Jay Mann is a plant biochemist with a life-long interest in edible plants.
Hyperdigititis - A pandemic for our times
1 August 2009
Presenting numbers with excessive and artifical precision in product labels, newspaper articles and report tables does nothing for scientific credibility and sows confusion in the mind of the reader.
Playing the numbers game
1 November 2007
Some risks in life are distributed throughout a population, others are all-or-nothing. There's a big difference. This article is based on a presentation to last year's Skeptics Conference.
A small success story
1 November 2005
Just once in a while, speaking up can make a difference.
Political Correctness at the Supermarket
1 May 1998
Jay Mann delivered this address with accompanying liquid refreshment (with and without MSG) at last year's conference.
Bruce Ames: Environmental Prophet or Apostate?
1 August 1994
What is the link between chemicals and cancer?
Physical and Financial Health?
1 November 1993
On Thursday, 19 August 1993, the Christchurch Press carried a full-page advertisement for the initial New Zealand opening of the "Matrol Opportunity".
The Numbering Of Parts
1 November 1991
Most people have great difficulty in conceptualising low frequencies and low concentrations. Pesticide concentrations are reported in parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb) and parts per trillion (ppt). One television personality accused an industrial spokesman of releasing effluent with "15 parts per trillion" (his emphasis, implying a very large, rather than a very small concentration).
Chemicals In Food
1 May 1991
Despite recent claims that "natural" foods are safer, there is evidence that "natural" pesticides can be present at much higher concentrations than residues from synthetic pesticides. These "natural" chemicals are often untested and of unknown toxicity, with little evidence of health benefits.