Guest Work • Apr 19, 2017 •
By Peter Ellerton, The University of Queensland Which is more important, a fact or an opinion on any given subject? It might be tempting to say the fact. But not so fast… Lately, we find ourselves lamenting the post-truth world, in which facts seem no more important than opinions, and sometimes less so. We also tend … Read More
Ken Perrott • Jan 25, 2017 •
Maybe just a small lesson – but an important one. We should always look at context and not cherry-pick that which confirms our bias. In particular, we shouldn’t simply repeat social media claims without doing a bit of fact-checking for ourselves. It’s an important lesson at the moment because there is a lot of this going on in the social … Read More
Ken Perrott • Jan 09, 2017 •
All this talk about fake news brings to my mind a picture of people in glass houses frantically throwing stones. The fact is that many of those complaining about fake news, especially those dominating our mainstream media, are guilty of promoting fake news – and have done it for years. I can’t help thinking what really upsets them, is that … Read More
Guest Work • Feb 01, 2016 •
Peter Ellerton, The University of Queensland Belief in a flat Earth seems a bit like the attempt to eradicate polio – just when you think it’s gone, a pocket of resistance appears. But the “flat Earthers” have always been with us; it’s just that they usually operate under the radar of public awareness. Now the rapper … Read More
Alison Campbell • May 03, 2015 •
I've heard it said more than once that complementary & alternative medicine (CAM) 'does no harm' - here's just one example. I suppose that could be true of a healthy person using something like homeopathy, where the only harm is... Read More
Alison Campbell • Apr 26, 2015 •
Today's Life/Style section in the Herald on Sunday brings us the latest 'beauty trend' to hit our shores: the snail facial. Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently one can (if one has a sufficiency of funds) already purchase Snail... Read More
Alison Campbell • Apr 19, 2015 •
As you'll have gathered, I'm finding Facebook - and now Twitter - great sources of information, whether it's for teaching, sharing with my students (& others!), or blogging about. And today, this paper popped up on my Twitter feed:... Read More
Alison Campbell • Mar 11, 2015 •
I've just spent an entertaining 10 minutes or so clearing out my spam folder. I don't go there often, but a student had asked why I hadn't answered their email & since I hadn't actually received one in the... Read More
Alison Campbell • Aug 26, 2013 •
At one point the husband had quite an interest in something known as ‘spontaneous human combustion’ (SHC) – the claim that humans can, on occasion & often with no apparent ignition agent, burst spontaneously into flame. What’s more, their bodies may sometimes be totally consumed, & yet it appears the fire doesn’t spread to the rest of the room they’re … Read More
Darcy Cowan • Jun 13, 2013 •
The above words were said by my not-quite-three-year-old son to his slightly bemused mother this morning. This exchange followed a conversation I had had with my son earlier while getting him dressed which went something like this: [a noise outside very much like a car door slamming] Son: What was that noise? Me: Sounds like [&hellip … Read More