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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

May 26, 2007
I think I've finally found the religion for me... (Click the picture to read about the religion! Hat tip to Robster, FCD.) Moreover, in a direct comparison between Christianity and this new religion, Christianity doesn't come off so good. (The sad thing is, I get each and every reference in this…
May 26, 2007
Cicadas! I don't think I'd have the self-control that the children pictured above do, though.
May 26, 2007
I had thought of featuring this little gem on Your Friday Dose of Woo before, but my Friday feature usually requires a bit more to go on. Well, not exactly. Rather, it requires a bit more quotable material, the better for hilarity to ensue, and this is just a book with a description and some…
May 25, 2007
I've been meaning to go through the recent meta-analysis of Avandia published by the New England Journal of Medicine that purported to show major increase in the risk for cardiac events (myocardial infarctions and cardiac death) in patients who use Avandia, but somehow never got around to it. I'm…
May 25, 2007
Hot on the heals of the loss of Flea and other medical bloggers, Dr. Hébert announces without explanation other than that "I've had enough" and "I'll be gone for a little while." Cryptic indeed. I can understand why someone might quit blogging or take a hiatus. However, if I were ever to decide to…
May 25, 2007
One of the banes of a physician's existence is not so much keeping up with changes in how medicine is practiced, studying new treatments, and following the medical literature. After all, that comes with the territory; it's part of the job. Failure to keep up is to become increasingly ineffective…
May 24, 2007
Our creationist neurosurgeon, Dr. Michael Egnor, isn't going to like this one bit. No doubt he'll try to call it "artificial selection" or a "tautology" when he finds out about it, if he doesn't just ignore it because he it doesn't fit in with his view that studying evolution is "of no value" in…
May 24, 2007
In honor of Towel Day, the theme of the latest meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is The Hitchhiking Skeptic's Guide to the Galaxy. Join Rebecca (a.k.a. The Skepchick) as she takes you on a tour of the skeptical blogosphere. But don't do it for me. Don't even do it just for Rebecca. Do it for Douglas…
May 24, 2007
A number of readers have mailed me links to this story, and, yes, it is right up my alley. In reading it, I fear that it's a vision of the future for two young cancer patients who are very unlikely to survive their cancers because their parents eschewed evidence-based medicine in favor of woo,…
May 23, 2007
Ask yourself this: What do the convicted do, either in prison or when facing prison? They find Jesus, of course: It's inevitable any time anyone's going to jail, it seems. My prediction for Paris' next stop: Kabbalah! It would, however, be even more amusing if she were to convert to Islam while…
May 23, 2007
Well, well, well. Remember about a year ago, when Libertarian wingnut Vox Day shot himself in the foot big time by using a warped logic to argue that because it was "possible" for Hitler to round up six million Jews in four years then it's not "impossible" for us to round up 12 million illegal…
May 22, 2007
A fellow ScienceBlogger has suffered a profound loss. Sadly, on Sunday, my blogchild Mark lost his father. If you like Mark's blog (or even if you don't), please do me a favor and take a moment to read Mark's tribute to his father and offer your condolences. He has mine.
May 22, 2007
The other day, I wrote about how the only use of homeopathy that makes sense is its use by a fictional character, namely Doctor Strange, The Sorcerer Supreme. Now, I have been fortunate enough to have been granted a sign that the homeopathic enchantment works! Woe be unto you skeptics! Behold, a…
May 22, 2007
While I'm on the topic of alternative medicine and NCCAM again, I've said on many occasions that I reject the distinction between evidence-based medicine and "alternative medicine" as a false dichotomy. To me, the only dichotomy that matters is between medicine that has high quality scientific…
May 22, 2007
I've complained on multiple occasions about the infiltration of non-evidence-based "medicine" (a.k.a. woo) into every level of medicine in the U.S.. Worst of all, it's infiltrating medical education in a big way, starting with the pro-woo activism of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA…
May 21, 2007
Larry Flynt: My friend, Jerry Falwell. Strange but apparently true.
May 21, 2007
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I recently noticed that one of my favorite medical bloggers, Flea, had completely deleted his blog. There's nothing there. It's gone, except for a blank Blogger blog. Apparently, too, Flea's not alone, as Kevin, MD points out. I'm going to miss Flea, but I…
May 21, 2007
I hadn't planned on revisiting this topic again quite so soon, but sometimes a piece of information comes up that's so disturbing that I can't ignore it and can't justify delaying blogging about it by very long. So it is yet again with the strange and disturbing saga of dichloroacetate (DCA), the…
May 20, 2007
Time passes. What once was new is old, and what once seemed far in the future is now just around the corner. In other words, the Skeptics' Circle is rapidly approaching again; it's a mere four days away! This time around, the 61st Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is scheduled to be hosted by Rebecca…
May 20, 2007
It would appear that I must respectfully disagree (or be Respectfully Insolent, if you will) with fellow comic fan Scott over at Polite Dissent. Two of my all-time favorite comics are Fantastic Four and (believe it or not, given my present day disdain for woo) Doctor Strange. Doctor Stephen Strange…
May 19, 2007
Abel Pharmboy shows why I shouldn't have left my American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) proceedings abstract sit on my desk unread for a week. Damn. Talk about blowing an opportunity. Of course, given that I don't own any pharmaceutical stocks (making me a rather poor "tool of big pharma"…
May 19, 2007
Let's face it. By their very belief in Holocaust denial, Holocaust deniers demonstrate day in and day out that they aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer (or the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree, pick your simile). However, occasionally, I come across Holocaust denial that brings stupid to…
May 19, 2007
A few days ago, I posted a note of congratulations to Gregory Simonian, a 10th grader at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, for winning the Alliance For Science essay contest, for which the topic was Why would I want my doctor to have studied evolution? At the time, the winners had been…
May 18, 2007
If you're ever in Iran, you'd better be really, really careful about imbibing a little beer: Norwegian-Iranian Mamand Mamandy had a brutal meeting with police after drinking two beers while on holiday in Iran. "It's getting better now, but I am still in great pain," Mamandy, 35, told Aftenposten.no…
May 18, 2007
I want to apologize to Abel Pharmboy in advance on this one. This is the second time in less than three months that I've invaded his territory to a certain extent in Your Friday Dose of Woo, specifically his The Friday Fermentable feature. Last time around, I couldn't believe it when I encountered…
May 17, 2007
Dr. R. W. asks (and answers) the question, pointing out in detail how: Promoters of unscientific claims often reject ordinary scientific standards for experimental design and evidence. Even government funded CAM research is troubled with serious methodologic flaws. Research on complementary and…
May 17, 2007
When I learned of this, I had been highly tempted trot out everybody's favorite undead Führer for a little fun with the Church of Scientology's latest antics. Indeed, when you find out what I'm about to discuss, you'll see why it was a candidate for the loving chomp of his rotting jaws. Heck, I…
May 16, 2007
As a fan of Iggy Pop, I was appalled to read this: Former "The Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood will play Iggy Pop in The Passenger, a biopic of the legendary rocker, reports Variety. Ted Hope's This Is That Productions and Traction Media are executive producing. The movie, which follows Pop's…
May 16, 2007
Here are a few typical eugenicist quotes from early last century: "It is an excellent plan to keep defective people in institutions for here they are not permitted to marry and bear children." "[Scientists who are working at the task of improving the human race] would like to increase the birth…