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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Movies Music Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

You stay away from Ziggy Stardust and Severus Snape, Mike Adams!

I’ve been a big fan of David Bowie ever since high school. True, I didn’t appreciate his less mainstream stuff as intensely as I do now until I had been in college a couple of years, but it’s not an inaccurate to characterize the effect of David Bowie’s art on my life as significant. Basically, […]

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Announcements Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Out with the old year, in with the new…with Insolence

As 2015 draws to a close today, all I can think is: Another year in the can. Since my family is here, and it’s a holiday, I’m going to keep this one brief and wish everyone a Happy New Year. In addition, I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen in 2016. Who could […]

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Cancer Clinical trials History Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Vincent DeVita: We need more freedom to be mavericks. Orac: Not so much

One of my favorite television shows right now is The Knick, as I described before in a post about medical history. To give you an idea of how much I’m into The Knick, I’ll tell you that I signed up for Cinemax for three months just for that one show. (After its second season finale […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine

A device to put homeopaths out of business

I’ve been blogging for nearly eleven years now—and continuously at that, with only brief breaks for vacations or when the vagaries of life and career (particularly grant deadlines) interfered with the writing impulse. It’s true that I’ve slowed down a bit. I rarely post on weekends any more and not infrequently miss a weekday, but […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Andrew Weil, the Coors Foundation, and Americans for Prosperity, or: “Integrative medicine” isn’t just for hippy dippy lefties anymore

The question of whether it is worthwhile to debate cranks, quacks, and advocates of pseudoscience has long been a contentious issue in the skeptic community. Those of you who’ve been reading my posts for a while know that I’ve always come down on the side that it is not a good idea One thing I’ve […]