Articles tagged with "award"

In 2016, Florent Montaclair was the proud recipient of the Gold Medal in Philology, awarded to him by the International Society of Philology. This award is equated with the Fields Medal or a Nobel prize… or so he would have us think.

Imagine the honour of being selected as one among the “10 Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs from New Zealand Accelerating the Growth of Economy in 2024” by Apac Entrepreneur, and featured in a Special Edition of their magazine.

As it's an election year this year, there's been no lack of misinformation and nonsense being pushed at New Zealanders. Our runner up for the Bent Spoon award this year decided, apparently reluctantly, to start a new political party, called NZ Loyal. Liz Gunn, once a high-profile TV presenter, turned herself into a political leader and asked the conspiracy theorists of New Zealand to vote for her. Worryingly, given some of her extreme views, she received 1.2% of all votes, and she's already preparing her party for the next election. Next time round she might actually manage to submit the paperwork properly and have more than two candidates standing for election. We will be keeping a close eye on her.

Our annual conference is coming up in November, on the weekend of the 19th - 21. As we've previously publicised, we're holding it in conjunction with the Australian Skeptics. COVID willing, we'll be having an in-person conference in Wellington, and they'll have theirs in Sydney.

This week saw Dr Siouxsie Wiles take the supreme winner award at the Stuff-Westpac NZ 2020 Women of Influence Awards.

For the New Zealand organisation which has shown the most egregious gullibility or lack of critical thinking in public coverage of, or commentary on, a science-related issue

For the New Zealand organisation which has shown the most egregious gullibility or lack of critical thinking in public coverage of, or commentary on, a science-related issue

This story starts back in 2002. The winner of the NZ Skeptics' Bent Spoon award that year was Green MP Jeanette Fitzsimons. She won the award for supporting the idea of using Possum Peppering to rid NZ of possums.

The NZ Skeptics cast the net wide for the 2011 Bent Spoon.

Vicki Hyde dishes out this year's Bent Spoon Award.

A Listener article on Brazilian medium and 'miracle-worker' Joao de Deus has taken the annual Bent Spoon Award from the New Zealand Skeptics.

Thank you kindly for the recent award for journalistic excellence I received from your society for my editorial in the NZ Medical Journal on alternative treatments. It was wonderful to be honoured by a society such as yours whose aims and intentions I absolutely support and whom I have always held in the highest regard.

A documentary on faith healing that promised to scrutinise the practice demonstrated short-sightedness and has won for TopShelf Productions the 2001 Bent Spoon Award from the New Zealand Skeptics.

This year's Bent Spoon Award from the NZ Skeptics has been won by Wellington Hospital for encouraging their nursing staff to claim special healing powers through the laying on of hands.

TVNZ's Holmes show has taken this year's Bent Spoon Award from the New Zealand Skeptics for promoting extraordinary and untested claims regarding cancer treatments.

Carl Sagan, one of the world's greatest popularisers of science, died on December 20th at the age of 62, after a long battle with a bone marrow disease. Sagan was one of America's pre-eminent scientists, educators, skeptics and humanists. He was also a founding member and Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and a member of the Council for Secular Humanism's International Academy of Humanism.

The organisation responsible for setting exams for New Zealand secondary students receives the Skeptics' annual rap on the knuckles for bad science.

For those of you who have not been involved in selection of a Bent Spoon, here's how it is generally done and how this year's selection was made. Throughout the year, people propose likely candidates -- suggestions are passed on in the form of newspaper clippings, phone-calls, letters, email or, occasionally, videotape. Denis coordinates the discussion, which involves the Skeptic's executive officers and often members of the committee and members with appropriate expertise.

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 received the award.

The Bent Spoon, as oft we've pointed out, is the only negative press award in New Zealand. Recipients' reactions to it have varied.

James Randi, a member of the US CSICOP has been named the recipient of the 1989 Forum Award of the American Physical Society. The Award is given for promoting public understanding of the relation of physics to society. The citation reads, "For his unique defense of science and the scientific method in many disciplines, including physics, against pseudoscience, frauds, and charlatans. His use of scientific techniques has contributed to refuting suspicious and fraudulent claims of paranormal results. He has contributed significantly to public understanding of important issues where science and society intersect."

Former Star news editor Josh Easby has collected . an award for journalistic excellence for his "psychic duel" with an Auckland clairvoyant.