" 'Alternative' medicine is usually defended by a 'skeptical' argument, that we should keep our minds open." Petr Skrabanek in his article "Demarcation of the absurd"1 looked for guidelines on quite how open we should leave our minds and for how long. As he put it "Anything is possible. 'You have to keep your mind open'—until your brains drop out." He argues that we should be prepared to express unbelief because we can always change our minds, but by being gullible or keeping the mind too wide open we "lose reason from the very beginning."

Several members have sent me cuttings which I am afraid we can not use but which I am always glad to get. Malcolm MacCleary especially has sent me some good stuff on how to be a winning punter, news from the Order of the Magical Rose, Nelson and some more remarkable extracts from the Melchizadek Manuscripts. See how many clangers you can find in this passage:

A very short note this time as space is limited.

An alternative approach to health is being expounded in New Plymouth by an Australian visitor, Mr Nick Singer.

Sometimes a programme really makes one think about how television defines what is important for us to know about.

Reprinted from the British and Irish Skeptic.

THE Lotteries Commission has been accused of tacitly supporting crackpot lucky number schemes to boost the sales of Lotto tickets.

Otago Daily Times, 18 October 1988

This is the definitive book on the scientific arguments for creationism, it is exhaustive and thorough. It is a massive book, 550 double column pages, 600 references cited, a 13 page index, 54 chapters with about 10 illustrations per chapter. As far as I can see, it covers all the main points at issue; the nature of Science, pseudoscience, entropy Omphalos, radioactive dating and creationist arguments for a young cosmos and young earth. However it is especially strong on geological arguments as befits the author, formerly Professor of Geomorphology at Columbia. Nearly half the book deals with this aspect, covering the Biblical view of the Flood and creationist ideas on plate tectonics, the rapid deposition of sedimentary rocks, evaporites and petroleum and ore deposits. It then deals with the scientific account of these matters and finally gives a thorough account of our evolutionary history. It is especially good on human evolution.