February 2017 Skeptical Crossword – Solution
“Mixed Bag” Questions February 2017 – Answers
1. 48
2. Wellington, North Island
3. Ork
4. Two days
5. Kingsford Smith Airport
6. Mario Lanza
7. General Sir John Monash
8. The film came first. The record was released by public demand
9. Cats
10. Joanna Lumley played Purdey in The New Avengers
HARDER:
11. A newly invented word
12. Elizabeth II, Victoria, George III
13. Firearms (shot guns & rifles)
14. Bill Lawry
15. Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair
16. Louisa May Alcott
17. The head of a bull
18. Bas relief
19. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
20. Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide
July 2017 Picture Puzzles – Answers
1. Scatterbrain
2. Suspect
3. Stepmother
4. Largesse
5. Fortunes
6. Divided highway
7. High rise apartments
June 2017 Picture Puzzles – Answers
1. Time on your hands
2. Rock and roll
3. minuscule
4. Organised crime
5. frankenstein
6. Squash court
7. Travel back in time
May 2017 Picture Puzzles – Answers
1. impel
2. Money laundering
3. headquarters
4. Pick your nose
5. Fire drill
6. crowbar
7. Serial killer
April 2017 Picture Puzzles – Answers
1. Impious
2. Impact or implode
3. carpet
4. hegemony
5. impact
6. impale
7. impede
March 2017 Picture Puzzles – Answers
1. locate
2. paragraphs
3. Last roundup
4. romance
5. surface
6. Break even
7. Inanimate object
February 2017 Picture Puzzles – Answers
1. Fruit flies
2. Golden syrup
3. Penitent
4. implant
5. impartial
6. impetus
7. roundup
Australian Skeptic’s Guide to Numerology – Update
You may have noticed that we’ve been updating and recycling our “Australian Skeptics Guide to ….” features. Usually we wait five years or more between reposts, but so much has happened recently that an update of the January 2016 update of An Australian Skeptic’s Guide to Numerology seems like a good idea.
It takes into account the election of Donald Trump, the demotion of Sussan Ley, and the enthusiam for numerology displayed by Bollywood celebrities. Scroll down to January 2016, or go HERE
The Great Debate: Evolution vs Creationism
This article first appeared as a Vic Skeptics discussion pamphlet and was first posted here in March 2011.
With Charles Darwin’s impending 208th birthday on February 12 it seems appropriate to revisit it.
By PTH
One of the many amazing stories in the Bible is the story of The Great Flood.
Before The Great Flood Noah was commanded by his God to build an ark (a large boat) and to collect a pair of all the animals on Earth. The Great Flood wiped out all the other animals, including humans, and those on Noah’s Ark repopulated the Earth after the flood subsided.
Given our present knowledge of evolution, genetics, geology, physics and archeology, few people, even practising Christians, believe the story to be literally true. However there are some people who insist that all the Bible stories are literally true. As well as the story of Noah’s Ark they also believe that:
The Earth and all living things on it were created in six 24-hour days.
This occurred about 10,000 years ago.
All present day animals are descended from those on Noah’s Ark.
The theory of evolution is incorrect because it is not consistent with the Bible stories.
These are the fundamental beliefs of Creationism. But why are the religious beliefs of Creationists of concern to scientists? Does it matter if people’s religious beliefs are in disagreement with scientific knowledge?