Critical Thinking

From ELIZA to ChatGPT, Chatbots Aren’t Know-it-Alls

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:32:29 +0000

It all started with Eliza Doolittle. I’m not speaking about my fondness for musicals, I’m referring to the birth of “chatbots.”

ELIZA was the name of a program considered to be the world’s first chatbot, created in the 1960s by MIT Professor Joseph Weizenbaum. Weizenbaum named it after Eliza Doolittle, the poor flower-seller with a strong Cockney accent whom Professor Henry Higgins teaches to speak like an upper-class lady in the musical My Fair Lady.

No, Drinking Milk Will Not Increase Your Chances of Winning a Nobel Prize

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

“The countries that drink MILK WIN more NOBEL PRIZES.”

Imagine my surprise when I opened the fridge for some milk to add to my coffee and was greeted by this statement. Puzzled, I couldn’t help but scoff as I poured the milk into my cup. Before returning it to the fridge, I of course snapped a picture to send to my friends.

Ayurveda Can Harm Your Liver

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

“I know where you live. I know your address. I know who you are. Trust me, they won’t even find your dead body.”

Artificial Intelligence Sneaks Into Scientific Publications

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:43:15 +0000

Roughly three and a half million scientific papers are published globally every year in an estimated 47,000 academic journals. That’s an astonishing six papers every minute! Some are very good, some very bad, most are mediocre. The vast majority of science and medical journals are peer-reviewed, but peer-review is not a guarantee that the results reported and conclusions arrived at are reliable. Studies have shown that the same paper sent to different reviewers may be highly praised or rejected, depending on the reviewer’s expertise or bias.

Faster, Higher, Stronger… Enhanced?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

For most people, track and field exists as a fleeting summer spectacle: ten days every four years when the fastest, strongest, and most gravity-defying humans wage war on a 400-metre oval. For me, this sport is much more. During my time as a varsity athlete, I was consumed by the oval: on it, I trained and competed; beyond it, I devoured every development in the professional track world.

Claims About Blue Spirulina Raise a Red Flag

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 16:24:31 +0000

In the science communication business, we call them “weasel words.” Why? Because weasels have a reputation for being sneaky and tricky. We are talking about words like “may,” “suggest,” “possible” and “potential” that can trick the reader into forming a positive impression without making a specific commitment. What prompts this discussion about dodgy words? I just finished reading a short article, 850 or so words, about the health benefits of “blue spirulina” on “Healthline,” a reasonably reputable newsletter. I counted the number of times the word “may” appears. An astounding 21 times!

The Bystander Effect Started from a Lie

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

You have just been attacked. How likely is it that someone will come to your help?

If you remember the infamous case of Kitty Genovese in 1960s New York, you may despair at ever receiving assistance. Psychology students are diligently taught about this watershed moment; fans of the HBO show Girls were treated to a whole episode about it; and this murder is a core part of the character Rorschach’s origin story in the celebrated graphic novel Watchmen. In the latter, a fictional newspaper headline sums up the tragedy: “WOMAN KILLED WHILE NEIGHBORS LOOK ON.”

AI Comes for Academics. Can We Rely on It?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

By now, the fact that artificial intelligence can hallucinate is, I hope, well known. There are countless examples of platforms like ChatGPT giving the wrong answer to a straightforward question or imagining a bit of information that does not exist. Notably, when Robert F.

The Anatomy of a Bad Argument

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 22:00:08 +0000

Ever find yourself in a heated argument about climate change, vaccines, or whether the moon landing was “just Hollywood propaganda”? Suddenly, you’re not debating facts, you’re dodging YouTube links and rants about shadow governments. If you’ve ever wondered how a conversation spiraled into chaos, the FLICC framework might help you make sense of it.

Health Canada and Natural Health Products

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 19:56:36 +0000

“Bach Rescue Remedy” features a Natural Product Number (NPN) issued by Health Canada so one would naturally assume that it will relieve stress and nervousness as the label claims. If you have an earache, you might go for “Ear oil” that claims to relieve pain with extracts of mullein, garlic, calendula and St. John’s Wort. It too has an NPN. So does “Wild Rose Herbal Detox” that claims to detoxify the colon and kidneys with its 24 ingredients extracted from the likes of dandelion, burdock, licorice, buckthorn, raspberry and radish.

PragerU Targets Kids and Parents with Shockingly Bad Science

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

If we’re trying to understand our era, we need to recognize the following: mainstream institutions and their various consensuses are being replaced by fringe alternatives. In the United States right now, mainstream science and education are being levelled to make way for replacements, and because ideas are not contained by geopolitical borders, this institutionalization of bad ideas can affect us all.

Magic, Critical Thinking and UFOs

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:55:28 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

My interest in magic was sparked at an early age, and I spent many a Saturday afternoon either at Perfect Magic or Morrisey Magic, Montreal’s two great magic stores that alas are no more. You went there not only to purchase tricks but also to soak up the magical atmosphere.

Is 25 Really the Magic Number?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 09:46:46 +0000

You’ve probably heard it before—maybe on TikTok, in a health class, or from your therapist: “The frontal lobe isn’t fully developed until 25.” It’s become a sort of modern mantra, used to explain bad decisions, ghosting exes, and why your 24-year-old roommate still can’t do his taxes. But here’s the twist: this so-called scientific truth? It’s more myth than fact.

Flowing Under the Radar: Why Period Products Deserve Better Oversight

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

If you’ve ever paused to consider the ingredients in your lunch but never questioned what chemicals lay in your menstrual products— congratulations, you’re not alone. But here’s the inconvenient truth: the humble tampon may be carrying more than just your monthly misery.

Mosquito Patches: The Itch They Can’t Scratch

Angelina Lapalme — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

While camping this weekend, I got to mind a very cute 7-month-old baby. She was super social, giggly and sporting a patch that inspired this article. As she laid her head on my shoulder, I noticed a pink patch on the back of her shirt collar. I asked her grammie what it was, and she said that the baby’s mom makes her wear this “mosquito patch” to keep the bugs away. My immediate thought was, does it actually work?