About Us
Wanaka Critical Thinkers are an informal and friendly group of like-minded people. We prefer to use reason and science to obtain our conclusions and beliefs, rather than believing whatever may be comforting or convenient.
One of our aims is to promote science and critical thinking within the local community. We would like to raise awareness and encourage questioning of practices and beliefs which may not be backed by strong scientific evidence.
We initially called ourselves ‘Wanaka Skeptics’ but changed to Wanaka Critical Thinkers due to the popular misconception that skeptics are people who disbelieve things. Instead, we prefer the true meaning of scepticism: the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity.
About Us
Wanaka Critical Thinkers are an informal and friendly group of like-minded people. We prefer to use reason and science to obtain our conclusions and beliefs, rather than believing whatever may be comforting or convenient.
One of our aims is to promote science and critical thinking within the local community. We would like to raise awareness and encourage questioning of practices and beliefs which may not be backed by strong scientific evidence.
We initially called ourselves ‘Wanaka Skeptics’ but changed to Wanaka Critical Thinkers due to the popular misconception that skeptics are people who disbelieve things. Instead, we prefer the true meaning of scepticism: the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity.
Our Purpose
WHAT DO WE DO?
We are a new group (set up 2018) so our goals and identity are still evolving. These are some of our initial ideas:
- Raise awareness of critical thinking, what it is, how to do it, and why it is vitally important.
- Guide people towards quality studies so they can base their beliefs and conclusions on valid evidence.
- Grow trust and improve understanding of the scientific method. Raise awareness of how evidence can be obtained through well designed, peer reviewed scientific studies.
- Gather and present unbiased information from reliable studies on topics that are controversial in the community. (This may include items such as water chlorination and vaccination).
- Encourage questions within the community.
- Question the promotion of unscientific ideas and practices within the community. (An example is arguing against using community facilities such as the Hawea Community Center to show the the Vaxxed movie).
2019 discussion program
- Wilding Pines – what are the problems and possible benefits of these trees (February)
- 1080 – closed meeting just for established members (March)
- Glyphosate (Roundup) – Jury vs science (April)
- The Ethics around Artificial Intelligence (May)
- Logical and rhetorical fallacies (June)
- Sustainable tourism – how many is too many (July)
- Electromagnetic fields, cell towers and 5G (August)
- Cold/hot reading and other techniques commonly used by psychics and mentalists (September)
- GMOs (October)
- Resistance in parasites and microbes (November)
Meetings are (usually) on: Second Sunday of each month, 7pm. Location varies. Please get in touch with us to find out more.
NZ Skeptics Conference, 29 Nov-31 Dec 2019, Christchurch NZ
Resources
Websites
Where to find original studies, well-referenced reviews or useful information.
- Google Scholar – Index of freely available scholarly literature.
- Rhetological Fallacies – A list of errors and manipulation of logical thinking
Related Organisations
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Get in Touch
Interested?
We try to meet up at least once a month. We encourage critical thinking, enjoy challenging discussions, and welcome humour.
Send us a message if you would like to join us.
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