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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

January 9, 2010
So many adherents to "alternative" medicine detest modern medicine, which they see as not being "natural." In contrast, herbalism, homeopathy, acupuncture, various forms of "energy healing," are touted as being highly in tune with nature. They're right about one thing. Throughout the vast majority…
January 8, 2010
I realize that I haven't done an installment of Your Friday Dose of Woo for a while--well over a month, in fact. Because of the gap between woo installments, I had been thinking that today was the time. There are at least a couple of really good candidates (and a host of halfway decent ones) in my…
January 7, 2010
I've been criticizing the grande dame of the anti-vaccine movement, Barbara Loe Fisher, for her cowardly attempt to shut up vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit and to intimidate journalists into not writing exposes of the anti-vaccine movement by suing Dr. Offit, Amy Wallace, and WIRED Magazine for…
January 7, 2010
As 2009 ended and 2010 began, I made a vow to myself to try to diversify the topics covered on this blog. Part of that vow was to try to avoid writing about vaccines and the anti-vaccine movement for more than a couple of days in a row. Unfortunately, even in the middle its very first full week,…
January 6, 2010
With 2009 now safely in the history books, it's time to look back on the year and "honor" some of the most egregious offenders against science and reason. Fortunately for us, Skeptico has presented his second annual Golden Woo Awards. I was disappointed to see yet again that surgeon who has led me…
January 6, 2010
One of the key claims of the "autism biomedical" movement is that something about autism derives from or is exacerbated by the gut; i.e., that there is some sort of link between GI problems, particularly inflammatory diseases of the GI tract, and autism. Although I may not be as versed in the…
January 5, 2010
After yesterday's post about how anti-vaccine grande dame Barbara Loe Fisher is suing Dr. Paul Offit, almost certainly in order to harass and intimidate him into silence, there was something that still bugs me, and that's the issue of jurisdiction. The defendants live in three different states:…
January 4, 2010
Over the holidays, I stayed at home for a combination of some relaxation and some grant writing. (I know, weird.) As I was perusing some of the links I saved during that time, it occurs to me that I totally forgot about one particularly amazing bit of hilarity, courtesy of our old "friend" Deepak…
January 4, 2010
Heh. Leave it to xkcd to sum it up perfectly: (Click for full comic) You know, I happen to love CSI:Miami as much as the next guy. In fact, it's one of my guilty TV pleasures. But any time there's a lab scene on that show (or any of the other CSI shows) it cracks me up. Beautiful people in…
January 3, 2010
In general, one of the biggest differences between those defending science-based medicine and those defending pseudoscience, quackery, and anti-science is that science inculcates in its adherents a culture of free and open debate. In marked contrast, those advocating pseudoscience tend to cultivate…
January 2, 2010
Given my long known weak spot for Downfall parodies (even though they are an Internet fad whose time has come and probably already gone), how on earth did I miss this? PodBlack Cat shows me that, believe it or not, Hitler was a chiropractor. He's been asked to talk about the use of chiropractic for…
January 1, 2010
Well, it's finally happened. 2009 is now in the dustbin of history. It was a thoroughly awful year, which is why hope springs eternal that 2010 will be better. Given that it would be difficult for 2010 to be worse than 2009, it's a pretty sure bet that it probably will be better, but I never…
January 1, 2010
2009 may be over, but there is still one remnant of it that you should immediately check out now, if you haven't already: The 127th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle at Life, The Universe, and One Brow! While Orac is taking it easy today, you can catch up on some of the best end-of-the-year skeptical…
December 31, 2009
NOTE: Orac is on semi-vacation this week, trying very hard to recharge his Tarial cells. Actually, although he is at home, he is spending much of his time in his Sanctum Sanctorum (i.e., his home office) working on an R01 for the February submission cycle. Given that the week between Christmas and…
December 30, 2009
You know, when Age of Autism starts announcing its yearly "people of the year" awards, there's always a lot of blog fodder there to be had. Given that this is the time of year when I ramp the blog down a bit and, trying to relax a little, don't spend as much time doing detailed deconstructions or…
December 29, 2009
Vaccines save lives. In fact, they arguably save more lives than any other medical intervention devised by human beings. Unfortunately, the converse is also true. Anti-vaccine beliefs and the vaccine refusal that results from them kill. They leave children vulnerable to preventable diseases, and,…
December 29, 2009
Remember how I said that I was trying to take it easy this week? I still am, but there's something bugging me enough to draw me out of my grant-induced cocoon for a little while in order to pontificate on it in the not-so-Respectfully Insolent way that I am so often wont to do. True, it's something…
December 28, 2009
...is fast approaching, this time to be hosted at Life, The Universe, and One Brow. Let's make 2009 go out in style, skepticism-wise, by submitting the best skeptical blogging to the Circle for one New Year's Eve blowout! Blog-specific instructions can be found here, and general guidelines are here.
December 28, 2009
NOTE: Orac is on semi-vacation this week, trying very hard to recharge his Tarial cells. Actually, although he is at home, he is spending much of his time in his Sanctum Sanctorum (i.e., his home office) working on an R01 for the February submission cycle. Given that the week between Christmas and…
December 27, 2009
Seen in a parking lot while shopping about three weeks ago: I sense a disconnect between the two messages contained on the back of a very large SUV...
December 26, 2009
...heavy duty firearms? Somehow, I don't think we're in Hammond, Indiana anymore.
December 26, 2009
While I'm recovering fro Christmas this weekend and away a good chunk of tomorrow, here's a question to ponder as 2009 draws to its inevitable close. Val Jones has listed what she views to be the top five threats to science-based medicine that dominated 2009 and look likely to continue to threaten…
December 25, 2009
I think that David Bowie and Bing Crosby say it best: Yeah, I know I've become a heathen, but I still love this song and this particular performance.
December 24, 2009
It's Christmas, and I hope that those of you who celebrate the day are having a merry one. Personally, I'm taking the day off from any substantive blogging, instead electing to post quickie holiday-themed stuff that amuses me. Still, it might not be so merry if everyone's favorite elf happened to…
December 24, 2009
With Santa beginning his journey through the world to deliver presents to all the good boys and girls, someone sent me a profoundly disturbing video: I knew it! I knew it! Santa gives away things; so he must be a liberal. But if you listen to Jonah Goldberg, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh, you…
December 24, 2009
If there's one thing that's irritated the crap out of me ever since I entered the medical field, it's celebrities with more fame than brains or sense touting various health remedies. Of late, three such celebrities have spread more misinformation and quackery than the rest of the second tier…
December 23, 2009
It's a really tough competition, but if I had to choose the most ridiculous form of quackery out there, I'd have to choose homeopathy. Although it's common for so-called "alternative" medicines to be so utterly implausible from a scientific standpoint that it is not unreasonable, barring very…
December 22, 2009
Ha! So true, although in academia we aren't so much concerned with getting products into consumers' hands; so the exact times may be different: Via xkcd, of course!
December 22, 2009
(NOTE ADDED 12/7/2010: Kim Tinkham has died of what was almost certainly metastatic breast cancer.) If there's been one theme running through this blog every since the very beginning, it's the unreliability of testimonials as "evidence" for the success of a cancer treatment. Indeed, if you go back…
December 21, 2009
It's the end, the end of the '70s It's the end, the end of the century. Joey Ramone, 1979 As amazing as it is to me, the first decade of the 21st century is fast approaching its end. It seems like only yesterday that my wife and I were waiting for the dawn of the new millennium with the fear that…