related organisms show very similar stages of development. THIS is the actual evidence for evolution to be taken from pictures of embryos found in textbooks.

Evolution of development ("evo-devo") has been one of the most productive areas of biology of the last two decades. Arguing that Haeckel's failure to prove his biogenetic law somehow affects the value of comparative embryology to demonstrate evolutionary relatedness is just false.

My apologies for the bad camera work. This was mid-way through the talk, and the seats were very uncomfortable. The "jiggling" was me adjusting my position and having to move my phone hand to relieve the strain.

Rebutting Brad Harrub: Darwin was a racist

This is the lowest and saddest argument yet. Here Dr. Harrub attempts to poison the well by accusing Darwin of being a racist, and of advocating for racism. While Darwin was far from enlightened by modern standards, he was a passionate abolitionist.

Rational Revolution: Mis-portrayal of Darwin as a Racist:
http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/darwin_nazism.htm

BBC: Historian William Crawley on Darwin's feelings about race.
http://bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2009/02/was_charles_darwin_a_racist.html

Uncommon Descent (creationist blog) quote mines Darwin on race:
http://uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/darwin-reader-darwins-racism/

Rebutting Brad Harrub: Kettlewell's Peppered Moths

I'm going to be very busy over the next few weeks as we finalize a major research outcome and prepare it for publication. Very busy, very tired, very excited!

The best analysis of Kettlewell's results and the creationist furor around them is at Dr. Jerry Coyne's non-blog website, "Why Evolution is True". Dr. Coyne is famously cited for his scientific criticisms of the peppered moth studies, but his real criticism has been misused to create the impression of scientific dishonesty.
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-peppered-moth-story-is-solid/

Some links to Wikipedia to give some context:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettlewell%27s_experiment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Kettlewell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_melanism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Majerus

A critical examination of the urban legend:
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16240545
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16549216
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14737825
The only actual criticism that has borne scrutiny is that Kettlewell failed to test hypotheses OTHER THAN predation and there were some artificiality in his experiments that did not mimic nature well:
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21452690
For example, he sometimes collected moths from other countries to supplement wild-caught moths. He released a very large number of moths, which could have artificially increased predation as the birds were presented with a bug buffet. That's why Majerus, using more careful methods, wanted to re-design and repeat the original experiments.

Rebutting Harrub: Finches never produce rhinos or ferns

Warning: Exposure to Harrub's logic may cause headaches or pain in the forehead. If you begin bleeding from the ears or nose, please consult a physician. Prolonged exposure may result in loss of IQ points.

More about Dollo's Law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollo%27s_law_of_irreversibility
http://pnas.org/content/91/25/12283.full.pdf

AronRa's excellent video:
"Caniform Carnivore Cladogram Construction"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bJ-DawQKPr8

In future videos, we will talk about the difference between cladogenesis (new species splitting off an existing one) and anagenesis (the formation of a new species by the transformation of an existing one). Most creationists assume evolution proceeds entirely by anagenesis, when it is almost entirely by cladogenesis.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I'm often forced to use terms that are imprecise in order to convey scientific ideas. The idea of the ancestral lineage of animals becoming more "specialized" is in the sense of "more like their own species". This means that a "generalized" bird is one that represents the common ancestor of the "genus". Each new adaptation that is acquired along an ancestral line goes into the evolutionary history of that species, but this acquisition is one-sided, not an equilibrium of change.

If it helps, think of Dollo's law as the "arrow of time" for evolutionary change.

"Atheism Plus": an open letter

I'd like to address this video to the supporters and founders of Atheism Plus. I have concerns about the shape of any movement that seeks to create in-groups along secondary issues.

-- I agree with the stated goals of inclusion and diversity. Any movement that becomes homogenous is doomed to failure. That issue, applied to the predominantly male, white and hetero crowd at atheist meetings, is relevant. However, you are creating a group that has ideological homogeneity of views (must be anti-racist, anti-misogynist, anti-transphobia) as a stated goal. Do you see the problem there? You trade a predominantly white, liberal, male group of people for a group made exclusively of a specific political viewpoint.

-- Shunning and shaming, or any other form of exclusionary pressure used to maintain the ingroup/outgroup division is inherently damaging to the whole community. The functional effect will be to create "separate but equal status" for Atheism Plus and non-Atheism Plus meetings, as speakers refuse to speak at the same event because of political differences. It will also lead to an us vs. them mentality that could harm free exchange of ideas.

-- I realize it's too late to make structural changes, but the commitment to free speech, free thought, self-criticism (of all issues, even feminism and other topics) and the absence of a power structure is vital to keeping Atheism Plus a positive force in the community.

Video replies are set to automatic approval. If you want to add your voice to mine, submit a video or comment below.

Rebutting Harrub: Argument from Historical Scientists

This is the second in my series on Dr. Brad Harrub's "Origins" talk in College Station, TX around August 9th, 2012. In the section, I address his argument from historical scientists. The key point: Many scientists throughout history have been religious, but it was not their religious beliefs that informed their science. The fact that Dr. Harrub focuses on scientists who lived prior to Darwin says a lot.

I thought it might be interesting to explore the actual religious beliefs of the people being summoned to testify on Dr. Harrub's behalf. Most of them were unorthodox by today's standards, and some of them can better testify to the negative; that religious or superstitious belief has hindered science and the progress of knowledge.

The context of the clip from Dr. Harrub's talk is that he was addressing Bill Nye's comments that creationism can hold students back from understanding the actual science. This is true. When a person has a commitment to dogmatic doctrine that conflicts with truth or evidence, they face a difficult choice: either reject the truth, or reject the doctrine.

c0nc0rdance's wager:
Whenever a supernatural explanation competes with a natural explanation, so far in the history of science, the natural has always held up to more scrutiny.

Neti Pot: Safe and Effective?

An analysis of the safety and efficacy of neti pots.

Cochrane reviews of all the literature on the topic:
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20238351
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17636843
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21154389

Want to learn more about Naegleria fowleri and PAM?
http://cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naegleria_fowleri

Want to learn more about Caddo Lake in East Texas?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddo_Lake
Pay special attention to encroaching Salvinia and the frequent Bigfoot sightings (most of which I am sure are just sightings of particularly inbred, hairy locals).

Made at the request of Emily Dietle, http://twitter.com/emilyhasbooks

Evil Science Hour: MSF 24 hr Charity Vlog-a-thon

Join me on the Evil Science Hour during the MSF Charity drive.
http://magicsandwichshow.com/msfcharityshow/

The schedule is here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AlRCiEBbcYRjdDU0dEpmSXhQMmc1S0ZKSmFrbERPekE&output=html
I'm on 5 AM British time, midnight Eastern US, 11 PM Central US, 9 PM Pacific US, 2 PM Ozzer time.

You can watch me (and a cast of other characters over the 24 hour period) here:
http://blogtv.com/people/dprjones

I have some new science toys to show off, some science projects in mind, and I'll be live on camera, answering questions and generally being evil and science-y. Bring some money to donate for special requests. I'm for sale during this hour... mercenary science for a cause.

Donations can be made here:
1. Justgiving http://justgiving.com/DPR-Jones0
2. Firstgiving http://firstgiving.com/fundraiser/dpr-jones/dprjonessfundraisingpage
3. Ebay items, up for bid
http://ebay.com/sch/dprjonesmsf2012/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3686

Rebutting Harrub: Evolution is just a Theory

This point has been made many times before, but it never seems to sink in with creationists. Evolution is "just a theory" in the same sense that gravity is "just a theory" or cells are "just a theory" or atoms are "just a theory".

This will be an ongoing series. I've managed to make six videos already, and I'm barely a quarter of the way through the video. I don't take much pleasure in debunking creationist arguments, but it's an opportunity to explore some key ideas in biology. I'm not worried about convincing evolution denialists that they are wrong. Their psychological mechanisms prevent that. As Hitchens famously said: "You cannot reason someone out of a position they did not arrive at by reason"

You can read more about Dr. Harrub at his own website:
http://focuspress.org/Brad-Harrub.html

Here's his publication (singular... he has only one, in spite of claiming "numerous publications"... hey, one *IS* a number)
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=harrub

Magic Sandwich Show, September 2nd, 2012: Guest Andrew Copson

Go to:
http://magicsandwichshow.com/category/announcements/

It's a great pleasure to announce that Michael Payton, National Director of the Centre for Inquiry, Canada, will be joining Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association, along with c0nc0rdance.

The show will be broadcast on the Magic Sandwich Show channel on blogtv, on 2 September at 20.00hrs UK time.

Magic Sandwich Show Promo: "Sophisticated Theology"

This week we'll be discussing the difference between sophisticated theologians and the street preacher pre-suppositionalists. No special guests, and the panel hasn't been finalized, but for sure will include dprjones and c0nc0rdance.

Check out our new webpage:
magicsandwichshow.com

The topic is free-ranging, but religious apologetic arguments will be the primary focus. If you wish to call in and ask a question of the panel, instructions are at the bottom of this description.

Event announcer from the World Clock, lists the event start time in any time zone:
http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Magic+Sandwich+Show&iso=20120819T14&p1=2284&ah=2

The BlogTV session can be viewed here:
http://blogtv.com/people/magicsandwich/

The UStream session can be viewed here:
http://ustream.tv/user/TheMagicSandwichShow

We have a website! http://magicsandwichshow.com/ for recorded sessions, updates, photos and announcements.

TO APPEAR ON THE SHOW:
If you wish to appear on the show please send a skype contact request through skype to;
magicsandwichshow
Please do this before the show.

Before, or during the show, send a message through skype giving brief details of the gist of your question or point.

If possible we will bring you into the show. PLEASE DO NOT CALL US! We will call you. If you do call us you will be blocked.

Please ensure that you have headphones and that you mute blogtv when you are on the show.

Are Energy Drinks Safe?

I'm trying something a little different here. The script is either a paraphrase or direct quote from two reviews on the topic of the safety of energy drinks. You will find that I am basically reading out parts from these two papers with some bridging and clarification. These papers are linked below as free, full text articles. You can read them, follow the links to the sources cited, and even feel free to email the authors.

Source papers:
1. Mayo Clin Proc. 2010 November; 85(11): 1033--1041.
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2966367/

2. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009 January 1; 99(1-3): 1--10.
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2735818/

I'm sure I will be accused of all sorts of bias or fear mongering, but for the record, the views expressed, while they align with my own, are the views of the experts at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and UT-Houston School of Medicine.

Many people have asked me to cover this topic, but it's pretty far out of my area of expertise. That's why I'm relying on these expert reviews.

Driving to NCTR, Jefferson, AR

Warning: This really is just a video of driving to a research facility, sped up to 4 X speed. Don't waste your time here if you are expecting educational value.

I was recently an invited speaker at the National Center for Toxicology Research (NCTR). I've been there a few times before, but the drive always creeps me out. The only way to reach it is through back roads in rural Arkansas, residential areas, and the only real landmark is a burned-down bait shack. Then you enter the campus and it's a self-sufficient city with its own power, water, security, and on-site disposal. The facility is a state of the art research campus surrounded on all sides by miles of forest and the only residents nearby live in mobile homes.

http://fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OC/OfficeofScientificandMedicalPrograms/NCTR/default.htm

The NCTR is the premiere government research center for toxicology. It is situated on the same grounds as the Pine Bluff Arsenal, one of the USA's primary sites for chemical weapon storage and disposal. The reason for the remote location is that it was a bioweapons facility during WWII, and the biological weapons program wasn't formally decommissioned until 1971.

Most of the research here involves testing genetic damage caused by industrial or household chemicals. One project that I consulted on was the effect of a new algaecide in runoff from ponds and lakes. Most of the employees live in Little Rock, AR, and take the 45 minute shuttle ride in every day.

Just for your viewing enjoyment. Music is Danse Macabre.

The Science of Human Race, Part 2

There are a few errors in the content of the video... I had to rush the post-production editing a bit. I will annotate as I can. Some of the more embarrassing errors are misspelling governor and mispronouncing Tanzanian.

I've attempted to cite work on the slide in question wherever possible.

I think the question of why Jamaican sprinters do so well is a valid scientific question. Through it, I think we can also explore the idea of significant differences arising from population substructure.

I'll explore in more depth the question of IQ differences at some point in the distant future. For now, I'm a bit eager to move on to other topics.

The Humanist Manifesto III

NOTE: "The Science of Race, Part 2", is currently in production. I expect to have it up by next week. Thank you for bearing with me on the long delay. Work and personal commitments have slowed the script writing process.

This reading is in honor of the recent passing of Gore Vidal, an author who influenced me at a young age. Gore was a one-time spokesman for the American Humanist Association, sharing that honor with other authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Isaac Asimov. You can read more about Gore here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal

What is Humanism? This Manifesto attempts to address the common goals of humanism. It is not a dogma. In fact, it is revised every twenty years or so. As Kurt Vonnegut elegantly put it "Being a humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead". It is the ethical and moral code of many non-believers.

I hope you will investigate the Humanist Manifesto III further at the AHA website:
http://americanhumanist.org/humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_III

Atheism has no moral dimension. There are no credos or manifestos to non-belief. Humanism, on the other hand, contains some ideas of how we would like to live and by what methods we ought to seek for truth.

Magic Sandwich Show Promo: July 8th, 2012

! THE SHOW WILL START AN HOUR EARLIER THAN USUAL !
Please see Event Time below.

We have a special guest this week, TheoreticalBullshit / Scott Clifton. If you don't know TBS's excellent work on philosophy, counter-apologetics (or any of the other countless things he is amazingly good at), check out his channel here:

http://youtube.com/user/TheoreticalBullshit

Also confirmed are Michael Payton, c0nc0rdance, and our host, as always, is dprjones.

The topic is free-ranging, but religious apologetic arguments will be the primary focus. If you wish to call in and ask a question of the panel, instructions are at the bottom of this description.

Event announcer from the World Clock, lists the event start time in any time zone:
http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Magic+Sandwich+Show&iso=20120708T13&p1=2284&ah=2

The BlogTV session can be viewed here:
http://blogtv.com/people/magicsandwich/

The UStream session can be viewed here:
http://ustream.tv/user/TheMagicSandwichShow

We have a website! http://magicsandwichshow.com/ for recorded sessions, updates, photos and announcements.

TO APPEAR ON THE SHOW:
If you wish to appear on the show please send a skype contact request through skype to;
magicsandwichshow
Please do this before the show.

Before, or during the show, send a message through skype giving brief details of the gist of your question or point.

If possible we will bring you into the show. PLEASE DO NOT CALL US! We will call you. If you do call us you will be blocked.

Please ensure that you have headphones and that you mute blogtv when you are on the show.

PZ Myers vs. Thunderf00t

The blog post where Thunder's departure is part of "Major Changes at Freethought Blogs"
http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/07/01/major-changes-at-freethought-blogs/

Don't miss the Magic Sandwich Show tomorrow! 3 PM Eastern, 2 PM Central, noon Pacific. If you live in one of those "non-American" countries, you'll have to work out the time for yourself. TBS has confirmed he will attend.

I don't feel very strongly one way or the other on feminism or sexism at conferences. I think everyone wants an inclusive, safe environment. There's a disagreement about how best to achieve that, and I'm open to reasonable arguments on the topic. I'm also sympathetic to people who have championed this cause, because I'm sure they get frustrated with attempts to educate and motivate the apathetic masses (like me). I feel the same way on my own issues. That doesn't exempt them from honest participation in the debate.

The Science of Human Races, Part 1

Perhaps I was too harsh on the "race realists" in my previous video. Human races exist in about the same way that eras in history exist. They are arbitrary and useful as broad generalizations. What I think I can easily show is that the Victorian idea of race essentialism: that the categories themselves are somehow more meaningful than any other, or that they are homotypic, is unscientific.

Part 2 will cover more on this topic, particularly the abuse of the sociological definition of race to justify a kind of genetic determinism.

A great number of primary sources went into the research for this video. I've annotated when I used figures, but you may also find the following articles useful in learning more:

1. "Evidence for Gradients of Human Genetic Diversity Within and Among Continents"
Genome Res. 2004. 14: 1679-1685.
http://genome.cshlp.org/content/14/9/1679.long

2. "Against Racial Medicine"
Patterns of Prejudice, Vol. 40, 4:5, 2006
http://ncat.academia.edu/JosephGravesJr/Papers/148490/Against_Racial_Medicine
NOTE: Graves is not without controversy, but this article covers many important topic at a level that many can understand.

3. "Fine-scaled human genetic structure revealed by SNP microarrays"
Genome Res. 2009. 19: 815-825.
http://genome.cshlp.org/content/19/5/815.long

Congratulations to qdragon1337

Stop by and congratulate the graduate.
http://youtube.com/user/qdragon1337

Check out his projects:
http://qdragon.info/
http://glimpsescience.net/
http://twitter.com/Glimpse Science

Sorry for:
1. The long delay in this next video (the data on human race)
2. The crappy quality of this video clip... I'm stuck in a hotel in California (*hums song*) on my current project, implementing a new set of cancer markers at a diagnostic lab.
3. My pink eyes. I've been staring at a laptop screen for the last six hours or so.

Congratulations to everyone else out there who is completing a degree or high school program!

Magic Sandwich Show Promo: April 29, 2012

The topic for the show is "Creationism in the Classroom". Thunderf00t, dprjones, and c0nc0rdance have confirmed. AronRa is at a conference, but may join us remotely.

The Magic Sandwich Show has a new webpage!
http://magicsandwichshow.com/
It's still under development, but be sure to add a bookmark!

Video clip taken from the trailer for "The Revisionaries"
http://therevisionariesmovie.com/index.html
Screenings are nearly complete, but if you are in the Boston area or Toronto, you can still catch one, see website for details.

The Magic Sandwich Show is broadcast here:
http://blogtv.com/people/magicsandwich

The show runs for 2 (and a bit) hours, starting at 8pm BST. For your local times please follow the link below.

We will be taking live calls. If you have any questions for any of the panellists, or if you have any point to make and would like to appear on the show then please follow the instructions below.

The Magic Sandwich Show now has it's own youtube channel where previous shows are posted:
http://youtube.com/user/TheMagicSandwichShow

TO APPEAR ON THE SHOW:
If you wish to appear on the show please send a skype contact request through skype to;
magicsandwichshow
Please do this before the show.

Before, or during the show, send a message through skype giving brief details of the gist of your question or point.

If possible we will bring you into the show. PLEASE DO NOT CALL US! We will call you. If you do call us you will be blocked.

Please ensure that you have headphones and that you mute blogtv when you are on the show.

LOCAL TIMES:
http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Magic+Sandwich+Show&iso=20120429T20&p1=136&ah=2

I'm calling you out, TheoreticalBullshit! (UPDATED!)

UPDATE: Like a gentleman and a scholar, Scott has Tweeted the following:
"Yeah, I don't hold that view any more. The criticisms in the video are valid... I had read a book at the time that-- I now know -- was full of propaganda, and I really bought into it... I'd take the video down out of embarrassment, but I want my YT videos to be a record of my growth and education."
Thanks, Scott! The video is 4+ years old. One of the marks of a true skeptic is the commitment to ruthlessly examine their own beliefs and through that skepticism, to allow for growth and change. You didn't disappoint.
------------------------------------------------------
If I didn't love TheoreticalBullshit's content so much (I borrowed heavily from it in understanding TAG), I wouldn't bother with this. A champion of reason like Scott, though, needs to be called out when his argument is unreasonable. I might also drag him back into the yawning Stygian chasm that is YouTube. We need you back, Scott.

"I just know it" is not an argument. "The FDA" is not the entire pharmaceutical, diagnostic, scientific, regulatory, clinical, and screening industry, any more than "The Bold and the Beautiful" is the entire entertainment industry.

I offer this challenge in good faith to a person I respect: Advance a reasonable argument on why you think there is a vast conspiracy to hide the existence of "cures" for cancer and HIV and why "the FDA" has both the power and desire to hide them. Compellingly prove that the FDA is what's wrong with the clinical treatment of chronic disease.

I don't think Scott makes any pretense of hiding his IRL identity, Scott Clifton. At least, I hope not.

You can follow him on Twitter, watch his excellent YouTube videos, or check out his IMDB records, maybe catch his Daytime Soap Opera.
https://twitter.com/#!/CliftonsNotes
http://imdb.com/name/nm1336416/
http://youtube.com/user/TheoreticalBullshit
He also has his own website where you can check out his musical talent:
http://scottclifton.com/

* Content taken from Theoretical Bullshit's
"Answers, Part 1" under Fair Use. http://youtube.com/watch?v=SxDp66Nxb0I

The Counter-Apologetic to Sye's TAG Argument

The Magic Sandwich Show videos are up, so you can go back and decide if you want to watch it. This is the argument I was trying to advance.

I'm not a philosopher or theologian. Neither is Sye and I fear that a serious academic philosopher would find it too hard to get past the inconsistency in his premises to even approach the core failure of his argument.

There were a few GOOD examples of how to confront the TAG argument given on the show. For example, Sye only believes child molestation is wrong so long as his god says so. He only believes A=A so long as it is consistent with his god's nature. That's the soft underbelly of the argument... it denies the possibility that logic, science and morality are inherent in the nature of the things themselves.

I got the message that a lot of people think we did the wrong thing by even inviting them on the show. I disagree, though I agree it wasn't as smooth as we hoped. The goal was to give everyone a chance to see the flaws in their argument. The next time Sye stops an atheist at a rally, he had better be careful. We're all going to be much better prepared next time.

I hope you'll share in comments your own thoughts on how to deal with this kind of dishonest apologetic.

Acknowledgements of source:
1. IronChariotWiki: http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=Transcendental_argument
2. Theoretical Bullshit (Highly recommended!):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=D8dePAhDMh4
3. Stephen Law's Philosophy Blog
http://stephenlaw.blogspot.com/
4. Michael Martin's Transcendental Argument for the Non-Existence of God:
http://infidels.org/library/modern/michael_martin/martin-frame/tang.html

Magic Sandwich Show with Eric Hovind and Sye Ten Bruggencate

Join us April 15th, 2012 for a 2 hour show with special guests; from Creation Today, Eric Hovind, and from http://ProofThatGodExists.org/ Sye Ten Bruggencate.

Will they convert the whole panel to Christians? Will we turn them both into atheists? Tune in to find out!

he Magic Sandwich Show is a live call in show broadcast every 2 weeks.

It is now possible to view it on blogtv at;
http://blogtv.com/people/magicsandwich

or on ustream at;
http://ustream.tv/channel/themagicsandwichshow

Please let us know whether you prefer blogtv or ustream.

On the show will be:
Thunderf00t
c0nc0rdance
?Aronra?
Dprjones

The show begins at 8.00pm GMT/UTC (see link below for local times).

If you would like to appear on the show send a skype contact request to;
magicsandwichshow

All shows are recorded and posted on the Magic Sandwich Youtube channel at:
http://youtube.com/user/TheMagicSandwichShow

For local times see:
http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Magic+Sandwich+Show&iso=20120415T20&p1=136&ah=2

Dear Eric Hovind

Feel free to forward this link to Eric Hovind, who will be a guest this Sunday on the Magic Sandwich Show (along with Sye Ten Bruggencate). Be sure to tune in!

Here's @erichovind on Twitter
(http://twitter.com/erichovind)

Or on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/erichovind

Or on his ministry page:
http://creationtoday.org/about/contact-us/

If you want to learn more about Eric's "Transcendental Argument for God (TAG)" and its refutation, you may have to do some reading:

Here's Sye Ten Bruggencate's page that forces these artificial dichotomy "gotchas":
http://proofthatgodexists.org/
Sye will also be on the MSS this Sunday.

Some starting points on TAG arguments:
IronChariots Wiki
http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=Transcendental_argument
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_argument_for_the_existence_of_God
http://freethoughtpedia.com/wiki/The_Transcendental_Argument

More on the position of Global Skepticism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_demon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_in_a_vat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeptical_hypothesis#Skeptical_hypotheses

A truly scholarly discussion of the transcendental arguments in philosophy:
http://uni-tuebingen.de/fileadmin/Uni_Tuebingen/Fakultaeten/PhiloGeschichte/Dokumente/Downloads/ver%C3%B6ffentlichungen/TransArgReal.pdf

If you want more on the ACTUAL use of transcendental arguments in scholarship, I recommend the works of Barry Stroud (http://philosophy.berkeley.edu/stroud/) and Galen Strawson (http://web.me.com/gstrawson/Galen_Strawson/GS.html).

MIRROR Please Donate For Ariel

THIS IS NOT MY FAMILY, FOLKS! THANKS FOR YOUR CONCERN, BUT THIS IS USER "dgeypscun"

People sometimes ask me if they can donate to support my work here on YouTube. Please don't worry about me. I make a professional salary and am very financially comfortable. However, a donation, if you can easily afford it, to this and other causes are still appreciated and make me feel like our small community is making a difference in the world.

If you can afford to donate, even a small amount, please do so directly at:
http://dgeypscun.com/

Original video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=goR7j6dSrnU&feature=youtu.be

Mirroring is also encouraged.

A little about rhabdomyosarcoma. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyosarcoma

Secondhand Smoke and Lung Cancer

I just wanted to share some recent research on the topic of second hand smoke and lung cancer in people who have never smoked. It was a topic of interest to me at AACR and I had a chance to meet one of the authors of the 2009 paper.

Int J Cancer. 2004 Mar;109(1):125-31.
Secondhand smoke exposure in adulthood and risk of lung cancer among never smokers: a pooled analysis of two large studies.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.11682/pdf

Clin Cancer Res. 2009 Sep 15;15(18):5626-45.
Lung cancer in never smokers: clinical epidemiology and environmental risk factors.
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/15/18/5626.full.pdf+html
or
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/19755391/?tool=pubmed

There's an error in the video. I refer to one of the papers (CCR) as being published in 2011, when it was actually published in 2009. The author's manuscript was published online in 2011, two years after the print version.

The Libertarian Argument

First: My apologies for slipping off the map. I was assigned to run a workshop at AACR at the last minute, and I'm uploading this from my hotel in Chicago (at AACR2012). It's been the busiest month of my life with the house going on the market, a new project and new position at work, and AACR on top of it all. For those of you who are curious about why I missed the Reason Rally, it's because my daughter's birthday was on the same day, and I'm a father first and foremost. Sorry to have missed it. I should be back at 100% very soon.

Let's see who can be the first to misinterpret this video to be advocating for a totalitarian state with no personal liberty! Winner gets a free "Slippery Slope-n-Slide"*

I'm not interested in criticizing the "Big L" party because they provide a small minority of people with a voice and they provide a useful counterpoint to the two-party system. This video is strictly about the misuse of "the government has no right to tell me to..." argument. "We, the people", have a right to act when one person's choices affect the rest of us. It's easy to miss the subtle externalities that come from living in a complex and interdependent society.

Other topics where there is clearly a conflict between personal liberty and the best interests of the society:
1. Vaccine refusal
2. Extreme sports
3. Unlicensed medical practices
4. Religious tax exemptions
5. Recreational drug use

*offer not valid on planet Earth

My Mission Statement (yes, really)

I know, I know... mission statements are for corporate drones, but honestly I wanted to make it clear why I'm continuing in making videos and running a blog, both to you and to myself. Consider this a contract, of sorts: I promise to keep evaluating scientific claims if you promise to watch and respond thoughtfully.

The Return of the C0nc0rdance!

My new blog site: http://c0nc0rdance.com/

YouTube can suck it. By "it" I mean the world's supply of lemons, of course.

Another flagged video and my future on YouTube

I'm very frustrated with the casual way that my content can be yanked and my account suspended. Two false flaggings in a month, DMCAs and age restrictions on scientific content, yet videos flagrantly violating community standards remain untouched. When I reported death threats and people attempting to drop my docs, no response and no action.

I am very conscious of my mission here, and the obligation I feel to continue for my subscribers, who have supported me for years, but the red screen warning about account suspension makes me feel very uneasy about my future here.

Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species"

Selected readings from Chapter 14.
http://talkorigins.org/faqs/origin/chapter14.html

Whole text:
http://talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html

My favored microphone finally gave up the ghost, so I'm using an older one with a poor quality pickup. Apologies for audio quality. I'm on the hunt for a replacement. New videos will likely be delayed a bit more.

Electronic cigarettes

Prompted by many requests and a recent incident, I take a look at the science behind electronic cigarettes.

References:
1. Electronic cigarettes and thirdhand tobacco smoke: two emerging health care challenges for the primary care provider
Int J Gen Med. 2011; 4: 115--120.
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068875/pdf/ijgm-4-115.pdf

2. Effect of an electronic nicotine delivery device (e-Cigarette) on smoking reduction and cessation: a prospective 6-month pilot study
BMC Public Health. 2011; 11: 786.
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3203079/pdf/1471-2458-11-786.pdf

4. A clinical laboratory model for evaluating the acute effects of electronic "cigarettes": nicotine delivery profile and cardiovascular and subjective effectsCancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 August; 19(8): 1945--1953.
http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2919621/pdf/nihms-208493.pdf

5. FDA website: Public Health Focus: Electronic Cigarettes
http://fda.gov/newsevents/publichealthfocus/ucm172906.htm

AIDS Denialism and Fundamentalist Christianity On One Show

King of AIDS denialism, Peter Duesberg, PhD is a guest on Bryan Fischer's Show on American Family Radio. Bryan Fischer is a director of American Family Association.

I decided to use Dr. Ludwig Von Drake to stand in for Duesberg... it needed a little light hearted comedy and the accent fit (as did some of the lip synch... creepy). I'm sorry if I ruined any pleasant childhood memories.

According to both of them, AIDS is caused by NOT being a fundamentalist Christian. It's caused by sin and debauchery. Only bad people get AIDS, and AIDS only affects the bad people. I just can't facepalm any harder... it's a perfect storm of stupidity. Duesberg had previously used slightly racist terms for Africans, it makes me wonder how much of his denialism is motivated by bigotry.

Duesberg has hit rock bottom. Fischer has outed himself as an AIDS denialist.

Here's my video on Duesberg, if you want to know how a PhD virologist at UC Berkeley became the leader of the HIV/AIDS denialist movement:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DShCZTbHEhk

Thanks to RightWingWatch for linking to the originals:
http://rightwingwatch.org/content/bryan-fischer-aids-denialist

Here's Bryan Fischer on his AIDS denialism:
http://afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147515585

C0nc0rdance comes out from behind the camera

http://youtube.com/user/C0nc0rdanceAnswers

It's been several years of hearing but not seeing me. It's time I showed up on camera, and not as the dinosaur avatar. My apologies to any of you who thought I was an actual Velociraptor. It's been a sham the whole time. I hang my head in shame.

What about me? Who am I? What are my qualifications? That's still my secret to keep, and I would prefer to remain anonymous. I will say that I'm 36, have over 15 years in research, and have a background in molecular biology, primarily of viruses and cancer.

I'm still not used to appearing on camera, so if I seem a little stiff, I'm sure I'll get better over time.

Sir Karl Popper's "Science as Falsification"

Originally published in "Conjectures and Refutations" (1963). A key discussion in the philosophy of science.

A discussion of Sir Karl's Problem of Demarcation and the principle of falsification.
http://stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/popper_falsification.html

You may notice a few places where the audio seems to skip. This is a microphone glitch that has recently developed. I made my best effort to repair or simply trim away any defects I spotted. I'll probably need to purchase a new microphone in the near future.

Learn more about Sir Karl Popper:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/

Circumcision Video Rejected, but now reinstated!

I'm not asking anyone to mirror this video, although I consider it CCA licensed. I put it here in case you are wondering what kind of content YouTube considers unacceptable.

http://mediafire.com/file/hv7u2i9c9zvcj0t/circumcision followup.mp4

I'm upset about having this removed, because it's representative of the kind of work I want to make available here. If YouTube truly considers this unacceptable then there's no point in continuing to make this type of content available on YouTube.