Month: January 2008
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A week of surgery – some impressions
One only has to be minimally involved in a surgical procedure to understand the appeal of this profession. It is instantly gratifying and very rewarding to be able to just fix something. That, working under time pressure and mixture of physical and mental skill make it a very exciting way to practice medicine. So after…
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Stuck in Vegas? Go to Red Rock Canyon
No, the Denialism Blog is not my personal travel blog, although it might seem that way lately. I was in Guatemala last month, where I encountered dirty hippies and woo, and learned about a new religion called new age. This week, I was at the Consumer Electronics Show doing a consulting gig for a large…
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My feet hurt
Eight hours standing in a single spot, how do surgeons do it? I’m hoping my endurance will build, especially knowing that some of the procedures I’m going to see in the next few weeks such as the “Whipple” or pancreaticoduodenectomy may take twice as long. The good news is that I have lucked into working…
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Ask A Scienceblogger – Why don’t they make a birth control pill for men?
This time the Ask a Scienceblogger Challenge is to explain why a male contraceptive pill does not exist. Good question! It’s because medical researchers are all sexist bastards. Didn’t you know? Actually that’s only part of the reason. Research into hormonal or pharmaceutical contraception for men is a hot topic. Male hormonal contraception is actually…
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Woo hurts—it really hurts
A frequent argument of (weak) support for alternative medicine is that, well, maybe it doesn’t help much, but it couldn’t hurt. Wrong! Aside from the usual arguments that it wastes resources, distracts people from real medical treatments, etc., there are more, real dangers. One of the hallmarks of woo is that treatments are humorously broad.…
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Surgery!
This new year is shaping up to be pretty exciting, and part of the changes in my life will be reflected in what I write about on the blog. First let me explain how the MD/PhD program I’m in works, and where I am in it. The Medical Science Training Program (MSTP) or MD/PhD program…
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Defining New Age
One last note on my trip to Guatemala–as part of it, we traveled to Tikal, to see the ruins. Here’s the view from one of the temples early in the morning. Okay. So, our tour guide is relating various facts of dubious veracity on the ride to town. And then he says that a new…
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The End of the James Randi Challenge
After ten years the James Randi Educational Foundation is discontinuing its 1 million dollar paranormal challenge. The James Randi Educational Foundation Million-Dollar Challenge will be discontinued 24 months from this coming March 6th, and those prize funds will then be available to generally add to our flexibility. This move will free us to do many…
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Skeptics’ Circle Number 77 – White Coat Underground
White Coat Underground has the overmedicalized edition. I’m pleased to see Happy Jihad House of Pancakes arguing for more skepticism in the humanities as part of the circle. And a great post on epidemiology and autism from Andrea. Orac had some important things to say about consensus, and just to clarify my position on how…
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Kucinich and UFOs
Today’s WSJ picks one of Dennis Kucinich’s old scabs: just what happened with this whole UFO sighting claim that he made? Remember that back in October, Kucinich mentioned the incident in a debate, but he has smartly kept the matter quiet since. Well, apparently, this incident happened when Kucinich was staying at Shirley Maclaine’s house…