Skeptics' Circle 123

The 123rd Skeptics' Circle is up at Blue Genes Science News. If you're finding out about it from me, you've probably already read my contribution, but there's plenty more skeptical goodness for you to read.

Tinfoil Hats

You are standing on a street corner, waiting for a light to change, when a stranger approaches you. He has a tinfoil hat on his head. He offers a tinfoil hat to you and says, “You need to put this on.”

“Why do I need to do that?” You ask.

“You need to block out the alien mind-control rays. It’s the only way to be safe.”

You say, “I don’t believe there are any aliens. There’s no evidence they exist.”

He says, “Of course there’s no evidence; they use their mind-controlled minions to eliminate any evidence. The only way to be safe is to wear a tinfoil hat.”

You say, “I’m not aware of any alien influence.”

He says, “Their control is subtle. The mind-control itself keeps you from realizing you’re being controlled. You’ll never know the difference unless you put on the tinfoil hat.”

You say, “I haven’t noticed anyone behaving like they’re controlled by aliens… except maybe you.”

He says, “You just don’t recognize the alien mind-control, but surely you know about all the crimes, murders, and suicides in the world. That’s all the result of alien mind-control. If you don’t put on the tinfoil hat, you could be next. There’s no telling when they might decide to have you kill yourself or someone else.”

You say, “Things like that have happened for as long as people have existed; it’s just one of the bad sides of human nature. There’s no evidence that it’s the influence of aliens.”

He says, “The aliens have been around for at least as long as we have, and like I said, they erase all evidence of their existence.”

You say, “If these aliens want to control everyone, but a tinfoil hat can block them, why do they let you walk around distributing tinfoil hats? Wouldn’t they use their mind-control powers to force some of us to stop you? By taking away your tinfoil hat, for instance?”

He says, “I don’t know why they let me do this. They’re aliens: their motives make no sense to us. But for that very reason, you need to wear the tinfoil hat. There’s no telling what these inscrutable aliens might decide to make you do.”

You say, “Sorry, I don’t want to wear a tinfoil hat, it looks dumb.”

He says, “Of course you think it looks dumb; that’s their mind-control at work. But can you really afford to keep walking around without a tinfoil hat? What if I’m right? You might walk off a cliff or run over your best friend tomorrow if you don’t.”

Looking around, you can see that there are actually quite a few people around wearing tinfoil hats, so you agree to wear one. You notice absolutely nothing different when you are wearing the hat, except that people who aren’t wearing them think you look silly, and people who are wearing them congratulate you for wearing yours. While wearing your tinfoil hat, you do a little research, and you can’t seem to find any evidence that people wearing tinfoil hats are responsible for fewer crimes or have fewer accidents than people who don’t wear tinfoil hats.

In your research, you also discover another group of people who think you need protection from the alien mind-control rays. However, they say that wearing a tinfoil hat won’t help at all; you actually need to be wearing an aluminum foil hat. In fact, they say wearing a tinfoil hat will amplify the alien mind-control rays, making you more vulnerable to their influence. According to aluminum-foil-hat-wearers, the tinfoil-hat-wearers have been fooled by the aliens or even collaborated with them.

Not long after that, you discover the copper-wire-basket wearers and the lead-lined-baseball-cap wearers. They also want to protect themselves from alien mind-control rays, and they each say that their method is the only real method of stopping the rays. They also say that the other groups are influenced by the aliens to trick you. None of them can offer evidence for their claims, saying that the aliens make it impossible to provide any.

So what do you want on your head?

Star Trek: Voyager "Threshold"

It's no secret that "Threshold" is the worst Star Trek episode ever. It's badly written (curse you Brannon Braga), makes zero scientific sense, and ends with an off-screen reset to the status quo. The "discovery" that they make in the episode is, of course, dropped without comment and never mentioned again in the series. Chuck Sonnenburg took one for the team in order to review it and share the pain.


Part 1 of Chuck's Review
Reading and watching his review, though, I noticed something that he apparently missed. The plot can be interpreted as a horribly mangled sexual initiation story.

• Excited talk about getting over the "threshold" -- CHECK


• Rather "climactic" behavior from Tom as he goes over the "threshold" -- CHECK


• Bizarre allegory to getting STDs from going over the "threshold" -- CHECK


• Unplanned pregnancy as a result of going over the "threshold" -- CHECK

Now your mind is scarred by this episode, too. Enjoy.

Army of Darkness

And we close out the month with what might be the greatest Halloween classic of all time.



You can't go wrong with Bruce Campbell. And just for fun, we'll make today's a double.

The Changeling

I saw this movie back in the eighties, and it is pretty scary without being a gorefest.



Rated R back then, apparently, but I would barely rate a PG today, I expect.

Green Lantern

From what I understand, there actually is a movie in development, but this video is a mash up of clips from assorted movies with some pretty good tweaking.



One can only hope that fan videos like this will influence some casting decisions.

Legend: Dance

Not only is this a very sensual seduction to evil, but it's one of the reasons I adore Mia Sara.



And the scene continues...

Noodle Ad

I don't know what it is, but it scares the hell outta me!

New Shameless Commerce

So I tried Google Ads, and not only did they not actually get any attention, they were usually idiotic products like spells from the dubious "Magicks of the World" site. So, I'm going to try Amazon ads. At least I get to decide what will actually be advertised. I will shamelessly promote books and music that I like.

Things to Remember If I’m Ever in a Horror Situation

Something that came up in conversation at the Halloween party over the weekend. I'm sure that this could be expanded greatly.

1. Neither I nor any of my friends/allies will go anywhere alone; splitting up to gather supplies or search an area is right out.
2. If I have shot the killer/monster in the chest and it hasn’t been affected, I will at least try a headshot.
3. I will remember the traits of any killer or monster I encounter; if it’s afraid of cats, for instance, I won’t go anywhere without one.
4. I will wear sensible shoes, so I won’t have any difficulty running, should it become necessary.
5. I will never abandon a weapon; you never know when it will come in handy. Needless to say, if I suspect there's a hostile person or monster about, I won't go anywhere unarmed.
6. I will get a pocket maglite with a lanyard and keep it handy.
7. I will be immediately suspicious of anyone that causes dogs to bark or cats to hiss. At the first sign of trouble, I will endeavor to obtain a friendly dog or cat as a warning system.
8. Finding a wandering cat after hearing a strange noise does not mean that I have found the source of the noise.
9. I will not dismiss a “supernatural” threat just because I’m a scientist or skeptic; if it has observable and repeatable effects, it moves into the realm of the “natural”, anyway.
10. If I’ve incapacitated a murderer/monster with a history of surviving “mortal” injuries, I will dismember the body; burn the parts; secure the ashes of each in separate, sealed containers; and bury the individual containers at widely separated locations.

Junk It!

She's the most frightening character in Mystery Men.

Halloween Party

My big Halloween party was early this year, on the 24th, at the lovely home of Dakyn and Ginevra. I arrived in time to help with some party prep work, then everyone went on a trip to the Bell Witch Cave before coming back to the house to costume up and party down.



The whole album is online, of course.

Top 10 Giant Movie Monsters

You'll be very surprised by number one, but I think the best moment of this review comes toward the end of number three. Language warning on this one, if that matters to you; the narrator is a bit free with the four letter vocabulary.