Denialism

Month: July 2008

  • Red Pines

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    by

    MarkH
    in

    GrrlScientist inspired me to upload some of my Up North pics. Red pine groves on granite outcrops are a characteristic feature of Algonquin Park. Red Pines have reddish bark which flakes off in thin scales. Their needles come in groups of two.

  • L’affaire Lenski continues

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    MarkH
    in

    When will the stupidity end? Really. When? As long as Conservapedia exists, the answer will elude us. The latest feculent flow of irrational idiocy concerns the Lenski Affair. Just to remind you, a biologist named Lenski did a very cool experiment regarding evolution in E.coli. Some creationist cult leader was displeased. Since his god has…

  • I love careless stupidity

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    by

    MarkH
    in

    Sometimes things just fall into your lap. This evening I was working on a different piece, and not getting very far, when an email arrived in my in-box. You see, when you write for the 21st most influential science blog, you get a lot of unsolicited mail (OK, fine…I get spam in my blog-related inbox.…

  • Medical Hypotheses—“just make shit up; we’ll publish it”

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    by

    MarkH
    in ,

    Orac was kind enough to pollute my inbox with the latest idiocy from the journal that has never met a crank it didn’t like. As Orac says, “Medical Hypotheses [is] the journal where the editors encourage the authors to make shit up.” Before I tell you about the latest “hypothesis”, let me give you an…

  • Eating can be bad for your health. Oh, and don’t forget the phages.

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    by

    MarkH
    in

    Sure, we have obesity problems in this country, but we also have more direct food safety problems. Summer has brought with it news of the bungled tomato-Salmonella affair, and now, from the Midwest, contaminated beef. One of our local supermarket chains has been forced to recall hamburger meat because of over a dozen cases of…

  • As goes Vermont…

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    by

    MarkH
    in , ,

    I hadn’t realized that Vermont has passed a law requiring insurers to cover naturopathic care. We’ve covered extensively the quackery that is naturopathy, but really, if a patient chooses to see a quack, it’s their business. But with health care costs soaring, requiring insurers to pay for voodoo is a rather bad idea. Already, many…