SKEPTICISM . SCIENCE . SOCIETY Vol. 33, No 3. September 2013 +Bunk Quacks Education Medical Woo Australian Skeptics . www.skeptics.com.au Skeptic_Cover_Sep13.indd 1 6/09/13 9:02 AM The Skeptic September 13 Skeptical Groups in Australia Australian Skeptics Inc – Richard Saunders Gold Coast Skeptics – Lilian Derrick www.skeptics.com.au PO Box 8348, GCMC Bundall, QLD 9726 PO Box 20, Beecroft, NSW 2119 Tel: (07) 5593 1882; Fax: (07) 5593 2776 Tel: 02 8094 1894; Mob: 0432 713 195; Fax: (02) 8088 4735 [email protected] [email protected] Contact Lilian to find out news of more events. Sydney Skeptics in the Pub – 6pm first Thursday of each month at the Mezz Bar, Coronation Hotel, Park St in the city (meeting upstairs) Canberra Skeptics – Kevin Davies PO Box 555, Civic Square ACT 2608 Dinner meetings are held on a regular basis. http://www.canberraskeptics.org.au Tel: 0408 430 442 Next dinner- September 28, Galit Segev on “The Light Side of [email protected] (general inquiries), Chocolate”. Bookings online or contact [email protected] [email protected] (Canberra Skeptics in the Pub). A free monthly talk, open to the public, usually takes place on the 1st Saturday of each month at the Lecture Theatre, Hunter Skeptics – John Turner CSIRO Discovery Centre, Clunies Ross Rd (check website for Tel: (02) 4959 6286 [email protected] details of the current month’s talk). Skeptics in the Pub gather at 1pm on the third Sunday of each month at King O’Malleys Meetings are held upstairs at The Cricketers Arms Hotel, Cooks Pub in Civic. For up-to-date details : www.meetup.com/ Hill (Newcastle) on the first Monday of each month, excepting SocialSkepticsCanberra/ January, commencing 7.00pm, with a guest speaker or open discussion on a given topic. Visitors welcome. Further information from the secretary at: [email protected] Skeptics SA – Laurie Eddie 52B Miller St Unley, SA 5061 Tel: (08) 8272 5881 [email protected] Australian Skeptics (Vic) Inc – Terry Kelly GPO Box 5166, Melbourne VIC 3001 Thinking and Drinking - Skeptics in the Pub, on the third Friday Tel: 1 800 666 996 [email protected] of every month. Contact [email protected] www.meetup.com/Thinking-and-Drinking-Skeptics-in-the-Pub/ Skeptics’ Café – Third Monday of every month, with guest calendar/10205558 or http://tinyurl.com/loqdrt speaker. La Notte, 140 Lygon St. Meal from 6pm, speaker at 8pm sharp. More details on our web site www.skeptics.com.au/vic WA Skeptics – Dr John Happs PO Box 466, Subiaco, WA 6904 Tel: (08) 9448 8458 [email protected] Borderline Skeptics Inc – Russell Kelly All meetings start at 7:30 pm at Grace Vaughan House, PO Box 666, Mitta Mitta, Victoria 3701 227 Stubbs Terrace, Shenton Park Tel: (02) 6072 3632 [email protected] Further details of all our meetings and speakers are on our Meetings are held quarterly on second Tuesday at Albury/ website at www.undeceivingourselves.org Wodonga on pre-announced dates and venues. Australian Skeptics in Tasmania – Leyon Parker Queensland Skeptics Association Inc – Bob Bruce PO Box 582, North Hobart TAS 7002 PO Box 3480, Norman Park QLD 4170 Tel: 03 6238 2834 BH, 0418 128713 [email protected] Tel: (07) 3255 0499 Mob: 0419 778 308 [email protected] Skeptics in the Pub - 2nd Monday each month, Meeting with guest speaker on the last Monday of every month 6.30pm, Ball & Chain restaurant, Salamanca Place (except December) at the Red Brick Hotel, 81 Annerley Road, South Brisbane. Dinner from 6pm, speaker at 7.30pm. Qskeptics eGroup - www.egroups.com/list/qskeptics Darwin Skeptics – Brian de Kretser Hear Bob on 4BC Paranormal Panel - 9.30pm-10pm Tuesdays Tel: (08) 8927 4533 [email protected] Volume 33 • No 3 September 13 Contents REPORTS 15 TAM & JREF challenge 10 Richard Saunders 10 Divine debate 15 Peter Bowditch FEATURES 24 Call of the quacks 16 Tim Harding Bunk about bunk 21 16 Martin Bridgstock Degrees of woo revisited 24 Tim Mendham 21 33 ARTICLES Birth of a notion 27 Fred Watson and Paul Willis 28 Unnatural practice 28 Martin Wallace Are you feeling OK? 33 Mark Ottley Combatting cult culture 36 27 Michael Wolloghan Oh-tookurah bohututah 40 Stephen Molton Planetary influences 44 Barry Williams 36 44 REGULARS Editorial 4 Around the Traps 5 54 Them! 8 Astrology 20 Puzzles page 39 The logical place 43 What goes around 52 Book reviews 54 Forum 56 52 Letters 61 EDITORIAL From the Editor What’s the meaning of this? n this issue of the magazine, we suggested otherwise – it’s not religion take a look at definitions and per se that interests Skeptics as an I histories of some words that regularly organisation, rather it’s the real-world crop up in skeptical circles. There are manifestations of religion where articles on the history of “bunk” and skeptics can apply themselves. Arguing ISSN 0726-9897 “quackery”: good old words – one whether god(s) exists or not is a pretty Quarterly Journal of dates from the 19th century and the fruitless exercise – rarely will either Australian Skeptics Inc other from the 17th – though bunk side convince the other with their (ABN 90 613 095 379) and quacks certainly existed well overwhelming logic. Editor before they were called that. But is it automatic that faith Tim Mendham Of course, what’s bunk or overrides argument? quackery to one person is truth In my opinion, belief in god(s) is Editorial Board and healing to another, even if that not a natural state. Babies have no Steve Roberts might be more wishful thinking than reason to believe in a god, unless god is Eran Segev reliable fact. the person who feeds them and smiles Martin Hadley But that concept of reliability and, at them. There is no intrinsic scientific, Barry Williams by association, proof, is often a hard logical, natural reason to believe in Design Services nut for some people to crack. god. There are cultural reasons, or Nova Consulting P/L In the “Them” review of cultural pressures, but that is a totally magazines and websites this different thing. There is post-facto All correspondence to: issue, we look at a site called justification for a belief in god (often Australian Skeptics Inc Skeptopathy, which is basically an the “god of gaps” or, as John Lennon PO Box 20 anti-Skeptic rant against what the once put it, “God is a concept by Beecroft NSW 2119 author describes as “pathological which we measure our pain”), but that Australia skepticism” or a negative approach is also a different thing. to all “disruptive” ideas. Referring to In the skeptical world, there is the Contact details a range of phenomena like psychic maxim - whether correctly attributed Tel: +61 (0)2 8094 1894 powers and alien abductions, He to Carl Sagan or someone else – Mob: +61 (0)432 713 195 suggests that “Until proven false, true that “extraordinary claims require Fax: +61 (0)2 8088 4735 scientists and true skeptics must treat extraordinary proof”. I think we [email protected] these phenomena objectively and would agree that the existence of god www.skeptics.com.au agnostically”. is an extraordinary claim, so the proof He obviously doesn’t understand of god should be with the believers. The Skeptic is published four times science at all. Proving something The definition of atheism, however, per year by Australian Skeptics Inc. “false” is not the job of skeptics, is normally a negative one, in that we Views and opinions expressed in articles particularly as it’s virtually impossible initially have the ‘existence’ of god, and and letters in The Skeptic are those of to 100 per cent prove that anything then the ‘we don’t believe it’ response, the authors, and are not necessarily is false. No, it is up to the claimants as if we have to react to religious those of Australian Skeptics Inc. to prove that something is true. Our claims in the same way as we react to Articles may be reprinted with job is to assess their evidence and claims of UFOs. God has primacy, and permission and with due acknowledge- argument. atheists react to him/her/it/them. ment to The Skeptic. And, for me, that brings up the But non-believers shouldn’t have All effort is made to ensure correct topic of religion. to prove god false; believers have to acknowledgement of all contributions. Recently there was the suggestion prove god is real. Which means we We are happy to update credit when so on the SAVN Facebook page need a new more positive term or informed. that Australian Skeptics was definition for “atheism” that does not anti-Christian, and thus not an require a concept to disprove. Any Editorial submission deadline organisation you’d like to be suggestions? . for the next issue: associated with if you’re dealing October 30, 2013 with those of a religious bent. We - Tim Mendham, editor 4 NEWS The Skeptic September 13 Vaccination Network. Around the traps ... In an ironic comment, the Chiropractic Board communique reminded its constituents that Chiro Board cracks down “compliance with the code [involves] only making treatment claims that are on its own anti-vaxers supported by a reasonable evidence base”. While chiropractors’ anti-vaccination AUSTRALIA: The Chiropractic of Australian Skeptics Inc and a leading stance certainly lacks an evidence base, Board of Australia says it will crack down campaigner against chiropractors’ other claims made by about chiropractic, on chiropractors who “step outside their denigration of vaccination and their such as its being used to treat conditions primary role as healthcare practitioners support for the anti-vaccination such as asthma, epilepsy, depression, and provide treatment that puts the movement, said that it was about time ADHD and “clumsiness”, are similarly public at risk”.