One fish, two fish, dead fish, boo fish...

The Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005 and is the biggest aquarium in the world (eat it Chattanooga!). Housing over a million creatures in over eight million gallons of water, it was an immediate attraction in Georgia and across the country. In fact, it was hard to even get into the aquarium initially - for over a year, the museum was busier than an Ikea on opening day. As a local Atlantan, I am thrilled to have this cool venue in my city, particularly when the aquarium's mission is:

To be an entertaining, educational, and scientific institution featuring exhibits and programs of the highest standards, offering engaging guest experiences, and promoting the conservation of aquatic biodiversity throughout the world.

Yep, science and education hand-in-hand with entertainment. Certainly this simple mission statement won't end up dripping with irony.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Aquarium wants to focus more on the 'entertainment' part of that mission and less on the 'science and education.'

A few months back, the aquarium opened a new exhibit of Titanic artifacts. Some of these artifacts have never been on display before but that's not important. What's important is that the exhibit is HAUNTED. You heard me HAUNTED. Read more... IF YOU DARE.... oooOoooOooOooo....

It started when museum workers started reporting "strange encounters" when in the exhibit. The museum, seeing an opportunity for science shameless self-promotion, decided to bring in the Roswell Georgia Paranormal Investigators to 'scientifically' investigate what was going on. I'm familiar with RGPI because my husband and some other members of the Atlanta Skeptics went on their Roswell Ghost Tour last year. Anyway, I won't go into all the details - you can read their findingshere (Spoiler: it involves someone whispering "Iceberg" and "Who's there." OOoOOOoooooOOOOh!). What are the odds that people who make their money convincing people that ghosts exist and that they can track them down would find some there?

Apparently pretty darn good. It got the attention of the 'big guns' of ghost investigation. The Ghost Hunters Sci Fi TV show decided to show up and do an entire show on the 'haunted' exhibit. It'll be on tonight.

Last night and today, a bunch of us on Twitter sent in our opinions to the Georgia Aquarium twitter feed. You can see all the relevant tweets herebut the only response we've received from them so far is this:

Re: Ghost Hunters, we know it isn't "hard science," just something fun to share. Not everyone believes in ghosts, but some think it's fun!

Where to begin? I'm so annoyed that I could just bullet:

• "Some think it's fun" - First of all, over 1,500 people died when the Titanic sank. Pretending there are ghosties and ghoulies running around the silverware that they left behind is an insult to them and their memories. Isn't there enough drama in this story without making it up? Not cool, people.


• "We know it isn't 'hard science'" - The Ghost Hunters and Paranormal investigators are looking for ghosts. They're not doing 'hard science'; they're not doing any science at all. They're running around in the dark with infrared lights and squealing when their machines go PING. They're trying to invent a story on top of the compelling real story, and they have nothing to do with science. But the Georgia Aquarium is promoting what the Ghost Hunters and RGPI are doing as science. In their explanation of their special event this week that featured the RGPIs, they say:
  

  The Roswell Georgia Paranormal Investigators will give an overview of how their group attempts to scientifically study and document cases of authentic paranormal activity. Then, small groups will test their ghost-hunting ability as they walk through Titanic Aquatic, escorted by paranormal researchers.

  
  This means that they are promoting pseudoscience as real science. The problem with many of these paranormal investigators is that they tend to use the cloak of real science by using hi-tech devices and a vague semblance of scientific lingo. In actuality, they don't have a good understanding of the scientific method at all. Check out the SAPS Skeptical Analysis site for much more information than I can provide about the methods and missteps of various ghost hunters.


• I understand that getting on a syndicated cable TV show will mean additional publicity and revenue for the Georgia Aquarium. In an economy where people are staying home more and spending less, I do understand the temptation to get a quick fix like this. But if you say that ghosts are more entertaining, you imply that real science is less entertaining. In a world where we just discovered a fish with an entirely transparent head and eyes inside its face, I simply don't buy it. Screw ghosts - can we get to the real science?

Interested in speaking out?

• Twitter to @GeorgiaAquarium.


• Send an email to the Education department of the Georgia Aquarium.


• Send a letter to Dr. Bruce Carlson, science officer at the Georgia Aquarium.


• Are you a member of the Aquarium? Call them and let them know how disappointed you are.

Zaloom Update

A few months ago, I blogged about puppeteer and political satirist Paul Zaloom, formerly of Beakman's World.  At the time, Paul's web site and contact information was not live but he just sent me an email letting me know that his sites are up and running now.

So this is just a quick blog to add his sites. And to brag that effin Paul Zaloom sends me email periodically.  Life doesn't suck :)

Check out Paul at his web site, Beakman Live or at the site for his film, Dante's Inferno! Remember, parents - Zaloom's Beakman's Live show is great for kids - his other stuff tends to be adult-only so be wary :)

Yay Science!

I've spent the past couple of days in and out of hospitals and dealing with surgeons, doctors and nurses. A few months ago, my husband's doctor discovered a cyst on his thyroid that was 'suspicious for papillary carcinoma' and he needed to have the gland removed. You can read more about his adventures on his blog - he does a much better job of describing it all than I would. But as I was sitting in his hospital room late the other night, watching him recover from getting his throat sliced open, it occurred to me that the people out there who are anti-science and anti-medicine are complete assholes.

I know this is not news to anyone on this blog. But experiencing a medical procedure this close up really gives you a better understanding of how freaking lucky we all are because of science. There seems to be a general vibe in the media, movies and popular culture that science is dangerous and technology is bad. People tell us that we should back away from new media and new technology because these things are somehow de-humanizing. To those people, I say "Fuck off" and here's why.

Let's forget for a moment the incredible amount of technology and science that led to the diagnosis and treatment of this condition. Let's just focus on the procedure and hospital process itself.

In less than 48 hours, Christian went from having his throat sliced open to walking about, eating normally and resting comfortably at home. Here are some of the things that allowed this 'miracle of science' to have occured:

1. The germ theory of disease. Until it was proposed that tiny, invisible creatures were running all over us and could be the cause of disease and infection, doctors and surgeons didn't worry about hygiene and sterilization. Today, the hospital has an entire system in place to maintain a sterile environment in the surgery itself and to keep risk of infection to a minimum.


2. Sutures. Christian had his THROAT SLICED OPEN. Seriously, he has a wound across his neck and they sewed it up with some stuff that will just dissolve over time; no painful removal of stitches and minimal scarring. He has some pain from the wound itself but that's honestly been the least of his problems (the most pain was from the intibation tube down his throat during surgery).


3. Pain medication. When he woke up he was in some pretty severe pain and his recovery would have been significantly prolonged and much harder without pain medication. He got all sorts of drugs, including morphine, loratab and some incredible stuff that made him feel better when the morphine wasn't making a dent in his pain.

It also occurred to me that there are a million tiny technologies to be grateful for:

1. Bendy straws. It sounds silly, but when you have a wound in your neck, being able to drink without looking down is a big freaking deal.


2. Crocs, NurseMates and the other brand name shoes that keep the nursing staff more comfortable and able to stay on their feet longer and be less cranky. The nursing staff was fantastic, probably not just because of their shoes but isn't it nice to have technology to make their daily lives easier?


3. Adjustable beds and chairs. We could move his head up, down, forward and backwards, whatever we needed to get him into the right position to eat, sleep, breath better etc. (My only complaint was that the bed was too short for his 6'6" frame). And I got a fairly comfy recliner that I slept in overnight, which allowed me to be a lot less cranky in the morning.


4. Blackberry, cell phone, wi-fi and laptop technology that allowed me to keep all our friends and family updated (more than they probably wanted!) about what was going on during the surgery and recovery. Plus, IM, email, chat, Twitter, Facebook and text messages that all allowed for different methods to communicate. Suck it Sam Ogden, I'm OK with having options! :)

Ok, you get my point, right? Technology and science rocks. Every minute and penny that people spend on bad science, pseudoscience, 'alternative' medicine and plain old bullshit is time and money that could be inventing the next bendy straw! Think of the opportunity cost of that plus, the time and energy that us skeptics spend debunking and arguing and trying to portray the truth about these idiots and the bad information they spread.

But, when we were up most of the night, watching late night TV and trying to get some rest, we both noticed that pseudoscience is alive and well. Every other commercial was homeopathy, Kevin Trudeau or herbal supplements. The assholes are alive and well. There's much work to do. I take solace in the fact that the science and technology has progressed so much in spite of them. Maybe there's hope for this war after all. If nothing else, we'll probably live longer. :)

Panties for Peace

Yes, it's Valentine's Day. As we found out yesterday, some people have pretty strong feelings about this holiday. But there are few who care as much about this holiday as this guy:



What's up with scowly guy? His name is Pramod Mutalik and he's the chief of a right-wing Hindu group called Sri Ram Sene (Lord Ram's Army). The group believes that Valentine's Day is 'un-Indian.' They are threatening to attack any Indian couples celebrating Valentine's Day. That's right, if you celebrate a holiday that is about love and intimacy, they want to beat the snot out of you.

The group members consider themselves the caretakers of Indian culture, which of course means their own, very specific definition of what Indian culture is. They want to get back down to good old-fashioned Hindu values, by threatening to attack or expose couples showing affection in public. In Pramod's words:

Valentine's Day is definitely not Indian culture. We will not allow celebration of that day in any form.

What an old softy. He's not kidding. Last week, members of the Sri Ram Sene launched an attack on a bar in Mangalore, in India. Women were attacked for being in the bar, men were attacked for taking women to the bar. Parts of the incident were captured and are on YouTube.

But wait! There's more to the story. And it involves pink underwear.

There are those who agree with the SRS, but there has also been a huge amount of outrage expressed in India over the attack. Lord Ram's Army remains unabashed. They believe that they are in a cultural war for the identify of the country and that their tactics are fully justified. From SRS general secretary V.K. Rajesh:

"We are not against love. But we are against loose morals we see among the younger generation who are blindly aping the West. And we will not spare these people and we will take whatever action is needed within the law."

Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell V.K. that assault is not technically within the law. Several of the attackers were arrested but released on bail a week or so later. They continued to make threats against couples seen celebrating Valentine's Day, including threatening to force couples to marry (it's unclear how they were going to accomplish this. One can only assume they had a fleet of ugly bridesmaid's dresses, drunk uncles and 80's music on standby).

But the authorities aren't taking any chances on that either. Yesterday, police rounded up almost 100 of the activists and took them into custody as a preventative measure.

The detentions follow calls by federal Home Minister Palaniappan Chidamabaram urging Karnataka's Hindu nationalist administration to take "preventive and punitive" action to ensure law and order in the state.

So I guess they're within the law now, literally. But there's more.

My favorite part of the story is how a group of Indian women is responding to the SRS with a very traditional Indian approach. Gandhi first introduced the concept of Satyagraha or nonviolent resistance during the British occupation of India. Gandhi broke British laws by hand-spinning his own cloth and walking to the sea to make salt. The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women is sending Pramod Mutalik pink underwear. In large quantities. Called the Pink Chaddi campaign, they are asking their supporters to send them pink chaddis (Hindi slang for knickers) which they will then forward en masse to SRS. After all, all armies need the basic necessities, right? The group is also encouraging women to go to pubs on Valentine's Day. Founder Nisha Susan says:

People have signed up to drop chaddis at collection points in their cities, which will be sent to Bangalore. Those who have signed up also plan to go to pubs with their partners or friends on V-Day. Most of the members don’t drink and some haven’t ever visited a pub, but the spirit is to band together against moral policing and curbs on women’s freedom.

Awesome. So, no matter how you feel about Valentine's Day, I encourage you to join the Facebook group and send some knickers to Pramod. Or a Valentine's Day card or a box of chocolate. Or even better, go to a bar and raise a toast to the Pink Chaddis. Best. Protest. Ever.

Atlanta Skepticamp This Weekend!

Attention my fellow Atlantans (and others in the vicinity)! The Atlanta Skeptics are putting together our first ever Skepticamp this weekend! What is a Skepticamp, you ask? Modelled after BarCamp and started in Colorado, Skepticamp is an 'un-conference' - a gathering where the content is provided by the participants. Each participant gives a talk, leads a discussion or volunteers in some way. We've been extremely lucky to have support from various skeptical organizations and a really amazing response. So much so that we had to extend the event from one day to two. I hope you can join us!

And if you're not in the Atlanta area, make sure you'll check to see if there are other Skepticamps planned in your area - there are plans underway for events in Arizona, Ohio, New York, Washington, Colorado and British Columbia!

A Skeptic's Carol

"You don't believe in me," observed the Ghost.

"I don't." said Scrooge.

"What evidence would you have of my reality, beyond that of your senses?"

"I don't know," said Scrooge.

"Why do you doubt your senses?"

"Because," said Scrooge, "a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!"

- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

I love this story. It's one of my favorite Christmas traditions to watch various versions of this - A Muppet Christmas Carol, Bill Murray's Scrooged, and the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern's Dickensian narration of A Christmas Carol. I went to that last one this week and it was during the piece of dialog above that it dawned on me. Scrooge was a skeptic! I leaned over and whispered this minor epiphany to my husband who responded "That's what most people think of when they think of skeptics, I'll bet."

And that got me thinking some more. So Scrooge was a skeptic. He didn't believe in ghosts, even when confronted with them, realizing that human senses could play tricks. But to say that all skeptics are, as Dickens describes old Ebenezer:

... a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.

Oh no no no, my friends. Not so. You all probably know this already but I think it needs to be said. Calling all skeptics Scrooge is sort of an argument ad hominem. Or maybe a bad syllogism. Scrooge was a skeptic. Scrooge was mean and cold-hearted. Therefore, all skeptics are mean and cold-hearted. (Moreover, he stopped beinga big ol' bastard when he stopped being a skeptic.)

I see very few Scrooges in the skeptical community. And it is a community. People debate whether it should be called a movement or a way of thinking or an activity, but you can't deny we're a community. It's comprised of some of the kindest, funniest, smartest and noblest people I've ever known. But we're all skeptics. We need evidence.

Here are some of my favorite examples from the year gone by about what skeptics are and what we do:

We worry about our children and our future

When education is at risk around the country and around the world, skeptics are there to be the voice of reason. We worry when creationists are elected into state government, concerned that science programs everywhere will suffer. And we continue to be vigilant as school boards question teaching evolution time and time again.

We work to help our fellow man (and woman)

Skeptical groups around the world spend time, money and energy debunking the myths and publicising the truth about pseudoscience that will hurt people. Others try to demonstrate the dangers of pseudoscience through research and reason. Overall, we worry about strangers and friends alike, who can fall prey to misinformation and fraud.

We fight for human freedoms

When, in the midst of a world-changing election, basic human freedom was stripped away from homosexuals in California, Florida and Arkansas, the skeptical community spoke out and continues to speak out. We demonstrated, we posted and we podcasted in support of gay rights and we will continue to do so. Because freedom for only some means freedom for none. We get that.

We take care of each other

When our dear friend and all around cool skeptic Robert Lancaster suffered a stroke this year, we all did our best to support him. Some donated money, others donated time, others sent well wishes and messages of support in the hopes of a speedy recovery. Some of the people who supported him had never even met Robert, but knew him through the JREF forums or the work he did against Sylvia Browne.

When we found out his site URL had been taken over by squatters, folks on the JREF forum fell over themselves to remedy the problem.

We love to laugh, to socialize and to meet new people

Ohhh the parties. 2008 was quite the year for parties. One and a half Amaz!ng Meetingsplus an Amaz!ng Adventure to the Galapagos! Dragon*Con! Skepchicks in New York and California! Oh the people we met and the parties we threw. Plus, Skeptics in the Pub and Drinking Skeptically events have popped up all over the place. People are realizing that being a skeptic isn't about staying home and eating gruel. Oh no, not when there's beer to be drunk and friends to be made.

We celebrate Christmas in our own, unique ways

Whether we're believers or not, most of us find a way to appreciate the spirit of the Christmas season. We shop, we give gifts, we think about our families, our friends and the people closest to us. We celebrate the traditions we want to, we laugh at folks who take the season too seriously and we try to live our lives with generosity, peace and goodwill.

So, my skeptical friends, if you do get called a Skeptical Scrooge this Christmas, I'd say people must be referring to the Scrooge at the end of the story:

Scrooge was better than his word...He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.

Merry Christmas ya'll! Have some 'nog and eat a cookie. You deserve it.

Why "Twilight" is hurting America

Last night was date night. My husband and I decided to have dinner and watch a movie - just a fun way to break up the work week. Over Thanksgiving, my 13-year old niece had ordered me to go see Twilight because "It's awesome" and "Edward is hot." So, I figured I'd keep my promise and go see it. From what I had heard, this was a teen vampire movie consisting mainly of the lead characters looking meaningfully at each other and brooding about their immortality or lack thereof. And everyone knows, mocking a silly movie is one of the foundations of an excellent date night.



The next thing I knew, it was 11 p.m. and I was so pissed off I couldn't get to sleep without writing this. This movie is just plain evil. And not because of the vampires. Let me explain. And yes, there are spoilers. Sorry. Join me as I walk you through all the blood-sucking fun. Or maybe just sucking...

For those of you living under a rock or not in the presence of pre-teen girls for the past few months, Twilight is the latest series of fantasy books. It centers around a teenage vampire who falls in love with a human girl in high school. Stephenie Meyer, the author, is being hailed as the next J.K. Rowling. Now, I haven't read the books so this review is based solely on the first movie. Here we go.

We start out with Bella, our would-be heroine, leaving her mom and stepfather to go live with her father in Forks, Washington. We don't really know much about Bella but that's OK because her personality really doesn't factor into the movie at all. On her first day, Bella meets Edward. Edward is pale and ripped and clearly interested in her because as soon as he sees her, he retches and leaves class. He then disappears for several days, leaving Bella to do nothing but swoon and wonder what she could have done to offend him.

When he finally comes back, he starts toying with her - one day being friendly, the next day blowing her off. Bella puts up with this ... presumably because he's totally dreamy. This goes on for a little while and teen angst isn't all that surprising in a teen movie, so let's fast forward.

Bella slowly discovers that Edward is vampire. She learns this because he saves her from a car accident (demonstrating his strength) and then from a group of thugs in the street. She confronts him, he admits to it and tells her he's a dangerous monster who can never be with her.

They then proceed to date.

Let me pause here to caveat this review: I understand that this is a story of teen romance. I therefore expect some amount of angst to factor in. And maybe I'm spoiled by the Hermione Grangers and Eowyns of the past few years. But I've come to expect more from female characters. It really bothers me that this movie depicts a girl who falls in love within days and then proceeds to spend the rest of the movie supressing everything about herself for this boy. And the worst part is that this is considered as a 'happy ending' for her.

The boy, in turn, never even shows any level of interest in Bella as anything more than physically attractive. He follows her around because he feels 'protective' of her. This works out well when she's being attacked, but she doesn't consider it even a little creepy that he's following her, sneaking into her room at night and WATCHING HER SLEEP.

Bella never makes any attempt to stand up for herself. The day she's attacked (and subsequently rescued by Edward), her father gives her a can of pepper spray to protect herself. She rolls her eyes and laughs at him, saying she doesn't need it. Never mind that hours earlier, she was in danger of being raped. She has a boy to protect her now, so she doesn't have to worry about it.

But protection and safety comes with a price. Edward is constantly on the edge of control. His attraction to Bella means that he wants to consume her (literally). So, when they finally kiss, Edward has to stop, pull himself away and stay back. So, Bella has to suppress her own sexuality for him as well. Because, of course, sex is bad and can lead to the guy going into an frenzy and losing control. "I can't lose control around you," Edward says. And of course, that means he has to keep control at all times. Of himself and of her.

This movie makes me sad at so many levels. But most of all, it makes me sad that thousands of teenage girls, including my niece, think this is one of the greatest movies ever. That this is how love is supposed to be. That it's romantic to subsume your entire being for a boy with a spiky haircut and awesome abs. And that the only way to attract said man is to look a certain way. Edward never fell in love with Bella's mind, her kindness or her wit. He noticed her because of how she looked and, moreso, how she smelled.

At the end of the movie, Bella asks Edward to turn her into a vampire so she can be with him forever. Ok, probably not the best decision and it's probably for the best that Edward refuses. But even so, it is the only time she actually stands up and displays any independent thought for herself. And Edward makes another decision for her and refuses her - presumably relegating her to a life of watching herself get old while he stays young. Not to mention, no sex. (Yes, I know they get past that in later books in the series but this is about the movie and she doesn't know that at the time.)

Twilight may seem like a harmless teenage flick. And maybe it is. Or maybe it's just another Red Riding Hood or Cinderella fairy tale created to force young women into a stereotype of how to behave, how to act and how to fall in love. Trust me people, take your kids to see Bolt instead. All it has is scientologists... :)