The Science Bit

Recent Posts

• How to predict the future

  By Brian Hughes on April 13, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  Well done Ali Razeghi, who’s only just gone and invented a time machine. And what a time machine it is. Despite the near wall-to-wall use of Back to the Future imagery in news coverage, this is not a time travelling… Read More ›

• American Psychological Association promotes pseudotherapies. Again.

  By Brian Hughes on April 8, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  As we all know, the old days were the best. You know. Ye olden days. This is what I thought when I received this tweet alert from @ClaireMcCallion earlier today: http://twitter.com/ClaireMcCallion/status/321298065220833280 It links to an article just out in the American Psychological… Read More ›

• Forthcoming: Master of Delusion

  By Brian Hughes on April 4, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  Time to reprint those fan t-shirts, folks, as a new date has been added to my world tour. Next Tuesday evening I’m giving the keynote lecture at Psych Fest 2013, the, er, psychology festival at Mary Immaculate College, University of… Read More ›

• Web sight

  By Brian Hughes on April 1, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  Just a quick post today. This one’s especially for the arachnophobes. You know who you are. A popular scientific explanation for arachnophobia has been that it reflects an evolutionarily endowed avoidance of creatures found to be dangerous in our environment… Read More ›

• “Psychology’s Starting Positions”

  By Brian Hughes on March 19, 2013 • ( 1 )

  

  Here are the slides from my lecture from the other week to the Psychological Society at the National University of Ireland, Galway. It’s all about how psychologists — academics in the main — take up biased starting positions in processes… Read More ›

• Peurile? Moi?

  By Brian Hughes on March 16, 2013 • ( 1 )

  

  You’ll have to forgive my recent lack of Tweets. I’m in China and Tweeting doesn’t work here. According to the log-in page of my hotel wifi, some websites are inaccessible due to legal restrictions. They mention YouTube in particular (probably… Read More ›

• Forthcoming: On value systems, science, and psychology

  By Brian Hughes on February 11, 2013 • ( 1 )

  

  I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are ideally suited to giving another public lecture at the invitation of a student psychological society. This time it’s at the behest of the Psychology Society… Read More ›

• Bad things are bad for you. As are good things.

  By Brian Hughes on February 1, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  It’s all bad news this week, I’m afraid. Literally. Not only does it look bad and sound bad, but it also has bad effects on you. It’s all-round baaaaaaaaad. First of all — and you’re not going to be hugely surprised… Read More ›

• “Psychology’s one-sided coin”

  By Brian Hughes on February 1, 2013 • ( 1 )

  Here are the slides from my lecture the other week in University College Cork. Kudos to the UCC Psychology Society for inviting me down, and for turning out en masse (it’s a small society) to witness my ramblings. I think… Read More ›

• Correlation? Causation? YOU decide! (It’s as good an approach as any…)

  By Brian Hughes on January 19, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  So, I’ve concluded that we might as well give up on trying to spread the word about the correlation-causation fallacy. People just don’t seem to be getting it. I do appreciate that there are complexities (after all, causality causes, and… Read More ›

• New rules for cosmetics advertising: Must contain science?

  By Brian Hughes on January 16, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  Well, guess what. Only yet another cosmetics advert has been pulled. A cosmetics advert? Pulled? Honestly? Gee whizz. I am in total shock here. I mean, how could this possibly have happened?! It truly does beggar belief. This time, it’s an ad… Read More ›

• Forthcoming: Psychology’s optimistic bias and the undermining of science

  By Brian Hughes on January 16, 2013 • ( 0 )

  Continuing my extremely gradual world lecture tour, I’ve been invited to speak at University College Cork next Monday evening, by the university’s honorable Psychology Society. Way hay! Everyone loves Cork. (For the benefit of people outside Ireland, Cork is a large-ish… Read More ›

• This picture’s so hilarious, I thought I’d post it to my blog

  By Brian Hughes on January 10, 2013 • ( 1 )

  

  Look. I know that (a) this was meant as a metaphor, and (b) climate change is no laughing matter. But, at the same time, (a) the metaphor doesn’t really work, and (b) HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! I guess the point… Read More ›

• Overweight people have lower death risk…#yesterdaysnewstoday

  By Brian Hughes on January 2, 2013 • ( 3 )

  

  Recipe for a long life: overweight people have lower death risk #tomorrowspaperstoday http://t.co/tk7UxlYJ— The Independent (@Independent) January 01, 2013 I must be getting old. Things are beginning to repeat themselves. It feels like déjà vu all over again. In fact,… Read More ›

• Pseudoscience class. For free!

  By Brian Hughes on January 2, 2013 • ( 0 )

  As part of my day job, I’ve been offering an elective class for undergraduate Psychology majors called ‘Psychology, Science, & Pseudoscience’. I’ve just gone and dumped the entire content here on the blog for all to see… Check it out… Read More ›

• Beware the number ‘13’ (Official Government Advice)

  By Brian Hughes on December 31, 2012 • ( 5 )

  

  Earlier this year, I blogged about how an elected parliamentarian proposed that the Irish government make arrangements to move the country three inches to the left in order to avoid hitting a fairy. Well, nearly. He actually proposed that the government… Read More ›

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