Myths
Book review–Don't Swallow Your Gum!: Myths, Half-Truths, and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health
I just finished reading Don't Swallow Your Gum!: Myths, Half-Truths, and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health (ISBN:031253387X, 2009) written by Aaron Carroll MD and Rachel Vreeman MD, both pediatricians and researchers at the University of Indiana School of Medicine.
First of all, the book is an amusing, easy read, using terms like “snot” and “poo” to describe bodily secretions. At some 200 pages, it was a quick read, not requiring a lot of time. Obviously, the book was written for a wide audience, debunking many pseudoscientific myths about health. For those of us who demand supporting research, it has a vast list of primary and secondary research citations for further reading. In fact, for me, those citations are going to be invaluable in future articles.
The book goes about debunking silly myths such as “don’t swallow your gum because it will get stuck in your intestine for 5 (10, 20, whatever) years” or the old “five second rule” which we all suspected wasn’t wise. There was one chapter on “double dipping”, which was popularized on a Seinfeld episode many years ago, in which the authors discussed research that showed that double dipping does in fact transfer a lot of germs from the chip to the dip. Not that I would confess to being a double dipper, but I may not be a single-dipper at a party after reading this book! Read More...
First of all, the book is an amusing, easy read, using terms like “snot” and “poo” to describe bodily secretions. At some 200 pages, it was a quick read, not requiring a lot of time. Obviously, the book was written for a wide audience, debunking many pseudoscientific myths about health. For those of us who demand supporting research, it has a vast list of primary and secondary research citations for further reading. In fact, for me, those citations are going to be invaluable in future articles.
The book goes about debunking silly myths such as “don’t swallow your gum because it will get stuck in your intestine for 5 (10, 20, whatever) years” or the old “five second rule” which we all suspected wasn’t wise. There was one chapter on “double dipping”, which was popularized on a Seinfeld episode many years ago, in which the authors discussed research that showed that double dipping does in fact transfer a lot of germs from the chip to the dip. Not that I would confess to being a double dipper, but I may not be a single-dipper at a party after reading this book! 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.