Category: Critical Thinking

Consensus

Why antivaxxers reject the concept of scientific consensus as a “manufactured construct”

Neil deGrasse Tyson invoked the concept of a scientific consensus while supporting vaccines in his debate with Del Bigtree. Why was his statement about how "individual scientists don't matter" compared to scientific consensus so triggering to antivaxxers? Why do antivaxxers reject the very concept of a scientific consensus and promote a hyper-individualistic view of how science should be conducted?

/ April 17, 2023
Autism Awareness Month

Autism prevalence increases to 1 in 38, and antivaxxers blame vaccines without using the word “vaccine”

The CDC updated its estimates for the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders. Predictably, antivaxxers blame the increasing prevalence of ASDs reported, particularly in Black children, on "environmental factors," which is antivax code for, "Vaccines are to blame."

/ March 27, 2023
Andrew Wakefield.

Andrew Wakefield after 25 years: Paving the way for COVID-19 quacks and antivaxxers

It was 25 years ago yesterday that Andrew Wakefield launched the modern iteration of the antivaccine movement.In doing so, he laid down a template that antivax quacks today still follow.

/ February 27, 2023

Diagnostic Reflections

At the end of a long and storied career I reflect upon making a medical diagnosis. No reflection is one way to diagnose a vampire.

/ January 26, 2023

When antivax “died suddenly” conspiracy mongering vultures target a friend and colleague

After SBM suffered the unexpected loss of our co-founder Dr. Harriet Hall last week, we were angered and distressed to see antivaxxers saying that she had "died suddenly" because of COVID-19 vaccines. This dangerous narrative is even more painful when it targets a friend. Dr. Gorski tries to get past his initial anger and explain this dangerous conspiracy theory.

/ January 16, 2023
Damar Hamlin

How antivaxxers laid the groundwork to blame COVID-19 vaccines for Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest

Right after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed from a cardiac arrest after a tackle and was resuscitated on the field, antivaxxers immediately pounced, blaming COVID-19 vaccines even as CPR was still continuing. That's because antivaxxers had "primed the pump" over more than a year with stories of young athletes who had supposedly "died suddenly." (Warning: This one's long, even by Gorski...

/ January 9, 2023

Quack Quack

Joe Schwarcz's new book Quack Quack is an informative and entertaining look at quackery and pseudoscience past and present. A delightful read.

/ January 3, 2023

Tomasz Witkowski Busts More Myths

Tomasz Witkowski has written another book filled with skepticism and critical thinking.

/ November 1, 2022

Announcing a New Children’s Book that Promotes Critical Thinking

A new book teaches young children about critical thinking and evidence. It's not only educational but colorful and funny. Too many adults are like Henry, the little boy in the story who rejects clear evidence and persists in what he wants to believe.

/ August 2, 2022

Apples, Oranges, and How Not to Analyze a Vaccine RCT

The evidence is overwhelming that COVID vaccines keep people alive and out of the hospital. Only someone who starts with the conclusion that vaccines don't work and then works backwards to find the evidence could claim otherwise.

/ July 4, 2022