Gwangi Valley - Lost Blog of the Gwangi

Scientists, skeptics and other rational thinkers are often accused of being “closed-minded” or “not open to new ideas” when they refute, debunk or otherwise remain skeptical of a belief or claim. And, likely just as often, the accuser is someone arguing in favour of their own brand of mysticism or pseudo-science. Or, at the very [...]

REMINDER: While this is, in general, a science-based blog, it is still my own opinions and reactions to the subject at hand. And I have a dirty mouth. You have been warned.

First, I should define First World for those of you who don’t spend much time talking about this sort of thing. You’re undoubtedly familiar [...]

Growing up I heard a phrase that, while crass, has stuck with me. “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and yours stinks.”
I would add, “Quite possibly, you’re also an asshole.” Maybe that’s just me. But I often find that pure opinion, the uninformed sort in particular, can be a parsimonious and troublesome commodity in [...]

It’s an open secret that the Church of Scientology’s first defense against criticism is to attack the person criticizing and ignore the criticism (their now-dead leader L. Ron Hubbard told them to always attack, never defend). And usually this attack is aimed not at defusing the criticism, but at intimidating the criticizer so forcefully and [...]

Pat Robertson fancies himself a prophet. The only problem is that, unlike your average hindsight prophet who gets to write things down after the fact so that they’re 100% accurate, Pat has to make his up beforehand.
And he fails so spectacularly at it that you almost feel sorry for him. But then you start to [...]

It’s a rare thing for me to stand up and applaud gossip sites and magazines. But I do so today. I do so with a feeling of pride. Pride in a part of popular culture which has, let’s be honest, primarily been involved with dumbing us down, not standing us up.
Well, the ‘Tom Cruise [...]

The world is full of misunderstandings. The rhino’s horn is misunderstood; it’s not a bone nor is it made of hair*. Chewing gum does not stay in your body for years**. And there are a number of myths about dinosaurs and ancient reptiles, as well, that need some airing out.
Fallacy: Pterosaurs couldn’t possibly have [...]

Are you ready for this?
You’ve heard that you should drink 8 glasses of water a day, right? Well… from whom did you hear that? Most likely you heard it from someone who heard it from someone. Apparently the original someone was a 1945 pronouncement by some nutrition board, except… that what it said was that [...]