SKEPTICISM . SCIENCE . SOCIETY Vol 38, No 4. December 2018 Green Meanies? Environmental Pseudoscience +Phrenology, Hoaxes Energy & Skepticon 2018 Australian Skeptics . www.skeptics.com.au Skeptic_Cover_Dec18.indd 1 3/12/2018 8:19 pm The Skeptic December 18 Skeptical Groups in Australia NSW VIC Australian Skeptics Inc – Eran Segev Australian Skeptics (Vic) Inc – Chris Guest www.skeptics.com.au PO Box 5166, Melbourne VIC 3001 PO Box 20, Beecroft, NSW 2119 Tel: 0403 837 339 [email protected] Tel: 02 8094 1894; Mob: 0432 713 195; Fax: (02) 8088 4735 [email protected] Skeptics’ Café – Third Monday of every month, with guest speaker. Meal from 6pm, speaker at 8pm sharp. More details on Sydney Skeptics in the Pub – 6pm first Thursday of each our web site www.skeptics.com.au/vic month at the Occidental Hotel, York Street in the city, near Wynyard Park (meeting second floor) Dinner meetings are held on a regular basis. Ballarat Skeptics in the Pub http://facebook.com/groups/3978112230309544 Hunter Skeptics – John Turner Tel: (02) 4959 6286 [email protected] Geelong Skeptics Society Contact: James Rolton [email protected] Occasional social meetings at the Cricketers Arms Hotel, Cooks Online group: See Facebook for details. Hill. Those on the contact list will be sent details in advance. Hosting the Annual Surf Coast Summer Skepticamp (February) Currently meeting at 12.30 on third Sunday of each odd-numbered month. Gippsland Skeptics in the Pub Interested parties contact Mark Guerin or Martin Christian Power Blue Mountains Skeptics via the Gippsland Skeptics page: https://www.facebook.com/gr See Facebook for details. oups/291929110900396/?ref=bookmarks Coffs Coast Skeptics & Freethinkers Melbourne Eastern Hills Skeptics in the Pub See Facebook for details. Contact: Andrew Rawlings [email protected] Tel: 0438 043 050 hyyp://groupspaces.com/meh-sitp ACT https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Eastern-Hills Canberra Skeptics – Lauren Kelly PO Box 555, Civic Square ACT 2608 Skeptics-in-the-Pub/19241290737690 www.canberraskeptics.org.au Tel: 0410 382 306 Meets second Monday of each month at The Knox Club, [email protected] (general inquiries), Wantirna South. [email protected] (Canberra Skeptics in the Pub). A free monthly talk, open to the public - check website for details Melbourne Skeptics in the Pub Skeptics in the Pub gather at 1pm on the third Sunday of each See Facebook for details. month at King O’Malleys Pub in Civic. For up-to-date details: Meets on the fourth Monday of every month from 6 pm at the www.meetup.com/ SocialSkepticsCanberra/ Mt View Hotel in Richmond. Mordi Skeptics in the Pub http://www.meetup.com/Mordi-Skeptics-in-the-Pub/ Meets at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of each month at the Mordialloc Sporting Club. ($4 to cover website costs) For details on Skeptical groups in other states and territories, see inside back cover Volume 38 • No 4 December 18 Contents REPORTS Skepticon 2018 12 12 Various authors NZ Skeptics convention 24 Ian Bryce 24 FEATURES 26 The Green Meanies? 26 Jonas Larsen The Old is Still Present 34 Geoff Russell 34 38 ARTICLES It’s All in Your Head 38 Mchelle Cooper Hitler, Dogs and Sexism 44 44 Martin Bridgstock The History of EUTS 48 Sir Jim R Wallaby 48 REGULARS 52 Editorial 4 Around the Traps 5 Them! 10 Logical Place 42 Puzzles page 43 54 What goes around 52 Book reviews 54 Forum 59 Letters 60 Quotable Quotes 62 EDITORIAL You’re welcome regular comment among the required skills and expertise to reach managers of associations is that an audience will change, as technology A there is a fragmenting of their potential develops and as society evolves into audience, often based around the new areas and new attitudes. And if the particular medium you use to try to volunteers aren’t able to work with those reach them. There is the snail mail changes, then you miss out on reaching ISSN 0726-9897 audience, the email audience, the one potential audience while your Quarterly Journal of magazine audience, the newsletter current ones gets smaller and smaller Australian Skeptics Inc audience, the Facebook audience, the until the organisation no longer serves (ABN 90 613 095 379) Twitter audience … it goes on. enough people to warrant its existence. Editor Obviously, there are overlaps For years, Skeptics have been tarred Tim Mendham between those groups, but there are with the image of old bearded white also a significant number of people males. Now there’s nothing particularly Editorial Board who prefer one medium to the other. wrong with old bearded white males Steve Roberts We know for a fact that there are many (ahem) except perhaps for the old bit. Eran Segev people who subscribe to our newsletter But a fair proportion of the potential Martin Hadley who do not also subscribe to this audience is not old, bearded, white, or Design Services magazine. Likewise, there are people male. Ignoring that potential audience – Nova Consulting P/L who regularly visit the various Skeptics in the same way as ignoring the various groups’ Facebook pages who you might media – means we won’t grow, probably All correspondence to: never see at a function or reach via because we have scared off or not even Australian Skeptics Inc traditional mail or even email. reached those who might be interested PO Box 20 Every organisation, whatever its area in joining up. Beecroft NSW 2119 of activity, needs to keep refreshing This is one reason why we launched Australia its audience and reaching out to new our diversity and inclusivity statement. Contact details potential supporters, simply to survive. You can read the full statement on Tel: +61 (0)2 8094 1894 Members, supporters, and followers get our website (skeptics.com.au/about/ Mob: +61 (0)432 713 195 tired, get bored, find other interests, inclusivity-and-diversity). It’s not Fax: +61 (0)2 8088 4735 or simply move on to that great very long, but in summary it’s “We organisation in the sky. are committed to the presence and [email protected] Organisations that rely on only one contributions of all persons, regardless www.skeptics.com.au medium to reach their current and of age, culture, abilities, ethnic origin, future audience will wither and die. gender identity, sexual orientation, The Skeptic is published four times That’s a fact of life ... and death. And if religious background, etc.” per year by Australian Skeptics Inc. the organisation’s management is not There are two aspects to this Views and opinions expressed in articles aware of or not capable of using all the statement. One is that we do not want and letters in The Skeptic are those of communications means available to it, to scare off potential audiences because the authors, and are not necessarily then they need to get out of the way we don’t seem to “speak their language”: those of Australian Skeptics Inc. and let those who do know to play a new blood with different views is the Articles may be reprinted with leading role, if not run the show. life-blood of any organisation. But the permission and with due acknowledge- That’s particularly true for Skeptics other more important aspect is that it is ment to The Skeptic. groups. All such groups were started by the right thing to do. It’s an ethical, fair All effort is made to ensure correct volunteers – enthusiastic, committed, and sensible approach as much as it is a acknowledgement of all contributions. hard-working, and knowledgeable. pragmatic survival one. And if there is We are happy to update credit when so Some have managed to bring in something Skeptics are (or should be) informed. professional help for specific tasks and it’s ethical, fair and sensible. Anyone functions, but most are still run by who thinks otherwise is in the wrong Editorial submission deadline volunteers. organisation. for the next issue: Volunteers have their own skills January 31, 2019 and expertise, but as sure as eggs the - Tim Mendham, editor 4 NEWS The Skeptic December 18 Around the traps ... Australian Skeptics’ annual awards Every year Australian Skeptics hand with a love for natural remedies, out a range of awards – some positive, functional training, healthy recipes and the not-so-desirable Bent Spoon. and learning to listen to my body”. This year’s winners have a decidedly She’s warm, engaging, has a bubbly medical flavour - a proponent of personality, has product lines in haven’t prayed hard enough, haven’t ‘natural’ healing with over a million food and clothing, and is one of the thought positively enough, or haven’t followers, a university-based proponent loudest voices in the Australian health consumed the right supplement. of the rational side of medicine in and wellness industry. So to suggest you can heal your the fight against “chemo-phobia”, But she does not have cervix with positive thoughts and a journalist who has written qualifications in health. and green smoothies is not only exceptional investigative pieces on On 26 April 2018, Sarah’s Day narcissistic, it’s also dangerous to pseudomedicine. posted on Instagram “I DID IT!! I recommend other women should do The winners were announced on reversed my cervical dysplasia”. She the same thing. October 13 at the formal dinner for promoted her own ‘natural’ success Just because she is lovely and the Australian Skeptics’ National story in treating her pre-cancerous charming doesn’t mean that she’s Convention, which this year was held condition through a regimen of “the right. in Sydney. power of natural medicine, food, Sarah Stevenson, for wielding lifestyle changes and prayer” and that her influence by spreading The Bent Spoon: she “made a conscious effort every misinformation based on her own A Bad Day for Sarah day to cure [her] cervix”.