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D. J. Grothe
Douglas James Grothe (born June 25, 1973) is an American writer and public speaker who talks about issues at the nexus of science, critical thinking, secularism, religion and the paranormal. As an active skeptic, he has served in leadership roles for both the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and the James Randi Educational Foundation. While he was at CFI, he hosted their ''Point of Inquiry'' podcast. After leaving ''Point of Inquiry'' he hosted the radio show and podcast ''For Good Reason''. He is particularly interested in the psychology of belief and the steps involved in deception and self-deception. His writing has been published by both ''Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine and ''The Huffington Post''. He also co-edited ''On the Beauty of Science'', about the worldview and life's work of Nobel Laureate Herbert Hauptman. Grothe serves as a board member of The Institute for Science and Human Values. Career Magic Using his experience as a professional magician, Grothe lectures about t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Amazing Meeting
The Amazing Meeting (TAM), stylized as The Amaz!ng Meeting, was an annual conference that focused on science, skepticism, and critical thinking; it was held for twelve years. The conference started in 2003 and was sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Perennial speakers included Penn & Teller, Phil Plait, Michael Shermer and James "The Amazing" Randi. Speakers at the four-day conference were selected from a variety of disciplines including scientific educators, magicians, and community activists. Outside the plenary sessions the conference included workshops, additional panel discussions, music and magic performances and live taping of podcasts including '' The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe''. The final Amazing Meeting was held in July 2015. History and organization TAM was first held in 2003, attracting around 150 attendees. When the CSICOP conferences entered a seven-year hiatus in 2005, TAM quickly filled the gap and, with more than 1,000 attendees, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation tends to exist within any given population as a result of genetic mutation and recombination. Evolution occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection (including sexual selection) and genetic drift act on this variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more common or more rare within a population. The evolutionary pressures that determine whether a characteristic is common or rare within a population constantly change, resulting in a change in heritable characteristics arising over successive generations. It is this process of evolution that has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation, including the levels of species, individual organisms, and molecules. The theory of evolut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1973 Births
Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. * January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. Nixon is the only person to have been sworn in twice as President (1969, 1973) and Vice President of the United States (1953, 1957). * January 22 ** George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight world boxing championship. ** A Royal Jordanian Boeing 707 flight from Jeddah crashes in Kano, Nigeria; 176 people are killed. * January 27 – U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ends with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. February * February 8 – A m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Priceline
Priceline may refer to: * Priceline.com, a commercial website which helps users obtain discount rates for travel-related items such as airline tickets and hotel stays * The Priceline Group, a provider of online travel & related services, and a parent company of Priceline.com *Priceline (Australia) Priceline is an Australian health and beauty retailer. The Priceline brand has two store types; a traditional Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Edward
John Edward McGee Jr. (born October 19, 1969) is an American television personality, author and a self-proclaimed psychic medium. After writing his first book on the subject in 1998, Edward became a well-known (and controversial) figure in the United States with his shows broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel premiering in July 2000 along with broadcasting on We TV since May 2006. Biography Edward (born in Glen Cove, New York) is the only son of an Irish-American police officer and an Italian-American working mother. The religion he was raised practicing was Roman Catholic. Although Edward later stopped practicing that faith, he has been quoted as saying that he has never stopped feeling connected to God and still feels closely connected to his Catholic roots. Edward was quoted saying, "This is something that is driven by a belief in God. It's the energy from that force that I think allows us to create ''this'' energy." According to Edward, when he was 15 and "a huge doubter" (in ps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Island Medium
''Long Island Medium'' is an American reality television series starring Theresa Caputo, a self-professed medium who claims she can communicate with the dead. Much of the program, which premiered on September 25, 2011, takes place in Hicksville, New York, though it often follows Caputo as she meets with clients in other areas. Scientific skeptics say mediumship performances are a con, and Caputo's specific claims have been deemed fictitious by critics including magician James Randi, ''Inside Edition''. and ''Jezebel''. Synopsis Each episode focuses on Caputo as she conducts private and group readings with both believers and skeptics. Her husband Larry and two children, Victoria and Larry Jr., have learned to live with her mediumship. In a 2011 interview, Caputo claimed she could communicate with dead people: "Things are just there. When I was younger I used to actually see images and hear things. As I got older and shut down, it has changed. Because it was frightening to see ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge was an offer by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) to pay out one million U.S. dollars to anyone who could demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. A version of the challenge was first issued in 1964. Over a thousand people applied to take it, but none were successful. The challenge was terminated in 2015. History James Randi developed the idea for the challenge during a radio panel discussion when a parapsychologist challenged him to "put ismoney where ismouth is." In 1964, Randi offered a $1,000 prize, soon increasing it to $10,000. Later, Lexington Broadcasting wanted Randi to do a show called the $100,000 Psychic Prize, so they added $90,000 to the original $10,000 raised by Randi. Finally, in 1996, one of his friends, Internet pioneer Rick Adams, donated $1 million for the prize.''SF Weekly'', August 24, 2009, online version, p. 2: "One of his friends, Internet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Van Praagh
James Van Praagh (; born August 23, 1958) is an American author, producer and television personality who describes himself as a clairvoyant and spiritual medium.An Evening with James Van Praagh Michele Gibson, ''Awareness Magazine'', July/August 2009; accessed February 17, 2013 He has written numerous books, including '''' bestseller ''Talking to Heaven''. Van Praagh was a producer and screenwriter on the 2002 CBS semi-autobiographical miniseries '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creation And Evolution In Public Education
The status of creation and evolution in public education has been the subject of substantial debate and conflict in legal, political, and religious circles. Globally, there is a wide variety of views on the topic. Most western countries have legislation that mandates only evolutionary biology is to be taught in the appropriate scientific syllabuses. Overview While many Christian denominations do not raise theological objections to the modern evolutionary synthesis as an explanation for the present forms of life on planet Earth, various socially conservative, traditionalist, and fundamentalist religious sects and political groups within Christianity and Islam have objected vehemently to the study and teaching of biological evolution. Some adherents of these Christian and Islamic religious sects or political groups are passionately opposed to the consensus view of the scientific community. Literal interpretations of religious texts are the greatest cause of conflict with ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwin Day
Darwin Day is a celebration to commemorate the birthday of Charles Darwin on 12 February 1809. The day is used to highlight Darwin's contributions to science and to promote science in general. Darwin Day is celebrated around the world. History The celebration of Darwin's work and tributes to his life have been organised sporadically since his death on 19 April 1882, at age 73. Events took place at Down House, in Downe on the southern outskirts of London where Darwin and members of his family lived from 1842 until the death of his wife, Emma Darwin, in 1896. In 1909, more than 400 scientists and dignitaries from 167 countries met in Cambridge to honour Darwin's contributions and to discuss vigorously the recent discoveries and related theories contesting for acceptance. This was a widely reported event of public interest. Also in 1909, on 12 February, the 100th birth anniversary of Darwin and the 50th anniversary of the publication of ''On The Origin of Species'' were celebra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An atheist, he is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. Dawkins first came to prominence with his 1976 book '' The Selfish Gene'', which popularised the gene-centred view of evolution and introduced the term ''meme''. With his book '' The Extended Phenotype'' (1982), he introduced into evolutionary biology the influential concept that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment, for example, when a beaver builds a dam. His 2004 The Ancestor's Tale set out to make understanding evolution simple for the general public, by tracing common ancestors back from humans to the origins of life. Over time, numerous religious people challe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
