"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 (not so) 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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June 30, 2008
Category: Humor • Politics • Science fiction/fantasy
I realize my post earlier today was a bit of a downer, but what can I say? Lately, there doesn't seem to be much good news on the ever-growing front in the war against quackery. However, in researching that piece...
Posted by Orac at 5:05 PM • 6 Comments
Category: Alternative medicine • Medicine • Quackery
Science is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. Your culture will adapt to service CAM.
Posted by Orac at 9:00 AM • 32 Comments
June 29, 2008
Category: Announcements • Blog carnivals • Skeptics' Circle
Lest I forget my obligations here, I have to post a reminder that the 90th Edition of the Skeptics' Circle is fast approaching and will be here on Thursday, July 3. In fact, because it's being hosted by prominent Australian...
Posted by Orac at 12:23 PM • 4 Comments
Category: Blogging • Medicine • Surgery
Surgeonsblog turns out the lights.
Posted by Orac at 10:00 AM • 11 Comments
June 28, 2008
Category: Alternative medicine • Humor • Medicine • Politics • Quackery
Apparently there's a chiropracter named Billy Sticker running for President. His platform: My platform: To increase your patient count by 200% during my first term To increase your income by 200% Pass legislation designating Chiropractic the Official Health Care of America Reduce our dependency on...
Posted by Orac at 10:00 AM • 4 Comments
June 27, 2008
Category: Science fiction/fantasy • Television
...or maybe Sunday morning, as I don't know how long it will take to get this by BitTorrent, the penultimate episode of series 4 of Doctor Who (if you're a Doctor Who fan and haven't seen the last couple of...
Posted by Orac at 3:01 PM • 29 Comments
Category: Alternative medicine • Antivaccination lunacy • Autism • Friday Woo • Medicine • Paranormal • Pseudoscience • Quackery • Skepticism/critical thinking
Before there was angry, "warrior mom" antivaccinationist Jenny, there was the kindler, gentler Indigo Jenny.
Posted by Orac at 9:00 AM • 54 Comments
June 26, 2008
Category: Alternative medicine • Medicine • Quackery
A few months ago, I wrote a post lamenting how science- and evidence-based medicine has lost the linguistic high ground to the woo peddlers, those who have "rebranded" quackery first into "alternative" medicine, then into "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM),...
Posted by Orac at 1:00 PM • 41 Comments
Category: Cancer • Evolution • Intelligent design/creationism • Medicine • Science • Skepticism/critical thinking • Surgery
...because that dualism-loving, 'intelligent design" apologist neurosurgeon who just doesn't know when to quit, Dr. Michael Egnor, is back to embarrass me again.
Posted by Orac at 9:00 AM • 25 Comments
Category: Alternative medicine • Antivaccination lunacy • Autism • Medicine • Quackery
It's rare that the mainstream media gets it right about vaccines and autism, and when they do I feel obligated to point it out. Such is the case with Sam Wang's article The Autism Myth Lives On. It's well worth...
Posted by Orac at 12:00 AM • 13 Comments
June 25, 2008
Category: Biology • Evolution • Intelligent design/creationism • Science • Skepticism/critical thinking
...from one of Michigan State University Professor Richard Lenski's E. coli cultures.
Posted by Orac at 12:29 PM • 28 Comments
New school or old school? Which will it be?
Posted by Orac at 9:00 AM • 57 Comments
June 24, 2008
Category: Alternative medicine • Antivaccination lunacy • Autism • Medicine • Politics • Quackery
Clifford J. Shoemaker: A legal thug sanctioned!
Posted by Orac at 2:02 PM • 19 Comments
Category: Anti-Semitism • History • Holocaust • Holocaust denial • Pseudoscience • Skepticism/critical thinking
There just isn't enough pseudoscience and pseudohistory in the world for some people. Nick Kollerstrom is just such a person.
Posted by Orac at 9:00 AM • 19 Comments
June 23, 2008
Category: EneMan • Humor • Medicine • News of the Weird
If you happen to be a blogger, has there ever been anything that you meant to blog about, but it totally slipped your mind? This is just such an item for me. Yes, multiple people e-mailed me about this...
Posted by Orac at 2:00 PM • 15 Comments
Category: Cancer • Clinical trials • Medicine • Surgery
If there's one thing that lay people (and, indeed, many physicians) don't understand about screening for cancer is that it is anything but a simple matter. Intuitively, it seems that earlier detection should always be better, and it can be....
Posted by Orac at 9:01 AM • 11 Comments
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