Respectful Insolence
Archives for December, 2006
Worst argument ever?
Posted by Orac on December 31, 2006 The host of next week’s Skeptics’ Circle asks: What’s the worst argument you can think of? I think it’s as good a question to close 2006 up with as any, and certainly there have been a lot of really bad arguments used during the last year. Perhaps if we air some of them, we can…
Orac’s favorite tunes from 2006
Posted by Orac on December 31, 2006 One of the great things about blogging is that I can do things that I always wanted to do but would never get hired in a million years to do, for example, to be a rock critic. Prior to blogging, the only time I ever got to indulge my critic wannabe side was in high…
More rebuttals of HIV/AIDS “skeptics”
Posted by Orac on December 30, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
An HIV/AIDS “skeptic” questions my honesty and decency…
Posted by Orac on December 30, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Back in the saddle again…
Posted by Orac on December 30, 2006 Yes, after a week off, both from work and (mostly) from blogging, I’m back. I know I promised the occasional new material, but I found that not blogging for a week was actually a good thing and thus didn’t post anything new after Christmas. Even though I’m back, though, I’m taking one more day off…
The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt, Part 2
Posted by Orac on December 30, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
The first Skeptics’ Circle of the New Year
Posted by Orac on December 29, 2006 New Years Day is almost upon us, and soon 2006 will be history. It’s been a great year for the Skeptics’ Circle, with some truly creative and entertaining takes on what, nearing the end of its second year of existence, has become almost a venerable institution. (Two years is almost ancient by the standards of…
The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt
Posted by Orac on December 29, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Your Friday Dose of Woo: Created by a schoolteacher, so it must work! (from the vaults)
Posted by Orac on December 29, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Dr. Buttar has a new protocol
Posted by Orac on December 28, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
An unexpected analogy
Posted by Orac on December 28, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
A death in the family
Posted by Orac on December 28, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
The Virgin Mary appears
Posted by Orac on December 27, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Orac applies some Respectful Insolence™ to a comment spammer
Posted by Orac on December 27, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
A particularly egregious misrepresentation of a study
Posted by Orac on December 27, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
A most uncomfortable question
Posted by Orac on December 27, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
A field guide to biomedical meeting creatures, part 2: Poster time!
Posted by Orac on December 27, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
What is “ethnoscience”?
Posted by Orac on December 26, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
A field guide to biomedical meeting creatures, part 1: Any questions?
Posted by Orac on December 26, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
If you think it’s just about mercury in vaccines, you’re wrong
Posted by Orac on December 26, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Why do intelligent people use alternative medicine?
Posted by Orac on December 26, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Kids and Santa
Posted by Orac on December 25, 2006 I posted this once before a long time ago, but since no one was reading my blog then, I figured I’d post it again. You know, nothing says Christmas like kids sitting on Santa’s lap asking for presents. Too bad some kids are scared of Santa. You know, there are some pathetic Santas in that…
Happy Holidays!
Posted by Orac on December 25, 2006 I’d just like to take this time to wish everyone out there Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hannukah, and all the rest. And our blog mascot wants to show he’s in the spirit as well: Here’s hoping you’re having fun with family and friends!
A politically correct holiday greetings
Posted by Orac on December 24, 2006 Found on the Internets via e-mail: With with the holidays fast approaching, please accept — with no obligation, implied or implicit, on behalf of the wisher or wishee — my best wishes for an environmentally-conscious, socially-responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice, practiced within the traditions and/or within the religious or secular belief(s)…
What a wonderful gift for Christmas
Posted by Orac on December 24, 2006 This one’s too good for me to ignore even on vacation. It’s the perfect gift for the skeptical. Remember the Friday Dose of Woo in which I had a little fun with the whole concept of trepanning (drilling a hole in your head to “improve blood flow”)? Well guess what? The trepanation guy (Randall W.…