In the social media age the “Am I the A$@&@ole?” (AITA) post sub-genre provides a sincere 'check-yourself' calibration and a moment of schadenfreude. I think it originated in the Reddit dungeons, but has spread across many apps and an endless number of YouTube channels. A recent moral quandary of the AITA variety recently hit me and I thought I'd look for skeptical input.
Our annual NZ Skeptics Conference, being held in Wellington on 25th - 27th November is just weeks away now.
If you're a regular reader of our weekly newsletter you'll know by now that we're running a conference in conjunction with the Australian Skeptics. Because of COVID-19 restrictions we made the decision to run it entirely online.
After some investigation it seems that this magazine (it's a stretch to call it a journal, a title which should be reserved for scientific publications) is being purchased by at least one public library (Titirangi).
The conference will be held in Wellington on the weekend of November 24th—26th, at the Sisters of Mercy Convent.
Proceedings on Saturday were meant to be opened with a talk from Elric Hooper, but we were denied the opportunity to hear that leader of New Zealand theatre. In order to keep appointments in the USA in the following week, he had been forced to fly out on 11 September, the only day on which seats were available.
Post-mortem on the autopsy or autopsy on the post-mortem?
Several members have sent me cuttings which I am afraid we can not use but which I am always glad to get. Malcolm MacCleary especially has sent me some good stuff on how to be a winning punter, news from the Order of the Magical Rose, Nelson and some more remarkable extracts from the Melchizadek Manuscripts. See how many clangers you can find in this passage: