Denialism

Month: March 2008

  • I’m of two minds about this one

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    There’s a new facebook group set up to protest Expelled. I am ambivalent for the usual reasons—protest, and you give the reactionary religious cults more publicity, and an illusion of power. Fail to protest, and you appear to consent to their insanity. I figure there will be protests either way, so go and chose your…

  • More flu woo from Mercola

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    OK, I never really liked Joe Mercola, but when I read about this story on his website, I was encouraged. Boy, do I feel like a sucker. He started out so well, telling us about the tragic case of a child who died of influenza this year, and how health officials rapidly responded by increasing…

  • Cults make you stupid

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    You don’t have to be stupid to join a cult (although it helps), but once you’re in… You see, PZ went to see Expelled. With some friends. No one of note really, just THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS ATHEIST!!!111! And which one got tossed at the door? Take that, Dawkins! We grow good atheists right here…

  • Flu update

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    Continuing my series from WhiteCoat Underground, here is the latest influenza update. While still widespread, numbers are finally starting to drop. I’m ready to drop myself. It’s been a terrible season—the worst I’ve ever seen. This is probably due, at least in part, to this year’s flu vaccine missing some unanticipated strains. For those of…

  • Disclaimers and such

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    Last updated 09 October 2008 When writing on medical topics, a few issues are important to address directly, conveniently laid out by the Health on the Net Foundation. Medical authority and complementarity, or, “I’m not your doctor” We don’t give advice here. Our posts represent our own opinions, thoughts, etc. and no one else’s. Neither…

  • Please Welcome PalMD

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    Everyone please welcome PalMD of WhiteCoatUnderGround. I’ve been enjoying his writing for quite some time and think that he gets what the mission of denialism blog is all about. He has of course introduced himself, and I think in just a few posts you’ll see why he’s a wonderful asset to the sb team.

  • What Happened?

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    Hello? (tap tap) Hello? (tap) Is this thing on? OK. I think it’s working. Wow. I mean, wow. Someone seems to have accidentally dropped the keys to denialism blog on my desk, so now I’m in ur blogz, messing with ur words and stuff. That’s really the only logical explanation. I mean, how else could…

  • Bad Charlottesville News II

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in

    Well, since we first wrote about losing Plan9, Higher Grounds, Satellite Ballroom and Just Curry for a worthless CVS, the C-Ville has picked up the story (here too) as well as the Hook. Good for them. I take back my sniping comments about them ignoring the Corner district. A few things are clear from these…

  • Say it isn’t so

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in ,

    The NYT reports on a this article by Tomas Grim of the Dept of Zoology at Palacky Univ purporting to show a negative effect on numbers of scientific publications for scientists correlated with increasing beer consumption. According to the study, published in February in Oikos, a highly respected scientific journal, the more beer a scientist…

  • Chris Mooney on ignoring the cranks

    —

    by

    MarkH
    in ,

    Now that PZ, Brian, and ERV have all weighed in on whether Chris Mooney’s piece on crank enablers is right or not, let me lay out my operational strategy as an anti-denialist writer. It is true that repetition of denialist arguments is a strategic error, and that the repeition itself can reinforce their arguments. One…