The Skeptic Zone #605 - 17.May.2020

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:00 Investigating the Paranormal... and Boobs? Former Australian Skeptics committee member and one of the founders of the 'Mystery Investigators' show for schools, Alynda Brown tells us of her investigations of "Psychics" and strange medical claims of the early 2000s, including undergoing hypnosis to increase her bust size!   Testing Mr. Sen. (page 40) https://www.skeptics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine/The%20Skeptic%20Volume%2022%20(2002)%20No%204.pdf Testing Ms Maree Teychenne (page 37) https://www.skeptics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine/The%20Skeptic%20Volume%2023%20(2003)%20No%203.pdf Full Fact Book of Cold Reading https://www.coldreadingsuccess.com/books 0:29:43 Plandemic conspiracy video plays cat-and-mouse with platforms The anti-vaccine conspiratorial "documentary" Plandemic, which makes a range of misleading claims about COVID-19, has been playing a cat-and-mouse game with social media platforms since it was launched across a range of sites. It was initially published on May 4 (US time) on video sites Vimeo and YouTube, and quickly followed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even the business 'match-up' site LinkedIn. - Tim Mendham https://www.skeptics.com.au/2020/05/12/plandemic-conspiracy-video-plays-cat-and-mouse-with-platforms/ 0:40:09 Logical Fallacies. With Michelle Bijkersma This week Michelle looks at "The Slippery Slope". Also known as "The thin edge of the wedge" or "The domino fallacy", this is where it is asserted that a relatively small step or action in a certain direction will inevitably lead to a chain of events with a larger and negative result. A Logical Fallacy is an error we can make in reasoning, but it usually crops up when we are discussing or arguing our point of view. 0:49:47 Good News / Bonkers News The Good: A church in Australia, selling bleach as a coronavirus treatment, is fined $151,200. The Bonkers: Hundreds of conspiracy theory protesters on the streets of Melbourne and Sydney. https://www.tga.gov.au/media-release/mms-australia-fined-151200-alleged-unlawful-advertising https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-13/church-in-australia-selling-bleach-coronavirus-treatment-fined/12242150 Also Corona Conspiracy - Upload Images https://coronaconspiracy.cloud Maynard MADD Club LIVE https://www.facebook.com/Maynardcomau Skepticon 2020 https://www.skepticon.org.au