One of the things that’s become quite obvious, in the various anti-vax comments that I’ve followed and responded to on line, is that people with ‘alt’ views have very firm ideas on what constitutes ‘the truth’. And it’s not something that mainstream organisations, authorities, or scienceA are seen as offering. And so (on a new […]
Continue readingTag: critical thinking
UNICEF (& friends) vs the outspoken antivaxxers
Back in mid-February, UNICEF NZ posted a piece on the importance of vaccines. Shortly thereafter, the comments thread had been overrun by anti-vaccination pro-disease activists. (I have to say, I’m really impressed with the person who does UNICEF’s social media. Talk about grace & dignity under fire!) This seems to happen every time a story […]
Continue readingwhat are the challenges for first-year core science courses?
Prof Karen Burke da Silva was the keynote speaker at Day 1 of the 2017 First-Year Science Educators' Colloquium, held in Wellington. Her topic:Transforming large first year science classes: A comprehensive approach to student engagement. Currently at Flinders University, she's been instrumental in setting up an 'integrated teaching environment' that's seen a drop in withdrawals, […]
Continue readingthe mms zombie rises to shamble once more
I've written about MMS – the "Miracle Mineral Supplement" – several times beforeA (here and here, for example). I guess it's a useful thing to hold up to show how something can clearly be woo – eg claims that it kills/cures practically everythingB under the sun – and yet people still buy the stuff. Buy […]
Continue readingno, we have no GM tomatoes
EDIT (11 Feb): it seems that the writer of the ‘we’re eating poison’ piece has decided to remove that page from their site. Which I guess is an improvement over the original. However, the good people over at Metabunk provided some useful links to the past, and this site appears to be the source used […]
Continue readingdogs, diets, & the impact of evolution
Yvonne d'Entremont (aka SciBabe) recently posted an article on 'alternative' foods and health products for pets, in her usual no-holds-barred style. It's always good to see pseudoscience called out for what it is, and in the case of pet-focused quackery it's a message that needs multiple repeats. Why? Because pets are dependent on us, & […]
Continue reading‘raw water’? eeewwww
'Raw water' – the latest foolish fad to hit people's screens, pockets, & in some instances I'd guess their toilet paper expenditure as well. I first heard of this particular litre of woo when I read an article in the New York Times with the headline: Unfiltered Fervor: the rush to get off the water […]
Continue readingattitudes and antibiotics
A recent FB post from Stuff discussed the rising concerns around the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (This is something that Siouxsie Wiles has often written about: here and here, for example; her excellent book on the subject is reviewed here.) Fairly predictably, it didn't take long for the proponents of essential oils to turn up, soon to be joined by the usual […]
Continue readinganother antivax myth (ingestion vs injection)
There’s an oft-repeated claim by the more strident antivaxxers that ingesting and injecting are two different things when it comes to subsantces like aluminium. This betrays a disturbing lack of knowledge of biology and physiology (especially from those who boast of ‘having done their research’), but they repeat it nonetheless. (Red’s self-belief is mildly amusing.) […]
Continue readingthe various ‘costs’ of measles
On that FB thread, one commenter proudly proclaimed that she & her four children had all had measles. Over in a week, no problems, stop yer whining. Well, lovely for her – & if the illness indeed lasted only a week per person then they were lucky; 7-10 days is the norm for uncomplicated measles. But measles […]
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