Category: Research

Sexist skeptics? Here’s how to find out

Katatrepsis14 Comments
Some have said that skeptical conferences have too many older, white men… (photo by Scott Hurst)

There has been an ongoing (and really rather bitter) argument over discrimination against women in the skeptical/atheist community – particularly over whether or not conferences are preferentially selecting old, white, male speakers.  Arguably this could be expanded to include discrimination against youth and against different races, but the sexism issue is that which has been front-and-centre over the past year.  The allegations have been that the organisers of various conferences (particularly TAM) have not been inclusive when considering female speakers and that this has contributed to an unwelcoming environment at skeptical conferences.Read More »

Climate change denial: a response to some criticism

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This is my second post on the climate change project (see my earlier piece on the background to the story).  In this post I’ll talk briefly about some of the negative response that was raised to the project, primarily by the researcher who developed the course, Tim Patterson.  It is worth noting that the course is being taught again in January 2013.  I’ll follow this up with posts on (i) experiences with the media, and (ii) advice for skeptical campaigns in general.

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Climate change denial: my part in its downfall

Katatrepsis3 Comments

In March 2012 I was involved with a project that sought to make public some poor science that was being taught at a Canadian university.  I have been busy with other things since then (like getting a job…) but now I find myself with a few minutes to reflect on the experience.  I have a tendency to write long posts which I’m sure nobody ever reads, so I’m going to write three short posts on this topic.  In this post I’ll talk briefly about some of the negative response that was raised to the project, primarily by the researcher who developed the course, Tim Patterson.  It is worth noting that the course is being taught again in January 2013.  I’ll follow this up with posts on (i) a response to some criticisms, (ii) experiences with the media, and (iii) advice for skeptical campaigns in general.

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PhD opportunities for UK/EU/International students at the University of Leeds

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There are a couple of PhD opportunities coming up in my department at the University of Leeds for UK/EU/international students. Anyone who is interested, or knows someone who might be, get in touch. Areas of interest are around (i) insect ecology/evolution, (ii) biological responses to climate change, or (iii) aquatic ecology. The competition is fierce, but you have to be in it to win it!  Get in touch if you are interested in applying and we can discuss ideas.Read More »

Why does breast cancer research receive more research funding than prostate cancer?

Katatrepsis101 Comments
Carcinoma of the prostate

“Men’s Rights Activism” (MRA) is a dirty phrase in many circles.  The MRA movement is a fairly diverse beast ranging from claims of inequality in child custody cases to accusations of full-blown, societal-scale misandry typified by higher death rates in men and lower levels of social investment.  One claim in particular that the MRAs make is that breast cancer (a cancer that predominantly, though not entirely, affects women) receives substantially more money in terms of research funding than prostate cancer, despite similar numbers of people dying from each.  First I’ll review some of the specific claims made, I’ll look at the data on funding, then we can delve into a few stats on the impacts of these two cancer types (bear with me!).  I’ve also included some more detail on whether younger men are more at risk from prostate cancer as an appendix for those who are interested.Read More »

Dragonfly intestines: nature’s Swiss Army knife

Katatrepsis5 Comments

“We should be extremely cautious in concluding that an organ could not have been formed by transitional gradations of some kind.  Numerous cases could be given amongst the lower animals of the same organ performing at the same time wholly distinct functions; thus in the larva of the dragonfly… the alimentary canal respires, digests and excretes.”

– Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species, Chapter 6Read More »

Does the contraceptive pill affect female mate choice in humans?

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In the final Reality Check episode (#208) with which I was involved, I presented a segment on whether or not the contraceptive pill influences women’s perceptions of potential partners.  I’ve been interested in this question for a few years, ever since sharing an office with evolutionary psychologists at the University of Liverpool.  Craig Roberts, whose work I cited a couple of times, was a lecturer there when I was doing my doctoral research.  Anyway, on with the show!Read More »

I have an Erdos number of 5!

Katatrepsis2 Comments
Paul Erdos (1913-1996)

People may have heard of the “six degrees of Kevin Bacon“, related to the idea of six degrees of separation, where it was posited that any Hollywood actor could be linked to Kevin Bacon by six or fewer relationships (e.g. by virtue of having shared co-stars, etc).  This theory of networks is fascinating in its own right, due to the uneven connectedness of nodes (people) within a given network.  Not to be outdone, scientists have their own “centre of the universe” and that person is Paul Erdös (1913-1996).  Read More »