mechtopia

Why skepticism is like the M25

Analogies are great aren't they... They're an effective way to reinforce your flimsy misconceptions about something, whilst simultaneously taking attention away from the observable facts, but they have other uses too. Sometimes an analogy can provide us with a simple path to deeper understanding of an issue, like the use of imaginary numbers as a mathematical short cut, or the use of analogue electronics to model spring-damper systems. Will this be one of those occasions? Probably not, but here goes..

There are lots of groups out there in the world, many with a goal: Libertarians seek smaller governments, socialists seek bigger ones. Other groups seek a cure for a disease, or to ease the suffering of the afflicted. Some groups have already arrived at their destination, like a group for people with red hair, or a club for people who own a particular model of car. Some groups are trying to escape from somewhere, like from addiction, or from poor finances, or from Slough.

So, I hear you ask, where's this all going? Well that's kind of my point. While most groups are defined by where they're starting from, where they're going, or where they've got to, skeptics, however, are united by little more than a method, a journey, an approach to handling situations.

The M25 is an orbital motorway that loops around London, and provides a central hub for the traffic in the south east of England. When it's working well (which is an increasingly rare occurrence) it forms an important part of the means a traveller uses to get from any large town in the south east, to any other. Many people will use a short section of the M25 on a journey, but few have driven the road in its entirety, let alone in both directions - the M25 isn't a journey in itself, but it provides a structure by which people can get from A to B.

Would you form a community of people that used the M25? If you took a random cross section of those using the road, you'd find a great variety of people, possibly with little in common, save for the fact that they all use a vehicle of some kind, and they're travelling on a road with the same name.. The chances that they'd agree about everything would be slim. If you asked two random people where they were going, or where they came from, you couldn't guarantee that they'd tell you the same thing (although you might find lots of people who were trying to escape from Slough)

If you did form a group for users of the M25, what would you talk about in idle conversation? Well, you could talk about how expensive it is to buy food at South Mimms, but hopefully you'd move on to something that's a little more interesting. If you were a regular user of the stretch between the M4 and M40 junctions, how would you react to someone that told you that to be a "proper" M25 user you had to be a regular user of the Dartford crossing? What if, quite frankly the Dartford crossing didn't figure in your everyday journey and didn't interest you?

I'm not saying that a community of skeptics isn't worthwhile, but you shouldn't expect it to behave like a normal group. You shouldn't be offended if people aren't going to the same place as you, or haven't come from the same place. What you should do is use your common dislike of the prices at South Mimms to build a rapport with your fellow traveller, and work together to keep the skeptical highway clear of traffic cones.

OK, that's as clear as mud isn't it, but hopefully you now realise why Atheists have to pay a toll at Dartford, and why people go insane if they try and drive the M25 all the way to the end. Next week: why Scientology is like the A404, and why Jesus is like a Ginsters pasty at the service station on the A12 at Chelmsford.

Posted at 10:39PM Aug 17, 2010 by ohp in Skepticism  |  Comments[0]

I am selling my electric van

It is with sadness that I offer it for sale. My daily commutes are coming to and end, and I'd like to upgrade to another ev with a little more range.

If your daily commute is 40 miles or less, then this could be ideal for you. I charge it overnight at economy 7 rates, and it's ready to do up to 55 miles the next day, depending on how you drive. If you drive at a constant 30mph, the range is about 55 miles, if you drive 50-60mph, the range is about 35 miles.

More information here: http://www.mechtopia.org.uk/citroen_berlingo_electrique_e500_ev_electric_vehicle_for_sale/

Posted at 03:17PM Jul 12, 2010 by ohp in General  |  Comments[0]

Edzard Ernst to Speak at Ipswich SITP

Professor Edzard Ernst is coming to speak at Ipswich Skeptics in the pub on the 22nd June 2010. More information at http://www.theoess.org.uk

Posted at 10:51AM Jun 15, 2010 by ohp in Skepticism  |  Comments[0]

TB4000: the dawn of a golden era of free energy production

A recent production...

Posted at 02:47PM Jun 03, 2010 by ohp in General  |  Comments[0]

The answer to last week's close up picture of the week

OK, perhaps it was a month ago now :)

The answer is: (drum roll please..) a dishwasher tablet!

Posted at 02:42PM Jun 03, 2010 by ohp in General  |  Comments[0]

Closeup picture of the week: Green and Yellow

The Answer to last week's challenge is that it was dry cat food. No winner for last week, but Lisa gets the prize for the most interesting answer: "Two Swedish meatballs making gentle love."

This week's image challenge is below. Answers in the comments please!

Posted at 08:24PM May 04, 2010 by ohp in Microscope  |  Comments[2]

Closeup picture of the week: moon rock?

The Answer to last week's challenge is that it was an XD memory card. Dave is the winner, who was the closest answer with a memory stick pro duo. There were other answers, but only post comments are valid entries!

This week's image challenge is below. What is it? a moon rock sample? a close-up of a fossil? Well, here's a clue: it's not a moon rock sample, or a close-up of a fossil. Answers in the comments please!

Posted at 08:54PM Apr 24, 2010 by ohp in Microscope  |  Comments[3]

Closeup picture of the week

I've bought a cheapie USB microscope. Every week or so, I will post a picture, and if you think you can tell what it is, then post a comment. To start us off, a nice easy one. The winner is the comment with the most accurate and specific answer.

Posted at 10:33PM Apr 13, 2010 by ohp in Microscope  |  Comments[1]

Revealed: The ultimate fate for Dr Who

There has been a lot of talk about how the new Dr Who, played by Matt Smith is the youngest Dr Who ever, the previous record being held by Peter Davidson in the early 1980's. It does seem, however, that the trend has been for the Doctor to get younger. Where will this ultimately lead? I spent 5 minutes googling for the answer, and I didn't find one, so I did my own analysis.

Age by Regeneration

As you can see from the graph below, the Doctor will become a foetus on the 28th incarnation.

Regeneration by year

So when will the 28th Regeneration take place? The graph below shows that this will happen around 2090.

So there you have it: the Doctor will become a foetus around 2090.

Posted at 08:03PM Feb 28, 2010 by ohp in General  |  Comments[3]

Comic Strips

The comic strips are broken, as I havn't updated the URLs since stripgenerator updated their site. Please bear with me... I will get round to fixing them, the next time I create a comic strip.

Posted at 02:26PM Feb 24, 2010 by ohp in Comic Strips  |  Comments[0]

The explanation behind the orbs photo

The explanation behind the picture with thousands of "orbs" was that although the environment wasn't dusty, there were thousands of tiny water droplets in the air. Here's the photo taken without the flash:

It was taken a few years back, and was one of those days when the fog was on the verge of forming large water droplets, when you get dew forming on your eyelashes. I took a number of pictures that evening, as it was a unique atmosphere for photography.

Posted at 03:04PM Jan 22, 2010 by ohp in Skepticism  |  Comments[0]

Is this the most haunted photograph ever?

Some would have us believe that orbs are the manifestations of spirits that appear in photographs. Scientists say that it's caused by the camera flash reflecting off dust particles in the air, but although the picture was taken with the flash gun, this picture was taken outside in an environment that was far from dusty.

So is this the most haunted photo ever, or do you think there's a more sensible explanation? What do you think? I will reveal the answer tomorrow.

Posted at 08:39PM Jan 04, 2010 by ohp in Skepticism  |  Comments[0]

Fajita seasoning recipe

I like fajitas, but the packets of fajita seasoning have a fair amount of salt in them. I've analysed the contents of packets I've used, and come up with a blend of spices that allows you to substitute the salt content for a salt substitute

I think I'm missing a few things - I can't get powdered lime or lemon, and I haven't included oregano, which is used in some packets, as well as artificial flavours. However, I don't think it lacks much because of those omissions

I've made quite a lot - this recipe makes about 150g, or 30-40 portions of fajita mix. Most fajita seasoning packs have 30 grammes, which are good for 5-8 portions.

• 50g mild chilli powder
• 25g salt substitute
• 15g onion powder or granules
• 15g sugar
• 13g cumin powder
• 12g garlic powder
• 6g cinnamon
• 5g nutmeg
• 5g cayenne
• 4g coriander

Posted at 09:42PM Dec 24, 2009 by ohp in General  |  Comments[0]

What's the big attraction of big name brands?

It's always puzzled me why people are attracted to wearing clothes emblazoned with logos. I've created a T shirt for people like that.

Posted at 03:27PM Dec 09, 2009 by ohp in General  |  Comments[0]

Food advertising: what annoys me.

I thought I'd rant about food advertising. When I watch the TV, some adverts make me seethe with the amount of careful language manipulation that goes on. Quite frankly, I'd rather they tried to entertain me, than mislead me. Here are some of the methods I've seen used to peddle food to the masses.

They tell you what's not it it, when what's in it might be more important.

What do I mean? Well, what's completely natural, has no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, is 100% sugar free, and forms part of a healthy, balanced diet? Lard, that's what. When you listen to a food advert, whatever they don't mention that could be in the food, that's probably what's in the food. If it's full of fat, it's natural and has no chemical additives. If it's completely artificial, then it's low in calories. Even some of the worst things can be spun to seem good by one measure or another: Product X: now 100% arsenic free!

Distancing yourself from a claim.

Reading this blog post could help prevent death by shark attacks (but it probably won't). Smearing butter on your forehead might help you get a job (but it probably won't) Eating product X could help support your immune system that might help keep your heart healthy (You fill in the gaps).

Pretending to sell to the baby.

Yeees, who is a gullible consumer? coochy coochy coo! This food is full of vitamins, isn't it liddle babby, wabby woo! Putting a baby in shot is license to treat the consumer like an idiot, and hope they'll fill their tummy wum wums with your prodddy woddy wuct.

Random Statement.

Why not round off your advert with a random statement that doesn't follow from anything you've said, but a viewer might confuse with the narrative? Product X. Because you're not a mass murderer.

Statistical jiggery pokery

The trick of reversing the percentage is getting a bit old now. You used to see claims of things being "95% fat free", which is just another way of saying "this product is 5% fat!" but consumers are getting wise. A newer approach with percentages is, in my eyes even less useful to the consumer: the "made with" claim. "Product X is made with 100% chicken" might suggest that the product is all chicken, but the crucial word here is "with" and not "from" - by saying that it's made "with" 100% chicken, all you're saying is that if your food is 30% chicken, 100% of that 30% is chicken. By replacing the 30% statistic with the word "with" you free yourself from the burden of facts.

So what annoys you about food advertising?

Posted at 04:42PM Dec 04, 2009 by ohp in Skepticism  |  Comments[0]