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WA
Skeptics
Awards

for Young
Critical
Writers


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About the Awards Years 8-12 write critically on any strange belief. Free entry 4m 5g
Critical Thinking in the Classroom Teacher and student views on the Awards 5m 5g
How to Write Your Entry Step-by-step classroom guide with examples 10m 1g
Sixteen Examples of Entries Includes four winners. See what others did 25m
Skeptic Books Donated to Schools in recognition of successful entries 1m 2g
2006 Results With pictures and student comments. Inspiring stuff 3m 6g
2007 Results Twice the entries of 2006. All to a high standard 4m 2g
2008 Results Young critical writers widen their horizons to include social issues 4m 2g
2011 Results This year young critical writers embrace interesting new topics 3m 2g
Not a competition. Interested teachers and students should start by reading
first item above. Closing date for 2019 Awards is 30 June 2019. Entry is free.

Classroom
Resources


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Astrology under Scrutiny New mythbusting book is crammed with research 2m 4g
At last! Good news for teachers -- this site's philosophy, readability scores 2m 3g
Books and Magazines critical of the paranormal. For secondary students 7m 11g
Common Crooked Arguments And how to meet them head on 6m 2g
Crash Course in Critical Thinking It's easy -- just ask the right questions 7m 4g
Information Sheets Downloadable from interstate skeptic sites. 88 topics 3m 2g
Links Skeptic websites useful for secondary schools. Profusely annotated 15m

Investi
gations
by WA
Skeptics

Highlights
since 1980


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Divining. Fortune-Telling. Psychology.
Contacting the Dead 1984. Tricks of the trade. We meet Doris Collins 5m
Divining for Brass and Gold 1980. A public test in Perth of 26 diviners 6m
Paranormal Beliefs of Trainee Teachers 1987. Mostly bad news. With stats 6m
Seeking HMAS Sydney 2009. How paranormal beliefs delayed its discovery 15m 5g
Star Wars 2004. Astrologers react predictably to inconvenient truths 7m 2g
Why Astrology is a Science 2012. Definitely don't believe it! (book review) 4m 1g
Worlds Apart 1999. We experience how believers differ from scientists 2m 1g
Food. Drink. Health. Science.
Chocolate is Good for You 1998. The dietary news you wanted to hear 6m
Has Wine a Magnetic Personality? 2006. Our blind tests say No 8m 3g
Has Wine a Magnetic Personality? 2010. A repeat of our blind tests 3m 2g
IPCC's Abuse of Science 1 2012. Open letter (1) to Aus Chief Scientist Dec 2011 25m
IPCC's Abuse of Science 2 2012. Open letter (2): accusations, malpractice, lies 20m
IPCC's Abuse of Science 3 2018 update. What scientists are saying 20m 2g
Mythbuster TV Classics 2006. More entertainment than genuine science? 8m 5g
Prizes. Undeceiving Ourselves.
Attempts on the $A100,000 Prize 1995+. One serious. None successful 5m 2g
Before WA Skeptics Existed 1980. Active Perth group offered $1000 prize 3m 1g
Chariots Old Hat in New Age 1989. Erich von Daniken self-destructs 7m 2g
Enough to Make a Statue Weep 2002. But never ever genuine tears 10m
Message in a Bottle 2006. How to spoil a good story with facts 12m 2g
Psychic Surgery 1983. Believers were wowed by our fake demo 3m 1g
Rendezvous with a UFOlogist 1995. What we saw weren't UFOs 5m

Weird
Things
meet
Critical
Thinking

in action
around
the world


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Divining. Fortune-Telling. Psychology.
A Day at the Psychic Fair 2006. Rip-offs and the high cost of true belief 4m 2g
Astrology my passion, my life 2005. And my personal disaster. A true story 12m 9g
Cold Reading 2000. James Randi on how psychics like John Edward deceive 4m 1g
Divining for Water 1984. A look at field tests from around the world 10m 4g
Gerin Oil 2003. A timely warning from Richard Dawkins. Read it and despair 4m
I Can Smell Onions 2006. Psychics useless in 30 years of Search & Rescue 5m
I was a High-School Skeptic 2006. Encounters with a high-school Tarot reader 6m
Psychic for a Day 1998. After 24h of practice Kari Coleman was able to deceive 12m
Psychic on Demand 2003. Michael Shermer fakes 4 psychic techniques on TV 20m
Things You Won't Believe 1998. Actual ads. And error messages you will believe 2m
True Confessions 2003. How testing sun signs ruined my love life 1m 1g
Food. Drink. Health. Science.
Acupuncture 2008. Getting to the real point of it all 6m 1g
Kinetic Energy 2008. Why visiting alien spaceships are really impossible 10m 2g
Haricotes Flambes en Chien 1999. Dealing with believers. Don't try this at home 1m
Mindless Quantum 2007. Why some self-help gurus are off the planet 5m 2g
Oxygen is Good 2004. Even when it's not there. Oxy-based medical scams 10m
Planting by the Moon 2005. A professional gardener tests a persistent myth 8m 1g
Red Alert The terrible secrets of carrots, bread, and dihydrogen monoxide 2m
Prizes. Undeceiving Ourselves.
Can you Detect Hoaxes? 2002. Test yourself. Discover why it's not easy 5m
Cereal Killers 2002. Going round in corn circles for fun and profit 4m 2g
Critical Thinking 2006. Making it popular at uni. Yes it does change false beliefs 5m
Million Dollar Prize 2005. James Randi on the strange people who try for it 25m 1g
Scourge of the Godmen 1993. One man's fight in India against deception 5m 1g
Stop the Noise! 2010. Why skepticism matters 6m 1g
Teaching Pigs to Sing 2006. How I failed to bring sense to true believers 12m 1g
The $110,000 Dowsing Challenge 1984. James Randi on why it failed 7m 2g
Undeceiving Ourselves 2007. How our thinking goes astray. With remedies 15m 6g
Fiction. Salutory Stories.
Atlantis Falcon 1989. By Raymond Channeller. Cool spoof. It's fiction, babe 10m
Karma, Dharma, Pudding and Pie 1998. Five short poems for pagan skeptics 1m
Science of Santa Claus 1994. Warning: For adults only 3m 1g

About WA
Skeptics


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Contact and Meeting Details We meet in Shenton Park 15m 17g
Go with Australian Skeptics History, magazine, philosophy, $100,000 prize 3m 3g
History of WA Skeptics 1980-1995. Events, investigations, pictures 6m 7g
News James Randi's visit to Perth 3 December 2014 1m 2g
Skeptics in the Pub A Perth group for thinking and drinking 1m 2g
Visitor and Article Statistics Latest figures for 2018 7m 3g
Articles appear on this site with permission of copyright owners
Site began November 2007. Last update January 2019