Category Archives: Nature of Science

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

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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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Jon Stewart’s irresponsible, anti-science, COVID conspiracy theory rant

I’ve been a fan of Jon Stewart for a long time. I usually find him to be both funny and insightful. It was, therefore, with great dismay that I watched him spread a conspiracy theory and inaccuracies about science on … Continue reading

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What does “statistically significant” mean?

Lately, social media has been flooded with people sharing studies about various aspects of COVID. This is potentially great. I’m all for people being more engaged with science. Unfortunately, many people lack a good foundation for understanding science, and a … Continue reading

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Science is a path to knowledge

There are a lot of misconceptions about what science actually is, and, as a result, there are a lot of incorrect conclusions about the reliability and utility of science. I frequently encounter people who expect science to give absolute answers. … Continue reading

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