"… she successfully resisted the forces pitted against her, giving an astounding manifestation of some power other than that making up the ordinary phenomena of nature." So wrote the Feilding Star on ... (1886 words)

Alison Campbell looks at the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum. By accident, I came across the curriculum document for Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), which provides teaching and ... (767 words)

There may indeed be a place for creationism in the science classroom, but not the way the creationists want. This article is based on a presentation to the 2011 NZ Skeptics Conference. We live in a ... (1865 words)

How should a skeptic relate to those who have other belief systems? What does a skeptic and atheist do when they are part of a broader group that is quite loose on empirical evidence and critical ... (908 words)

Alison Campbell considers the current state of tertiary education. The title for this article is taken from one of the search terms used by people visiting my 'other' blog, Talking Teaching, which I ... (1045 words)

Ethics and morality are often regarded as beyond the reach of scientific inquiry. But certain values appear to be shared by all humans as species-typical adaptations. This article is based on a ... (2452 words)

Adam van Langenberg gives practical suggestions on how to run a high school skeptical society, based on his own successful experience. In late 2010 I was fortunate enough to see noted US skeptics ... (1834 words)

Gold takes a long walk. Some time back I noticed that I was getting the first signs of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). I'm a web developer and spend way too much time in front of a keyboard and ... (293 words)

Alison Campbell looks at a new 'resource' for New Zealand schools, helpfully provided by the creationist movement. A little while ago Ken Perrott, who writes the Open Parachute blog, alerted me to an ... (544 words)

A learning difficulties programme that claims to re-train the cerebellum makes some impressive claims which don't stand close scrutiny. DORE is an organisation that claims to treat learning ... (2210 words)

It's not a hopeless cause to engage with proponents of the irrational - but some ways of doing this are more effective than others. This article is based on a presentation to the 2010 NZ Skeptics ... (2086 words)

Alison Campbell reviews a study of why so many struggle with scientific concepts. One of the topics that comes up for discussion with my Sciblogs colleagues is the issue of 'resistance to science' - ... (880 words)

The Moral Landscape: How Science can Determine Human Values. Sam Harris. 2010. Free Press, New York. ISBN 978-1-4391-7121-9 Reviewed by Martin Wallace. If faith is belief without evidence, then it is ... (390 words)

Creationism is not a new problem in New Zealand schools, as this article excerpt from NZ Skeptic 18 (December 1990) illustrates. A report of a survey conducted in 1988 In order to ascertain to what ... (426 words)

Alison Campbell finds the creationists are still trying to get into our schools. A friend of mine, who happens to be a biology teacher, recently forwarded me an email. Quite apart from the fact that ... (647 words)

Research at Victoria University of Wellington is shedding light on the often irrational processes by which people assess new information. This article is based on presentations to the 2010 NZ ... (2253 words)

Gold looks back at the first year of Skeptics in the Pub. I had been listening to skeptical and science-based podcasts for about four years when I decided that I wanted to do something more than just ... (490 words)

Alison Campbell looks at some words that cause scientific misunderstandings. I suspect that for many of my first-year Biology students, the sheer weight of new terms they come across is perhaps the ... (647 words)

Alison Campbell ponders the evolutionary significance of lolcats. Makes me chuckle when I think about it. Not just because Lolcats (www.icanhascheezburger.com) make me LOL (they do), but also because ... (389 words)

Vicki Hyde presents the chair-entity's report for 2009. The past year since our last conference has proved a busy one for the organisation with a number of initiatives both within the society and by ... (446 words)

Waikato University biological sciences lecturer Alison Campbell posts a regular blog on matters biological (sci.waikato.ac.nz/bioblog/). Her aim is to encourage critical thinking among secondary ... (400 words)

'Pet psychics' get a boost The flourishing pet psychic industry has received free publicity from an Australian article reprinted in the NZ Herald (23 January). I guess it was the silly season, that ... (1212 words)

Another annual conference has come and gone, with the usual collection of thought-provoking presentations. This issue we present two highlights, from Waikato University biology lecturer and science ... (401 words)

If students are to pursue careers in science, they need to be able to see themselves in that role. One way to encourage this may be through the telling of stories. This article is based on a ... (3474 words)

Rudolf Steiner kindergartens look set to cash in on free early childhood education initiatives. The plan of Education Minister Steve Maharey to provide 20 hours of free early childhood education ... (703 words)

Silent scientologists and hot cold treatments Pill Popping PHARMAC is the Government drug-purchasing agency. Pharmac's 2005 Annual Review showed that about eight prescription items were issued per ... (914 words)

Demands for equal time cut both ways. Armies of the night, science-writer and novelist Isaac Asimov once called them. He was referring to the countless millions of evangelicals who believe the book ... (790 words)

Intelligent Design ruled a pretext for religion in the classroom In a decision which sets an important precedent for US science education, a court has ruled against the teaching of the theory of ... (1338 words)

The decision by Judge John Jones ruling that the promotion of Intelligent Design (ID) in schools is a violation of the constitutional ban on teaching religion, is at least a temporary victory for ... (446 words)

New Zealand's tertiary institutions have some strange ways of measuring academic performance The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) is gaining a reputation as a Mickey Mouse government organisation ... (789 words)

The idea that low self-esteem is the cause of violent behaviour has been current for some time. Many years ago I attended numerous education meetings where I heard that certain (male) individuals ... (836 words)

<<img class="g-image g-image--lazy g-image--loading" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg fill='none' viewBox='0 0 615 463' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' ... (829 words)

The battle between the Enlightenment and Romantic traditions is far from over, though it has taken on new forms. This article is abridged from a presentation to the NZ Skeptics Conference, 2004. P J ... (3412 words)

A Waikato University website on evolution has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers, says biological sciences lecturer Alison Campbell. "We held a teacher meeting in April for the ... (671 words)

Like scientists, historians use a dependable methodology to ensure their findings are reliable. Assertions of historical fact can properly be based only on empirical evidence. Historians then use ... (791 words)

Bill Taylor explains some of the thinking behind the Time-Line installation, "Genesis Aotearoa", at Victoria University (See also Page 13) As a lay person I entered the world of Earth Science with a ... (531 words)

Government hypocrisy is rife amid the talk of a "knowledge-based economy" Homeopathy does not work. There is no debate about this fact among rational, informed people. Homeopathy is a sham system of ... (769 words)

The universe we live in is vast, in both space and time, so vast as to be beyond human comprehension. Mathematicians have devised a way in which the large numbers involved can be manipulated, the ... (439 words)

Vicki Hyde presents the Chair-entity's report for 2003 It's been another busy year, mostly working behind the scenes, with the occasional burst into the public arena. For the second year running, we ... (901 words)

The year got off to a good start with a series of successful meetings run by our Auckland colleagues in conjunction with the Rationalists, and I thank those involved for their efforts. I'd also like ... (511 words)

Yet Another Alternative to Evidence Based Medicine Eloquence based medicine The year round suntan, carnation in the button hole, silk tie, Armani suit and tongue should all be equally smooth. ... (1284 words)

Vicki Hyde reports from the 4th World Skeptics Conference I knew Someone was smiling on me - there I was going to be stuck in Los Angeles for three days waiting for a flight back across the Pacific - ... (1567 words)

When Raymond Richards included a lecture on the Mormon Church in his course on American history he ran foul of not only the Mormon community but also the University of Waikato heirarchy. He told his ... (2690 words)

Smile for the camera Singaporean ghostbusters are turning to hi-tech equipment as they search for paranormal phenomena, reports the Evening Post (September 9). Singapore Paranormal Investigators say ... (729 words)

Aoraki Polytechnic has paid former naturopathy students $515 000 for falsely advertising their course had degree status. The students were seeking $4 million in compensation. The long-running dispute ... (90 words)

Being a skeptical parent in New Zealand isn't always easy, but it has its rewards. This was originally presented to the Skeptics' World Convention in Sydney, in November. When I became head of the ... (4156 words)

Wellington's Healing Touch I was interested to read a recent article in the NZ Skeptic on Healing Touch, as I am a consultant anaesthetist at Wellington Hospital. When I heard this "service" was to ... (340 words)

A screenplay by Lloyd Fricker The recent decision by the Kansas (U.S.A.) Board of Education to discourage the teaching of evolution in public schools raised the question "what would Darwin think"? In ... (1478 words)

Hedgehogs do not impale fruit with their prickles and run away with it, nor do they steal the milk from slow-witted cows. These are just two of the unsubstantiated rumours and misconceptions that ... (679 words)

IT'S a damned rotten trick, I know, but I rang up my mum and asked her a simple question, does the Earth go round the Sun, or is it the other way around? She wasn't sure, but felt the most obvious, ... (713 words)

It often seems as if home schooling is the domain of hard-line Christians. In fact, they're not the only people who feel that their children are better taught at home than in school. Most people are ... (859 words)

One of the interesting things about the Skeptics is the wide range of opinions that can be found in our group -- not to mention the ever-readiness to express them. So I was interested to read Frank ... (371 words)

The organisation responsible for setting exams for New Zealand secondary students receives the Skeptics' annual rap on the knuckles for bad science. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has won ... (849 words)

Malcolm Carr, from Waikato University's Centre For Science, Mathematics & Technology Education Research, talks to Annette Taylor about the nature of science education and the new science ... (1036 words)

Postmodern thinkers claim to have broken the fetters of logic that have characterised rational discourse since the enlightenment. They claim to have ushered in a new age of freedom of communication, ... (804 words)

For a host of reasons which the NZ Skeptic will examine further in a later issue, the so-called "natural health" industry is enjoying a remarkable resurgence. One cannot refute the argument that we ... (1618 words)

Recent issues of the Skeptic have contained expressions of puzzlement at some subjects being taught to tertiary students in New Zealand. The worst example is the Degree in Naturopathy planned for ... (895 words)

NZ Qualifications Authority An editorial in the Christchurch Press (23 Nov 94) was critical of the Universities who are seeking approval from the NZQA and argued that they should continue to set ... (1495 words)

Tertiary institutes around the country are beginning to offer courses, and even entire degrees, in subjects that are pure pseudoscience. The Aoraki Polytechnic has applied to the New Zealand ... (1859 words)

MSG Myth Laid to Rest Another sacred cow from my medical school days has been laid to rest. A letter in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 triggered a rash of anecdotal reports about facial ... (1690 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)

Creationists are winning hands-down in the publicity stakes, despite, one presumes, no real assistance in the form of Divine Guidance. Volumes of perceptive articles by competent scientists and ... (1047 words)