For all that the outdated notion of a ‘missing link’ refuses to go away, the broad outline of human evolution is pretty well understood. But, within the broad brush of the “ascent of man”, there’s still plenty of fine detail left to be filled in. Among them, the exact
It’s not for nothing that my Second Law of the Media is: When an article claims, “science says…” or “new study shows…”, assume that it doesn’t until proven otherwise. Once again, Stuff are the proof of that rule. Scientists have cautiously concluded climate change is partly responsible for
Michael Cook mercatornet.com Michael Cook is the editor of MercatorNet. He lives in Sydney, Australia. Earlier this month, the Australian Government announced a A$15 million pilot program for mitochondrial donation, or, as it is sometimes called, “three-parent IVF”. In December 2021, Parliament passed Maeve’s Law, which permitted
It’s an almost unassailably universal opinion that money doesn’t buy happiness. The notion is deeply ingrained in popular culture, which abounds with cautionary tales of miserable plutocrats, from Ebeneezer Scrooge to Charles Foster Kane in fiction, and J Paul Getty and Howard Hughes in real life. Held up
It’s very fashionable these days to witter about the “Islamic Golden Age” and ‘indigenous’ science. No doubt the type of people who bandy such nostrums about fondly imagine that they’re being terribly cosmopolitan and graciously ‘anti-racist’, or some such nonsense. What they’re really being is ignorant and
Gary Moller garymoller.com A health professional wrote to me: “What is the latest word on ivermectin? Siouxsie Wiles quotes a 2023 study and others that appear to throw cold water on its efficacy against Covid.” https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300814481/siouxsie-wiles-ivermectin-is-for-parasites-not-for-covid I’m not an expert in
It’s a funny thing, but even the most hardened people who’ve developed a thick skin to the suffering of their fellow humans will turn into incandescent balls of rage at cruelty to animals, especially dogs. Which is why some of the most gut-wrenching scenes in the miniseries Chernobyl
Peter J Morgan BE (Mech.), Dip. Teaching, Hon. CEO & Chair, Environomics (NZ) Trust (PJM.forensic.eng@gmail.com) In the mid-1980s, groups of climate scientists began developing computer climate models of the atmosphere. These models are now known to not properly model key climate parameters. One fundamental error in
Don Brash bassettbrashandhide.com I’m not sure whether to be amused, depressed or angry at the reaction to the article by Richard Dawkins in The Spectator recently. Richard Dawkins wrote the piece after his visit to New Zealand in late February. I heard him speak in Auckland and he
Back when I was doing my degree, I studied a subject called “Basic Scientific Practise”. It was, at the time, a one-of-its-kind subject although many other universities around the world were taking an interest in it. Why on earth would a university science course have to offer a course in
Whenever the “IFL Science!” bros started beating their chests about the infallibility of The Science™, I like to gently suggest that these honking loons read Walter Gratzer’s The Undergrowth of Science. This invaluable little tome is an antidote to not only incipient Scientism but the uncritical worship of “experts”
If Netsafe are serious about tackling fake news and Covid misinformation, they should start with the New Zealand government, the mainstream media, and the Jacinda Arderns, Siouxsie Wiles’ and Shaun Hendy’s. After all, it was Jacinda Ardern who claimed to be “your sole source of truth”. Except that almost
New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science nzdsos.com They are wheeling out the old guns to advertise the new bivalent booster against Omicron. Dr Petousis-Harris told everyone late last year that the data did not support it, and she wouldn’t be rushing out to get it. Perhaps scolded
Remember Lushy’s Second Law of the Media? When an article claims, ‘science says…’ or ‘new study shows…’, assume that it doesn’t until proven otherwise. A recent spate of lurid media headlines provide yet another case study in why you shouldn’t take the legacy media at their word.
Owen Cumming particle.scitech.org.au Carbon dating is how we determine the age of fossils and relics from our past. But how does it actually work? WA is home to the earliest fossil evidence of life and human culture on Earth. But when an archaeologist reveals a relic or
Watching old sitcoms can be an instructive exercise: mostly in the continuing delusions of the leftists who’ve dominated television since the middle 60s. For instance, who can watch old episodes of All in the Family and not feel a nagging twinge that, on at least some essentials, “bigoted” Archie
