trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
Exposing PseudoAstronomy

{{skepnav|1}}
'''Exposing PseudoAstronomy''' is a podcast (and blog) written, hosted, and produced by astronomer/geophysicist Dr. Stuart Robbins.  The podcast tends to focus on issues related to pseudoscience in [[astronomy]], [[geology]], and [[physics]], though it has, at times, ventured away from those topics to explain more general science-related concepts such as [[peer-review]]<ref>[http://podcast.sjrdesign.net/shownotes_093.php Exposing PseudoAstronomy Episode 93]</ref>.  Within that broad framework, Dr. Robbins has addressed topics such as [[astrology]], [[Planet X]], [[creationism]] claims, and the [[Face on Mars]]<ref>[http://podcast.sjrdesign.net/tree.html Exposing PseudoAstronomy Podcast Tree]</ref>.  He has stated that he would rather have named the podcast "Bad Astronomy," but [[Phil Plait]] took that name.

The format of the podcast always has a very brief introduction to the topic and then the main segment discussing the topic.  Length of each episode varies from about 20 minutes to over an hour, though the typical episode length is about 30 minutes.  Other occasional segments include:  "New News" (items in the news related to a previously discussed topic), Q&A, Feedback, Puzzler, and Announcements.  Robbins re-records the outro to every episode and often puts in something extra for the listener, or phrases things differently, such as one episode's outro was done with a bad version of a Texan accent.

The podcast began in August 2011, coming out twice a month, then four times a month, then twice a month, and since mid-2013 has settled on three episodes a month, typically coming out on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month.  Robbins has often stated that the podcast can be thought of as a cross between [[Skeptoid]] and [[AstronomyCast]], merging the singular astronomy topic per episode of the latter with the focused skeptical approach of the former.

The blog dates to August 2008, but since the podcast started, it has primarily served as announcements for new episodes, though it occasionally has new, stand-alone articles.

In May 2014, despite having released sporadic movies throughout its past 2.5 years, Robbins launched his first "official" video called "The Cydonia Region of Mars," both to the podcast feed (720p) and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_C4bFfATGY to YouTube] (1080p).  Within the first week, it accumulated over 13,000 views.  The movie addresses the geometric arguments by Mars anomalists that there are features in the Cydonia region of Mars that display special geometry matching mathematical constants that prove it was created by an intelligence, likely aliens.  After the success of this movie, Robbins has stated that he plans to release more in the future.

==See also==
*[[RationalWiki:Rational podcasts]]

==External links==
*[http://podcast.sjrdesign.net/ Exposing PseudoAstronomy podcast]
*[http://pseudoastro.wordpress.com/ Exposing PseudoAstronomy blog]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|internet}}

[[Category:Podcasts]]
[[Category:Skeptics]]

Categories: Podcasts, Skeptics
Extended analogy

{{logicnav}}
'''Extended analogy''' is a [[logical fallacy]] where the use of an analogy (a rhetorical device used to compare the same phenomenon in different contexts for emphasis or clarification) in a discussion of a general rule is taken to be a statement that the scenario in the analogy and the scenario in the original argument are alike in additional ways. It is a fallacy of distraction.

==Form==
The fallacy occurs by processing an analogy in the following way:
{{syl
|2=A is like X in some way.
|4=B is like X in a different way.
|5=C|6=Therefore, A is like B.
}}

The fallacy will focus on unacceptable aspects of the final line in order to ignore the purpose of the comparison. For example:
:'''Person N''': "Software pirates should campaign to change the law and not break it. I don't think it's ever valid to oppose the law by breaking it."<br>
:'''Person M''': "Such a position is odious: it implies you would not have supported the [[women's suffrage]] movement."<br>
:'''Person N''': "Are you suggesting piracy is as important as giving women the vote? How dare you!"

M's analogy is a valid ''[[reductio ad absurdum]]'' response to the original argument (that it is ''never'' acceptable to break the law while opposing it), but N's reply instead assumes M's analogy is a claim both acts are equally significant.

This fallacy occurs particularly often with [[Godwin's law|comparisons to dictators, such as Hitler]]. A [[tobacco]] company may, for example, point out that [[Hitler]] was adamant that tobacco was unhealthy, implying that thinking tobacco to be unhealthy is the same as [[Antisemitism|hating Jews]]. However, this tendency allows us to further demonstrate the fallacy by inverting the situation for a moment: imagine if someone in the [[Soviet Union]] compared [[Stalin]] to Hitler because they were both horrible mass-murdering leaders, and Stalin took it as a comparison of their mustaches. Stupid, right?

Honestly, this is probably one of the dumbest fallacies you can commit; Even kids watching Sesame Street understand that just because the puppet says that the yellow square and yellow circle are the same color, it doesn't make them the same shape too.

==Counterexamples==

While this may fall victim to [[Poe's Law]], an extended analogy may be deliberately absurdist for the purpose of creating a joke. (For example, Josef Stalin would be ''quite justifiably'' offended at having his mustache compared to Hitler's.){{fact|joke}}

Additionally, any scatological analogy ([[bullshit|"full of shit"]], etc.) can easily be tied back to a corresponding [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] diagnosis ("anal-retentive", etc.). Whether these cases are evidence of overextended analogies on the part of Dr. Freud is left to the reader's judgment.

{{logfal}}

[[Category:Informal fallacies]]

Categories: Informal fallacies
Extinction

'''Extinction''' refers to the complete elimination of a given [[species]]. Extinctions may have various causes, including over-hunting, loss of habitat, [[climate change]], competition from other species, obliteration due to local or global catastrophes, plague, gradual evolution, many other factors or combinations of factors. The opposite word of extinct is extant, meaning any species that still survives and exists.

==Extinction events==
:''Main article:  [[Extinction event]]''

Species become extinct all the time (an estimated 99% of all identified species are extinct). However, there have been times in geologic history called "mass extinction events" when large numbers of species vanish forever over a relatively short [[Geologic timeline|(geologically speaking) time]]. The most famous of these is the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, often known as the "wiping out (most) [[dinosaurs]]". The largest extinction was the [[Permian Mass Extinction]] event, which eliminated 96% of marine species and 70% of land species. 

[[Extinction event]]s, in the past, could have any number of causes, from giant meteor impacts to oxygenation of the atmosphere.  However, it is very likely that the rise of modern ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' has precipitated a mass extinction that we are still in the middle of. It is impossible to accurately estimate the rate of disappearing species, with some estimates ranging up to over 100,000 a year. This is roughly 100 times the "normal" background level of extinction.

==See also==
*[[Dodo]]
*[[Evolution]]
*[[Noah's Ark]] &mdash; an attempt to prevent extinction?
*[[Privatization of wildlife]] &mdash; a way to encourage extinction.
*[[Voluntary Human Extinction Movement]]
*[[White extinction scenario]]

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Paleontology]]
[[Category:Zoology]]

Categories: Biology, Paleontology, Zoology
Extrasensory perception

{{psychic}}{{hatnote|Not to be confused with {{wpl|ISP|ISPs}} (internet service providers), which do not only in fact exist, but are the reason you can read this. Also not to be confused with {{wpl|ESPN||.}}}}
'''Extrasensory perception''' (ESP) is 
a video game exploit
 the alleged ability to obtain information independently of the senses known to science, using "the power of the mind."

==Evidence==
ESP is classed as a [[pseudoscience]] by the scientific community. Evidence to support the existence of ESP is more often than not purely [[anecdote|anecdotal]] ("Well, my friend ''swears'' that she knew I was going to call when I did!") or at least subject to extreme [[bias]] and [[selective reporting]]. ESP can be tested very easily with blind trials: simply asking someone to guess (ahem, "sense") what is in an envelope shows a success rate no greater than simply guessing.

Claims of ESP have been made for centuries but have never been scientifically confirmed.

The scientific examination of ESP is called [[parapsychology]]. In practice, this tends to the pseudoscientific.

==Non-magical ways to read brain waves==
ESP is not to be confused with contemporary research/experimentation in "reading" brain activity electronically. This is quite legitimate science and often involves established techniques such as [[MRI]]. ESP is entirely based on "the mind" reading other things, rather than equipment that has been proven to be able to do so - although this equipment doesn't "read minds" in the sense that people would think. Some research does seem to indicate that people's behaviour can be predicted based on brain activity, but this is at best 30 seconds in advance and can only be done when someone is stuck inside a   MRI scanner or covered in EEG electrodes.

==ESP examples==
ESP is used to describe a large variety of individual phenomena and claims.  It includes such things as:

*[[Precognition]]:  Seeing or predicting events in the future.
*[[Clairvoyance]] and/or [[Remote viewing]]:  The ability to see something that cannot be seen with the eyes.  Such as a painting sealed in an envelope in another room.
*[[Telepathy]]:  Specifically the ability to communicate with another person using the power of the [[mind]].
*[[Telekinesis]]:  The ability to move objects without touching them.
*Psychic staring effect (scopaesthesia): the ability to detect if one is being watched.

==See also==
*[[Psychokinesis]] 
*[[Teleportation]] 
*[[Zener cards]]
 
==External links==
*[http://www.csicop.org/ Online Scientific Investigation of Paranormal and Fringe Science]
*[http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/cultural_indicators_of_the_paranormal/ Cultural Indicators of the Paranormal], article by Matt Nisbet

[[category:Psychic powers]]

Categories: Psychic powers
Fahrenheit 9/11

[[File:Fahrenheit 911 poster.jpg|thumb|right|165px|''Fahrenheit 9/11'' poster]]
{{Film}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Fahrenheit 9/11''}}
'''''Fahrenheit 9/11''''' is a documentary film by [[Michael Moore]], rushed out in 2004 in an attempt to affect the coming election (going so far as to encourage people to copy it and spread it around). The title is a play on the ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', a novel by Ray Bradbury, who was not pleased with the homage, and repeatedly asked Moore to change the title<ref>"[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5324876/ 'Fahrenheit 451' author wants title back]." ''Hardball with Chris Matthews''. MSNBC. 2004 June 29.</ref> (it being a mere coincidence that a new film version of ''Fahrenheit 451'' was in development at the time).

==Plot==

<strike>It's mostly a bunch of [[liberal]] "hate America first" lies, smearing the good [[Bush]] family name, and as such, it received a 20 minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival (but that's [[Hollywood values]] for you).</strike> The film is mostly about the sexual affairs of [[George W. Bush]], beginning with the accusation that [[Fox News]] and Bush were in bed to hand him the [[2000 U.S. Presidential Election]]. It then discusses briefly Bush's affair with the Air National Guard and his rather at-home service record. Bush then bed hops to fear with the passing of the [[USA PATRIOT Act]] and later the [[Iraq War]].

==Reception==
In all seriousness, despite the accolades, it's arguably one of the less entertaining or thoughtful jaunts by Michael Moore. Noted columnist [[Christopher Hitchens]] said that "to describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious,"<ref>Christopher Hitchens. "[http://www.slate.com/id/2102723 Unfairenheit 9/11]." ''Slate''. 2004 June 21.</ref> in reference to the fact that the film was just an exercise in Bush-bashing (which had been a national sport for the American Left since the [[Iraq War|Iraq invasion of 2003]]). Researcher Dave Kopel went through the film, identifying numerous errors or distortions, though he, like Moore, opposed Bush.<ref>Dave Kopel. "[http://web.archive.org/web/20100920011203/http://davekopel.org/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-in-Fahrenheit-911.htm Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11]." DaveKopel.org. 2004 November 12.</ref>

The film is not all bad though: [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Kuwait]] banned the film for being critical of the Iraq war and being an insult to Saudi Arabia's royal family."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/aug/02/news.middleeast Fahrenheit 9/11 banned in Kuwait] (2 Aug 2004 04.59 EDT) ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref><ref>[https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-08-01-kuwait-911ban_x.htm Kuwait bans 'Fahrenheit 9/11'] (8/1/2004 6:28 PM) ''USA Today''.</ref>

==See also==

*''[[Bowling for Columbine]]''
==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361596/ ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' on IMDb]
==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Films]]

Categories: Films
Failed state

{{politics}}
{{Sources needed}}
{{cquote|A nation does not have to begin in the third world, but it will usually stay there.|||the Ignoble Retserrof, ''Urban Dictionary''<ref>http://www.urbandictionary.com/author.php?author=the%20Ignoble%20Retserrof</ref>}}

A '''failed state''' is a recognized [[state]] incapable of fulfilling the basic requirement of being a state, i.e., it does not hold a monopoly on the "legitimate means of coercion." This means that the state's apparatus does not have the legitimacy of its people in matters of punishing criminals or defending borders.

This can be for a few different reasons. This is usually due to citizens of the state being too invested in some subgroup within the state, such as tribal affiliation or religious organizations. However, it can also come because the existing state apparatus has wholly abdicated the role, or else because the state has lost legitimacy, but no one else has been able to put forward a competing claim strong enough to rally the population.

Not every failed state exists in complete [[anarchy]], but there is often some degree of it. Technically, a state where non-governmental actors (such as tribes or corporate associations) keep the peace while an ineffective central government does nothing would be considered a failed state. Still, it would be expected for the true holders of the monopoly on legitimate coercion to ''become'' the state. The term "failed state" is usually only applied to places with no actors who have legitimacy across the state.

The quintessential modern example of a failed state is [[Somalia]], although it has finally begun to overcome this, while the current situation in [[Afghanistan]], [[Iraq]], and [[Syria]] also qualify. [[Zimbabwe]] is also on the road to being a failed state. Due to the proxy war being conducted by [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Iran]], [[Yemen]] became a failed state sometime around 2018.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2018/11/08/665616789/plagued-by-war-and-famine-yemen-is-no-longer-a-functioning-state-journalist-warn Plagued By War and Famine, Yemen Is 'No Longer A Functioning State,' Journalist Warns] by Terry Gross (November 8, 20182:37 PM ET) ''NPR''.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|Politics}}

[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:Government incompetence]]

Categories: Political terms, Government incompetence
Fair and Balanced

{{media}}
'''"Fair and Balanced"''' was the slogan of [[Fox News|Fox "Faux" News]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/business/media/fox-news-fair-and-balanced.html Fox News drops Fair and Balanced motto], ''The New York Times'' 14 June 2017</ref> It meant that their overall quality is at best '''fair''', and that their "news" is '''balanced''' with a strong dose of commentary, to make sure the viewer gets the talking points clearly. In reality, Fox News is about as "balanced" as [[Conservapedia]] is "[[trusworthy]]" (mispelling intended).

==Intended meaning==
Fox News [[Conservative correctness|sees]] the whole media as having a [[liberal bias]].  Along with their other slogan of <strike>"We Distort, You Deride"</strike> "We Report, You Decide," Fox can give the impression that it is factual and that viewers are allowed to make up their own minds as to the political ramifications of the story in question.  This applies to everything, from reporting [[government ]]spending to [[Barack Obama]]'s [[Obama citizenship denial|birth certificate]].

==Actual meaning==
As with many [[media]] outlets with a strong political view, Fox News sees the [[Mainstream media|"mainstream" media]] as highly biased to a [[liberal]] viewpoint and even politically moderate media as liberally biased. (This is understandable, because it is almost impossible to view something as unbiased when you, yourself, have a bias.  It's also difficult to recognize a bias when you actually agree with it.)  It tries to counteract this perceived bias by "balancing" the news.  In practice, this results in a ''massive'' swing to the political right, with Fox News being unashamedly biased towards presenting right-wing politics as good and liberal politics as the work of [[Satan]] himself.  The term "Fair and Balanced" acts as a smokescreen to hide the obvious bias from its viewers.

In short: "Unfair and Imbalanced" would be ''far'' more accurate.

==See also==
*[[Big lie]]
*[[Hostile media effect]]
*[[Loaded language]]
*[[Propaganda]]
*[[Balance fallacy]]
*[[Fake news]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{stub|media}}

[[Category:Broadcasting]]
[[Category:Conservative deceit]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Misnomers]]
[[Category:Propaganda]]

Categories: Broadcasting, Conservative deceit, Media, Misnomers, Propaganda
Fairness Doctrine

{{media}}
The '''Fairness Doctrine''' mandated equal treatment of political "issues" on the American airwaves.  It was repealed in 1987.<ref name="Econ">The Economist, "[http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_NDVNDQN Media Madness], 11 Sep. 2003.</ref>

The doctrine has been a double-edged sword in many cases.  For example, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the law helped get anti-[[tobacco|smoking]] ads on the air as a balance to the tobacco industry's ads after a [[scientific consensus|consensus]] had developed that smoking could cause lung cancer.  However, once the industry's ads were banned, the anti-smoking ads went as well due to lack of funding.<ref>[http://www.temple.edu/newsroom/2008_2009/09/stories/antismokingads.htm Tobacco industry vs. anti-smoking ads], Temple University Newsroom</ref>  The [[George C. Marshall Institute]] used it to attack anti-[[SDI]] programs on television and have them pulled off  the air.<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2008/02/08/202345/understanding-the-global-warming-disinformation-campaign/ Understanding the Global Warming Disinformation Campaign], Joe Romm</ref>

The only radio station known to have its FCC license revoked due to Fairness Doctrine violations (as well as being "flagrantly disrespectful of FCC requirements") was [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] station WXUR, owned by [[fundamentalist]] [[minister]] {{wpl|Carl McIntire||,}} in 1973.

Since its repeal, groups across the [[political spectrum]] have urged for its reinstatement. For example, [[conservatives]] fear that the modern TV news media [[liberal media|over-represents liberals]], and pays little to no attention to conservative issues and values.<ref name="Econ"/>

More recently, the left has sought its return, partly in the wake of the "[[Manufactroversy|Swift-Boat Veterans 
for Truth
]]" fiasco,<ref>Steve Rendall, [http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0212-03.htm "The Fairness Doctrine, How We Lost It and Why We Need It Back."]</ref> and partly in response to the allegedly large role played by [[conservative talk radio|conservative]] [[talk radio]] in defeating the immigration bill of summer 2007.<ref>TheHill.com, [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/fairness-doctrine-hammered-309-115-2007-06-28.html "Fairness Doctrine hammered 309-115."]</ref> This has caused its reinstatement to become a [[Fun:Liberal boogeyman|boogeyman]] of the right, with conservative radio hosts constantly claiming that [[Democrats]] are about to reinstate it, without any single Democrat in power having proposed a single piece of legislation to do any such thing.

==See also==

*'''[[Debate:Fairness Doctrine]]''': Weigh in on the Fairness Doctrine on RationalWiki's debate page for it.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Broadcasting]]
[[Category:United States politics]]

Categories: Broadcasting, United States politics
Fairy ring

[[File:Fairy Ring 0004.JPG|thumb|left|165px|A fairy ring]]
{{folklore}}
A '''fairy ring''', also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms, believed by some to be a place where dimensions meet, or, evidence that pixies and/or fairies were dancing in the area.

The rings can grow to over 10 metres in diameter, and they become stable over time depending on how often fairies return to dance. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands and deserts. 

Fairy rings are the subject of much folklore and [[myth]], primarily in [[Europe]]. While some see them as hazardous places, others think that they increase good fortune.

==Fairy ring formation==
[[File:Feenkreise Namibia.jpg|thumb|left|165px|Fairy rings in Namibia]]
Grassland fairy rings are most often formed by the mushroom ''Marasmius oreades''; they are formed by nutrient depletion by the mushroom starting at the center and growing outward over time in a circle.<ref>[http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/FunFacts/Ringsfct.htm Fairy Rings] ''Fun Facts About Fungi''.</ref>

Desert fairy rings are believed to form either from competition stalemates between plants, between termites, or a combination of both competitions.<ref>[https://www.sciencenews.org/article/debate-over-origin-fairy-circles-both-sides-might-be-right In debate over origin of fairy circles, both sides might be right: Weirdly regular bald spots in dry grasslands may arise from both plant and termite competitions] by  Susan Milius (7:00am, January 19, 2017) ''Science News''.</ref> A newer analysis indicates that the likeliest cause of desert fairy rings is competition for water in extremely arid regions.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/13/fairy-circles-namibia-australia-desert-mystery/ Scientists inch closer to learning origins of mysterious ‘fairy circles’ No one knows exactly how these circles form. New evidence suggests the plants may be responding to the dehydrated terrain.] by Kasha Patel (January 13, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Getting rid of fairy rings==
According to the Royal Horticultural Society, the only proper remedy is to dig out the fungus-infused soil to a depth of at least 30 cm, then replace this with fresh soil. Since this is rather hard work, as a partial solution to dead circles in your lawn you can try watering and aerating the soil to encourage growth.<ref>[https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=158 Fairy rings], Royal Horticultural Society website</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2|90%}}
{{stub|Cryptozoology}}