30 September 2024
A few days ago I tuned eight pianos in one day. That has nothing to do with this article. I just wanted to let you know that, because I think it's impressive. The pianos were all in one location, at a venue/arts complex in Queenstown, and all regulars, and of high quality, so maybe not that impressive I guess, but it was a long day. While there, a kind lady who worked in the complex handed me a bottle of Ārepa. Reading the label on the glass bottle, I instantly sensed that a deep dive might be in order.
16 September 2024
I stated on the podcast a few weeks ago that I think I could cover a different horse pseudoscience in each issue, and keep going for an entire year. That was before I looked into it…
8 July 2024
Over a year ago my wife and I were on a cavalcade. Present on the same cavalcade was a woman who was an equine vet. While we were discussing various 'alternative' treatments and such she happened to say “but I'm a real believer in the power of placebo, though…”. I found that statement a little surprising, coming from (I assume) a qualified medical person, but perhaps in a way this is telling.
19 February 2024
Those who know me well know that I have a thing for painful, uncomfortable experiences - I'm finally planning to redeem my colonic irrigation voucher in the next few weeks, I've enjoyed stabbing myself with acupuncture needles and joining interminably boring cult meetings. So for some it's no surprise that I'm a big fan of bad movies - some of my favourites are Twisted Pair (or anything really) by Neil Breen, Champagne and Bullets, Jurassic Shark, Dangerous Men, Dolemite, Tammy and the T-Rex, and Birdemic. Yep, these movies are so bad that The Room doesn't even make the list.
3 July 2023
About 10 years ago a friend asked me about binaural beats. I had to admit at the time that I was oblivious, and had never heard of them. He proceeded to describe a fun audio effect, one that only works through a pair of headphones. If you play an audio tone (frequency) in each ear, and make the tone in each ear a little different, the difference between the frequencies of these two tones - their interference pattern - can be heard as a third audio tone that sounds like it's originating from somewhere between your ears. So, if you play a 550Hz tone in your left ear, and a 500Hz tone in your right ear, you will also “hear” a 50Hz tone between your ears: 550 - 500 = 50.
26 June 2023
Reading some of the latest research on chronic pain management led me down a rabbit hole of further reading, and the discovery of just how damn weird and counterintuitive pain is.
24 January 2022
A week seems like a very long time at the moment! But just over a week ago, the island nation of Tonga experienced a huge volcanic eruption and resulting tsunami. The effect of the tsunami was made worse by the fact that the islands are low-lying so seeking high ground is all but impossible.
26 October 2021
This week has seen the introduction of the Traffic Light System to replace the COVID lockdown levels currently in place. This will take effect once all of the country's DHB's achieve a 90% fully vaccinated rate for their populations.
27 April 2021
An interesting video has appeared on YouTube which gives a rational explanation for a UFO video taken by US Navy personnel.
4 January 2021
Welcome to the first newsletter of the new year. I think we can all agree that 2020 was a fairly exceptional year, and not in a good way. 2021 has rolled around, and the common expectation is that it's going to be much better than 2020! I feel we're falling for some cognitive effect that rolling over the calendar provides us - and that maybe it's not going to turn out that way.
14 December 2020
Renowned Otago researcher, Jim Flynn has died, aged 86. He discovered a very interesting effect - now named after him - the Flynn Effect, which states that IQ scores are increasing decade by decade. Basically, people are scoring better on IQ tests than they did in the past. This has had the effect of moving the 100 score - which is, by definition, the average IQ score upwards. There is speculation on the reasons for the Flynn effect, but nothing completely conclusive. But it is interesting to ponder.
1 May 2019
In late March, representatives from NZ Skeptics attended an evening session of 'Psychic Healing' in Christchurch, as performed by so-called 'psychic-healer', Jeanette Wilson. NZ Skeptics Society was formed in part to examine and counter this sort of ridiculous woo, so we felt it was important to investigate and report on the sort of depths to which woo-sters will go.
13 March 2016
The Mandela Effect is where people have false memories of past events, and decide that there's been a jump to an alternative universe where history is different.
1 August 2012
Darcy Cowan takes another look at a subject that just won't go away.
1 May 2011
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.
1 August 2009
Justin Vodane's letter (NZ Skeptic 91) is a classic defence of the indefensible.
1 August 2009
Tim Hume (Sunday Star Times June 21) has written a good account of traditional Maori Medicine (Rongoa Maori). The Health Ministry provides $1.9 million annually for this nonsense. That money would pay for approximately 1000 hip replacements.
1 February 2008
Intersecting as it does sex, religion, blood, medicine and masculinity, circumcision is a subject that is hard to discuss rationally.
1 November 2006
It has become a cliché that whenever something bad happens, a horde of counsellors descend on the survivors to make their lives a misery. It's true. Counselling does make you more sick compared to doing nothing.
1 February 2006
The leading medical journal The Lancet recently published yet another analysis of trials of homeopathy. After examining 110 such trials, the Swiss researchers concluded that there was no convincing evidence that homeopathy was any more effective than placebo. In the accompanying editorial, the editor, Dr Richard Horton, made a comment which has an uncanny, and no doubt intentional parallel with the views of the founder of homeopathy over two hundred years ago:-
1 February 2006
Many pharmaceuticals originate from nature, but their development is very different from that of so-called natural health products. This article was originally presented at the 2005 Skeptics Conference.
1 February 2004
Cellulite is the term used by women's magazines to describe dimpled fat. It has no scientific or anatomical validity and it is simply ordinary fatty tissue that assumes a waffled appearance because fibrous tissue prevents the skin from fully expanding in areas where fatty tissue accumulates. This has been confirmed by a study where biopsies of fat and cellulite were microscopically indistinguishable by pathologists who were blinded as to the samples' origin. Calling fat "cellulite" is part of the modern trend to seeking alternatives to the (unpalatable) truth, in this case an adipose euphemism.
1 February 2003
If the caring practitioner has no idea of what to do next, the decision may be best left in the hands of the Almighty. Too many clinicians, unfortunately, are unable to resist giving God a hand with the decision-making.
1 November 2002
This is the press release (slightly edited) which announced this year's Bent Spoon Winner. Most of the reports used only a small proportion, and included a quote from Ms Fitzsimons saying that the Skeptics could "do whatever they like with their silly bent spoon".
1 August 2001
The placebo effect has long been of interest to skeptics for its presumed role in alternative medicine. The Skeptics' Dictionary (http://www.skepdic.com) has a lengthy entry, describing a placebo as an inert substance, or fake surgery or therapy, used as a control in an experiment or given to a patient for its probable beneficial effect. It goes on to add the effect has at least three components.
1 November 1998
Oh My God, it's the End of the World! Again!
1 November 1997
John Riddell spends a lot of time in the pub. Ask his wife. Often, over a pint or two, some bloke or blokess spouts forth some new age dogma which naturally requires correction.. Now a seasoned debater, he this month begins a regular series sharing his collection of responses honed to the mental capabilities of your average bar-room intellectual.
1 May 1993
Many people will remember Dr Bill Morris's entertaining autobiographical talk at the last Skeptics' conference in Wellington. From his presentation, we extract this discussion of what is still the most persistent and potent medical effect known to the human race.
1 November 1991
Hydrogen peroxide — sometime rocket fuel, blonde bleacher and disinfectant — is increasingly being touted as a cure for what ails you.
1 November 1989
In order to supplement the article on homeopathy by Bill Morris (March, 1989), I enclose copies of abstracts of clinical trials of homeopathic preparations published in reputable medical journals, some of which Morris has overlooked.
1 February 1989
I have been reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death (Methuen 1987) and very interesting it is too. Postman takes some vicious swipes at Television; although tolerant of Dynasty, Dallas and Sledge Hammer he is unrelenting in his condemnation of its 'best' programmes. His main point is that TV is killing off our abilities to think and express ourselves logically. I will summarise briefly; to catch the full flavour of Postman's invective you will have to read the book.
1 November 1988
In your November 1987 issue, Dennis Dutton (page 3) asks whether it matters that sick people, especially cancer sufferers, are not discouraged from using "alternative" or "complementary" treatments, The answer of course is the one that he himself has given: it does and it doesn't.
1 November 1988
The Spectator, 20 September 1986
1 August 1988
The Dominion Sunday Times, 4 October 1987
1 November 1986
Carison, S. A double-blind test of the astrology hypothesis. Nature, December 5, 1985, 318, 419-425. Two double-blind tests were made of the thesis that astrological 'natal charts' can be used to describe accurately personality traits of test subjects. Despite using highly regarded astrologers, despite incorporating their suggestions into the design, and despite the fact that they approved the design, astrology failed to perform at a level better than chance. The astrological hypothesis was clearly refuted.