Tag Archives: pseudoscience

Sep 2 2015

Frivolous Lawsuits over ‘Wi-Fi Sickness’

This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.

Last week, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported that the Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts was sued by parents who believe that the school’s wi-fi signal is making their 12-year-old son sick. According to the article, their child:

“…suffers from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome, a condition that is aggravated by electromagnetic radiation. The boy was diagnosed after he frequently experienced headaches, nosebleeds, nausea, and other symptoms while sitting in class after the school installed a new, more powerful wireless Internet system in 2013, the suit says.”

Continue reading →

Jun 11 2015

Dr. Oz Hires a Clone to Be His ‘Fact-Checker’

This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.

There was a brief glimmer of hope that Dr. Oz had changed. In response to criticism that received national attention, the dangerous, money-grubbing quack who makes a mockery of medical science and pollutes our national airwaves issued a press release stating that he has hired Dr. Michael Crupain, who will be “responsible for researching and vetting scripts, evaluating expert guests, ordering and editing medical animations and overseeing liaisons with the show’s Medical Advisory Board. He will also lead efforts to enhance the show’s ongoing dialogue with the medical community.”

That job description is essentially for a fact-checker. Finally, facts matter to Dr. Oz. Right? Continue reading →

May 17 2015

Unscientific Nonsense on ‘Shark Tank’

This article was originally published on RealClearScience.

Shark Tank is one of my favorite television shows. Though its depiction of the angel investor/venture capital world is a bit skewed, it provides an amazing insight into the heart of American capitalism. Indeed, the show easily disproves the myth oft-repeated by certain politicians that “rich people don’t create jobs.” Yes, they do. Start-ups, which directly create jobs, often rely on the beneficence of monumentally rich investors to get their businesses off the ground. Shark Tank, therefore, provides Americans with a basic, 101-level course in entrepreneurialism.

Unfortunately, one of the lessons of entrepreneurialism is that “money matters more than science.” If a buck can be made, few business owners care if their products make a mockery of science. Businesses that peddle unscientific organic food regularly appear on Shark Tank. The owners proudly proclaim that their product has been selling well at Whole Foods — a business that blatantly lies to its customers — after which they often walk away with a sizable investment from the sharks. As a scientist, I am appalled by this. Continue reading →

Apr 28 2015

A Letter to Dr. Oz from a PhD Microbiologist

This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.

Dear Dr. Oz,

As a TV host, book author, and “America’s Doctor,” you hold a powerful and privileged position to which few people inside or outside your profession could ever aspire. I must admit to being envious of your influence. I wish that more Americans were fascinated by the complicated nuance of biomedical research than are fascinated by miracle cures. Alas, they are not (yet). I’m working on it, though.

I am writing to you because I was deeply troubled by your rebuttal to the letter signed by ten medical doctors seeking your termination from Columbia University. Continue reading →