NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Twelve Questions with Vicki Hyde

NZ Herald
19 Dec, 2012 04:30 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Vicki Hyde says she believes 'there is life out there in the universe'. Photo / Supplied

Vicki Hyde says she believes 'there is life out there in the universe'. Photo / Supplied

It's the end of the world tomorrow, according to the Mayan calendar. Vicki Hyde, spokeswoman for the NZ Skeptics Society ponders what it all means and what she'd take to the bunker.

1. How's your post-December 21 strategy - do you have a cunning plan; a place to hide?

Considering I did, in the past two years, survive comet impacts, the rapture, asteroid fly-bys, an alien invasion, a super volcano eruption - because Yellowstone is about to go any day - and a global tsunami, I think it's business as usual. One strategy I do have sorted, in the event of a natural disaster, is a post-Armageddon survival kit which will last me three weeks instead of the three days Civil Defence recommends.

2. In the event of Planet X crashing into Earth, what would be on your list of essentials - your must-haves for the aftermath?

If the planet hits us then it'll be all over. I won't need anything. But I would really like to see the aliens. I've always wanted to see them. I'd stick a landing pad out for them. For any survivors in Christchurch a really handy trading tool would be Marmite.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

3. What would be the upside for you, if the world were in fact to end tomorrow?

The demise of reality television and Fox TV. I'm worried that with the slowly expanding broadcasts flowing out into the galaxy, our kudos and credibility will be seriously damaged. Intelligent life? Go figure.

4. If you were to believe in something you can't explain by science - to make one concession to something "out there"- what would it be?

I will confess to an unsupported belief that somewhere out there in the universe, there is life - any card-carrying sceptic will agree. We have no evidence but we're looking for it.

5. What is the danger of apocalyptic prophecies? What effects do such proclamations have once we get beyond the joke-factor?

The problem, as we've seen in the past, is that people quit jobs, sell houses, uproot their families and euthanise their pets. There have been suicides based on apocalyptic prophecies. It goes back to the 1800s and probably before that. There's a great website called whatstheharm.net which tracks media stories on the effects of such prophecies.

Discover more

New Zealand

Ending the world on a high

08 Dec 04:30 PM
New Zealand

How to survive doomsday

13 Dec 04:30 PM
Opinion

Jack Tame: We're all headed for the big blender in the sky

15 Dec 04:30 PM
Opinion

Rhys Darby: Poetry and thoughts for the end of the world

16 Dec 04:30 PM

When we had 12.12.12 someone carved a pentagram into the back of a 6-year-old. We might laugh but there are negative outcomes: 50,000 people left Christchurch with Ken Ring's earthquake predictions.

6. How did the small Vicki Hyde view the world - in a sceptical way? When did your scepticism manifest?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I was naturally curious and I read a lot. When I was 14, I went to see Erich von Daniken give a talk on ancient astronauts. I had a bent for science. I loved Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection, which is lyrical and inspirational science. It was evocative and passionate and a reminder that science doesn't have to be po-faced or dull. I once did a scale model of the solar system in my bedroom. I had the earth at about 1mm and the sun at 12cm but when I went to do Betelgeuse, a red giant star in the constellation of Orion, I realised I needed a 98m wall.

7. If the world should be thinking of one thing right now, other than its end, what should that be?

Attainable and evidence-based solutions to our environmental issues like global warming. And socially? How to reduce the pay gap so that people can have a stake in their own communities and countries which would give them more control. That would provide a faster way to world peace.

8. In general, non-apocalyptic paranoid terms, where do you like to escape to? Where's your bolt-hole, far from the madding crowd?

I'd really like to live up on Deer Park Heights [Queenstown]. Up there you see the Remarkables one way and the lake to the south. You can watch the planes fly in below you. When you're there, you think - and I think any Kiwi would think - that's us. There's something about that particular mountain range.

9. What tests your scepticism?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I guess sceptics are optimistic that if you give people critical thinking tools they'll think rationally, but I'm not sure that's right. Mark Twain said you cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place.

10. When are you sceptical about your scepticism?

It's hard as a parent. I've had a daughter have brain surgery. You have to stand there and ask, what is the best information we have? What are the other possibilities? We see that now with the cause celebre - the mother who refuses to let her child have radiotherapy. I can understand. There's nothing more voluble than a parent with a sick child. No one wants radiotherapy or chemotherapy. But we do know they work. We know that by doing it, observing it in a controlled environment. Scientific method and critical thinking are the gold standard - its not a whisper, or a prayer or an ad hoc explanation.

11. What abiding wisdom do you hold dear?

There is a golden rule, and the basis of all philosophies and religions, and it's from Shakespeare. Love all, trust a few and harm none.

12. When you look back on 2012, for what are you grateful?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I'm really happy we've had a reduction in earthquakes. It's been hard living here {Christchurch], as a person, as a parent and as a science commentator. We've lost our supermarket, our library ... I'm grateful we haven't heard a peep out of Ken Ring.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, sparking surface flooding

09 May 05:38 AM
Crime

Avondale man accused of murdering partner loses name suppression

09 May 05:38 AM
New Zealand

First stage of Tarawera sewerage scheme complete

09 May 05:17 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, sparking surface flooding

Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, sparking surface flooding

09 May 05:38 AM

Motorists are being warned to expect hazardous driving conditions.

Avondale man accused of murdering partner loses name suppression

Avondale man accused of murdering partner loses name suppression

09 May 05:38 AM
First stage of Tarawera sewerage scheme complete

First stage of Tarawera sewerage scheme complete

09 May 05:17 AM
'Held together by wire': Mechanic's quick-fix on broken fire truck labelled 'Kiwi ingenuity'

'Held together by wire': Mechanic's quick-fix on broken fire truck labelled 'Kiwi ingenuity'

09 May 05:06 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP