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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 19, 2006
Heh. I love it when the guys over at Holocaust Controversies get involved in a tussle with someone who clearly doesn't know what he is talking about, and I figure that perhaps my readers will too. So, enjoy this amusing little rebuttal to a guy who calls himself the "Birdman" and seems to think it'…
September 19, 2006
Grand Rounds, vol. 2., no 52 has been posted at Tundra Medicine Dreams. Enjoy!
September 19, 2006
Unfortunately for them, folks in Colorado have a hard core anti-vaxer named Dawn Winkler running for governor on the Libertarian ticket. I'm hoping for their sakes that, as a third party candidate, that she has virtually no chance of winning. Check out some of her rhetoric posted on Whale.to seven…
September 18, 2006
Janet has posted the final results of the Nerd-off, and, contrary to what he deserves, Orac did not come in first place. I was robbed! Come on, how could the Dalek cookie jar sitting on the shelf in my office not have guaranteed my ultimate triumph over all in the realm of nerdiness?
September 18, 2006
Listen to this episode of Point of Inquiry. It includes an interview with Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan's widow, who cowrote Cosmos and Contact. That's good enough (although the sound quality of her connection is not so good), but what will really get you fired up is the last half of the podcast contains…
September 18, 2006
Ensconced at a conference center in North Carolina near Abel's and Bora's home turf since Saturday, I appear to have missed an update on the story of Starchild Abraham Cherrix. As you may recall, he is a 16 year old who fought for the right to pursue "alternative" therapy over evidence-based…
September 17, 2006
Here's something that tells me, that should I ever visit Russia, I will need to be very, very careful crossing the street or going anywhere near traffic: About 25 percent of Russians have had sex while driving, a poll released by KRC Research and Goodyear revealed. And this is just one of the…
September 17, 2006
I'm still kind of scratching my head over this one. It's preaching to the converted and is not particularly illuminating. Surely they could have come up with something better. (Via the bioethics web log.)
September 16, 2006
This reminds me of what the result might be were Monty Python to do a public service announcement encouraging organ donation, except Monty Python would have done it in drag rather than using a real female:
September 16, 2006
It may not seem like much when it comes to dealing with animal rights "activists" who cross the line into vandalism, harassment, and intimidation, but it's a start: Three animal rights activists who organized a campaign to harass employees and clients of a New Jersey research lab were sen tenced to…
September 15, 2006
The History Carnival XXXIX has been posted at Cliopatra.
September 15, 2006
It's about time it was Friday. No, it's not because it will mean any less work for me; in fact, this weekend will probably mean more, as I have to go to a workshop that's more like boot camp. It's more because the subject matter of this blog had become such a major bummer, with the fifth…
September 14, 2006
I never knew that puppies liked logic and critical thinking. I always thought that they liked running, playing, eating, sleeping, and being petted. But, according to Janet Stemwedel, there is at least one puppy who is a budding skeptic, and bad reasoning and gullibility make him sad. She explains…
September 14, 2006
I hadn't planned on writing about this again after yesterday. The subject is profoundly depressing to those of us needing to compete for declining NIH grant resources with only a 9% chance of success the first time. However, given that Your Friday Dose of Woo will make an appearance tomorrow to…
September 13, 2006
With the latest edition of the Skeptics' Circle due to appear later today, I'd just like to point out that I've become aware of two new skeptical blogs: Action Skeptics (I like its catchphrase, "Annoying stupid people, one woo at a time.") The Antidote: Counterspin for Health Care and Health News…
September 13, 2006
For an unforgettable perspective on the tragic events of five years ago, watch this video. No further comment by me is necessary. The video speaks for itself.
September 13, 2006
Tangled Bank #62 has been posted at The Hairy Museum of Natural History. Get your science blogging fix.
September 13, 2006
I was going to blog about this a couple of days ago, but the Scientific Activist beat me to it, leading to a heads-up from PZ Myers. Never let it be said that a little thing like that stopped me from putting my two cents in. Besides, I think I bring a certain perspective that hasn't been addressed…
September 12, 2006
Sometimes there are things that happen when blogging. You get accolades from unexpected sources, little ego boosts that make it all worthwhile. Such a thing happened yesterday, on the basis of my little blurb mentioning Skeptico's takedown of Hank Barnes's misuse of logical fallacies. The reaction…
September 12, 2006
Grand Rounds no. 2, vol. 51 has been posted at Diabetes Mine. Time for more of the best medical blogging of the last week.
September 12, 2006
As much as I try to deny it, I can't anymore. Now that I'm on the wrong side of 40, I have to face what we all eventually have to face, the fact that we will age and that our physical and some of our mental abilities will decline. For some of us, the decline will be slow, and we will retain much of…
September 11, 2006
It never ceases to amuse me when a blogger known for his embrace of bad science anxious to claim the mantle of "skeptic" falls flat on his face doing so. For an example of just such an occurrence, check out Skeptico's latest post, A Straw Man Gets AIDS. In it, Skeptico systematically demolishes an…
September 11, 2006
Today is the fifth anniversary of September 11. There will be a whole lot of verbiage put forth into the blogosphere, spanning the gauntlet from blaming all Muslims for the attack, to blaming America for bringing it upon itself, to the idiotic 9/11 conspiracy mongers who will claim that George Bush…
September 10, 2006
It's almost here already, hard as it is to believe. The next Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is due to appear on Thursday, September 14 at Adventures in Ethics and Science. Given her spearheading of the lastest blog silliness that's been going around here lately, namely the nerd-off that most of us…
September 10, 2006
...to feel a bit of schadenfreude over this? I know, I know, I usually don't stoop to celebrity stuff unless it relates to my interests (science and science fiction, Holocaust denial and Mel Gibson, etc.), but the expression in the picture in the link above was just too priceless for me to resist.…
September 10, 2006
Pediatric Grand Rounds vol. 1, no. 11 has been posted at Breath Spa for Kids. Enjoy!
September 10, 2006
Yesterday, I posted about a story indicating that a Danish newspaper had published some of the cartoons from the Iranian Holocaust Cartoon contest, pointing out how, when the original Danish cartoons poking fun at Islam were published, we saw riots, death threats, and demands for punishment. When…
September 9, 2006
Here's something very telling: A Danish newspaper has printed cartoons about the Holocaust commissioned by Iran after cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad triggered violent protests. The newspaper - Information - published six of the cartoons, which are on display in the Iranian capital, Tehran.…
September 9, 2006
Just what every kid wants! For children of extreme fundamentalists looking to be raptured, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Spider-Man, or Superman just won't do! What would Jesus think when He returns? Harry Potter represents witchcraft, an abomination! Star Wars replaces God with The Force. Superheroes…
September 8, 2006
Continuing on the nerd/geek theme, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that today is the 40th anniversary of the debut of the original Star Trek series. Forty years, hundreds of TV episodes and books, and several movies later, the franchise is completely ingrained in American culture, so much so…