#rationalwiki — Public Fediverse posts

#LessWrong is a community blog focused on "refining the art of human #rationality." To this end, it focuses on identifying and overcoming bias, improving judgment and problem-solving, and speculating about the future. The blog is based on the ideas of Eliezer Yudkowsky, a research fellow for the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI; previously known as the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and then the Singularity Institute). Many members of LessWrong share Yudkowsky's interests in #transhumanism, artificial intelligence (AI), the #Singularity, and #ai

#RationalWiki #miri #ai
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/LessWrong

The Dendera lamp is a claim by some conspiracy theorists and "alternate" history nuts that reliefs in the temple of Dendera in #Egypt "prove" that the Ancient Egyptians harnessed electricity and used it for lighting.

The name "Dendera lamp" is named after the fringe theories; the name wasn't chosen because there's any actual lamp. There isn't.

#RationalWiki #Denderalamp #pseudohistory #ancientegypt
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Dendera_lamp

#Crank magnetism is the condition where people become attracted to multiple crank ideas at the same time. Crank magnetism also denotes the tendency — even for otherwise "lone issue" cranks — to accumulate more crank beliefs over time. You know that old saying about not being so open-minded that your brain falls out? People with crank magnetism didn't pay attention to that. Crank magnetism is an important stepping stone on the path towards being wrong all of the time. Its opposite is the stopped clock (which is when otherwise overly credulous people actually find some crankery that they won't believe in, and may even actively denounce it).

#RationalWiki #crankmagnetism #kooks #pseudoscience #pseudohistory
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Crank_magnetism

#Chelation therapy is either 1) a legitimate medical treatment for diagnosed heavy metal poisoning, or 2) a pseudoscientific practice whereby certain substances (usually #EDTA or deferoxamine) are administered to a patient to "clear them of toxins".

In chemistry, "coordination" is the formation of a relatively weak bond between a metal ion and another substance called a "ligand" to form a "coordination complex". "Chelation" is a type of coordination where the ligand has multiple sites ("teeth") with which to bind to the metal, which makes the complex significantly more stable. A commonly encountered chelating agent is citric acid, which is a useful rust remover owing to its ability to chelate to iron. Chelation therapy is medically useful in heavy metal poisoning when the coordination complex is less toxic or more easily eliminated than the metal itself. …

#rationalwiki #chelationtherapy #alternativemedicine #altmed
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Chelation_therapy

British Israelism is a variant of #fundamentalist #Christian theology based on #pseudoarchaeology. In general it claims the lost tribes of Israel migrated to the British Isles and were the ancestors of today's White British people. It was a popular theory in the early 20th century, at least in the U.K. where it served as a theological pseudo-justification for the British Empire. It fell out of favour because the evidence for it is completely lacking.

#rationalwiki #Britain #britishisraelism #pseudohistory #britishempire
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/British_Israelism

Britain First is a far-right, fascist, and British nationalist set of paramilitary thugs masquerading as a political party. They were formed in 2011 by former members of the equally racist and fascist British National Party. The party was founded by a former BNP councillor and member of the National Front Paul Golding and Jim Dowson, an anti-abortion campaigner linked to Ulster loyalist militants. Golding led the party until 2016, when Deputy Leader Jayda Fransen took over the reins of leadership, in the aftermath of the murder of Jo Cox and under suspicious circumstances.

The party's followers are known as "Biffers" by their opponents, similar to how UKIP's followers are known as racist xenophobes "Kippers".

#RationalWiki #BritainFirst #ukpolitics #farright #fascism #racism
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Britain_First

"Dr." Glenn Beck is an American right-wing "commentator", former rodeo clown, former Fox News clown, and high school graduate who got lucky. He presented his eponymous Glenn Beck Show on the Fox News cartoon channel until it was dropped in 2011 due to low ratings.

He currently has his own radio show and originally appeared on CNN's Headline News until viewers couldn't take it anymore (rumors that they were also mad as hell are slightly exaggerated). Beck now owns the subscription-based internet network The Blaze (formerly GBTV), which his Fox show was transferred to in September 2011. The network somehow made it onto Dish Network; however, it has not been picked up by the many cable providers Beck thought it would have, despite his aggressive campaign to get it on every cable plan in America.

#RationalWiki #glennbeck #libertarians #bigots #creationists #Conspiracy
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Glenn_Beck

"Dr." Glenn Beck is an American right-wing "commentator", former rodeo clown, former Fox News clown, and high school graduate who got lucky. He presented his eponymous Glenn Beck Show on the Fox News cartoon channel until it was dropped in 2011 due to low ratings.

He currently has his own radio show and originally appeared on CNN's Headline News until viewers couldn't take it anymore (rumors that they were also mad as hell are slightly exaggerated). Beck now owns the subscription-based internet network The Blaze (formerly GBTV), which his Fox show was transferred to in September 2011. The network somehow made it onto Dish Network; however, it has not been picked up by the many cable providers Beck thought it would have, despite his aggressive campaign to get it on every cable plan in America.

#RationalWiki #glennbeck #libertarians #bigots #creationists #Conspiracy
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Glenn_Beck

Austrian economics (or the Austrian school of economics) is #libertarian #philosophy masquerading as a school of economic thought. This school is notable for its lack of formal mathematical modeling and empirical testing. Among its more unusual traits, the Austrian school draws its conclusions based on deduction and thought experiments, rather than data. In place of the conventional tools of science, the Austrian School favors a narrative approach called "praxeology". Despite its shortcomings, some less nutty features of the Austrian School have leaked into mainstream economics while the more nutty have found a home at libertarian think tanks (Cato Institute and Ludwig von Mises Institute).

#RationalWiki #economics #AustrianEconomics #praxeology #catoinstitute #ludwigvonmises #capitalism
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Austrian_school

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is a small group of physicians who, under a false authoritative name, advocate for #farright conservative values in the practice of medicine. While purporting to have high regard for the Hippocratic Oath, "the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship, and the "practice of private medicine", it appears to treat these concepts as terms of art. Despite also calling itself "non-partisan", its main focus appears to be #antiabortion, vaccination, universal health care coverage and Obamacare in particular, and birth control.

These concerns evidence a particular contempt for women's health and wellness. The #AAPS specifically opposes vaccination for HPV, a known cancer-causing virus for which a vaccine administered to young women is extremely effective. The group also makes the objectively false claim that there is a meaningful correlation between abortion and breast cancer.

#RationalWiki #antivaxxers
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Physicians_and_Surgeons

#WND (originally an initialism for #WorldNetDaily, or as it was affectionately known to its fans as WingNutDaily or WhirledNutDaily) is a far-right webshite founded by the impressively mustachioed Joseph Farah in 1997 as a project of his "Western Center for Journalism". The site espouses a #fundamentalist, #Christian, #creationist worldview with a healthy dose of #jingoism, and its coverage provides multiple sides of issues: the very #conservative viewpoint and the ultra-conservative viewpoint. Basically, it makes Fox News look positively moonbatty in comparison.

While they present themselves as news, WND is basically a tabloid for radical right-wingers. Their publishing standards are rock-bottom, and they have run stories from extremely questionable sources on many, many occasions. It's also one of the earliest and longest-running publishers of Ann Coulter's insipid columns…

#RationalWiki #josephfarah
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/WND

#WND (originally an initialism for #WorldNetDaily, or as it was affectionately known to its fans as WingNutDaily or WhirledNutDaily) is a far-right webshite founded by the impressively mustachioed Joseph Farah in 1997 as a project of his "Western Center for Journalism". The site espouses a #fundamentalist, #Christian, #creationist worldview with a healthy dose of #jingoism, and its coverage provides multiple sides of issues: the very #conservative viewpoint and the ultra-conservative viewpoint. Basically, it makes Fox News look positively moonbatty in comparison.

While they present themselves as news, WND is basically a tabloid for radical right-wingers. Their publishing standards are rock-bottom, and they have run stories from extremely questionable sources on many, many occasions. It's also one of the earliest and longest-running publishers of Ann Coulter's insipid columns…

#RationalWiki #josephfarah
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/WND

Anita Sarkeesian is a Canadian-American feminist social critic who documents sexist portrayals of women (and to a lesser extent #LGBT and North American racial minorities) in popular media such as video games and movies. Sarkeesian runs a YouTube channel and website, both titled FeministFrequency. She is the perfect demon for Reddit to hate: woman, and a feminist.

While Sarkeesian is well-known in Internet feminist circles and her work has been used in university classrooms, she is most noted for the hatred she has received from anti-feminists, especially #Gamergate, which include constant harassment and death threats. This transformation from feminist to target of often-misogynistic hate gave rise to the term "Anita's Law" and brought to light sexism in the video gaming community.

#RationalWiki #anitaSarkeesian #feminism #sexism #misogyny #videogames #film
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian

Anita Sarkeesian is a Canadian-American feminist social critic who documents sexist portrayals of women (and to a lesser extent #LGBT and North American racial minorities) in popular media such as video games and movies. Sarkeesian runs a YouTube channel and website, both titled FeministFrequency. She is the perfect demon for Reddit to hate: woman, and a feminist.

While Sarkeesian is well-known in Internet feminist circles and her work has been used in university classrooms, she is most noted for the hatred she has received from anti-feminists, especially #Gamergate, which include constant harassment and death threats. This transformation from feminist to target of often-misogynistic hate gave rise to the term "Anita's Law" and brought to light sexism in the video gaming community.

#RationalWiki #anitaSarkeesian #feminism #sexism #misogyny #videogames #film
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian

Anita Sarkeesian is a Canadian-American feminist social critic who documents sexist portrayals of women (and to a lesser extent #LGBT and North American racial minorities) in popular media such as video games and movies. Sarkeesian runs a YouTube channel and website, both titled FeministFrequency. She is the perfect demon for Reddit to hate: woman, and a feminist.

While Sarkeesian is well-known in Internet feminist circles and her work has been used in university classrooms, she is most noted for the hatred she has received from anti-feminists, especially #Gamergate, which include constant harassment and death threats. This transformation from feminist to target of often-misogynistic hate gave rise to the term "Anita's Law" and brought to light sexism in the video gaming community.

#RationalWiki #anitaSarkeesian #feminism #sexism #misogyny #videogames #film
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian

Anita Sarkeesian is a Canadian-American feminist social critic who documents sexist portrayals of women (and to a lesser extent #LGBT and North American racial minorities) in popular media such as video games and movies. Sarkeesian runs a YouTube channel and website, both titled FeministFrequency. She is the perfect demon for Reddit to hate: woman, and a feminist.

While Sarkeesian is well-known in Internet feminist circles and her work has been used in university classrooms, she is most noted for the hatred she has received from anti-feminists, especially #Gamergate, which include constant harassment and death threats. This transformation from feminist to target of often-misogynistic hate gave rise to the term "Anita's Law" and brought to light sexism in the video gaming community.

#RationalWiki #anitaSarkeesian #feminism #sexism #misogyny #videogames #film
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian

Anita Sarkeesian is a Canadian-American feminist social critic who documents sexist portrayals of women (and to a lesser extent #LGBT and North American racial minorities) in popular media such as video games and movies. Sarkeesian runs a YouTube channel and website, both titled FeministFrequency. She is the perfect demon for Reddit to hate: woman, and a feminist.

While Sarkeesian is well-known in Internet feminist circles and her work has been used in university classrooms, she is most noted for the hatred she has received from anti-feminists, especially #Gamergate, which include constant harassment and death threats. This transformation from feminist to target of often-misogynistic hate gave rise to the term "Anita's Law" and brought to light sexism in the video gaming community.

#RationalWiki #anitaSarkeesian #feminism #sexism #misogyny #videogames #film
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian

Obama citizenship denial or #birtherism is a phenomenon that began during the 2008 US Presidential campaign as an attempt to discredit Barack Obama by claiming that he was not born in the United States or that his father was not a US citizen at the time of his birth and that being born in the US is a requirement for being elected President.The bogus suspicion was initially shopped around to the media by aides to Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and then spread by bitter Hillary Clinton supporters who opposed the concession of the Democratic nomination to Obama and taken up by the usual far-right conspiracy theorists.

…

#RationalWiki #barackobama #denialism #conspiracytheories #racism #pseudolaw
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Obama_citizenship_denial

The idea that the #Joseph of the Old Testament was #Imhotep is a mixture of the usual "Biblical history" pseudo-historical distortion, with a bit of crossover appeal to the lunatic fringe "Alternative" #Egyptology nuts. It's a kind of anti-intellectual, anti-historical supermarket, with something for everyone.

Jason Colavito has traced the historiography of the connection between #pyramids and Joseph's grain silos to the late antiquity and early medieval writers Julius Honorius and Gregory of Tours. Honorius' Cosmographia, probably written in the 4th or 5th century CE, specifically mentioned that the pyramids were Joseph's granaries, whereas Gregory's 6th century History of the Franks alluded to the same idea, but without using the word "pyramid".

…

#RationalWiki #Bible #oldtestament #pseudohistory
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Joseph_was_Imhotep

#Comet C/2010 X1 (Elenin), a.k.a. Comet #Elenin to the media and everyone who doesn't know how to read the IAU's designations, was a comet discovered in the end of 2010 that reached its first known perihelion (closest point to the Sun in its orbit) in September 2011, disintegrating shortly afterwards. It's notable mostly for being the first comet discovered by a Russian in the last 20 years. Oh, and the fact that an assortment of #cranks, conspiracy theorists and/or End Times/Rapture believers latched onto it for a variety of reasons. Due to the latter, it can be used as a case study in how #doomsday conspiracy theories originate, develop and spread.

#RationalWiki #conspiracytheories #endtimes #rapture
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Comet_Elenin

Freeman on the land, also known as FMOTL, FOTL, "Footle" or simply freeman, is a form of #pseudolegal #woo in various English-speaking countries. Freemen believe they can opt out of being governed, and that what normal people understand to be "laws" are merely a form of "contract" that applies only if people consent to it. In short: saying a few super-secret legal phrases will get you out of anything!

Freemen hold that we are all subject to a massive international legal conspiracy perpetrated for the profit of the elites, but that you can hack the system if you just use the right form of words. They believe only in their version of natural law, which they call "common law." In practical terms, they believe this means they do not have to pay taxes, debts, mortgages, etc.

#pseudolaw #freemenoftheland #RationalWiki #conspiracytheories
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Freeman_on_the_land