Skeptical Kiwi

"If we teach only the findings and products of science - no matter how useful and even inspiring they may be - without communicating its critical method, how can the average person possibly distinguish science from pseudoscience?" "The method of science, as stodgy and grumpy as it may seem, is far more important than the findings of science" - (Carl Sagan, 1995). This is wonderfully articulated. Carl Sagan has a definite way with words, a true communicator of science. For the thinking and intuitive person, this may make sense. But, it may be a bit too deep and "thinky" for the average person, as just expressed by my coworker. The average person just wants to watch TV, go home to their partner/spouse/family/pet and eat their dinner. Maybe this is the reason that psychics and homeopaths make so much money. Is it true that the average person doesn't really care enough? To me, this means that science communication is more important than ever. As sci...

There's something I can't get my head around. I'm sure most science communicators are already aware of this, but I'll write this anyway. This is for the antivaxers. The anti-vaccine crowd rail against the pharmaceutical companies and claim things like these charming Guy-Fawkes-mask-wearing-woke individuals pictured here. The bullshit claim that Big Pharma doesn't care about us, they just want to make money. The same could be said about most companies really. All companies want to make money. But, these pharmaceutical companies market and distribute effective cures and preventive measures against so many things. From vaccines to antidepressants to statins, we have such an impressive range of medications that it's hard to believe that you, the anti-vaccine crowd, can really feel this way. This shows such a disconnect from reality, it's shocking and sad. Even stranger still, you claim that vaccines are not tested enough. This is an outright lie. ...

An early Skeptical Kiwi meme Yesterday morning, while browsing through Facebook, after reading another articulate article from Anna Zakrisson, Doctor Anna's Imaginarium, I discovered something. I discovered that you can review one of the vilest, most influential, woo-peddling, pseudoscience-pushing, snake-oil-selling charlatans on Facebook, David 'Avocado' Wolfe. The muppet most people will know as the man who used to endorse and own stocks in the Nutribullet and the reality TV show "Mad Mad House" as a nudist. A greasy, naked, nutter. This man has some outrageous claims. Some outright dangerous, such as vaccines are bad, to the downright hilarious, like mushrooms are from space and salt stops water from floating into space. He's also a flat-earther. The article mentioned earlier was Doctor Anna's writings on SciComm ( here ) and the ugly realisation when joining Facebook that pseudoscience is rife. Not only is it horribly common, but people will...

"Ours are not beliefs. Ours are studies, facts, and science. Antivaxers have belief, just as delusional religious fanatics do because facts and reason are not on your side. All you have are delusions and misinformation." - Skeptical Kiwi. Why do I do this? My partner asked me this question the other day. Why do I find so much pleasure in "trolling" idiots on the internet? Well, the short answer is, I enjoy it and think it's necessary. The long answer, well, let's talk about that. I am a layman. I'm currently studying for a Bachelor of Science and hope to do more after that too. I currently enjoy all science really. I enjoy watching and reading about astrophysics and love Neil De Grasse Tyson and Brian Cox. I think though that learning Calculus and getting fully into physics is beyond me. I'll enjoy physics from a lay perspective I think. I thoroughly enjoy Biology and I'm good at it. My passion is vaccination. From the moment I found o...

Vaping http://vaping360.com/cloud-chasing-101/ Most people now know that smoking is pretty bad for you. The science has been clear on that for quite some time now (Eysenck, 2000; Ambrose & Barua, 2004). What with the emphysema, cancers, heart disease and all of that stuff. E-cigarettes (ECs) and vaping is an alternative that has been around since 2004, and have shown to be a significant decrease in health risks and a proven cessation method. Vaping at a glance Vaping, for those unfamiliar with the practice, isn't smoke. A user inhales vapour through a device that produces the vapour. It's an aerosol created by heating up the e-liquid inside the device. The e-liquid is much safer than tobacco smoking, with a much smaller list of chemicals, mainly a mixture of vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol, flavourings and the optional nicotine. The nicotine can be added anywhere from 0mg up to 18mg (DIY juices can be higher). There is a myriad of flavours to choose fro...

Here in New Zealand, we have a pretty good track record of scientific mindedness. Most people I know in real life are fairly like-minded individuals. The people I work with are the same, we accept scientific consensus of evidence. But, go on facebook and check the comment section of an article written in a pro-science light, and you would be shocked (or not, depending on your knowledge of general ignorance) to find that there is a large number of people who disagree and even think science is pure belief. Now, obviously, this is wrong. Science has nothing to do with belief. Science is about evidence. Facts.  Generally, these articles that are written in a pro-science light are about vaccination, for some reason a highly debated topic. It shouldn't be. Vaccines are safe.  Here is a small selection of pro-vaccine stories from Stuff: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/92966563/to-facilitate-antivaccine-rhetoric-as-debate-is-dangerous-and-wrong?cid=facebook.post.92...

Success What would happen to the road-toll if drink-driving became an individual choice? Vaccines are the greatest success of modern science, yet, they’re still an individual choice in New Zealand. They’re safe, effective and necessary for a healthy population. Vaccines eradicated smallpox (Koplow, 2003) and controlled polio, tetanus, measles, varicella, HPV and pertussis. Unimmunised children are a health risk to the entire community (Omer, Salmon, Orenstein, Dehart, & Halsey, 2009). Schools are environments where infectious diseases spread quickly, so a high coverage is needed to keep a population safe, known as herd immunity (Ministry of Health, 2017a; Fine, 1993). When the coverage drops, infectious diseases spread quickly and lead to outbreaks (Hayman, Marshall, French, & Carpenter, 2017). Unimmunised children should not be allowed to attend schools in New Zealand. Freedom of Choice The issue with mandating anything is that the government is then taking away...