Denialism Blog

Denialism Blog

  • Why am I here? To bother you, of course

    When I use the word “scientist”, I mean something pretty specific—someone actually doing experiments and publishing the results. Some physicians are scientists. In fact, the MSTP that Mark H is a part of exists specifically to train doctors to do research and bring the results to the bedside.

    Most doctors aren’t scientists, by my definition. But good doctors these days have to be able to read and interpret scientific literature if the wish to practice science-based medicine.

    I think of ScienceBlogs as a community of scientists communicating with the lay-public and other scientists. I’m happy I’ve been allowed to contribute as well, and I think it’s justified. When I see patients, I do so with a head full of knowledge that is based on reading scientific literature. I then have to digest and regurgitate that literature in a form palatable to everyday folks.

    So, now that I’ve justified my existence, it’s time to get back to annoying people.

    Steve Novella over at NeuroLogica recently posted a piece on a new “mystery illness“. These are always fun. Epidemiology is a fascinating field, and has helped discover HIV, hanta virus, SARS, and many other emerging diseases.

    But there is the other kind of “emerging disease”: the folie à news. There have been many descriptions in the past of so-called folie à deux, a shared delusion. In the information age (God, I hate that phrase), the internet and television can bring people with similar delusions closer together to share their “folie”. One of the most recent examples is so-called Morgellons syndrome. This is a disease named by a woman who thought her child had parasites in his skin. The cause has been taken up by a “scientist” at the University of Oklahoma, and by several websites and support groups.

    This “syndrome” differs from emerging diseases such as West Nile Virus in several important ways. Over the next few days, I’ll examine some of the reasons that “Morgellons” is not a real illness. Some of the material will be familiar to readers of my old blog, but I’m buffing it up for a fresh discussion. For the first installment, go below the fold…
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  • Another victim of cult medicine

    This is another one migrated from my old blog. It is the first in a series that generated an unusually large number of comments. Thanks, PalMD

    This particular woo-encounter was non-fatal. A patient came to see me. He’s middle-aged, generally quite healthy, and physically active. After a recent return to physical activity, his elbow began to hurt, so rather than call his internist, he visited a chiropractor. Not surprisingly, the back-cracker was unable to effect a cure. What did he do next? Asked his friend for the name of a “better chiropractor” (which is a bit like trying to find a better wrench to turn a screw). This one took a totally different approach to not helping the patient, but that damned elbow still hurt.

    Like most cult medicine, there is little that chiropractic will not claim as their own. How tennis elbow could possibly be helped by back manipulation is beyond me. One website did, however, give some good insight:

    Not always thought of as a “chiropractic” condition by patients, chiropractic’s conservative approach to elbow pain is often very effective, avoiding more invasive, risky treatment options.

    An excellent example of “hurry up and do nothing”, which is not always bad advice, but is not unique to chiropractic. I guess when all you have is a hammer, and nails are notably absent, a wise chiropractor steps back and says, “abra cadabra!” I’m sure chiropractic cures the common cold as well—whereas the common cold, when left untreated, usually lasts a week to a week and a half, visit the chiropractor and your cold is gone in 7-10 days.

    Anyway, I gave the guy a tennis elbow strap, told him to rest and ice it, and take ibuprofen if he needed it. If he’s patient and follows my advice, he’ll probably save a few bucks. A strap is usually covered by insurance, but cheap anyway. Ice is basically free. And a visit to me is about sixty bucks—and if he gets better, he doesn’t have to return for multiple “manipulations”.

  • How listening to my wife CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!!

    Most of us around here know about internet memes, hoax emails, and other sources of scientific and medical rumor. After all, we’re geeks (or at least, I am). My wife, however, is not. She is a typical (and wonderful) woman, from a particular ethnic group, and particular part of town (and well-educated). I’m a fairly well-known physician, but when we go out to dinner, everyone stops to say “hi” to her—and is introduced to “her husband” for the third time.

    So it isn’t really a surprise that she knows more about the “real world” than I do. I was sitting on the couch reading my feeds, and she was checking her email. She apparently belongs to a mailing list that “everybody” is on. I’m not sure how to reproduce the entire email, so I’ll describe it. It has pictures of an adorable child placing a Tupperware container in a microwave, a refreshing bottle of water, some chemical diagrams, and a headline that reads “Cancer update from Johns Hopkins”. It explains how plastic will poison you with dioxins and other nonsense.

    Now, to most folks reading this, it looks like the internet-equivalent of a cut-out newsprint ransom note. But to a suburban mom…
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  • I'm of two minds about this one

    There’s a new facebook group set up to protest Expelled.

    I am ambivalent for the usual reasons—protest, and you give the reactionary religious cults more publicity, and an illusion of power. Fail to protest, and you appear to consent to their insanity.

    I figure there will be protests either way, so go and chose your way…protest loudly, or protest silently. But please, at least let someone know what you think, even if it’s just your friends or coworkers. I’m not one to keep my mouth shut, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be pissing someone off.

  • More flu woo from Mercola

    OK, I never really liked Joe Mercola, but when I read about this story on his website, I was encouraged. Boy, do I feel like a sucker.

    He started out so well, telling us about the tragic case of a child who died of influenza this year, and how health officials rapidly responded by increasing vaccine availability. Yea! He finally gets it!

    Or not.

    After the reasonably good piece of journalism, Mercola hops back on to the bat-shit insane wagon.

    Joe’s commentary starts thusly:

    This tragic story is, unfortunately, being used for all the wrong reasons; namely to promote the “universal influenza vaccination for all Americans.

    Um, he must have read a different story than I. Unvaccinated girl dies of flu—public health officials respond by trying to prevent a similar tragedy.

    But being unburdened by logic or truth, Mercola has an explanation:

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  • Cults make you stupid

    You don’t have to be stupid to join a cult (although it helps), but once you’re in…

    You see, PZ went to see Expelled    . With some friends. No one of note really, just THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS ATHEIST!!!111!

    And which one got tossed at the door? Take that, Dawkins! We grow good atheists right here in the Midwest!

    But really, it’s not just the funniest thing to happen in Minnesota since lutefisk. It shows how cults make you dumb. They discourage independent thought. Followers get their marching orders and, well, march without question. God forbid (irony intended) that you should exercise your own mind and say, “Maybe the Dear Leaders wanted all famous atheists out, not just one.”

    I do wonder about the Rent-a-Cops at the theater. Do the theater owners just throw out everyone they’re asked to? What was it about PZ? What if the KKK had rented out the theater for some white supremicist movie? Would they throw Abe Foxman or Jesse Jackson out?

    Not that arbitrarily tossing some professor out of a movie based on his religious beliefs (OK, lack of them) is the same as tossing out the head of the Anti-Defamation League or a prominent African-American leader.

    Or is it?

  • Flu update

    Continuing my series from WhiteCoat Underground, here is the latest influenza update.

    i-71ff2058c99656a050f7b3ae34ba49f7-usmap10.jpg

    While still widespread, numbers are finally starting to drop. I’m ready to drop myself. It’s been a terrible season—the worst I’ve ever seen. This is probably due, at least in part, to this year’s flu vaccine missing some unanticipated strains.

    For those of you out there who don’t “believe in” flu shots, remember that vaccination isn’t a religion. The anti-vaccination forces are, however, rather cult-like. Here’s some info for you.

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  • Disclaimers and such

    Last updated 09 October 2008

    When writing on medical topics, a few issues are important to address directly, conveniently laid out by the Health on the Net Foundation.

    Medical authority and complementarity, or, “I’m not your doctor”

    We don’t give advice here. Our posts represent our own opinions, thoughts, etc. and no one else’s. Neither our hospitals, partners, universities, nor anyone else has approved of anything we write. The information in our posts is intended for discussion purposes only and not as recommendations on how to diagnose or treat illnesses. Our writings do not claim to represent anyone’s opinions but the author.

    One our authors is a board-certified internist, one a medical student, and one an attorney. Any personal medical issues the reader may have should be referred to the reader’s physician. If the reader freely chooses to use some random anonymous blog to make medical decisions, well, that would be just foolish. See your own doctor, damn it, he’s got boat payments to make.

    Intended Audience

    This blog has a variety of posts written a varying levels of complexity. We have readers in high school, octogenarians, and many in between. Readers have indicated many levels of education from high school to doctorates. All are welcome. Some people will find some posts too simplistic, others too complex. Such is life.

    Confidentiality and Privacy

    Confidentiality is more important than any other principle in medical writing. I always change significant data about clinical cases, which can include gender, place, temporal relationships, and other potentially identifying data. Cases are often amalgams of different patients’ stories.

    Please remember that any information you submit through comments or email are inherently un-secure. If you wouldn’t shout it from the rooftops, don’t send it to me or post it in a comment. That being said, I will never intentionally divulge personal information or contact information of our visitors.

    Type whatever you will, but your email or comment may become the subject of a new post, and that isn’t always a good thing for the commenter.

    Additionally, Seed Media Group has its own privacy policy here.

    Advertising, funding, and compensation

    Seed Media Group, LLC owns ScienceBlogs.com and pays its writers a modest stipend. They do not exert any editorial control. They do, however, control the advertising seen on top of the page and right hand column. I do not choose ads, nor do I advocate for or benefit directly from them. The center and left columns belong to the authors, the top and right to our Seed masters.

    Contact info

    All of the authors have a short bio on the left sidebar with contact information. If you really can’t help yourself, drop us a line.

  • Please Welcome PalMD

    Everyone please welcome PalMD of WhiteCoatUnderGround.

    I’ve been enjoying his writing for quite some time and think that he gets what the mission of denialism blog is all about.

    He has of course introduced himself, and I think in just a few posts you’ll see why he’s a wonderful asset to the sb team.

  • What Happened?

    Hello?
    (tap tap)
    Hello?
    (tap)
    Is this thing on?

    OK. I think it’s working.

    Wow. I mean, wow. Someone seems to have accidentally dropped the keys to denialism blog on my desk, so now I’m in ur blogz, messing with ur words and stuff.

    That’s really the only logical explanation. I mean, how else could I, a lowly Doctor of Medicine in a dreary Midwestern town, end up writing on Sb?

    I guess I owe you an explanation…
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