Denialism

Category: Cranks

  • Orac finds some super-cranks

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    MarkH
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    I thought the denial of the link between smoking and cancer had gone out of style. The link between smoking and cancer is so thoroughly established that I thought no one could continue to defend cigarettes with a straight face. Well, all Orac has to do is write a piece about the evidence for a…

  • Wow Orac, you found a real winner

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    MarkH
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    Does Tim Slagle strike anyone else as being a crank? I feel like we should lend Orac a hand. He’s had to deal with the anti-global warming denialism from this guy all on his own. Let’s do a take down of this wise man’s approach to global warming science.

  • Crankery is caused by a fundamental defect in reasoning

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    MarkH
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    Casey Luskin doesn’t like that evilutionists equate Intelligent Design Creationism with, well, creationism. I’m sobbing. But in a perfect example of how cranks like using the tools of logic to make their point, and then fail, he suggests that the assertion that ID = creationism is an example of the genetic fallacy. Well, that’s interesting.…

  • Crank Magnetism

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    MarkH
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    Back when we wrote the Unified Theory of the Crank one of the main things we discussed related to crankery is their inability to recognize competence in others. As a result, cranks tend not to mind the crankery of others, since they see themselves as opposed to a scientific orthodoxy. Consistency be damned, they just…

  • The Crank HOWTO en espanol

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    MarkH
    in

    La Corte de los Milagros translates the Crank HOWTO! I’m flattered. Thanks Martin.

  • Profile of a Crank – Julia Stephenson

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    MarkH
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    Ben Goldacre at Bad Science is leading the way on opposing this new absurdity of “electric smog”, and one of it’s leading proponents in Britain, Julia Stephenson. It’s really too easy. Remember the crank HOWTO? Well, she’s just about a perfect example. It all started when she got wifi in her apartment…

  • Tim Blair quote mines me

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    MarkH
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    I see that Tim Blair has decided to quote mine me. As part of my analysis of Cockburn’s crankery I made the following statement. Below the fold I’ll summarize Cockburn’s arguments and how they use the denialist tactics, George Monbiot’s responses (including his amazing crank-fu!) and discuss why in the future we may start seeing…

  • This guy is a brain surgeon?

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    MarkH
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    The latest gem from Egnor: Clearly the brain, as a material substance, causes movement of the body, which is also a material substance. The links are nerves and muscles. But there is no material link between our ideas and our brains, because ideas aren’t material. I’m not a neuroscientist, but that’s strikes me as the…

  • Formation of a crank: A case study

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    MarkH
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    Readers of the Nation are probably by now familiar with the lunatic ravings of Alexander Cockburn on global warming. What is bizarre, is that, before he traveled down this road, he seemed able to identify other crank ideas – like 9/11 conspiracy theories, and criticized them. Further, it’s unusual to see a left-winger become a…

  • Crank HOWTO

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    MarkH
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    Who wants to know how to be an effective crank? Well, I’ve outlined what I think are the critical components of successful crankiness. Ideally, this will serve as a guide to those of you who want to come up with a stupid idea, and then defend it against all evidence to the contrary. Here’s how…