Denialism

Month: July 2007

  • Again with the Marijuana

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    MarkH
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    What is it about reporting on pot that makes people so Puritanical? Today I read in the Guardian Cannabis joints damage lungs more than tobacco – study. A single cannabis joint may cause as much damage to the lungs as five chain-smoked cigarettes, research has found. Is that so? Let’s take a look at the…

  • Skeptics’ Circle #66 – Abstract Deadline

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    MarkH
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    Just a reminder, I would like all submissions to the 66th Skeptics Circle by today.

  • Does Smoking Cannabis Cause Schizophrenia?

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    MarkH
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    A lot of people are talking about a new study showing a 40% increase risk of “psychosis”, which I first heard news of in this story, from the Daily Mail: A single joint of cannabis raises the risk of schizophrenia by more than 40 percent, a disturbing study warns. The Government-commissioned report has also found…

  • Now this is why political appointees shouldn’t have a say in science

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    MarkH
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    We already knew from former Surgeon General Carmona’s testimony that this was happening, but now the WaPo brings us a specific example of science being squelched by a political appointee. It’s not only inappropriate, but just despicable. A surgeon general’s report in 2006 that called on Americans to help tackle global health problems has been…

  • Who is going to see the Simpsons Movie?

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    MarkH
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    I can’t quite come up with a good reason to see it, considering seeing movies in C-ville is usually a desultory experience. Our local chains, Regal and Carmike, typically play 10-20 minutes of advertisements before the trailers. Being a Tivo fan, my tolerance for commercials has decreased dramatically over the years, and the insipidity of…

  • I can has souls?

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    MarkH
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    I couldn’t resist when I read this Guardian story about Oscar, the death predicting cat. When the two-year-old grey and white cat curls up next to an elderly resident, staff now realise, this means they are likely to die in the next few hours. Such is Oscar’s apparent accuracy – 25 consecutive cases so far…

  • Numerology Defeated in 5-1 Vote by the SF Taxicab Commission

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    Chris
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    Jesse McKinley reports in the Times: It was a good day for the Devil in San Francisco on Tuesday, as the Taxicab Commission voted to keep the Dark Lord’s favorite number — 666 — affixed to an allegedly cursed cab. The vote, which came after an amused period of public comment and annoyed looks from…

  • Are metrics in medicine a good thing?

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    MarkH
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    The Washington post reports on new efforts by insurance companies to rate doctors performance and their policies that penalize doctors for performing poorly according to their metrics. After 26 years of a successful medical practice, Alan Berkenwald took for granted that he had a good reputation. But last month he was told he didn’t measure…

  • A Taxonomy of Manipulation

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    Chris
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    Seth Stevenson over at Slate describes all 12 types of ads in the world and urges us to resist them all: To me, the 12 formats serve…well as a weapon of defense for the consumer under assault from endless advertising messages. It’s like learning how a magic trick works: Once the secret’s revealed, the trick…

  • The Limits of Academic Freedom

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    MarkH
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    Steven Novella at Neurologica has written a thoughtful essay on where the limits of academic freedom should lie in light of the firing of Ward Churchill based on allegations of plagiarism and research falsification. Of course, many believe that calling 9/11 victims “little Eichmanns” might have had something to do with it as well. Novella…