Testing the “Shuzi” Sports Band
Merseyside Skeptics visit a local rugby club to put the Shuzi Flat Black Sports Bracelet to the test.
Stock footage supplied by:
The Royal Institution & iSaudeBrasil
used under a Creative Commons licenseMusic by
Kevin MacLeod
used under a Creative Commons license
ske
Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens debating against the motion that The Catholic Church is a Force For Good.(end result against the motion).
It was meant as a light hearted nod towards US blogger PZ Myers and wasn’t meant to alienate anybody, but when The Skeptic Mag temporarily removed Susan Blackmore from their banner and replaced her with PZ Myers, it left me feeling quite uncomfortable and sad.
I do have a problem with the way in which women are under represented throughout skepticism – I created SheTalks to try and help remedy the problem (and according to the feedback the register is working despite still being in its early days). To see a reputable publication like The Skeptic Mag take the only woman on their banner down - even just for a moment, as a nod to comments made on twitter earlier that day, seems so dismissive and needless. I’m not sure what led to them doing so, or why PZ Myers highlighted earlier in the day via Twitter that he wasn’t there.
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New Statesman article by David Allen Green.
This week’s Private Eye has reported that highly successful “TV Psychic” Sally Morgan is “suing the Daily Mail for implying she is a cheat”. Sally Morgan strongly denies any wrongdoing.
However, it appears that Private Eye was incorrect in suggesting that a formal legal claim has already been commenced. Sally Morgan’s solicitor told me he has “made a formal libel complaint to Associated Newspapers, and [he] expect[s] instructions to sue for libel if the matter is not dealt with imminently”. This is a formal “letter before action” which is required before libel proceedings are issued, rather than an actual legal claim. It has been sent because Sally Morgan strongly denies any wrongdoing.
The Daily Mail has published a number of critical articles about Sally Morgan, including a scathing one by Jan Moir on 22 September 2011. In respect of those articles, Sally Morgan strongly denies any wrongdoing.
Science writer and former libel defendant Dr Simon Singh has suggested there is a better way for any allegations to be dealt with. He told me:
When members of Sally’s Dublin audience suspected she had an earpiece on stage, a group of us (me, Professor Chris French and Merseyside Skeptics) decided that the best way forward was simply to enable Sally to demonstrate her powers in a scientific experiment.
Is she really a psychic?
Can she really communicate with the dead?
We bent over backwards to create a test that would allow her to clear her name. Instead of accepting the challenge, Sally set her solicitor on to me, and I received a series of heavy legal emails. I don’t understand why Sally resorts to a libel lawyer, when her best approach to restoring her reputation would be to prove her abilities.
However, as many people tell me, you don’t have to be psychic to work out why Sally doesn’t want to be tested.
Whatever her reasons for not agreeing to be tested, it is clear that Sally Morgan strongly denies any wrongdoing…
I agree, the people making extraordinary claims should be offering scientific evidence and scientific data not taking everyone who questions their “abilities” to court.
Ricky Gervais: Science doesn’t concern itself with the non-existence of something. The periodic table of imaginary things would be too big for a classroom- infinitely big in fact, and rather pointless. It’s not trying to prove the non-existence of anything supernatural. All it knows is there is no scientific proof of anything supernatural so far. When someone presents a jar of God it will test it. If it finds some evidence of “godness” it will follow the evidence till it knows everything it can….
Brilliant and touching article by Ricky
Hayley Stevens & co. are targeting fraudulent psychics and mediums. Sign the petition!
Sign the petition!
With the debate currently surrounding alleged psychic Sally Morgan, and whether or not she was caught by audience members being fed information while on stage, one thing has become very clear. There is something very wrong with the fact that Psychics can use psychological tricks to exploit the vulnerable and grieving and are able to do so simply because the venues at which they hold their shows use an ‘entertainment only’ disclaimer.
Whether Sally Morgan is a cheat or not (we can’t know for sure) isn’t what we think is important; what is important is recognising how people can get into a situation where they might be cheated in such a manner. When a theatre’s profit becomes more important to them than being honest with their customers then there is something wrong.
We are collecting names from people who agree that theatre goers shouldn’t have to chance being tricked out of their money. Add your name today – we will be emailing this petition to all the theatres in the UK who are currently hosting psychic shows in 2011 & 2012 (our team have been hard at work finding them all, help us make this a success!)
