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+Mediums, Maths &Gum SKEPTICISM . SCIENCE . SOCIETY Vol. 36, No 1. March 2016 History Facts Dark Ages & The Pharaohs +Mediums, Maths & Gum Australian Skeptics . www.skeptics.com.au The Skeptic March 16 Skeptical Groups in Australia Australian Skeptics Inc – Eran Segev Canberra Skeptics – Lauren Kelly www.skeptics.com.au PO Box 555, Civic Square ACT 2608 PO Box 20, Beecroft, NSW 2119 http://www.canberraskeptics.org.au Tel: 0410 382 306 Tel: 02 8094 1894; Mob: 0432 713 195; Fax: (02) 8088 4735 [email protected] (general inquiries), [email protected] [email protected] (Canberra Skeptics in the Pub). Sydney Skeptics in the Pub – 6pm first Thursday of each A free monthly talk, open to the public, usually takes place month at the Crown Hotel, cnr Goulburn and Elizabeth Streets in on the 1st Saturday of each month at the Lecture Theatre, the city (meeting upstairs) CSIRO Discovery Centre, Clunies Ross Rd (check website for details of the current month’s talk). Skeptics in the Pub gather Dinner meetings are held on a regular basis. at 1pm on the third Sunday of each month at King O’Malleys Pub in Civic. For up-to-date details : www.meetup.com/ SocialSkepticsCanberra/ Hunter Skeptics – John Turner Tel: (02) 4959 6286 [email protected] Meetings are held at the Club Macquarie, Lake Road, Argenton Skeptics SA – Laurie Eddie on the second Thursday of each month, excepting January, 52B Miller St Unley, SA 5061 commencing 7.00pm, with a guest speaker or open discussion Tel: (08) 8272 5881 [email protected] on a given topic. Visitors welcome. Further information from the Thinking and Drinking - Skeptics in the Pub, on the third Friday secretary at: [email protected] of every month. Contact [email protected] www.meetup.com/Thinking-and-Drinking-Skeptics-in-the-Pub/ Australian Skeptics (Vic) Inc – Chris Guest calendar/10205558 or http://tinyurl.com/loqdrt GPO Box 5166, Melbourne VIC 3001 Tel: 1 800 666 996 [email protected] WA Skeptics – Dr Geoffrey Dean Skeptics’ Café – Third Monday of every month, with guest speaker. PO Box 466, Subiaco, WA 6904 La Notte, 140 Lygon St. Meal from 6pm, speaker at 8pm sharp. Tel: 08 9341 4538 [email protected] More details on our web site www.skeptics.com.au/vic All meetings start at 7:30 pm at Grace Vaughan House, 227 Stubbs Terrace, Shenton Park Further details of all our meetings and speakers are on our Borderline Skeptics Inc – Laurie Smith website at www.undeceivingourselves.org RSB 11 Callaghhan’s Creek Boxes, via Tallangatta VIC 3701 Tel: (02) 6072 3415 Hobart Skeptics – Leyon Parker Meetings are held quarterly on second Tuesday at Albury/ PO Box 84, Battery Point TAS 7004 Wodonga on pre-announced dates and venues. Tel: 03 6225 3988 BH, 0418 128713 [email protected] Skeptics in the Pub - 2nd Monday each month, Queensland Skeptics Association Inc – Bob Bruce 6.30pm, Ball & Chain restaurant, Salamanca Place PO Box 3480, Norman Park QLD 4170; www.qskeptics.org.au Mob: 0419 778 308 [email protected] Darwin Skeptics – Michelle Franklin Meetings with a guest speaker on the last Monday of the month PO Box2027 Humpty Doo NT 0836 from February to November at the Redbrick Hotel, 81 Annerley Tel: 0408 783 145; www.facebook.com/group/darwinskeptics/ Road, South Brisbane. Dinner from 6pm, speaker at 7.30pm. [email protected] Qskeptics eGroup - www.egroups.com/list/qskeptics Meeting to be announced - see Facebook page for details Gold Coast Skeptics – Lilian Derrick PO Box 8348, GCMC Bundall, QLD 9726 Tel: (07) 5593 1882; Fax: (07) 5593 2776 [email protected] Contact Lilian to find out news of more events. Volume 36 • No 1 March 16 Contents REPORTS ABC Catalyst and Wi-Fried 9 9 Tim Mendham UOW and anti-vax PhD 11 Tim Mendham 11 20 FEATURES 14 The Dark Ages 14 Tim Harding Pharaoh’s mountain 20 Barry Williams ARTICLES 32 Planet 9 28 Steve Roberts The Medium on TV 32 Richard Saunders & Krissy Wilson Black salve 40 Jo Alabaster Maths and conspiracies 42 Steve Roberts 42 Chewing gum 44 Mike Morgan & Eric Reynolds 28 Diplomacy - chiros v GPs 46 Tim Mendham 46 44 REGULARS 54 Editorial 4 Around the Traps 5 Them! 12 48 The logical place 18 Puzzles page 31 Book reviews 48 What goes around 54 Forum 56 Letters 62 54 EDITORIAL No authority n the past the Therapeutics Good debate to the preservation of a free and IAdministration (TGA) has been democratic society.” criticised as a toothless tiger – slow No mention of accuracy. Falsehoods response and insignificant ability to and inaccuracies can therefore be implement decisions regarding the published, as long as the unnamed ISSN 0726-9897 promotion of medical and alt med adjudicators sign off on it. Quarterly Journal of products. Where a supplier has been Senior academics at the University Australian Skeptics Inc shown to be in breach of regulations (and not just in science areas) issued a (ABN 90 613 095 379) due, say, to unsupported claims, statement supporting immunisation, Editor product suppliers can change the and while they limited their statement Tim Mendham name of a product and yet leave the to that area, the timing and topic were formulation unchanged, to pass muster obviously inspired by the controversy. Editorial Board – “Different but same, wink wink”. They felt the need to support Steve Roberts In the September 2015 issue of immunisation and, by implication, the Eran Segev The Skeptic, we asked various ‘serial University’s academic standards. Martin Hadley complainers’ what they thought of the Prof Alison Jones, Executive Dean Barry Williams regulators they regularly dealt with. of UOW’s Faculty of Science Medicine Design Services The general view was that these bodies & Health and the lead signatory of the Nova Consulting P/L were hampered by lack of financial and statement, told Australian Skeptics that people resources, and the need for a “We are trying to redress the balance – All correspondence to: proactive and reactive culture. not specifically in response to the thesis. Australian Skeptics Inc But these bodies are not alone. We’re not trying to give it oxygen or PO Box 20 Recently, the University of create controversy. ... From what I’ve Beecroft NSW 2119 Wollongong has been embroiled in seen of the thesis, it doesn’t represent Australia a controversy over a PhD awarded the views of a science evidence-based Contact details to Judy Wilyman, a known anti- approach.” Tel: +61 (0)2 8094 1894 vaccination campaigner, whose thesis Poor responses from authorities are Mob: +61 (0)432 713 195 contained scientific errors and claims of found elsewhere. Fax: +61 (0)2 8088 4735 conspiracies that had been oft-repeated The Australian Health Practitioner by the anti-vax lobby in the past. The Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has been [email protected] University was alerted to this in no criticised for its poor control of the www.skeptics.com.au uncertain terms by many members of professional bodies it oversees, in this the public, the scientific community case the Chiropractic Board of Australia The Skeptic is published four times and the media, but the response was (CBA). The CBA itself has been per year by Australian Skeptics Inc. a classic “wash our hands … we’re ineffective in controlling outrageous Views and opinions expressed in articles powerless to do anything” statement: claims made by chiropractors, and and letters in The Skeptic are those of “As a leading research-intensive AHPRA has been ineffective in ensuring the authors, and are not necessarily university, the University of that the CBA acts to ensure professional those of Australian Skeptics Inc. Wollongong values intellectual standards. Slaps on the wrist is the Articles may be reprinted with openness, freedom of opinion, diversity general extent of ‘punishment’, which permission and with due acknowledge- of ideas, equity, and mutual respect. many offenders manage to circumvent ment to The Skeptic. ... UOW does not restrict the subjects if not ignore. All effort is made to ensure correct into which research may be undertaken There are still other authorities that acknowledgement of all contributions. just because they involve public are inactive in the face of individuals We are happy to update credit when so controversy or because individuals snubbing their noses at regulations and informed. or groups oppose the topic or the standards. Some are under investigation findings. UOW does not endorse the by skeptics generally and Australian Editorial submission deadline individual views of its academics or Skeptics in particular. Watch this for the next issue: students. It recognises the importance space.. April 30, 2016 of open and respectful public policy - Tim Mendham, editor 4 NEWS The Skeptic March 16 Around the traps ... time, the Board’s sole approach to this problem has been educative. They have published communiques and newsletters, conducted seminars, “Ineffective” Chiro Board written letters to practitioners subject to complaint, and produced a fact should be sacked sheet on evidence-based practice and a non-specific position statement AUSTRALIA: Lack of effective on paediatric care. They have also action by the Chiropractic Board of noted that the use of certain words Australia and the Australian Health in advertising, such as ‘cure’, ‘safe’ Practitioner Regulation Agency to and ‘effective’, can increase the risk of on-going complaints of misleading misleading or deceiving the public. advertising has elicited the strongest “However, the Board has never response from health professionals, published any determinations about academics, Skeptics groups, public the hundreds of complaints received. health advocates, and consumer groups Unlike similar bodies, the Board such as Choice. has never named offenders After a lengthy investigation, Dr Ken and has never required the Harvey, Adjunct Associate Professor Australian Skeptics’ Bent correction of serious misleading in the Department of Epidemiology Spoon award for their information by ordering a and Preventive Medicine at Monash ineffectiveness in dealing with retraction.
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