Lastest news
· President resigns.
At the last Committee Meeting (6 March 2006) the President and Public Officer (Vicki Moss) tendered her resignation from the Committee. Committee member (Assistant Website Manager and Agenda Secretary) John Agnew also resigned from the Committee. Michael O'Rourke (Vice President and Meetings Secretary) has taken over as President ("pro tem").
· Next meeting. Thursday 13 April 2006.
Members' Soapbox night. See below for details.
· Grant application successful!
A grant of over $2,000 has been awarded to us by DEST to assist the running of the August 15th Forum. See below for details.
Index
1. Apologies
2. Upcoming functions: Soapbox Night and Book Club SIG
3. Diary dates
4. Canberra Skeptics website
5. Past events. What you may have missed!
6. New members
7. Contributions to the Argos
- Review: Stephen Wilks
- Humour
8. Rambling with the Editor - What's in a name?
1. Apologies
This has been the first Argos for a while. Sorry folks. This was partly a consequence of your Editor suffering, among other things, a long undiagnosed and severe case of Helicobacter pylori gastritis. It was thus particularly gratifying for him to learn Western Australians Barry Marshall and Robin Warren were awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of this bacterium and its role in stomach/duodenal ulcers/cancer, and to hear that they finally won their fight over the patent infringements of their simple breath test for diagnosing infections by this bug. As around 50% of ageing adults in the West are infected, if you have chronic intermittent abdominal pain and feel really ill, plus sticky/smelly/frequent motions, trot off to your GP and chat about the H. pylori breath test.
Apologies also to Sophina Calanni (see Rambling with the Editor below).
2. Upcoming functions
Soapbox Night
Thursday 13 April 2006
Our next meeting will be on 13th April, the evening before the Easter break. This will be a social "Soapbox night" at a member's private home in O'Connor. Supper provided; BYOG. At this 5 or 6 members will give an 8 minute presentation (followed by a few minutes discussion) on a skeptical topic dear to their hearts, or whatever parts of their anatomy might be particularly relevant. If you wish to speak, or just attend, please contact Nick Ware on 62625966 or by email at <nick.ware@homemail.com.au> for time and venue.
Book Club Special Interest Group
Tuesday 2 May 2006, 7:00pm to late
At its last Meeting the Committee approved the setting up of a Book Club SIG (Special Interest Group) with Pete Griffith as Convenor. It is proposed this run monthly around two weeks before/after each full meeting of Canberra Skeptics, rotating through members' homes. The first meeting (7.00pm on Tuesday 2nd May) will be held in North Kambah to discuss the operation of the SIG, its rules, and possible book titles for consideration. All interested contact Nick Ware on 62625966 for details of the venue. As this will be at a member's home, all non-members (who are welcome to come) will be urged to join. (Come on folks! Only $2 plus $8 - or $5 concession - until 30 June 2007).
3. 2006 Diary dates
The 13th of the month occurs on a weekend twice more in 2006 N.B. School hols dates are for the ACT.
Apr 13 Thu Soapbox Night
14 Fri Easter. School Hols start
25 Tue Anzac Day:
30 Sun School Hols end
May 13 Sat Youth delinquency: when kids go bad, who is to blame?"
Thomas Charles-Jones
Jun 12 Mon QB'day
Jun 13 Tue Dietary myths (Tentative title).
Caroline Salisbury.
Jul 8 Sat School Hols start
Jul 13 Thu Influenza - poultry, pigs, people, politics plus the impending pandemic.
Pete Griffith
23 Sun School Hols end
Aug 13 Sun tba
15 Tue The Hydrogen Economy - if so, when?
Forum: Canberra Convention Centre
16-20 Wed-Sun Canberra Skeptics Stall. Australian Science Festival Exhibition.
Sep 13 Wed tba
Sep 30 Sat School Hols start
Oct 2 Mon Labour day NSW/ACT
Oct 13 Fri tba
15 Sun School Hols end
Oct 23 Mon Earth's Birthday: AGM
Nov 7 Tues Melbourne Cup day
Nov 13 Mon tba
Nov 18-19 Sat-Sun National Convention, Melbourne Museum
Dec 13 Wed Space exploration update, Tidbinbilla Tracking Station.
22 Fri School Hols start
4. Canberra Skeptics website
Our website (http://finch.customer.netspace.net.au/skeptics/) is shortly to be updated. On this can be found copies of past issues of the Argos, pamphlets published by us, and talks and events held in 2005.
Note the email address for Canberra Skeptics is now act1@skeptics.com.au, a change necessitated (in February) by the amount of junk mail for views of scantily clad bimbos slipping through the Skeptics spam filter with which, at that time, your Editor's frame of mind was not in the right gear to cope.
5. Past events
In his talk on Dermis, Doonas and Depression (13 Sept 2004) Tom Gavranic referred to a book on skin care. The details of this book are: Good skin. Safe and simple skin care for today's world. Hugh Molloy and Gary Egger. Allen and Unwin 1999 ISBN 1865 080926
2005
For missed talks - see the website.
23rd Oct. Special meeting and AGM, followed by The Earth's birthday dinner.
Special Meeting and AGM.
The AGM held on 23rd October was attended by 20 members. It was preceded
by a special meeting to change the Rules. It was agreed unanimously that (1)
committee members be elected at the AGM without portfolio and that roles,
including that of President, be decided by the Committee at its first meeting
after the AGM; and (2) the Committee by a minimum of a two thirds vote of the
full Committee (a) increase its number to not exceeding nine or (b) remove a
member from membership of the Committee.
There were nine nominations to the Committee so all were elected. The
President (Pete Griffith) indicated he wished to step down as President but was
happy to continue to serve on the Committee.
Members retiring from the Committee were the Vice-President (Peter
Barrett) - who had served on the Committee in various capacities for
several years - and Secretary (Barbara Newman) who had been press-ganged
onto the Committee at the 2004 AGM. We are grateful to both for helping the
Association reach its present heights. The Treasurer Dal Clifton reported that
net assets exceeded $4,000 at 30 June 2005.
The joining fee and annual subscription are to remain unchanged.
13th Nov. Committee Meeting
· According to the new rules the Committee elected the following Officers: President - Vicki Moss; Vice-President and Meetings' Secretary - Michael O'Rourke; Treasurer - Dal Clifton; Secretary - Stephen Wilks; Immediate Past President and Registrar - Pete Griffith; Website Manager - David Wilson; Public Officer, Assistant Web Manager and Agenda Coordinator - John Agnew; Events Coordinator - Nick Ware; Publicity Officer - Tony Martin-Jones.
13th Dec. The Latest Information in Space Exploration.
· Our annual trip to the Tidbinbilla tracking station was preceded by an excellent meal at the Moonrock café and was followed by a most informative talk by Glen Nagle. He spoke on a number of topics, including Pluto and its moons, and Australia's role in the imminent invasion of the Solar System by a whole range of new spacecraft. More information about these space missions is available at http://www.cdscc.nasa.gov/
2006
13th Jan. Social at the Southern Cross Yacht Club.
· Over 30 members and friends gathered at the Yacht Club for drinks and dinner. Lively conversation was, as usual, a feature of this occasion.
24th Jan. Nick Johnson's Show
Thirty-one members and friends attended, at discount rates, Nick's show "How to cheat friends and incriminate people" at the Street Theatre. This was different in many ways from the talk he gave to us on October 13th last year but again featured the long nail up the nose and walking on broken (but well tumbled!) glass. A thoroughly memorable evening.
12th Feb. Darwin Day.
· Seventy eight members and friends attended Geoff Henry's talk ("The eye sheds light on Darwinian evolution") at the National Museum. Geoff took us on a tour of the gradual evolution of the eye from unicellular organisms, through various life-forms to humans and showed how embryogenesis followed this path in the foetus. He also explained how the eye of the squid is more efficient compared with our own with respect to its wiring, but was otherwise very similar in structure, and a clear example of parallel evolution. And he explained the advantage to insects of their having compound eyes. A most educative talk giving the lie to Intelligent Design.
13th Mar. A Journey on the Road to En-Dor
· Nick Ware related to 54 members and friends the story of how his grandfather spent part of WWI as a prisoner of war in Turkey. He managed to escape with a friend by using a ouija board to convince the camp Commandant and the camp Interpreter that he and his friend were mediums. The two then had to persuade the Turkish authorities they were insane in order to be repatriated. In this process they staged their suicide by hanging and came very close to killing themselves in the process. Altogether a fascinating and extraordinary tale.
6. New members
Honorary Life Member
At its November meeting the Committee approved the election of Professor Colin Groves as Canberra Skeptics' first Honorary Life Member in recognition of his service to our Association and the Skeptics movement in general over many years.
New members
Big welcome to all new members (too numerous to list!) joining since the last Argos. But a special mention to those joining since the AGM: Antonia Lehn (South Canberra), Gerlinde Lenz (Holder), Gavin Young (Campbell), Kerri Bradford (Ngunnawal) and Scott Bytheway (Scullin). Look out for these folk and give them a G'day at the next meeting.
7. Contributions to the Argos
THE SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO THE PARANORMAL. By Lynne Kelly. Allen & Unwin. 261 pp.$19.95
A current internet joke asks “have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?" This would be appreciated by Lynne Kelly, who thoroughly enjoys getting stuck into UFOs and similar absurdities that plague our airwaves and bookshelves.
Shafting the nonsensical has long been a rich field for quality writers, from David Hume's heavy Scottish philosophising to the American Bergen Evans’ delightful The Natural History of Nonsense, a jolly romp through folk beliefs ranging from immaculate conceptions to clairvoyant dogs. Kelly's locally-produced effort isn't quite in the same class, but still packs enough in to be worth delivering to every letterbox in the country.
Genuine scepticism does not involve obstinately snarling ‘bah, humbug’ at everything out of the ordinary. It simply calls for the application of logic to claims of extraordinary phenomena, especially by insisting on hard evidence as a pre-condition of belief. The sceptic wields a sharp Ockham's razor, favouring simple explanations over those that are complex and extraordinary - such as looking for self-delusion or outright fraud before accepting that the neighbours have been abducted by aliens. Occasionally, sceptics get it wrong: Evans in the 1940s doubted claims that birds were guided by the Earth's magnetism - but their insistence on evidence gives them a good overall strike rate.
All this may sound straightforward, but the fact is that we remain obsessed with the paranormal. To varying degrees, we are all partial to beliefs that are comforting rather than accurate, perceive non-existent patterns, fall prey to emotional manipulation and focus selectively on rare coincidences.
The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal effortlessly disposes of some of the better known absurdities. Loch Ness has been surveyed using every conceivable means to absolutely no avail and, besides, is too resource-poor to support a population of giant creatures. The Shroud of Turin seems suspiciously like a medieval hoax. Nostradamus' prophecies can be interpreted retrospectively to match any event you like, not to mention the entirely concocted prophecies circulated in his name after September 11.
One phenomenon in a different category altogether is spontaneous human combustion. People have been found mysteriously burnt to neat piles of ashes. Indeed, this book includes a photo of the late Dr John Irving Bentley reduced to a remaining foot and a charred walking frame. Even crematoria aren't usually so thorough.
There is an explanation. In rare cases, the human body can be ignited by a simple source like a cigarette and burn like a candle, when clothing acts as a wick and body fat as a potent fuel. (This is provided the subject is already unconscious, the process being too slow for anyone wide awake not to put out). Extremities often survive as they contain little fat, hence Dr Bentley's forlorn foot. All this has been readily replicated in experiments using dead pigs wrapped in blankets.
This book does not take on claims that raise heavy issues of psychology and religion, such as hypnosis or creationism. Serious students of these should start with The Skeptic's Dictionary by the American philosopher Robert Todd Carroll. Nor does Kelly delve into the rich field of pseudo-history. A recent ABC ‘documentary’ flirted with snobbish claims that Shakespeare was too much of a provincial hick from Stratford to have written anything good. In fact, most great writers had little formal education (Dickens, Austen, Twain) and his contemporary Ben Jonson paid tribute to the Bard.
Kelly balances her doubt with a tolerance that sets her apart from harder core sceptics. She recognizes the wonderful language and imagery of astrology and its fun role as a social ice breaker. The world would indeed be duller if everything was ruled by hard Sherlock Holmesian logic. Christmas and Easter would be out for a start, and your reviewer admits to placing a wish on a shooting star last New Year's Eve - still unfulfilled, alas.
But things go wobbly when belief in the paranormal begins to erode the quality of our civilization which, after all, is based on the rule of reason. This comes when people no longer readily distinguish between reality and the supernatural, when science is drowned out by the paranormal in our TV shows and bookshops, and JFK conspiracy terminology like 'grassy knoll' enters common language.
This book may be a drop of rationality in an ocean of inanity, but is no less welcome for that. Yes, Horatio, there are more things in heaven and earth than dreamt of in your philosophy, but first let's see the evidence!
[Note: Canberra Skeptics have copies for sale ($18 to financial members; $20 to the great unwashed).]
What the Papers say.
Commenting on a
complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for
Northwest Gas said "We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's
possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used in the explosion that
destroyed his house." (The Daily Telegraph)
Irish police are being handicapped in a search for a stolen van, because they
cannot issue a description. It's a special branch vehicle and they don't want
the public to know what it looks like. (The Guardian)
After being charged £20 for a £10 overdraft, 30-year-old Michael Howard of
Leeds changed his name by deed poll to Yorkshire Bank PLC Are Fascist Bastards.
The bank has now asked him to close his account, and Mr. Bastards has asked
them to repay the 69p balance, by cheque, made out in his new name. (The
Guardian)
A young girl who was blown out to sea on a set of inflatable teeth was rescued
by a man on an inflatable lobster. A coastguard spokesman commented, "This
sort of thing is all too common". (The Times)
At the height of the gale, the harbourmaster radioed a coastguard on the spot
and asked him to estimate the wind speed. He replied that he was sorry, but he
didn't have a gauge. However, if it was any help, the wind had just blown his
Land Rover off the cliff. (Aberdeen Evening Express)
Mrs. Irene Graham of Thorpe Avenue Boscobel, delighted the audience with her
reminiscence of the German prisoner of war who was sent each week to do her
garden. He was repatriated at the end of 1945, she recalled. "He'd always
seemed a nice friendly chap, but when the crocuses came up in the middle of our
lawn in February 1946, they spelt out "Heil Hitler". (The Guardian)
Note from the Editor. In order to attribute the source of the above, and check their authenticity, I did (3 Nov 2004) a Google on "Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill": this generated 227 hits - several dated July 2003. The site with the most credibility turned out to be http://www.bbc.tv/radio4/comedy/newsquiz_25.shtml which, in addition to the above, listed the following reports:
Police reveal that a woman arrested for shoplifting had a whole salami in her knickers. When asked why, she said it was because she was missing her Italian boyfriend. (Reuters via The Manchester Evenings News)
Would the congregation please note that the bowl at the back of the church labelled 'for the sick' is for monetary donations only. (Churchtown Parish Magazine)
6.10 pm: Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Bennett's estranged cousin, Mr. Collins, writes to announce his imminent visit to Longbourne - the house he will inherit on Mr. Bennett's death. Mrs. Bennett rallies the residents to stop him setting up a minicab service. (Hampstead and Highgate Express)
There must, for instance, be something very strange in a man who, if left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on. (Glasgow Evening News)
So these have been doing the rounds of the internet for some time and our website will now be another reporting them. One Canberra site claimed the Mr. Purdey story involved the Sydney Gas Cy, indicated the salami incident occurred in the Woden Plaza and was reported in the Canberra Times, and claimed the SMH as the source of the Irish police story. Another site attributed the Mr. Purdey story to the Daily Telegraph. Whether these stories are true, or concoctions, presumably only the editors of the relevant newspapers will know. But after my own experience with English banks, that on the Yorkshire Bank is highly credible. Also, as told to me by my grandmother, the German soldiers' sense of humour can extend to making a stew from the cat belonging to the family (on whom they were billeted in a starving Guernsey in late 1944) and waiting until after the meal to regale the fact. And stunts similar to the use of crocuses are regularly performed using lawn fertilizer (or weed killer) at our Universities. Furthermore, my younger sister has a true story along the lines of the salami one; this involved an accident case wearing tight jeans admitted to the Queanbeyan Hospital. And, as reported in this issue's Ramblings, idiot government departments can be a source of a good laugh or three.
8. Rambling with the Editor What's in a name? Now that the blueberry bushes are planted, the
rainwater tanks are full and the ironing is done I can point my finger at
the keyboard and pen another Argos. In the last issue ( No.13, July 2004) I
welcomed Sophie Calarni as a new member; for this I apologise. Fortunately we
have a cryptologist on the Committee, as one does, and the new member in
question actually turns out to be Sophina Calanni. Welcome Sophina! John Moss' letter on muscle cramps and champagne corks
in the last newsletter scored a gong in Ian Warden's Capital Times column in
the CT on Tuesday 27th July 2004 which referred to the Argos as
"intellectually towering", and your (then) President as "Ian
Griffith". Now, as it seems a
"Mr Pete Griffiths" was responsible for the "intellectually
stimulating" newsletter mentioned in the CT on 5th June 2003, is
there some confusion? You bet, but not a lot. Those who are taking Mr Costello's advice and having a
his and hers and one for the country should take care when assigning labels to
the products of their loins. Although I
know two individuals with the forename of "Christian" I do not know a
single "Jesus", and though "Earl" is not uncommon in the
USA it will definitely cause confusion in the UK. I am sure there are whole
chapters in psychology textbooks on what problems names can cause. And probably
in case law too - ask Lindy Chamberlain. I don't mean problems just for Registrars of Births,
one of whom recently refused to enter "the Gop" as the third forename
for a newborn in my former extended family. [This was the choice of the newborn's
elder sibling]. It wasn't so much the name
the Registrar objected to, but the parents' request that the "the"
not be capitalised! As a consequence this child now has the name Perry, Mojo,
The, Gop (surname withheld by request). Sometimes too, a given name might become
inappropriate. My late dog was a border
collie - blind in his one remaining eye, deaf and doddery. His name was "Lucky". So when he
went missing in Tocumwal on 10th February 2001 it seemed more appropriate to
call this, by now, most unlucky of hounds something else. The please-phone-if-found
notices posted up around town posed the question "What is black and white
and one-eyed?" With the answer
"A dog called 'Collingwood'" - the significance of which will
only be apparent to avid followers of the AFL in Melbourne. As a result, the
joke spread around like wild-fire and he was soon located. Thanks Tocumwal. Nor do I mean problems for executors of deceased
estates. My late mother had the
forenames, some of which were a not insubstantial mouthful, of four godmothers
tacked on before her own. The time involved in writing all six of her names out
on correspondence to banks, brokers etc added hours - nay days -
to the task. And may have been the cause of much confusion in the UK tax
office, an institution clearly staffed entirely by spiritualists, who, on being
informed my mother was dead, wrote back asking us to keep them informed
"should your mother's circumstances change". They also sent a demand
for tax owing of £0.00 which, naturally enough, we ignored. This was followed with
a late penalty payment demand of £100.00 for non-payment of tax owing, which
again - you've guessed it - we ignored. But then things started to get serious. The estate started
getting fined further amounts of £100.00 for non-payment of the penalty for
non-payment of the zero tax owing. So folks, I dug out the original giro,
entered £0.00 and mailed it off with a request for reimbursement of the
postage. They have yet to send the latter, and they have been conspicuously
silent since. But I digress. We of the Griffith (Welsh for "ruddy") clan
are pretty singular and have become used to being lumped in with the perhaps
less ruddy sons of Griffith as Griffiths. At school and university I was called
Griff. But what's with "Pete"
and "Ian"? My parents wanted forenames for their offspring with an
international flavour, so mine was to be firstly Peter. In Australia,
monosyllabic names are commonly extended (hence Griffo, Johno, Davo, Annie,
Susie etc) - does anyone out there know why? Is it so bush poetry will
scan? In contrast, the Poms (of lowly extraction like me, at least) contract
polysyllabic forenames (hence Dave, Pete, Pam, Sue etc.). So I became Pete - except when I had
got up my father's nose: then I was angrily referred to as Peter. So, like the inventor of the skirt, I now
drop my r. Well, the point of this
rambling is that not only names can make life miserable for some, but the
initials they engender. My middle name
was to be Ian - the Scottish for John. (John is Jan in German and Jean in
French; both can cause problems for a bloke in England as well as Oz). In this order my initials would have caused
much mirth of the porcine variety, so my parents wisely registered me as Ian
Peter Griffith. I have kept this explanation under wraps until now. Why? Because my friends at Balliol, on hearing
it, equated me with the hero of William Golding's classic tale and dubbed me
"Piggy - lord of the styes". Pete Griffith 8 April 2006