Free Tibet?!

With all the China-bashing and Tibet-praising that’s been going on in the media over the last few months — what part of not politicising the Olympics do they not get, I wonder — it was great to listen to Brian Dunning’s recent Skeptoid podcast titled ‘Should Tibet be Free?‘.

Dunning probably knew he was going to get bashed regardless of what he said but I’m really glad he said all of it anyway. Too many people are going around shouting “Free Tibet” without knowing the history or the details of the situation and it’s really easy to take the moral (or “we are more civilized”) high ground on something that, at first glance, seems very cut and dried but, once you start examining critically, ends up being much more complex.

[Note: This bears repeating: Watch Dunning's 'Here be Dragons: an Introduction to Critical Thinking' video. Teh awesome.]

Here Be Dragons

I don’t have the time or the energy to write more about this, though I really want to. Instead, all I’ll say is that you really must watch Brian Dunning’s ‘Here Be Dragons’ video. Here’s what it’s about:

‘Here Be Dragons’ is a free 40 minute video introduction to critical thinking. It is suitable for general audiences and is licensed for free distribution and public display.

Most people fully accept paranormal and pseudoscientific claims without critique as they are promoted by the mass media. ‘Here Be Dragons’ offers a toolbox for recognizing and understanding the dangers of pseudoscience, and appreciation for the reality-based benefits offered by real science.

‘Here Be Dragons’ is written and presented by Brian Dunning, host and producer of the Skeptoid podcast, author of ‘Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena‘, and Executive Producer of The Skeptologists.

It’s awesome. Enjoy.

[Via the Bad Astronomy Blog]