Lance is a retired industrial chemist, with a bachelor's degree, ironically in biology. His specialty was using chemicals to control troublesome microorganisms in various industrial processes. He is a skeptic of long standing, a science geek who reads all kinds of scientific fields, a keen scuba diver, married to Delwyn and living on the beautiful Tutukaka coast. He is the author of one published book (Ecomyth) about the way environmental ideas have been screwed over.
Why are You a Skeptic
3 January 2022
I can blame my skepticism on George Adamski.
What kind of Skeptic?
18 October 2021
There are many kinds, and some are, frankly, full of bulldust! So what am I, and what are the members of the NZ Skeptics?
Proxima
1 May 2020
Alpha was hunting. He was rushing through his jungle at break neck speed, close behind the giant grazer. He realised there was a massive series of meals in the beast. As he dashed, he worked on his poem to celebrate the hunt. Already it was several hundred stanzas long, with descriptions of many other hunts, and it was polishing up to be a masterpiece. When he passed it on, to others of his kind, it would make him famous.
The Nowcast Fallacy
1 May 2020
This is an opinion piece. That is, it is my opinion. Some of you may feel that I am wrong. If so, you are welcome to disagree. Please feel free to express your own views in the next issue of this magazine.
The Rare Earth Hypothesis
1 February 2020
Enrico Fermi was a genius, and his mind worked lightning fast. When his co-workers were audibly speculating on how many alien civilisations might live in our galaxy, he simply looked up and asked: “Where are they?”
Hormesis, a Controversy
1 August 2019
Growing old is a bummer. At age 70, I am supposed to have gained more wisdom, but I really cannot say I have noticed. But there are certain physical attributes that are definitely not as good as when I was 20. Among them is healing. Once, cuts and abrasions would be gone in a week. No more. Sometimes it takes a month or more. Bummer!
Chemophobia
1 May 2019
Recently, I was in conversation with a couple of people here in Tutukaka. The topic was the local tourist map which I produce and pay for with a series of small advertisements. I was asking them to advertise their business. One of them said she was not happy to do so since the tourist map was not environmentally friendly. My eyebrows went up, and I pointed out that the map was on card board, which was biodegradable. She agreed, but said her problem was the ink which was full of chemicals. Again, my eyebrows went up, and I suggested that everything was full of chemicals, including the human body. She disagreed vociferously. Only synthetic evil products contained chemicals.
In Defence of Nuclear
1 November 2018
New Zealand has a nuclear free policy. In relation to weapons, I totally agree with that. A nuclear bomb is an obscene and horrible device and the sooner the world can see its way to eliminating all of them, the better. But what of nuclear energy? Should that share the same horror? Lots of people think it does, but why?