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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Thanks, antivaccinationists. Thanks again for the measles.

Thanks again, antivaccine activists. Thanks for the measles. Again: Last year was the worst year for measles in the U.S. in 15 years, health officials said Thursday. There were 222 cases of measles, a large jump from the 60 or so seen in a typical year. Most of the cases last year were imported — […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Entertainment/culture Medicine Movies

Anti-vaccine propaganda lands in New York City this weekend

“The Greater Good” is what I like to call an antivaccine propaganda film masquerading as a documentary. And, yes, it’s full of antivaccine misinformation.

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Antivaccine nonsense Entertainment/culture Homeopathy Humor Medicine Quackery Television Uncategorized

Say it ain’t so, Amy Farrah Fowler!

Mayim Bialik plays the neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on the geek comedy The Big Bang Theory. Unfortunately, in real life, Bialik is nothing like her fictional character Amy. In fact, Bialik is heavily into the woo and antivaccine enough to have become a celebrity spokeswoman for the Holistic Moms Network. Say it ain’t so!

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Intelligent design/creationism Medicine Physics Pseudoscience Science Skepticism/critical thinking

A profound misunderstanding of the significance of cranks in science

I’ve spent a lot of time over the years looking at cranks, examining crank science (i.e., pseudoscience), and trying to figure out how to inoculate people against crankery. Because I’m a physician, I tend to do it mostly in the realm of medicine by critically examining “alternative” medical claims and discussing the scientific basis of […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Motivated reasoning and the anti-vaccine movement

One theme that I keep revisiting again and again is not so much a question of the science behind medical therapies (although certainly I do discuss that issue arguably more than any other) but rather a question of why. Why is it that so many people cling so tenaciously to pseudoscience, quackery, and, frequently, conspiracy […]