h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

hi, found the ARS page when i clicked on the link at gnomon's page. it's the first society of skeptics that i've found *anywhere* , and being hardcore saganite, i'm more than interested to join i'd like to know more about the society and how to go about signing up and all

it's great that you founded ARS. cheers!

Well, about the society... I guess it hasn't yet found it's final form, and given the nature of h2g2 no form can be expected to be final. But my purpose was mainly to create a place to gather those less credulous and give them an easy way to display their belief or lack of such. Hopefully interesting discussions will continue to appear at the ARS Entry and we'll all thoroughly enjoy our membership.
As I mentioned in some thread or other previously suggestions as to what should be in the entry, and how the association should be run are welcome. (Or maybe I wrote that I'd ignore them all. )
Signing up is really simple, I already registered you.
Well what did you expect, thanking me for founding the thingy and all? If you didn't want to join you should have been more carefull with the praise.
Welcome.

thanks! a whole lot!

would you accept articles criticizing bad science as well? as in bad science practices/habits? it would give me an excuse to shoot down certain things that i think are marring the name of science

Articles critizing bad science is definitely good skepticism. I think you should have a look at F48874?thread=229025. This is the peer review thread for my entry on the scientific method. JD, who sort of had dibs on writing it (Ie he'd asked Cheese, who had an entry on SM 'in progress' if he was planning to finish it or if it was ok to write another one, and then since he hadn't gotten around to that I asked him ...), is considering an entry on the use and abuse of the method. Coordinating with him could be useful.

i liked that article of yours (the one on scientific method). pretty much stuff we covered in history and philosophy of science iii, but it's refreshing to read it again

i guess i won't tread on jd's turf. i was actually thinking of doing an article for the guide on seriously bad medical and laboratory practices that are seemingly popular among today's medical practitioners and researchers (like white coat syndrome)... do you think that would antagonize too many people?

It's never bad to antagonize people with the truth. Did you read the piece on "Reading Medical Research" that was recently on the front page?
I think an entry such as you mention would nicely complement that, as well as being a good thing in and of itself.

yeah, it was good. i think i found the link in your page. have printed out copies of it and have been passing them around

i've actually written an article about the white coat syndrome already... will look through it and add other things i can't stand about people who don't care very much about science and then send it in. at least i know that if people start lashing out at me i can take refuge at the ars.... er, i can, right?? you guys won't let me get lynched, right?