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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Dr. Bob Sears: Stealth anti-vaccinationist?

Dr. Bob Sears is the bane of science- and evidence-based pediatricians everywhere. As pediatrician Dr. John Snyder relates, whenever he hears a parent say “I was reading Dr. Sears” or sees a patient in his office holding a copy of Dr. Sears’ The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Choice for Your Child, he knows what’s […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Blogging Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Movies Popular culture Quackery Television

The Contagion of conspiracy mongering and pseudoscience

Unfortunately, I don’t get to see very many movies these days. My wife and I both lead very busy lives, and with periodic spasms of grant writing, plus several new administrative responsibilities, it’s just hard. Last weekend, however, a movie that I’d rather like to see came out. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it yet; so […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Humor Medicine Quackery

I didn’t know nonsense could be so well-organized, anti-vaccine edition

It was nearly a month ago when I first marveled at how nonsense could be so well-organized. My marvel was expressed at the awesomeness that was the Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense (which, by the way, is now available in “sanitized” versions, as well as versions in other languages). It turns out that Crispan’s effort […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

More false “balance” on vaccines and autism

There’s so much horrible reporting on vaccines and the whole manufactroversy that promulgates the myth that vaccines somehow cause autism through a combination of confusing correlation with causation, bad science, quackery, and misrepresenting autism that it’s gotten harder for me to be sufficiently irritated to write about it. When I see yet another another example […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Rumors and urban legends in the antivaccinationist movement

One of the most common aspects of any good conspiracy theory is that “they” know about it but are covering it up, “they” usually being the government. Usually, the “evidence” that “they” know consists third- or fourth-hand unverifiable stories from a “friend of a friend of a friend” who, very conveniently, just so happened to […]