January 11, 2012
When I wrote last week about the latest legal thuggery against an opponent of antivaccine pseudoscience, this time by hero of the antivaccine movement, who sued investigative reporter Brian Deer for defamation, there was one thing about the case that confused me, one aspect that didn't add up to me…
January 9, 2012
I've spent a lot of time over the years looking at cranks, examining crank science (i.e., pseudoscience), and trying to figure out how to inoculate people against crankery. Because I'm a physician, I tend to do it mostly in the realm of medicine by critically examining "alternative" medical claims…
January 9, 2012
Will it never end?
First we had "America's Doctor," Dr. Mehmet Oz, credulously featuring psychic medium scammer John Edward on his show last year. Sadly, but typically, Dr. Oz was completely taken in by Edward's cold readings, even the most transparent ones. Even if his previous shows featuring…
January 8, 2012
Three and a half years ago, I bought a new car. The reason why I mention this as a means of beginning this post is because that car had something I had never had in a car before, namely Sirius XM satellite radio preinstalled. Curious, I subscribed, and I now barely listen to regular radio anymore.…
January 6, 2012
It's no secret that I've been highly critical of The Huffington Post, at least of its approach to science and medicine. In fact, it was a mere three weeks after Arianna Huffington launched her blog back in 2005 that I noticed something very distressing about it, namely that it had recruited someone…
January 5, 2012
I realize I've already written two posts about Andrew Wakefield suing investigative journalist Brian Deer, the first one pointing out how it's just another example of cranks trying to silence criticism not through producing good science to defend their views but rather through abusing legal process…
January 5, 2012
The plot thickens.
Earlier, I discussed how disgraced, struck-off anti-vaccine physician Dr. Andrew Wakefield, deciding that being humiliated once by the courts in a libel action wasn't enough, has apparently decided to have another bite at the apple. Given that he was so thoroughly humiliated in…
January 4, 2012
If there's one thing that a crank, quack, pseudoscientist, or anti-vaccine propagandist doesn't like, it's having the light of day shined upon his activities. In fact, so much do they hate it that they have a distressing tendency to respond to science-based criticism not with science-based…
January 4, 2012
Finally, I think I've found this blog's theme song:
As I've asked so many times before: Dammit! Where's all that filthy big pharma lucre I've been told by quacks, cranks, and antivaccinationists that I'm getting for toeing the big pharma line? After all, if I'm going to work so hard as a pharma…
January 4, 2012
Let's face it. The vast majority of "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) or "integrative medicine" (IM) therapies are nothing more than placebo medicine. This should be so abundantly clear to readers who have followed this blog, Science-Based Medicine, and/or Neurologica Blog more than a…
January 3, 2012
As hard as it to believe, it's 2012 now. (I know, I know, I say that pretty much every year.) I've also been on vacation for the last week, which makes getting back into the swing of things a bit difficult. For one thing, we seem to have suffered an infestation of particularly brain dead alt-med…
January 2, 2012
Best analogy ever? I think it's a contender, straight from Balloon Juice:
The Republican party in Iowa reminds me of a patient with a terminal disease (Romneyitis) desperately turning to alternative medacine. They've cycled through homeopathy (Bachmann), naturopathy (Cain), chelation (Perry) and…
January 2, 2012
I kind of miss Peter Lipson on ScienceBlogs and wish he were still around. I realize it's been nearly a year and a half since he departed, but it's been a bit lonely here being the only physician blogging about quackery, the role of science in medicine, and other skeptical topics related to…
December 31, 2011
I know I said I'd probably chill this weekend and not post anything new until after New Years, but another thing showed up in my in box that--shall we say?--inspired me to post another quickie. It's Medscape's list of the Physicians of the Year: Best and Worst. It starts with the worst, and guess…
December 30, 2011
OK, I know I said that this morning's post would likely be the last post of 2011, but then--wouldn't you know it?--the antivaccine crank blog Age of Autism had to go and post a post entitled AAPS on Vaccine Exemptions. I think it deserves a brief mention today for the simple reason that it's a…
December 30, 2011
Given that this is the last weekday before the end of 2011 and this quite probably will be my last post of the year (that is, unless something so compelling pops up over the weekend that it tempts me more than I can resist), I wondered what would be a good topic. Then, readers started sending me a…
December 29, 2011
The other day, I pointed out that one of the characteristics of antivaccine cranks is how, no matter how much you press them, they will never, ever get specific about which vaccines they find acceptable. they'll go on ad nauseam about vaccines they despise and why, but will never admit that there…
December 29, 2011
In the process of laying down a little of the ol' not-so-Respectful Insolence on the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), Barbara Loe Fisher, and Jenny McCarthy yesterday, I briefly discussed what the term "antivaccine" means. It's a topic I've discussed at length before and that Steve…
December 28, 2011
Here we go again.
In fact, I think I'm starting to see a pattern here among antivaccine organizations. You might remember that in November 2010, the antivaccine group SafeMinds bought ad space in AMC Theaters over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, one of the heaviest moviegoing time periods of the…
December 27, 2011
Another Christmas is over, and we're settling in to that strange week between Christmas and New Years when, or so it would seem, most of the world isn't working except for retail. I'm half taking the week off from work in that I don't plan on going into the office if I can possibly avoid it, but…
December 24, 2011
I can't believe I forgot to post this, particularly since I actually got to see Tim Minchin perform this song live three months ago. It was very, very good, and it's one of the best Christmas songs I've ever heard:
Unfortunately, not being in Australia, drinking white wine in the sun appears not…
December 24, 2011
Because there's only one way for Orac to wish his minions, shills, and fans a Merry Christmas:
Well, maybe not. There's also this:
Both via Skepchick.
For those of you who celebrate the holidays, whatever they may be, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, Festivus, or whatever, have a happy one. Be of…
December 24, 2011
You knew it was inevitable. I'm just surprised it took this long. Then, via Stuff and Nonsense, I find this video:
Extra points for using a different scene from Downfall than the usual Downfall parodies use.
It also reminds me. There's a paper on just this topic that might require a bit of not-so…
December 22, 2011
The holidays are now upon us, but I can't resist having a bit of fun before I disappear for this year's Christmas weekend to visit family and catch a rare bit of relaxation. Nothing too heavy, but, equally important, nothing too fluffy either. One topic that fits the bill is anything to do with…
December 21, 2011
Nature is one of the oldest and most respected scientific journals around. It's been around since 1869 and is said to be the world's most cited journal. What makes Nature unusual these days is that it's a general science journal. Astronomy, physics, chemistry, medicine, biology, it publishes it all…
December 21, 2011
I've made no secret of my opinion of the animal rights movement, in particular Jerry Vlasak, a trauma surgeon who has openly advocated the murder of researchers who use animals while--wink, wink, nudge, nudge--denying that he's advocating anything. Another animal rights activist who is equally…
December 20, 2011
After yesterday's video and the video from the day before demonstrating just what "antivaccine" means, I thought you'd all need a little something to cleanse the palate after having swallowed so much crazy. Fortunately, Paul Offit provides just the thing, a lecture at the NIH in which he discusses…
December 19, 2011
Yesterday, I discussed the meaning of the word "antivaccine," using the example of Dr. Suzanne Humphries, an MD-turned-homeopath, as an example of why I refer to people like Humphries as "antivaccine." She really laid down the crazy, too, repeatedly calling vaccines the injection of "disease…
December 18, 2011
Every so often, someone will take a great deal of umbrage at my use of the term "antivaccine." The assumption behind criticism directed at me (and others) when we use such terms is that we throw the term about without a care, using it as a weapon unjustly and incorrectly to smear parents who are in…
December 16, 2011
Seeing Martin's mention that he's hit the sixth anniversary of his entry into the awoke a vague sense of unease in me. It was that sort of unease that one gets when one realizes that he's forgotten something but can't quite remember what it is that he's forgotten.
Then it came to me.
Somehow, some…
