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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 […]

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

The Internet as anti-vaccine tool

It’s official now. The U.S. is on track to accumulate more cases of measles than it has seen in a decade: The United States seems to be on track to have more measles cases than any year in more than a decade, with virtually all cases linked to other countries, including Europe where there’s a […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

J.B. Handley surprises…partially

I’m pretty hard on anti-vaccine activists. I know that. One in particular provokes my ire because of his particular brand of loutishness, intimidation, and stupidity. I’m talking about, of course, J.B. Handley, founder of Generation Rescue and blogger at its propaganda arm Age of Autism. As much as JB and I detest each other though, […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Sullivan outs himself, or: Time for J.B. Handley to put up and shut up about Paul Offit

Longtime readers of this blog might be familiar with a certain regular commenter here who goes by the ‘nym Sullivan and also blogs over at Left Brain Right Brain. Back in November, our old friend at the anti-vaccine propaganda crank blog, J.B. Handley himself, founder of the anti-vaccine crank activist group now fronted by Jenny […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Religion

The anti-vaccine movement as a religion with Andrew Wakefield as its prophet?

Several of you have been sending me this; so I would be remiss not to note that there is a rather lengthy profile of Generation Rescue’s favorite “martyred” anti-vaccine hero, disgraced and discredited British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine entitled The Crash and Burn of an Autism Guru. By and […]