SKEPTICISM . SCIENCE . SOCIETY Vol 39, No 1. March 2019 Brain Burst! Communicating Science +Alchemy, Homeopathy Perception & Cowboys Australian Skeptics . www.skeptics.com.au Skeptic_Cover_Mar19.indd 1 4/03/2019 10:18 am The Skeptic March 19 Skeptical Groups in Australia NSW VIC Australian Skeptics Inc – Eran Segev Aust Skeptics (Victorian Branch) 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] Gippsland Skeptics in the Pub Interested parties contact Mark Guerin or Martin Christian Power Occasional social meetings at the Cricketers Arms Hotel, Cooks via the Gippsland Skeptics page: https://www.facebook.com/gr Hill. Those on the contact list will be sent details in advance. oups/291929110900396/?ref=bookmarks Currently meeting at 12.30 on third Sunday of each odd-numbered month. Melbourne Eastern Hills Skeptics in the Pub Contact: Andrew Rawlings [email protected] Blue Mountains Skeptics Tel: 0438 043 050 See Facebook for details. hyyp://groupspaces.com/meh-sitp https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Eastern-Hills Coffs Coast Skeptics & Freethinkers Skeptics-in-the-Pub/19241290737690 See Facebook for details. Meets second Monday of each month at The Knox Club, Wantirna South. ACT Canberra Skeptics – Lauren Kelly Melbourne Skeptics in the Pub PO Box 555, Civic Square ACT 2608 See Facebook for details. www.canberraskeptics.org.au Tel: 0410 382 306 Meets on the fourth Monday of every month from 6 pm at the [email protected] (general inquiries), Mt View Hotel in Richmond. [email protected] (Canberra Skeptics in the Pub). A free monthly talk, open to the public - check website for details Mordi Skeptics in the Pub Skeptics in the Pub gather at 1pm on the third Sunday of each http://www.meetup.com/Mordi-Skeptics-in-the-Pub/ month at King O’Malleys Pub in Civic. For up-to-date details: Meets at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of each month at the www.meetup.com/ SocialSkepticsCanberra/ Mordialloc Sporting Club. ($4 to cover website costs) For details on Skeptical groups in other states and territories, see inside back cover Volume 39 • No 1 March 18 Contents REPORTS 12 Plus ca Change 12 Ken McLeod Heads in the Clouds 14 Ken McLeod and Mandy-Lee Noble 14 FEATURES 22 People Power 16 Tim Mendham School for Thought 22 Richrd Saunders/Brad Hoge Just the Facts 26 16 26 Maynard/Jane Hansen 39 ARTICLES 34 The Undiluted Truth 28 Annika Merkelbach/Natalie Grams The Sceptical Chymist 34 Tim Harding 28 Curses Foiled Again! 39 Brian Dunning Perception Deception 42 Tony Wheeler Cowboy v Creationism 46 JW ‘Slim’ Lairraby 46 42 REGULARS Editorial 4 Around the Traps 5 Puzzles Page 9 50 Them! 10 Logical place 45 What goes around 48 Book reviews 50 Forum 56 Letters 60 Quotable Quotes 62 48 EDITORIAL Sharing the news key aspect of the scientific in order to enthuse them and do a method is the open sharing lot of the hard boring work, to those A of information and the results of spreading the often difficult truth research so that others can review via the media, and those who help your work and heap praise upon you teachers work out the best way of … or expose your weaknesses and teaching what are possibly difficult or ISSN 0726-9897 explain where you went astray. Publish controversial scientific topics. Quarterly Journal of or perish is the maxim of choice. We also look at some who go back Australian Skeptics Inc Commercial interests may interfere to the fundamentals and explain (ABN 90 613 095 379) with that process, often to the chagrin how science works - not what the Editor of ‘pure’ scientists. But by and large results are, but how to do it and Tim Mendham communicating science is a vital part assess it. This is the starting point of of the procedure. science, and should be intrinsic to all Editorial Board Those who understand the value discussion of the results. Steve Roberts of a research grant or the support of Too many times the style of Eran Segev a generous benefactor will know that teaching or communicating has been Martin Hadley it is also of value to communicate what’s called “mug and jug”, with Design Services science to the broader community, the teacher/communicator being the Nova Consulting P/L and that includes ignorant politicians jug, and filling up the student/public and enthusiastic public. Making – the mug, in more ways than one – All correspondence to: sure that your activity is clearly with the information the jug decides Australian Skeptics Inc understood does away with a lot of they need. PO Box 20 misconceptions and fears (I’m looking This technique reminds me of Beecroft NSW 2119 at you, anti-vaxxers), and can add a famous TV broadcast by Prime Australia great support that can be played off Minister Robert Menzies (I’m talking Contact details against recalcitrant forces that want to 1950s to 60s). Menzies’ wit and Tel: +61 (0)2 8094 1894 minimise your work, if not have you ability to put down a heckler with Mob: +61 (0)432 713 195 go away entirely. one fell swoop were legendary. But Fax: +61 (0)2 8088 4735 Scientific method can be explained he wasn’t so interested in explaining fairly easily and clearly – I have an things to the people. On one occasion [email protected] idea: I do some work to see if the idea on TV he spoke about the economy – www.skeptics.com.au is correct; I double check and try to a rare thing in those days - and kindly trip myself up; I write up what I’ve told the audience that occasionally he The Skeptic is published four times done and show it to others; if they’re would come on and tell them what per year by Australian Skeptics Inc. not close friends they’ll check it for they needed to know. And wouldn’t Views and opinions expressed in articles errors (or cheating). If they point out they be grateful for it. and letters in The Skeptic are those of mistakes, then I go back and do it That wouldn’t cut it today. the authors, and are not necessarily again or try something else, or move Politicians need to explain their those of Australian Skeptics Inc. to America and claim to be a martyr policies to the public over and over, Articles may be reprinted with for the cause. If they heap praise upon ad infinitum. permission and with due acknowledge- it, then I win the Nobel Prize in 30 The same applies to scientists. ment to The Skeptic. years and I can write anything I like If they don’t communicate broadly All effort is made to ensure correct without ever being criticised again (to and clearly about what they do, they acknowledgement of all contributions. my face). might still win a Nobel Prize, but the We are happy to update credit when so In this issue of The Skeptic we public will never really understand informed. look at communicating science from what they’ve done and will never various perspectives. respect, rely, or support them. Editorial submission deadline We look at the work of some who for the next issue: use different means of doing this, from - Tim Mendham, editor May 1, 2019 those getting the citizenry involved 4 NEWS The Skeptic March 19 Around the traps ... TGA’s minor changes to indications ignore nonsense AUS: The Therapeutic Goods similarly unsupported and in some “determined to be not suitable for Administration has flagged a number cases nonsensical claims. listed medicines following further of changes to its list of “permissible In a statement issued on February review by TCM expert”, and two indications” for therapeutic goods, 15, the TGA says that “Since that have been removed because they deleting seven alt med claims while the implementation of the 2018 are duplicates of other indications ignoring many more that are blatantly Determination included in the list. unsupported and pseudoscientific. in March 2018, In other words, “Permissible indications” are stakeholders have out of 71 Ayurvedic statements that will describe the brought to our and 135 TCM therapeutic uses for medicines listed attention issues indications, five with the TGA. Manufacturers and that sponsors have been deleted distributors are required to use them have encountered because they to enter their product indications in when selecting are scientifically the Australian Register of Therapeutic indications unsupported, Goods. The indications list came into for their listed and two equally effect in March 2018. medicines. We unscientific are When the list was announced in draft also engaged removed simply and later final versions in 2017, it was a [unnamed] traditional Chinese because they appeared elsewhere, while roundly criticised as including many medicine expert to undertake a further the many unsupported indications pseudoscientific claims. review [of] the TCM indications such as “disinhibit water” remain. For instance, indications for included in the Determination to The TGA and the Australian traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) confirm that they are appropriate for government received a dishonourable include “harmonise middle burner listed medicines.” mention in the 2018 Australian (spleen and stomach)”, “unblock/open/ The changes include deleting Skeptics’ Bent Spoon award “for relax meridians”, “soothe/descend three Ayurvedic indications which enshrining pseudomedical indications the flow of stomach Qi”, “replenish are “not appropriate to be supported in legislation”.