Unlike some in the science blogosphere, I haven’t found it worthwhile to write much about Mike Adams, whose conspiracy-laden screeds and paeans to raw foods and unproven alternative medicine treatments appear on a website of his called Natural News. (I have briefly discussed Adams on one previous occasion.) Here’s an apt description from David Gorski: His website is a one-stop shop, a repository…Continue Reading…
A recent survey on conspiracy beliefs in the United States attracted a lot of media attention. The first question: Do you believe global warming is a hoax, or not? Do …………………………………………………………. 37% Do not ……………………………………………………. 51% Not sure …………………………………………………. 12% The political breakdown, according to the poll, found that “Republicans say global warming is a…Continue Reading…
When is a conspiracy theory outright loony tunes and when is it borderline acceptable for rational discussion? Salon has an interesting measuring stick. Earlier this month, the site treated the vile Sandy Hook Truthers with proper WTF contempt. But perhaps in the interest of (false?) balance, Salon also suggests in a piece posted yesterday that 9/11 Truthers…Continue Reading…
Bill Keller, the top NYT editor, goes exploring: Humans live along a continuum from doubt to faith. Wander far enough in the direction of faith and you reach the land of Nostradamus and of the Rapture (recently postponed). Wander too far in the other direction, past cynicism, through misanthropy, and you get to more or…Continue Reading…
That was the tagline to this popular 1990s sci-fi TV show. And so that is my advice to birthers, anti-vaxxers, 9/11 Truthers, Watts/Morano dwellers, Anna Haynes soul travelers, New Agers, UFO abductees, Holocaust deniers, flat-earthers, New World Order fretters, and Scientologists ( I gotta cap the list somewhere). The truth is out there. Keep looking….Continue Reading…