Sport

a close up shot of a rugby ball

Why the IRFU’s transgender policy is an example of the ecological fallacy

The Irish men’s rugby team is currently number one in the world. We might therefore expect its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), to be a proficient and effective organisation, capable of meeting its own aims while setting examples for others to follow. Unfortunately, however, when it comes […]

Suarez: Nature or nurture? BBC expert unable to specify, quoted extensively nonetheless

Reasons why footballer-biting-other-footballer resulted from nature (i.e., the passing of traits from parent to offspring at a biological, or genetic, level): “I would suggest he is hard-wired in this way. It’s not something that’s going to come out of his character with a few sessions with a psychologist…It’s in the man.” That was […]

Bandwagon latest: ‘Science news’ with tenuous World Cup relevance doing the rounds right now

1. Analyzing John Brooks’ Dream About Scoring the Winning Goal Source: Time.com, ‘HEALTH’ section (17 June) One-line summary:  A US soccer player scored a goal and then says he previously had a dream about doing so. So then, can your dreams predict or influence your future? Scientists say maybe or maybe not. By which they mean: […]

Obligatory Halloween tie-in: Ghost spotted at football match actually a man

Here’s a famous football quote (out of the mouth of Satan himself): “Football, eh? Bloody hell!” Yes. Football and hell. Inextricably linked. So, it was always but a matter of time before intrepid photojournalists would capture occult goings-on at a football game. But not just any old kickabout. No, the […]