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Category: critical thinking

sam bailey on isolating viruses, and why she is wrong

April 19, 2021 | Alison | critical thinking, genetics, nature of science, new science stories, science and society

Recently I was told I needed to go to the Youtube channel of Dr Sam BaileyA and watch one of her videosB. So I did. This particular video is called The Truth About Virus Isolation, and yes it’s on Youtube, and no I’m not linking directly because I refuse to link to such a misleading […]

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why it’s important to check sources

April 17, 2021 | Alison | communication, critical thinking, nature of science, science and society

While checking my spam folder (before yeeting the contents permanently) I noticed that I’d been sent a bunch of email ‘newsletters’ from the group “Voices for Freedom.” Out of interest I opened one, just in case the contents were worth a post or two – & indeed they were. The writers of the newsletter state […]

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so much misinformation on a page supposedly about health

April 15, 2021 | Alison | critical thinking, science and society

It’s always something of a shock to come across a page run by a health-focused business that contains substantial misinformation. This one left me gobsmacked, given the sheer number of statements that are demonstrably untrue. And while a fair bit of the content is prefaced by the statement that it’s the personal opinion of one […]

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we haven’t taught critical thinking particularly well

April 14, 2021 | Alison | critical thinking, education, genetics, science and society

Yesterday I got told to “do some research” &, by extension, to think critically. The biologist in me cringed a little when I read it (and not because of the advice about doing research).   Biology teachers I know suggested that perhaps everyone should take the NCEA standard that lets students learn about the basic […]

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evidence vs spin

April 13, 2021 | Alison | critical thinking, science and society

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this blog post by New Zealand’s “Plan B” group. While initially this group opposed the government’s use of lockdowns to manage covid19 outbreaks in this country, they seem to have since moved on to opposing the rollout of vaccines against SARS-Cov-2. And, while they claim […]

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“doing my own research” & the scientific method

April 7, 2021 | Alison | communication, critical thinking, nature of science

This evening I was engaging in polite conversation (well, I was polite, anyway) on an RNZ Facebook post about – you guessed it! – the covid19 vaccination program. One of those present offered up a link to a blog post by Joseph Mercola to support a claim he was making about the vaccines. When I […]

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I’m still not in the money

March 24, 2021 | Alison | communication, critical thinking, science and society

In the last week water fluoridation has made the headlines again, alongside the continuing articles and posts related to SARS-Cov-2 and the rollout of vaccines against it. One of the common features shown by quite a few of those opposed to these 2 public health initiatives (fluoridation & vaccination) is a tendency to claim that […]

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luciferin, luciferase, etymology, & innuendo

February 10, 2021 | Alison | animal diversity, communication, critical thinking
luciferin, luciferase, etymology, & innuendo

On Friday we went for a walk in the Karangahake Gorge, and were very happy to discover (during the Windows Walk) that there are glow-worms in the darker parts of the mine workings. (Strictly speaking they’re glow-maggots as they’re the larvae of small flies/midges, but that is perhaps less attractive to the ear 🙂 ) […]

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those vaccine ingredients again

December 10, 2020 | Alison | communication, critical thinking, nature of science, science and society

A year ago I posted an explanation on vaccine “ingredients”, in relation to some wild claims made about the measles vaccine in the context of Samoa’s measles epidemic. From what I’ve seen on recent RNZ comments threads, an update for the time of SARS-Cov-2 is required. So, here’s purple making a statement about the Pfizer […]

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mammoth bones – and … potatoes???

December 8, 2020 | Alison | critical thinking, ecology, human evolution, plant structure

Today I came across an interesting share in a science group that I follow – an article about a “huge 25,000-yr-old hut” made of mammoth bones. Having really enjoyed Jean Auel’s “Earth’s Children” series, of course I was going to read on. But alas, the article was disappointing: the headline image didn’t match the story; […]

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Swan girl - portrait of the author as a young scientist This blog in response to comments from secondary school biology teachers. I hope to use it as a way of encouraging critical thinking, looking at scientific papers that are relevant to the Level 3 curriculum and to Scholarship.

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  • sam bailey on isolating viruses, and why she is wrong
  • why it’s important to check sources
  • so much misinformation on a page supposedly about health
  • if pharyngeal slits turn into gills, why don’t humans have gills?
  • evidence vs spin
  • we haven’t taught critical thinking particularly well
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