Tag Archives: Bad arguments

Ancient knowledge and the test of time

The notion of “ancient knowledge” is a common theme among anti-vaccers and alternative health practitioners. It generally takes one of two basic forms. Either they claim that something is right/effective/safe because our ancestors thought so and they were somehow privy … Continue reading

Posted in Nature of Science | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Ancient knowledge and the test of time

100 bad arguments against vaccines

From time to time, I get directed to an article titled “One Hundred Arguments Against Vaccines” which was written by Natural Health Warriors and is nothing more than a Gish Gallop of anti-vaccine tropes. I have been loath to address … Continue reading

Posted in Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

Supporting science isn’t the same as supporting big business

Hardly a day goes by without someone accusing me of being a “shill.” You see, I have the audacity to say that we should be getting scientific information from reputable scientific sources (i.e., the peer-reviewed literature), rather than trusting blogs, … Continue reading

Posted in GMO, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

No one thought that Galileo was crazy, and everyone in Columbus’s day knew that the earth was round

It’s a common situation that I run into frequently: two people are debating about some scientific concept, and one of them is arguing for the mainstream view and supporting their arguments with the relevant literature. Meanwhile, the other one is … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 18 Comments

Yes, there is a strong consensus on climate change

Even if you have never paid any real attention to the climate change “debate,” you have probably seen someone say that, “97% of climatologists agree that we are causing climate change.” This is a number that I have personally cited … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments