Australian Skeptics
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
which investigates paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
and pseudoscientific claims using scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
methodologies.
History
The Australian Skeptics were founded in Victoria in 1980, after a visit to Australia by James RandiJames Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, who encouraged its establishment based upon the American organisation Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry , formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal , is a program within the U.S...
(CSICOP). It grew from a Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
-based organisation, founded by Mark Plummer and James Gerrand, to a national one over the following years. As of 2007 it has some 2100 members from all Australian states and territories. Each state and territory has its own branch, and most have their own newsletters. Local skeptics groups are also springing up in Melbourne and Sydney.
The Skeptic
The journal of the Australian Skeptics is called The Skeptic and has been published since 1981. The first issue, edited by the first President of the Australian Skeptics, Mark Plummer, and produced by founding Secretary, James Gerrand, appeared in January 1981. Three issues appeared in 1981 and it has appeared quarterly since 1982. The Skeptic is used extensively by the media in Australia seeking an alternative view on many of the issues examined by the Australian Skeptics. Since 1987, The Skeptic has been published by Australian Skeptics Inc, in New South Wales. From 1990 to 2008 it was edited by Barry Williams. The current editor (as of June 2009) is Tim Mendham.The Skeptic Tank
Hosted by Stefan Sojka and Richard SaundersRichard Saunders (skeptic)
Richard Saunders is an Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist. He has received recognition by the Australian Skeptics with a Life Membership in 2001 for his contributions to the organisation...
, The Skeptic Tank started as a weekly radio programme on the internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
station netFM in October 2001. The programme consisted of discussions on skeptical and science related topics, as well as guest interviews. Some regular guests were Peter Bowditch, Richard Lead and Helen Vnuk. The Skeptic Tank stayed on netFM until October 2002.
The Tank Vodcast
The Skeptic Tank was revived in 2005 as a podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
, and was in 2006 renamed The Tank Podcast. The podcast was produced and hosted by Richard Saunders, with Stefan Sojka as the co-host. The format remained much the same as The Skeptic Tank radio programme, but the podcasting format also made it possible to record segments, or entire episodes, out of the studio.
In 2007 The Tank became a video podcast
Video podcast
Video podcast is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures...
, and renamed The Tank Vodcast. Reporters for the vodcast include Jayson Cooke, Karen Stollznow
Karen Stollznow
Karen Stollznow is an Australian writer, linguist, podcaster and skeptic. She is a columnist for both Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer magazines and is host on two different skeptic podcasts...
, Kylie Sturgess and Michael Wolloghan. Previous guests have included James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, Eugenie C. Scott
Eugenie Scott
Eugenie Carol Scott is an American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education since 1987...
, Phil Plait, Rebecca Watson
Rebecca Watson
Rebecca Watson is a blogger and independent podcast host. She is the founder of Skepchick and a co-host on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe and Little Atoms podcasts....
and Alison Smith from SAPS.
The Skeptic Zone
The Tank Vodcast was, in September 2008, replaced by a new podcast, The Skeptic Zone. Though still hosted by Saunders and Sojka, and featuring members of 'The Tank' Michael Wolloghan and Kylie Sturgess, the podcast featured a new format with clearly defined segments. Episodes usually feature an interview, or several shorter interviews, along with one or more regular segments. The regular segments are:- A Grain of Salt: A segment where Eran Segev talks about a topic relevant to skepticismScientific skepticismScientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
and critical thinkingCritical thinkingCritical thinking is the process or method of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true and sometimes false, or partly true and partly false. The origins of critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic...
.
- Dr Rachie Reports: In this segment Dr Rachael Dunlop examines one branch, or modality, of alternative medicineAlternative medicineAlternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
. Topics discussed include: Live Blood AnalysisLive Blood AnalysisLive blood analysis , live cell analysis, Hemaview or nutritional blood analysis is the use of high-resolution dark field microscopy to observe live blood cells in vitro...
, detoxDetoxDetoxification is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including, but not limited to, the human body and additionally can refer to the period of withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance...
, ear candlingEar candlingEar candling, also called ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is an alternative medicine practice claimed to improve general health and well-being by lighting one end of a hollow candle and placing the other end in the ear canal. According to medical researchers, it is both dangerous and...
, homeopathyHomeopathyHomeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
and the anti-vaccination movementVaccine controversyA vaccine controversy is a dispute over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, or safety of vaccinations. Medical and scientific evidence surrounding vaccinations generally demonstrate that the benefits of preventing suffering and death from infectious diseases outweigh rare adverse effects of...
.
- The Token Skeptic: Kylie SturgessKylie SturgessKylie Sturgess is an award-winning blogger and independent podcast host of 'The Token Skeptic Podcast'. A Philosophy and Religious Education teacher with over ten years experience in education, Kylie has lectured on teaching critical thinking, feminism, new media and anomalistic beliefs worldwide...
reporting on brief news items, events and internet sites relevant to skeptics.
- The Think Tank: Relevant skeptical issues are discussed in a less formal manner, at a pub.
Some notable guests interviewed on The Skeptic Zone are: Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Tim Minchin
Tim Minchin
Timothy David "Tim" Minchin is a British-Australian comedian, actor, and musician.Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia,...
, Richard Wiseman
Richard Wiseman
Richard Wiseman is Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.Wiseman started his professional life as a magician, before graduating in Psychology from University College London and obtaining a Ph.D...
, Ben Goldacre
Ben Goldacre
Ben Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British science writer, doctor and psychiatrist. He is the author of The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008....
, Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine...
, Benjamin Radford
Benjamin Radford
Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of the science magazine Skeptical Inquirer, former editor-in-chief of the Spanish-language magazine Pensar, which was published in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine Skeptical Briefs newsletter, Discovery News, LiveScience.com...
, Steven Novella
Steven Novella
Steven P. Novella is an American clinical neurologist, assistant professor and Director of General Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine...
, Eugenie Scott
Eugenie Scott
Eugenie Carol Scott is an American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education since 1987...
and Phil Plait.
Public Action
In June 2005, members of the creationist group Answers in GenesisAnswers in Genesis
Answers in Genesis is a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry with a particular focus on supporting Young Earth creationism and a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. The organization has offices in the United Kingdom and the United States...
– Australia debated a team from the Australian Skeptics online on Margo Kingston
Margo Kingston
Margo Kingston is an Australian journalist, author and commentator. She is best known for her work at The Sydney Morning Herald and her weblog, .Kingston was born in Maryborough, Queensland and was raised in Mackay...
's web diary section of the Sydney Morning Herald website.
In response to a large increase in pertussis
Pertussis
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough , is a highly contagious bacterial disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. Symptoms are initially mild, and then develop into severe coughing fits, which produce the namesake high-pitched "whoop" sound in infected babies and children when they inhale air...
cases during a 2008/09 outbreak
Outbreak
Outbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected at a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious...
, the organization focused efforts on countering information from Meryl Dorey's Australian Vaccination Network
Australian Vaccination Network
The Australian Vaccination Network , formerly known as the Vaccination Awareness Network, is an Australian anti-vaccination lobby group registered in New South Wales. It is dedicated to the idea that one's health can be maintained without the use of pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines...
. This included supporting a complaint lodged by a private individual, Ken McLeod, against the organization with the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission and running a national ad (funded by Dick Smith) in The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
.
Awards and prizes
Australian Skeptics is offering $100,000 (Australian) for proof of psychic or paranormal powers. $20,000 of it goes to the person who nominates the successful claimant (which may be the same person).Annually, the Australian Skeptics award several prizes including an essay prize for young writers, a $10,000 cash prize for challenging paranormal beliefs and advancing scientific thinking, Skeptic of the Year, and the Bent Spoon Award. The Bent Spoon Award
Bent Spoon Award
The Bent Spoon Award is an award given by Australian Skeptics, "presented to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle". The name of the award is a reference to the spoon bending of Uri Geller...
is given to "to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudo-scientific piffle" - only Australian individuals and groups are eligible for these awards.
No Answers in Genesis
No Answers in Genesis is a website affiliated with the Australian Skeptics organisation that provides information to defend the theory of evolutionEvolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, and, more specifically, counter young Earth creationist
Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...
arguments put forward by Answers in Genesis
Answers in Genesis
Answers in Genesis is a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry with a particular focus on supporting Young Earth creationism and a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. The organization has offices in the United Kingdom and the United States...
. It was founded by Australian atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and sceptic
Skepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
John Stear, a retired civil servant. The website contains links, essays and other postings that rebut creationist arguments against evolution. Stear states that the site is meant for educational purposes as well as to illustrate the problems with Young Earth Creationism. The site also contains simple introductions to evolutionary concepts.
Prominent members of the Australian Skeptics
- Phillip AdamsPhillip AdamsPhillip Andrew Hedley Adams, AO is an Australian broadcaster, film producer, writer, social commentator, satirist and left-wing pundit. He currently hosts a radio program, Late Night Live, four nights a week on the ABC, and he also writes a weekly column for the News Limited-owned newspaper, The...
A.O. - Simon Brown, SF Writer
- James Gerrand (co-founder)
- Professor Colin GrovesColin GrovesColin Peter Groves is Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.Born in England on 24 June 1942, Colin Groves completed a Bachelor of Science at University College London in 1963, and a Doctor of Philosophy at the Royal Free Hospital School of...
- Dr Donald LaycockDonald LaycockDr Donald Laycock was an Australian linguist and anthropologist. He is best remembered for his work on the languages of Papua New Guinea.-Biography:...
- Dick SmithDick Smith (entrepreneur)Dick Smith, AO is an Australian entrepreneur, businessman, aviator, and political activist. He is the founder of Dick Smith Electronics, Dick Smith Foods and Australian Geographic, and was selected as the 1986 Australian of the Year.-Electronics:In 1968, Dick Smith founded electronics retailer...
- John Stear
- David Vernon