Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik is a problematic ambassador for science

tsmith — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 08:30:08 +0000

Mayim Bialik is a problematic ambassador for science

Mayim Bialik is an actress. She grew up playing TV's "Blossom," and recently has surfaced again on television as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, a neurobiologist on "The Big Bang Theory." In between, she went to college and on to grad school, receiving a PhD in neuroscience. She is a "Brand Ambassador" for Texas Instruments and is this year's featured speaker at the National Science Teachers' Association conference.

She is also anti-vaccine, and a spokesperson for the "holistic mom's network," which eschews much that modern medicine has to offer and features several prominent anti-vaccine advocates on its advisory board.

Reactions have been mixed regarding her gig at the NSTA convention. Skeptical raptor thinks it's OK as long as she's just talking about her path to science (presumably, something like this article in Nature) (he clarifies here as well). Hemant Mehta (himself a math teacher) thinks not so OK, and I lean much more that way. As I noted on the Skeptical Raptor's Facebook page, she may really like science, but the fact is that her position on vaccines undermines not only the science, but also the very *scientists* who do such work. She's saying that some science is great, but other parts shouldn't be believed and accepted. This is not cool or acceptable for such a big-name speaker.

That's not to say that there are not controversial areas within science, or that everyone has to agree on every point. Certainly there are many areas which are fraught with controversy, and which we're working to understand. But the basics of vaccines are not one of them. Certainly people would be outraged to see Michael Behe or another prominent evolution denier from the Discovery Institute or Answers in Genesis speaking at this conference, even though they may also have a PhD and, likely, a love of science. In Bialik's case, she is *actively endangering the lives of others,* but because she's a fellow science lover, it's OK to give her a podium and additional notoriety? No.

Further, because she's a PhD, many give her views on vaccines more weight than someone like Jenny McCarthy (who lacks any formal science training and is easier to write off), even though Bialik also lacks training in microbiology and immunology. In my opinion, that makes it even more important to avoid legitimizing her vaccine opinions.

Bottom line: if you love science, don't actively undermine a part of it that actually affects the everyday lives of millions of people, and if you're a company or organization who is promoting science, please don't choose as a spokesperson or honored speaker someone who does this.

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tsmith Fri, 03/28/2014 - 04:30

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Science Education

vaccines

Mayim Bialik

Science Education

vaccines

She has clarified she's NOT anti-vaccine. She said she discusses with her pediatrist on which vaccines are actually necessary and which ones are not, but that her kids do have most vaccines. She even mentioned during an interview on TV some days ago about getting polio vaccines before travelling to Israel.

How has she undermined the science of vaccines? I understand that she has made a choice not to follow the ACIP recommended schedule, but she has not (to my knowledge) denigrated the science behind vaccinations.

Nina, do you have a source for that? Everyone says they're "not anti-vaccine" but her actions have shown otherwise.

Tara,

How do you define anti-vaccine? It seems to me that someone who gets some vaccines but not necessarily all is NOT anti-vaccine, but many people seem to feel that anyone who questions the decision to forgo or delay any vaccination for their children is considered anti-vaccine. Where do you draw the line?

Sure, here http://www.npr.org/2012/05/04/152026801/actress-mayim-bialik-on-tv-scie…

and where she says her kids are vaccinated took the polio vaccine before travelling thing is on this interview with Howard Stern https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDM1L3Ijq-s

What she says, basically is that it is necessary to be informed about vaccines and do research and then decide, which, IMO is not being anti-vaccine.

My mom did that with me & my sisters after a measles vaccine almost killed me when I was 9 months old (that vaccine was later taken out of circulation here in my country after killing several children). Since then she did her research assisted by her pediatrist before administering the vaccines and decided on which ones were necessary/not-so-necessary/potentially-dangerous and which ones were not. That, IMO is not being anti-vaccine.

Beth, here is why I define her as such: http://www.kveller.com/mayim-bialik/vaccinations-and-other-things-i-don… At the end, she trots out the old canards of the anti-vaccine movement, and links to two books by anti-vaccine doctors. (And yes, they are. See more here on Feder http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/mothering-peddling-health-misinform… and Dr. Bob Sears's latest rant against measles vaccine here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2014/03/23/worried-about-me…).

I haven't seen the Howard Stern interview yet, but will watch it when I have the chance so I'll see if her position is more nuanced than she's previously presented it when she declared "they were a non-vaccinating family." Even if she has decided to vaccinate with a few, based on what I've seen and linked here and above, I would still put her in the anti-vaccine camp. She is promoting writings of anti-vaccine advocates and serves as a spokesperson for a group which is led by such. She is promulgating unfounded fears of the vaccines which are unsupported by scientific studies. Hence, she is not a respectable advocate for science.

I would have to say that "OK" probably overstates my position. I'm torn between her woo-ish views, especially on vaccination, versus having a popular woman with a real Ph.D. in a real science from a real university advocate strongly for teachers and learning science.

I find her anti-vaccination stance disgusting, but she has said little about it over the past couple of years. And she's specifically asked to not discuss period, and she hasn't. If she's a leader of the anti-vaxx movement, they ought to quit now, because I don't know how much she really invests in that movement. I'm more concerned about Diane Harper's lies and prevarication.

Yes, the Nature article is kind of what I thought she'd be doing.

Tara,

Thanks for the response. By 'old canards' did you mean "Children today get about four times as many vaccines as the average 35-year-old did when we were kids." That was the only thing I thought would fit that description and I don't understand why it is considered a cannard. Isn't it true?

What 'unfounded fears' were promoted? So far, I haven't seen her make any claims that autism is connected to vaccinations, although I might have missed that as I'm not a fan of her TV shows and don't read her blog. I've only read some of the stuff that's been linked to. She did mention someone she knows had a brother that suffered brain-damage as a vaccine reaction, but while that's rare, it does happen, so it's not IMO an unfounded fear.

She indicated the books she used to make her decision. I understand that you don't approve of them, (I haven't read them, so can't comment) but I don't that as an egregious overstepping of bounds on her part.

Even if she has decided to vaccinate with a few, based on what I’ve seen and linked here and above, I would still put her in the anti-vaccine camp.

Why? I don't understand this attitude. It's certainly common, but why is someone considered anti-vax when they accept some vaccines? This would to indicate that such a person/parent accepts the science behind vaccinations and that they do work to prevent disease.

Beth, yes. It's one of those things that is technically true on the surface, but is meant only to frighten parents away from vaccination (otherwise, why would more vaccines be a bad thing? You're protecting them from more diseases!) The fact is that there are actually fewer antigens that kids are exposed to now via vaccines than there were when I was a kid, largely because the pertussis vaccine has been modified.

Those books likewise peddle the same thing--half-truths that are meant to scare parents that are not supported by science. I still can't listen to the Stern interview (traveling currently) and if she's taken some vaccines, great, but even if so her message remains that scientists are mistaken about vaccine safety and efficacy and parents should be hesitant to accept them according to schedule--and as such, she's promoting anti-science views, which is the whole point of my reservations about her.

Skeptical Raptor, thanks for your comments. I'll link them into the post as well.

When did advocating that people read books and make their own decisions become "anti-" anything? I'm as exasperated at the anti-vaccine movement as I can be, but this woman, it appears to me, to try and stay out of places where she uses her fame to influence others on this issue and when forced, gives people sources of information she found useful and asks them to decide for themselves. How does that make her wrong, other than to be on the side you are not?

The problem is that she is posing as a science advocate, but the recommendations she is making for reading and the groups she is supporting (Holistic moms network) are not based in science. it would be like having a supposed to science advocate recommending that people check out books from the Discovery Institute or Answers in Genesis.

Beth, besides the half-truths Tara pointed out, these claims aren't made in a vaccuum. There is a long history of the anti-vaccine movement, and if you've followed it for years like I'm sure she and most other science bloggers have, you begin to recognize the veiled (but still lame) attempts at undermine science. Unsuspecting people can think these arguments are reasonable cause they seem so on the surface.

Just like with the creationist "intelligent design" movement, they evolve when people catch on to their lies. As Tara said, very few antivaxers will claim now to be anti-vax. They now say they're for separate vaccines (a trend that Wakefield himself promoted back in the day cause he had patents for a separate measles vaccine), or that overy oft-repeated half truth about the "too many too soon" vaccines.

They should replace her with Neil de Grasse Tyson.

Putting people into camps (even virtual ones) based on their opinions or statements and then advocating for dismissing them, not inviting them, etc, and defaming them... how is that different in spirit than a 15th century witch hunt? Sad thing is, this is the common state of the "science community". Pathetic.

She actually believes in homeopathy from what I understand.

I think Miss Bialik has become a feather in the cap, so to speak, for the anti-vax movement, because she's one of very few legitimate famous people that actually has a PhD, of course in an unrelated field, but a PhD, no less. It would appear that she has their undying devotion now, encouraging them to question the merits of established science without advocating the use of the scientific method as their approach, rather, they're depending, primarily, on anecdotal and unscientific conjecture to arrive at a large cross-section of their absolute conclusions and "undeniable facts." In which case, all it takes is stating their fallacious arguments, repeatedly, until it becomes "fact."
The only information that they'll typically warm up to is anything which they feel supports their ire over vaccine science and other related views, even if it's mostly conjecture, anecdotal and untested data.
If you attempt to provide anything to the contrary, it's like your the enemy now, they shut you off and tune you out, and quite frankly, that is one if the frightening outcomes of her influence; to be far more stubborn than ever before, feeling they've reached a critical point of empirical superiority.
Hearing this all from what they construe to be a "trusted doctor" only because she confirms their fears, whereas any other doctor not in line with their beliefs are considered, without question, to be quacks, when it's the other way around, and it's all they needed to see to rest upon their laurels and say, "See, I knew it! One of their own has turned on them and was 'brave enough' to take a stand, so it must be true, her assessment must be well-reasoned. Because, she wouldn't follow something that lacked empirical evidence because she's a doctor, of course." And this is why I feel they believe her to be a feather in their cap!
Yes, her suspicions about vaccines may have more of a scientific basis and the reading she's done may have been well-written enough to compel her to approach vaccines in this current light, but it's still only anecdotal in terms of her personal decisions and reasoning, as well as, their untested opinions and reason; she is not a researcher in this field, she's not testing these hypotheses or having her data peer-reviewed to establish a causal relationship between vaccines and a litany of purported reactions, illnesses and outcomes.
So, in summary, I find her to be an incredibly irresponsible individual; to knowingly advocate for something in this manner when she is far better educated than most in this realm, in particular Jenny McCarthy and jokes like Dr. Sears, to truly know better. She didn't earn her certificate from the University of Phoenix, she has a legitimate PhD and there's absolutely no excuse for her actions here. And yet she now seems to have recused herself of any responsibility and backed away from this conversation in recent years, pretending to be neutral on the subject, all the while leaving her past assessments on vaccination and her great distrust of epidemiology and immunology out in the open for people to take as they will without her providing any amendments to address the former.
She has not come out against herself, she leads people on to the notion that epidemiology and immunology is just bad science and it's not to be trusted, even though, without it, there would be far, far greater suffering, death and illness in the world. I couldn't be more disgusted with her and her abuses of her PhD and her fame from a science-based hit sitcom.

I am in agreement re two camps. People are so quick to judge/comment/dismiss. "Disgusting" stance on vaccines? Cmon, she's not an idiot.

I am in agreement with Hugo. People are so quick to judge/comment/dismiss. "Disgusting" stance on vaccines? Cmon, she's not an idiot. When my kids were little I didn't take my advice from celebs, even "smurt 'uns". These comments are counter productive nonsense.

I have several questions for people that vehemently defend vaccinating children on the current (ridiculous) schedule ~49 doses before the age of six?

1) How many expert bio-medical researchers/lab techs/doctors claim to be an expert and fully understand all of the potential side-effects of any of the current vaccines out on the market?

2) Over the course of three decades, what other correlating factor could possibly account for the increased rate of diagnosed autism go from ~1/1,000 to ~1/80, other than better recognition and diagnosis?

3) If the CDC/NIH stand so strongly behind their viewpoint on vaccination, and have pumped millions and millions of dollars into studying the effects of vaccines on children, why haven't they (still) conducted a survey and study to compare if there are apparent different health outcomes in the the vaccinated population vs. the vaccinated population... Seems logical, especially since so much attention, money and research has gone into this topic in the last decade, wouldn't conducting this research be comparatively simple to other research that's already been done, and be pretty vital information for anyone trying to educate themselves on the topic? (http://therefusers.com/refusers-newsroom/congressman-introduces-bill-re…)

4) Even if you don't want to debate any of the questions asked above, why was the Vaccine Injury Compensation program established, and settlements/verdicts in courts are actively RIGHT NOW, TODAY, deciding in favor of/paying out retribution to families that bring charges against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service for believing vaccines contributed to their child having autism? (http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/statisticsreports.html, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/post2468343_b_2468343.html) . Most settlements to date have included the caveat that although they are settling with the prosecution, they are not relenting to the charge that vaccines did in fact cause autism. Most recent cases however are NOT including this caveat, although they are not explicitly acknowledging that they believe vaccines are responsible either.

Before, pharmaceutical companies that produced the vaccines were responsible for this. The US government realized early on this was not sustainable and there would be no companies to massively produce these vaccines if the current course was allowed to play out, so they created the Vaccine Injury Compensation program and vaccine court and don't hold pharmaceutical companies liable if they correctly go through the current process of making a vaccine safe for public consumption.

I'm not a medical doctor (I have my grad degree in Computer Science/Mathematics), so I am intelligent enough to read through and understand all of the current medical testing/studies done on current vaccines and whether they contribute to the development of autism in children, and I've read a great deal of credible medical journal publications/online articles on the subject in the last decade. As far as that goes, all I can do is take medical researchers' word for it, as it should also apply for the rest of the majority population, but most people seem to think that all of the research published by medical experts is their own and tout it as a universal truth. How many emerging studies/publications have you read about in the last decade that reverse the majority understanding and safe use of a particular drug/vaccine? How many get recalled every year by the FDA??? I can also ask the CDC/NIH the same questions that seems to repeatedly be asked by vaccine skeptics, and then wonder why the hell there usually aren't any straight answers. I understand there is a realistic and legitimate reason to be afraid of exposing frightening statistics and research to the general population that would cause a massive vaccine outcry, and possibly lead to epidemic outbreaks and in many cases the unnecessary loss of life for preventable diseases. That is a legitimate fear of the CDC/NIH, and why so much of the behind-the-scenes acknowledgment of the problems vaccines can cause is hush-hush. If you research the current list of vaccines children take before the age of six, the majority are for illnesses that are not fatal, and the potential side-effects are sometimes worse (not the majority, just a few, I'm only illustrating a point here, not making it the main topic of conversation). Children with vaccines have developed the sickness they are vaccinated against as well too (again, not my main point or even close to it, just another thing to consider for the Pros/Cons argument). Why the hell does a child need a Hep B shot if the mother or close family members know they are not positive for it....really? If anyone thinks pumping 30-some vaccines into a child before they turn 1-year old is perfectly healthy/safe and normal, I ask you to seriously reconsider your stance by looking at the reams of data out there on the negative effects what certain batches can cause, the countless stories/accounts out there now of regression/disabilities developing in children soon after a round of vaccines, and that the courts since 1989, through the HHS Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, has made more than 3,000 payments totaling more than $2 billion to families of those who have been injured or have died because of vaccines. The federal government has also quietly compensated a number of families whose children developed autism or symptoms of autism as a result of vaccines.

Most people I've raised these questions with that are considered to be in the "anti-vaccine" camp really aren't anti-vaccine at all, they are usually for a delayed and more spread-out vaccine schedule for their children. The reason why these debates are so hot is because ultimately people are worried to death that their kids may die on one side of the fence of a preventable illness or on the other side develop a serious disorder/condition as the result of trying to prevent their children from dying b/c of a preventable illness. It's not a black and white issue, scientists and the medical community have only scratched the surface of fully understanding the entire autism spectrum and what goes on in the brain, so if you don't have a full, complete understanding of a condition, how can you say with 100% certainty you know vaccines don't contribute to it because you haven't found that "magic gene" yet?

I am for a delayed vaccination schedule for my children, after observing serious regression and continued speech/expression difficulties following a round of three shots for my oldest son. All of my children will receive vaccines, but they won't be getting 49 before the age of 6, and it's truly confounding to see so many people adamantly defend vaccinating their children exactly as instructed by the majority of doctors out there today when there are still so many unanswered questions out there

We live in a world controlled by media, and that media is focused almost entirely on the lives of so called "celebs". So to suggest that new parents don't base their judgements on what celebs think or advise is just ignorance, most of the population teeter on the trends of celebs. Fashion, Health Fitness, all of these have a huge impact on the populace and they are widely promoted by celebrities, so to have one dismiss the importance of vaccinations for children is morally wrong.

Christopher, I'll try to get to some of your concerns in a new post, maybe next week.

I'm seeing an awful lot of "she's not an immunologist" remarks, which are somewhat problematic as reasons to reject Bialik's arguments. First, she has a doctorate in neuroscience, and I would presume that carries over into some broad knowledge of biology. Second, logically, if only an immunologist could have intelligent opinions on the subject, then only an immunologist could recognize that someone else's opinion wasn't intelligent. Thirdly, if one supports such a restriction of valued opinion to an anointed few, then obviously one must believe in a whole raft of religions, because one would certainly not think oneself qualified to dispute the issues with trained, accredited theologians.
There are a great number of theologians who believe things I do not, and I have no degree in their field, while many of them hold doctorates. And if that's acceptable, I see nothing at all wrong with a neuroscientist having reason to disbelieve the opinion of an immunologist.
Rational thought is not restricted to the accredited experts in a field.

As a scientist trained with a PhD in immunology, I can attest that I know little to nothing about neuroscience. Not because I am not interested, but because the amount of scientific literature is vast and keeping up with my own immunological niche is difficult. I have a hard time keeping up with immunological findings outside of my own field, much less in other, unrelated, fields (i.e. neuroscience). Dr. Bialik is undoubtedly smart and certainly knows much about her niche field of neuroscience, but to say that translates into immunology is unlikely. Broad knowledge of biology does not work for understanding the scientific literature clearly.

The current schedule is not pulled out of the blue and was designed such that it would provide immunity to certain diseases (MMR for example) at times when children were most likely to acquire the disease. Delaying actually makes one more susceptible to those diseases for a longer period. It's not voodoo although it can seem like it. There is also little evidence that multiple vaccines at once or back to back can "overwhelm" the immune system. It is exquisitely evolved to respond to and contain multiple assaults at once and, in fact, does so on a daily basis.

Great article. I am always surprised to find intelligent people who embrace pseudo science. These are the concerns of educated, well-off people in North America. In the developing world where issues like life and death are critical, this is an issue at all. In fact, those who espouse love for CAM, will always embrace Science-based medicine when faced with something serious. I will even wager a bet on that.

I was astounded by Ms. Bialik's anti-vaccine stance so I looked at her qualifications for her PhD. As it turns out, she has no research publications from her "PhD" work. How is it possible that a PhD was awarded to her when publishing original research is a requirement at better PhD programs. I'm astounded because even several publications in low impact journals do not reflect a decent PhD and she does not have even one. Will UCLA explain how it is possible that she was awarded a PhD with no research publications? Given this revelation, it is not surprising that she harbors such views on science when she is clearly unqualified to do so.

And what about his recent video against animal testing? He says it's unnecessary, but the truth is that we would know so little about Biology without animal research. She starts the video saying that in real life she is a neuroscientist. I appreciate she got her PhD and all, but in real life she is an actress, not a neuroscientist. Real-life neuroscientists don't only have a PhD, they work on neuroscience everyday. As a Biology professor, I was really offended by her video.

A homeopath and Dr. Jay will teach you about vaccines—and, no doubt, autism

oracknows — Thu, 31 May 2012 01:23:14 +0000

A homeopath and Dr. Jay will teach you about vaccines—and, no doubt, autism

Remember Dr. Jay?

Regular readers know about whom I speak. I'm talking about Dr. Jay Gordon, pediatrician to the stars' children. Dr. Jay has been a fixture on this blog on and off for seven years, first having popped in as a commenter way back on Respectful Insolence, Mark 1, when I first noted him promoting antivaccine nonsense claiming against all science that vaccines cause austism on—where else?—that wretched hive of scum and quackery, The Huffington Post. Since then, Dr. Jay has assiduously denied that he is antivaccine, all the while spewing antivaccine canards hither, thither, and yon. If the search box were working properly on the new blog setup, I'd tell you just to type Dr. Jay's name into it and see the evidence for what I've just said flow. However, since the search box isn't working, I'm reduced to providing you a link to a custom Google search that should provide the same thing in a clumsy, but reasonably effective, manner.

Basically, over the last seven years, Dr. Jay has become known for his ceaseless need to convince you, my readers, that he is not anti-vaccine, combined with his utter failure to do so. The reason that he fails to do so is because he can't resist repeating easily refuted anti-vaccine tropes, such as the "formaldehyde" gambit or the toxin gambit, likening vaccine manufacturers to tobacco companies (a comparison that, I daresay, greatly inspired the young antivaccinationist Jake Crosby), and using an old Brady Bunch episode as "evidence" that measles is not that big a deal. Meanwhile, he is pediatrician for Evan, Jenny McCarthy's son (he wrote the foreword to one of her books), and is apparently also pediatrician to Mayim Bialik's children as well, supporting and reinforcing both her attachment parenting and her antivaccinationism. Basically, while piteously proclaiming that he is not "antivaccine," Dr. Jay is an apologist for the antivaccine movement and spreads fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about vaccines. Over the years, both here and by e-mail, I’ve had exchanges with Dr. Jay in which he repeatedly asserts that his 30+ years of “clinical experience” have led him to conclude that vaccines cause regressive autism and that this clinical experience trumps the numerous epidemiological studies that have not only failed to find the link but failed spectacularly, to the point where we can conclude that vaccines almost certainly have nothing to do with autism. Over time, I (and several of my readers) have tried and tried again to educate Dr. Jay, to no avail. No matter how many times we try to explain the concepts of confirmation bias and that correlation does not necessarily imply causation, it all seems to fall on deaf ears.

The bottom line is that Dr. Jay has a profound misunderstanding of science and far too much faith in his own ability to avoid the cognitive pitfalls to which every human being is prone. Not that any of this stops him from advising parents not to vaccinate their children or showing up on TV to assert with utter conviction and confidence (and, of course, no scientific evidence) that vaccines cause autism. Deny it as much as he will, he is clearly antivaccine. Even Steve Novella, who is usually much more polite and less—shall we say?—insolent agrees.

Despite Dr. Jay's serious problem with science and antivaccine proclivities, I generally think that he's basically a good guy. He's just wrong, so very, very wrong. Sometimes, I even have hope that you and I might be starting to get through to him. Not anymore. At least, not any more since I saw this:

The Vaccine Talk with Drs. Jay Gordon and Lauren Feder on Saturday, June 23 in Los Angeles

Dr. Feder is described as:

Lauren Feder, M.D. is a nationally recognized physician who specializes in primary care medicine, pediatrics and homeopathy. Known for her holistically minded approach and combining the ‘best of both worlds,’ Dr. Feder is a frequent lecturer for parents and professionals and has been seen nationally on various health-oriented television and radio programs including most recently on The Doctors, Oprah and Friends interviewed by Dr. Mehmet Oz. She is the president of the Holistic Pediatric Alliance, author of Natural Baby and Childcare and The Parents’ Concise Guide to Childhood Vaccinations, and is in private practice in Los Angeles. www.drfeder.com

Lovely.

But does anyone here remember Lauren Feder? I do. I've written about her before. In fact, her medical group is made up of herself, a P.A., and a chiropractor. Feder was a frequent contributor to Mothering Magazine, back when it still existed (sadly, Mothering.com persists as a website that's even more of a wretched hive of scum and antivaccine quackery than HuffPo ever was). Indeed, last fall I noted that she wrote about the pertussis vaccine and whether children should receive it. In it, she recommended homeopathic remedies for whooping cough and "natural" methods to prevent "vaccine injury." In fact, in the case of pertussis, she recommends giving three pellets of homeopathic DTaP 30C once a week for three weeks, beginning the day of the vaccination. She recommends the same thing for the Hib vaccine, homeopathic Hib given the same way. On her website, there is a whole slew of articles on homeopathy, including one that advises taking homeopathic remedies as though they were real medicine. In one of them, Feder even writes:

The homeopathic remedies described in these articles for the website are for basic self-limiting conditions that do not require a medical diagnosis. These are minor illnesses with few symptoms. The homeopathic treatment of severe illnesses and chronic diseases requires the expertise of a professional homeopath.

No, homeopaths shouldn't be allowed in the same room as a patient with a severe illness unless she is a family member there to give support. Certainly, no homeopath should ever be allowed to attempt to treat a severe illness or chronic disease. Unfortunately, Dr. Feder disagrees. She advises the use of homeopathy for pertussis (as I mentioned before), for colic, thrush, teething, ADHD, the flu, colds, skin rashes, infertility, menopause, conditions during pregnancy, depression, psoriasis, and many others. Moreover, Feder is not just a homeopath. She's into all sorts of woo, including—of course!—"detoxification" woo (gemmotherapy).

Believe it or not, I had thought that even Dr. Jay recognized that homeopathy is about the purest form of quackery that there is. I really had. Apparently, I held too high an opinion of him. From my perspective, teaming up with a homeopath for a business proposition like this to give a talk on vaccines tells me one of two things. Either Dr. Jay doesn't understand some seriously basic science, thus completely belying his claims of being a scientists, or he doesn't care. Either way, one has to wonder whether Dr. Jay has forgotten Avogadro's number from his days in college chemistry and pre-clinical medical school classes. It's that number that demonstrates the utter scientific bankruptcy behind homeopathy. Basically, many homeopathic remedies are serially diluted in 100-fold dilutions that are abbreviated as "C." Thus, a 1C dilution is a 100-fold dilution, but you'll rarely, if ever see only a 1C homeopathic dilution given that one tenet of homeopathy is that diluting a remedy makes it stronger. More frequently, we see 30C dilutions, which are 30 serial 100-fold dilutions, or a 10^-60 dilution. Given that Avogadro's number is approximately 6.023 x 10²³. That means that we're talking about dilutions more than 10³⁶-fold higher than Avogadro's number. That's why skeptics and scientists frequently point out that homeopathy is nothing more than water. In fact, any dilution greater than about 12C (certainly greater than 15C) is unlikely to have even a single molecule of active compound in it.

In fact, because I feel merciful today, I will provide Dr. Jay with a lesson. Here's perhaps my absolute favorite deconstruction of homeopathy. It's only a bit more than two and a half minutes long, and it comes from Richard Dawkins' The Enemies of Reason TV documentary:

As I've pointed out before, homeopathy is basically sympathetic magic following the law of similarity and the law of contagion. Yet, Dr. Jay has decided to start doing talks with a homeopath about vaccines:

Come join these nationally recognized doctors for a candid talk about vaccinations in the 21st century. Together they bring a wealth of experience in the field of holistic pediatrics and vaccine safety. This educational workshop is for parents and practitioners who are seeking optimal health for our children. In this workshop they will present information on vaccinations, and answer your questions on:

Pros and cons of vaccines

How vaccines work

Vaccine ingredients

Vaccination in the news (including California’s bill and exemptions)

Overview of each vaccine/illness

Safe Shot Strategy

BRING US YOUR QUESTIONS

Holy crap! A homeopath and Dr. Jay explaining how vaccines work and proposing a "safe shot" strategy? One might as well have a creationist explaining evolution, a birther discussing Barack Obama's early childhood, a moon hoaxer describing the Apollo 11 mission, or an antivaccinationist explaining the immune system.

Oh, wait. We already have that right here in this advertised event.

I realize that Dr. Jay is an easy target. However, sometimes easy targets are the most necessary targets. After all, Jay has made quite the name for himself in alternative health circles. He's been associated with two celebrity moms (Jenny McCarthy and Mayim Bialik), both of whom are antivaccine and both of whom have achieved a fair amount of notoriety. He's become the go-to pediatrician for the anti-vaccine movement (although I note that Dr. Bob Sears appears to be nipping at his heels these days). It's because he shows up in the media so often and because he so frequently serves as an apologist for the antivaccine movement that it's important to point out the erroneous statements he makes. It's also important to take note of a talk like this, because Dr. Jay's willingness to team up with a homeopath to promote dubious information about vaccines demolishes any pretension he might have to being science-based.

I really didn't think Dr. Jay could sink this low. I really didn't. Apparently I was wrong, and he can. What's next? Becoming a homeopath himself? As hard as it is to believe, I'm really disappointed in Dr. Jay. As often as we've butted heads in the past and as annoyed as I've been by his embrace of the antivaccine movement, I did expect better. Admittedly, expecting him to realize that homeopathy is pure quackery is a really low expectation, particularly given that he's a physician, but sadly he now can't clear even that low bar anymore.

oracknows Wed, 05/30/2012 - 21:23

Tags

Antivaccine nonsense

autism

complementary and alternative medicine

complementary and alternative medicine

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Categories

Medicine

Holy crap! A homeopath and Dr. Jay explaining how vaccines work and proposing a “safe shot” strategy? One might as well have a creationist explaining evolution, a birther discussing Barack Obama’s birth, a moon hoaxer describing the Apollo 11 mission, or an antivaccinationist explaining the immune system.

And a surgeon...

I wonder if he believes in bloodletting, to balance the humours?

"I'm not anti-chemo, I just believe that once. these leeches drain this plethora, your black bile level will rise. Then, in time, your tumour will sort itself out".

Dr Jay should be well and truly ashamed of sharing a stage with a homeopath. What a fool.

"Bring us your questions"?

What's the point? Dr. Jay won't answer them anyway. At least, not based on his track record in the comments here or on Twitter. I know there are a number of questions that I've asked him and that others have asked him that he has yet to answer.

Oh, and your post comes at an interestingly coincidental time; just had a news alert to a Mothering-dot-com post discussing homeopathic vaccines. Ho boy.

Homeopathic vaccines. Or how to pack the maximum stupidity in the smallest package.

I was ranting about homeopathy --
http://eusa-riddled.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/do-aquastors-dream-of-hydrau… (warning, contains frivolity and distractions)*
and discovered in the course of my research that the homeopaths in question are regular contributors to the 'Frontiers' stable of open-access e-journals:
http://www.frontiersin.org/publications/2912055

Obviously this calls into question the value of Frontiers' gate-keeping. What next? Will they be publishing submissions from Creation scientists?
Is it worth publishing in any of the Frontiers journals? Any feedback from people here would be welcome. Asking for a friend, of course.

* Executive summary: There is a serious need for some Respectful Insolence directed at the University of Verona.

Dr Jay may have forgotten Avogadro's number...
but we have ways of making him remember!**

No, I don't think he's forgotten: perhaps he merely goes along with an amusing notion : homeopathy is natural medicine without side effects ( I think James Sweet said that here @ RI)- a mild herbal tonic that *does no harm*.

Thus a woo-meister ( or a real doctor) might talk of how this mild remedy helps without damaging like pharmaceuticals.
Here's where I draw the line: woo-meisters may have a serious lack of education and thus may not know anything at all about how truly weak the dilution is ( actually, it's as weak as their argument)
but
how can a person who completed med school NOT know this? If you forget this.. how reliable would you be as a physician. This is something basic.

No, I believe- with all due respect- that he is going with the flow of woo that this audience accepts and cherishes. Even though he probably knows otherwise. Homeopathy is popular amongst certain groups and he preaches to the converted. There's something intrinsically wrong about that. Shouldn't a doctor want to educate patients or the general public in ways to help them to have a healthier life and to avoid health hazards? Shouldn't he warn them that this is indeed, nonsense? A waste of time and money?

Sometimes educating people involves more than imparting new ideas, it means you have to assist them in discarding old ones as well. He is not an anthropologist going into a pristine, isolated culture trying with all of his might not to interfere with their mores and taboos. This is freaking LA!

** I've always wanted to use that phrase- cognitive psych and all

As if to provide grist for my mill, today's Natural News articles include one by Willow Tohi who discusses homeopathic remedies for children.

First she informs us that children die from conventional medicine and doctors keep on writing those prescriptions and then describes a Starter Kit of 6 "remedies"and their applications. Needless to say, adults may benefit from them as well but people with chronic conditions should consult a practictioner. Dana is mentioned as a source.

If what you espouse or tolerate** as a doctor is similar to an article at Natural News, perhaps you should be doing some soul-searching about your path in life and where you're heading next. Deep thoughts should be forthcoming, I'd hope.

** Dr Lauren and Dr Jay, respectively

Dr. Oz has shown him the way, and he will stop nothing short of his own TV show to tell the masses what his peers ridicule. If you can't go for the Nobel price, go for the money.

The first question for Dr. Jay that comes to mind is, as always, "Are you F-ing serious? You're telling us as a trained physician you support treating depression, infertility, etc. with nothing more than water?"

My personal favorite Dr. Jay moment was his claim that the devaluation of anecdotes as scientific data relied on some sort of appeal to authority, and that his anecdotes have equal scientific weight to decades of accumulated data. In short, that he has as much scientifical knowledge in his head as all of the rest of us put together.

ht_p://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/10/06/cries-the-antivaccinationist-why-are-we-1/

So on the assumption that you'll show up again, Dr. Jay, do you still believe that you know more than everybody else put together?

The kind of irresponsible behaviour displayed by Dr Gordon here - cavorting with homeopaths? Come on! - is IMO a complete and abject abdication of his professional ethics and standards as an MD.

@ Composer99:

I think he already so abdicated by knowingly committing gross malpractice in regard to vaccination.

(By "knowingly" here I mean that he has been informed of the truth - repeatedly - even if he's too clueless to care about facts.)

Thanks, NG! Thanks for directing the financial sharks with their imbecilic English over to RI!

@herr doktor bimler

The microbiology related frontiers journals have been fine in my experience. Since I'm a bacteria person I don't really pay attention to their other journals, and its possible that there are bad papers in those journals but when I've had pubmed hits lead me there what I've read is fine.

I have some "friends" who've published there and some "friends" who've reviewed for them, so really not any different than any other microbiology journal.

This works pretty well for now: type into your search engine

"jay gordon MD FAAP" site:http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/

I don't remember if he ALWAYS signs MD FAAP though.

ARMCHAIR PSYCHIATRY BEGINS---------------------

Dr. Jay reminds us of a very passive/aggressive prelate of ours back on Glaxxon Prime, whose placid, syrupy sweetness is often revealed to be a façade when the pressurized rage beneath the surface breaks through from time to time. Almost started a war with the Kthraaxx over a lovely platter of flenk one night. So it appears to us with the good doctor. He seems so chipper and good natured . . . at first. Then the cracks in the edifice of "kindly Dr. Jay" appear when he's presented with actual scientific reality and he's reminded that the fluffy, all-natural bed in which he's chosen to lie means that he will never gain the acceptance of the majority of his peers. Well we certainly know how we feel when confronted with an impudent "no." Alas, poor Dr. Jay, tedious human decorum prevents you from the simple joy of flensing the quarrelsome and the contrary, it's so satisfying.

Lord Draconis Zeneca VH7iHL

Glaxxon PharmaCOM Department Chair of the Armchair Psychiatric Division, Foreward Mavoon of the Great Fleet, Flenser Extraordinare.

Glaxxon PharmaCOM Terrabase DIA
0001011101111011111111100010111

ARMCHAIR PSYCHIATRY ENDS--------------------

I really miss the preview feature.

I meant the above to find comments from Jay, not about him or responding to him.

I lost any respect for Dr. Jay years ago. He does not really care about the health and well being of children, he only cares about pandering for the cash. Especially since he does not take health insurance.

Along with leaving children vulnerable to vaccine preventable diseases, he denigrates women who cannot breast feed for a number of legitimate reasons.

Hey! Perhaps that is why he does not like vaccines! Dr. Maurice Hilleman was not able to get breast milk because his mother (and twin sister) died shortly after he was born. Maybe Dr. Jay is jealous of Dr. Hilleman's genius and very positive impact on the health of children.

Dr. Jay probably has forgotten that death in child birth was very common, especially in what were the frontiers of the American West like Montana. Actually, Dr. Jay has forgotten lots of history. There is just not enough room in his head for history and medical science when it gets filled with homeopathic nonsense.

I just find his attitude insufferable. Not only is he wrong about pretty much everything, and I basically don't trust everything he says including "the," "but," and "then," but he's also always so smug and smarmy about everything. I can't stand either smugness or smarm.

@ Interrobang:

I'd describe it as an attitude that, if only everyone else would simply admit the self-evident truth that he's perfect and infallible, the world work run so much more smoothly.

@ Chris: " he denigrates women who cannot breast feed for a number of legitimate reasons."

Not wanting to BF is a legitimate reason on its own. The denigration of women who choose or cannot BF (regardless of reason) should stop.

Although mothering magazine may be gone, mothering.com is still in full force, crazy forums leading poor women to terrible (dangerous) parenting choices.

I recently registered at a baby store and received a copy of "fit pregnancy" which had 2 articles (one was answering readers question). 1 by Dr. Jay, 1 by Dr. Andrew Weil! I was appalled to see my OB's office had copies in their waiting area. While I realize none of the pregnancy and parenting mags are completely woo free (or judgement free), I really wonder if the OBs have any clue the crap in some of those magazines, that sometimes have articles directly refuting OBs recommendations!

@herr doktor binter:

Frivolity and distraction?! I'm there!
Oh my, a topless George Takei. *fans self*

@Chris (12:30pm) I too am bothered by Dr. Jay's ability to ignore history. Never mind theory or process, actuarial tables (and headstones at cemeteries, or heck even old newspapers) just don't support the concept of "natural health". Humans are, by nature, vulnerable to the diseases that evolved to prey on us... arguing against vaccination is like arguing that we should only fight off wolves bare-handed because using fisticuffs is the natural way and natural is better than the artificial defenses of spear, bow, or gun.

The actuarial tables say I have a decent shot at seeing my centenial with most of my teeth, hearing, and eyesight. That is due in no small part to the advances of modern medicine... anyone giving that up is a chump, and anyone denying that standard of care to their kids is even worse than a chump.

-- Steve

he denigrates women who cannot breast feed for a number of legitimate reasons.

I did like the RI comment thread in which Dr Jay simultaneously argued that vaccination mandates are an unwarranted intrusion into parental autonomy, and that breast feeding is so important it should be made compulsory.

JohnV:
The microbiology related frontiers journals have been fine in my experience.
My friend thanks your friends.

Oh my, a topless George Takei. *fans self*
A close-up.

Okay, how did herr doktor bimler manage to post two comments within twenty minutes, while I just got told I was going too fast and it was hours ago when I posted!

The "too fast" has absolutely nothing to do with actual comment timings. I got it this morning - after not having posted for at least a couple DAYS.

Dr. Jay and a homeopath?

Sounds like the blind leading the stupid.

Chris Hickie, MD, PhD

I have ranted on this subject before but once again into the breach. Why hasn't the California Medical Society lifted this clown's license to practice medicine?

This interview shouldn't come as a big surprise, seeing as how Jay Gordon has been promoting homeopathy on his website for a long time. Check out the alternativ medicine section and one of Jay's remedies for ear infections in kiddies:

"I like to put mullein/garlic oil in the ears hourly for a day or two and give pulsatilla 6X or 12C (homeopathic strength–the range I have given indicates homeopathic ignorance… but it works) or lachesis homeopathically hourly for two days."

ht_p://drjaygordon.com/alternative/earinfections-2.html

Yes, I know, "homeopathic ignorance" is a redundancy.

Apparently in Jay's case, FAAP means "Follower of Ancient Asinine Practices".

I'm sad. I'm very sad. Dr. Jay told his twitter followers that they should follow me because, apparently, he had learned a lot about epidemiology from my Epi Night School series. (I got inundated with requests to be followed by many a warrior mommies.) It appears that he didn't learn.

He didn't learn a thing.

All my opinion, of course. And none of this is to be construed as the opinion of any of my employers. To do so puts you on the same wavelength as one Jake Crosby. Trust me, you don't want to be on that wavelength. <-- Also my opinion.

My dearest Lord Draconis;

We here at Illuminata Ltd are not amused with your so-called armchair psychiatrising, most ESPECIALLY when you extend your provenance to include fellow humans-
even if they are fellow humans that we do not particularly LIKE -
it is all well and good when you stick it to your own kind, i.e. scaley otherworldlings dominated by their limbic systems, it is another story when you step into our area of expertise. So watchit there, Mister! Or else we will no longer train your shills and create information tailored to your needs.

SIncerely yours,
DW, CEO & CFO, Illuminata LTD

@ herr doktor bimler:

We here at Illuminata Ltd are very amused.
D

Okay, how did herr doktor bimler manage to post two comments within twenty minutes

It's the special Takei Fast-track Exemption.

BLOCKQUOTE> “I like to put mullein/garlic oil in the ears hourly for a day or two and give pulsatilla 6X or 12C (homeopathic strength–the range I have given indicates homeopathic ignorance… but it works) or lachesis homeopathically hourly for two days.”

Ah, yes, dilutions of 10^-6 and 10^-24 should of course seem equally efficacious to Dr. Jay. Perhaps, though, he needs to collect a few more anecdotes before he will feel comfortable prescribing even more incredibly dilute preparations of water.

I had forgotten how hawt he was.... well he still is, he just doesn't play for my team.

"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!" - possibly the first and only thing Dr Jay learned at dinosaur training school.

Sigh. I miss the preview function. Let me try that again:

“I like to put mullein/garlic oil in the ears hourly for a day or two and give pulsatilla 6X or 12C (homeopathic strength–the range I have given indicates homeopathic ignorance… but it works) or lachesis homeopathically hourly for two days.”

(fans Katherine Lorraine) There, there. I know just how you feel.....

Good Herr doktor - please give out fans and warnings before posting such things.

They make for MUCH better thoughts than dear Dr Jay. I fear any day that pertussis, measles, et cetera, will be back more than they already are, and then we can all applaud at Dr Jay - who will make LOTS of money caring for the sick children while he can't make lots of money caring for healthy ones who had their vaccines. And they call US Pharma Shills....

...um... er
pardon me, but um..
isn't it customary for dear Dr Jay to show up soon after he is mentioned @ RI... especially if his name dominates the title of a post?
I sincerely hope that nothing is amiss..
Perhaps someone should check on him.
I hope that he still likes us.

The “too fast” has absolutely nothing to do with actual comment timings. I got it this morning – after not having posted for at least a couple DAYS.

Indeed. I've found more often than not that simply hitting the back button and immediately hitting submit again works. The whole thing's a mess.

@herr doktor bimler 7:07am

regarding frontiers'in journal, I have one publication (neuroscience) with them (third author out of 4) and the review was excellent and rigorous.

A.L.

As a long-time commenter at WordPress, believe me when I say that you will, in time, get used to hearing that you are posting too fast. At such times, the standard response is FYWP. I trust I shall not have to explain the acronym . . .

Yes, where is Dr. Jay? I expected him to show up long hence, at first all phony-friendly and slowly becoming more acid as his protestations were snarked and refuted. Maybe he's caught whooping cough or measles from one of his patients.

MESSAGE BEGINS———————

Cadre Leader DW, DL, etc., etc.

Normally I would have such pluck and verve rewarded with some time in the thranzor vats, but for some reason from you it simply delights me no end. It's what makes you so valuable to us. Still, with all my experience, I think I know what it is that makes you monkeys tick. But really, I don't think you could do without my largesse. Where do you think all of Illuminata's money comes from, the Rothschilds? Remember on which side your butter is breadeded . . . ed (I never know how to end that word). I must say that I'm crestfallen that the good doctor hasn't shown up to bask in all the attention he's recieving, perhaps he's just sitting back, admiring it from afar . . .

Lord Draconis Zeneca VH7iHL

Glaxxon PharmaCOM Department Chair of the Armchair Psychiatric Division, Foreward Mavoon of the Great Fleet, Pharmaca Magna of Terra

Glaxxon PharmaCOM Terrabase DIA
0001111111100010111

-------------------------------MESSAGE ENDS

OMG I just got this tweet in response to me re-tweeting this post:
"We have JAY GORDON as GUEST DJ here at Sinister in Hollywood on Sat June 9! Please help spread the word!" via @ClubBarSinister

Can you imagine? LOLOLOL

Yo Orac- I'm catching up here & see my name just came up in your "The Refusers Attack" column and it looks like something to do with spam. I'm down with a cold right now but I'll go back & read all the relevant stuff to try to figure out what went on. If someone spoofed my userID that would be "interesting" to put it mildly because I'm nobody special. BTW, everyone, this is the real g724 here, and Orac will be able to tell because the email address I list for this will match the one on most of my comments with few exceptions. In the exceptions, I substitute a phrase with four syllables, for the last syllable of the phrase that is in the domain name position in the usual address, and this should be pretty obvious to someone who checks it. (Yes, I'm protective of my privacy online, and take whatever steps I know of to prevent being tracked. Ideas stand or fall on their own merits; it's good most of us here agree on that point.)

Mr. Silver, it is a state law we must have car insurance. Why are you here?

Did you also have your car totaled by someone who failed to pay their auto insurance bill? Do you think it was the vaccines that caused the student driver to hit our car?

(yes, folks, before flying to Rochester, MN for son's heart surgery our seventeen year old car was hit by a student driver and totaled because the rear axle was bent... such fun!)

Oops, Mr. Silver got zapped.

“I like to put mullein/garlic oil in the ears hourly for a day or two and give pulsatilla 6X or 12C (homeopathic strength–the range I have given indicates homeopathic ignorance… but it works) or lachesis homeopathically hourly for two days.”

What does it mean then when I did nothing for my children's couple of ear infections and it worked? Have I just proven homeopathy works?

Lions & tigers & bears, oh my.

To avoid digressing this column, I posted in the column "The Refusers Attack Orac's Readers," where the "G724 topic" was discussed.

Brief summary of what I posted: Apology to Orac for wasting his time dealing with my stuff. Rationale for gray ops & psywar, and pledge to not promote those tactics in this forum in the future. Observation that the Refusers quoted none of my stuff about law enforcement related tactics (e.g. turning in pox mailers to the US Postal Inspection Service). And speculation that my stuff at least had the effect of making anti-vaxers more paranoid than they already were.

To read that stuff, go over there and reply there; there's no need to digress this column.

I keep reading antivaccinationism as antivacationism.

To quote Futurama:
Random guy waving a piece of paper: "I have a degree in homeopathic medicine!"
Robot*: "You have a degree in baloney!"

*Robot is roaming the streets recruiting scientists

Back to our regular war against reckless-endangerers....

Which is worse: doctors who promote anti-vaxism, or doctors who promote vaccination and also, as a means of getting "vaccine skeptics" their shots, promote homeopathic "remedies" to ward off any bad magic that might reside in the vaccines?

To my mind, if a spoonful of (homeopathic) water helps the (real) medicine go down, that's preferable to letting people avoid their shots and become walking vectors. By analogy, if a cancer patient needs chemo, and believes in prayer, it's OK for the doctor to encourage the patient to have their congregation pray for them when they're getting their chemo. The point is to get them to take their chemo, and if going along with prayer helps that goal, wonderful!

Of course I don't think that's what Dr. Jay is up to; if the above descriptions are correct it appears he's just up to the merry pursuit of self-interest and that's all. But it seems to me there would be room for someone to quite consciously and conscientiously risk some ridicule in order to round up a few more "vaccine skeptics" for their shots, by offering them the Waters of Woo to repair the pinpricks in their auras where the needles went.

Ideas stand or fall on their own merits

If you actually believed that, Sekrit Agint G724, you wouldn't still be standing by the suggestion of posting fake straw-man posts on antivax blogs to make antivaxxers look like paranoid conspiracy theorists. What part of "letting ideas stand or fall on their own merits" is it to stand next to someone describing their idea and shout "Hey, look at me! I share that same idea, and I'm a freaking nutball that you can dismiss!!"?

Go away, G724. Even if we knew whose side you were really on, we don't want your tactics on our side.

@herr doktor binter:

Oh... my... *fans self furiously*

@g724:

I don't think it's giving away too much to say that I can't use your e-mail address to verify that the person posting is you, given that you use a nonexistent e-mail address I've seen other people use over the years. Also right now I can't reliably use IP addresses because for some reason the current setup we have doesn't log accurate IP addresses. It did before, and I'm sure it will again, but right now IP addresses don't help me verify who someone is.

Denice: "pardon me, but um..
isn’t it customary for dear Dr Jay to show up soon after he is mentioned @ RI… especially if his name dominates the title of a post?
I sincerely hope that nothing is amiss.."

No, he's probably too busy healing the sick, unlike all the posters here who are wasting their time worrying about diseases that nobody sees anymore, which is proof that we don't need the vaccines that vanquished or vastly reduced their incidence, and besides you're all a bunch of poopy-headed shills who call him names.

Damn, but channeling Jay is a neuron-numbing task.

A homeopath and an anti-vaxxer walk into a bar, the homeopath asks for water with a drop of liquor in it and the anti-vaxxer... something related to something?

I can't write those kinds of jokes, shaddap.

@ Katherine Lorraine:
Hints-
Homeopaths believe that a drop of liquor makes a stiff drink
Anti-vaxxers are terrified of toxins ( therefore, no Scotch)
World-weary Bartender has 'seen it all" before.

@ Dangerous Bacon:
Maybe he went to off to Hawaii.

In other anti-vax news:
At AoA, Jake again attempts to question Dr O and is forbidden entry to the event at the door Ranting follows.

A homeopath and an antivaxer walk into a bar. The homepath asks for a drop of vodka in a glass of water, "Shaken, not stirred!"

The antivaxer tells him "You look taller on film."

@Denice:

I'm much better at elephant jokes.

How is an elephant like water? It never forgets.

Ohoh, that was an elephant and homeopathy joke. Ohoho, I'll go sit in the corner now.

@enkidu

I'm too lazy to verify, but I am going assume Jay Gordon, guest DJ is Jay Gordon of the band Orgy and not Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP, doesn't understand measles virus.

Homeopath:
Looking at his drink with one drop of liquor, says
"Wait a minute barman, you'd better add more- I'm driving"

Anti-vaxxer refuses a second drink- "Too many, too soon."

A homeopath and Dr Jay walk into a bar. The bar is struck by a meteor, and there was much rejoicing.

Dr. Jay doesn't appear to use Twitter or Facebook every day. He hasn't tweeted since Wednesday & hasn't updated his Facebook since Tuesday.

Excellent work, Dangerous Bacon! I can't even try.... I am sure your neurons will regain sensibility soon.

that was an elephant and homeopathy joke

Feeling thick-skinned? Try some homeopathic elephant.

Also right now I can’t reliably use IP addresses because for some reason the current setup we have doesn’t log accurate IP addresses.

That's quite impressive, but I suppose I'm not surprised. What does it report?

The same IP address for every commenter. The funny thing is, it didn't do that before. It first started doing that a day or two ago, which makes me think that the powers that be changed a setting somewhere and screwed things up.

isn’t it customary for dear Dr Jay to show up soon after he is mentioned @ RI… especially if his name dominates the title of a post?

I never did work out whether he was saying stupid things deliberately to bait Orac's commentors into responding, or whether he does genuinely believe that the measles virus is an ancient pathogen that has co-evolved with H. sapiens.

A homeopath and Dr. Jay walk by a bar. Dr. Jay asks "Why don't we go in there for a drink?" The homeopath says "That place is a rip off, they don't water down the drinks".

And don't forget the 9:30 show is completely different than the 7:30 show. Enjoy your dinner!

The same IP address for every commenter.

This would be hysterically funny if it weren't the compounding of a problem while accomplishing nothing, with trivial solutions staring one in the face.

The same IP thing may be reporting a server handling all posts or a dchp server or an incoming proxy maybe. The actual reported IP from each post probably isn't lost but just not getting passed.

Change is only good from a vending machine? Nah.

Yo Orac- Apologies again for wasting more of your time. At this point I'm thinking I should just let the G724 identity die of natural causes, and come back as another identity that will hopefully generate no further controversies and no further waste of your time dealing with same.

In case your comment goes to moderation, please read this:

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/06/02/time-to-throw-the-switch-o…

And patience, my readers. Thanks.

KMB: One Internetz™ to you.

My "alert" scanner is set to "ding" whenever my name is mentioned or even thought about by Orac and Company. It failed! Yes, Dr. Feder--she's an MD!!--and I will present together in a few weeks. AND, there will a discounted ticket price for denizens of RI.

This site is new and very buggy since I was here last. What happened?

Jay

If you put two quacks together how many ducks do you get?.....or is it the other way around?.......

Dr. Jay, if an MD turns their back on science and subscribes to homeopathy then they don't get to use their MD as credibility, at least not amongst the more initiated. You also couldn't pay me to attend your sad little woo-fest; I know what you peddle.

Yeah Dr. Jay, and I have a Ph.D., big deal. One of the most important things I learned while working on it was that advanced degrees are not complete proof against believing nonsense.

Yes, Dr. Feder–she’s an MD!!–and I will present together in a few weeks. AND, there will a discounted ticket price for denizens of RI.

I'll pass, thanks. Even if I were in the LA area, I doubt I'd go.

So, Dr. Jay, are you now a homeopathy believer? Don't you appreciate that homeopathy is complete and utter nonsense from a scientific point of view? It's utter piffle, perhaps the most blatant form of quackery outside of psychic surgery out there now. That's why I don't give a rodent's posterior if Dr. Feder is a physician; her medical school failed her (or she failed it) if she now believes that "like cures like," diluting things makes them stronger, and that water has long-lasting memory, which are the main tenets of homeopathy these days.

Seriously, Dr. Jay. Watch the video I included. It's the best two and a half minute deconstruction of homeopathy I've ever encountered.

Can't think how I missed this before, but Dr. Jay also touts homeopathic remedies for nursing moms (remember, he is a self-proclaimed male lactation specialist). His website encourages women to use:

"Rescue Remedy
This is a homeopathic remedy that is useful for triggering the letdown reflex. You take four drops under the tongue up to five minutes before pumping or nursing. Rescue Remedy can have a slight sedative effect, so use with caution".

"Ignatia 6x*
This is a homeopathic remedy that can work well in combination with a mild galactagogue. Dosage would be two tablets three times a day"

Jay is actually wrong about Rescue Remedy being a homeopathic preparation. It's a Bach flower product, which is highly diluted and relies on water "memory", but is not truly homeopathic because it is not succussed (shaken) and does not rely on the principle of similars.
Of course, one other resemblance between Bach flower remedies and homeopathy is that systematic clinical reviews have found the Bach remedies to be no better than placebo.

*not to be confused with Ignatius 6X of the Nation of Islam.

@ Dr Jay:

I have a question for you which might be best illustrated by an analogy:

in the past, I often spoke in public about issues related to my studies and former work; more recently, I am occasionally asked to address groups of women about their concerns by friends who think I might provide useful ideas for their associations. Generally, I decline.

Now suppose- oh, I don't know- I am asked to talk about psychological adaption after illness or recreational opportunities for women following a talk by an astrologer concerning personality and marriage based on astrological sign.

I don't think I'd want to be on board with that lineup. It's putting superstition and folklore on an equal footing with what I would present which would be based upon research. Of course, it would be different if I met an astrologer at a garden party and tolerated a brief conversation with her- I wouldn't make an issue or start an argument because we would be attending a purely social function and not being presented as speakers or information sources. And I have manners.

I think that you're in a similar scenario: if you speak at the same venue as a homeopathic physician it seems as though you subscribe to her beliefs unless if you loudly proclaim otherwise. Do you catch my drift?

Dr. Jay, I would never trust an MD who has forgotten, or more accurately, rejected basic chemistry. You and Dr. Feder don't care about the science, you just want to perform walletectomies on naive new age fools.

In reference to Dangerous Bacon's post above:

Most regular readers will recognize that "Ignatia 6x" is a 1ppm dilution of strychnine (or of a bean that contains strychnine, so the actual concentration of strychnine may be somewhat less). Unlike stronger homeopathic remedies, this is an actual measurable amount and could, I suppose, have some sort of physiological effect. fortunately, the standard pills provide well below the human LD50 dose.

To add to that M O'B, none of these woo nostrums have any oversight and quality control with regards to purity and potency so there are no guarantees of nasty contaminants and higher-than-claimed amounts of strychnine.

Hey, don't knock strychnine - it's good for what's ailing you.

"If you listen to what I say
You'll try strychnine some day
Make you jump, it'll make you shout
It'll even knock you out

Some folks like water
Some folks like wine
But I like the taste
Of straight strychnine"

- The Sonics

I don't see anything wrong with attachment parenting. I did research on it because I'd like to adopt in the future, and attachment theory is extremely interesting. Not so much attachment therapy quacks. Those guys are full of it. But, responding to a baby cries instead of leaving them to cry it out isn't a bad thing. No, I'd say Ezzo and Pearl is a lot worse on a child.
But Bailik annoys me for pushing attachment parenting, but being OK with infant circumcision which is painful and unnecessary and does NOT prevent HIV.
I want to be an attachment parent when I have kids, but I WILL vaccinate and use modern medicine because it's useful and not all folks who are interested in attachment parenting are anti-science. Attachment and brain development is an interesting thing to explore...

"Dr. Jay" (FAAP) states:

"Yes, Dr. Feder–she’s an MD!!–and I will present together in a few weeks."

Whether or not Dr. Feder has an "MD" or not, believing in homeopathy is proof positive of faulty reasoning. And since "Dr. Jay" also espouses homeopathy (and, apparently, Bach flower remedies), it appears that he isn't all that rational, either (of course, regular readers of RI knew that, already).

There are so many "MD's" who believe errant nonsense that I no longer see the degree as evidence of anything apart from once having had the ability to get through medical school.

Prometheus

Dangerous Bacon,

Or Tom Lehrer's immortal lyrics:

My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon.
It just takes a smidgen!
To poison a pigeon in the park.

Just when will Dr. Gordon revise his vaccine *recommendations*?:

This still appears on his website...

"The Prevnar vaccine is too new for me to recommend. The number of cases of Pneumococcal ear infections which could be prevented is very small and the number of cases of meningitis prevented is also small. I have no quarrel with doctors who recommend the shot or with parents who choose to get it. I have very strong objections to advertising this immunization to the general public on television. I don’t think enough information can be disseminated in 60 seconds."

Dr. Jay, the AAP approved the 7-valent vaccine in 2001 and approved the 13-valent Prevnar vaccine in 2010:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Vaccines/20391

How does it feel to be a pariah amongst your colleagues in the medical profession, Dr. Jay?

Lilady comments:

"How does it feel to be a pariah amongst your colleagues in the medical profession, Dr. Jay?"

I don't believe "Dr. Jay" is a pariah even among the medical profession - in fact, I doubt that his fellow physicians pay much attention to him. After all, in Los Angeles there are so many medically-oriented cranks (and have been for decades) that one out-of-date eccentric paediatrician doesn't even rise out of the noise.

I'm sure that "Dr. Jay" even has a circle of like-minded physicians and other "alternative" medical practitioners he can get together with over coffee (or, more likely, herbal tea) to share the illusion that they aren't completely irrelevant to medicine in the 21st century. In a city of over three million, there are enough eccentrics that any fringe belief can have a "support group".

No, making "Dr. Jay" a pariah would be giving him more credit than he is due. At best, he might become infamous as a contributor to an outbreak of some vaccine-preventable communicable disease, but even then he wouldn't be a pariah, just a sad, misinformed, out-of-date doctor - one of hundreds in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.

Why else do you think "Dr. Jay" keeps coming back to this 'blog? Do you think he enjoys getting his intellectual ass handed to him on a regular basis? No! What "Dr. Jay" gets from this 'blog is the sense that he's still relevant - that people will listen to what he has to say and take him seriously. Yes, it is thin gruel to sustain an ego, but there are precedents - for example:

"And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, to entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain and hate the idle pleasures of these days.
"
Richard III, Act 1, Scene 1

Prometheus

But Bailik annoys me for pushing attachment parenting, but being OK with infant circumcision which is painful and unnecessary and does NOT prevent HIV.

That's an odd thing to be "annoyed" about, given the plain reason.

@ Prometheus: I disagree with your appraisal of Dr. Gordon's standing with the majority of pediatricians and family practice doctors, who encounter parents who are reluctant to vaccinate their children, because of his quack pseudoscience.

It's not as if Dr. Jay maintains a "low profile"...he has gone over to the dark side in his quest to be the celebrities' pediatrician...all for fame and fortune (he's raking in the bucks by his policy of a cash practice).

While every pediatrician has to deal with a vast number of medical insurance plans and waiting for reimbursements for office visits and for vaccinations, the "pediatrician to the stars" has no worries about meeting his office overhead costs.

The overwhelming majority of pediatricians and family practice doctors follow the recommendations of the AAP and the AAFP Standards of Practice regarding timely and complete immunizations and take the time to educate parents about vaccines. These doctors also wrestle with the consequences of permitting parents to "pick and chose" if and when they will immunize their kids, because of the risks to unimmunized kids and exposing other infants and children who may have valid contraindications to some vaccines.

Dr. Jay may have "earned" some respect from his patients parents and other doctors such as Bob Sears, but he is a pariah amongst the majority of doctors who care for children.

He's sold his soul by pimping himself out to some D-List celebrities and he earned the derision of doctors who really understand immunology, and who actually care for children who have been sickened and maimed by vaccine-preventable diseases.

The whole concept of gently parenting a child doesn't go with forcing painful unnecessary surgery on an infant even if it is for religious reasons.
I really, really, strongly believe that things like circumcision should be left to the individual who owns their penis and not doctors, parents or religion.

Lilady,

I don't disagree that "Dr. Jay" has contributed as much to the success of measles, mumps and pertussis in the US as nearly anyone since Andy Wakefield. He certainly deserves to be a pariah, but from my perspective (currently attending a viral communicable disease conference in the Los Angeles Megalopolis), the local paediatricians and other physicians generally see him as an object of laughter rather than scorn.

Granted, the paediatricians do tend to wince a bit when I mention his name and they do complain that he has made their job harder (though not nearly as much as "Dr. Bob" Sears). While they do get a lot more questions (and hostility) about vaccinations, the general consensus is that most parents still get the vaccinations on schedule - a feeling supported by the vaccination statistics.

Despite the vapid nonsense shoveled out by "Dr. Jay" and his forename-favouring brethren (e.g. "Dr. Bob", "Dr. Amy", etc.), vaccine uptake in the US has only fallen a few percentage points, which speaks well to the skepticism of the majority of parents.

Don't get me wrong - a drop of even a few percent in vaccine uptake can be - and is - terribly critical. All you need do is witness the unprecendented (at least, since the development of effective vaccines) outbreaks of measles, mumps and pertussis in the US to see the effect of even a small fall-off in vaccine uptake.

However, it is reassuring that only a few percent of parents have "drunk the Kool-Aid" (apologies to Kraft Co.) and decided to not vaccinate their children. Imagine the carnage if 20% or 30% of parents decided they wanted their children to become immune to measles, mumps, rubella etc. "naturally".

So, I will concede that "Dr. Jay" should be a pariah and should be run out of town on a rail (of rough-hewn California redwood), but I don't see any evidence that his fellow physicians - even his fellow paediatricians - pay enough attention to him to bother reviling him, no matter how much he may deserve the honour.

Prometheus

Imagine the carnage if 20% or 30% of parents decided they wanted their children to become immune to measles, mumps, rubella etc. “naturally”.

We don't have to imagine it. We've seen what happened in the U.K. in the wake of Andrew Wakefield, where MMR uptake rates in London and some parts of the U.K. plummeted to below 70%. Not surprisingly, measles came roaring back, going from being declared under control in the mid-1990s to endemic again as of 2008.

And look at what happened in Japan with slightly less than 20% of undervaccinated kids , from Measles vaccine coverage and factors related to uncompleted vaccination among 18-month-old and 36-month-old children in Kyoto, Japan:

According to an infectious disease surveillance (2000), total measles cases were estimated to be from 180,000 to 210,000, and total deaths were estimated to be 88 [11,12]. Measles cases are most frequently observed among non-immunized children, particularly between 12 to 24 months. However, a nation-wide survey conducted in 2000 showed that measles vaccine coverage in Japan was 81.4%, which is not enough to prevent outbreaks [13].

Ugh. I don't think I trust a doctor that calls themselves Dr. (First Name).

Plus it doesn't help that it makes people interested in AP look like we are all nuts and I certainly do not think I am. This whole anti-vaccine thing is making me crazy and just about every day I have to explain WHY autism isn't caused by vaccines and NO autism isn't a myelin degenerative disease. Where do they even get this? Orac, if you have heard of this could you rant about it?

Darn, there goes that supposed medical truth down the drain: Harvard Med School researchers in co-operation with other institutes have debunked the imperative of anti-body mediated immunity via vaccination (never mind that there are less risky and actually healthful ways of ensuring robust immunity).
It seems that our innate, not acquired, immune system is the first gate-keeper in protecting us against viral attack.

Source:
Immunity 2012 Mar 23; 36(3): 415-426:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3359130/pdf/nihms-377739.pdf

And another thing:

"Current intramuscular vaccines and their adjuvants may produce an inflammatory response which fails to self-limit, triggering a cascade of potentially debilitating events. This chronic /systemic inflammation may eventually trigger /activate glial cells, which may then result in the expression of SEMA3B/SEMA5A and /or related semaphorins/factors, which may then negatively impact the growth and guidance of developing axons, and may further prevent their re-growth after injury, resulting in what we presently call AUTISM.

Autism rates are now increasing almost exponentially in proportion to vaccinations"

This the summary on evidence suggestive of vaccines causing autism in susceptible children posted on an essentially pro-vaccination web site (the authors just believe the number of vaccines children receive nowadays is excessive). - http://deathbyvaccination.com/

Thank You from the USA Science and Engineering Festival!

carlyo — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:54:03 +0000

Thank You from the USA Science and Engineering Festival!

The 2012 USA Science and Engineering Festival was a huge success this past weekend! More than 150,000 attendees battled the rain, traffic and crowds to celebrate science at the Convention Center!

The Festival would not have been possible without the hard work of our amazing volunteers! Over 750 volunteers dedicated their valuable time and showed incredible patience and enthusiasm during their shifts at the Festival. We are so grateful to ALL of you! We received wonderful feedback about our exhibitors and the amazing hands-on activities. Exhibitors made each person feel welcome and thoroughly explained their activities to attendees of all ages. And finally, we are so thankful for the extraordinary generosity of our sponsors and Festival Host Lockheed Martin.

With over 3,000 exhibits and 150 stage shows, there are so many wonderful Festival moments to highlight. Our Festival Host Lockheed Martin surprised us all with a few last minute additions including presentations by US Olympic Speed Skaters and cast members of NCIS Los Angeles. R2D2 made a special appearance along with our science celebrities including astronauts, Bill Nye, the Mythbusters, Mayim Bialik and NAO the robot! It was quite apparent that kids of all ages explored their "inner scientist" and had an amazing time at the Festival!

Bill Nye the Science Guy delighted crowds all weekend long! Watch this clip courtesy of The Epoch Times:

We received quite a number of comments and suggestions via email, twitter and Facebook. Twitter followers were tweeting and posting pictures all weekend long! We greatly appreciate all of the feedback and will definitely take it all into consideration for the next celebration!

Here are some of our favorite comments:

C.N. writes: "I can't say enough good things about this event! It was wonderful to see so many children so engaged with science, and clearly having fun at the same time! This was probably the best children's festival I have ever attended. Please bring it back to DC next year!"

C.J. writes: "What a FABULOUS Festival! You guys outdid yourselves. The exhibits and volunteers were wonderful. Loved all the cool giveaways, especially Lockheed Martin's blue lighty necklace. Wish we could have seen more... I too am home resting my feet! Thank you!"

NAEYC writes: "It was wonderful to see so many families at the Festival, and teachers who came from a distance to get ideas for their program."

Exhibitor SEM Link writes: "Thank you USA Science & Engineering Festival for allowing SEM Link to be a Partner and Exhibitor for the 2nd US Science and Engineering Festival Grand Finale and Expo. We had a blast and look forward to participating in next year's festival."

J.B. writes: "Whoever came up with the idea of the Science Festival should be congratulated. It made science fun for my children to learn about."

And one of the best comments we received in response to the enormous crowds that attended the Festival was from L.Y. "How nice to see people excited about science and engineering! Nice switch from what people usually complain about.....lines, crowds at concerts, sporting events, etc! Maybe we are making progress!"

Once again, we appreciate all of the feedback and please continue to share your favorite Festival moments on our Facebook page! Stay connected with the Festival and thank you all again your support and enthusiasm! We hope that the Festival inspired you to see that with hard work, dedication and of course the desire to dream big the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy this wonderful recap of Day 1 of the Expo by Festival Sponsor ENGINEERING.com:

carlyo Tue, 05/01/2012 - 06:54

Tags

USA Science & Engineering Festival

Nice pictures you got there I remember when I was on the civil engineer club, also went to many events. But now I dont see my friends very often, but we chat over text message. You can do it too at http://www.textme4free.com/ and it is for free.

Given that I was just one of a couple dozen volunteers at one booth and a half-dozen at another, I'm betting that there were actually far more than 750 volunteers helping out at the event once you count all the ones who like me helped man specific booths.

Anyhow, it was a fantastic event, and I hope there are many more.

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Tomorrow: Join us for the Woodstock of Science!

carlyo — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:21:10 +0000

Tomorrow: Join us for the Woodstock of Science!

The excitement is filling the air at Sneak Peek Friday today as we are gearing up for an amazing weekend! The Festival takes place Saturday from 10-6 and Sunday from 10-4 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Please visit our "Plan Your Day" section on our website for important information regarding attending this FREE event. Those attending the Festival will be in for quite a treat with over 3,000 hands-on science and engineering activities and over 150 stage shows!

We have had some incredible events leading up to this weekend including our AT&T Sponsored Nifty Fifty Program. The 'Nifty Fifty (times 2)' are a group of one hundred noted science and engineering professionals who visited Washington, D.C. area schools to speak about their work and careers. We were absolutely thrilled with the speakers and the students seemed to really enjoy this talented group that presented with such passion and enthusiasm.

Some of the Nifty Fifty Speakers included NIH Director Francis Collins, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Beth Shapiro, Nerd Girls Founder & Engineer Dr. Karen Panetta and many more! Students learned about the need to preserve coral reefs, sustainable 'Styrofoam' made from mushrooms, how diseases are cured and best of all the importance to follow their dreams and overcome obstacles.

This weekend the Festival will be jam packed with entertainment for the entire family. The Expo exhibits and stage shows are suitable for ALL AGES! We have a huge line up of entertainment for the little ones including PBS Kids, a plethora of exhibits and events for students of all ages and of course some in depth STEM exhibits for those with the advanced scientific palate. We have some big name science celebrities that will be in attendance including Bill Nye the Science Guy, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the Mythbusters, Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik, Sleight-of-hand Artist Apollo Robbins and Discovery Channel's Jeff Lieberman. Our Book Fair features 36 of the TOP science authors such as Homer Hickam, Robin Cook, Carl Zimmer, Lisa Randall and Ken Denmead.

Here are just a few of the stage shows and hands-on exhibits that you can look forward to:

The Many Worlds of Lockheed Martin. Check out more than 25 new exhibits from Lockheed Martin, the official host of the Festival! Immerse yourself in the cockpit simulator of an F-22 fighter jet, tour cities of the future; delve into the wonders of robotics and the Hubble telescope, plus many more exciting adventures!

Meet the Scientists/Engineers. Chat one-on-one at this Career Pavilion location with some of the nation's top scientists, engineers to learn about such fields as medical research, oceanography, national security with the CIA, microbiology, and technology intellectual property law!

Innovative Entrepreneurs. Hear these exciting entrepreneurs who are changing the course of technology: Elon Musk, creator of rocket manufacturer SpaceX, and legendary computer video game innovator Richard Garriott who became the sixth private citizen to journey into Earth's orbit.

Music by Monty Harper. Dance like a dinosaur and spin like a planet. You'll do it all to the music of this science singer-musician who was recently named a winner in the Festival's songwriting competition.

Ready for the Science Olympiads? Learn how to compete in the Science Olympiads from Olympiad student teams in the DC Metro area who will demonstrate vehicles, structures, musical instruments and other devices they've developed for the competition!

Saving the Humpback. Nan Hauser, founder of the Center for Cetacean Research & Conservation, will inspire you with her fascinating expeditions to save the endangered humpback whale and other marine species.

Circus Physics. How do all those clowns fit in one car? What's involved in the physics of the ferris wheel and roller coaster? Come to the circus exhibit of the American Institute of Physics and other partners to find out!

The Science of Bubbles. The fascinating Keith Michael Johnson (as seen on the Discovery Channel's Time Warp), uses soap bubbles to explain liquids, solids and gasses, geometry, tension and pressure.

Enjoy yourself this weekend and take time to explore as much as you can. We hope the Festival ignites the "Inner Scientist or Engineer" in you! Thank you for all of your support and have an amazing time!

carlyo Fri, 04/27/2012 - 07:21

Tags

USA Science & Engineering Festival

10 Days to the Woodstock of Science -- And You're Invited!

carlyo — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:30:00 +0000

10 Days to the Woodstock of Science -- And You're Invited!

By Larry Bock
Founder and organizer, USA Science & Engineering Festival

Similar to what the legendary Woodstock Festival did in gathering and celebrating the best and the brightest in the world of rock, the 2nd USA Science & Engineering Festival hosted by Lockheed Martin, the nation's largest celebration of science and engineering, has assembled some of the country's top innovators, celebrities and innovations in the realm of science and engineering to wow visitors at the Festival's upcoming Expo celebration.

The Expo -- set for April 28-29 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C. -- promises to be an unforgettable weekend that responds to a growing grassroots desire among the public for ways to better understand and interact in meaningful ways with the vast array of technology impacting our lives.

Join us at this exciting, free event designed to inform and fascinate the average person as well as inspire the next generation of innovators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)!

Our impressive array of world-class presentations include more than 3,000 hands-on interactive exhibits and other activities, in addition to more than 150 live stage show performances by science celebrities, explorers, best-selling authors, innovative entrepreneurs, world-renowned experts, and well-known science comedians, musicians and magicians.

Among them:

Science Celebrities: Meet such luminaries as Bill Nye the Science Guy; real-life neuroscientist Mayim Bialik who stars in the hit TV comedy The Big Bang Theory; Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of the MythBusters, and Jeff Lieberman, host of Discovery Channel's Time Warp, are just several of the well-known personalities that will be on hand to help science come alive!

Space Heroes and Heroines: Be inspired by John Mace Grunsfeld, Ph.D., a five-time NASA Space Shuttle astronaut and electrical engineer Anousheh Ansari, who in 2006 became the first female private space explorer.

Cutting-Edge Scientists and Engineers: Learn from leading scientists and engineers at the Expo's Career Pavilion. The Pavilion will also provide information on careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as well on college fairs, scholarships, internships and after-school programs available.

Innovative Entrepreneurs: These are just some of the exciting entrepreneurs you'll meet who are changing the course of technology -- Elon Musk, creator of rocket manufacturer SpaceX and co-founder of Pay Pal (the world's largest internet payment system) and legendary computer video game innovator Richard Garriott who became the sixth private citizen to journey into Earth's orbit.

Award-Winning Authors: Hear these and other prominent science authors at the Expo's Book Fair and Book Signing: Homer Hickam, autobiographer of Rocket Boys (the book that formed the basis of the Hollywood movie October Sky); nationally-acclaimed children's science book writers Robin Cook, Seymour Simon and Joy Hakim.

Myriad Exhibits and Stage Performances: From hands-on exhibits showcasing the latest advances in robotics, aeronautics, medicine, chemistry, telecommunications, nanotechnology, energy and other frontiers, to exciting science stage performances in music, magic, illusion, comedy, Hollywood movies and comic book superheroes, you'll discover that science is truly all around us.

Tinkerers and Inventors: From demonstrations by MakerBot Industries, Fab Lab DC and others at the Expo (and at the partnering Robot Fest and DIY Pavilion), you'll see and experience the amazing technology that is spurring the DIY, or Do It Yourself, movement, which is making inventing easier and more cost effective for the average person.

For more information, visit http://www.usasciencefestival.org/

Join us April 28-29 when we rock Washington with the power of science and engineering!

Follow Larry Bock on Twitter: www.twitter.com/usasciencefest

carlyo Wed, 04/18/2012 - 04:30

Tags

USA Science & Engineering Festival

Science and Engineering Education: What Happens in the Home Is Just as Important as the Classroom

carlyo — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Science and Engineering Education: What Happens in the Home Is Just as Important as the Classroom

By Larry Bock
Founder and organizer, USA Science & Engineering Festival

Encouraging and motivating kids early in science and engineering via exciting, hands-on interactions in discovery may be one of the most important steps to boosting their interest and performance in these fields.

But if you think this job falls to teachers alone, you're wrong. Parents can, and should, play an active and frequent role outside the classroom, especially in creative ways that keep children's innate sense of curiosity and exploration alive.

"Kids love the chance to try experiments, visit zoos, or watch science fiction movies," says Pendred Noyce, a physician, education advocate, and children's author. "Parents can keep excitement alive with activities that help kids develop a sense of science mastery, autonomy, and purpose."

Noyce knows well of what she speaks. Besides her aforementioned credentials, she is also a parent, and was herself inspired by her father, Robert Noyce, co-inventor of the integrated circuit (computer chip) and one of the founders of Intel. Today, as president of Tumblehome Learning, Inc., she creates science-related adventure books, biographies and hands-on learning kits for children.

We are proud to have Noyce as a featured author this April at the USA Science & Engineering Festival and Book Fair hosted by Lockheed Martin (the nation's largest celebration of science and engineering). Below, she shares five ways that parents can keep kids interested and motivated in science and engineering discovery:

1. Read great science books together -- fiction and non-fiction. Better yet, start a parent-child science book and activities club. Read about a topic and explore it further through experiments. This is the idea behind Tumblehome Learning -- great science stories coupled with hands-on exploration.

2. Visit as many museums, aquaria, and zoos as possible. Public libraries often provide patrons with free admissions tickets. Look for museum classes and opportunities for kids to become peer "explainers."

3. Create projects together, from birdhouses to burglar alarms. Making real things builds physical intuition, 3D perception, and confidence. A five-year-old girl who knows a flat-head from a Phillips-head screwdriver will dare to imagine a career in engineering.

4. Research summer programs or college outreach days. Better yet, let the kids do the research. The more their autonomy, the deeper their commitment.

5. Become a family of citizen scientists. Explore "Citizen Science" on the Web and join a project on anything from bird migration to protein folding to tracking invasive species. Your kids can experience the authentic excitement of contributing to the march of scientific knowledge.

The USA Science & Engineering Festival, with its exciting hands-on approach to inspiring kids in technology and innovation, will be encapsulating key elements of Noyce's timely advice this spring.

A truly world-class event, the Festival -- known widely for its unforgettable array of technology, innovators, science celebrities, Nobel Laureates, its nationwide satellite events, as well as amazing interactive exhibits and stage shows -- has rapidly evolved into a must-attend gathering for families and others.

The month-long Festival culminates the weekend of April 28-29 with a massive Expo celebration in Washington, DC, replete with over 2,500 interactive exhibits and more than 150 live performances by science celebrities, space explorers, best-selling authors, innovative entrepreneurs and world-renowned experts.

A virtual playground of learning and discovery for kids, the Expo adroitly integrates science and engineering in so many interesting ways that they are sure to inspire parents with "citizen scientists" ideas to explore with their kids at home. What's more, the event is free!

Here are just a few examples of the excitement that awaits families at the Festival Expo:

Meet Science Celebrities: Well-known personalities such as these will be on hand to help science come alive: Bill Nye the Science Guy; real-life neuroscientist Mayim Bialik who stars in the hit TV comedy The Big Bang Theory; Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of the MythBusters; Jeff Lieberman, host of Discovery Channel's Time Warp, and science-of-illusion maestro Apollo Robbins.

Award-Winning Authors: In addition to Pendred Noyce, meet and hear prominent and inspiring science authors such as: Homer Hickam, autobiographer of Rocket Boys (the book that formed the basis of the Hollywood movie October Sky); nationally-acclaimed children's science book writers Seymour Simon and Joy Hakim, and science fiction writer Robin Cook.

Tinkerers and Inventors: From demonstrations by MakerBot Industries, Fab Lab DC and others at the Expo (and at the partnering Robot Fest and DIY Pavilion), you'll see and experience the amazing technology that is spurring the DIY, or Do It Yourself, movement. This movement is making inventing easier and more cost effective for the average person, and inspiring future engineers!

Space Heroes and Heroines: Be inspired by such role models as: John Mace Grunsfeld, Ph.D., a five-time Space Shuttle astronaut; electrical engineer Anousheh Ansari, who in 2006 became the first female private space explorer, and legendary computer video game innovator Richard Garriott who became the sixth private citizen to journey into Earth's orbit.

Cutting-Edge Scientists and Engineers: Learn from leading scientists and engineers at the Expo's Career Pavilion about the joys and challenges of their work and the preparation needed. The Pavilion will also give students the chance to investigate these careers on their own as well as colleges, scholarships, internships, mentorships and after-school programs available.

Innovative Entrepreneurs: These are just some of the exciting entrepreneurs you'll meet who are changing the course of technology: Elon Musk, creator of rocket manufacturer SpaceX and co-founder of Pay Pal (the world's largest internet payment system), and George Whitesides, CEO and president of Virgin Galactic, the pioneering U.S.-based space tourism company.

Myriad Stage Performances and Exhibits: And from exciting presentations in music, magic and illusion, comedy, Hollywood movies, comic book superheroes, robotics and other frontiers, you'll discover that science is truly all around us.

It's true: Inspiring the next generation of innovators, as well as future "science citizens," depends as much on what happens outside the classroom with parents as it does inside our schools with teachers.

Join us at the Festival for an unforgettable family experience in science and technology! For more information, visit our website here.

carlyo Mon, 03/05/2012 - 04:00

Tags

USA Science & Engineering Festival

I agree. That's why I created kitchenpantryscientist.com.

To get kids doing science, it's essential that you make it easy for parents and show them that science doesn't have to be complicated or expensive.

If you can spark a child's interest in the world around them, you've won half the battle!

I definitely agree. I also think that STEM-based camps such as the National Flight Academy's week long "AIR" program in Pensacola, FL is a great opportunity to inspire our students' passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education. The week long program teaches students STEM principles in an immersive environment using state of the art simulators and role play. You can go to www.nationalflightacademy.com for more information on how to enroll. Keep up the good work!Â

You too Ashley! Thanks for the comment and best of luck!

Thanks for the comment Liz and your website looks amazing!