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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 4, 2007
Unite, that is, behind the Infophile, who's scheduled to host the 60th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle next Thursday, May 10. You have until Wednesday night to enter examples of your best skeptical blogging to the carnival. Don't let the side down! And, as usual, I'm always looking for hosts. If…
May 4, 2007
Everybody (well, mostly everybody) learns in science and physics class the Three Laws of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, meaning that the increase in the internal energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the amount of heat energy added to the system minus the work done…
May 3, 2007
You may remember how, almost in passing as part of a longer post, I mentioned how much cranks can't stand critics of theirs who write under a pseudonym and try to out them at every opportunity. Indeed, one of the biggest cranks of all, J.B. Handley, the man whose mantra used to be that autism is…
May 3, 2007
It figures. What does a guy like Jim McGreevey, former Governor of New Jersey who resigned in disgrace nearly three years ago when it was revealed that he had cheated on his wife with a man and that he had tried to appoint his boy-toy to a government position for which he was utterly unqualified (…
May 3, 2007
If there's one undeniable aspect of "intelligent design" creationism advocates, it is their ability to twist and misrepresent science and any discussions of evolution to their own ends. Be it Dr. Michael Egnor's twisting of history to claim that eugenics is based on Darwinism, rather than the…
May 2, 2007
Dr. Steven Novella, an academic neurologist, President of the New England Skeptical Society, and organizer of what's become my favorite skeptical podcast, The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, took the time to weigh in on the Nature Neuroscience article that I discussed the other day and that…
May 2, 2007
It's time once again for Change of Shift, the nursing blog carnival. This time, it's being hosted at Emergiblog. Check it out.
May 2, 2007
Polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea have begun to cannibalize one another according to a recent study in the online publication Polar Biology. The polar bears' main food source in the area, ringed seals, are accessible only across ice shelves. Global climate change has melted these shelves,…
May 2, 2007
One amusing little tidbit that came out of my recent post about how the mercury militia tries to intimidate scientists who are willing to speak out against the antivaccination wingnuttery is that the Generation Rescue website, home of J. B. Handley and his merry band of mercury militia chelation…
May 2, 2007
I had come across a rather amusing mea culpa by GruntDoc in which, while discussing an amazingly inappropriate notice regarding guidelines for emergency room chiropractic reimbursement, he admits to having in the past referred our best and bravest to chiropractors. I can understand why he did it,…
May 1, 2007
...is right here at the latest installment of one of the longest-running blog carnivals out there, Grand Rounds. This time the host blog is Shrink Rap. Head on over and sample the delicacies of medblogging.
May 1, 2007
I'm a bit late on this, given that the blog went live yesterday, but far be it from me not to welcome denialism blog to the ScienceBlogs universe. It's a promising new blog that in its couple of months of existence has already made an impact in the skeptical blogosphere. Also, Mark Hoofnagle, one…
May 1, 2007
There are times when, as a scientist, I look at an idea and its execution and simply stand in awe. It's particularly satisfying when it's a relatively simple idea that could conceivably do a lot of good for a lot of patients. Oddly enough, whether it's because I've been out of the loop or because…
April 30, 2007
As a male, this bit of woo from Serbia causes me pain just to contemplate it. I'm not sure if it's true or not because--well--I have a hard time believing that anybody can be this stupid. It has the whiff of urban legend about it. However, one underestimates the stupidity of men in their quest to…
April 30, 2007
Now here's something you don't see every day. Nature Neuroscience has weighed in about the pseudoscience that claims that mercury causes autism. Based on British experience with animal rights activists, it points out a parallel that I hadn't considered before: The idea that autism is caused by…
April 30, 2007
Andrew reminds me that today is a very special day. Yes, indeed, it's the day that everyone who detests fascism should celebrate: Fuehrerstodestag! (Otherwise known as "Dead Hitler Day.") Yes, 62 years ago this hour, Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of the Reich, finally cornered, his nation in ruins, offed…
April 29, 2007
Thanks to a reader commenting in yesterday's post, I've been made aware of a truly brilliant summation of creationism of both the young earth and intelligent design variety: Exactly.
April 29, 2007
I don't often do this, but every so often I come across a question that I need help deciding. What's the use of having a moderately popular blog (alas, 3,000 visits a day do not constitute an "immensely popular" blog) if I can't sometimes use it for my own nefarious purposes, right? The question is…
April 29, 2007
I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Certainly it's a bad thing that another physician is diving head-first into the pseudoscience that is "intelligent design" creationism and making a of himself in the process. On the other hand, at least this time it's not a surgeon: A Columbia…
April 28, 2007
After the Virginia Tech shootings, as you may recall, a lot of people started using the shootings as a convenient excuse to start pontificating about their favorite cause or to attack their most hated enemy, be it secularism or even vaccines. In fact, politicians, pundits, and just plain annoying…
April 28, 2007
Students cheat on exams. There's just no getting around it. No matter how secure teachers think they've made their examination processes, there will always be a subset of students who try to find a way around any security procedures and give themselves an advantage, either by hook or by crook.…
April 27, 2007
This is a bit science policy wonky, but here's some interesting news from Medical Writing, Editing & Grantsmanship: My *favorite* new factoid from the NIH ... the oldest "new investigator" to date received his first R01 last year at age ... 82. You go, guy! On the other hand, a nobel laureate…
April 27, 2007
I've said it once before, but this week's woo compels me to say it again: I happen to love gadgets. I've been a bit of a technogeek since very early on in my life, with a lot of the things that go along with it, including a major interest in science fiction, awkwardness around the opposite sex,…
April 26, 2007
On May 5 New York City will witness what will perhaps be the most unintentionally hilarious spectacle of two fundamentalists making utter fools of themselves: MEDIA ADVISORY, April 26 /Christian Newswire/ -- After ABC ran a story in January about hundreds of atheists videotaping themselves…
April 26, 2007
When I saw this, I thought it had to be a joke. But it's not: Doctors in New York have removed a woman's gallbladder with instruments passed through her vagina, a technique they hope will cause less pain and scarring than the usual operation, and allow a quicker recovery. The technique can…
April 26, 2007
Just when I start to think that maybe, just maybe, I could stop worrying and learn to love the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM, with apologies to Stanley Kubrick and Peter Sellers), damn if it doesn't go and do something that renews my cynicism about the entire…
April 26, 2007
Well, it's that time again, time for another foray into battle against the rampant credulity that permeates the blogosphere. This time, your host is a veteran who has hosted two previous Meetings of the Skeptics' Circle and produced some of the most memorable Circles we've had. After two abortive…
April 25, 2007
Ever wonder what happened to Roger Ebert, who has been absent from the balcony in his Ebert & Roeper Show for quite some time battling cancer? So did I. I always liked his style and mostly agreed with his movie reviews, but since moving away from Chicago I haven't heard much or watched the…
April 25, 2007
This is the sort of thing that really irritates me. Shelley, over at Retrospectacle posted a rather nice analysis of a paper that appeared in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture entitled Natural volatile treatments increase free-radical scavenging capacity of strawberries and…
April 25, 2007
A lot of readers (well, a couple, anyway) have been asking me about the recent article by Peter Duesberg in the most recent issue of Scientific American entitled Chromosomal Chaos and Cancer. I suppose it's because I'm not only a cancer surgeon (which in and of itself is not enough to qualify me to…