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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

July 9, 2007
Last week, I was forced to face the fact that I'm definitely, solidly, undeniably now middle-aged. Oh, I could delude myself before and say that I'm "mature" and even pretend to some extent that the slow deterioration that time causes biological organisms doesn't apply to me. I could even dismiss…
July 9, 2007
I just don't understand it. I just don't understand how anyone can take discredited antivaccination loon Andrew Wakefield seriously anymore. In particular, I don't understand how any reputable newspaper can actually take him seriously anymore, given how thoroughly he and his "work" have been…
July 8, 2007
Given that my electronic leash is always with me and that ubiquitous pagers and cell phones make doctors reachable 24 hours a day, it's amazing to contemplate a time when a PA system at a hospital was considered new and high tech: I especially like the part touting the volume control, as if that…
July 8, 2007
As I mentioned yesterday, I recently perused all the e-mails that Gmail had flagged as spam and to my dismay found a lot of legitimate e-mail, including mailing list e-mails and Movable Type e-mails notifying me of comments being caught up in the filter. However, I found something scarier than that…
July 7, 2007
Wow. That's all I can say. The unreconstituted Led Zeppelin geek in me is amazed. That kid can really channel Jimmy Page.
July 7, 2007
Time to take a break from science and medicine again. The Rambo movies happen to be a guilty pleasure of mine. Little did I know that there was a Turkish knockoff of the character: I particularly love the rocket launchers in this one. Their "action" has to be seen to be believed.
July 6, 2007
A bit of blog housekeeping here... Normally, I find out about new comments on my blog through e-mail notifications that get sent to me shortly after you, the reader and commenter, post your comments. I find it much easier simply to scroll through the e-mails and see what the reaction is to my posts…
July 6, 2007
Thanks to a commenter going by the 'nym of djm, I found in a comment yet another hilarious example of how credulity towards pseudoscience of one form often goes hand-in-hand with other forms of pseudoscience. It looks as though the "intelligent design" creationists are down with Steorn's claimed…
July 6, 2007
It was a rough day yesterday. I spent a long time in the O.R. It was one of those days that I couldn't figure out what happened. The number of operations that I had to do should have allowed me to finish operating by around 2 PM, leaving me time to do other things that needed to get done. But…
July 5, 2007
As hard as it is to believe, it's that time again, time for a bracing dose of reality in response to the rampant credulity that permeates the blogosphere. I apologize for my announcement being later than usual; I was in the O.R. all day and only this evending did I have an opportunity to do my…
July 5, 2007
The other day, I wrote about how several of the suspects arrested in the attempted car bombings in London and Glasgow were physicians or in training to be physicians. At the time, I expressed dismay at what I viewed to be a betrayal of the very basis of our profession, that we try to help people…
July 5, 2007
Here we go again. After falling for such claims enough times, you'd think that journalists would go back to the physics textbooks and read up on the basics, you know, like the Three Laws of Thermodynamics. You'd especially think that a techy website like Engadget would know better than to hype this…
July 4, 2007
It should come as no surprise that I'm a bit of a rock critic wannabe and have been for a long time. Indeed, very early on in my blogging, I did a "top ten" list for the best music of 2004. As far back as high school, I wrote a couple of music reviews that, in retrospect, weren't very good. Fast…
July 4, 2007
Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! For more serious ruminations about the 4th by yours truly, check out posts I've done on the topic before: Fourth of July thoughts One last fourth of July thought In the meantime, I'll be rounding on my partners' patients all morning, as I drew the…
July 3, 2007
One of the things that I found most disturbing about the recent failed bombing attempts in London and the car attack in Glasgow, aside from the terrorism and potential for huge losses of life, is this: GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- British police focused Tuesday on at least four physicians with roots…
July 3, 2007
One thing that's become obvious to me over the last few years that I've been engaged in dealing with various forms of pseudoscience, alternative medicine, and conspiracy theories is that people who are prone to credulity to one form of pseudoscience, the paranormal, or other crankery tend to be…
July 2, 2007
I thought I knew all the good websites to get information about cancer research and research funding opportunities. Perusing Medical Writing, Editing, & Grantsmanship, I found I was wrong. Check out the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Research Portfolio. It lets cancer researchers search…
July 2, 2007
Some people just have too much money and too much time on their hands. I mean, why on earth would you do this after purchasing an iPhone, the cheapest of which is $499? This is just sheer stupidity; it doesn't even show very well how the thing is put together because they basically just destroy…
July 2, 2007
About a month ago, I did a facetious throwaway piece about "homeopathic enchantments" being used by one of my favorite comic characters (who, alas, no longer has his own comic series), namely Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. Given that it was not intended as anything other than a lark, I was…
July 1, 2007
Speaking of skepticism and critical thinking, recall that I mentioned earlier today that I had been interviewed for The Skeptics' Guide for the Universe. Despite branching out into a different medium, rest assured that I haven't forgotten about my primary responsibility, blogging. Nor have I…
July 1, 2007
For your Sunday afternoon edification, the latest version of Pediatrics Grand Rounds has been posted over at Breath Spa for Kids. In addition, Change of Shift, the blog carnival for nursing-related blogs, has also been posted at NursingLink. Enjoy!
July 1, 2007
I often joke that Orac is my alter-ego, regardless of how effective or ineffective the pseudonym is at protecting my "true" identity. I also, with some justification, joke that I'm a lot less interesting in person than I am on the blog as a means of inoculating people that I meet who know me only…
June 30, 2007
In keeping my (temporary), retreat from medical blogging for the weekend, I thought you might enjoy as much as I did this list of the 100 Worst Cover Songs. I do have a few objections, though. For one thing, I kind of like Marilyn Manson's cover of Personal Jesus, which clocks in at #90. I don't…
June 29, 2007
I love these old ads. Remember, keep fresh batteries in your house or you might poison your baby! The tag line sounds almost like the reaction of an antivaccination loon to the polio vaccine.
June 29, 2007
I wrote about this classic crank gambit a bit about a week and a half ago, emphasizing that no amount of studies will convince a crank. Now, MarkH at denialism.com takes on the same issue in more detail so that I don't have to bother with David Kirby's latest spew. Thanks, MarkH! The point is that…
June 29, 2007
Here's something I've wanted to try for a while now. It'll either be wildly successful and popular, along the lines of You Might Be an Altie If..., or it'll be an utter failure, sinking into oblivion. Which one it ends up being will be up to you, O faithful readers of Your Friday Dose of Woo. The…
June 28, 2007
Yesterday, I did a deconstruction of Generation Rescue's dubious "study" (in reality an automated telephone poll) that claims to show that vaccines increase the rate of autism and other "neurologic diseases." Now skeptical blogger extraordinaire Prometheus has posted his own excellent…
June 28, 2007
Pity poor Deepak Chopra. I've abused him on this blog many times, even coining a word ("Choprawoo") for the silliness that emanates from his keyboard every time he posts his inanity to the Huffington Post or his own IntentBlog. I even wrote the only response ever needed to Choprawoo. Of course, he…
June 28, 2007
Once again, I was going to post about the amusing homeopath that I've come across, and once again something came up with the whole Autism Omnibus came up, leaving our poor homeopath to wait a little while longer for the loving application of a bit of Respectful Insolence⢠that she so clearly…