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Mark Hoofnagle has a MD and PhD in physiology from the University of Virginia, and is now a general surgery resident. His interest in denialism concerns the use of denialist tactics to confuse public understanding of scientific knowledge.
Chris Hoofnagle is a recovering Washington, DC lawyer and information privacy law expert at UC-Berkeley Law School. Denialism became apparent to him while working on consumer protection laws in Washington. The Denialists' Deck of Cards is essentially a how-to guide for being an industry lobbyist.
PalMD is a practicing internist in the Midwestern United States. Aside from the great joy he finds in his family and his work, he likes communicating some of that joy to others. He has a special interest in the ways patients---and we are all patients at one time or another---are deceived by charlatans. He aims to change the world, one reader at a time. Previous writings can still be found here.
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Category: Denialism
It's good news though! A description of the tactics and appropriate response to denialism was published in the European Journal of Public Health by authors Pascal Diethelm and Martin McKee. It's entitled "Denialism: what is it and how should scientists respond?"
Posted by MarkH at 7:05 AM • 16 Comments •
Category: Cranks
Who wants to know how to be an effective crank? Well, I've outlined what I think are the critical components...
Posted by MarkH at 10:10 AM • 42 Comments •
Category: Logical Fallacies
Almost everybody knows about the fallacies of logic, formal and informal, that are routinely used in arguments with denialists. While these fallacies aren't perfect examples of logic that show when an argument is always wrong, they are good rules of thumb to tell when you're listening to bunk, and if you listen to denialists you'll hear plenty. The problem comes when the denialists get a hold of the fallacies then accuse you, usually, of ad hominem! It goes like this...
Posted by MarkH at 8:00 AM • 13 Comments •
Category: Impossible Expectations
I'm sorry for mixing terminologies. But moving goalposts isn't adequate to describe the full hilarity of the kinds of arguments denialists make. For instance, the goalposts never have to be moved when they require evidence that places them somewhere in the land before time. What I mean is the use, by denialists, of the absence of complete and absolute knowledge of a subject to prevent implementation of sound policies, or acceptance of an idea or a theory. So while moving goalposts describes a way of continuing to avoid acceptance of a theory after scientists have obligingly provided additional evidence that was a stated requirement for belief, impossible expectations describes a way to make it impossible for scientists to ever prove anything to the satisfaction of the denialist. They're related though so we'll talk about both.
Posted by MarkH at 8:00 AM • 18 Comments •
Category: Fake Experts
You know who they are - those organizations that have words like "freedom" and "rights" "choice" and "consumer" in their names but always shill for corporate interests...those occasional MDs or engineers creationists find that will say evolution has nothing to do with science. They are the fake experts. But how do we tell which experts are fake and which are real?
Posted by MarkH at 8:00 AM • 14 Comments •
Category: Denialism Defined
For our next installment of the big five tactics in denialism we'll discuss the tactic of selectivity, or cherry-picking of data.
Posted by MarkH at 8:00 AM • 11 Comments •
Category: Cranks
A crank is defined as a man who cannot be turned. - Nature, 8 Nov 1906 Here at denialism blog, we're very interested in what makes people cranks. Not only how one defines crankish behavior, but literally how people develop unreasonable attitudes about the world in the face of evidence to the contrary. Our definition of a crank, loosely, is a person who has unreasonable ideas about established science or facts that will not relent in defending their own, often laughable, version of the truth. Central to the crank is the "overvalued idea". That is some idea they've incorporated into their world view that they will not relinquish for any reason. Common overvalued ideas that are a source of crankery range from bigotry, antisemitism(holocaust deniers), biblical literalism (creationists - especially YEC's), egotism (as it relates to the complete unwillingness to ever be proven wrong) or an indiscriminant obsession with possessing "controversial" or iconoclastic ideas. Some people just love believing in things that no one in their right mind does, out of some obscure idea that it makes them seem smart or different.
Posted by MarkH at 11:00 AM • 47 Comments •
Category: Conspiracies
Three can keep a secret if two are dead. -Benjamin Franklin What are conspiracy theories and why should people be instantly distrustful of them? And what do they have to do with denialism?
Posted by MarkH at 8:00 AM • 64 Comments •
Category: General Discussion
Hello and welcome to denialism blog. Here we will discuss the problem of denialists, their standard arguing techniques, how to identify denialists and/or cranks, and discuss topics of general interest such as skepticism, medicine, law and science. I'll be taking on denialists in the sciences, while my brother, Chris, will be geared more towards the legal and policy implications of industry groups using denialist arguments to prevent sound policies.
Posted by MarkH at 7:30 AM • 73 Comments •
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