The spread of new technologies has caused an upheaval in the world of the media, but gives skeptics many causes for optimism. This article is based on a presentation to the 2013 NZ Skeptics ... (2817 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)

Matthew Willey finds Skeptics in the Pub hasn't been as much fun lately This Friday is our Skeptics in the Pub night. I like going, but I do feel inadequate. Keep this to yourself, but I have ... (1281 words)

A lot of effort goes into science communication, but the effectiveness of much of it is debatable. This article is based on a presentation to the NZ Skeptics Conference in Wellington, 7 September ... (895 words)

Two of this issue's articles have a lot in common. Keith Garratt (p 7( and Michael Edmonds (p 13( both illustrate how individuals can make a difference through active skepticism, whether it be making ... (435 words)

The Scope of Skepticism: Interviews, Essays and Observations from the Token Skeptic Podcast, by Kylie Sturgess. Podblack Books, 2012. 151pp. About $NZ18, or NZ$6.40 for Kindle. Visit tokenskeptic.org ... (485 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)

After almost 15 years of intermittently tagging along with her parents, Iris Riddell reports on her first official attendance at a NZ Skeptics Conference. I attended my first ever Skeptics conference ... (752 words)

There are times when the world seems to run along quietly from day to day, with very little happening. Then there are times like these. There are the ongoing aftershocks in Christchurch, many of them ... (419 words)

Gold gives the inside story of the beginnings of Skeptics in the Pub meetings in New Zealand. I first heard about Skeptics in the Pub on the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast ... (834 words)

In the Autumn 2004 issue of the NZ Skeptic, we reported on Vicki Hyde's prediction in the Dominion Post that George Bush would win the US presidential election. Given that this was at the height of ... (484 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)

Journalists in New Zealand generally show a lack of scepticism when dealing with issues of science and pseudoscience - except for mainstream medicine. This article is based on a presentation to the ... (2548 words)

A new star on the psychic circuit impressed the makers of TV3's 20/20, but not the NZ Skeptics A gushy piece of infotainment on what is claimed to be New Zealand's premier showcase for investigative ... (532 words)

The reading by Jeanette Wilson which featured most prominently on the 20/20 programme awarded the 2004 Bent Spoon (see page 3) was of a woman named Maria. It transpired after the reading that Maria's ... (752 words)

Skeptics Blown It? Prior to attending the NZ Skeptics conference in Wellington this year, I read the discussion paper on the role of science in environmental policy and decision making, Illuminated ... (1149 words)

Answering Answers in Genesis The young earth creationists have been active again ... the Australian-based group Answers in Genesis (AIG), has been doing the circuit in New Zealand. Warnings on the ... (1212 words)

Mind the Gaffe, by RL Trask. Penguin, 2002. $24.95. Mind the Gap! The book title is intended to remind all who have waited on curved London Underground railway platforms of the risk a careless step ... (398 words)

Skeptics in the Greenhouse I attended the recent Christchurch Conference and greatly enjoyed the excellent standard of presentation and discussion. One small item, however, left me wondering about ... (777 words)

Skeptics - always in two minds about something… You may recall I mentioned in the last issue of the NZ Skeptic that we were surveying members to see if we were all still on roughly the same ... (1926 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 I spoke at the conference two and a half years ago, argument was rife as to when the next millennium would begin. Now, there is no doubt we are well launched into the third thousand-year period ... (1818 words)

Not a Bad Start to the Millennium I'm pleased to welcome you officially to the 21st century, which I suspect will need Skeptics every bit as much as the last century, judging by the general level of ... (485 words)

Is there anything on television worth watching? Maybe. Who has the most dangerous job in prime-time TV and at the movies? Police officers? Soldiers? Private detectives? None of the above, according ... (2600 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)

Bernard Howard reports from the Skeptics' World Convention, Sydney, 10-12 November 2000 John Clarke's gaze had been mercifully averted, so we were spared a TV series "The Congress", showing all that ... (990 words)

Oz Skeptics set up for Video Fraud? A news item that Australian skeptics are considering video evidence of a "Bigfoot" sighting for a $100,000 prize should alarm all who have offered money for ... (446 words)

References Bob Metcalfe (Forum NZ Skeptic 54) seems to be calling for a change in editorial policy on footnotes and references. This has been consistent throughout the history of this society and any ... (310 words)

Remember the '90s? It was the decade when: scientists discovered an anti-aging drug that stretched the normal lifespan to 150 years Madonna gave birth to quintuplets earthquakes transformed both San ... (885 words)

That Old-Time Religion I didn't wish to begin a debate about the issues surrounding religion in the 16th and 17th-century, nor would I ever wish to stop anyone from taking in interest in history. All ... (358 words)

Complaints Process Then and Now I found it interesting to read Bernard Howard's article on complaining to the authorities. I myself complained about an incident that happened some years ago, when ... (818 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)

THE 1999 Skeptics Conference in Auckland was a conference looking for a theme, and in the end none presented itself. We ended up with an eclectic mix of papers, ranging from "Reading Cats' Paws" (Ken ... (680 words)

Founding member Bernard Howard reminisces on the Skeptics' history in this guest editorial. I belong to the constipated school of literary composition, so when the Editor invited me, only days before ... (1744 words)

Around 300BCE there started a school of Greek philosophy called Skepticism. It continued for centuries, but was more like dogmatic doubt than the modern version. Bertrand Russell put their creed as ... (1281 words)

Soft Targets Like Noel O'Hare, I attended the September Skeptics' conference. Noel, winner of an NZ Skeptics Bravo Award "for critical analysis and common sense for his health column throughout ... (760 words)

Counselling, Criticism and Skepticism I was interested to read the letters by Jim Ring and Felicity Goodyear-Smith to my article with the above title [NZ Skeptic 47]. Jim reiterates his view that the ... (1142 words)

One of the memorable presentations at the 1997 Skeptics' Conference was David Novitz's assessment of whether organised scepticism has a place in a liberal democratic society. Suppose that we are all ... (2390 words)

Britain's The Skeptic magazine celebrated its tenth anniversary with a Top-Ten survey of paranormal phenomena of the decade. In reverse order: Most irrelevant use of astrology: Sky Sports hiring ... (405 words)

This year has seen one of the most significant discoveries ever made -- the announcement that there are solid indications of life having once existed on another planet. The implications for us all, ... (485 words)

Since the call for responses to the awarding of the Bent Spoon to the Justice Department's Hitting Home report, we've received responses from 16 people, some of which of which have been published in ... (464 words)

Skeptics can take an active stance in their daily lives, according to this abridged version of the Chair-entity's after-dinner speech from the Conference. It's been four years since I stood before a ... (2409 words)

The Skeptics began in simpler times. Some of us recall when the burning issues of Skeptical enquiry were whether Uri Geller bent spoons, whether Russians were using telepaths to communicate with ... (893 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)

NZCSICOP Politics As a subscriber to your magazine, I am concerned by the general trends evident in the statements made by a number of your contributors. For example, in the last issue Mr Wyant ... (1373 words)

Seeing shouldn't always be believing, as a Nelson skeptic discovered thirty years ago. One night nearly thirty years ago, three men were driving back to Nelson from French Pass after a fishing trip. ... (892 words)

Skeptics who've ordered direct from Prometheus Books will be well aware of the realities of the extra exchange and bank costs that can make a price quoted in US dollars burgeon into a massive account ... (212 words)

Where Were the Hunters? The account of the meeting between the Moa hunters and the Christchurch Skeptics was interesting, but contained some very odd statements. How many skeptics had done any ... (510 words)

John Jewel was Bishop of Salisbury during the reign of Elizabeth I. It is hardly credible what a harvest, or rather what a wilderness of superstition has sprung up in the darkness of the Marian ... (98 words)

Award-winning author and long-time Skeptic Margaret Mahy delivered the after-dinner speech at the 1993 Skeptics Conference. This is an abridged version of her talk. I was a sceptic with a "c", before ... (3605 words)

It was a surprise to many outside observers, especially those who don't well understand the Skeptics. Paddy Freaney, Rochelle Rafferty, and Sam Waby, the trio who gained world attention early this ... (538 words)

A selection of the song competition entries presented at the Skeptics Conference. Amazing James Tune: "Amazing Grace" Hugh Young (idea by Eileen Bone) Amazing James, at last he came to inspire a ... (532 words)

Science, Pseudoscience and Junk Science Christchurch, September 3rd-5th The programme for the 1993 Skeptics Conference is still under development, but it's shaping up to be really interesting. It'll ... (339 words)

This article is an abridged version of the fourth article in a series on philosophy and the paranormal. Here Dr Grey discusses David Hume's analysis of miracles and his view that belief in miraculous ... (2324 words)

The British Independent recently ran an editorial not worth reproducing in the Skeptic. The editorial did, however, generate a vigorous response from Richard Dawkins which is worth thinking about. ... (461 words)

The abuse of the Skeptics as "arrogant, narrow-minded bigots" by defenders of Consumer is annoying, but it doesn't yet surpass an art teacher who wrote an article for a Wellington paper in 1986. ... (570 words)