Tag Archives: Bad arguments

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

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

Posted in Nature of Science, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Vaccines are tested against placebos

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

Incredulity fallacy: I’m right because I can’t believe I’m wrong

I want to briefly discuss a logical fallacy that is surprisingly common, despite being so obviously absurd. I suspect that most people committing this fallacy do so without ever actually contemplating what they are saying, and it is my hope … Continue reading

Posted in Rules of Logic | Tagged , | Comments Off on Incredulity fallacy: I’m right because I can’t believe I’m wrong

Yes, you should fact-check

Yesterday, I posted the fairly innocuous image above on the TLoS Facebook page, and the results were both fascinating and horrifying. Numerous people took time out of their day to embarrass themselves by doubling down and attacking fact-checkers, often with … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Yes, you should fact-check