Skeptic Project

http://planetx-hercolubus-nibiru.blogspot.com/

I guess it shocks me that the postings on that blog are quite recent, but it still amazes me that out of all the doomsday BS people believe that Nibiru, Hercolubus, Tycho, etc. seem to still hold sway. A fascination with a hidden planet/brown dwarf supposedly linked with past extinctions, NASA covering up the truth, etc.

Just shows that I'm still naive, I guess.

I remember the Nibiru shit from the 90s. I guess it never really goes away.

I'm waiting for the whole "photon belt" thing from 1996 to make a comeback. I'm surprised the 2012 doomers haven't tired to revive that one.

^^^What the...Christ energy? Merge with the godhead? This makes "Attack of the Mutant Penguins" for the Atari Jaguar seem like "Shadow of the Colossus." Holy Creeps...

I always found the Planet X stuff to be pretty good sci-fi.

I like the whole "Nibiru is going to crash into planet earth" theory. What is it that these people think telescopes do exactly?

The theory reminds me of this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLlUgilKqms

Yes, pop science has continued to be presented as though it accurately reflects the complexity of any given phenomenon. Rather than presenting a clear and overt disclaimer about the quality of its information it pushes on to sensationalize some incomplete body of knowledge. In this case we can look back to the late 90s when magazines like popular science covered this crackpot theories as though they enjoyed even a slice of credibility. Couple that with the unrelenting march of cable networks espousing such bufoonary and its no wonder people take these theories and run wild. I have very little respect for pop sci as it stands because it instills false understanding without accepting its faults. I'm not saying pop science specifically engendered this garbled website, but this nibiru crap really took off because of pop science.

Pop science doesn't instill an inherent understanding of science, it distributes facts and only parts of the story. Its much like how I understand calculus. I know the formulas and how to use it, but I am far from understanding the intricacies of calculus as a whole. Pop science wont replace a legitimate and rigorous education of science, nor does it reflect the kinds of caution necessary for understanding what science can and cant do.

No, if you want to learn about planets you have to immediately reconcile that you are limited by what you are given because you arent able to access the real disciplinary practices necessary to move beyond fact memorization. You also shouldn't rely on TV shows to give you the best information. Its not fun, but reading real scientific journals is the best way to get the most complete information. Don't get me wrong, I love watching Science channel and National Geographic- but I don't pretend that it makes me an expert in anything, nor that I should be able to create new understandings from that information.