Barry Justyn Williams (10 November 1938 – 20 January 2018) was a skeptic and writer, who was the president of the Australian Skeptics from 1986 until 1997. In 1997 he became the first paid Australian skeptic when he took on the role of Executive Officer of the Australian Skeptics. He was involved in many investigations of paranormal claims and the editor of The Skeptic magazine for 18 years. Williams was often called on by Australian media outlets for comments relating to paranormal claims.
Williams served as Vice President of the North Sydney federal electorate conference for the Liberal Party. In 1979 he was part of an investigation of Dr. Paul Solomon, a candidate who had been pre-selected for the federal seat of North Sydney, who had made false claims in his pre-selection dossier.[1]
After several heart operations, Williams died on 20 January 2018, at the age of 79.[3]
Skeptical activismedit
Williams first realised that he was a skeptic when he read Chariots of the Gods?; he thought it was fascinating, until he read to the section about the pyramids. He is quoted as saying about the section "This is tripe".[4] He later heard Dick Smith say in an interview that things like UFOs needed to be challenged; he wrote to Smith and said that if he got anything off the ground he was interested. Until then Williams thought that he was the only person who believed that such things did not exist.[4] In 1980, Williams formed the New South Wales branch of the Australian Skeptics. In 1986, the head office of the Australian Skeptics moved to Sydney and Williams served as their president until 1996. In 1990, Williams took up the role of editor of The Skeptic magazine, and remained in that role for 18 years.[5][3]
In 1995, the Australian Skeptics received a bequest which enabled them to create the position of executive officer. Williams relinquished his position of president and took up the full time position of executive officer in 1997, becoming the first paid employee of the Australian Skeptics.[2]
During his time as president and executive officer of the Australian Skeptics, Williams appeared in various media outlets and became the face of Skepticism in Australia.[3] He was often called on for comment about psychics,[6] UFOs,[7] ghosts,[8]new age beliefs,[9]creationism,[10] and the "energy polariser" of racing driver Peter Brock.[11]
In 1993 Williams successfully "predicted" the winner of the Australian Federal election. He said that "the winner would have a campaign manager whose name had four letters, the second letter being "o" and the last two letters being identical." The Labor Party won the election under campaign manager Bob Hogg. Williams claimed a "double whammy" when, in 1996 the Liberal Party won the election under campaign manager Andrew Robb.[12]
While editor of The Skeptic, Williams contributed to every edition of the magazine not only in an editorial role, but also a writer and investigator. His investigation "UFO was IPO"[13] was cited in Martin Bridgstock's book Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal and described as a "rather elegant example" of using "scientific knowledge to explain paranormal phenomena".[14]
Williams was a cricket fanatic and he wrote a piece on the "Devil's number, 87" in Australian cricket which was first published in the Australian Skeptic in 1993 and re-printed the Skeptic in March 2012.[15] The piece was published in The Best Ever Australian Sports Writing: a 200 year collection.[16]
In August 2018 the Australian Skeptics announced they would be presenting The Barry Williams Award for Skeptical Journalism in Williams' honour. The award recognises "the best piece of journalism (in any medium) that takes a critical and skeptical approach to a topic" within the scope of the Australian Skeptics, and has been nicknamed the Wallaby, after the nom-de-plume "Sir Jim R Wallaby" used by Williams in some of his more whimsical writing. The award carries a citation and a $AU2000 prize.[17]
^"Liberal president traces steps in Solomon row". the Sydney Morning Herald. 27 October 1979. p. 27. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via newspapers.com.
^ abWilliams, Barry (Summer 1996). "Time for a change" (PDF). The Skeptic. Vol. 16, no. 4. ISSN 0726-9897. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^ abcMendham, Tim (21 January 2018). "Vale – Barry Williams". skeptics.com.au. from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
^Edwards, Harry (Spring 1994). "A Mighty Oak from a Tiny Acorn Grew: A Brief History of the Australian Skeptics" (PDF). The Skeptic. Vol. 14, no. 3. ISSN 0726-9897. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^Delvecchio, Julie (18 August 1994). "Your future in their hands". the Sydney Morning Herald. p. 13. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018 – via newspapers.com.
^McKnight, David; Sandilands, Ben (1 February 1986). "One light means hope for UFO believers". the Sydney Morning Herald. p. 15. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018 – via newspapers.com.
^McArthur, Jacqueline (12 July 1998). "Ghosts busted by boffins". the Sydney Morning Herald. p. 13. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018 – via newspapers.com.
^Dayton, Leigh (18 January 1994). "Believers log on for a cosmic cuddle". the Sydney Morning Herald. p. 4. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via newspapers.com.
^Roberts, Greg (12 May 1984). "Some Queensland schools teach Genesis as fact". the Sydney Morning Herald. p. 6. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
^Robertson, David (19 February 1987). "Holden's, Brock fall out over energy box". the Sydney Morning Herald (Late ed.). p. 3. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via newspapers.com.
^Williams, Barry (March 2012). "Unfounded fears of the flannelled fools" (PDF). The Skeptic. Vol. 32, no. 1. Australia. pp. 44–48. ISSN 0726-9897. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
^David Headon, ed. (2001). The Best Ever Australian Sports Writing: a 200 year collection. Melbourne: Black, Inc. (published 1 August 2001). p. 131. ISBN9781863952668.
^Mendham, Tim (20 August 2018). "Skeptics award for critical thinking in journalism – Nominations open". skeptics.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
External linksedit
Australian Skeptics
May 03, 2024
barry, williams, skeptic, barry, justyn, williams, november, 1938, january, 2018, skeptic, writer, president, australian, skeptics, from, 1986, until, 1997, 1997, became, first, paid, australian, skeptic, when, took, role, executive, officer, australian, skept. Barry Justyn Williams 10 November 1938 20 January 2018 was a skeptic and writer who was the president of the Australian Skeptics from 1986 until 1997 In 1997 he became the first paid Australian skeptic when he took on the role of Executive Officer of the Australian Skeptics He was involved in many investigations of paranormal claims and the editor of The Skeptic magazine for 18 years Williams was often called on by Australian media outlets for comments relating to paranormal claims Barry WilliamsBarry Williams speaking at an Australian Skeptics conference in the 2000sBorn 1938 11 10 10 November 1938Died20 January 2018 2018 01 20 aged 79 NationalityAustralianKnown forSkeptical activism Barry Williams in 2011 Contents 1 Life and career 2 Skeptical activism 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksLife and career editWilliams joined the Royal Australian Air Force RAAF and served in various places including Butterworth and Williamtown After leaving the RAAF Williams worked for the US Department of Commerce in Sydney in sales and as an exhibition manager Williams served as Vice President of the North Sydney federal electorate conference for the Liberal Party In 1979 he was part of an investigation of Dr Paul Solomon a candidate who had been pre selected for the federal seat of North Sydney who had made false claims in his pre selection dossier 1 In 1995 Williams became the first Executive Officer of the Australian Skeptics 2 After several heart operations Williams died on 20 January 2018 at the age of 79 3 Skeptical activism editWilliams first realised that he was a skeptic when he read Chariots of the Gods he thought it was fascinating until he read to the section about the pyramids He is quoted as saying about the section This is tripe 4 He later heard Dick Smith say in an interview that things like UFOs needed to be challenged he wrote to Smith and said that if he got anything off the ground he was interested Until then Williams thought that he was the only person who believed that such things did not exist 4 In 1980 Williams formed the New South Wales branch of the Australian Skeptics In 1986 the head office of the Australian Skeptics moved to Sydney and Williams served as their president until 1996 In 1990 Williams took up the role of editor of The Skeptic magazine and remained in that role for 18 years 5 3 In 1995 the Australian Skeptics received a bequest which enabled them to create the position of executive officer Williams relinquished his position of president and took up the full time position of executive officer in 1997 becoming the first paid employee of the Australian Skeptics 2 During his time as president and executive officer of the Australian Skeptics Williams appeared in various media outlets and became the face of Skepticism in Australia 3 He was often called on for comment about psychics 6 UFOs 7 ghosts 8 new age beliefs 9 creationism 10 and the energy polariser of racing driver Peter Brock 11 In 1993 Williams successfully predicted the winner of the Australian Federal election He said that the winner would have a campaign manager whose name had four letters the second letter being o and the last two letters being identical The Labor Party won the election under campaign manager Bob Hogg Williams claimed a double whammy when in 1996 the Liberal Party won the election under campaign manager Andrew Robb 12 While editor of The Skeptic Williams contributed to every edition of the magazine not only in an editorial role but also a writer and investigator His investigation UFO was IPO 13 was cited in Martin Bridgstock s book Beyond Belief Skepticism Science and the Paranormal and described as a rather elegant example of using scientific knowledge to explain paranormal phenomena 14 Williams was a cricket fanatic and he wrote a piece on the Devil s number 87 in Australian cricket which was first published in the Australian Skeptic in 1993 and re printed the Skeptic in March 2012 15 The piece was published in The Best Ever Australian Sports Writing a 200 year collection 16 In August 2018 the Australian Skeptics announced they would be presenting The Barry Williams Award for Skeptical Journalism in Williams honour The award recognises the best piece of journalism in any medium that takes a critical and skeptical approach to a topic within the scope of the Australian Skeptics and has been nicknamed the Wallaby after the nom de plume Sir Jim R Wallaby used by Williams in some of his more whimsical writing The award carries a citation and a AU2000 prize 17 See also editAustralian SkepticsReferences edit Liberal president traces steps in Solomon row the Sydney Morning Herald 27 October 1979 p 27 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 9 September 2018 via newspapers com a b Williams Barry Summer 1996 Time for a change PDF The Skeptic Vol 16 no 4 ISSN 0726 9897 Retrieved 10 October 2018 a b c Mendham Tim 21 January 2018 Vale Barry Williams skeptics com au Archived from the original on 13 March 2018 Retrieved 16 July 2018 a b Cockerill Ian 13 August 1987 Its fun to shoot down UFOs and con men the Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 16 July 2018 via newspapers com Edwards Harry Spring 1994 A Mighty Oak from a Tiny Acorn Grew A Brief History of the Australian Skeptics PDF The Skeptic Vol 14 no 3 ISSN 0726 9897 Retrieved 10 October 2018 Delvecchio Julie 18 August 1994 Your future in their hands the Sydney Morning Herald p 13 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 1 October 2018 via newspapers com McKnight David Sandilands Ben 1 February 1986 One light means hope for UFO believers the Sydney Morning Herald p 15 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 1 October 2018 via newspapers com McArthur Jacqueline 12 July 1998 Ghosts busted by boffins the Sydney Morning Herald p 13 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 1 October 2018 via newspapers com Dayton Leigh 18 January 1994 Believers log on for a cosmic cuddle the Sydney Morning Herald p 4 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 9 September 2018 via newspapers com Roberts Greg 12 May 1984 Some Queensland schools teach Genesis as fact the Sydney Morning Herald p 6 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 9 September 2018 Robertson David 19 February 1987 Holden s Brock fall out over energy box the Sydney Morning Herald Late ed p 3 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 9 September 2018 via newspapers com Column 8 the Sydney Morning Herald 17 June 1996 p 1 Archived from the original on 1 October 2018 Retrieved 11 October 2018 via newspapers com Williams Barry Autumn 1993 UFO was IPO PDF The Skeptic Vol 13 no 1 Retrieved 11 October 2018 Bridgstock Martin 2009 Beyond Belief Skepticism Science and the Paranormal Cambridge University Press published October 2009 p 98 ISBN 9780521758932 Williams Barry March 2012 Unfounded fears of the flannelled fools PDF The Skeptic Vol 32 no 1 Australia pp 44 48 ISSN 0726 9897 Retrieved 16 July 2018 David Headon ed 2001 The Best Ever Australian Sports Writing a 200 year collection Melbourne Black Inc published 1 August 2001 p 131 ISBN 9781863952668 Mendham Tim 20 August 2018 Skeptics award for critical thinking in journalism Nominations open skeptics com au Archived from the original on 25 October 2018 Retrieved 26 October 2018 External links editAustralian Skeptics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barry Williams skeptic amp oldid 1112536875, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
