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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

August 9, 2006
As you probably remember, the case that first got me discussing the issue of children and minors opting for "alternative therapy" rather than conventional medicine was not Starchild Abraham Cherrix (Abraham's personal website). Rather, this is a topic that I first approached nine months ago, even…
August 8, 2006
Grand Rounds, vol. 2, no 46 has been posted at Mexico Medical Student. Enjoy!
August 8, 2006
The other day, I posted about the reaction in the white power ranger blogosphere to Mel Gibson's little anti-Semitic tirade. Apparently a blogger by the name of Occidentalist took umbrage in the comments at my having pointed out that the rantings about "the synagogue of Satan" contained on an anti-…
August 8, 2006
Our Seed overlords beckon: What movie do you think does something admirable (though not necessarily accurate) regarding science? Bonus points for answering whether the chosen movie is any good generally.... This one's a bit of a toughy. First off, I waited too long to answer it, which means that…
August 7, 2006
Via Advice Goddess, I find that the Atlanta Zoo is using psychics to predict whether their prize Panda is actually pregnant. One of them predicted that the Panda is definitely pregnant and will bear a male cub before September 4. I'll give her credit for putting herself out there with a definite…
August 7, 2006
It occurred to me over the weekend that I hadn't updated my Medicine and Evolution series in a while. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a couple of clueless creationists who had wildly misinterpreted a recent paper about how the cornea prevents blood vessels from growing into it from the…
August 6, 2006
This one's been making the rounds over the last few days, but, Star Wars geek that I am, I found it hilarious enough to post, even though it's shown up in a lot of other places. Enjoy!
August 6, 2006
Yet another music pioneer from the 1960's has passed away. This time, it's Arthur Lee, who died of leukemia at age 61. Arthur Lee was the leader of Love, one of the most prominent L.A. bands during the height of the psychedelic era in the 1960's and one of my favorite bands of all time. Although…
August 5, 2006
Angel Falls produces the tallest free fall of water in the world, at over 3,000 feet, with an uninterrupted drop of over 2,600 feet. If you read the conventional history of the falls, you'd know that the one credited officially with discovering the falls is James Angel, who found the falls while…
August 5, 2006
Amazing. As hard as it is for me to believe, it looks as though I might have spawned another one. One of my regular commenters has decided to dip her foot into the blogosphere. Oddly enough for one of my offspring, the blog concerns motorcycles. (I've only been on a motorcycle a couple of times in…
August 5, 2006
Here are a few links that I didn't get around to mentioning during the week that are, in this blogger's humble opinion, worth a read by my readers: This week saw the 25th anniversary of MTV. Terra Sigillata has two posts on his favorite MTV memories (with the latter link showing a 17-year-old…
August 4, 2006
After the last couple of weeks of Your Friday Dose of Woo, I was in a bind. You see, people were telling me that they really enjoyed the last couple of weeks, particularly last week. For some reason, they were amused by my discussion of various liver cleansing regimens, hot on the heals of having…
August 3, 2006
Today, the Skeptics' Circle turns 40. Well, not exactly, but it is the 40th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle, and this time around it's being held at Daylight Atheism. Once again, it's time for an antidote for the rampant credulity in the blogosphere, where dubious stories travel around the world…
August 3, 2006
Ron Rosenbaum on Starchild Abraham Cherrix and his choosing the Hoxsey treatment over chemotherapy: Young Cherrix has expressed his feelings this way to the Associated Press: "I'll fight until I do die. I'm not going to let it go. I would rather die healthy and strong and in my house than die in a…
August 3, 2006
Now that Mel Gibson has apologized for his anti-Semitic tirade during his arrest for DUI last week and the ADL has accepted Gibson's apology, everyone is discussing what the fallout will be among the Hollywood elite, many of whom happen to be Jewish. Ever the contrarian, using my knowledge of the…
August 3, 2006
...while driving to work at 6:30 AM you notice the thermometer in your car already registers the outside temperature as 83 degrees Farehnheit. Ack.
August 2, 2006
Here's something so obvious that it should have been done years ago: WASHINGTON -- Unlike prescription drugmakers, manufacturers of vitamins, minerals and herbal remedies have no obligation to tell the Food and Drug Administration if consumers suffer serious side effects after taking their products…
August 2, 2006
I had seriously considered jumping all over this story when I first saw it early Monday morning. After all, look at the headline: Jewish groups call for hate-crime probe on Mel Gibson A more truly ominous thing to be calling for based on a drunken anti-Semitic tirade I have a hard time imagining.…
August 1, 2006
With the appearance of the Hitler Zombie twice in less than a month on this blog, Andrew Mathis was inspired to send me this YouTube video. He's right; it's perhaps the best commentary I've heard about the use of the Hitler analogy or argumentum ad Nazium to demonize one's political opponents.
August 1, 2006
I don't often do reader mailbag sorts of posts, but this question was so good that I thought it would be worth answering on the blog. Indeed, I almost thought of making this whole question another in my Friday Woo series, but decided that I wanted to answer it now. Reader TB writes: I've been…
July 31, 2006
Hard as it is to believe, the time is fast approaching for yet another edition of the Skeptics' Circle. Even though it's set to appear this Thursday, August 3, fortunately there's still time for skeptical bloggers to get their entries in to Daylight Atheism, in order to "lay waste to superstition…
July 31, 2006
In the quiet and still of the crypt, something stirred. It was barely perceptible at first, but became more definite. It lived again. In the depths of what remained of its mind, only sheer instinct prevailed. It had fed long and well recently, and had returned to its crypt to digest its unholy meal…
July 30, 2006
I've written before about Hutton Gibson (Mel Gibson's father) and serious crank, conspiracy theorist and proud Holocaust denier. I even speculated, based on Mel's cagey answers to direct questions about the Holocaust, speculating about whether he shares some of Hutton's beliefs. I ended up guessing…
July 29, 2006
Via Dr. Flea, I find this rather amusing cartoon: Dr. Id, written by Michelle, who, it turns out, was also responsible for the 12 Types of Med Students and a fairly spot-on portrayal of a medical student's surgery rotation. Dr. Id says what other doctors only wish that they could say and does what…
July 29, 2006
You know, although I'm not exactly a huge fan of it, I have sometimes in the past liked to listen to a little dose (but just a little) dose of death metal. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for some over-the-top growled lyrics of death, doom, violence, and destruction shrieked over a churning demonic-…
July 28, 2006
I have to apologize for last week's Dose of Woo. No, I'm not apologizing for the subject matter (the obsession that reigns supreme among some alties with "cleansing" one's colon to "purge toxins" and achieve the super-regularity of several bowel movements a day). Rather, I'm sorry I didn't point…
July 27, 2006
It's not your Friday Dose of Woo yet, but fear not. You'll get your weekly dose of woo in due course. Kevin Trudeau is arguably the most prominent snakeoil salesmen of our time. I've leafed through his first book, Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About at the bookstore and recoiled at…
July 27, 2006
The latest edition of the blog carnival for nursing, Change of Shift no. 3, has been posted at Emergiblog.
July 27, 2006
I hadn't intended to mention this case again for a while, but an article in Stats.org brought up a point that, although I had somewhat alluded to it, I hadn't really explicitly addressed. It has nothing to do with the judicial decision, the Cherrixes' successful appeal for a new trial and the stay…
July 26, 2006
Enjoy, as blog comrade and fellow traveler in the fight against Holocaust denial Andrew Mathis shows us how it's done when Holocaust denier Michael Collins Piper writes to threaten to sue him for libel. Andrew asks: Michael Collins Piper: Filthy Jew-hater or twisted anti-Semite? You be the judge!…