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David Gorski

Orac is the nom de blog of a humble surgeon/scientist who has an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his copious verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few probably will. That surgeon is otherwise known as David Gorski. That Orac has chosen his nom de blog based on a rather cranky and arrogant computer shaped like a clear box of blinking lights that he originally encountered when he became a fan of a 30 year old British SF television show whose special effects were renowned for their BBC/Doctor Who-style low budget look, but whose stories nonetheless resulted in some of the best, most innovative science fiction ever televised, should tell you nearly all that you need to know about Orac. (That, and the length of the preceding sentence.)

DISCLAIMER: The various written meanderings here are the opinions of Orac and Orac alone, written on his own time. They should never be construed as representing the opinions of any other person or entity, especially Orac's cancer center, department of surgery, medical school, or university. Also note that Orac is nonpartisan; he is more than willing to criticize the statements of anyone, regardless of of political leanings, if that anyone advocates pseudoscience or quackery. Finally, medical commentary is not to be construed in any way as medical advice.

To contact Orac: oracknows@gmail.com

Posts by this author

September 16, 2007
There's a long and strange history of truly bizarre experiments done in the name of science. Alex Boese has gathered twenty of the strangest examples here. There are the usual suspects, such as the Stanford prison experiment and the Milgram obedience experiment, but there were others that I hadn't…
September 15, 2007
Now here's a church service that I could get into, the Church of the Time Lord. As an article in Metro.co.uk says: A congregation are to be invited to compare a Time Lord with the Lord of Time at a special Dr Who-themed church service, it was disclosed today. Teenagers and young people in their…
September 14, 2007
Regarding Dan Olmsted's latest foray into autism pseudoscience at Rescue Post, Kev asks, "Why aren't you scared to death?" Olmsted's latest happened to appear while I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago, and there's so much other interesting stuff out there to blog about since I got back that I…
September 14, 2007
As some of my commenters may have noticed, the ScienceBlogs server has been acting a bit strangely, often being really slow to post comments and sometimes even producing error messages. This has led to some double and even triple posts of comments, as readers understandably try to repost something…
September 14, 2007
Earlier this week, I deconstructed a truly inane article on Mike Adams NewsTarget website espousing dangerous cancer quackery, with claims that herbal concoctions alone could "naturally heal" cancer. Such a claim wouldn't have attracted bringing the hammer of Respectful Insolence⢠down if there…
September 13, 2007
Howdy, thar, pardners! The Skeptics' Circle Saloon is open for business, and, after bein' away for more than two ears, Brent's done gone and set up a hum-dinger of a meeting: We rode up to the front of the Skeptic's Circle Saloon and dismounted. Where once there were only two hitching posts, seven…
September 13, 2007
Today, on my way into work, I did something momentous, something that marks a turning point in my life. It was a small act, but one that has lifted a huge weight from me. I put a check in the mail to pay off the last of my student loans. Free at last! And it's only been 19 years since I graduated…
September 12, 2007
I'm not normally a big fan of these reality TV courtroom shows, and I've never watched Judge Hatchett before. That being said, I was surprised how well done this segment was in which a 14-year-old who's fascinated by Adolf Hitler (even going so far as to write "I love Hitler" in large letters on a…
September 12, 2007
I'm away from regular blogging for a couple of weeks, and what do I find when I finally get back into the swing of things? Dangerous cancer quackery published on Mike Adams' Newstarget site, that's what. I know, I know. I shouldn't be surprised, and I'm not. It's all par for the course for…
September 11, 2007
This video was shot by Bob and Bri, who in 2001 lived in a high rise a mere 500 yards from the North Tower. There is nothing to add, at least not by me. It is difficult to watch.
September 11, 2007
Jake over at Pure Pedantry pointed the way to an article in Science that I hadn't seen yet because of my absence. Just like yesterday's topic, this one too is right up my alley. Specifically, it's about something near and dear to my heart, namely the trials and tribulations of being a physician-…
September 10, 2007
Today is the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. A couple of years ago, I wrote an extended take on the attacks and what I thought about them. I encourage you to read it, either for the first time or again. Two years later, I don't have much to add other than to note that I've seen several…
September 10, 2007
Way back when I first started my blog, one of my favorite blogs was A Photon in the Darkness, in which Prometheus regularly demolished quackery, particularly autism-related quackery. Sadly, Prometheus' blogging has become more and more sporadic over the last year or so, with gaps sometimes longer…
September 10, 2007
Sadly (with regards to vacation) and not-so-sadly (with regards to the events of last week), it's time to dive headlong back into the "real world" at work, starting with clinic today. It also means it's time to get back to my favorite hobby (blogging) in a much more regular way, although I will say…
September 9, 2007
The Secular Outpost informs me of the existence of a brand new Jack Chick tract. I don't know if it truly is new or not, but it does have its copyright listed as 2007. This time around, Jack is explaining why the dinosaurs really died out. (Hint: It wasn't some big nasty meteor millions of years…
September 9, 2007
I don't know why, but I found this endlessly fascinating. Just click on one, and watch what happens. Do it again, and it gets even more complicated. Well, it's good for a few minutes' diversion, anyway.
September 9, 2007
Kevin Leitch informs me that DAN/ARI are asking people to leave a message for Andrew Wakefield. Yes, that Andrew Wakefield, the man who almost single-handedly started a scare over the MMR vaccine, the man who was paid by lawyers and was either so clueless, careless, and/or dishonest (take your pick…
September 8, 2007
More random weekend chatter... If a big time Doctor Who fan visits London, what is it that he brings back as souvenirs? Well, I had wanted to bring back a large radio-controlled Dalek to harass my wife with, but I just couldn't figure out how we would get it back on the plane, and I didn't want to…
September 8, 2007
Friday afternoon, 2 PM. In my current frame of mind, some things strike me as perhaps more bizarre than they would have normally. This is one such incident. After vacation, arriving back from vacation only to turn around to have to head to Ohio for a funeral, and having to be in the operating room…
September 7, 2007
Hot on the heels of the first Orac-free Skeptics' Circle in two years, amazingly, another Skeptics' Circle is coming around the pike far faster than I would have expected. This time around, it will be hosted by a most able blogger, Brent Rasmussen over at the very prominent skeptical blog,…
September 7, 2007
I debated about whether to do Your Friday Dose of Woo this week. I really wasn't sure if I was up to it. As regular readers know, I was on vacation in London during the last week in August. Unfortunately, I returned to the news of a death in the family on my wife's side, making the last few…
September 6, 2007
Due to a death in the family, I have to go back into the vaults of the old blog for some more reposts. Regular blogging should resume in a day or two. This particular post first appeared on January 13, 2006. A couple of days ago, I took a bit of issue with Kevin, MD for an off-handed remark he had…
September 6, 2007
Due to a death in the family, I have to go back into the vaults of the old blog for some more reposts. Regular blogging should resume in a day or two. This particular post first appeared on February 1, 2006. Here's something I wish there was more of, the criminal prosecution of quacks when their…
September 5, 2007
Due to a death in the family, I have to go back into the vaults of the old blog for some more reposts. Regular blogging should resume in a day or two. This particular post first appeared on January 11, 2006. I sort of feel as though I was being picked on over the last couple of days, while I've…
September 5, 2007
Due to a death in the family, I have to go back into the vaults of the old blog for some more reruns. Regular blogging should resume in a day or two This particular post first appeared on June 16, 2005. One of the overarching themes of this blog has been skepticism in the claims of alternative…
September 4, 2007
While I've been having a little fun with homeopathy today, I thought I'd show you just one other thing about the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. Directly in front of the hospital, I noticed some words on the street. After taking a closer look, I was shocked and horrified. Take a look for…
September 4, 2007
A couple of weeks ago, before I went on vacation, the BBC aired a two-part documentary by Richard Dawkins entitled The Enemies of Reason. Part One dealt primarily with the paranormal and various New Age phenomena, while Part Two, which aired mere days before my London trip, dealt squarely with…
September 3, 2007
John is sick and tired of antievolutionists. Who can blame him? As he points out, they are utterly immune to evidence or reason: I was wrong. Very wrong. Information isn't what makes people change their minds. Experience is, and generally nobody has much experience of the facts of biology that…
September 3, 2007
Continuing the wind-down from vacation... (Don't worry; the Orac-ian magnum opus-style posts will return whenever I manage to work my way back up to them again. Besides, it's a holiday; do you really want to read one of my rants today?) One of the cool things about wandering around London was…
September 2, 2007
An excellent op-ed article by Michael Fitzpatrick characterizes quite well the hysterical fear based on no evidence that Andrew Wakefield and his accomplices started in the U.K. over the MMR vaccine and the unfounded claim that it causes autism and bowel disorders: The rise of a combination of…