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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

June 22, 2006
Mysteriously appearing prematurely briefly last week deep in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, only to disappear again in an equally mysterious manner, the 37th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle has once again appeared, but this time as expected at the home of Autism Diva. However, the participants…
June 22, 2006
Holy crap. Just when I thought I had heard or seen it all, something comes up that proves me wrong. This time, the "something" comes to my attention via Corpus Callosum. It's a story about people abusing a drug. Only it's not just any drug, but a drug commonly used to treat breast cancer (which,…
June 21, 2006
Via The Onion (of course), Dr. Mike Ruddy proclaims: 'm a doctor, and I'm damn good at it. Why? Because I learned to be a doctor the old-fashioned way: gumption, elbow grease, and trial and error. I'm not one of these blowhards in a white coat who'll wear your ears out with 10 hours of mumbo-jumbo…
June 21, 2006
Via Evolving Thoughts, this article about Ann Coulter's misrepresentation of the Dover case is just too good for me not to link to also. Best excerpt: One part of her latest book that's getting little notice is the part that deals with Dover and what is purported to be the "debate" over evolution.…
June 21, 2006
It's been a very interesting week for those of us who try to keep an eye on antivaccination warriors who scare mothers with claims based on either no science or bad science of dire consequences that will come from vaccinating their children. A very interesting week indeed, kind of like that old…
June 20, 2006
Pearls Before Swine captures the joy of blogging... I know how Goat feels sometimes...
June 20, 2006
Australian skeptic Peter Bowditch was challenged by a homeopath to take some homeopathic 200C belladonna tablets. Ever the intrepid skeptic and critical thinker, Peter has now answered the challenge in front of 100 people and reported his experience, beginning with a description of what he should…
June 20, 2006
Time - He's waiting in the wings He speaks of senseless things His script is you and me, boys Time - He flexes like a whore Falls wanking to the floor His trick is you and me, boy Time - In Quaaludes and red wine Demanding Billy Dolls And other friends of mine Take your time Excerpted from Time by…
June 19, 2006
Time flies when you're having fun. Hard as it is to believe, it's been a year since RFK, Jr. first posted his ridiculous conspiracy-mongering piece on Salon.com. Ever since moving to ScienceBlogs back in February, I had planned on reposting this article on the anniversary of its original appearance…
June 19, 2006
This weeks' Skeptics' Circle made a brief and mysterious appearance last week, only to disappear just as mysteriously back into the Bermuda Triangle. No doubt it will appear again as scheduled this week on Thursday, as always. If you want to take part, get your best skeptical blogging to Autism…
June 19, 2006
Clark posted the latest Pediatric Grand Rounds Friday. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to posting a plug until now. Go forth and read the best medblogging about pediatrics. Hopefully, I can give him a little late boost in traffic. Enjoy.
June 19, 2006
Almost two months ago, I posted a rather light-hearted skeptical takedown of a guy by the name of Don Lemmon, who billed himself on his website as The #1 Nutritionist Online. The main gimmicks of the post were twofold. First, I poked fun at his selling of dessicated animal glands, in which he…
June 18, 2006
There's only one thing to say about this little video clip: Doom, doom, doom, doom, doom..... Hat tip to my sister for e-mailing me this! Hmmm, maybe I'll get serious again tomorrow and try to answer the latest Ask a Scienceblogger question or perhaps cover some other of my usual topics. Some…
June 18, 2006
Too bad I don't smoke. Well, actually, no it isn't, given the horrible health effects of smoking. Be that as it may, I wish I had a couple of these to have around the house for when relatives who smoke come over (photo below the fold): Courtesy of the Singapore Cancer Society, and hat tip to…
June 17, 2006
As I sit here marveling that, as of this writing, it's almost the summer solstice and the Detroit Tigers still have the best record in baseball (with the New York Mets not far behind, yet!) I come across this depressing news. Tiger Stadium is going to be razed this fall: It's official. After years…
June 16, 2006
I knew he wasn't nearly as clean-cut as his televisioin persona implied, but who knew Bob Saget was such a badass. (Warning for if you're at work: Much gratuituous use of the F-word is contained.) What I want to know is how they got George Lucas in the video.
June 16, 2006
In Petaluma, California (the Bay area), as reported by ABC 7: June 14 - KGO - More former clients of a North Bay chiropractor are coming forward, echoing what we reported a month-and-a-half ago -- that Daniel Marsh is making money off some bizarre treatments. State investigators are looking into Dr…
June 16, 2006
Over at the Nature blogs, they're soliciting comments and opinions about open peer review: The goal of any change in the peer review system must be to improve the quality of review, where quality is determined by two distinct functions: filtering manuscripts for publication in a given journal; and…
June 16, 2006
Yesterday, I wrote a bit about Michael Savage's attack on George Soros, in which he stated that "people like you give Jews a bad name, Soros. It's people like you who brought about the Holocaust, Soros. I stand by those words." Admittedly, at the time I wrote my little rant, I didn't know that…
June 15, 2006
I don't know if it's possible to be to the right of Ann Coulter, but Spacemonkey over at IMAO gives it a try. I'm not sure that he succeeds. After all, he says, "We let God's will or survival of the fittest, if you swing that way, be the appeals process." I don't think that Coulter would never…
June 15, 2006
I've come across Michael Savage's radio show a few times now and then. Basically I dismissed him as being even more obnoxious as Ann Coulter and not nearly as intelligent. I hadn't known he was an anti-Semite as well, but check out this quote from his radio show the other day referring to George…
June 15, 2006
Leave it to Dr. Charles to remind me of something that happened recently, albeit in a bit of a roundabout way. It's something I would rather have forgotten, but, when you dedicate your life to battling the beast that cancer, it is something that is inevitable and something a doctor has to learn to…
June 14, 2006
From our Seed overlords at the ScienceBlogs collective: Assuming that time and money were not obstacles, what area of scientific research, outside of your own discipline, would you most like to explore? Why? While I'm not as down on this question as PZ is, I'm not quite sure how to answer. There…
June 14, 2006
I can't stand Ann Coulter, but this response to her vileness is just plain stupid and plays right into her hands as "evidence" supporting the attacks Democrats that she makes in her book: QUIGLEY/STENDER CALL ON NJ MERCHANTS TO BAN SALE OF 'VICIOUS' COULTER BOOK Hate-filled Attacks on NJ 9-11…
June 14, 2006
I've heard of physicians using themselves as guinea pigs for their own research before, but this is ridiculous. Yesterday, my copy of General Surgery News arrived at my office. As I was whiffling through it to see if there were any articles worth reading, I came across a tale of a Japanese doctor…
June 13, 2006
Grand Rounds, no. 2, vol. 38 has been posted at the Haversian Canal. Get your medblogging fix for the week there. Also, a belated shout-out to yesterday's RINO Sightings at Tinkery Tonk: You've Got Questions, We've Got Answers.
June 13, 2006
Ed over at Dispatches from the Culture Wars has been on a tear lately defending the ACLU against spurious attacks from right wingers and religious. Now I see that that dreaded atheistic, America-hating organization has invaded a little too close to home, coming into my area of the country.Clearly…
June 12, 2006
Well, it didn't take The Spoof long to comment on the Andrew Wakefield affair. Choice bits: While on holiday in the US in 1997 he was introduced to a creationist nutter called Professor Hugh Fudenberg who claimed to cure autistic children by giving them samples of his own bone marrow. And, my…
June 12, 2006
A few days ago, given that light of the "intelligent design" creationism movement, William Dembski, had bragged about how much he had helped Ann Coulter write the chapters in her latest screed (Godless: The Church of Liberalism) attacking evolution, I had wondered what he might think now of being…
June 12, 2006
When it rains it pours, eh? While I happen to be on the topic of vaccines and autism again today, here's a surprising story: Andrew Wakefield, the doctor behind the scare over a potential link between the MMR jab and autism in children, is to face four charges relating to unprofessional conduct at…