AUSTRALIAN SKEPTICS NATIONAL CONVENTION 2016
is at The Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne from 25-27 November,
https://maps.unimelb.edu.au/parkville/building/158/carrillo_gantner
with the annual Dinner at
The Leopard Lodge, Melbourne Zoo on Saturday evening 26 November.
Early-bird ticket sales will cease on June 30. View More 2016 Australian Skeptics Convention – Latest
This article first appeared as a Vic Skeptics discussion pamphlet and again here in 2010.
The full range of our discussion pamphlets can be downloaded from our USEFUL INFO page.
Dowsing, (also known as Divining) is widely practised in Australia. Dowsers claim the ability to detect useful substances in the ground using processes which are not able to be explained by current scientific principles.
The most frequently dowsed substance in drought-prone Australia is water. Many Australians can claim a friend or relative who is a water-diviner.
Australian Skeptics have long been interested in dowsing. It clearly lies within the range of paranormal activities which come under scrutiny. Australian Skeptics offer a sum of money, (currently $100,000) to anyone who can demonstrate paranormal ability of any kind. Our only stipulation is that candidates must pass a proper scientific test, the protocols of which have been agreed upon by all parties before the test commences. Most acceptors of this challenge have been water-diviners; probably because they are genuine people who believe in their abilities, and are as interested in being tested as we are to test them.
AUSTRALIAN SKEPTICS NATIONAL CONVENTION 2016 will be hosted in Melbourne at The Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne from 25-27 November, with the annual Dinner at The Leopard Lodge, Melbourne Zoo on Saturday evening 26 November.
Early-bird ticket sales commence on-line from the Convention website,
http://convention.skeptics.com.au/
on Saturday 4th June.
Early-bird ticket purchasers will receive a discount and will be able to reserve seats close to the stage.
We can confirm that speakers at the convention will include Lawrence Krauss, Edzard Ernst, Harriet Hall, Michael Marshall, Katie Mack and Mel Thomson, with more great speakers to be announced soon. Nicholas J. Johnson is our M.C. for the annual Dinner. Information about our speakers is available from the Convention website.
This month we introduce a new category: a Word Quiz called “CROSSWORD CLUES”.
JUNE 2016 SKEPTICAL CROSSWORD PUZZLE is about General Skeptical issues and has standard and cryptic clues supplied.
JUNE 2016 LOGIC & MATHS PUZZLES is the 47th in the series. If you’d like to catch up on the ones you’ve missed, they start in August 2012 – see PUZZLES ARCHIVE 3;
and go the PUZZLES PAGE for a new lot of Picture Puzzles (this month they’re all film titles)
and “Mixed Bag” Questions (Trivia type Questions) for June.
Enjoy!
by Dr Peter Thorne
Dr Peter Thorne was formerly the Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Melbourne. He has been a member of Tender Boards for major Government IT projects including the re-equipment of the Australian Tax Office and Australian Customs. He was a member of the National Procurement Board established by the Hawke/Keating Government.
In the “beads and mirrors game” industrially advanced nations acquire primary products won from the land, or even the land itself, from less industrially advanced nations in return for manufactured goods.
Australia was still an economic colony of Great Britain until the middle of the 20th century. Our principal role in this relationship was as a primary production nation. For the past 50 years transnational corporations have taken over from the UK as our masters in the beads and mirrors game, particularly in the advanced technology business.
Do you know such a person?
If so, we’d love to hear from you.
Please tell us what you’re doing now, and send us your STS reminiscences including your name and school, and whatever you can remember about your entry (how old were you at the time? What category did you enter; models, essays, research, computers, photography or games? What was the title of your entry?)
Send to vic[at]skeptics.com.au.
We will not use any of this information without your permission.
This brief article takes note of an auspicious conjunction of events in May. Both Vic Skeptics and our good friends at Mordi Skeptics have a Soapbox evening as our monthly public meeting.
This is an edited repost of an article which first appeared here in August 2010. You can also download a similar classroom discussion pamphlet (and a lot more) from our USEFUL INFO page.
The basic proposition of Western Astrology is that your personality and fate are influenced by the apparent positions and motions of heavenly bodies. View More A Skeptic’s Guide to Astrology
The theme of the MAY 2016 SKEPTICAL CROSSWORD is Religion and Superstition and as usual comes with your choice of standard or cryptic clues.
The MAY 2016 LOGIC & MATHS PROBLEMS
set is the 46th in the series. If you’d like to use our Logic & Maths sets in the classroom or just to catch up on the ones you’ve missed, please note that we started posting them in August 2012; (see PUZZLES ARCHIVE 3 .)
As always, seven new Picture Puzzles and twenty new “Mixed Bag” Trivia Questions have been placed at the top of the PUZZLES PAGE
Enjoy!
