Sometimes the most successful prophets are the ones that don't even try In the aftermath of the Challenger disaster and the death of Princess Diana, the world was quickly awash with black humour and ... (879 words)

Cathie Comments I just wanted to make a comment on the clipping from the Christchurch Star concerning "nuclear extinction" which appeared on p.9 of the NZ Skeptic periodical. In the clipping, a ... (369 words)

Numerology, or What Pythagoras Wrought, by Underwood Dudley, Mathematical Association of America, Washington DC, 1997 Here's a book that might go on the New Age shelves by mistake. Who'd have thought ... (439 words)

IT IS WELL, at the start of a discussion, to declare an interest. So, I begin by admitting that my fascination with the year 2000 was aroused nearly 70 years ago. Like many mechanically-minded lads ... (1917 words)

I was recently reflecting on my career as a scientist, and realised that this year is the 50th anniversary of my first scientific paper.1 In 1947 I was a "scientific civil servant" in London; I ... (249 words)

The Bible (or, more precisely, the Torah) is a heavenly word-find puzzle, according to Israeli mathematicians. THE BIBLE CODE, a new book touting the miraculous prophetic nature of the Hebrew Torah ... (1180 words)

Picking Winners? When the short list for the Booker prize was announced there was much chortling about the fact that Jill Paton Walsh had been unable to find a publisher in Britain for Knowledge of ... (1351 words)

Vicki Hyde suggests (Skeptic 30) that we are in for a lot more doomsday predictions as we approach the year 2000. I am afraid she is right, but why should fundamentalists get so excited about a round ... (637 words)

Nostradamus -- The 1994 Annual Almanac by V.J. Hewitt. Random House, $15.95 This book explains an approach to interpreting the French "prophet" Nostradamus's predictions. It is the culmination of 16 ... (762 words)