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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

As if there were any doubt about the cult of personality around Andrew Wakefield

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I just don’t understand it. I just don’t understand how anyone can take the charlatan Andrew Wakefield seriously anymore. If anyone had any doubt that there is a cult of personality around this discredited vaccine fear-monger, whose shoddy science and undisclosed conflicts of interest managed to […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Quackery Science

Paul Offit is not a “denialist”

I’m afraid I must reluctantly take fellow SB’er Mark Hoofnagle to task here, because he appears to have allowed himself to get a bit carried away when it comes to throwing around the label of “denialist.” In an otherwise excellent takedown of some really bad propaganda in the Wall Street Journal editorial page, he did […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Evolution Intelligent design/creationism Medicine Pseudoscience Science Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

“Unprofessional”? Moi? Dr. Egnor attacks over marketing Darwinism

I’m devastated. Truly and totally devastated emotionally and intellectually. Indeed, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to recover, how I’ll ever be able to live down the shame and go on with my career. What could bring me to this point, you ask? I’ll tell you. Everybody’s favorite creationist neurosurgeon and dualist Dr.Michael […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bioethics Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

If you can’t get justice one way, maybe justice will come another way

Actions have consequences, as do beliefs. For example, the widespread erroneous belief among many parents of autistic children that the mercury in the thimerosal preservative that was used in most childhood vaccines until 2002 somehow caused autism in their children have led some pseudoscientists and parents who have fallen under their sway to subject their […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Andrew Wakefield: The Galileo Gambit writ large in The Observer

I just don’t understand it. I just don’t understand how anyone can take discredited antivaccination loon Andrew Wakefield seriously anymore. In particular, I don’t understand how any reputable newspaper can actually take him seriously anymore, given how thoroughly he and his “work” have been discredited. First came the news in late December that at the […]