Hugh Young

In an occasional feature we look back at issues from the early days of NZ Skeptic. Twins, souls and abortion I wonder if scepticism toward pseudoscience has any contribution to make to the abortion ... (233 words)

Intersecting as it does sex, religion, blood, medicine and masculinity, circumcision is a subject that is hard to discuss rationally. The male human foreskin or prepuce is a remarkable structure. Far ... (1821 words)

New Zealand's Amazing D'Urville Artefact and Equations of Life, by Ross Wiseman, Discovery Press, 2004. Reviewed by Hugh Young. This book proves that there is no limit to the human imagination. If ... (676 words)

Can stereo cables really make a difference to the way your music sounds? Bob Metcalfe (Skeptic No 75) might have been reading New Zealand Tone magazine: Bringing Technology to Life, Sept-Oct 2004. ... (610 words)

Numerology, or What Pythagoras Wrought, by Underwood Dudley, Mathematical Association of America, Washington DC, 1997 Here's a book that might go on the New Age shelves by mistake. Who'd have thought ... (439 words)

It's a great privilege to have known Eileen, her warmth, her wit and her sharp mind undimmed by her failing health. In the last few years, when she might forget the word for something, she knew what ... (358 words)

We have made a big mistake. Hitting Home is careful, thorough, mainstream scientific research. It may be alarming, but it is not, as we said, "alarmist". It is a serious attempt to measure men's ... (1528 words)

At the Festival of Possibilities in Nelson, all the usual New Age paraphernalia were on display. A current vogue is "pulsing" which is already available in at least two varieties, holistic and ... (656 words)

Amazing James (Tune: "Amazing Grace") Amazing James, at last he came to inspire a wretch like me; I once was cool, but now I flame thanks to (Amazing) James Randi! 'Twas James who bent a tablespoon, ... (139 words)

Yes, Rhesus Monkey (Tune: "Yes, Jesus Loves Me") Rhesus monkey, this I know, that the Bible Belt must go. Trusting to authority must give way to "test and see". Yes, rhesus monkey, Yes, rhesus ... (133 words)

A selection of the song competition entries presented at the Skeptics Conference. Amazing James Tune: "Amazing Grace" Hugh Young (idea by Eileen Bone) Amazing James, at last he came to inspire a ... (532 words)

Brew up a miracle for fun and profit, in the comfort of your own kitchen. The blood, in a phial in a church in Naples, is reverently turned over several times during services every few months. It has ... (593 words)

After seeing a demonstration of cold reading at the Skeptics Conference in 1989 I thought this was something I could have fun with, so I boned up on the list of commonplaces provided at the time: ... (636 words)

At the Skeptics Conference in Christchurch in 1989, Denis Dutton mentioned that women's magazines offered horoscopes but men's magazines did not. There were two significant exceptions: the feminist ... (342 words)

I wonder if scepticism toward pseudoscience has any contribution to make to the abortion debate? The thought arises because the theory of L Ron Hubbard (disposed of in a recent Skeptical Inquirer), ... (419 words)

"Scientific" creationists are fond of easy examples that seem to contradict evolution: so much the better if they seem to make scientists look silly. An example that pops up from time to time is a ... (870 words)