Michael O'Rourke was born in 1951 at Gunnedah, NSW and raised "on the land".

One of his first encounters with the need for skepticism was at age eight, when, at the Gunnedah Show, he first saw the Indian Rope Trick performed. His eyes showed him, but his mind would not believe it, when a coil of rope magically uncoiled, lifting a grown man to the top of the carnival tent. Meanwhile, outside the tent, the 'dagwood dogs' (battered saveloys) were being advertised as "fresh from America". But Michael would not believe that either.

He went on (not necessarily as a result) to study at the universities of Sydney, NSW, and Cambridge, UK. Early in his public service career Michael worked in Aboriginal affairs. After a number of years working for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, he now works in the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (part of FaCSIA). His particular interests are in history, politics, philosophy, and poetry.

Despite living in the ACT for over a year, Meaghan refuses to admit that she is a Canberran - in fact she is adamant that she is still a Victorian. She is currently undertaking a BSc at the ANU and finds herself infatuated with evolutionary biology, animal behaviour, and Internet memes. Among other things, she is skeptical of climate change skeptics and is anti-anti-genetic modification. Meaghan's 'intellectual crushes' include P.Z. Myers and J.A. Coyne.

An inability to count beyond five put paid to Stephen's early hope of converting his interest in science into a career. He recovered nicely by completing an arts honours degree in economic history at Monash that was so convincingly disguised as an economics degree it landed him a half decent job in the Canberra bureaucracy. Given the irony that economic history taught him far more than straight economics ever did, he has ever since delighted in explaining the benefits of cross-disciplinary subjects to anyone who cares to listen.

He has meandered Flying Dutchman-style through various Australian Government agencies for what seems like eons, in Canberra and at overseas missions, and most recently lodged himself in the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources. He discovered when working with the Immigration Department the important distinction between scepticism and not wanting to listen in the first place.

His scepticism is slightly skewed towards historical issues and he will continue to lecture anyone still caring to listen that there is no evidence of the early Portuguese exploring Australia, that Shakespeare did indeed write his plays, and that World War One wasn't totally pointless after all. He occasionally risks backsliding as a sceptic, notably through an interest in Edwardian ghost fiction, and seeks to be a non-conformist by conforming so much. Stephen gains intellectual sustenance by moonlighting as a museum guide and book reviewer in The Canberra Times.

He is understood to be slightly better looking in real life.

Like Rosemary Sceats, the former treasurer of the Victorian Skeptics, David is a product of the Catholic education system - this time, in Adelaide. Aiming for somewhat higher (or is it lower?) wages of sin than Rosemary, however, he feared the destination he was headed for would be a good deal hotter and more permanent than purgatory.

While a mathematics graduate student at the University of Adelaide, David secured a place in the stop press of the 1971 Guinness Book of Records by constructing a card house 22 stories high. In the meantime he managed to learn enough game theory to earn a PhD in applied mathematics. Following a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of NSW, he spent 10 years as a lecturer in mathematics at the University of Melbourne. Then, in 1985 he joined the Department of Defence as a mathematical consultant. He is now a Principal Research Scientist in the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

David has participated enthusiastically in a wide variety of recreations, without demonstrating a great degree of talent in any of them. They include Australian rules football, squash, orienteering, flying light aircraft, hang gliding, chess and bridge. Perhaps the most satisfying achievement he obtained from all this expenditure of energy was a 3-hour hang-glider flight covering 80 km. These days, one of his main recreations is poking fun at the absurdities of modern anti-evolutionism.