Skeptical Newspaper Column Mysticism in a Labcoat? Jeanette Wilson’S Spiritual Healing Homeopathic Overdose
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Skeptical newspaper column Mysticism in a labcoat? Jeanette Wilson’s spiritual healing Homeopathic overdose number 95 – autumn 2010 content editorial Clones in space: Responses to the Dominion Post science column 3 A tribal occasion Forum 6 Is science just mysticism in a lab coat? 6 HEN Richard Dawkins made a flying visit to New Zealand in March he attracted people from all over the country – includ- Newsfront 10 W ing three from this household. Tickets to all events were quickly An evening of healing 12 snapped up, but fortunately friends in the Auckland Univeristy After the overdose 16 Alumni Association put some aside for us. Belief and knowledge: The information content of a one-hour lecture (with about 20 A plea about language 19 minutes for questions) is not that great. And there wasn’t much in his presentation that anyone familiar with his work wouldn’t have encountered before, although he concluded with some ideas on the origins of religion that were new to me. For not much more than the $30 admission fee (less than half what Kelvin Cruickshank charges for an evening, I had to note) you could buy one of his many books, which would keep you busy for days. But the evening wasn’t really about learning new stuff. It was a ISSN - 1172-062X gathering of the tribe, of sorts, though admittedly it’s a rather odd tribe. It’s one that doesn’t really have leaders, but to paraphrase Terry Contributions Pratchett, Richard Dawkins is one of the most highly regarded of the Contributions are welcome and leaders we don’t have. It was just good for one’s cosmic energy lev- should be sent to: els, to be in the same room, and breathe the same air for a while. David Riddell One gratifying feature of the evening was the age range in attend- 122 Woodlands Rd ance. Grey, balding heads and beards would once have overwhelm- RD1 Hamilton Email: [email protected] ingly predominated at an event like this, but there were good numbers of university age in the audience, and a much more even gender ratio Deadline for next issue: than would have prevailed 20 years ago. Our 19-year-old daughter June 10 2010 received jealous comments when she had to graciously decline an invitation to a steampunk party the same night. Letters for the Forum may be edited as space requires - up to 250 words And as a bonus, we picked up several free copies of The Origin is preferred. Please indicate the publication and date of all clippings of Species – the edition with the “Special Introduction” by New for the Newsfront. Zealand-born creationist Ray Comfort, which were being handed out on the street nearby. He’s gone out of his way to make Darwin’s Material supplied by email or CD is words inaccessible: I didn’t know they made typefaces that small, appreciated. although of course his introduction is impeccably laid out, with lots Permission is given to other non- of amusing 19th century caricatures of Darwin. But I can’t help profit skeptical organisations to thinking that distributing this book to people who otherwise would reprint material from this publication provided the author and NZ Skeptic never go near a copy is not a brilliant strategy, especially now he’s are acknowledged. been made to call in his original version that was missing crucial chapters. Poor old Ray was never the sharpest knife in the drawer Opinions expressed in the New – check out his clip on YouTube about how the banana is an atheist’s Zealand Skeptic are those of the individual authors and do not worst nightmare. This latest stunt of his will no doubt create fur- necessarily represent the views of ther amusement, but few converts, unless NZ Skeptics (Inc.) or its officers. they’re in an unintended direction. Subscription details are available from www.skeptics.org.nz or PO Box 29-492, Christchurch. number 95 – autumn 2010 main feature Clones in space: Responses to the Dominion Post science column Bob Brockie At last year’s NZ Skeptics conference Bob Brockie reflected on his career as a newspaper columnist and explained why he has no future with the Mormon Church. FTER spending most of my Raelians say, they will present did was on a fellow who had Alife as a scientist, at the age their DNA to the scientific com- chicken pox. The doctor told of 69 I became a weekly science munity. him there was nothing he could columnist for the Dominion Post do for it, other than staying home I didn’t get any response from and Evening Post. I’ve written and keeping away from people this article from local people, but about 500 articles now and peo- for 10 days. He was a bit of a I did get an invitation from the ple ask where I get my stuff from. skeptic and went along to some Australian chapter of the Rael- Mostly I get it from trawling alternative practitioners. The ians to attend their next gather- through weekly scientific maga- first one told him his stomach ing three hours north of Sydney, zines, from the other side of the was too acid and gave him some where a white robe would await world. I like to bring the curious homeopathic water to drink. me. or obscure, gee-whiz stories to The second hooked him up to public attention. a contraption and told him he had been raped The media is overrun by as a child. The third one stories on climate change, said he had Ross River pollution and conserva- fever. They all charged tion. I write about any- from $50 to $100. thing but those subjects. That’s not news to me; I I’ve also written about report other things. experiments with acu- puncture, which works Alien DNA just as well if you stick In 2003 I wrote about the needles in at ran- an amazing group of peo- dom. ple called the Raelians These pieces invari- and their claim to have ably attract writers de- cloned a little girl called Bob Brockie: The Dominion Post’s regular science columnist since 2001 has received floods of letters. fending the treatment Eve. Rael is a French and accusing me of hav- former sports-car journalist who A pox on alternative ing a closed mind. The disgrun- claims he was abducted by little practitioners tled people usually argue that aliens, who told him that 40,000 acupuncture, iridology or home- years ago they came to Earth and I often report on experiments opathy worked for them or their produced these little Eve-like to test alternative medicines husband or their wife, and that’s creatures. At any moment, the of one kind or another. One I the end of it. page science column Cosmic energies down on the the terrible thing that people per- made the mistake of saying it farm ceived it to be. was no wonder they were acting so strangely, because they were Then there’s biodynamics. The Mormon blacklist all Mormons up there. They The stars and planets rain down were very quick to point out astral energies, which are ab- Generally I try to keep off that they were in fact Seventh sorbed through cow’s horns religion but occasionally I stray Day Adventists. I had to write buried in the ground. This radi- in that direction. I got into big a grovelling apology, but found ates out and makes everything trouble when I wrote about the that I’d been put on the Mormon grow. The colour of roses is Mormon Church. The Mormons blacklist. When I consulted the controlled by Venus, and the list to see who else was there I colour of cornflowers by Saturn. On the scientific saw I was in very good company In the Wellington public library evidence, if you’re in line with all sorts of famous people, there are four copies of Rudolf including Richard Dawkins. I’m Steiner’s book, published in the for heart surgery, stop afraid I’ve got no future with the 1920s, and they’re out all the people praying for you. Mormons. time. Steiner really was the fa- ther of organic farming, but the The power of prayer organic people get very angry at claim that Jesus went to North me when I point this out. I get America and converted the in- One of the biggest responses an enormous response if I write habitants to Christianity 2000 I got was when I wrote about about Steiner, not only from his years ago. They also believe that unanswered prayers. America’s followers, but also from organic the Red Indians are one of the Templeton Foundation are very farmers who think they are above tribes of Israel, although DNA interested in the relationship this sort of thing. studies show there’s no possible between science and spiritual- connection. ity; they raised $2.5 million to Genetic Engineering: finance an experiment in which yesterday’s issue? I wrote about that, but I also several doctors chose 1800 pa- found that Joseph Smith, the tients who were due for bypass I’ve done three or four articles founder, was a complete rascal surgery. They then arranged on genetic engineering over and charlatan. He was expelled for a team of people, a mix of the years, reporting on various from the Methodist Church Protestants, Catholics and Jews, experiments. Living in New for dealing with necromancy, to pray for half these patients Zealand you’d think the entire enchantments and believing in anonymously.