Rationally Thinking Out Loud
Just one guy thinking out loud on a the issues in religion, atheism, politics & science The Blog ArticlesFeatured Pages TOCThese 4 Factors Can Explain Why So Many People Are Rejecting Science
These 4 Factors Can Explain Why So Many People Are Rejecting Science
Distrust of science is a massive problem. In our current environment, it’s directly leading to people’s deaths. Much of the misinformation we face is intentional and organized, and even worse, research has found lies seem to spread faster online and
Here’s how Fox and Newsmax tried to spin the January 6 committee’s first prime-time hearing – CNN
Here’s how Fox and Newsmax tried to spin the January 6 committee’s first prime-time hearing
A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.
Gun-rights activists remade the Second Amendment over past 40 years – The Washington Post
Perspective | Gun-rights activists remade the Second Amendment over past 40 years
Placeholder while article actions load The Second Amendment looms large in the grim ritual that follows mass shootings like the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Tex. Conservatives cite the amendment to justify their opposition to any new form of gun control – positing that unfettered gun rights are a fundamental freedom.
The National Debt and Other Red Herrings | Real Progressives
The National Debt and Other Red Herrings | Real Progressives
Discussions of inflation are often laden with an air of superstition and moral panic. Like all such things they can only persist in the face of misunderstanding and rumor.
Economics for the Clueless Scientist – How Do We Pay For It? – Stephanie Kelton and Fadhel Kaboub – YouTube
Dr. Joe Dispenza a Pseudoscientist and Not Even Wrong
So I was speaking with an acquaintance/friend and she made some pretty sensational wild recommendations to me about my health and I ask her: “Says who?… Where id you learn that?”
So be a natuaral skeptic as soon as the conversation was over I went and googled “Dr. Joe Dispenza skeptical” and discovered this:
“…Dr. Joe Dispenza’s teachings: according to him, we can heal anything with the placebo effect (even fractured cervicals and cancer, and really anything as long as you really want it), and we can create our own reality with our mind.”
WTF?
What does it mean to be “Not Even Wrong“? It describes an argument or explanation that purports to be scientific but uses faulty reasoning or speculative premises, which can be neither affirmed nor denied and thus cannot be discussed rigorously and scientifically.
The rise of fake scientists
Yesterday at lunch time, while I was sipping tea and casually going through Instagram stories to see what my friends were up to (not the best kind of work break, but we are human after all), I was shown an advert for a website I had never heard about before.
Ask the Skepdoc: Pancreas miracle and Dispenza’s thought healing
The JREF is pleased to bring you Dr. Harriet Hall to answer your health-related questions about alternative treatments, questionable claims and science-based medical information. This edition: A seemingly miraculous healing of a pancreas injury and the self-healing claim of Joe Dispenza. By Harriet Hall, MD Question: My mother claims she experienced a miracle 25 years ago.
Joe Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Being Misled | Skeptical Inquirer
“Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.”-Carl Sagan I began reading Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza with an open mind. But I’m afraid that the more I read, the more critical I became of his references, inter …
I am trying to learn as much as I can about the Ukraine crisis,…it’s complicated
I am trying to learn as much as I can about the Ukraine crisis,…it’s complicated for sure.
Russia’s at war with Ukraine. Here’s how we got here
As Russian forces begin an all-out assault on Ukraine after months of troop buildup and failed diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and its European allies to head off conflict, the situation for Kyiv is the most high-stakes in the country’s 30-year history.
Video published Sep 25, 2015
Is Jesus a myth? – YouTube
Candace Owens Incoherently Claims The Communist FBI Is Criminalizing Patriotism – YouTube
Candace Owens Accidentally Admits She’s A Fraud – YouTube
An Open Letter to ZDoggMD | Science-Based Medicine
An Open Letter to ZDoggMD | Science-Based Medicine
Dear. ZDoggMD, During a recent social media kerfuffle, you referred to yourself as “arguably the biggest advocate for vaccination on social media”. Indeed, you’ve hosted credible individuals like Dr. Paul Offit who spoke eloquently on the dangers COVID-19 poses to children and how the vaccine can prevent these harms. You posted a video of your own daughter getting vaccinated.
‘Shark Tank’-funded food sensitivity test is medically dubious, experts say
This EverlyWell service which is saturating TV screens with ads lately looks like it is another Theranos story. In other words the medical practicality of the test is dubious at best according to medical professionals. In other words don’t waste your money. From the article: (The emphasis is mine)
—“But what EverlyWell describes as one of its best-sellers — a test for food sensitivity — is of dubious medical value, according to experts interviewed by STAT. The $199 test promises to use a fingerprick’s worth of blood to gauge whether a person’s immune system is active against 96 common foods, including asparagus, garlic, and eggs. An immune protein called immunoglobulin G, the company’s website says, could be to blame for symptoms such headaches, stomach pain, diarrhea, and fatigue.
Other online vendors sell immunoglobulin G tests for food sensitivity as well, though none have reached EverlyWell’s degree of prominence. ALL ARE CONSIDERED LABORATORY-DEVELOPED TESTS, AND ARE THEREFORE NOT REGULATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.
Yet physician groups have for years advised against using immunoglobulin G tests to evaluate for so-called food sensitivities or intolerances. And ALLERGY EXPERTS TOLD STAT THAT THE TEST IS USELESS AT BEST AND COULD EVEN CAUSE HARM IF IT LEADS CUSTOMERS TO UNNECESSARILY CUT NUTRITIOUS FOODS FROM THEIR DIET.”—
A ‘Shark Tank’-funded test for food sensitivity is medically dubious, experts say
W hen Julia Cheek walked onto the set of “Shark Tank,” her five potential investors wore their trademark scowls. Yet within minutes, their demeanor changed, eyebrows raised and heads nodding as they peppered her with questions about her company, EverlyWell, and its promise to revolutionize medical diagnostics.