June 19, 2013

Local Groups Update: The Peninsula Skeptics

We recently announced that Peninsula Skeptics had resumed business after a break. Indeed, the group has bounced back so quickly that it’s worth sharing its impressive event calendar with you.

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Tuesday July 9: Presenter: Ian Storey; Topic: Calculating the AU. The data gathered in the 1761 and 1769 observations of the Transit of Venus was used to calculate the Astronomical Unit. Ian Storey will explain how that was done.

Tuesday August 13: Presenter: Tim Harding; Topic: Protection of Port Phillip Bay dolphins. Tim Harding is a former Director of Flora and Fauna in the Department of Primary Industries, with a background in biological sciences. Scientific research has recently shown that the dolphins in Port Phillip Bay are a separate species, rather than a sub-population of coastal bottlenose dolphins found elsewhere. This means that Port Phillip Bay is their only habitat, making them even more vulnerable to extinction. View More Local Groups Update: The Peninsula Skeptics

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June 19, 2013

Recommended site: Itsmyhealth.com.au

itsmyhealthlogo

When we draw attention to Health and Lifestyle websites, or those offering free medical advice, it’s often with a tone of disapproval.

However, we recently stumbled upon Itsmyhealth.com.au. We were impressed.
It’s an Australian site. It caters to an Australian (Australasian?) lifestyle. It’s informative and up-to-date; you don’t need a technical background to follow the discussion, although the authorship is clearly supported by medical expertise.

It’s interactive. It features a Q&A staffed by a panel of specialists including a doctor, a psychologist, a fitness expert, a sexologist, a beauty expert and a dietician. It invites feedback, comment and articles from its readership. View More Recommended site: Itsmyhealth.com.au

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May 29, 2013

June 2013 “Mixed Bag” Questions – Answers

1. Sagittarius, Gemini, Scorpio

2. They are father, son and grandson

3. Ship’s sails

4. Into the briar patch

5. Railway Station

6. cadence

7. Playing for your team’s Number 2 or Reserve side.

8. Born June Gough, she was a native of Broken Hill. She adopted the professional name June Bronhill in gratitude when the town raised the money to send her overseas to further her career.

9. Kellogs Sugar Frosties became Kellogs Frosties

10. Tasmania

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May 26, 2013

More Critical Thinking Videos

In early 2012 a series of short videos on the topic of critical thinking was released.

The group that produced them have created more. I think these are videos are superb; short, to the point, quirky and ideal for anyone wanting to quickly understand the scientific method and critical thinking including fallacies. I’ve linked to all of them below.

The scriptwriter is science communicator and author Mike McRae, well known for his book Tribal Science.

Surprisingly, the videos were funded by the Australian Government. The narrator is James Hutson and they’re produced by Bridge8.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/W9IoN8Tb1wg]

More videos after the fold.

View More More Critical Thinking Videos

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May 26, 2013

July 2013 Logic & Maths Problems – Solutions

1. A3, B4, C1, D5, E2, F7, G10, H6, I8,  J9

2. Cube D

3. A mirror

4. MARGE LETS NORAH SEE SHARON’S TELEGRAM. NO MISSES ORDERED ROSES, SIMON.

5. 10 triangles

6. a. Reagan   b. Lincoln  c. Roosevelt  d. Johnson  e. Eisenhower   f. Nixon

7. six teams

8. 45 pencils   7 jars

9. Very likely

Almost everybody in a normal human population has two arms.

There are probably no people with more than two arms

There are likely to be a very small number of people with one or no arms for whatever reason.

Therefore, the average number of arms in a normal human population is very slightly less than two. 

It’s very likely that the next person you meet will have two arms.

10. Untitled Capture-08a

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May 26, 2013

June 2013 Logic & Maths Problems – Solutions

1. One chance in six or 5:1

2. Ms Blue is wearing pink; Ms Green is wearing blue; Ms Pink is wearing green

3. 54 cents

4. Six people

5. 9 games

6. 4,2,5,3

7. 40 cards

8. 40 cards

Note that the answer 40 would be correct for any number of decks.

9. The daughter’s ages are 8, 3 and 3 and the house number is 14.

The key lies in the fact that the census taker would already  know the house number, so if he still doesn’t know the girl’s ages after working out the three possible factors of 72 that add up to the house number, it must be because there’s more than one possibility.

The only factors of 72 that have the same sum are 2 X 6 X 6  and 3 X 3 X 8 . The sum in each case is 14. Once the census taker knows that there is one eldest daughter (not twins), the correct ages must be 3, 3 and 8.

10. Six hours

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