Guest Work • Mar 28, 2017 •
From the NZ March for Science Organisers Since the Science March on DC was first announced in January, after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the President of the USA, scientists and people who care about science in New Zealand have been working together behind the scenes to make sure that when we march for science and knowledge, and … Read More
Ken Perrott • Jan 06, 2017 •
Anti-fluoridation campaigners’ claims that community water fluoridation reduces IQ are simply false. That is the conclusion of Alex Kasprak – and he says why in his new Snopes.com article (see Fact Check -Fluor-IQ). Snopes.com tackles fluoridation claims. These days anti-fluoridation activists use this claim as their main argument – and they often cite scientific articles to back it up. Read More
Michael Edmonds • Jun 19, 2016 •
On Friday, the New Zealand Herald reported that John Key has yet again rejected research that contradicted what the governments’ position is – in this case on the lack of effectiveness of 90 day trial employments. John Keys’ response to the Motu funded report, which found that 90 day employment trials result in no statistically significant increase in employees being hiring by employers was: … Read More
Ken Perrott • Feb 25, 2016 •
There is a lot of scientific self-deception about – and not only among ideologically motivated activists who wish to opportunistically use science in their campaigns. Scientists themselves are also prone to self-deception – as Richard Feynman sums it up the meme displayed above. I like this cartoon Eureka! with Regina Nuzzo from Cara Gormally as it indicates why we are so … Read More
Ken Perrott • May 19, 2015 •
This meme is for those commenters here who accuse me of having a closed mind. I am always happy to change my opinion or view of things – if there is evidence to suggest I should. And no, claims that … Continue reading → … Read More
Ken Perrott • Nov 11, 2014 •
Image credit: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. This satirical piece from The Shovel highlights an unfortunate way many politicians (mainly US and Australian) and internet propagandists approach scientific matters – relying on anecdotes and not evidence. It is also true of … Continue reading → … Read More
SciBooks • Aug 19, 2014 •
by Bill Rosenberg REVIEW: Dirty Politics Nicky Hager Craig Potton Publishing 2014 RRP35.00 Nicky Hager’s explosive new book has many levels. They include political intrigue – “how terrible some human beings can be” (referring to Cameron Slater, Jason Ede, Jordan Williams, Simon Lusk et al) as Andrew Geddis graphically describes in his … Read More
Peter Griffin • Jun 12, 2014 •
UPDATED: We all know that our Crown Research Institutes carry out a lot of commercial work for clients, in fact they are encouraged to do so in the interests of returning a dividend to the Crown which funds them. But are those commercial relationships influencing the scientific advice that scientists give? Back in April, Massey University freshwater scientist Dr Mike … Read More
Robert Hickson • May 02, 2013 •
Both Grant and John have noted the need for greater used of evidence for science policy. A great set of essays has just been published in the UK on just this topic. The full set is is available here [Pdf]. The Guardian has also printed some of the essays. For example, Higgitt & Wilsdon … Read More
John Pickering • Jan 24, 2013 •
Quite a coup this morning for a group of 8 sufferers of a rare disease to get a plea for Pharmac to fund a new drug in to both the Herald and the Press. I’ve since discovered that Radio NZ and TV3 have picked up the story. There are also some slick videos on vimeo.com These people … Continue reading » … Read More