COVID’s worst places

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the situation in India with COVID and how bad it was there. It turns out that it’s not the worst place in the world to be (though certainly not anywhere near the best either!). There’s an interactive map hosted by the New York Times that shows, per country, the rates of infection per capita.

As expected, India and Brazil are doing badly, but there are some countries that are worse. Interestingly, Canada currently has a much higher number of infections per day than the US does – probably as a result of the impressive rollout of the COVID vaccine by the US. 

South America, overall, seems to be particularly bad – with Uruguay coming in at an average of 73 new cases daily per 100,000 population.

But almost as bad is Sweden, darling of the Plan B crowd, with 47 daily new cases per 100,000 population. 

Of course, the infection rate is just one dimension of the pandemic. The environment in which infections occur and how they’re handled and managed makes a major difference to the outcome of cases – and in India’s case, their health systems are overloaded resulting in deaths that might have been avoided in countries with better-equipped systems.

Who is considered a critical health worker?

NZ Skeptics were recently contacted by a journalist in response to an Official Information Act request which revealed the numbers of people and their occupations entering the country under the guise of being a critical health worker.

Shockingly there were eight people who were listed as osteopaths and two chiropractors. Our concerns are that alternative health practitioners are considered critical health workers! 

While we are disappointed that these practitioners are being let in, we don’t find it surprising. It seems unlikely that the Department of Immigration is going to be au fait with the subtleties of which categories of medical providers actually have scientific evidence as a basis for their practice. We would hope that the Department of Health would provide robust guidelines as to which workers truly are critical, but this is probably not the case.

This time last year, in the early stages of NZ/Aotearoa’s response to the pandemic we saw chiropractors offering to be essential health workers. My reading of this is that is that the press release reads like a plea by chiropractors to retain some relevance. Chiropractors, who are largely a hands-on service, would have struggled with the reduced demand for their services during that time.

Of most concern in the era of COVID-19 and the vaccination rollout is that osteopaths and chiropractors often express vaccine hesitancy and outright anti-vax views.

It does seem that organisations representing these vocations are doing some back-pedalling when it comes to vaccination. Indeed, we’ve recently seen a very good paper written in the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine that expresses exactly that concern:

“However, we are concerned with the negative sentiments, ill-formed views and in some cases frank scepticism regarding vaccines amongst what appears to be small sections of the osteopathic profession. There is global concern at the growing ‘anti vax’ sentiment that is expressed on social media and within other intra-health professional groups and settings”

To our mind we see this as a case of osteopaths telling their own to get their house in order. We wonder whether any osteopaths in NZ are paying attention to this warning.

Ultimately this issue falls to government policy, and appears to be a product of the less than stunning job that successive governments have done protecting Kiwis from alternative medicine practitioners making dubious, unsupported claims.

As mentioned above, the Medical and Dental councils have issued guidance to their practitioners. NZ Skeptics would challenge the respective organisations for chiropractors and osteopaths to issue similarly strong guidance to their members.

Long March 5B

The Chinese launch vehicle – Long March 5B has been in the news over the past week. The rocket was launched at the end of last month to carry the living quarters of China’s independent space station into orbit. 

While the launch of the rocket was controlled, its fall back to earth was not. The concern was that, with uncontrolled descent, it might land on a populated area. 

As I write this on Sunday afternoon, it has been reported that the rocket has crashed down near the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, though there were tracking predictions that it could come down on Australia or New Zealand. 

From a skeptical perspective, it’s interesting to consider the concerns expressed about this, and the attention that it has captured. 

As most of the world is uninhabited (with much of the population being clumped into dense spots) the chances of it hitting an inhabited area are extremely low. The lifetime odds of a single person being hit by space debris are more than a billion to one. 

However, the law of large numbers kicks in, and while the chance of being hit by falling space debris is very low, it has happened. Lottie Williams, of Tulsa Oklahoma was walking through a park at 4am back in 1997 when she was hit by a piece of a falling Delta II rocket!

Of more concern about space debris is the large number of small pieces of space junk in low earth orbit that could cause catastrophic damage to satellites or to rockets being launched into space. NASA has estimated there’s in excess of 23,000 untracked objects that have the potential to wreak havoc. It’s counter-intuitive but even a tiny piece of metal, because of the energy it has due to the speed at which it’s orbiting, is capable of causing a lot of damage. 

At present there’s over 3,000 satellites in orbit but that number is set to increase immensely with the launch of systems such as Starlink which plans to put 12,000 satellites into orbit. What will be the fate of all these satellites at the end of their lives? And what happens if a piece of space debris hits an existing satellite setting off a “chain reaction”? This is the space debris we should really be worried about!

Triangular UFO “mystery” solved

An interesting video has appeared on YouTube which gives a rational explanation for a UFO video taken by US Navy personnel.

The UFO video, promoted by Jeremy Corbell who runs a website called ExtraordinaryBelief.com, features supposedly triangle-shaped UFOs. The site feels more like a throwback to The X Files, but I guess it’s targeting a specific demographic that is into that sort of thing.

The “take down” video, by Mick West shows exactly how the triangular images were produced – they’re an effect of the iris in the lens of the camera used – for any readers who are photographers, they’re just weird-shaped bokeh.

It turns out that the UFO in the video was actually likely to be a commercial airliner as the ship from which the video was taken was on the Los Angeles International Airport flight path. 

Mick West comments on his video:

“New reference footage from night vision monoculars (including the military standard PVS-14) demonstrates pretty conclusively that the supposed flying pyramid UFO actually looks exactly like a slightly out of focus light in the sky – quite possibly just a plane, as the ship was right under a flight path for LAX. 

Some of the other lights are identified as Jupiter and some stars. 

I don’t think that means the Navy got it terribly wrong. This was initially unidentified (with the UAP Task Force Investigates), and they maybe even thought it was a triangle for a few minutes. But it’s not. It’s just some lights in the sky. “

So, it would seem that the more prosaic explanation that the images are the result of easily replicable camera effects is much more likely than alien spacecraft. That won’t likely stop the believers though!

Essential Oils causing seizures

Essential oils are one of those trendy products that seem to be very popular at the moment, and they seem to be a great money-maker for their manufacturers and retailers, with the estimated market size of over $17 Billion dollars globally in 2017. 

Essential Oils are derived from plant matter, and are claimed to contain the “essence” of the plant, whatever that is. They’re typically used in Aromatherapy, via a diffuser, which puts the molecules into the air. Who doesn’t like an attractive smell in the air which may have some positive mental effects, but as far as providing actual proven benefits studies are usually small. 

One downside to using essential oils could be that they can potentially trigger convulsive seizures in some people according to a study in India, written up in The Academic Times. The study determined a correlation between the use of camphor and eucalyptus essential oils and seizures. While proving causation requires further research it seems there’s certainly an association, and it’s not implausible that inhaling these molecules might well have neurological effects. 

TV Psychic to pay £100,000 legal costs in failed case

TV psychic Maurice Amdur, star of UK TV shows Maurice’s Psychic World and Four Rooms has been left to pay £100,000 in legal costs after attempting to sue an insurance company for his loss of his psychic powers after a car crash. 

The psychic, who claims to have done readings for royalty, heads of state and movie stars, claimed that a car crash, where his car was shunted from behind at a roundabout in London, caused him to be so racked by pain for years afterwards that he “struggled with the intense concentration required to predict the future”.

Mr Amdur was suing for £250,000 in compensation, but the judge threw out the claim saying it had been undermined by fundamental dishonesty. He claimed that he was unable to do readings for two years, but in fact had done readings during the period.

It seems the judge was onto Amdur, stating:

‘I am prepared to accept that Mr Amdur does believe that he has a “gift” and that he considers that he behaves with integrity when working as a clairvoyant, unlike others in the field who are “charlatans” as he called them.’

Amdur would have been awarded over £10,000 for his crash injuries, but instead the judge dismissed the claim and so he must now pick up the legal costs for the case. Clearly he didn’t see that coming!

Disinformation’s Dirty dozen

Research by the American Center for Countering Digital Hate has revealed that almost two-thirds of all misinformation about vaccines being spread on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter arose from just twelve individuals and their associated organisations. And on Facebook they account for 73% of all anti-vax content.

The report makes excellent (and scary/frustrating) reading, particularly the appendices which profile each of the twelve “sources”.

I guess it makes sense that sources are concentrated. People espousing anti-vax views are likely not coming to these conclusions independently, but instead parroting information they’ve consumed elsewhere.

The report calls for social media companies to do more to shut down these sources. Of course, there are then claims of breach of free speech rights (particularly in the US). 

It is frustrating that such misinformation is allowed to proliferate freely. But social media companies are driven by their profit motive. Allowing inflammatory misinformation to spread drives revenue to an extent. Ultimately the only solution is for people to be more skeptical of claims that diverge from science. That requires good education systems, and perhaps specialist skills in spotting false claims. As we all know, those sorts of skills are difficult to acquire as they tend to work against our human biases, and quite often take many years of careful honing.

Dahlias for Diabetes?

One of our contacts noticed an item on TVNZ news on the 7th March detailing a product being developed by the University of Otago for prevention treatment of type 2 Diabetes. A complaint was made to TVNZ but they have not upheld the complaint.

The item makes interesting viewing from a skeptical angle. It seems that a researcher – Associate Professor Dr. Alex Tups – has discovered a potential use of compounds found in Dahlia flowers to lower blood glucose levels. 

The item reported that a clinical trial tested the safety of the drug and that researchers are now looking for volunteers to take part in a clinical trial to determine dosage levels.

I would expect that there would have been a clinical trial which actually tested the efficacy of the treatment in humans. Previous reporting on the subject has discussed trials into the effect of the drug on blood glucose levels in mice. 

The item reported on a collaboration with Aroma NZ, a company that specialises in processing natural ingredients from New Zealand into nutritional supplements for use around the world. From their website they list a bunch of products that they process including Green-lipped Mussels, Oyster Powder, Collagen Powder, Abalone Powder and Fish Cartilage Powder. 

There’s little doubt that compounds found in the wild have effects when consumed – this is the origin of the pharmaceutical industry. Considering the list of products above there are some red flags raised there. Those products seem to fall into the category of supplements that are used by the “worried well” or those with “symptoms of advancing age” to self-medicate. Many of these products have been promoted by popular publications in response to flawed studies showing some potentially amazing efficacy.

It is interesting to read what Aroma NZ is claiming about the efficacy of their products. I followed one of the links about their Green Lipped Mussel products to their News and Resources page. This shows a study from the University of Queensland on just 23 patients showing self-reported reduction of pain. Now I’m no expert in clinical studies but even I can tell that this wasn’t a particularly well-designed study that would convince me of efficacy. Yet, the website trumpets:

“In a recent landmark clinical trial by the University of Queensland, arthritic pain was reduced by 59% for people taking Aroma’s GlycOmega-PLUS™. This was a huge result and endorsement for this product.”

It appears that their modus operandi is to promote a product then find confirming studies after the fact to boost their confidence they’re selling something that actually works.

It worries me that the University of Otago seems to be looking to commercialise a discovery before the product has been well studied and has had its efficacy proven (at least that’s not been reported) – seemingly putting the cart before the horse, and it should especially worry skeptics that there seems to be a low bar for commercialisation of products that appear to have some compound that might have therapeutic effects. And why go the “natural product” route when, if the compound is earth-shatteringly effective, might it not be better to turn it into a traditional pharmaceutical?

Worryingly the item also features Alex Tups claiming that the root cause of Type-2 Diabetes is brain inflammation. We’ve referred this claim to one of our expert medics who made the following comments:

“Had a look at the clip and certainly there is no evidence that I am aware of that diabetes is a result of brain inflammation – it is generally accepted as autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells (type 1) for reasons unknown or unknown causes of insulin resistance (type 2). There is no rationale for the use of dahlia flowers presented to the listener so it not possible to comment on the science of this claim. I cannot see a link to the A.Prof you appended who seems a credible researcher. 

I agree this is a crap report which raises expectations without any apparent evidence although I assume there must be some logic somewhere. This type of reporting needs to be science based with credible logic (imho) before putting it out to the public which only serves to confuse them.”

Finally, promoting products that include active ingredients found in the wild is particularly dangerous when it allows people to self-medicate. There is potential for dangerous drug interactions that can occur when doctors prescribe medications to patients, being unaware of the “natural” products they’re also consuming. 

I’m aware that I write this from the relative privilege of middle age where few (though not none!) of the effects of aging are making themselves apparent. I’m aware of the powerful psychological drawcard that these alternative medicines and supplements can have on people trying to find relief for what ails them, particularly if the mainstream medical treatments are perceived to be lacking.

Scientology follow-up

Last week Mark wrote an interesting item in the newsletter around Scientologists using deceptive means to lure people in to their “courses”. We got some feedback from a reader in the US – we love getting feedback! – so I thought I’d share it. Ray from Philadelphia writes:

I live in Philadelphia. Many years ago in the early 1980’s, I was on a business trip to Boston. In the evening I had little to do and while wandering about the city I went by an old church that had a small sign outside advertising a personal  communications course the next two nights for the sum of $25. I had never heard of Scientology before that time, so why not attend? It was something constructive to do. 

So, the next evening I was there, paid the $25, and gave my name and address. Then it started. I am not sure exactly what “it” was. There was a very short introduction by a young “minister” after which people were instructed to face each other in pairs and stare into eyes and not to squirm.   That went on for a while and then the small group in attendance was introduced to the E-meter. And that was about it. The e-meter revealed that I had personality problems. It was a crazy one hour adventure.

I did not go back for night 2.

Not long thereafter, perhaps a week, I began getting mail at home discussing my course attendance, my personality disorder, and how I might correct it. There was a mountain of propaganda pushing very expensive courses and books, tapes, etc. And the mail kept coming for the next 20 years. Finally I wrote to them requesting removal from the list. That worked mainly, but I still get occasional propaganda mail.   

Scientology is as tenacious as it is crazy. 

Follow up

Just a quick follow up on the Oumuamua story we featured in our newsletter this week. It turns out that local Victoria University Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics, Dr Stephen Curran talked to Kim Hill this past weekend, following up on and challenging Avi Loeb’s claims.

Have a listen to that!

Cheers…
Craig Shearer

Havana Syndrome – caused by directed microwaves?

Apparently, back in 2016 dozens of American Embassy diplomats in Cuba felt sick, and this has been dubbed Havana Syndrome. I’d never heard of this, but it came to my attention through an article written by local skeptic Robert Bartholemew. 

I met Robert a few years ago when he hosted Joe Nickel here in Auckland. Joe is a veteran skeptical investigator who’s done tons of investigations over the years. (And I’m the proud owner of one of Joe’s trademark Wooden Nickels!). Anyway, I digress! 

Robert is an author and specialises in mass psychogenic illnesses – basically social contagions where a lot of people exhibit some complaint where there’s no actual infectious agent.

The Havana Syndrome has been investigated by the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and they concluded that the syndrome was likely caused by pulsed RF energy! This seems unlikely to me (but what do I know?). However, Robert has written an article in the Skeptical Inquirer about this explaining the problems with that explanation, and that mass psychogenic illness is much more likely.

ETs and Penguins

A couple of weeks ago, I spent an enjoyable weekend away with some friends up in Russell, in the Bay of Islands. A couple of points from a skeptical perspective; firstly, one of my friends told me about an interview he heard with Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand, which I’ve since listened to (detailed below), and the second was a conversation I overheard which illustrated to me how “fake news” and misinformation is innocently spread.

You may recall back in 2017 our solar system was visited by a mysterious object sighted by telescopes in Hawaii. The object, dubbed Oumuamua (which is Hawaiian for “scout”) exhibited some strange behaviour.

That ship, and NFTs

This week has seen the news of the ship (the Ever Given) that’s been stuck for days in the Suez Canal. Interestingly, having glanced at the headlines and pictures, in my mind the ship was called the Evergreen, but that’s the name of the company that runs it (Evergreen Marine). 

There are some interesting points about the grounding and blockage of the canal. The first of which is how counterintuitive things are around such objects outside our ordinary human experience. There’ve been plenty of people on the internet offering helpful suggestions as to how to free the ship.

Amusingly, there’s a website that’s sprung up dedicated to whether the ship is still stuck: IsTheShipStillStuck.com. (And yes, as of this writing, it is). 

And, the internet, being the rabbit hole that it is, led me, from that page, to see that the site has been placed on OpenSea, a market for bidding on NFTs.

So, what is an NFT?, I hear you ask. Well it’s a Non-fungible Token. NFTs are the latest craze on the internet, but may well be the future of digital art. This article is a good explainer. Will NFTs be the future of being able to own unique digital art? Only time will tell!

2019 Conference Videos

Thanks to some wonderful help from Susan Gerbic, we’ve now got a few of the 2019 conference talk videos up on our YouTube channel.

There’s now four videos up on a variety of topics from Jacinta Cording, Susan Gerbic, Mark Edward and Steven Novella. 

Fluoridation

Big news this week is that the government is taking water fluoridation powers off local councils and giving it to the director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield. 

This is a good decision as it aligns with the science around the benefits of having a tightly controlled amount of fluoride in our water supply. Local councils have, in the past, fallen victim to vocal opponents to fluoridation, most of whom seem to make arguments that aren’t informed by good science.

Prior to the pandemic, the director of health would likely have had little name recognition, but Ashley Bloomfield is now a fairly popular public figure.It is difficult to see how opponents of fluoridation will be able to play this to their advantage if it involves demonising Ashley!

We must also give a shout out to Making Sense of Fluoride, a NZ-based website, run primarily by Daniel Ryan, that advocates for science and evidence-based approaches to decisions around fluoridation of our water supply.

Near death experiences

NDEs were in the media this week. Radio New Zealand did an interview with Professor Bruce Greyson who has a book out After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond. 

The interview on RNZ is worth a listen. Jim Mora did a reasonable job of asking lots of skeptical questions. 

Greyson describes various reports about the experiences of those who’ve come back after having an NDE. The interesting point is that we have no objective recording of what actually happens. People are describing their memories of the experience, and we know that memories are very much subject to modification with retelling, though in the interview Greyson claims that retelling of these NDEs doesn’t vary over time. To me this seems a little nonsensical.

From what I’ve understood from those who have expertise in neurology it seems more likely that the brain is filling in blanks after the fact and putting together a coherent story about the experience.

Throughout the interview Greyson claims to be a “materialist skeptic” (and uses that term in a pejorative fashion) though he believes that potentially part of ourselves continues after we die. I think this is a giant leap supported only by anecdotal evidence. 

One of the examples given in the interview is of a patient who was unconscious being able to supposedly give an account of a conversation Greyson had with her roommate down the hall, describing what they were wearing and what was discussed. This would imply that some external senses of sight and hearing are able to exist separate from our own eyes and ears and record these into memories in our brains. I see a big disconnect here in the implications of this. We close our eyes or block our ears and those senses are muted, but not so when having an NDE. How does this work? These would be the questions that I’d expect that a skeptical researcher would be asking.

There are some fairly extraordinary claims being made in the interview. As always, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. To me, many of the stories presented might well have more prosaic (materialist skeptic!) explanations. 

A particular difficulty with this interview is that Greyson is presenting his own re-telling of anecdotes from interviews he’s done with patients over the years. Perhaps his own investment in the field has coloured his thinking.

What we have though is a bunch of anecdotes, but no hard evidence, and a lot of implausibility. I’m reminded of a story that various skeptical surgeons and nurses have put notable and highly visible signs up high in operating theatres that would be noticed (and reported) by patients were they really leaving and floating above their bodies during operations. Such reports have not been received. Incidentally, out-of-body experiences are common during anaesthesia, and it’s certainly possible to induce these experiences in people’s brains through various techniques.

Greyson has appeared in a Netflix series – Surviving Death, which I’ve not watched. It does seem that the publication of Greyson’s book is tied in with the Netflix show, which does make me a little cynical!

The COVID vaccine honeymoon period

I read a very good article today in The Atlantic explaining some of the subtleties around the COVID vaccine. In particular we shouldn’t be surprised when vaccinated people get infected. 

At the moment there’s a lot of relief and celebration that the vaccines are being rolled out. In the eyes of the layperson, once they’re vaccinated they consider themselves immune, and are resuming normal life as if they’re bulletproof. 

“Vaccination is actually more like a single variable in a dynamic playing field—a layer of protection, like an umbrella, that might guard better in some situations than others. It could keep a lucky traveler relatively dry in a light drizzle, but in a windy maelstrom that’s whipping heavy droplets every which way, another person might be overwhelmed. And under many circumstances, vaccines are still best paired with safeguards such as masks and distancing—just as rain boots and jackets would help buffer someone in a storm.”

As always, reality is a lot more complex than people assume.

Canterbury big cats again

A few weeks ago I wrote about big cats reported sighted in Canterbury, and opined that what had been seen was likely a feral cat.

This weekend, Stuff did a piece about how Jesse Feary had actually shot a “big black creature” he sighted. Turns out he was then able to get the DNA analysed, and surprise, it turned out to just be a cat!

The article is a good read though, covering various skeptical points about the possibility of big cats existing in the wild in the South Island. 

Back in lockdown again

As everybody no doubt knows we’re back in lockdown again – level 3 for Auckland and level 2 for the rest of the country. 

While the inconvenience is disappointing, as we’ve seen it is for the best. 

At this stage, it seems that there’s been some potential community transmission possibly due to people not isolating as they should have done. But the solution to this isn’t to attack those individuals but to come together to support each other and to work through the problem. 

The virus is difficult to manage, and contract tracing is extremely important. As usual, Siouxsie Wiles explains it well.

The people we should be angry with are those that are spreading misinformation, often for self-serving purposes. 

Ken Ring’s Weather Predictions

Ken Ring is back selling his unproven weather, gardening, and best fishing predictions. You can also get his books on the global warming hoax, anxiety therapy, better parenting, and more on his predict weather website.

There was a lull after 2016 when his Facebook page announced “Sadly Ken has been unwell and unable to contribute to this page … Thanks for all the well wishes.”

If you want more background on Ken Ring, you can find an article on our website that looks at Ring’s accuracy. The NZ-based Silly Beliefs site also has a great article on Ken Ring. I have had some interesting face-to-face discussions about Ring and other matters with the Silly Beliefs site’s main writer (who prefers to remain anonymous), reminding me: 

“there is no evidence whatsoever that his predictions are even remotely reliable. It is a scam, and by advertising his bogus weather predictions they were helping spread misinformation, and regarding earthquakes, fear. [ people left their homes needlessly in one case]”

Ken Ring emailed me last year and described something about his personal circumstances. You can see the same on his website. But we are best to keep away from personal issues with any woo peddler for several good reasons. We do not want to be seen to be prying unnecessarily; nor do we want to give any impression we are applying invalid argumentum ad hominem arguments. I have some genuine personal sympathies with Ring, which were well received. At the same time, I think his prediction business is misguided.

I came across Ring’s Predict Weather forecasts in two publications: The Fringe and Ponsonby News.

I phoned Bevis – the editor at The Fringe. He admitted he didn’t think the predictions were reliable. However, as “some people like to read them”, he will continue publishing them.

Ring’s predictions aren’t just isolated to New Zealand, He’s also popular in Australia and Ireland. Ring’s website sells a book that predicts the Australian weather for the next decade, and a book that predicts the Irish weather for the next year.

We would be interested in hearing from readers who encounter Ring’s writing in places other than those mentioned here. Oh, and if you’re on Twitter, the Ken Ring Weather Check Twitter account regularly reviews Ring’s predictions and finds them wanting.

The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine 

After some investigation it seems that this magazine (it’s a stretch to call it a journal, a title which should be reserved for scientific publications) is being purchased by at least one public library (Titirangi). 

 The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine (J Nat Med) is very familiar to my friends at the Society for Science Based Healthcare (SBH). It came back on our radar after I spotted it in my local library, then the local Postshop bookshop and a supermarket where it’s sold in a plastic wrap (perhaps to prevent prying eyes from seeing the content without buying).

Not long after spotting this egregious pseudoscientific publication, I received an online survey from the library. So I took that opportunity to suggest they stop stocking this misleading publication.

It would be great if readers could check out their local libraries to see whether this magazine is being carried, and report back to us.

The content of the magazine is of concern with articles suggesting vaccines don’t work and that homeopathy might cure cancer. (And, from the picture of the latest edition, it seems that the COVID-19 pandemic is being milked for all it’s worth!) Unfortunately, the magazine is not registered with the NZ Media Council, so a complaint cannot be made to them.

It is disappointing that libraries would be subscribing to this magazine. Libraries always have a balancing act as to what content to provide, seemingly erring on the side of providing what people want to read, even if it contains dangerous misinformation. The question would be where is the line drawn?

Talkback Radio

In recent weeks there’s been a bit of controversy on the airwaves in the form of talkback radio. Talkback radio’s an interesting format – where else (apart from letters to the editor) do you get to voice your opinion on any matter to such a big audience? A few weeks ago we saw the removal of John Banks from the Magic Talk radio network after his abhorrent racist remarks (and not shutting down those of a caller). 

And now we hear that Peter Williams, a veteran broadcaster who has the respect of a significant chunk of the NZ population, is giving oxygen to anti-vaccine groups who are “sceptical” of the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out. Peter Williams has also been in the climate-change-denying camp with his opinions on that appearing in print, and no doubt on the airwaves as well. 

It is a shame that these pseudoscience opinions are aired, when there’s a fantastic opportunity to educate the public instead. Indeed, in the past Mark Honeychurch and Siouxsie Wiles used to have a regular spot on RadioLive on Sunday Evenings with Graham Hill where they shared their skeptical thoughts. Alas, RadioLive is no longer.

Today I read an opinion column from Alison Mau which is well worth a read. She makes good points that talkback radio is an essential service for many in the older demographic.

“For some battling loneliness and isolation, talkback is a lifeline. A conversation with a talkback host might be the only human interaction some older, or geographically isolated, people have in their day or their week. For the farmer spending long days sealed in the cab of their harvester, or the elderly person who hasn’t seen another soul in days, the chance to chat or share an opinion can be a much-looked-forward-to bright spot.”

But the crux of Alison Mau’s article is that “you should always be ready to debunk nonsense that callers spout as fact or opinion.”. Hear hear – this is exactly what we need – talkback hosts with the intelligence and broad knowledge that can challenge opinions that promote pseudoscience.

Creationism conspiracy theory

Creationism is what drew me into skepticism. Back in the 90s when I was lecturing in software development, I had a work colleague who was a young earth creationist. Seemingly rational in other areas of his life, and very intelligent, he was nevertheless hooked on “creation science”. It showed to me how even smart people can be taken in when they have an emotional stake in the topic. 

An interesting article appeared on The Conversation by Professor Paul Braterman from the University of Glasgow likening creationism to conspiracy theories. The article was also featured on the snopes.com website – a site dedicated to fact-checking claims. 

While the article is very US-centric, it is an interesting read. The prominent organisation supporting (and financially benefiting from this conspiracy) is Answers in Genesis, run by Ken Ham (originally from Australia). Responding to the criticism in the article they sicced one of their attack dogs, in the form of Ham’s son-in-law Bodie Hodge, onto it. It’s an exceedingly long “rebuttal” of the points that Professor Braterman makes. It’s difficult to make it through the response but Hodge’s main weapon of attack is to point out logical fallacies, himself committing the fallacy fallacy. It just goes to show that there’s a lot more to skepticism than being able to reel off a list of fallacies that you think somebody is committing.

STOP PRESS – COVID Community Transmission

As no doubt everyone will be aware by now, there’s been community transmission of COVID-19 in Auckland. Back to Level 3 for Auckland, and Level 2 for the rest of the country. Let’s hope this is over with quickly, and doesn’t get out of hand. Best wishes to everyone involved, and keep scanning and checking in!