Tag Archives: anti vaccine arguments

Silencing opinions vs. managing misinformation: Do skeptics suppress opposing viewpoints?

If you have spent any time debating those who deny the well established science of vaccines, climate change, global warming, evolution, etc., then you have likely encountered the accusation that scientists/skeptics try to silence and suppress opposing viewpoints. This claim … Continue reading

Posted in Nature of Science | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

6 reasons why anti-vaccers are wrong that “being sick is good”

Is being sick a good thing? The answer to that question should be an obvious and resounding, “no!” Nevertheless, it is an extremely common claim made by anti-vaccers. They frequently argue that vaccine preventable diseases like measles are actually good … Continue reading

Posted in Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged | 3 Comments

5 reasons why anecdotes are totally worthless

Personal anecdotes are often the primary ammunition of those who deny science. If you ask anyone in the alternative medicine or anti-vaccine movements for their evidence, you will almost certainly get flooded with anecdotes. A quick internet search will reveal … Continue reading

Posted in GMO, Nature of Science, Rules of Logic, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Research, you’re doing it wrong: A look at Tenpenny’s “Vaccine Research Library”

“I’ve done my research.” If you’ve ever debated someone who disagrees with a scientific  consensus, then you’ve probably encountered that sentence, especially if they were an anti-vaccer. It is the mantra of the anti-science movement, but it’s nearly always misused. … Continue reading

Posted in Nature of Science, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

5 bad arguments against the influenza vaccine

I spend a lot of time on this blog debunking bad anti-vaccine arguments (for example here and here). Nevertheless, logically invalid anti-vaxxer nonsense continues to rear its ugly head. Therefore, in this post I am going to focus specifically on … Continue reading

Posted in Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , | 5 Comments