Digital Skepticism from Down Under - Audiovisual Review

The Great Skeptic CD, Australian Skeptics, Inc. $36.

It's fairly evident from visiting the online home of the Australian Skeptics (www.skeptics.com.au) that they're quite a clever bunch on the technological front, keeping pace with all the latest trends and developments. The Web site is a joy to navigate and the content is rich in educational value. Readers of their flagship journal The Skeptic are equally satisfied with the high quality of content provided in print format. Sadly, people up over may not be aware of the greatness to be found down under so here we are to tell you about it....

The latest offering from the Australian Skeptics is a fabulous interactive compact disk which contains twenty years of content from The Skeptic magazine and additional treats for the inquiring mind. The CD is surprisingly easy to upload and is accessible to both PC and Macintosh users. The content is global in its reach and applicability.

Upon placing the disk into your CD drive a user-friendly interface pops up onto the screen, asking you to choose one of three options: start, browse, or exit. By pressing start, you bring up the interactive content of the CD via Acrobat Reader and are provided with a navigation bar to jump between sections, peruse the index, get instructions, and more. Two of the leading men on the Australian skeptic scene, Barry Williams and Richard Saunders, introduce you to the organization and answer a few of the questions you may have about the resource you are about to dip into.

The CD is fully searchable by word or phrase and you can read entire issues--from 1981 to 2000--via the Quick Index. It is an immense amount of content on a long and fascinating list of subjects--there is over 4,000 pages of amazing stuff!.

With each issue you have a detailed table of contents to the left of the screen allowing you to access whatever topic interests you most. Cover art and the photos and illustrations from the magazine are also included. Bits and pieces from television programs are reproduced with astonishing clarity. Even the crossword puzzles are there.

But that's not all. It also includes two excellent publications, Creationism: An Australian Perspective and a dictionary of skeptical topics entitled Skeptical. The only thing missing is Barry Williams on the merits of cricket.

This CD is truly a goldmine, a comprehensive reference tool for educators, students, researchers, and journalists, an extensive resource on all subject matter worthy of the skeptical eye, and a fabulously entertaining and enjoyable production to pass the time with. Just follow the yellow brick road!

Interested readers may purchase the CD through the Australian Skeptics: online via www.skeptics.com.au; by email: contact@skeptics.com.au; or by mail at Australian Skeptics, PO Box 268, Roseville NSW 2069, Australia.

Amanda Chesworth is educational director for CSICOP and directs the Inquiring Minds program at www.inquiringminds.org.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
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