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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

December 22, 2008
The zombie has arisen once again to eat the brains of the Air Force. I'm referring to so-called "battlefield acupuncture," a topic that I wrote about last week for this very blog. I didn't think there'd be a reason to revisit the subject again so soon, but I was wrong for three reasons. First, I…
December 22, 2008
Why does anyone listen to actors when they pontificate about health and medical issues? Think about it. What is it that actors do? They read lines given to them. True, some have a talent that goes beyond that; they can actually write or direct. But few of them have any more abilities when it comes…
December 21, 2008
As much as I'd love to take credit, the postponement of the appearance of Jenny McCarthy and J.B. Handley on Larry King Live! originally scheduled for last night had nothing to do with me. Really. The cancellation was apparently announced shortly after my post appeared, leaving no time for it to…
December 20, 2008
The other day, I had a bit of fun with an "old friend," namely J. B. Handley, founder of the antivaccine organization Generation Rescue and now third banana on the antivaccine front to Jenny McCarthy and her boy-toy Jim Carrey. Displeased at my little jabs, he showed up in the comments spewing his…
December 19, 2008
I'm a connoisseur of woo. It's true. Back when I first started blogging, I came across outrageous bits of pseudoscience such as the ones I feature periodically on Your Friday Dose of Woo, and I wasn't sure quite what to do with them. Indeed, I had a hard time deciding if some of them were massive…
December 18, 2008
'Tis a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, I am happy that the 102nd Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle has landed over at Bing McGhandi's place. Not only is it chock full of excellent skeptical blogging, but the story is amusing, as evidenced by this little taste: BM: Next, Orac from Respectful…
December 18, 2008
You may have noticed that I've been laying off the antivaccination movement recently. Indeed, it's been over two weeks since I last mentioned the topic, and then I only did so by briefly citing a post by Steve Novella. For this blog, aside from vacations, that has to be a record. Truth be told,…
December 17, 2008
I had always suspected that this is what was really going on: Actually, it would have been a lot more fun if this had been what really happened.
December 17, 2008
Having been sucked into the blogosphere for over four years now and having gotten the majority of my news online or from newsmagazines or the New York Times, I frequently forget that I'm not like the vast majority of people. Neither, I daresay, are my fellow ScienceBloggers or my readers. We don't…
December 16, 2008
When confronted with skeptics who refuse to stay silent in the face of quackery--I'm sorry, "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM), a large proportion of which is unproven if not outright quackery--shruggies frequently ask, "What's the harm?" I can reply that so many of these modalities are…
December 16, 2008
Just as a quick followup to my post on Tong Ren, the quackery that combines acupuncture, "energy healing," and, in essence, the stereotype of voodoo dolls in a veritable potpourri of woo, take a look at this news report done by the FOX News affiliate in Boston: If you want horrible, credulous,…
December 16, 2008
After four years and five days of nearly continuous blogging about skepticism, quackery, science- and evidence-based medicine, and a variety of other topics, you'd think there wouldn't be much that I haven't seen before. Certainly, lately, I've been wondering lately if there was anything left that…
December 15, 2008
Three goodies on skepticism and science: Skeptical Battlegrounds: Part III - Alternative Medicine. Suffice it to say, Steve agrees with me. He just lays it all out in one post instead of ten. Once again, Egnor and Tautologies. Blogchild Mark Chu-Carroll takes on our favorite creationist…
December 15, 2008
Several months ago, I wrote a post about the experimentation with acupuncture by an Air Force physician, Col. Robert Niemtzow. In the post, I started with an admittedly exaggerated vignette--a story, if you will--of a soldier whose leg was shredded by a mortar in battle. When the medic came to…
December 14, 2008
The other day, I mentioned how the ever-warped and evil Westboro Baptist Church wanted in on the Washington State melee in which every religious and antireligion group out there is trying to get a display at the capitol after the state allowed a Christian Nativity scene. Included were the lyrics to…
December 14, 2008
...is due out in a mere four days. Yes, on Thursday, December 18, Bing McGhandi over at Happy Jihad's House of Pancakes will be closing out 2008 by hosting the 102nd Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle. But there's a problem. Bing has informed me that he only has three entries as of last night. With…
December 13, 2008
The Hitler Zombie definitely approves of this movie: Too bad I don't speak German or Norwegian, because here's the movie website, and here's another trailer sans subtitles: I wonder if I can take some stills from this trailer to use the next time I feel "inspired" (at least I like to…
December 12, 2008
I detest Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. Few religious loonies bring the hate home in a more concentrated fashion than Phelps and his not-so-merry band of homophobic nutcases. Whether it be threatening to picket the funerals of Amish girls killed in a school shooting, showing up on TV…
December 12, 2008
It figures. Right around the time of my blogiversary yesterday, when I had intended nothing more than a brief by characteristically self-indulgent bit of navel-gazing twaddle (at which, I succeeded brilliantly, I might add; no one--and I mean no one--does self-indulgent navel-gazing twaddle better…
December 11, 2008
For once, I actually managed not to miss it. For once, this day hasn't passed me by, leaving me not to remember its significance for a couple of days. For once, I haven't forgotten my blogiversary. Yes, as hard as it is to believe, I've been at this more or less nonstop just as long as a…
December 10, 2008
I didn't get to see this interview last night on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. After all, I usually show up at work between 7:00 and 7:30 AM. However, Hugh Laurie, star of House, was interviewed by Conan and revealed himself to be not unlike me in that he's definitely a booster of reason and…
December 10, 2008
I have to wonder if the most famous denizen of the Discovery Institute in medical circles, Dr. Michael Egnor, is on vacation or something. For some reason, he's been especially active over at the Discovery Institute's repository of pseudoscience, Evolution News & Views, over the last couple…
December 9, 2008
My original post that asked the intentionally provocative question Was Nazi science good science? provoked a lot of comments, some of which made me think, which is good. This post was inspired by an article in which historian of the Nazi era Richard Evans was featured in a story about Nazi science…
December 8, 2008
The thought of Jack Black as Jesus just cracks me up: See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die You know, more and more I'm starting to be of the mind that perhaps marriage should not be defined by the government. After all, to the government, marriage is nothing more than a contract. Consequently…
December 8, 2008
In 2007, I wrote a series of posts about what I found to be a fascinating yet at the same time disturbing phenomenon, specifically self-experimentation by cancer patients using an as yet unapproved drug called dichloroacetate. If you'll recall, DCA is a small molecule drug that was used to treat…
December 7, 2008
As usual, he nails it, at least a significant part of it: */ The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c Autoerotic Explanation Barack Obama InterviewJohn McCain Interview Sarah Palin VideoFunny Election Video Again, I remain ambivalent about the whole bailout thing, mainly…
December 6, 2008
Ever wonder who'd win in a war of Trek vs. the Empire? Well now you know!
December 5, 2008
What is it about celebrity models and credulity towards woo? Very early in the history of this blog, we first encountered Suzanne Somers, someone who underwent lumpectomy and radiation therapy for breast cancer, as well as radiation, but eschewed chemotherapy for "alternative" medicine. Guess to…
December 4, 2008
And so it begins... The first 100 have passed, and now the second 100 begin. This time, it comes from Africa, the 101st Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle. Go forth. Read. Enjoy. Be enlightened. Next up two weeks hence will be Bing McGhandi over at Happy Jihad's House of Pancakes on December 18. (I…
December 4, 2008
It may well be; Roger Ebert has finally gotten around to reviewing Expelled! Short version: He didn't like it. Long version: He really, really didn't like it. I knew there was a reason I liked Roger Ebert.