Markos Blog on Tech and Gadgets

Nokia Lumia 900?! Nokia is totally unprofessional

2012-01-09T23:31:00.001-08:00

About 15 days ago I got the new (not any more) Nokia Lumia 800. The device recognizes only 970mAh battery instead of the 1450 promised and I'm still struggling to get it replaced.

In the meantime, while I'm stuck with a shitty battery, Nokia announces Lumia 900, a 4.3 inch model ONLY for the US market!

Translation: Nokia is practically telling you: Be happy with your crappy battery junk device, we only care about the American market.

Thanks Nokia. That is really professional. Great strategy.

Enough with the junk.

I am on my way to get the iPhone 4S.

Samsung Galaxy Note. Weapon of Mass Satisfaction

2011-11-13T05:21:00.001-08:00

My Samsung Galaxy Note arrives on Thursday and I can't wait.

Samsung has given birth to a brand new category, the hybrid between the tablet and the smartphone.
To my understanding this is actually an inevitable evolution of the mobile device, given the ever more complex and various tasks they're called to satisfy.

To some, these thingies are just gadgets. To us, they are powerful tools that transform the palm of your hand into a field of endless capabilities.

Not long ago, if you wanted to communicate with someone, you had to write a letter by hand, that would reach (if it did) its destination at best, in a few days. Then the phone arrived and changed everything. Now you can do that while you're walking.
In the same way, if you wanted to design and communicate a project, you had to buy a ton of paper, do endless tests and complex calculations by hand, then print the results in many copies and send them to whoever interested. Now, you can write and cancel on a screen without waisting a drop of ink, let an app do the math and send millions of copies in a fraction of a second.
All that is true as well for designing, finding your way using maps, playing games or whatever your mind can think of.

Until today, it was the notebook, the smartphone and the tablet that made all this possible while on the go.

Why I like the Note

The important thing to me is not a device in itself, but the things that you can do with it. So, it is not the tablet or the smartphone that constitute the revolution, but the fact that you can talk while on the move, or type and send an e-mail, a project or an entire book while you're enjoying your cappuccino at Cafè de Paris. The device is the important medium that lets you do these, once extremely complex, things.

What Samsung did, is that they've understood the benefits of merging all these complex tasks in one device and that is what the Note really stands for.

Furthermore, Samsung has added a stylo, which multiplies the user's capabilities of annotating, editing or generally shaping content to his pleasure in a very familiar way and then being able to store or share it with anyone.

Bottom-line, Samsung has managed to create the product that best satisfies most of the mobile user's needs in one extremely portable yet powerful device. If you think that this is the first generation of its kind, I believe that the guys at Samsung have managed quite well, and who knows what the evolution of the Note will bring us in the future.

I am also optimistic that other hardware and software companies, because of the Note, are going to be forced to produce devices that will do everything a modern user needs to do on the go, and to the gadget lovers as ourselves this can only mean one thing. Amazing devices coming in the very near future.

The Gadget Religion

2011-11-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

As blasphemous as this may sound (to both religious people and geeks for different reasons), I've realized that there is much truth in it.

You love your gadgets as much as I do, maybe even more. How many times have you heard the following argument about your new super hi-tech phone or tablet: Well, my phone does the same things for 100 bucks. Why did you pay so much for it? What a waste of money...

I'm sure that you know the answer to that question and you can find many perfectly logical reasons on why you've spent all that cash. But are you sure they'll understand?

My guess is that the person who will ask you that question, is never going to understand the answer. So, the only option is to tell him "Take my word for it. It is worth it". That, my friends, is a religious argument.

Believe without doubting as this is the word of Geeks.

Samsung Galaxy Note. If Jobs had announced that, we'd talk of a new revolution

2011-10-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's just weeks ago that Samsung announced a device that is the first of a whole new category of products. The Samsung Galaxy Note.

This is a 5.3 inch AMOLED smartphone/tablet device with a powerful dual core 1.4 GHz processor ready for about any kind of use.

I imagine Steve Jobs announcing an iPhone/iPad hybrid device. I guess that the press would have talked about reinventing the phone once again and revolutionizing the mobile world.

I have an iPhone and an iPad. I have also pre-ordered Galaxy Note.

I love all my Apple devices, but it is some time now that I feel uncomfortable in the closed iOS environment. I can't see any reason for not being able of using widgets, watching Flash content, or choosing apps from diverse markets. I also have a problem with the 3.5 inch display that limits my mobile experience significantly and I can't have with me my iPad all the time and in all places.

A 5.3 inch display is just a genius idea that to me is simply irresistible.

We can only assume what will be the answer of Apple to the ever evolving Android devices. One thing is for sure; it is not the 4S.

Something nobody mentions. Skyfire on App Store's top 25 and what it means

2011-10-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

The late Steve Jobs, has eliminated Flash from the iPad and iPhone, saying that the future is HTML 5. He also said that the users have voted against Flash by buying the iPads by the millions.

Something that nobody mentions is that the 24th best selling app on the Apple's App Store is Skyfire, a browser that lets the users watch Flash videos online.

So, even though YouTube fully supports HTML 5, and other major video sites do the same, it seems that the users still like Flash.

I love my iPad. What I don't like though is limitations in my web experience.

Android on the other hand, offers a nice solution by not pre-loading Flash content and videos, but letting you with the click of a button watch this kind of content when and if you like. I love that.

In fact the 7.7 inch tablet by Samsung with its fabulous AMOLED display and its Android OS, is a perfect environment for this kind of web experience. Unfortunately, Apple has decided to fight it in courts instead of competing with it on the market field.

Skyfire is like a pin under the butt of iOS, reminding to everyone every time he clicks the Top Charts button of the App Store, that Flash is still here and people still want it.

iPhone 4S. A disappointment

2011-10-15T04:13:00.000-07:00

I know. You'll probably want to tell me, 'hey! didn't you hear about the record sales? You're wrong!'

No I'm not, and here's why.

The new iPhone is a very good phone, no doubt, with remarkable hardware and software that just works.

Just like iPhone 4.

It practically is a faster iPhone 4 with a better camera.

So why the record sales?

Actually it is not the phone that's selling. It is Siri. I think we can say that on iPhone 4S, the S stands for Siri.
Steve Jobs was able to predict the impact of an A.I. software on a mobile device, years before anyone of us consumers even thought of a mobile device. This is why Apple bought Siri. And it was a great investment.

But the phone isn't nearly as good as its Android rivals. Siri has saved Apple from the iPhone 5 flock, but it won't do it again.

A few words about Siri

Siri is great. Kind of. Well, actually not at all. Yes, it will eventually answer to more questions than Google's OS, and will get things done faster, but it has serious limitations.
Right now it only works in the US so there is no reason for a non-US consumer who already has an iPhone to purchase the new device. Ask for a restaurant in France or in Norway, and you'll get nothing.
Furthermore it only supports only three languages, and although many people speak english, they have an accent that is not recognizable by Siri. So what's the point in having one on your phone? Actually, none.
On the other hand, Android devices will not respond in the sexy way Siri does, and they'll rather redirect you to Google search for info, but at least you've got a search result that can get the job done. With Siri all you've got is 'Sorry I can't do this out of the US', or something like that. So it's useless, unless you're planning on moving there.

Android

Until now, developers for Android had to work on a dozen of different screen sizes and about a hundred different Android versions (as Steve pointed out). True. But now with Ice Cream Sandwich this comes to an end. The screen sizes of course will continue to vary, but a single Android for all mobile devices sounds really nice.
On the other hand, who cares if developers have to work their asses off to make apps that work in a dozen different screen sizes? We are consumers. We like all kinds of screen sizes. 7 inch or 7.7 inch tablets are great, so get to work and make some 7.7 inch optimized apps. There's money to be made.

Another serious evidence that people like these devices is Apples lawsuit against Samsung's tab 7.7. Why did they do that? Because they knew that this device could threaten iPad's sales quite seriously. But it is disappointing to watch Apple doing that, instead of innovating its own products.
And allow me a prediction. Apple will be eventually constricted in producing a different screen size device at the end. We'll se if I'm right.

Android based mobile devices

I remember the times when these devices really sucked. Well, these days are over and Samsung's Galaxy S2 is the proof. This is a 4.3'' device with a screen that makes retina look like a hundred years old. Absolutely amazing AMOLED display supported by enough horse power to make this device one of the fastest on the market. It's browser is much faster than Safari, and you don't have to have a 20/20 vision to see what's on the page.
Galaxy Note is another amazing device and the first of a new category of mobile products. If Steve Jobs had announced a device like that, I bet that CNN would have made a half hour documentary on how awesome and revolutionary it is.
But the fact remains that we're talking about the fastest device on the market, powered by a 1.4 GHz dual core chip, it has a remarkable 5.3'' display and it is ultra-portable.

Flash

This issue is important and it will be even more important in the future. At the beginning when I got my iPad, I did not care about the absence of Flash. But now it's getting on my nerves. Why?

Well, Steve Jobs had said that HTML 5 can do what Flash does and even better and safer so why bother. This would be great but you see consumers are not limited on apps and pre-cooked software made from news and gaming giants and when it comes to reading news, or consuming video and games in general, they can chose something different from the pre-packed App store content.
For example, there are many blogs that people follow who post videos or link to videos that do not support HTML 5. I have to bookmark the site and then check it out on my Macbook Air (which does support Flash!!!)
Now how dumb is that? I would love to watch Apple removing Flash from its iMacs and MacBooks. Have you ever wondered why don't they do that?

I want to be able to chose whether I'll watch on Flash or HTML 5. Is that a lot to ask?

iOS 5

This is the best iOS on an Apple device. But, not necessarily the best iOS out there. Android had a notification center many months before iOS did. It let you sync wirelessly, ages before iOS did and with no additional software (unlike iTunes). The text message already allows you to send emoticons (unlike iOS), it already had a voice command service (even if not as cool as Siri) and all that, ages ago. Now of course iOS has cool stuff too, but hey, isn't it a bit late? Android Ice Cream Sandwich is just over the angle. Let's see what will that version have to offer.

Conclusion

If Apple does not do something to compete with the amazingly dynamic of Android, I guess it will have to go back 20 years ago. That's when it sold things to its devoted few, away from the large scale consumer market.

Don't get me wrong, I did not write this article to praise Android and trash Apple. On the contrary. I own an iPad, an iPhone an iMac and a Macbook Air, which I love. On the other hand, I will always chose what's best for my needs.

And right now, Siri isn't on my list.

I'll wait for iPhone 5. No more S's.

Update:

I'm happy to see others understanding that it is Siri that sells iPhone 4S's, as admitted in the tuaw.com article http://www.tuaw.com/2011/11/02/siri-driving-iphone-4s-sales/

Apple has revolutionized our gadgets. Samsung has gadgetized the revolution

2011-10-05T04:11:00.000-07:00

Apple's stock is falling. The iPhone 4S is not what people expected.
But don't be fooled, Apple has revolutionized the gadget market and hasn't spoken its last word yet.
Samsung on the other hand has gadgetized every possible market angle. It has produced tablets in all possible sizes, smartphones for all pockets and tastes and has introduced a new category with Galaxy Note. Good hardware with a functional Android. And all that, with amazing Amoled screens Not bad.

Two main sentiments can summarize the after-4S day. On one hand, the Apple community is disappointed and the stocks are absorbing such feeling. On the other hand, the Android community is partying.

Both are wrong.

Apple is here, alive and well, with an amazing team capable of producing the best devices on the market. On the other hand Android is doing great things, but it is far from perfect and even further from defeating the iOS world.

For all the above, I'm very optimistic for the future. Apple will have to produce devices competitive to the Samsung's market targets, this is why I think we'll see 7 inch iPads in the future and 4 inch-screen iPhones. Samsung on the other hand will have to move forward to new ideas and products to maintain its position. Android will have to evolve as well, to stay in pace with its wider spread that we'll witness in the future.

Whether you're an iOS fan or an Android lover, be assured that all the above mean one thing: Better gadgets for us!

I already have pre-ordered the Galaxy Note and can't wait to use it. I'm thinking of purchasing the Galaxy tab 7.7 as well. This does not mean that I jump into Android leaving iOS. Apple has still a lot to offer and I am sure that she will amaze us again with awesome products for the market that she, after all, has invented.

The future of Apple resides. I think, on one critical decision. Is Apple going to produce 7 inch tablets and 4 inch phones without worrying about giving the impression that she copies Samsung and Android, or will she try to convince the consumers that an iPad and an iPhone is all they need?

If Apple choses the latter, get ready for a dark post-Jobs era. If she choses the first, prepare for amazingly high stock prices and some amazing products.

Only 120,000 weekly readers for iPad's "The Daily". Well, duh!

2011-09-29T10:39:00.001-07:00

I've read the posts about the low reader numbers for The Daily and maybe it's just me but...what the he'll did you expect?!

If you exclude millions of iPad users, then maybe, just maybe you end up with a quarter of a mil less readers than you expected.

I would gladly subscribe to The Daily, but iTunes AGAIN will not let me just because I don't own a US account.

How much do you pay your managers and CEOs again?

Kindle Fire

2011-09-29T10:31:00.001-07:00

Quick review:

No full Android
No e-ink display
No 3G

How on earth would this compete with iPad?

The only interesting feature is the silk browser.

That's it.

Laptops are really Desktops

2011-09-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

Laptops are made for portability. They nailed it? Not quite.

Although laptops are made for being portable, they fail miserably on that task. As a matter of fact, the lighter and smaller they are, the more non-portable they become. Why? Battery life.

The thing you don't think about when you get a laptop, is that with it, you'll have to carry the power adaptor with the cable ALL the time. Unless a couple of hours get your job done.

The smaller the laptop (thus more portable) the more you need the its cable with you because its battery lasts even less than the bigger laptops.

The only REALLY mobile devices right now are smartphones, and the iPad. I'm not saying tablets in general because the iPad can easily last 10 hours, while most of the other tablets don't dream even getting close to that number. But tables in general last longer than laptops, so we may include them all.

I hate carrying with me all the cables all the time. That's why I love my iPad and can't wait for iOS 5 to get rid of my MacBook Air.

(Ironically, this post was written on a laptop.)

iPad vs Android?

2011-09-18T08:21:00.001-07:00

I feel the need to make a quick comment on the talk about the great development of android devices and the future of the iOS.Have you ever hold an iPad? Or an iPhone?There is actually no competition yet. Maybe starting from late 2012 when Meego will have shown it's full power, or when we'll see the new Android update. For now, iOS is the top, and it's a shame because I'd love to see some competition on the filed.

Update.

OMG!

Just in a few weeks everything has changed. IFA happened and Samsung has presented its amazing Galaxy tab 7.7 and Galaxy Note which is the first device of a whole new category.
Furthermore, Google is preparing to show the world its first universal OS for both tablets and smartphones, called Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

On the other hand, Apple came up with...iPhone 4S.

Boy are we consumers going to see amazing products or what? Samsung with Google are pushing Apple aside as they make their way in the mobile market, and they're doing a great job.

I've already pre-ordered Galaxy Note. Not going to upgrade to 4S. Let's see what happens.

We're living in exciting mobile times.

Corporation Stupidity

2011-09-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

At least that's how I'm getting it.
How many times did you want to watch an HD movie LEGALLY, but the companies do not support renting or buying digital content for your country?
I live in Greece and such problem exist in Spain, Italy and most of Europe to tell the truth. You can log on your Apple Store account, or Android account or search at Netflix or Amazon.com movies and all you get is a screen telling you that the service is not available in your country.
Then, these companies complaint about piracy. I'm sorry but isn't that exclusion of customers really enforcing in a way piracy? If not enforcing, at least isn't it encouraging this kind of activity?
The customer will be frustrated and at the end will probably download the movie for free, even in crap quality in order to watch it.

You may think that it is the copyright laws that do not let these companies operate everywhere, but on the other hand aren't these the same laws that they're fighting for? Pay what you have to pay and get the service started guys, or do not complaint for piracy. At least in the countries you have excluded.
You don't want them as customers? Well, they are not.
Peace.

Tablet Tsunami

2011-09-18T02:36:00.000-07:00

Since Apple has revolutionized the market with its iPad introducing a brand new category of devices, others have followed in order to take a share of this new developing market.

But as time passes by, things are getting more and more confusing for the customer.

Which operating system is the best? Well, nobody knows. iOS is great at most of the tasks you need to perform in everyday use, but Android seems more flexible. But which version of Android? I don't know...

Display

IPS, Amoled, Super Amoled, Super Amoled HD, 10 inches or 9.8 inches or what about 7 or 7.7 inches? Which one is good for you? All of them? None? God this is getting annoying.

Manufacturers and of course their marketing advisors and CEOs don't really know which inch size is best either. Samsung keeps changing its screen sizes and now has even offered a 5.3'' phone-tablet device.

The Truth

The whole confusion comes from this. There is NO PERFECT SCREEN SIZE. Why? Well, it depends on what you want to do with your device. If you want to make a phone call, your 3 or 4 inches are perfect. If you want to check your email though, a bigger screen is much better. Let's say 7 inch. On the other hand if you want to watch a movie, or play a game, a 10 inch or bigger would be more appropriate.

The truth is that the optimal screen size depends on the specific task you're performing at the time. A modern portable device can perform all these tasks that have best performance on different screen sizes.

Surprise!

So what are we going to do? Do we have to invent something revolutionary? Maybe a device that changes its inches on the go?

Well, there is a perfect device in the market that can do almost all the above, with better results, quicker and has a great portability. It is called...the LAPTOP!

For your phone calls though, you'll need to rely on a device originally designed for that. Remember it? Yes, the good old phone!

NASAK Ltd-National Aeronautics and Space Against Kaysing

2007-03-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

Let's make this one quick. Kaysing has accused NASA (providing no evidence whatsoever) that killed its own astronauts in order to keep their mouths shut and to stop them from telling the "truth". Kaysing's truth was that man has never walked on the Moon. For that alone, he was not an honorable man.

But the Kaysing phenomenon is far more complex than this.

Even if this was not his purpose, Kaysing did something that even he could not have predicted. He gave birth to a peculiar mass-movement; The Hoax Believers.

Millions in the world try to prove that NASA never sent a man on the moon. Millions try to get evidence strong enough to support that everything was a hoax. Of course they haven't done it since there is no hoax. But who cares? They still try, they fail, and then they try harder. I have never seen such an effort taking place since...ever.

These people do not trust NASA, the governments of the planet, their politicians, their advocates, their doctors and their televisions. As a matter of fact, they do not even trust scientific evidence. For the first time they try to find for themselves the "truth" and they investigate, they get informed, they learn how to analyze pictures and video footage, they pay no attention to their scientists, and they really do not care about finding the truth. They care about bringing down a well established belief. That man landed on the moon.

The hoax mania grew day by day. The numbers of the "evidence" against NASA grew along with the Hoax industry. Yes that's another Kaysing side effect. Not just him, but hundreds of other pseudo scientists started printing books, recording tapes, making videos and DVDs on the "moon hoax". They used the impact of the phenomena on people's minds in order to profit from it. Some of them believed in it, most of them didn't even care as long as the money flew on their bank accounts.

Kaysing has also had an impact on the scientific life. For the first time scientists and NASA saw that ignoring the phenomena would not make it stop. This was not UFO stuff my friends. This was way worse than that. UFO does not do really any harm does it? People say they see lights, some say that these lights are spaceships and that the government covers up the whole thing. Big deal, who cares? But the hoax theory was different. It aimed directly to the credibility of NASA and to the credibility of one of the major achievements in human history. The "evidence" that the hoax believers provided grew more complex every day. Some of these "evidence" were very convincing, especially for the untrained eye of the majority of the public. In order to debunk their claims, it was necessary the intervention of the scientists. As the thing gained more supporters day by day, NASA could no longer ignore it.

NASA then hired an aerospace writer to publish a book that would debunk the whole absurdity once and for all. But unfortunately this book never got on the shelves. At least not with NASA's name on it. That's because suddenly it was decided to stop the funding. Some believe that this is because by printing it, this would make somehow the whole "hoax" mania more credible. You know, the logic is: "they want to shut us up, so we must be onto something big!" But this decision came a bit late. The news that NASA was preparing to strike back with this book were already out, so the news of the end of this operation was celebrated by the hoax believers as the withdraw of the scientific world in front of their "strong evidence". And the hoax universe partied. So did their industry.

NASA realized that this was not a story that would go away easily. So, it started supporting other independent scientists who published books, made sites, and appeared on TV in order to stop the hoax theory nightmare. This seemed really intelligent. On one hand this would save NASA's face because it would allow her to take the distances from the hoax phenomena, without on the other hand leaving the hoax theories unanswered.

Here comes an interesting part. Kaysing, again beyond his initial aim, has created a second industry. Scientists started publishing books, recording tapes, making videos and DVD that would finally explain the whole misunderstanding. Independent astronomers, pilots, former NASA dependants, photographers and simple people, came all under the flag of the noble cause of debunking the "hoax theory". They have started selling their achievements. This seemed a glorious turn out. Making money and providing valuable services to the public at the same time.

But this does not seem enough to stop the hoax stories either. In fact the hoax believers seem to grow at the same rate with the scientific opposition. More hoax believers, more hoax debunkers. More debunkers, more believers. As the scientists debunk the false evidence of the hoax believers, these keep coming back with more elaborate claims. More elaborated claims, more need of scientists to debunk them.

And the money keeps flowing in both directions.

I do not care anymore. I know we went on the moon. So what? And if we assume for the sake of the argument that we didn't go, what would that change? This would prove that governments lie? Like we needed a moon hoax to support that!

As long as there will be people ready to buy the hoax believers lies, there will always be food for the hoax/anti-hoax industry.

That's why I do not buy stuff from anyone. I just boycott the whole show.
I do not care any more people.

We have far more serious things to solve here on our little hurt earth. Babies die, governments lie, poverty grows, diseases spread, terrorists strike, and the environment is heavily ill. Let's figure out the "earth-hoax" first.

The "moon-hoax" can wait.

Related sites, articles and references

Anti-hoax

BBC: Nasa pulls Moon hoax book

Make Poverty History

markosrigakis.com

Dr. Shermer's Why People Believe In Weird Things

2005-11-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

Could someone tell me where in the book is the answer to its title?

Some time ago I was told by some hoax-debunkers and affiliated with the BadAstronomy.com site, that Dr. Shermer is considered to be -at least by them- an authority in the subject of weird beliefs. He would have the answer to why people believe in weird things. Dr. Plait (the webmaster of BadAstronomy.com) has also published Dr. Shermer's review on his book titled "Bad Astronomy". So, Dr. Shermer is well accepted and considered an authority by the members of BadAstronomy.com, Clavius.org, and some other hoax-debunking sites.

So I bought the book. I said to myself, Dr. Shermer has believed in the past some pretty much weird things himself, like alien abductions, so who better could give an answer to why people believe in this kind of stuff. Not a chance. Unfortunately the book has nothing to do with its title. This title is deceptive. Dr. Shermer should put a question mark at the end of it, since he really doesn’t know either.

I am just going to point out a few things about this book and that's it. Anything more would be a waste of time.

Problems

HISTORY

Dr. Shermer does not waste time. Problems come up early in this book. Even a half educated person will start having some problems when he realizes, that according to Dr. Shermer, Aristotle took all his knowledge from the library of Alexandria. The problem is that Aristotle died before the library of Alexandria was even founded! The first librarian was Zenodotus (234 B.C.). He was succeeded in turn by Eratosthenes (234-195 B.C.); Aristophanes of Byzantium (195-181 B.C.); and Aristarchos of Samothrace (181-171 B.C.) while Aristotle died in 322 B.C! Nice start...

Dr. Shermer's Sources

A good scientist pays attention to his sources. Well, at least he doesn't distort their content.

This is from a review at Amazon.com "At first, I thought perhaps Shermer was just weak on philosophy. Then I checked on the statistics on p. 26. There, Shermer claims that 52% of Americans believe in astrology, 35% believe in ESP, and 67% believe they have had a psychic experience. He cites Gallup and Newport (Skeptical Inquirer 15,2: 137-47). I looked up the source. The actual statistics on the first two items are 25% and 25%. There is no statistic given for the number who believe they have had a psychic experience; however, there is a list of different kinds of "psychic" experiences, with percentages of people who have had them. The largest number is 56%, for the number who have had deja vu (which is not a psychic experience). All the other numbers are 25% or lower.
I didn't search through the book for errors; this is the only one of Shermer's claims that I looked up, and it proved egregiously wrong. What other errors does the book contain?"

Logical Errors

Dr. Shermer decides that Reductio ad absurdum is a logical bias, while it is a well known technique of persuasion and a valid logical instrument when used correctly.

As another reader points out: For example, Shermer does not understand what a "reductio ad absurdum" argument is; he treats it as a logical fallacy (when in fact it is a valid proof method when used correctly). He points out the logical fallacy of the "slippery slope," but on several occasions he sets his conclusions on such arguments. He has whole chapters devoted to "ad hominem" tactics, attacking rather than refuting "Holocaust deniers." His arguments often appeal to authority (Hume, or Darwin, or the Amazing Randi, or...). He makes the claim that the burden of proof is carried by anyone challenging the majority opinion (the burden of proof lies with anyone making a claim, majority or no)".

How can a scientist make so many errors and still having the acceptance of the scientific community?

Easy. He does not. I haven't yet found a serious scientist who supports Dr. Shermer's work whatsoever. You will have difficulty finding a serious report on that one yourselves as well.

Book Title

Most of the reviewers on Amazon.com complain that Shermer does absolutely nothing in order to give the answer to the title of his book. He never exlpains why people believe in weird things, but all he does instead is telling the reader what is weird and what isn't, and basically that if you do not agree with what he says, then you are weird too.

This is called a deceptive title and since I can't believe that such an intelligent person as Dr. Shermer could have put it there by mistake, I have to come up with other explanations. Let's say for instance, marketing. Or maybe Dr. Shermer simply just failed to come up to his book's title. I liked the title very much. It's a shame that the book has nothing to do with it.

Conclusions

It all depends on how you want to judge this book. Under what light is this book viewed? If we look at it as an opinion of a person, it may be welcomed. On the other hand, if we judge it as a scientific work, then I believe that you will have a great difficulty in finding one single serious scientist who will give it above D-. Based on the errors of the book, and the biases that Dr. Shermer falls into, as well as the lack of basic scientific methodology in the analysis of his subject, along with the fact that the whole book is off-topic (referring to the title), then I sincerely ask myself how could some scientists take this work seriously?

The whole subject was treated under the weight of the expectancy effect, the base rate fallacy, ad hominem, slippery slope and cultural biases in general.

Hoax Debunkers

Why should hoax-debunkers refer to Dr. Shermer when they are dealing with the Moon-hoax subject? What good could do to their cause (convincing the hoax-believers)? Why don't they choose to cite undisputedly better scientists like Carl Sagan instead of Dr. Shermer? Why do they chose to cite a former hoax-believer like Dr. Shermer who investigates his topics without paying attention to the fundamental rules of scientific method? What is the reason of choosing Dr. Shermer as a testimonial, other than the fact that he says what they want to hear? How can you expect to convince, when the other party knows that your friend is one who believes that hoax-believers are paranoid, stupid, mentally impaired etc? What good could do to their cause having Dr. Shermer as a testimonial of their books?

Of course I can't answer to that.

I Hate TV!

2004-11-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

In the late 6 months I have never turned on my TV. It's been like 5-6 days now that I thought to turn it on and now I realize why it has been so long since I've watched a single program. Firstly, all that tv shows nowadays is reality shows, nude women and news. But even the news are not real. They constantly ignore most of the major problems of our planet and they keep showing stupid news about V.I.P's. I'm turning my TV off again. For ever I guess. Internet rules