"A statement of fact cannot be insolent." The miscellaneous ramblings of a surgeon/scientist on medicine,
quackery, science, pseudoscience, history, and pseudohistory (and anything else that interests him)
Orac is the nom de blog of a humble pseudonymous surgeon/scientist with an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his miscellaneous verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few will. (Continued here, along with a DISCLAIMER that you should read before reading any medical discussions here.)
Orac's old Blog is archived at Archived Insolence.
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July 31, 2006
Category: Skepticism/critical thinking • Skeptics' Circle
Hard as it is to believe, the time is fast approaching for yet another edition of the Skeptics' Circle. Even though it's set to appear this Thursday, August 3, fortunately there's still time for skeptical bloggers to get their entries...
Posted by Orac at 1:16 PM •
Category: Alternative medicine • Cancer • Hitler Zombie • Quackery
In the quiet and still of the crypt, something stirred. It was barely perceptible at first, but became more definite. It lived again. In the depths of what remained of its mind, only sheer instinct prevailed. It had fed long...
Posted by Orac at 8:16 AM • 11 Comments
July 30, 2006
Category: Anti-Semitism • History • Holocaust denial
I've written before about Hutton Gibson (Mel Gibson's father) and serious crank, conspiracy theorist and proud Holocaust denier. I even speculated, based on Mel's cagey answers to direct questions about the Holocaust, speculating about whether he shares some of Hutton's...
Posted by Orac at 10:16 AM • 33 Comments
July 29, 2006
Via Dr. Flea, I find this rather amusing cartoon: Dr. Id, written by Michelle, who, it turns out, was also responsible for the 12 Types of Med Students and a fairly spot-on portrayal of a medical student's surgery rotation. Dr....
Posted by Orac at 1:31 PM • 1 Comments
Category: Entertainment/culture • Humor • Music
You know, although I'm not exactly a huge fan of it, I have sometimes in the past liked to listen to a little dose (but just a little) dose of death metal. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for some...
Posted by Orac at 11:20 AM • 7 Comments
July 28, 2006
Category: Alternative medicine • Friday Woo • Medicine • Pseudoscience • Quackery • Skepticism/critical thinking
I have to apologize for last week's Dose of Woo. No, I'm not apologizing for the subject matter (the obsession that reigns supreme among some alties with "cleansing" one's colon to "purge toxins" and achieve the super-regularity of several bowel...
Posted by Orac at 8:31 AM • 30 Comments
Category: Alternative medicine • Medicine • Quackery
It's not your Friday Dose of Woo yet, but fear not. You'll get your weekly dose of woo in due course. Kevin Trudeau is arguably the most prominent snakeoil salesmen of our time. I've leafed through his first book, Natural...
Posted by Orac at 3:16 AM • 3 Comments
July 27, 2006
Category: Blog carnivals • Grand Rounds • Medicine
The latest edition of the blog carnival for nursing, Change of Shift no. 3, has been posted at Emergiblog....
Posted by Orac at 1:03 PM •
Category: Alternative medicine • Cancer • Medicine • Politics • Quackery
I hadn't intended to mention this case again for a while, but an article in Stats.org brought up a point that, although I had somewhat alluded to it, I hadn't really explicitly addressed. It has nothing to do with the...
Posted by Orac at 8:16 AM • 49 Comments
Category: Anti-Semitism • History • Holocaust • Holocaust denial
Enjoy, as blog comrade and fellow traveler in the fight against Holocaust denial Andrew Mathis shows us how it's done when Holocaust denier Michael Collins Piper writes to threaten to sue him for libel. Andrew asks: Michael Collins Piper: Filthy...
Posted by Orac at 3:01 AM • 10 Comments
July 26, 2006
Category: Humor • Science fiction/fantasy
When you don't have time to write something substantive, what do you do? Post YouTubes videos, of course! Sadly, I can almost relate to this one (after all, thanks to BitTorrent, I have now seen all of the episodes from...
Posted by Orac at 11:31 AM • 4 Comments
Category: Alternative medicine • Autism • Medicine • Quackery
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to write much for today. Fortunately, this gives me the perfect opportunity to remedy a situation in which I've been remiss. As you know, Kathleen Seidel has been tirelessly exposing the dubious science promoted by...
Posted by Orac at 8:16 AM • 5 Comments
July 25, 2006
Category: Blog carnivals • Grand Rounds • Medicine
...has been posted at Medical Humanities. Enjoy the best medical blogging from the past week....
Posted by Orac at 12:31 PM • 0 Comments
Category: Evolution • Intelligent design/creationism • Pseudoscience • Science • Skepticism/critical thinking
Alright, now they've gone too far. I thought I'd seen every specious and fallacious argument and example that creationists could throw out there to annoy scientists and be gobbled up by the credulous, but I was wrong. They're muscling in...
Posted by Orac at 8:31 AM • 20 Comments
Category: Alternative medicine • Medicine • Quackery
From the AP: NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- A 16-year-old cancer patient was headed to court Tuesday with his lawyers to try to block a judge's order requiring him to report to a hospital the same day for treatment as doctors...
Posted by Orac at 7:01 AM • 15 Comments
July 24, 2006
Category: Blog carnivals • Politics • RINO Sightings
....are up at The World According to Nick....
Posted by Orac at 1:16 PM •
