BCCD (Bee Colony Collapse Disorder) is a relatively recent phenomenon with unknown causes, the
effect being the widespread disappearance of bee populations. Since
2006, BCCD has affected colonies throughout North America and beyond,
threatening roughly 1/3 of human food sources which rely on
pollination by bees. This problem gain's its importance by the number
of people it potentially affects, and the estimated resources that
would be required to combat the problem. By taking steps to combat
the problem now, we can avoid potentially disastrous future
consequences.

http://ask-a-skeptic.mevio.com/

In this episode:
Philosopher Peter Singer
$500 speaker cables
Doritoes in Space!

That's right! An all new episode of the best podcast the RIT Skeptics have every produced: Ask a Skeptic. We're trying to do them every week over the summer, so stay tuned for more skeptical fun!

Note: if you are a member of the Skeptics, past, present, or future, please feel free to send me jmb2397(a)rit.edu your skype name to be included in future podcasts.

Ask a Skeptic Episode 4: Rickshaws of Love
http://m.podshow.com/media/16220/episodes/115185/ask-a-skeptic-115185-06...

I just got back from driving Lori Lipman Brown to the airport. She arrived yesterday, gave a talk to the skeptics and a numbers of people who aren't members of the group and stayed overnight at a local motel.

The talk was good. She covered topics relating to her job lobbying for the rights of non-theistic Americans. She also showed some clips of times she appeared on Fox News. I think that the most interesting part of the evening was the discussion. The questions people brought her during the Q&A, and the answers she gave were very interesting.

There has been a recent hubbub on campus with people wearing shirts that say "I Agree with Josh". This is, at best, an underhanded attempt at proselytizing on campus, and at worst, deceptive. In fact, this tactic is not unique to RIT, and is quite common among US universities.

A quick search on Google brings up many hits for other campuses' "I agree with" campaign. Syracuse University had "I agree with Craig" last year, while other campaigns have used Ryan, Sam, or Rachael as their name. This recycled tactic is designed to stir curiosity on the campus, and make people question the shirt-wearers. In return, the shirt wearers start their speech on Jesus.

You can now vote for Kari Hazzard at sg.rit.edu/vote.

She has the most clearly thought out, intelligent, practical ideas.

This company claims that they can test your DNA and develop a nutritional plan based on the findings. Sounds great right? Until you critically examine their claims, they do.

Keep in mind, nothing in this post should be considered medical advice. Go to your docotor for that.

They claim that by looking for SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) it is possible to identify nutrient deficiencies caused by the poor functioning of protiens.

Important announcement:
April fools!

His guest, Richard Dawkins, was not...

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/expelled.php

Science fiction author, futurist, inventor and humanist Arthur C. Clark died today.
In memory I present his three laws:

1. "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."
2. "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."
3. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Mind control at the U of R.
    A gentleman named Andy Pero claims that he was brainwashed by former Nazi scientists working for the US government at the U of R, and trained in using psychic powers.  According to Pero, he was part of a project designed to create super soldiers. In addition he claims that he had the ability to lift as much as 1500 pounds, was involved in time travel experiments, and undergo hypnotic programming to forget about what he was forced to do.  Needless to say, I’m skeptical.

Find attached a new game I invented: logical fallacy bingo! I came up with this while reading the book "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist." It helps me stay engaged while reading woo books, or other similarly fallacy stuffed text.

On North Clinton Avenue, here in Rochester, there sits a tree. Normally this would not be a cause of great concern to most people. True, humanity seems to have waged a war on woody plants, attempting to wipe them out with a variety of cutting devices, but this tree had, until recently escaped notice.

In 2005 someone look at the tree and thought that they saw Jesus. You might find that odd because by most Christian accounts, Jesus did not belong to the kingdom Plantae. (Many accounts wouldn’t place him in the kingdom Animalia either, but that’s a different story altogether.) Actually, what they claimed was that the pattern of lighter and darker spots on the tree resembled Jesus.

Again and again. Megadosing vitamins, i.e., taking a much higher dosage of a vitamin than recommended, does not ward off colds, or help end them faster.¹ In fact, high doses of vitamins can damage you. Any significant change in your diet, including these woo-pills, should be checked against a qualified medicinal professional first.

Spring quarter is coming, and the RIT Skeptics are looking for speakers. So far, we've asked the Secular Student Alliance about Brian Dunning (from Skeptoid), Rebecca Watson (from Skepchick) and Lori Lipman Brown. If you'd really like to see one of these speakers, or someone else, leave a comment!