Nov 2009
Our place in the cosmos
Nov/23/09 21:27 Filed in: Science
As I’ve posted before, I really enjoy the auto-tuned videos from the Symphony of Science. They have a new one posted that includes Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins (one of the great evolutionary biologists), Michio Kaku (an American theoretical physicist who has made that field of science more understandable), and Robert Jastrow (a NASA astronomer who spent way to much time debunking the moon landing hoax conspiracy). Read More...
The 124th Meeting Of The Skeptics’ Circle
Nov/21/09 08:19 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science | Evidence based medicine | Quackery | Alternative medicine
One of my favorite bloggers on debunking medical quackery and pseudoscience is hosting a little party. Visit, and read some of the best articles on debunking myths, pseudoscience, quacks and anti-science. Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 3
Nov/19/09 09:12 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science | Vaccines | Alternative medicine | Evidence based medicine
This is part of my ongoing discussion on how quacks use pseudoscience to push their myths and potions on the world. Part 1 discussed the scientific method, which allows us to objectively analyze the natural world. Part 2 discussed the best way for us to examine the difference between science and pseudoscience.
I just read an outstanding analysis, by Steven Novella, MD, a clinical neurologist at Yale University, of how pseudoscience (those who pretend to praise the scientific method, yet do it in a way that is not actually science) and anti-science (those who repudiate science outright, or even undermine science, with subjective analysis and untestable spirituality) to reject evidence-based medicine.
Dr. Novella clearly states how science in medicine works:
I just read an outstanding analysis, by Steven Novella, MD, a clinical neurologist at Yale University, of how pseudoscience (those who pretend to praise the scientific method, yet do it in a way that is not actually science) and anti-science (those who repudiate science outright, or even undermine science, with subjective analysis and untestable spirituality) to reject evidence-based medicine.
Dr. Novella clearly states how science in medicine works:
This leads us to the final continuum – the consensus of expert opinion based upon systematic reviews can either result in a solid and confident unanimous opinion, a reliable opinion with serious minority objections, a genuine controversy with no objective resolution, or simply the conclusion that we currently lack sufficient evidence and do not know the answer. It can also lead, of course, to a solid consensus of expert opinion combined with a fake controversy manufactured by a group driven by ideology or greed and not science. The tobacco industry’s campaign of doubt against the conclusion that smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer is one example.The anti-vaccine movement’s fear-mongering about vaccines and autism is another. Read More...
Flu vaccination locations
Nov/17/09 09:26 Filed in: Vaccines | Healthcare Policy
Google maps has an interesting application that shows locations and availability of seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccinations. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but you should give it a try. Read More...
Bill Maher is a science denialist
Bill Maher, a rather liberal talk show host, has recently been joining the anti-vaccination crowd, adding his voice to the Hollywood centered vaccination denialists. He is a typical science denialist, ignoring the vast wealth of science, research and publications, to make statements, in this case about promoting pseudoscience in his dismissal of the value of vaccines. Moreover, Mr. Maher spends time denying he is a denialist, which usually is an indicator that one is a denialist.
Interestingly, Maher is usually in sync with my feelings about global warming and evolution denialists, who use pseudoscience and outright denial to "prove" that there is no global warming or evolution. Usually, skeptics or anti-denialists (one day we need to get this terminology right) are consistent, we dismiss pseudoscience outright. I have no clue why he has chosen this particular pseudoscience and quackery to support, but maybe he just thinks Jenny McCarthy knows more than real scientists. Read More...
Interestingly, Maher is usually in sync with my feelings about global warming and evolution denialists, who use pseudoscience and outright denial to "prove" that there is no global warming or evolution. Usually, skeptics or anti-denialists (one day we need to get this terminology right) are consistent, we dismiss pseudoscience outright. I have no clue why he has chosen this particular pseudoscience and quackery to support, but maybe he just thinks Jenny McCarthy knows more than real scientists. Read More...
Debunking 2012 myths
Nov/12/09 23:59 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science
There's a new movie coming to a theatre near you tomorrow, which purports to show us how the world is going to come to an end. The movie, 2012, looks like a typical blockbuster, heavy on special effects. Now, many of us understand that movies are, well, fantasies, even when based on real events. This movie is a fantasy based on myths.
NASA, an organization filled with really smart scientists, has published a FAQ that debunks a couple of the myths that 2012 will mark the end of the world. NASA will do a much better job about demolishing the pseudoscience than I will, but the two key issues are:
NASA, an organization filled with really smart scientists, has published a FAQ that debunks a couple of the myths that 2012 will mark the end of the world. NASA will do a much better job about demolishing the pseudoscience than I will, but the two key issues are:
- A rogue planet or some other object, called Nibiru, will collide with the earth and destroy us. There are no objects during the next few years that will destroy the earth. Of course, it has happened in the past, destroying the non-avian dinosaurs, and will probably happen in the future.
- The Mayan Calendar long period calendar ends in 2012. Of course, all calendars end, then restart with a new year.
Debunking H1N1 Vaccine Myths
The internet is a wonderful place for getting information. But it's also a disaster in finding good information. The problem is that if you read medical facts on the internet, you tend to give equal value to both scientifically supported and outright pseudoscientific statements. I read a few posts on Facebook, which seems to be the modern world's gossip center, that spouted all sorts of conspiracy theories and ridiculous myths about the H1N1 Vaccine. Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 2
Nov/04/09 16:30 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science | Vaccines | Alternative medicine | Evidence based medicine
A few days ago, I discussed how science works. It's not a belief. It's not a random set of rules. It is a rational and logical process to determine cause and effect in the natural world. Pseudoscience, by its very nature, ignores the scientific process; instead, it pretends to come to conclusions through science, although it does not.
Again, be very wary if you hear someone say, "it's proven." I've heard those words from both alternative medicine pushers and from well-trained physicians. I have previously discussed the ineffectiveness of almost every alternative medicine therapy. But what about your physician? They are, by far, devoted to your health and well-being. But they cannot know everything about medicine (thus, why we have specialists), so they may repeat information that is not valid. Read More...
Again, be very wary if you hear someone say, "it's proven." I've heard those words from both alternative medicine pushers and from well-trained physicians. I have previously discussed the ineffectiveness of almost every alternative medicine therapy. But what about your physician? They are, by far, devoted to your health and well-being. But they cannot know everything about medicine (thus, why we have specialists), so they may repeat information that is not valid. Read More...
Fox News and the flu vaccine
Fox News is not even close to being a reliable source for anything. They've been reporting about a young woman who claims that she developed dystonia after receiving the season flu vaccination. Of course, Fox News is trying to make a story where there is none. Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 1
Nov/02/09 09:38 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science | Vaccines | Alternative medicine | Evidence based medicine
I always get suspicious when someone makes an argument with the statement of "it's been proven to work", "the link is proven", or, alternatively, they state the negative. Typically, I hear these kinds of statements from the pseudoscience pushing group. Many of us have debunked the "there is a proven link between vaccines and autism." Or that any number of alternative medicine (CAM) therapies don't actually work. In fact, science rarely uses the term "proven", because the scientific method is not a system to make a definitive answer on any question–scientists always leave open the possibility of an alternative hypothesis that can be tested. If the alternate hypothesis can be supported through experimentation, then it can replace the original one. When an alternative medicine or junk science supporter states "it has been proven" then you can be assured that conclusion is unsupported by scientific research. Read More...