Denis Dutton

Oh, What a Lovely World! Denis Dutton Late in his life, in answer to a question, Freud compared the human condition approximately to the contents of a baby's nappy. When I first heard this story, it ... (406 words)

Some Skeptics have been surprised that our organisation has been so restrained in its response to the purported moa sighting near Cragieburn. As we see it, the whole issue is fraught with difficulty. ... (470 words)

A skeptical look at the Natural Law Party provided to journalists in preparation for the election. Dear Journalist, The Natural Law Party, the political party that makes McGillicuddy look really ... (1085 words)

This year's Bent Spoon Award has ruffled a few feathers. In a controversial decision, what the Skeptics described as an "alarmist" Justice Department report on domestic violence in New Zealand has ... (729 words)

Late in his life, in answer to a question, Freud compared the human condition approximately to the contents of a baby's nappy. When I first heard this story, it seemed to mark a bitter old man. That ... (562 words)

Did you catch TV3's Inside New Zealand documentary programme a few weeks ago on "Satanic Ritual Abuse"? If so, you won't have forgotten it, try as you might to "repress" the memory. It was one of the ... (616 words)

It was a surprise to many outside observers, especially those who don't well understand the Skeptics. Paddy Freaney, Rochelle Rafferty, and Sam Waby, the trio who gained world attention early this ... (538 words)

In the years since the Skeptics' beginnings in 1985 we've seen paranormal and pseudoscientific fads come and go. The Shroud of Turin was big back then, till carbon dating did it in (except in the ... (605 words)

Do you ever feel dirty or ashamed? Do you have no sense of your interests or goals? Do you sometimes feel powerless, like a victim, have phobias, arthritis, or wear baggy clothes? According to two ... (567 words)

Some Skeptics have been surprised that our organisation has been so restrained in its response to the purported moa sighting near Cragieburn. As we see it, the whole issue is fraught with difficulty. ... (528 words)

The failure of clairvoyants to locate the missing Wellington man, Michael Kelly, or to know the manner of his death, will not startle many skeptics. No major missing persons case in the history of ... (658 words)

The abuse of the Skeptics as "arrogant, narrow-minded bigots" by defenders of Consumer is annoying, but it doesn't yet surpass an art teacher who wrote an article for a Wellington paper in 1986. ... (570 words)

I was struggling with the vacuum hose to reach an awkward corner of the kitchen. "What's wrong? Afraid to bend your back?" my wife asked. I felt a little pain and it didn't go away. It got worse, ... (514 words)

What's worth a Skeptic's attention? In this issue's Forum, Carl Wyant asks why worry about fraudulent spoon benders when there are far more harmful forms of ignorance and wickedness about, such as ... (500 words)

The Bent Spoon, as oft we've pointed out, is the only negative press award in New Zealand. Recipients' reactions to it have varied. The first lucky winner (in 1986) was the Woman's Weekly, whose ... (1005 words)

by Charles Berlitz; Grafton Books, 208 pp; $14.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Denis Dutton In the 1970s, Charles Berlitz tried to convince us that strange, paranormal forces were at work off the coast of ... (462 words)

The Associated Press recently ran an item with interesting implications. Datelined Washington, the story (Christchurch Star, May 4) told of efforts by a panel of geneticists to obtain for analysis ... (549 words)

Denis Dutton travelled up the Sepik River in New Guinea earlier this year to study tribal carving. He couldn't resist teaching the locals a few tricks. It was another oppressive, lazy night on the ... (986 words)

by Carole Potter. Michael O'Mara Books. $39.95. Reviewed by Denis Dutton It would be pleasant to be able to say that while this catalogue of superstitions may not have induced belief, it was at least ... (311 words)

With this issue, the Skeptic comes under a new editorial regime. Vicki Hyde, whose excellent New Zealand Science Monthly has recently hit the stands, comes aboard as managing editor. Vicki's ... (474 words)

By Graham Phillips. Pan, 1990. 168pp. $9.95 (paperback). Reviewed by Denis Dutton Will animals ever be able to talk with humans? Australian astrophysicist and science journalist Graham Phillips ... (673 words)

By Michael Howard. Century Hutchison, 1989. 196 pp. $45.95. (Reviewed by Denis Dutton) Move over parapsychology, parapolitics is here. Just as parapsychology shuns mundane physical laws to account ... (713 words)

The Skeptics have been saddened by the deaths of two of our most lively and engaged members. Ray Carr, who was a founder of NZCSICOP, will be remembered as the most sunny and pleasant of human ... (251 words)

While critical thinking is an essential part of the defence against pseudo-science, general knowledge also has an important role. The more knowledge you have about more things, the better equipped ... (676 words)

Dear NZCSICOP Member, The Skeptics have organised some splendid meetings over the years, but our 1989 conference at the University of Canterbury promises to be the hottest ever—peaking at about 900 ... (336 words)

Radio Clairvoyant: Mary Fry's Own Story (Grantham House, $14.95). Reviewed by Denis Dutton (NZ Listener, April 9, 1988) Little Mary Polascheck, the girl from Waimate, was, as she describes herself ... (1777 words)

The "Cancer Line" programme shown on TVNZ (November 11) was in some respects an undoubted success. Television in general demands that most topics be exploited in terms of their emotional dimensions. ... (507 words)

Shortly after our Wellington convention, Radio New Zealand presented a superb Insight documentary on NZCSICOP. This half-hour programme was broadcast on a Sunday morning on National Radio and ... (121 words)

(Address to Joint Australia/New Zealand Health Inspectors Conference, Christchurch, 15 October 1987) Many of you are public servants, and as we live in a time which is not always kind to public ... (3512 words)

Our heartfelt thanks to the efforts of our many members who helped make the Wellington meeting such a success. The papers aroused great interest, and it was extremely gratifying to see the number of ... (917 words)

The Geller Effect. By Uri Geller and Guy Lyon Playfair. Jonathan Cape, 1986. 288 pp. $32.95 — Press 11 Jun 1987 If ever I had any doubts about Uri Geller, they have been quickly dispelled. Yes, he ... (823 words)

Evidence of the Shroud. By lan Wilson. Macmillan, 1986. 158 pp. $46.15. (Reviewed by Denis Dutton) Ian Wilson's second book on the Shroud is intended more as a condensed and colourfully illustrated ... (906 words)

Medical graduates and workers in related fields are invited to a meeting to be held on Saturday 6 December 1986 Rolleston Lecture Christchurch School of Medicine Chairman: Dr D.L, Dutton Senior ... (166 words)

About the time this newsletter arrives, the New Zealand Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal will have sponsored its first special-issue conference. The half-day ... (498 words)

In the after glow of our first annual convention, NZCSICOP members will have to feel pleased by the progress of our organisation. The meeting itself attracted considerable media attention, all of it ... (974 words)

Pseudoscience in its various manifestations is now enjoying enormous popularity, is increasingly well organised and politically powerful. We can not identify pseudoscience by its errors. Seven ... (845 words)