Planet B*#!*y X....Again

[Shark Bait]

Today I was at my Son's Primary School to meet with the Science Club Teacher. I was there to tee up a star party for the Kids. I had my scope with me to provide a demo. As the students were heading home, one of the older girls saw the telescope and asked me if it was true that we were going to be hit by an asteroid...

I asked her what she had heard and it turned out that she was really concerned the world was going to end in December. I did the best I could to reassure her that it wasn't true. If there was a massive asteroid or Planet X then everyone with a telescope would be looking at it and we weren't because it is not real.

I know that this has been covered before, but I am really angry that the scare mongers are able to influence and frighten our children. The fact that some adults truly believe this is absurd.

Sorry about the rant. I needed to vent.

[jjjnettie]

It angers me very much. I've had my rant about here in IIS and FB too.

[bartman]

Yep no good at all...
Maybe you can get her to look at this or something similar....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJjQMwEjC1I
Neil deGrasse Tyson on Doomsday.
Bartman

[Ric]

Planet X has a lot to answer for. :mad2:

[xelasnave]

Have her read Chicken Little.
alex

[stephenb]

Great video there Bart, thanks for posting.

Like we all agree, and has been said countless times: to all those doomsayers, just sign over all you worldly possessions if you truly believe the world will end. What do you all have to lose?

[Barrykgerdes]

I am going to save as much money as I can between now and December 21 so I will be able to pay for all those bargains that come up, although I don't know what the sellers will do with the money.

Barry

[luvmybourbon]

If you do that sort of scare mongering on a plane "we are all going to die" then you would be charged, these idiots doing this should be as well!

[Chillie]

But it is a fact! We are all going to die sooner or later but hopefully not for a long time.

[Waxing_Gibbous]

This week I actually had to defend the scientific validity of "non-destruction" to a group of year 9s at my wife's school.
Seems a couple of the kid's mothers were "in tune with the earth's cycles" or similar nonsense.
As I was only a guest speaker, I broke one of the rules and called their mothers crackpots and imbeciles who should be locked away.
I don't think they will invite me back. :lol:
BTW - If you want to test the doomsdayers commitment to their theories, simply offer to bet your house/car/children against theirs.
Haven't had a taker yet!:P

[Geoff Mc]

Hi All,

I agree with your passionate objection to fuzzy thinking and share your irritation. However, I've been teaching for some time now and can guarantee that if you go into a classroom or any other public gathering and start ranting about how illogical, silly, or otherwise wrong a person's claim is, you will lose. In fact, you will fuel their conviction for the simple reason the person will resort to the denialist position of conspiracies and cover-ups. It simply won't work. Even worse, abusing a claimant (or their mother), even verbally, will deepen their conviction and turn them off your argument and worse, turn them away from clear thinking. It will illicit an emotional and not a thoughtful response. In other words, abuse of a claimant is actually harming science and scientific thinking.

The only moderately successful method is to teach the person to be sceptical. I teach scepticism to my Year 8 to 10 science students as a specific subject; sceptical thinking is now in the Australian Curriculum: Science. One of the most important things I point out is that being sceptical doesn't mean you don't accept any premise, but it does mean you've thought about it first, and thought well. I then use a guide to being sceptical as a tool for opening discussion and supplement with contemporary examples. The end of the world scenario could be illustrated not only with current claims, but more effectively by comparing those claims with historical and obviously erroneous claims.

The great Carl Sagan was a proponent of critical thinking and his wonderful book "The Demon Haunted World" is an excellent read. There are many others. Another valuable resource is Brian Dunning's Skeptoid podcast and website. He distilled a guide to being sceptical (http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4037) which is very useful.

Often believers will counter with the idea that science is just one more belief system. This claim is easily dismissed with: scientists don't believe things, there is no faith involved; they accept conclusions based on evidence and clear thinking. Importantly they are always open to change if new evidence contradicts their conclusions (in principle, anyway). If an asteroid were heading towards Earth, for instance, astronomers would be the first to get excited and tell everyone.

Just remember: if you get angry and abusive you will only further the cause of misinformation, disinformation, and out-right loonies. Don't do it. And don't be so surprised that belief in silly things is so common. For me, a far greater threat to the well-being of society comes from more widely accepted belief systems based on absolutely no evidence. Those who fear the (imminent) end of the world are in the extreme minority.

Cheers,

Geoff Mc