Since 2015 I run a Tumblr site on which I collect examples of chessboards in films and other media that are in misorientated or wrong in other ways. Last weekend a long article in Dutch newspaper Parool was dedicated to this annoyance which I share with the author Roelf Jan Duin. A couple of weeks […]
The Basra Reed Warbler Case
The participants of a recent symposium on complainants who seem to abuse procedures for research integrity to frustrate unwanted research had only one example in mind. The complainant in question was not heard. Read this interview for his side of this story.
Klaas van Egmond identifies Shakespeare as the number pi
Professor Klaas van Egmond thinks he has found conclusive evidence that the poem and engraving on the front pages of the Shakespeare First Folio tell us that Shakespeare should be identified as the number π.
Iceman Wim Hof in the goop lab on Netflix
The goop lab will start on 24 January and apparently the second show will be about the Wim Hof Method. A good reason to have a new look since the last time I wrote about it was in 2016. Is there any new scientific evidence for the effectiveness of the Wim Hof Method? A brief look at recent publications.
Donald Trump’s Fake Acrostic Letter to Nancy Pelosi
A letter from Trump to Pelosi about the State of the Union spells out a dirty message, but it is clearly a fake.
Victory in court – Willem Middelkoop loses lawsuit over book review
I was sued by one of the authors of a book I had reviewed. He felt that my review had caused him unquantified damages and that publishing it had been an ‘unlawful act’. On 18 November the court has dismissed all his demands. My freedom of speech prevails over his hurt feelings!
Poll shows 0.9 per cent of Dutch people believe the Earth is flat
Dutch newspaper Trouw set out a poll, in collaboration with Kieskompas, to investigate the belief in several conspiracy theories. One of the results they reported is that ‘almost one per cent of the Dutch, 0.9 per cent to be exact, think that the Earth is not round, but flat.’ This would amount to about 150.000 […]
Conspiracy Playlist on Spotify
A playlist on Spotify with all kinds of songs that have a link with conspiracy theories. Suggestion are welcome!
The Dunning-Kruger effect among chess players
The Dunning-Kruger effect is said to exist among chess players. This is however based on a single study on a small one-day open Swiss tournament. And did the authors of that study fully grasp the effect of that particular pairing system?
Rhus tox: poison ivy or Atlantic poison oak?
A controversial study with the homeopathic remedy Rhus tox got retracted. But what is the remedy actually made from according to the authors?