As I’ve discussed previously, I find the anti-vaccine movement, linking cases of autism to pediatric vaccinations, to be based on pseudoscientific principles. There are several individuals that have pushed this quackery, but one of the more visible is Jenny McCarthy,… Read More »Vaccines–once more with emphasis
The anti-vaccinationsts have had a lot of success in Europe recently. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, they report these rather gloomy statistics for measles during the Jan-Oct, 2011 time period: France–nearly 15,000 measles cases Italy–over… Read More »Good job vaccine denialists
Seth Mnookin: The Autism Vaccine Controversy and the Need for Responsible Science Journalism. The Huffington Post is not known for it’s pro-science editorial content, but I do appreciate that Mnookin writes there. The irony is kind of dripping that the… Read More »Seth Mnookin: The Autism Vaccine Controversy and the Need for Responsible Science Journalism
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… Read More »How pseudoscience makes its case. Part 3.
Legal thuggery, antivaccine edition, part 3: Andrew Wakefield rallying the troops : Respectful Insolence. The arrogant, narcissistic Andrew Wakefield is going to bring a lawsuit against Brian Deer, the dogged Times of London reporter who not only uncovered that the… Read More »Legal thuggery, antivaccine edition, part 3: Andrew Wakefield rallying the troops : Respectful Insolence
Recently, 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… Read More »How pseudoscience makes its case. Part 2.
In one corner, we have Jenny McCarthy, former Playboy Playmate of the Year, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, and pseudoscience with an extra dose of quackery. In the other corner, we have the Centers for Disease Control, the Institute of Medicine for… Read More »Who are you going to believe about vaccines
Listen Up, Baby: Whooping Cough Cases On The Rise Among NYC Infants, Say Health Officials | New York Daily News. This is a consequence of the drop in vaccination rates for whooping cough. this is a preventable disease. But it… Read More »Listen Up, Baby: Whooping Cough Cases On The Rise Among NYC Infants, Say Health Officials | New York Daily News
Failed herpes vaccine puzzles virologists : Nature News & Comment. Bad news, but there appears to be a few other vaccines in early testing. As an aside, whenever I read from the anti-vaccination crowd how vaccines aren’t tested, note that… Read More »Failed herpes vaccine puzzles virologists
A Skeptical Raptor’s native environment is the jungles of the internet, where junk science, pseudoscience, myths, logical fallacies, and outright lies survive unchecked. The Raptor has evolved over several million years to hunt down these anti-science prey, scaring them away… Read More »Welcome to my world