Author Archives: Fallacy Man

Science never showed that smoking was safe

“Science used to say that smoking was safe, so why should we ‘trust the science’ when it says that vaccines are safe and effective, climate change is real, or GMOs are safe?” This is one of the most common excuses … Continue reading

Posted in Nature of Science | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Climate change is undeniable: Evidence from satellites

The evidence for anthropogenic climate change is overwhelming, but the inherent complexity of the climate can make it difficult to communicate the science to the public. The basic concept is simple enough (CO2 traps heat, we have increased the CO2 … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , | 5 Comments

How does evolution explain complex mimicry?

Evolution is, in my opinion, the most fascinating topic in all of science. It provides elegant, compelling, and enthralling answers for everything we observe in biology. It really is true that nothing in biology makes sense without evolution. Unfortunately, not … Continue reading

Posted in Science of Evolution | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Vaccines are tested against placebos

Lately, my Facebook page has been flooded with people insisting that  “no vaccine is tested against a placebo” (sometimes stated with additional qualifiers like “double-blind” or “saline placebo”). This claim, like so many anti-vaccer claims, is blatantly false. Nevertheless, I … Continue reading

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Don’t be intellectually lazy

In recent conversations on this page, I have been struck by just how intellectually lazy science-deniers usually are. This is hardly a novel observation, but I think it bears discussion. I also want to note that this sort of lazy … Continue reading

Posted in Rules of Logic, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , | Comments Off on Don’t be intellectually lazy