Brian Dunning - Waterspouts and Swamp Gas - SkeptiCal
Channel: Susan Gerbic
Date: 2017-06-12

Science communicators do almost as much bad science as anyone. This talk blows the lid off some of the huge mistakes the media has made, some terrible but popular so-called "skeptical" explanations for famous phenomena. It's a lot of fun, covers a lot of ground, and exposes a lot of stories and urban legends you've heard of. The concepts it presents — thinking errors, perceptual errors, preconceived notions and biases — are universally applicable to professionals in any industry or to students in any subject.

Science writer Brian Dunning is the host and producer of the podcast Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena (skeptoid.com), applying critical thinking to urban legends and popular pseudoscientific subjects promoted by the mass media. Skeptoid has a weekly audience of 158,000 listeners. Brian is also the author of five books based on the podcast. A computer scientist by trade, Brian uses new media to showcase the rewards of science and critical thinking. He has appeared on numerous radio shows and television documentaries, and also hosts the science video series inFact with Brian Dunning (infactvideo.com). He is a member of the National Association of Science Writers, and lives in southern California with his family.