tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36178747322764242752024-03-18T00:39:45.000-07:00Oklahoma SkepticThis blog is about being a skeptic in the bible belt and some of the crap that we have to deal with. Also, I'll be discussing items of interest, occasional rants and other things that pop into my head. I will answer any questions that people may have about skepticism, atheism, me, or life in general. Don't mind the rambling, it's part of my charm. Thanks for reading, and all feedback is welcome.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-11601332336937140862017-01-11T10:28:00.000-08:002017-01-11T10:28:04.594-08:00I shall return!I know it's been quite a while since I've posted anything on my little corner of the interwebs. I've written a fair amount, but I'm still researching and polishing, as well as confusing myself by writing on several different topics simultaneously. So I have to go back, cut whole paragraphs and paste them into other posts, and then repeat the process. I've also been extremely busy with work matters, family stuff, and other skeptical and media projects. Some of the topics I'm currently working on, when I get the chance are Pliny the Elder (thanks to the <a href="http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/sawbones" target="_blank">Sawbones Podcast</a> and <a href="http://www.blurryphotos.org/" target="_blank">Blurry Photos</a> for getting him stuck in my head), dowsing, Reiki, psychics, the Skirvin Hotel, and several opinion pieces, including one on the proliferation of alt med journals and another on why people in the skeptical community aren't the bad guys.<br />
<br />
If you enjoy my writing, and it seems that some people do, then please, please, please, share my posts on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Google+, hell, you can put them on MySpace. Also, leave comments. I do read everything, and if I can, I do reply. Also, if there is something you'd like to read my take on, then go ahead and leave a suggestion in the comments, and I'll look into it. Right now, it appears most people want to read more about various cryptids, based on which ones have the greatest number of views. I enjoy reading and researching the various monsters that are supposedly out there. The problem is that there are so many of them, it's hard to know where to start, and a lot of them barely have any info to write a sensible article on.<br />
<br />
So as I said in the title, I will return to writing here soon, I hope. Of course, that depends on how much free time I'll have coming up. Until then, be skeptical, not cynical.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-33566867219680369852016-01-12T13:37:00.002-08:002016-01-12T13:55:02.060-08:00GMOs for the Beginning SkepticI hope that everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. Of course, living in Oklahoma, the winter always has a few surprises in store, which normally involve ice storms, power outages, and of course, a brown/green Christmas. I've been mulling over what sort of post to start the year off with, if it should be a heavily opinionated rant, a topical current event, or a more researched fact based post. Then I realized that there is a topic that can easily cover all three. This is something that is fodder for some really rather outrageous claims. The fear mongers will rail against a variety of companies that they think use them, and the conspiracy theorists and the "natural living" crowd tend to get up in arms about them.The results is that proponents get hate mail, death threats, and are accused of being shills, naturally, and the companies are boycotted, or otherwise threatened financially. Of course, I intend to talk about GMOs. Any topic that can piss off Vani Hari (<i>The Food Babe),</i> Mike Adams <i>(The Health Ranger), </i>Joseph Mercola, Alex Jones(<i>InfoWars and Above Top Secret</i>), and David <i>Avocado</i> Wolfe is definitely one that the skeptical community should learn about, and take every opportunity to refute the more outrageous claims and provide factual evidence.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What are GMOs?</b></span><br />
This is a question that can be rather difficult to answer. The quick and dirty definition of a GMO is any organism that has been altered from it's original form through manipulation. Technically, this definition not only includes actual genetic manipulation, but natural selection and controlled breeding programs. The USDA defines GMO as:<a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=biotech_glossary.html"> </a>"<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=biotech_glossary.html" target="_blank">An organism produced through genetic modification</a>."</span>, though they prefer the term Agricultural biotechnology. The <a href="http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/testimony/ucm426541.htm#_ftn1" target="_blank">FDA states </a>that "Genetically engineered foods are also referred to as biotech, bioengineered, and genetically modified (GM) foods. Because from a scientific perspective, the term "genetic modification" means the alteration of the genotype of an organism using any technique, and therefore also encompasses plants altered through means including conventional breeding and selection, The FDA uses the term "genetically engineered," or "GE," to distinguish organisms that have been modified using genetic engineering (also known as modern biotechnology) from those modified through traditional breeding." Of course, <a href="http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/GMO" target="_blank">Mirriam-Webster</a> defines it as "genetically modified organism". Notice that the terms "frankenfood" or "evil" aren't anywhere in there. GM crops and animals, generally speaking, have been modified through genetic engineering to improve yields, disease resistance, earlier maturing, or to possess or remove certain traits. Normally, they will splice in genes from related organisms that have the desired trait. An example is taking the gene for resistance to corn smut (a type of fungus) and splicing it into a high yield variety that has little or no resistance to smut. The result: a high yield corn plant that is resistant to corn smut. Taking genes from animals and putting them into plants is primarily done in a purely experimental setting. The same holds for things like human genes or biofluorescenct genes in pigs. You're not going to get a glowing human/pig porckchop anytime soon. The biofluorscence is used in conjunction with certain genes to determine if they've been activated or not. Though glowing mice and pigs do look pretty cool, admittedly. We have been doing genetic modifications on plants and animals for thousands of years. Before we had the tools to actually manipulate the genes, we did it the slow way by breeding plants and animals that had the traits we wanted, then breeding the offspring, and so on. Now, we can cut out dozens, if not hundreds of years, and hopefully get the results we want within 1 or 2 generations. Of course, the opponents to GM products make it sound like there is a mad scientist somewhere that creates a mutant and then unleashes it on an unknowing public. The truth is that before they are released for consumers, there are many years of studies to determine if the alterations will breed true between the generations, if there are any harmful effects to either humans or animals, depending on who will be the final consumer, and if there are any environmental risks. Then the results have to be published and submitted to the government and approved.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Controversies:</b></span><br />
There are a lot of controversies surrounding GMOs, some are real, others are completely made out of whole cloth. An actual concern over GM plants and animals would be "What if they escape into the wild?" Gene transfer is a concern because if you have, say, mice that have been engineered for resistance to a particular rodenticide, and they escape and breed with the wild population, then that can make pest control even more difficult than it already is. The same goes for plants that are resistant to certain herbicides. For the most part, there are controls in place to prevent the animals from escaping and breeding. The main one for animals, outside of strict handling protocols, is that they don't produce certain nutrients that have to be supplemented by the lab, otherwise the animals perish. For plants, this is also a major concern, and many of the GM plants have been engineered so that the altered genes aren't incorporated into the pollen, so therefore shouldn't be able to give those traits to related plants, though as Jeff Goldbloom noted in the original Jurassic Park, nature will find a way. There is always a minuscule chance of this happening, but the controls are pretty solid. "Should GM products be labeled?" is another question that has been in the news lately. You have one side saying that everything with some form of GMO in it needs to have a label. You have the other side saying that the manufacturers shouldn't label them because it will promote the idea that they may be dangerous. Personally, I don't have an opinion on the matter. On one hand, if someone wants to avoid GMO foods, then the labeling would help them make what they feel to be a healthier choice. On the other hand, I agree that putting some sort of label does seem to imply that there is a risk, which ties into another concern people often have about GMOs. "Are there health risks with eating GMOs?" Honestly, none of the reliable research that I've read even implies that there is a risk. <i>And before you start bringing up Monsanto and Seralini or the StarLink corn, let me just say that I will discuss these in a bit.</i> There are also some groups that will claim that the widespread adoption of GM products is part of the NWO's nefarious plot to either cause a massive genocide or to keep the sheeple calm and pliable. Other claims along these lines they cause cancer, or autism, or are a delivery device for a variety of diseases, nanotech, or poisons. These are the sanest of the odd ideas about GMOs. Seriously, there are some that include aliens, chemtrails, 9-11, the terrorist group of the week, mind control, or the World Bank. I'm not even going to dignify them by discussing them. The funny thing is that, for all the protests and complaints, there are only 8 GM crops that you can get in the US. They are, according to <a href="http://findourcommonground.com/food-facts/gmo-foods/" target="_blank">Kellie Blair</a>, soybeans, corn (field and sweet), papaya, canola, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets and summer squash<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Benefits:</b></span><br />
There are a handful of benefits to using GMOs. One of the most valuable is improved or added nutritional value to various crops. Golden rice is a perfect example of this. Golden rice is GM rice that has a gene for beta-carotene. This in turn helps the body to produce vitamin A. In some parts of the world, people are suffering from vitamin A deficiencies, which cause, according to the <a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/vad/en/" target="_blank">WHO</a>, "Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and increases the risk of disease and death from severe infections. In pregnant women VAD causes night blindness and may increase the risk of maternal mortality" Another benefit of using GM crops is the increased yield per plant. Given that there are already more than 7 billion people on the planet, and we are already using around 40 % of the land for farming, according to an article in <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1209_051209_crops_map.html" target="_blank">National Geographic </a>(pre Murdoch), higher yields are probably a good thing. Another advantage of GMOs is increased disease or pesticide resistance, which means that farmers actually apply pesticides less often, which means that less gets into the environment. Increased resistance to disease also means that there would be less loss and waste. Gm crops can also be grown in arid or drought stricken areas, reducing hunger and death from starvation. GM animals can be used for disease or nutritional research, instead of more costly human trials. GM crops use less pesticides and fertilizers, or have faster germination and growth, thereby reducing costs. These are some of the immediate benefits to GM crops and animals. as our techniques improve, such as CRISPR and gene drives, we will find more beneficial uses for GMOs that we might have considered but didn't have the ability to develop.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Risks:</b></span><br />
Nothing comes without some sort of risk, however. As I said earlier, gene transfer is an actual risk with GMOs, but there are safeguards in place. Granted, they aren't 100%, but they are in place, and they have shown to be quite effective. You'll often hear people talk about GM crops promote herbicide resistant weeds, but in all honesty, this would happen with or without GM crops. Resistance to toxins is something that all organisms can develop, given enough time. Another risk that I do occasionally hear of, and I agree with, is even further development of monoculture farming practices. When you have plants that are resistant to herbicides, have higher yields, and are less prone to various illnesses, then you tend to try and grow as much of it as you can. Most current agriculture practices involve crop rotation to not only reduce certain types of weeds, but also to give the soil a chance to recover. Another risk is that there may be unintended consequences on other species. The best known example of this is Bt corn. This is a type of transgenic corn that actually creates it's own pesticide. Unfortunately, it has had an effect not only on the Corn Borer, a pest insect of corn that causes millions of dollars of damage every year, but also on the Monarch butterfly. There is a chance that any GM plant can have further environmental effects than what was originally intended. This is why there are so many years of studies made before a particular GM crop can be offered to the general consumer. Most GM animals, with a few exceptions, are specifically created and bred for scientific research, and not human consumption. They are bred to have certain traits, such as developing cancer after a certain amount of time <i>(this will be relevant shortly)</i>, develop an analog to human diabetes, or other conditions that humans suffer from. This allows researchers to run experiments and tests for treatments on analogs to humans before going on to human trials. Another risk is that if these GM plants and animals get out into the wild populations, they can impact the vitality of the already existing organisms. The excellent science communicator Bill Nye had expressed some concerns over GM crops, which seemed to come as a shock to many people in the skeptical community. This is actually what skepticism is about. Mr. Nye actually went and met with the head of Monsanto, looked at the processes and safeguards in place, and <b>changed his mind</b>. This is a basic tenant of skepticism, the ability to change our minds as new data emerges.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Monsanto, Seralini, and StarLink:</b></span><br />
I pretty sure that by now, you've heard of at least 2 of these, but just in case you haven't, I'll give a bit of information about them.<br />
<b>Monsanto:</b> This company is one of the largest manufacturers of agriculture chemicals and bioengineered seeds. It was started in 1901 as a food additive company, and then became an industrial chemical company, and then got into the agriculture chemical business. It has either spun off or gotten rid of most of its other chemical properties and focused primarily on the agriculture sector. It is also know as the maker of RoundUp, a glyphosate herbicide that has a definite impact on modern farming practices. The company is also known for aggressively pursuing what it feels are infringements on their patents. They have, over the years had a rather dubious history, including DDT, helping with the development of the first nuclear weapons, and AstroTurf. Keep in mind, other companies were making similar products, but very few were involved in so many different things. This history, and the companies rather litigious behavior, or most likely the reason that so many people just don't trust anything to come out of their labs.<br />
<b>Seralini: </b>Gilles-Eric Seralini is a French molecular biologist and the co-founder of an organization that opposes GM foods. In 2012, he published an experiment attempting to demonstrate that Monsantos GM corn and RoundUp are dangerous. "The study used 100 male and 100 female <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprague_Dawley">Sprague Dawley</a> rats, divided into twenty groups with 10 rats each. Ten diets were tested separately on the males and females. The diets comprised 11 percent, 22 percent and 33 percent genetically modified corn (NK603) and the rest standard laboratory rat food; NK603 corn that had been treated with Roundup, also at 11, 22 and 33 percent; and corn that had not been genetically modified, accompanied by differing concentrations of Roundup in the water. A control group was fed 33 percent non-GMO corn; the rest of their diet was standard laboratory rat food." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9ralini_affair" target="_blank">From the Wikipedia article on the Seralini Affair</a>) <span style="color: red;"><i>Why the fuck was he putting RoundUp in the water?</i></span> One failing of this experiment is that no one knows if there was actually any RoundUp on the corn fed the rats because no one bothered to test or measure it. There was also no limit to how much food any of the groups could consume. A major issue with this study is the genetic line of the rats. The Sprague Dawley rat is genetically engineered through breeding (see the irony here folks) for lab tests,and it is well known that they spontaneously develop tumors, and the more food the rat eats, the more tumors it will develop. He also did not talk about how they accounted for this fact in his study.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMhnrmrUIwJkT_27BCa2yIXa4dBcBwH4YJ7mXo74vdnltZX_R3_69LE33i3828zd8uAV0mJgPchyIU3paimXZxvUDOy7xaNUaAJcTottKU91LUVVBaz3KdiqlA2TJK_Wfygse2lAg5z8/s1600/rat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMhnrmrUIwJkT_27BCa2yIXa4dBcBwH4YJ7mXo74vdnltZX_R3_69LE33i3828zd8uAV0mJgPchyIU3paimXZxvUDOy7xaNUaAJcTottKU91LUVVBaz3KdiqlA2TJK_Wfygse2lAg5z8/s320/rat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://www.allposters.com/-sp/White-Laboratory-Rat-Sprague-Dawley-Variety-a-Common-Laboratory-Animal-Rattus-Posters_i6010439_.htm">Allposter.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cute little thing, isn't it. <a href="http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/16/3/194" target="_blank">Looking into the rats themselves</a>, it's been shown that up to 80% of females will develop tumors within 18 months, which are similar numbers to what Seralini claims were the result of exposure to GM crops and RoundUp. He also only had 1 control group, but basically 9 different experiments. The control animal got 33% non-GM corn,and the rest was standard lab rat chow. That would be the control for 1 of the damned test groups, not all of them. And even then, there were no groups just getting 100% standard rat food as a control against corn. (Hint: even with this food, the occurrence of tumors would have been roughly the same.) A fun and interesting note is that fewer male rats died that were eating 22% or 33% of their diet as GM corn. The same held true for the groups with the higher concentrations of RoundUp. <i><span style="color: red;">Funny that this didn't make it into the press release</span></i>. Also funny that they didn't realize that there were some serious problems with the experiment design. There are a lot of other problems with the study that you can <a href="http://www.vib.be/en/news/Documents/20121008_EN_Analyse%20rattenstudie%20S%C3%A9ralini%20et%20al.pdf" target="_blank">read here</a>. It's actually pretty interesting, so I would say go ahead and have a look.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b>StarLink Corn: </b>This is a Bt corn with an added modification for resistance to glufosinate, an herbicide. The corn was originally developed for use in both animal and human food. However, due to insufficient evidence that it wasn't allergenic due to one compound remaining in the gut before it is broken down, the EPA denied the permit. So the manufacturer PGS, submitted 2 permit requests. The one for animal feed was approved in 1998. The corn ended up in a handful of products because several grain mills that distributed corn to manufacturers did not separate GM and conventionally grown corn. A group called Genetically Engineered Food Alert (which sounds mildly ominous) found that some items had StarLink corn in them and notified the FDA. The end result is that the products were recalled, and even though about 50 people claimed to have adverse effects, and 28 were determined to be possible, after further testing by the CDC, it was determined that there were no ill effects from consuming the corn. There were also many lawsuits for many millions of dollars against the manufacturers, the processing plants, and the governmental agencies.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span><br />
GMOs are not inherently evil or dangerous. If developed and tested properly, the benefits to mankind could be equivalent to the discovery of fire. That's not to say they are without their risks, but that should emphasize the importance of the years of testing and making sure sufficient safeguards are in place. To make sure that the possible risks don't outweigh the rewards. There is a lot of blatantly false information being propagated by anti-GMO activists such as GreenPeace (never thought I'd write something negative about them), Seralini, Vani Hari, Mike Adams, and The Avacado. These are people that seem to be scared of the idea that they would ever eat something made by science rather than naturally grown. I'm not saying that everyone needs to eat GM products, and if you want to avoid them, that's perfectly fine. Just don't try and intimidate people and companies into thinking the way you want them to. I would prefer people come to their own conclusion using actual information, and scientifically rigorous studies to make their decision and not use a single source for information, especially internet memes. When people try and use fear tactics and science illiteracy as bludgeons, that's when we need to use facts and resources as a scalpel to counter them. Just cut away a bit at a time at the tumorous growth that is misinformation.<br />
<br />
Lately, I've been posting direct links to some of the sources that I used in researching this article, so for your further reading pleasure here is some Further Reading:<br />
<a href="http://www.iflscience.com/environment/myths-and-controversies-gmos-0">http://www.iflscience.com/environment/myths-and-controversies-gmos-0</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9ralini_affair">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9ralini_affair</a><br />
<a href="http://www.vib.be/en/news/Documents/20121008_EN_Analyse%20rattenstudie%20S%C3%A9ralini%20et%20al.pdf">http://www.vib.be/en/news/Documents/20121008_EN_Analyse%20rattenstudie%20S%C3%A9ralini%20et%20al.pdf</a><br />
<a href="http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/16/3/194">http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/16/3/194</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_the_release_of_genetically_modified_organisms">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_the_release_of_genetically_modified_organisms</a><br />
<a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=biotech_glossary.html">http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=biotech_glossary.html</a><br />
<a href="http://findourcommonground.com/food-facts/gmo-foods/">http://findourcommonground.com/food-facts/gmo-foods/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/testimony/ucm426541.htm#_ftn1">http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/testimony/ucm426541.htm#_ftn1</a><br />
<a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/vad/en/">http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/vad/en/</a><br />
<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1209_051209_crops_map.html">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1209_051209_crops_map.html</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-33227759382549124752015-12-28T11:57:00.003-08:002015-12-28T11:57:43.982-08:00We are experiencing technical difficulty.Just a short note to let any loyal readers know that due to the new Oklahoma phenomenon of icenadoes, (thanks climate change deniers!) plus the holidays coupled with work issues, I'm going to be taking a brief hiatus. I hope to be back with new posts after the first of the year, and back on a somewhat regular schedule. Some of the topics I'm going to be looking into are GMOs, climate change deniers, psychics, Reiki, and I might dip my toes into the arena of political rhetoric. Plus, I am currently writing a book, and of course trying to get the first episode of Red Dirt Skeptics finished, edited, and published. So, Have a happy holiday, great New Years Eve, and I'll see you in 2016, unless some of the doomsday predictions happen to come true. If you have any suggestions for topics you'd like me to look into and butcher, feel free to leave a comment.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-12122546656713722352015-12-22T10:03:00.001-08:002015-12-22T10:03:15.689-08:00Chiropractic for the Beginning SkepticI hope that everyone is having a happy, safe, and joyous holiday season. This weeks topic is one that has bothered me for quite a few years, and I have personally experienced. I'm talking about chiropractic. As with many of the various alternative medicine practices, it makes a lot of claims about what it is able to do, ranging from helping with lower back back, which is the most likely, to helping with erectile dysfunction and asthma, which are very dubious claims.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>History:</b></span><br />
The story of chiropractic starts way back in the fog of ancient China and Greece. At least according to the American Chiropractic Association. They say that there are written records that describe spinal manipulation for lower back pain. I have no way to substantiate these claims, so I'll leave them alone. The official origin of chiropractic is a bit more recent. In 1895, Daniel David Palmer, who ran a magnetic healing clinic, tried the first adjustment on a partially deaf janitor in Davenport, Iowa. According to the stories, a few days later, the janitor remarked to Palmer that his hearing seemed to be a bit better. As far as I've been able to find, there were no tests done on the mans ability to hear before or after Palmer's treatment. Palmer began to promote chiropractic shortly afterwards, which was comparable to osteopathy. According to <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/osteopathy" target="_blank">Mirriam-Webster</a>, osteopathy is: a system of medical practice based on a theory that diseases are due chiefly to loss of structural integrity which can be restored by manipulation of the parts supplemented by therapeutic measures (as use of drugs or surgery). Notice that the definition includes the use of drugs or surgery. Chiropractic generally tends to shun the use of more modern medical techniques. Basically, it sounds a lot like physical therapy, except for the whole disease is caused by a loss of structural integrity bit. Both were based in many of the beliefs that drove the spiritualism movement at the end of the 19th century, including magnetism, vitalism, and naturalism, which makes it very difficult to use the scientific method to ascertain the efficacy of treatment. In 1897, Palmer started the Palmer School of Chiropractic, which is still around. Palmer had made the claim that adjustments, or as they are known in the business, subluxations, are the key to curing all disease. Since then, the interest and use of chiropractic had waxed and waned for decades, until the 1990's when there was a steady rise in the interest and use of chiropractic. There have been several schisms in the history of chiropractic. One of the first was over what Palmer described as "innate intelligence". This is directly related to the magnetism and vitalism ideas of the late 1800's. Many practitioners have moved away from this idea because they feel that it prevents them from being taken seriously in the scientific medicine community. Another schism occurred over the idea of chiropractic being the "only" treatment for disease, or as part of a suite of treatments. The straights, as Palmer called them, believed that chiro (yes, I'm shortening the word from here on out.) was not just the best treatment for all illnesses, but it was the only one. The mixers, which Palmer despised, thought that chiro could be used in addition to surgery and drugs. Palmer felt that the mixers were polluting the "specific, pure, and unadulterated" chiropractic tradition. His words, not mine. This schism still exists today, with the straights being in the minority.<br />
As I mentioned earlier, Palmer started the first chiropractic college in 1897, and today, there are dozens of accredited colleges around the world. Many of them follow a similar education program, though some are regarded as being better than others. Most of the accreditation seems to be through the ACA (American Chiropractic Association) and not the AMA (American Medical Association) In regards to the US, each state requires practicing chiropractors to be licensed. This started in 1907, and Louisiana was the last state to require it in 1974. When it comes to monitoring and discipline of chiropractors, they are pretty much self regulated, reporting to the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards. An interesting read on licensing, with a few notations, can be found at <a href="http://www.chirobase.org/05RB/AHCPR/05.html">http://www.chirobase.org/05RB/AHCPR/05.html</a>. To date, chiro is still viewed as an alternative or fringe medical procedure by the medical community at large, though holistic and integrated practitioners do include it in their services.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Theory and Practices:</b></span><br />
The basic theory behind chiro concerns subluxation, which is that there is a misalignment of the spine, which causes various illnesses and conditions. There are some interesting articles on the <a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/" target="_blank">Science Based Medicine Blog</a> and <a href="http://www.quackwatch.com/" target="_blank">Quack Watch</a> on this, as well as chiro in general, which I'll put in the footnotes. Many chiropractors, though not all, believe that a misalignment of the spine can cause problems in the nervous system, which in turn can lead to disease and problems with various organs. If you can fix the problem by manipulating the spine, then you can cure the disease. The way this is normally achieved is by attempting to move the vertebrae into what the practitioner deems to be a proper position, which often results in the familiar popping sound. Many chiros will use X-rays to see if the spine is out of alignment and try and determine what they will need to do to put it back. Many people do often report that they feel better for a while after one of these treatments, though how much is due to either endorphin release or the placebo effect is nearly impossible to tell. There is a minority of chiros that don't believe in the subluxation theory, and feel that chiro should be viewed more as a form of physical therapy or for relief of lower back pain. These folks are often dismissed by the larger chiropractic crowd. I would go into the details of what is involved, but almost everyone has some idea. Just in case you don't, basically it involves the practitioner contorting the patient's back and applying pressure along the spine in an attempt to realign the back. There are some minute variations, but that is basically the gist of it. Of course, there are some chiros that will incorporate TCM (traditional chinese medicine) such as<a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2013/07/acupuncture-for-beginning-skeptic.html" target="_blank"> acupunture</a> and acupressure or they will include chakras, Reiki, crystals, herbalism, <a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2014/02/wtf-natural-medicine.html" target="_blank">natural medicine</a>, or <a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2013/06/homeopathy-for-beginning-skeptic.html" target="_blank">homeopathy</a> into their practice, but these are all separate topics, many of which I have already written about and don't feel like going into here.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Claims:</b></span><br />
Here is where we get into the fun stuff folks, what the believers in chiropractic claim it can do. Much like every other alternative medicine under the sun, there are a wide variety of claims. However, unlike many other types of alt-med, there are practitioners that will tell you it is good for 1 thing, and anything else, you need to see either a general practitioner or a specialist. Due to the various medical and advertising laws, many chiros are pretty careful about what they say they can do. They tend to avoid words like "cure" and "heal" and instead use more generic terms like "treat" or "relieve" or "help with". But they still make a number of claims on what they can do. According to the<a href="http://www.acatoday.org/level3_css.cfm?T1ID=13&T2ID=61&T3ID=152#conditions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> ACA</a>, they can treat back and neck pain, headaches, injuries of the musculoskeletal system, and general health issues, because the structure affects overall health. You will also find chiros advertising that they can help with some of the following;<br />
<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Athletic injuries</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Allergies</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Arthritis</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Asthma</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">ADD/HD</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Back and neck pain</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Carpal Tunnel Syndrome</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Chronic sinus issues</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Constipation </a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Colic</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Ear Infections </a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Gastrointestinal dysfunction</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Headaches/Migraines </a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Herniated/Degenerative Disc </a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Hip/Sacro-Iliac Pain</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Learning Disorders</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Menstrual dysfunction</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Menopausal symptoms</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Neurodevelopmental conditions</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">“Pinched” nerve</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Poor immune system function</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Reflux</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Sciatica</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Scoliosis</a></li>
<li style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" target="_blank">Stress</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;" target="_blank">Whiplash</a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;"><a href="http://pacefamilychiropractic.com/conditions_chiropractic_can_help_with_low_back_pain_headaches_arthritis/"></a></span></span><span style="color: red;"><i>(I pulled all these from a single chiropractic clinics website)</i></span></li>
</ul>
Plus many, many more. Notice that the body systems that are claimed to be effected are much more than just the spine. The immune system, the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal system, and there's a couple of neurological conditions listed as well. Other practitioners will claim that they can treat a wide variety of viral and bacterial infections as well. It's making me think of that old song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrzBsUtUdts" target="_blank">"Dem Bones"</a>. You know the one. "The head bone is connected to the neck bone"...etc. I think that the chiropractic community knows a few more verses than most other people. The site I got the list from says that they don't treat, just diagnose and remove subluxations, which in turns allows better communication between the brain and body, which is a common belief among many practitioners. The exact mechanism that purports to do all this is a complete unknown, and even chiros will admit it. I will grant that all the bodily systems are connected in the loosest sense by all being in the same bag of skin and it's all controlled by the nervous system, but that's about it. Popping your back will not help with asthma. There is absolutely no reason that it would. Asthma is often an inflammation in the lungs, so trying to realign the spine wouldn't have any effect on that.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Evidence:</b></span><br />
Now to pull the curtain aside and have a look at the evidence:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin86B9apJHN5QWF8isGlGYcj6pWz2_7z99qHfknCEC4HEhYm596RMn6_E9nVQf0B1HEojS5ix2MCZ2i3QNST-wp26tZwCOrgveDaEiTjiKdwBZk1O4HNZJQ_mXSADou3NxizIsQHR-Vz8/s1600/final+curtains.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin86B9apJHN5QWF8isGlGYcj6pWz2_7z99qHfknCEC4HEhYm596RMn6_E9nVQf0B1HEojS5ix2MCZ2i3QNST-wp26tZwCOrgveDaEiTjiKdwBZk1O4HNZJQ_mXSADou3NxizIsQHR-Vz8/s320/final+curtains.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
That's pretty much what I found. There is some evidence that chiropractic adjustments can have some effect on lower back pain, but that's really about it. Just using your Google machine, you'll find lots of reports on how well it can treat a wide variety of conditions, but most of these are pretty biased. Trying to find an unbiased view is actually fairly difficult. I don't want to rely too heavily on people like Steve Novella or Mark Crislip, who are well known in the skeptic communities as promoters of science based medicine. So I try and stick to relatively unbiased sites and just see what the studies and evidence happen to say. If you look at the CDC you'll see a few studies on the efficacy of chiro, and for the most part, they seem to show some effect for back pain, but not much else. The studies that claim to show efficacy for other conditions are poorly done, with few if no controls, rely heavily on anecdotal evidence, or are completely unrepeatable. If you look at the NIH, you'll see a lot of the same. If you look close, you'll see a lot of papers with a particular name on them.<b> Edzard Ernst</b>. He has spent most of his life studying forms of alternative medicine, including going through a chiropractic college. He has probably done more study into these issues than anyone else alive, and to be honest, I tend to believe what he has found. <a href="http://edzardernst.com/2013/08/evidence-based-chiropractic-is-an-oxymoron/" target="_blank">Here is a link to an article that he wrote on chiro</a>, and just for the hell of it, <a href="http://edzardernst.com/" target="_blank">here is his site</a>. (<i>Because I don't put enough links in my posts. :p</i>) A major critique of chiro, as well as most other alt med practices, is a complete lack of well done studies that actually show a statistical significance for their efficacy, though this doesn't stop the believers from using them as evidence that they were right, and Big Pharma is trying to keep them silent on the issue. Yep, there is a minor conspiracy thread that is woven throughout most alt med mythology.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Risks:</b></span><br />
The cost of going to a chiropractor may seem to be fairly small, with the average session costing around $65 or so (in the US), but consider that they will often want you to come back anywhere from twice a month to twice a week. That can end up being anywhere from $1,560-$6,760 a year, using the average cost per visit. Of course, some charge less, some charge more, and there are insurance policies that cover this. There are going to be risks any time someone is messing with your back and neck. This can be something as relatively minor as a pinched nerve or stiffness. However, there are much more serious risks, including paralysis, stroke, and even death. These risks are greater for infants and toddlers. Most chiros won't touch a small child, though as with anything else, if you look hard enough, you'll find one that does. According to the<a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/chiropractic-adjustment/basics/risks/prc-20013239" target="_blank"> Mayo Clinic</a>, some problems that can stem from having an adjustment done are a herniated disk or a vertebral artery dissection (a particular type of stroke). From the website <a href="http://www.chirobase.org/05RB/AYOR/09.html">chirobase.org</a>, <i>"</i><span style="background-color: white;"><i>There are well-documented medical cases of serious disorder to the cervical spine, cervical disc, cerebellum, spinal cord or to the cerebral arteries which ascend through the foramina in the cervical vertebrae, all of which are therefore subject to be bruised and injured with forceful manipulation. There are also well-documented cases of occlusion of cerebral vessels and injury to the brain stem which involves a key area for regulation of the head and neck and an area through which all important outgoing stimuli from the nervous System or incoming sensory data are fed. Such thrombotic lesions are productive of grave and permanent neurological defects, either by infection of the brain stem or stricture by injury to the arteries which supply these vital regions." </i>Of course, Edzard Ernst has written an article titled <a href="http://edzardernst.com/2013/10/twenty-things-most-chiropractors-wont-tell-you/">"20 Things Most Chiropractors Won't Tell You"</a>. (<span style="color: red;">I'll admit it. Yes, I am using a somewhat biased source here. That is mostly due to the fact that the chiro industry is pretty insular when it comes to reporting injuries and complications from any of their practitioners. They are, for the most part self regulating, so everything is done in-house, unless someone brings a lawsuit, or it gets into mass media.</span>) And there is of course the reported cases of people being crippled or dying due to their treatments. In 2014, here in Oklahoma, a <a href="http://kfor.com/2014/11/03/30-year-old-dies-after-visit-to-the-chiropractor/">30 year old man died</a> after receiving a treatment and suffering a stroke on the chiros table. There was a <a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/726445">systematic study done on deaths</a> caused by adjustments, and the conclusion is that the risks do not out weigh the possible benefits. Tim Farley, of <a href="http://whatstheharm.net/chiropractic.html">Whatstheharm.net</a> has an article on there as well. There are also many stories of children being accidentally killed by chiros. These stories are pretty gruesome and depressing, so I'm not going to go into detail or post links to them. If you're in a really morbid mood, just Google the terms Chiropractic child death. I'm just going to say in plain and simple english "<b style="color: red;">Never take a child to a chiropractor! It's a damn bad idea all the way 'round!</b>" A child's skeleton isn't developed enough to withstand a chiropractic adjustment. They are still growing and developing, and these treatments can easily cause permanent problems that the child will have to live with for the rest of their life. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">As I have said before, I'm not an sort of scientist or researcher. I simply attempt to look into the various issues I cover, and I do try and give everything a fair shake. (<i>I guess that makes me a researcher of sorts?</i>) That being said, most things I write about just don't have the evidence to support their claims, and chiropractic isn't any different. There is some evidence to support the claims of helping with certain types of lower back pain, and there is a small contingent of chiropractic practitioners that will send patients to general practitioners or specialists if it is something other than that. But the majority of proponents for chiro will claim it effective for a great many other problems, saying that they all stem from subluxations. This is another form of magical thinking. Yes, there are hundreds of studies claiming to show the efficacy of chiropractic and the believers will point out that there aren't nearly as many studies showing either little or no effect. It's simply a matter of quantity or quality. And before anyone says it, I'm going to go ahead and say no, chiro won't help with your childs ear infection, and if they have chronic ear infections, take them to a pediatrician damn it! Once again , any cure-all cures nothing. For once, I'm going to include a variety of other skeptical resources for you to look through. These guys are medical professionals and know what they are talking about. I'm just a simple jackass that tries to keep an open mind and look at all the evidence. So, until next time, Be Good, Be Skeptical, and Be sure to wash your hands.</span><br />
<a href="http://edzardernst.com/2013/10/twenty-things-most-chiropractors-wont-tell-you/"><br /></a><br />
<br />
Other resources:<br />
<a href="http://edzardernst.com/">http://edzardernst.com/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/subluxation-theory-a-belief-system-that-continues-to-define-the-practice-of-chiropractic/">https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/subluxation-theory-a-belief-system-that-continues-to-define-the-practice-of-chiropractic/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/chiropractic-a-brief-overview-part-i/">https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/chiropractic-a-brief-overview-part-i/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chiroeval.html">http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chiroeval.html</a><br />
<a href="https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-end-of-chiropractic/">https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-end-of-chiropractic/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/top-10-chiropractic-studies-of-2013/">https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/top-10-chiropractic-studies-of-2013/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/chiropractor-breaks-babys-neck-a-risk-vs-benefit-analysis/">https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/chiropractor-breaks-babys-neck-a-risk-vs-benefit-analysis/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/stroke-death-from-chiropractic-neck-manipulation/">https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/stroke-death-from-chiropractic-neck-manipulation/</a><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-81527651363760920272015-12-09T17:22:00.001-08:002015-12-09T17:22:32.653-08:00Ghosts for the Beginning SkepticOk folks, as promised, here is the next installment of the "Things for the Beginning Skeptic" series. I am going to try and stick to more researched topics for a while, so the lag between posts might be even longer than it has been. This is a topic that has interested me for years, mostly because I grew up listening to ghost stories that supposedly involved various family members.I'm not going to get into the various ghost hunting groups or the equipment that they claim to use. I'm just going to talk about the supposed types of ghosts.I don't mean Slimer, Casper, or Christmas Past. I mean poltergeists, haints, spooks, spirits, and hauntings. I guess that as usual we should start with a ....<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b style="font-size: x-large;">Definition:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">According to <a href="http://beta.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghost">Mirriam-Webster</a>, a ghost is: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.64px; line-height: 24px;">a disembodied soul; </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.64px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">especially</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.64px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="intro-colon" style="background-color: white; display: initial; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.64px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.64px; line-height: 24px;"> the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A ghost could be most easily defined as the energy left behind by a person or event that has an effect on the visible world. I personally would define them as an illusion or a hallucination. Often, they are reported as a feeling of being watched, a shape seen from the corner of the eye, a shadowy figure, or any of a number of other vague descriptions. Ghosts, in their various forms, are often blamed for odd occurrences, such as a chair rocking when no one is in it, a door opening or closing on it's own, or a sudden chill. Like so many other things in the world of pseudoscience, instead of looking for natural explanations first, believers in ghosts jump straight to the end of the line and yell GHOST! </span></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>TYPES:</b></span><div>
Let's take a look at the various types of ghosts out there. Like a lot of my previous Beginning Skeptic posts, I'm going to attempt to put them into classifications, though it's going to be a bit tricky with something as ephemeral as ghosts. (<i>See what I did there?)</i> One of the problems with this approach is that every region, and even every group, has their own way of defining what type of supernatural presence they believe they are dealing with. So I'm just going to wing it and try and group them by either what they do, or the claimed effect that they have. I know I'm not going to get to everyone's favorites, but consider this a rough list.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Visual: </b>These would include things such as orbs, rods, shadow men, movement from the edge of vision, the stereotypical hazy humanoid, or in some cases creature, someone that suddenly disappears, someone out of place like a confederate soldier at a Starbucks, unless you live in Georgia, and so on. You get the idea. These are the ones that people either see directly, or indirectly through pictures, movies and reflections. The have a variety of names, such as ghost (which applies to nearly everything in these classifications), spook, specter, haint, phantom, and apparition. Some famous ones are The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, Resurrection Mary (though she might actually qualify as a poltergeist), and Anne Boylen and several other in the Tower of London. I found a list of "!0 Famous Ghosts" on<a href="http://listverse.com/2009/12/27/top-10-famous-real-ghosts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Listverse.com</a>. The main trait of these types are that they are strictly visual. People claim that they see them pass through walls or other people, and there is no physical substance to them, and little to no interaction with the physical world. With the orbs and rods, these are normally only seen when someone is reviewing pictures. To be honest, I really didn't want to include them because they have been so thoroughly debunked for so long. In case you don't know, orbs are normally either dust or water droplets that are illuminated by the camera flash. The rods are most likely flying insects that are caught up in the flash and the light is reflected off of their bodies. You can read more about <a href="http://skepdic.com/orbs.html" target="_blank">orbs</a> and <a href="http://skepdic.com/rods.html" target="_blank">rods</a> at the Skeptics Dictionary.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Physical:</b> In this group, I'm going to include anything that folks claim can actually interact with the physical world. This would include poltergeists and spirits. These are the supposed sources of odd events happening, such as something falling off of a shelf, objects moving around seemingly on their own, people getting mysterious scratches or bruises or even cold chills. There are also reports of dishes being flung across a room, people being levitated or thrown, furniture being moved about or placed oddly. People have also claimed to have symbols or words appear on the walls, normally in a blood like substance. This is what the movie "Poltergeist" is based on. I believe that possessions would also fall into this category, and I'm not going to make separate categories for angels and demons. Sometimes, these are normally the result of someone seeking attention. Other times, they are normal events, such as a door that's not quite level shutting, that take on a creepy nature due to the mindset of the witness. There are some fairly well known events, such as the Coventry Poltergeist, the Bell Witch, and of course the Amityville House. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist#Famous_cases" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> has a decent article on poltergeists.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Auditory:</b> I'm just putting this one in because I grew up hearing stories about banshees. Really quickly, if you hear the cry of a banshee, either you or someone close to you is going to die or have great misfortune, or someone has just died. A lot of the older clans seem to have a specific banshee tied to them, so if a family member hears their families banshee, they supposedly know that something has happened. Most likely, owls or some other night bird are the primary source for this story. The Best representation of a banshee can be seen in the movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People". If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you have, watch it again. There are also reports of mysterious whispers, footsteps, laughing, and animal noises that "can't be explained" They can be explained. Someone in another room or even house talking, kids laughing, animals make noise, and feet make sounds. What most people aren't considering is that sounds can be transmitted through solid objects, and when they are, they get distorted. Also, many people don't seem to realize that sounds can carry for quite a ways, especially at night. I could crowbar EVPs into this, but they are going to be part of the Ghost Hunting post I'm currently working on.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Hauntings: </b>These are interesting because instead of an individual person being affected, it's a general area, location or even an item. Often people report seeing events from the past being replayed (also referred to as time slips) or seeing people from a different era walking about. Hauntings can actually fall under every category of ghost because there can be claims of visual happenings, like people suddenly appearing or disappearing, physical events, such as furniture moving or unexplained injuries, and auditory, like voices coming from the walls. These are normally older structures which are going to have a lot of creaks, drafts, rattling pipes, ans squeaky boards. You'll often see the hunter groups go into these places, get the shit scared out of them, and then, in a very professional manner, say it was because of ghosts. Now then, haunted items are an interesting beast in and of themselves. These are objects that are believed to have some sort of a supernatural force attached to them. There are dolls, knives, cabinets, blankets, and tons of other things that some people feel are possessed by some type of spirit. A common report you'll often hear is "When we brought X into the house, suddenly Y started happening." This is normally a case of association. They notice something, say a pipe rattling in the wall, after bringing a supposedly haunted object in. Just because they never noticed it before doesn't mean that it wasn't happening and they ignored it. It could also be a coincidence that whatever the problem is started at the same time as the object coming into the house. Another factor that a lot of these haunted houses, and even the objects, have in common are young children and teenagers. Now, I will admit that trying to explain a haunted battlefield is quite a bit harder, at least for me, as I have never been to one. The odds are more likely to be in the favor of a delusion or hallucination combined with the areas history as well as folk tales that have probably been told since right after the battle ended.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Demons and Angels: </b>There are folks that believe demons and angels can directly interact with the physical world. Of course the best known examples of each are possession with demons and guardian angels, though there are small groups that seem to believe angels can possess people too. Once again, this is a squishy area, as demons get blamed for many other types of spirit events. Of course, these also have a religious undertone, and this is where exorcisms some in, which would be a whole other topic. Many reports of demons and angels often involve either children and teens, or people who are suffering from some serious mental issues.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span></div>
<div>
While I can't say definitively that ghosts don't exist, I can say that the odds of there being some form of extinct person walking around scaring the hell out of tourists is highly unlikely. All the gadgets and tools used by, and I do laugh a bit at the term, professional ghost hunters simply show that they have no idea what they are doing. There has never been any actual proof of ghosts. There have been pictures, yes. People have had odd experiences too. Weird thing have happened in spooky locations with a history. However, most of the time, these can be explained with more mundane theories. Once again, pareidolia, and a lack of critical thinking rear their ugly heads. An interesting thing to note is that while reports of ghosts have been steadily decreasing in the modern world, they are rapidly being replaced by reports of aliens. The stories are almost identical, but the perpetrator has changed. As always, if someone can produce actual, testable evidence, I'll change my mind on the matter. Until then the closest you'll probably get to see a ghost is...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioRS0yaefL1xJ-J4rK9tQHAGdIam7AyZ4JW60Xt-7Oa8_K4qJkSoHQrk6Vm-rCpjid96Gi8msJJ50qxdnUYriqKbVJqpkBPRP0CoB41G0wOs8zcfG5b7TgFjP4u95vol7Gd8Dzs1weC8/s1600/ghost+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioRS0yaefL1xJ-J4rK9tQHAGdIam7AyZ4JW60Xt-7Oa8_K4qJkSoHQrk6Vm-rCpjid96Gi8msJJ50qxdnUYriqKbVJqpkBPRP0CoB41G0wOs8zcfG5b7TgFjP4u95vol7Gd8Dzs1weC8/s320/ghost+3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Thanks to the guys at Blurry Photos podcast and C-Webb's Paranormal Skeptic Academy for giving me the idea of how to approach this. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-4462707153135078312015-12-07T11:17:00.001-08:002016-01-25T08:22:00.367-08:00Science, skepticism, and the wonders of the world (Opinion)Hope that everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday, or if you're not in the U.S., your Thursday. As always, things have been a bit hectic here at the Skeptical Okie headquarters. We're hoping to begin the <span style="color: red;">Red Dirt Skeptics </span>podcast pretty soon. The first episodes should be coming out in January, though that is subject to change. Another bit of fun that's cropped up recently, and completely unrelated to this post, is the resurgence of a group that I was sure was dead and gone. This group is called "Oklahomans for Vaccine Choice" This is a blatantly anti-vax group, plain and simple. For several years, their website was basically dead. They recently did a show, and yes, I am using show instead of talk, at UCO. Luckily, Caleb Lack and the UCO Skeptics were there to try and have a discussion with them. I'm going to do an interview with Caleb later on this, so I'll try and keep you posted. I know I've done a couple of opinion pieces in a row, and I'm hoping to have another For the Beginning Skeptic article out soon. Now on to the main point of todays article.<br />
<br />
Often, I hear people saying that science just wants to get rid of all the wonder in the world and replace it with facts and numbers. It's not just the pseudoscience crowd that says this, it's often just regular people that don't fall into either the skeptical or pseudoscience camps. I really feel that this does a great disservice to science and skepticism. Yes, science wants to know how and why things work, and be able to describe them in a quantitative manner. That doesn't mean that the wonder of the world would be destroyed. In all honesty, it increases it greatly. Look at it this way:<br />
<br />
Step outside and look at a flower. Then consider this: In order for you to see the flower, even if it's a simple dandelion, there so many things that had to happen first. The photon that bounces off of the flower and enters your eye started in the heart of our sun. It took up to a million years for the photon to leave the core of the sun and reach it's surface. Then it has to leave the sun, travel 91 million miles (at it's closest point) and reach Earth, which it does in 8 minutes. That single photon then travels through the atmosphere, avoiding hitting anything else, hit the petals of the flower and ricochet into your eye and then your eye and brain translate that into a visual image.<br />
For that flower to deflect the photon, there has been million years of evolution, with the ancestors surviving various weather conditions, not being eaten, adapting to different environmental conditions, and finding a suitable partner to reproduce with. They have also had to be able to compete with other lifeforms for valuable resources, and this flower in particular had to germinate in a suitable location, survive insects and herbivores, lawnmowers and herbicides, and develop and grow a flower bloom. Also consider the very interesting fact that, in the case of the dandelion, the flower isn't actually yellow. It's every color except yellow. The way that color works is that the one you see is the one that is reflected back. All the other colors like red, green, blue, etc, are actually absorbed by the flower, and because yellow light isn't absorbed by the flower, it is the one that you see.<br />
In order for you to see the flower, once again there was millions of years of evolution, starting from single celled organisms, with your direct ancestors surviving multiple mass extinction events, changing and adapting to a wide range of climates. They also had to spread around the planet, develop senses to interpret the world around them, and in the case of humans, develop a brain capable of appreciating the environment around them. Then consider the fact that your parents, their parents, and so on and so on, had to meet, create a child, and that child grow to maturity and procreate themselves. If they had met a different person and had children with them, you might not exist. There are around 100 million sperm trying to reach an egg, and you are the one that won the race. And to up the odds of your existence even more, roughly 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriages.<br />
Back to the single photon hitting your eye. You had to develop an optical system and brain capable of capturing the photon, and translating it into a visual image that is understandable. Then, you had to be in the correct place at the correct time for that individual photon to leave the sun, travel through space, get through the atmosphere, bounce off the flower and enter your eye. If you're a statistician, try figuring the odds on all that.<br />
Science and skepticism aren't trying to destroy all the wonder in the world. They actually enhance and improve the wonder, especially when you consider the odds of anything actually happening. This is why I prefer science to bullshit. There are enough amazing things to see, learn, and experience in the world without making more up. You don't need spirits, monsters, magic powers, or mysterious magical medicine when there is physics, biology, science, and actual medicine to study and enjoy.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-60272290983409211932015-11-25T09:37:00.001-08:002015-11-25T09:37:21.210-08:00The War on Christmas 2015 (They shot first!)Once again it's that time of year. The air is getting cooler, the leaves are changing color, the days are getting shorter, and there are already battle cries about a war on Christmas. Recently, in a viral video, YouTube evangelist Joshua Feuerstein<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"> </span>went on <span style="font-family: inherit;">a tirade about Starbucks. Not that they seem to be everywhere, but instead they didn't put Merry Christmas on their holiday cup. In his video on Facebook, he says that they are taking Christ and Christmas off of their plain red cups and that employees aren't allowed to say Merry Christmas.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2N_w93BwDk9Y66aiEUphyezkYuFgoEJUxBhaD-rpULCv_b0QJAmaEfEwC-QtLDTXoy7Y8KeARXf2FdeEPVflZVenVrjp_DNGtEGv4rb0HCuU2mo_mze5-U93EI0yjhsa-OkwVDK_JPvc/s1600/coffee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2N_w93BwDk9Y66aiEUphyezkYuFgoEJUxBhaD-rpULCv_b0QJAmaEfEwC-QtLDTXoy7Y8KeARXf2FdeEPVflZVenVrjp_DNGtEGv4rb0HCuU2mo_mze5-U93EI0yjhsa-OkwVDK_JPvc/s320/coffee.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They aren't plain red, they do have the companies logo too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I personally don't recall ever seeing Christ on their cups, but then again, I don't go to Starbucks that often. I'm sure some of their more talented </span>baristas could do it in the foam, if you asked nicely. And as far as I can tell, there aren't any specific rules about their employees not being allowed to tell people Merry Christmas. They may not have said it because <span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">It's not even Thanksgiving yet, Dumbass! </span>(The video came out in early November) He then goes to claim that he "tricked" Starbucks by telling them his name was Merry Christmas and getting them to put it on his cup. Ohhh, very sneaky Mr. Feuerstein. No one would ever figure out what you were trying to do.I'm imagining the barista just staring at him, shrugging, and as they write Merry Christmas on his red cup, they think "Whatever weirdo. Halloween is just wrapping up." The video ends with him saying that he knew it would offend Starbucks, so he wore a jesus christ shirt into the store and because they "hate the second amendment", he carried his gun, which he then pulls out and displays to the camera. Even in an open carry state, I think this may have been slightly illegal. His first comment under the video says that he pranked them, and they hate it! In all caps, of course.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Then a bunch of posts, and he tries to tag such luminaries as Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and The Blaze. Basically, he's being a media whore. Trying to read all the comments, it would seem that a lot of them have been deleted. Gee, I wonder why. Needless to say, this joker has been laughed at and taken apart everywhere he's gone. I've already written about the so-called </span><a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2012/11/war-on-christmasbull-ht.html" style="font-family: inherit;">War on Christmas</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in the past, and I will admit it wasn't my best post, though it is still one of my most popular. Much like every other year, it is the vocal, right-wing, conservative christians that actually started the War on Christmas by saying there is a War on Christmas. (Historically, the Protestants started it by making it illegal) I have been seeing ads for Christmas sales, gift ideas, decorations, and recipes since before Halloween. So, 3 months of Christmas noise, and as soon as 1 business doesn't have something that is </span>representative<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of their ideals on their merchandise, all hell breaks loose. Luckily, most of the claims this year have been laughable and fairly pathetic, but I am going to imagine that as the holiday gets closer, they'll get more and more vocal and determined. Personally, I feel that all this noise these folks make about how the liberal atheist LGBT commie agenda is going to destroy christmas just shows their fear that the world is becoming more </span>secular<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and soon the radical christians may become obsolete. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I know that this was a more rambling post than they have been lately. I just wanted to write a bit about Feuerstein and his latest loud mouthed bit of stupidity. I've seen this guys videos a few times, and I always get angry, wanting to know how anyone can believe these things. This war on christmas bullshit just irks the hell out of me, and trying to put everything into a single coherent post is rather difficult for me. There are so many different angles and subtopics that I would like to approach. The problem is that the research tends to overlap quite a bit and the narrative weaves back and forth a lot. This is a topic that would probably be better suited for a book. I will simply say there is no war on christmas, the Religious Reich are simply over reacting to little things, and I personally enjoy celebrating a secular christmas with my family. I'm going to leave this as a relatively short post. This one is more of a cathartic release than any sort of deeper look into a topic. I'm not sure I would want to look very deep into Feuerstein.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-81735475678811271162015-11-16T10:58:00.001-08:002016-01-25T08:20:13.056-08:00Skepticism and critical thinking in OklahomaOklahoma seems to be known for a few things. Cattle, cowboys, tornadoes, OU, football, James Inhofe, Tom Coburn, Sally Kern, farmers, the bible belt, rodeos, meth labs, and country musicians. And did I mention the tornadoes and meth labs? <span style="color: red;">(there's a movie idea. <b>MethNado! starring Jodie Sweetin, Eddie Van Halen and Ted Haggard)</b></span> But we have something else in this state. We have some very good skeptics and critical thinkers. Not too bad in a state that regularly is in the news for people doing some really weird shit because of magical thinking. We do have a few notable skeptics that I feel really need to be talked about and get more attention from the larger skeptical community. I can't mention everyone in the skeptical community here in Oklahoma, though I think everyone in all the skeptical, free thought, and critical thinking groups really do deserve more notice than they currently get. So, first of all, to everyone, thank you for fighting the good fight, and if I don't mention you, I am truly sorry. You all deserve more recognition for what you do. Unfortunately, I don't know you all personally, though I would really like to. So if you ever see me in public, come up and say hi. I haven't bitten anyone in weeks now. I am only going to talk a bit about the few I know personally, and hopefully get more people interested in what they do.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dr. Bryan Farha:<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUgx9tLQj5byCQJmsL2gdR_5D3GCJ5lwdx9bxgMk2kf2yCsaAFvkdFpwMR1t0gR_qWklZIKRItr5wCFnwkIhWclhYJcVGoj6h2dZrbdXDhoLl6ZNgq2iCT6Xki8gwWdiaA8qMdPe8-po/s1600/me+and+Dr+Farha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUgx9tLQj5byCQJmsL2gdR_5D3GCJ5lwdx9bxgMk2kf2yCsaAFvkdFpwMR1t0gR_qWklZIKRItr5wCFnwkIhWclhYJcVGoj6h2dZrbdXDhoLl6ZNgq2iCT6Xki8gwWdiaA8qMdPe8-po/s320/me+and+Dr+Farha.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Farha (better dressed fellow on the right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Dr. Bryan Farha is the first skeptic I'm going to talk about. He is the professor and director of<a href="http://www.okcu.edu/artsci/education/faculty-staff/bryan-farha/index"> Applied Behavioral Studies/Counseling at Oklahoma City University</a> (OCU). and slightly notorious with the psychic community. I met him originally when I asked him to come and speak to OSS about his books <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&text=Bryan+Farha&search-alias=books&field-author=Bryan+Farha&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">"Paranormal Claims: A Critical Analysis" and "Pseudoscience and Deception: The Smoke and Mirrors of Paranormal Claims"</a>, which you can buy on Amazon, and I highly recommend reading them. He has also written for The Huffington Post and Skeptic Magazine. I had been following his work for years and didn't realize it. He is also notorious for challenging the late Sylvia Browne concerning her acceptance of the James Randi Million Dollar Challenge. She had accepted the challenge, then back down, claiming there was no money. Dr Farha sent a certified letter to her showing the money. She still didn't respond, so when she appeared on the Larry King show, he called in, and he does admit he lied to get through the screeners. When he got to talk to her, he asked her why she still hadn't done the Challenge like she had said she was going to. You can read a bit more about it on <a href="http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/browne.html">Quackwatch.com</a>. He is very personable and funny, and has been willing to help out or answer questions any time I've asked. He was also on a panel during Oklahoma's first skeptical conference. along with 2 other skeptics and 3 believers in various pseudoscience. He has probably been involved in the skeptical community longer than any of the others that I'm going to talk about, but he doesn't really have much of an online presence.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dr. Caleb Lack:<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PclUmgG7sOXsuO7hXUTsQpjb7NlqbD8GPJQHKnJOK7cN6auRHwCpznMeEnI35Y5HEVvPo4sURDO1awTgSIFw7JfyJXFpxiq0liGa_-nAH0CcJRYasLAjQ5cw4DdGsVNFZErZ3eG6-Rk/s1600/skep11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PclUmgG7sOXsuO7hXUTsQpjb7NlqbD8GPJQHKnJOK7cN6auRHwCpznMeEnI35Y5HEVvPo4sURDO1awTgSIFw7JfyJXFpxiq0liGa_-nAH0CcJRYasLAjQ5cw4DdGsVNFZErZ3eG6-Rk/s320/skep11.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Lack presenting at SkeptiOKcon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b></span><br />
Dr. Caleb Lack is an author of quite a few books a blogger for the Skeptic Ink Network, and is also an <a href="https://www.uco.edu/ceps/directory/lack-caleb.asp">Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Counseling Practicum Coordinator in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Oklahoma</a> (UCO), as well as the sponsor for the UCO Skeptics. I met him, much like Dr. Farha, when I asked him to come and speak at a Skeptics in the Pub for OSS. He is an excellent presenter and funny as hell. In terms of his books, Dr. Lack primarily writes about psychological issues and anxiety disorders. You can but them on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Caleb-W.-Lack/e/B00K0KUEX8">Amazon</a> as well. His books are written so even a layperson like myself can read them and understand what he is discussing. Dr. Lack has also been very active in the local skeptical community, presenting several talks on research concerning paranormal beliefs, hosting Oklahoma's first skeptical conference, SkeptiOKcon, handing out pamphlets in right before a psychic's show, doing interviews for podcasts, and attending several SiTP's. He also has a pretty good online presence. He has a website, <a href="http://www.caleblack.com/">www.caleblack.com</a>, he's occasionally on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/professorlack">@professorlack</a>, and he has a<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProfessorCalebLack/?fref=ts"> public Facebook page </a>. You can also read his blog, <a href="http://www.skepticink.com/gps/">The Great Plains Skeptic </a>on the Skeptic Ink Network, or watch him on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/professorlack">YouTube</a>, which has videos of some of his lectures. He has always been willing to give me a hand or answer a question, and has even gone out of his way to help with a certain project I was attempting.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Blueball Skeptics:</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="http://blueballskeptics.com/">The Blueball Skeptics</a> is a podcast hosted by a couple of fellow Oklahomans, Damion Reinhardt and Chas Stewart. The don't put out a lot of episodes, but what they have are pretty good, including an interview with Caleb Lack and another with DJ Grothe. Personally, I think episodes 6&7 are their best to date. Damion and chas are both fairly active on Twitter, and you can follow them <a href="https://twitter.com/D4M10N">@D4M10N </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/BirdTerrifier">@BirdTerrifier</a> respectively. You can also follow the podcast <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueBallSkeptic">@BlueBallSkeptic</a>. Damion also writes for The Skeptic Ink Network under <a href="http://www.skepticink.com/backgroundprobability/">Background Probability</a>. Damion has also given a presentation for OSS that ended up being titled "Listen to Data or people gonna die!" and I created an image for it:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2WB4QmCAudO5PxdeB7_RDW2CdXdC79eljc4CsPNGccUEZSTNedRR2b7mcrkVeX8CGi9Cc67gWI0BiJvBClKEoXDW-pYDFzpWK_AbDhg8cJqoslFcBnk8tIpQcyZCCAIBoZ46qYJ0N44/s1600/Data2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2WB4QmCAudO5PxdeB7_RDW2CdXdC79eljc4CsPNGccUEZSTNedRR2b7mcrkVeX8CGi9Cc67gWI0BiJvBClKEoXDW-pYDFzpWK_AbDhg8cJqoslFcBnk8tIpQcyZCCAIBoZ46qYJ0N44/s1600/Data2.jpg" /></a></div>
(Not too bad, if I say so myself)<br />
I met both of these fellows at Dr. Lacks presentation for OKSS. They were funny, and very sharp. They can be a bit acerbic at times, but it's mostly meant in good humor. Like everyone else I've already mentioned in this post, I greatly enjoy getting to talk to these guys, and they've been a big help whenever I've had questions or needed help.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Beth, Collin, and Riley:</b></span><br />
Finally, I have to mention the three most important skeptics in my life. My wife is the one that actually introduced me to the skeptical community, though at the time it was a misunderstanding on my part. (I know I've told the story already, but it's still funny) She told me about a little podcast called "The Skeptics Guide to the Universe". I thought it was a continuation of the "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy." I listened to them and realized that I wasn't the only person that thought the way I do, and was instantly hooked. Since then she has not only tolerated all my wild and crazy ideas, like starting a scientific skepticism organization in Oklahoma when everything else seemed to be more atheist based, doing the SiTP's, finding speakers, writing this blog, and joining 2 podcasts and starting one of our own <span style="color: red;">(coming soon! Working Title is now "Those Blasted Skeptics!")</span>, but she has actually encouraged me to continue, even when I get so frustrated or depressed <span style="color: red;">(yes, I do deal with depression)</span> that I just want to give up. She has been my base when I need a reality check, and the ice to my inferno when I get pissed about some BS woo that's cropped up. I've known her for nearly 20 years, and she has always been able to keep me in check, which she will probably admit, isn't easy. She is one of the main reasons that The Skeptical Okie even exists. My sons are also important skeptics in my life, though one of them is only a few months old. Collin, the older boy, has already debated with a Bigfoot believer, (ask Caleb if you follow him on Twitter), introduced me at an SiTP, and spoken a bit in front of the crowd. I believe that makes him officially the youngest person to speak at a Skeptics in the Pub.<span style="color: red;"> (Our SiTP events aren't held at an actual pub. I live in Oklahoma, so there aren't really such things as English pubs. Ours are held at a restaurant called Picasso Cafe in Oklahoma City)</span> He also has a segment on the upcoming podcast called "5 minutes with Collin". He also encourages me to continue fighting the good fight, and actually reminds me to keep asking questions.<br />
<br />
I hope that this demonstrates that Oklahoma doesn't have just the stereotypical gun toting, tobacco chewing, bible thumping, right wing rednecks. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvvyuI6hCVmCKNqVHvdiN-zksIK-rCNuLrlrUaaNk8zD7ddEnYPLah-M_JMyEySuGQ8WdUlOuuRrbCu9UbWHohh_hwvwn7pgocpfIm6Mg1JbYV2CMeEvF2lkPCNH_2s5S8ji8TQfThwM/s1600/typical+okie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvvyuI6hCVmCKNqVHvdiN-zksIK-rCNuLrlrUaaNk8zD7ddEnYPLah-M_JMyEySuGQ8WdUlOuuRrbCu9UbWHohh_hwvwn7pgocpfIm6Mg1JbYV2CMeEvF2lkPCNH_2s5S8ji8TQfThwM/s320/typical+okie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The skeptical community here in the land of crazy is actually surprisingly large and active. Many folks have been doing what we would now call skeptical activism for years. There are many very active critical thinkers that manage to combine the values of skepticism and the typical Oklahoma traits of compassion, helping one another, and alcohol. I mean good natured fun. Yes, we are a slightly unique breed of skeptic in Oklahoma, but we do our damndest to help make the world a better place for everyone. I really want everyone that reads this blog to look into what Bryan, Caleb, Damion, and Chas have been doing, follow them on the various social media, buy, or at least borrow their books, and give them some love.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-55936922185140156732015-11-09T14:29:00.001-08:002015-11-09T14:29:22.526-08:00If vaccines are so safe, why fear the willingly unvaccinated?Okay folks, as seems to be the norm lately, this is going to be based on a Facebook meme that's been making the rounds, showing up in my feed several times a day, and royally pissing me off. This time I held off on making any comments, at least on-line. Especially after I read the comments. I am going to try and paint a picture for you. Imagine, there are 2 women, one wearing a red dress and pointing at the other, who seems mildly surprised. In the upper 1/3 of the image it says "Why would my unvaccinated kids be a threat to your vaccinated kids, if you are so sure vaccines work?" In the bottom 1/3 it says "NaturalNews" Yep. Fucking NaturalNews being used as a source of information to prove that vaccines don't really work. Or at least confirming certain peoples biases. Great. Bloody, flamin' great. I was very tempted to try and clarify that they do work, and have been shown to be effective, but I opted to read the comments first. Then I closed Facebook, got up, and contemplated slamming my head into a tree. Unfortunately, these sorts of sentiments aren't uncommon, though they aren't exactly rare either. The anti-vaccine movement has actually existed since Jenner gave the first smallpox vaccine, so roughly 219 years ago, as of 2015. Or you can go farther back to a process called variolation. There is a fascinating website called "History of vaccines" with an amazing timeline that you can see <a href="http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/all" target="_blank">here</a>. Because the history of vaccines is surprisingly long and detailed, and there is no way I could do it justice, I am not going to really get into it much. However, I am going to talk about how, much like the zombies from "The Walking Dead", we should fear the willingly unvaccinated.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Vaccines:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
Lets start with a definition, shall we? A vaccine is, according to Dictionary.com, : <span style="color: red;"><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">any</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">preparation</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">used</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">as</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">preventive</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">inoculation</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">to</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">confer</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">immunity </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">against</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">specific</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">disease,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">usually</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">employing</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">an</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">innocuous</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">form</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">of</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">disease</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">agent,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">as</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">killed</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">or</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">weakened</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">bacteria</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">or</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">viruses,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">to</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">stimulate </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">antibody</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">production.</span></span><br />
<br />
There are also 2 main types of vaccines. The first is called a "Live Attenuated" vaccine. These are created by modifying a living virus into a form that is no longer as virulent. The second form is called an "Inactivated" vaccine. These are created by killing the virus, either by formaldehyde or heat. In either case, the main purpose of a vaccine is to cause a reaction in the body's immune system similar to the actual disease. This causes the creation of antibodies that will recognize the virus in the future and attack it. Neither type of vaccine will have any sort of an effect on bacteria. There are vaccines for most disease causing viruses, with a few notable exceptions. Ebola is one that has received a lot of attention in the past year, though they are fast tracking at least 1 viable vaccine. AIDS, of course, is another, though there is hope that one may developed soon. Vaccines have played an enormous role in not only protecting people from some pretty serious illnesses, but in expanding our life expectancy, reducing infant mortality, and improving our overall quality of life.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A brief look at the anti-vaccer arguments:</b></span><br />
Lets take a quick look at some of the arguments that the anti-vaccination crowd often uses as their reasoning for what they believe.<br />
A major talking point for the anti-vaccination crowd are the ingredients in vaccines, namely the MMR (Mumps, Measles, and Rubella). You will often hear them complain about the toxic materials in the shots such as formaldehyde, mercury, the virus itself, and Thimerosal ( a type of mercury). Funny thing is, in the MMR vaccine, it has never had Thimerosal. As a matter of fact, very few vaccines do, or ever have. The FDA has an interesting page on Thimerosal in vaccines, which you can look at <a href="http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228#t1" target="_blank">here</a>. I really recommend looking at it, it's pretty interesting, and it will give you some facts and figures on various vaccines. The reason that Thimerosal and mercury are the major issues is due to the Wakefield study, which claimed there was a link between autism and vaccinations. This line of thinking has been disproven dozens of times in independent studies, the paper retracted, Wakefield has lost his license to practice medicine because of how he performed the study and basically lying about the results. Yet many people will still claim it's the truth because it confirms their personally held beliefs.<br />
Another argument that you might hear is "Too many, too soon".(I have also seen 2 many 2 soon and two many two soon.) The thinking behind this is that children today are getting too many vaccinations, which in turn leads to a toxic buildup of dangerous chemicals. Once again, wrong. The vaccination schedule is carefully considered by medical professionals before being recommended. I seriously doubt that they aren't going to hold their kids to the same schedule as everyone else. If they thought it was dangerous, they would recommend against it. Simple as that.<br />
And yet another argument is that the diseases are mild, and nothing to be concerned about. This is not only wrong, but dangerous thinking. Measles, Mumps, and Rubella are all 3 dangerous diseases that can easily lead to multiple problems, including encephalitis, miscarriages, sterility in men, and even death. Ironically, Rubella infections while pregnant, may actually be responsible for some cases of autism. Much of this information, I found on the <a href="http://antiantivax.flurf.net/" target="_blank">AntiAntiVax</a> site, which has links to their sources. Anecdotally, I will also say that, as someone that has had the measles, I do not want to see anyone suffer through that.<br />
Another oft repeated bit of drivel is that it wasn't vaccinations that reduced or eradicated diseases, it was sanitation. While it's true that sanitation has played a very important role in preventing or limiting the spread of various diseases, it is a minor player when compared to the effect that vaccinations have had. There are areas of the world where sanitation is limited, if not non-existent, and yet diseases are relatively kept in check by vaccinations. There have been multiple cases where the sanitation was adequate, and yet disease outbreaks kept happening. For an example of this, look up Typhoid Mary.A quick synopsis is: Typhoid Mary was a cook for several wealthy families. Generally speaking, the wealthy didn't suffer from many of the more communicable diseases. However, the people that Mary worked for kept catching Typhoid Fever. Turns out she was a carrier for the disease.<br />
There are other arguments that crop up, such as "It's against God's will", and "They aren't natural" or "Diseases are a part of nature", and "They cause cancer" and so on. The ones I mentioned above are the primary Big Four that you will probably hear most often.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Why to fear the willingly unvaccinated</b></span><br />
There are a few reasons why you should fear the unvaccinated. It's not because you think that unvaccinated kids might get your vaccinated kid sick. Nor is it because you have any doubts about the efficacy of vaccinations. These are horrible misrepresentations of the true reasons that people should, at the very least, be wary of the willingly unvaccinated. The first one is because of the people that are unable to be vaccinated. By this, I mean folks that are already immunocompromised, are allergic to an ingredient in the vaccine, or are too young to receive the vaccine. These people are at the greatest risk of contracting an illness. The very young, the very old, and the immunocompromised, are also at the greatest risk of dying from any of the vaccine preventable illnesses. All it takes is 1 person that is shedding a virus at a daycare to do some serious damage. There are also entire communities, such as the Amish, that could be wiped out by some of these diseases because, for the most part, they aren't vaccinated either. Their main form of protection is their isolation from society at large. I don't really approve of religious exemptions from vaccinations, but as a single person, there isn't much I can do.<br />
A secondary reason to avoid the anti-vaccination crowd is that vaccines do on occasion fail. The failure rate for the MMR vaccine is roughly 2-5%. It's hard to get an exact figure because you don't know it failed until you're exposed and catch the illness. The CDC has some interesting information and figures <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/meas.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Another reason that they might fail is because the target virus may have mutated or altered in an unforeseen way, such as the flu. While the vaccination may not completely stop you from catching the disease, it can still help mitigate the effects and make it less transmissible to other people. Vaccines may also fail if they are improperly made, if the virus is already established in the bodies cells, and on occasion the maternal antibodies will interfere with the vaccination. Also, there is a slight chance that the vaccine may have become denatured either during storage, or during administration. Even given the reasons a vaccine <b>might</b> fail, the odds are still in your favor if you go ahead and get it.<br />
Finally, there are a couple of little things called <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory_of_disease" target="_blank">The Germ Theory of Disease</a> </b>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomite" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Fomite Transmission!</a> As you should hopefully know, the germ theory explains that diseases are caused by microorganisms. Fomite transmission is where a disease is transferred by contaminated equipment, clothing, or any other inanimate object. Anyone, vaccinated or not, can accidentally carry a virus from one location to another. That's one of the things that makes the flu such a bitch for the medical community to try and keep it under control. That, and the fact it changes faster than a politician during an election year. While most viruses can be transferred from location to location, each type has a different habitat in the human body. Some will live in mucus, other in the saliva, and yet others in various bodily fluids. They also have differing amounts of time that they can survive outside of the host body, ranging from mere minutes to years. As you can probably imagine, the unvaccinated crowd will probably have a higher virus load on their clothing and skin, which means that they will have a higher chance of infecting people that they come into contact with.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span><br />
I could have easily gone into the increase in deaths from vaccine preventable illnesses, the idea of community (or herd) immunity, talk about the diseases eliminated by vaccines (rinderpest and smallpox and almost polio), the problems with religious and personal belief exemptions to vaccinations, or even discuss the Wakefield study and why it was found to be full of errors and misrepresentations. Those have all been done repeatedly by folks that are much more intelligent and better writers than I could ever hope to be. Instead, I've opted to be blunt and say simply fear people that will willingly avoid getting themselves and their children vaccinated. And pity them for their overwhelming fear and mistrust.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-21553040721623568112015-11-03T10:00:00.003-08:002016-01-25T08:13:52.764-08:00Why we can't win.<span style="color: red;"><b><i>I normally label articles like this as being an opinion piece. This time I'm not, because it's not really just my opinion. It is unfortunately a fact of life for the critical thinking/scientific skepticism communities, and I believe most of us have known this for years.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="color: red;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
I have recently began responding more often to various pseudoscientific and blatantly false claims, such as one I've seen a couple of times recently. <i>(I've been doing this partly because bad information aggravates the hell out of me, and partly because I want people to be able to look at all the information without any sort of fear mongering and come to a conclusion based on the data.)</i> This one in particular reads: <b>"The FDA has changed the name of aspartame to AminoSweet!</b>" First of all, the FDA doesn't name products, they only give guidelines on the labeling. As well, it was one company that is based in Japan that is changing the name, not every manufacturer on the planet. I pointed these two facts out, simply trying to point out the post was false, and try and give anyone that actually reads the comments a starting point to find the real information. Shortly after, the original poster came back with a comment that stated the FDA still allows poisons to be put into our food, and aspertame is a neurotoxin according to FDA investigator Arthur Evangelista (who is a <i>former </i>FDA investigator) I have written about <a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2014/01/sweet-sweet-death.html" target="_blank">aspartame</a> before, and I am passingly familiar with some of the claims that folks make about it. Especially the neurotoxin claim. I pointed out that water and oxygen, when applied directly to a neuron, will act like a neurotoxin, killing it. The someone else asked to see water and oxygen tumors and posted pictures of the rats used in the highly flawed Seralini GMO/RoundUp study. I asked him what genetic line the rats came from, and he said GM Corn. <b>WHAT THE HONEST FUCK!?! </b>I asked about the rats and he says GM Corn? I pointed out that the genetic line of rats used in research are going to affect the way the study turns out. If they had used rats designed for diabetic research, the study would have shown drinking RoundUp causes diabetes. <span style="color: red;">"Sorry Mr. Brimley, your diabetes wasn't a genetic issue. You shouldn't have been drinking RoundUp and eating GMOs while filming Cocoon."</span> I pointed out the study that he has decided to use to refute aspartame was highly flawed. I did make an error here and not point out it had nothing to do with the original statement. I was just so surprised by it, and I was in full "learning moment" mode that I tried to show how that was wrong as well. Luckily, there was another member of Oklahoma Skeptics Society reading the thread, and he had good info that he added to the discussion. It basically ended with several statements that I've heard way too often lately concerning a surprisingly wide variety of topics, and I'm going to address them. Unfortunately, these statements demonstrate why critical thought will never completely prevail over superstitious thinking and bad information.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Before I go any farther, I have to mention that this is only the most recent example of a common trend that I have been seeing for a long time. </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Scientific Consensus</b></span><br />
<br />
The first was "Why is it when a "scientist" <i>(I added the quotes because they are rarely dependable or reliable scientists)</i> has a finding that isn't part of the consensus, he's labeled a fear monger?" The simple answer is....because they are. If you have 1 scientist that reports a finding saying a common food or medical treatment is dangerous, sends out press releases before peer review, and they promote their findings, (and alternative products on occasion) and they claim it has very extreme effects, and no other group can reproduce it in any meaningful way, then yes, they are trying to scare people away from something that, at the least isn't harmful and at best is highly beneficial. This is the definition of a fear mongerer. The reason that there is a scientific consensus is because the findings are relatively consistent and can more than likely be trusted as fact. Granted, I am not really a fan of Monsanto, mostly due to their legal practices, but I fully believe that GM products are going to be the major contributor to feeding the planets growing population, especially with climate change altering growing cycles. But once again, the Seralini study had nothing to do with the initial conversation, it was a weird combination of the Gish Gallop and Moving the Goalpost. This entire tactic (invoking bad studies, wild claims about the dangers, and the Gish Gallop Goalpost) are often used by climate change deniers, the anti-vaccine crowd, anti-GMO advocates, creationists, and many other proponents of pseudoscience. Especially the ones that either have some sort of religious or political spin to them. They also tied in a conspiracy theory saying Monsanto is covering up any negative studies. Once again, way the hell off the original topic, which was misinformation about a products name change. Plus I doubt Monsanto has bought off 99% of the agricultural and food scientists. But people that rely on the "rebel scientists" are generally very distrustful of any sort of large establishment, such as governments and international companies. They tend to feel that governments and governmental agencies, such as the FBI, the CIA, the NIH, the FDA, the CDC, and the NWO <i style="color: red;">(I had to throw that one in because a lot of these people believe there is an evil global conspiracy)</i>, as well as large companies, will lie and mislead the public for some nefarious purpose. They will think that the one person that works outside of the system and finds something no one else ever has is the only one telling the truth, and if you dispute the claim of the person, you will often be called a shill, a sheeple (damn I really hate that word), or naive. They will also tell you you need to open your eyes and do research. Which happened during the course of the original thread. When I said I do research things, and that is why I wanted to know what genetic line the rats were, and what the protocols used for his study were (which I already knew), the other person quit replying. I have to wonder if he went and actually looked into it a little deeper from sources other than NaturalNews and Mercola, or if he rage quit. My money is on rage quit.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Why do you care what we do?</b></span><br />
Another statement that was made during the discourse, and I am paraphrasing, was "Why does it matter if we don't want to eat this stuff? Why do you care what we do? Everyone should be allowed to keep things out their bodies they don't want!"<span style="color: red;"><b> I agree wholeheartedly!</b></span> If you want to avoid consuming something, by all means, do it. More for me. Especially you have a legitimate reason for avoiding them. Say you have PKU, then yes, you have to avoid aspartame, and for good reason. But just because you're scared of something after visiting some Woo Woo sites, you really shouldn't be posting misleading and false statements purposely designed to scare people into doing the same. The original post was created specifically to invoke a fear response from people that are already wary of big companies, chemicals, and the government. It was set up as a warning that the scary gubberment is letting Big Chemical try and sneak one past the unsuspecting and gullible people. These damn things are the meme equivalent of the guy on the corner with the sign that claims the world is ending soon. They are false, there is no evidence, they often smell a bit funny, they get creepy after a while and seem to follow you around the internet.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I won't believe your "Science"</b></span><br />
You want to piss me off, say "You can show me all the studies and science, and I'm still going to believe what I want." This is basically the last thing that was said in the thread, outside of being accused of starting a fight, and me reiterating my initial position (and I actually received a sort of, almost apology) These anti-science sentiments have been getting more and more vocal in the past few years. When you say this, basically what I hear you saying is <i>"I don't care how reality works, I'm going to make up my own thing so I can feel comfortable and justify my life choices to myself." </i>This sort of thinking is the cause of so many problems when it comes to the results from research. Some people won't believe any research unless it jives with their previously held beliefs. Then, anything that disproves that is part of some huge corporate/governmental/military cabal bent on global domination and the complete subjugation of the population. And yes, it does escalate that quickly. The most aggravating part of this type of thinking is that the more evidence you provide, the more that people will dig in and hang on to their beliefs. This is called <a href="http://skepdic.com/backfireeffect.html" target="_blank">The BackFire Effect</a> and you can read more about it on The Skeptics Dictionary. These are the type of people that, as critical thinkers, skeptics, humanists, and scientifically literate people, we need to convince the most to look at all the information. Yet, and let's be honest with ourselves, we know that nothing we do will convince them to look at other evidence. You can try and convince them, but as soon as you push a little too hard, suddenly you're a bully, you're hassling them, you're blinded to the truth, etc. If someone presents me with evidence that is contrary to what I feel is a fact, admittedly my first response is to dismiss it. But then I realize that my personal bias' have kicked in, and I will look at their evidence and try to keep an open mind. And my opinion has been changed by doing this. I have rarely seen anyone from the pseudoscience side of things do the same. <i>(And they call skeptics close-minded?)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></b><br />
The best way to deal with a fight you can't win is normally to just walk away before the damage is irreparable. However, we just can't do that here. As several other people have pointed out in the past, skepticism in the intersection of scientific literacy and consumer protection.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKFM2qTo6AU0QlwcboDX9gmOSXpfOWNWs_cV9c9x0Gue4jnmZvTgSyaXvOzSYWQeqXpKsDJeXTBka968uJjk5DVg5y4DdAc-BbS9kXc6SaHvr-CVeqq1YvcnvmVmrlLzjpGOKJUrPLm4/s1600/Skeptical+Ven+diagram.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKFM2qTo6AU0QlwcboDX9gmOSXpfOWNWs_cV9c9x0Gue4jnmZvTgSyaXvOzSYWQeqXpKsDJeXTBka968uJjk5DVg5y4DdAc-BbS9kXc6SaHvr-CVeqq1YvcnvmVmrlLzjpGOKJUrPLm4/s640/Skeptical+Ven+diagram.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We can't just say "Screw you guys! I'm going home!" We have to continue the good fight and yes, it is a battle on multiple fronts with various opponents using different tactics. <i style="color: red;">(And yes, I know that the phrasing I'm choosing makes skepticism sound fairly combative, but when peoples lives are at risk, then yes, it is a fight.)</i> Instead of focusing our time and energy on the hardcore, full tilt woo woo bullshit believers that we know are never going to change, let's focus more on the fence sitters and the general public. Let's try and provide good information that people can look into and come to an informed decision themselves. It may not always be the right decision, but at least they will be using all the available information. As a whole, people are sensible, rational creatures that do respond well to facts, and when presented with all the available information, generally they will make an informed choice, politics not included. We also need to work harder to inform the general population on what makes a study good or bad, how to read a scientific paper, and how to properly interpret data for themselves instead of relying on others to do it for them.<i> (Remember when only the clergy could read the bible and the congregations had to rely on the priest to tell them what it meant?)</i> We also need to show people how to distinguish blatant propaganda and scare tactics from factual information. This is why critical thinking and scientific literacy need to be core classes in elementary schools. Until then we will always be dealing with James Randi's "Unsinkable Rubber Duckies"<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-y_zAl9GDrwUVgO5IdJ7fG-8arJCpiQRWt0evm5GOyLDXSPRSuP1z3OaJaPq1m5W_dFutNlrcidBNxmRRLLB3zRUl7VzxMI47s6WGj1THn5EJT9S0NUuFSlVYqIg9cMzOTFARX8Acejw/s1600/James+Randi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1D_j9eGyYUv_QCyw4_5euv1V5aavbFU0mNDoor8WdM7h2xha-NER6_U-FCJNNP2ARw2Ri1SRK7sQOw15srwhdaf_4H-lKbKi-gyWWwbotgHTn8tONvoKAbQduyeh9VaVMTKo6jsRp04/s1600/unsinkable-rubber-ducks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1D_j9eGyYUv_QCyw4_5euv1V5aavbFU0mNDoor8WdM7h2xha-NER6_U-FCJNNP2ARw2Ri1SRK7sQOw15srwhdaf_4H-lKbKi-gyWWwbotgHTn8tONvoKAbQduyeh9VaVMTKo6jsRp04/s320/unsinkable-rubber-ducks.jpg" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-y_zAl9GDrwUVgO5IdJ7fG-8arJCpiQRWt0evm5GOyLDXSPRSuP1z3OaJaPq1m5W_dFutNlrcidBNxmRRLLB3zRUl7VzxMI47s6WGj1THn5EJT9S0NUuFSlVYqIg9cMzOTFARX8Acejw/s200/James+Randi.jpg" width="176" /> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I didn't reply to the initial Facebook post to be a self righteous dick. I simply intended to put accurate information out to help people make an informed decision. Of course, by the end, I seemed to be the bad guy for attacking their beliefs, though that was never my intention. I just have an issue when people seem to rely on Facebook memes to make decisions concerning their health and nutrition.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Recent Podcast appearance!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;">This isn't related to the topic but I really wanted to promote it. I am a contributor on a podcast called the Unseen Podcast. It is primarily devoted to astronomy, astrobiology, and space exploration (I have no idea why they let me on, but they did) We recently did our Halloween episode, and I was the host. We had: C-Webb from The Paranormal Skeptic Academy podcast, David Flora from the Blurry Photos podcast, Mike Bohler from The Skeptics Guide to Conspiracy (and he's also a regular contributor on Unseen), and Paul Carr, the main host, and Marsha Barnhart as panelists. We spoke about cryptids, conspiracy theories, evidence, UFOs, played the drinking came created by yours truly, and got really damn silly. If you've ever wondered what I sound like, are a fan of C-Webb, Blurry Photos, or Mike Bohler, you should really check it out. You can find </span><b><a href="http://www.unseenpodcast.com/2015/10/episode-31-not-necessarily-monsters.html" target="_blank">The Unseen Podcast Episode 31 here!</a> </b><span style="color: red;">Thanks for reading, and hopefully listening to the episode. I am hoping to start my own skeptical podcast, with my wife and son as co-hosts, in the next couple of weeks, though I will still be a regular contributor to both the WOW! Signal podcast and the Unseen Podcast.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-86065675940326624842015-10-26T12:02:00.001-07:002016-01-25T08:12:23.825-08:00What's the worst that could happen? How about death?How's it going folks? If you've been involved in the skeptical community for any length of time, you'll notice a phrase repeated fairly often. When talking to proponents of almost any form of pseudoscience, at some point, you'll hear them say something along the lines of "What's the worst that could happen?" To be blunt, the worst thing that can happen is almost always <span style="color: red;">death or financial ruin</span>. Everyone can point out the dangers of the anti-vaccer movement and the alt-med crowd. But many other forms of pseudoscience can have dangerous results.<br />
<br />
Many people feel that a belief in cryptids is a bit of harmless fun, and can be entertaining. Most of the time, this is true. However, some people have sunk large amounts of money into the search for these supposed unknown creatures. They buy the latest and greatest pieces of equipment (that they don't always fully understand how to use properly), rent or buy land that they feel have the creatures living there, buy books, movies, go to lectures, and otherwise spend their hard earned money. Granted, it's not normally as bad as other forms of pseudoscience, but there is still a lot of money changing hands. There are also injuries and deaths associated with cryptids, especially Bigfoot. From <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/28/us/montana-big-foot-accident/">CNN.com</a>, there is the story of the poor man that was trying to hoax people with a Bigfoot costume and was hit by a car and killed. From <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/bigfoot-hunt-goes-wrong_n_4212268.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HuffPo</a> comes a story out of Oklahoma. A man was shot during a Bigfoot hunt, and 3 people were arrested. Of course, they have been a great many injuries suffered by folks looking for various cryptids. Falls, burns, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, and so on, though these are also injuries that anyone can get while hiking and camping, so they aren't really unusual.<br />
<br />
Ghosts are another flavor of pseudoscience that is often thought of as being safe and harmless. Much like the cryptid hunters, they tend to buy a lot of equipment (that, once again, they don't often know how to use). They also buy books, go to lectures, and travel long distances to visit supposedly haunted locations. And much like looking for cryptids, it can be dangerous. They often go into dilapidated buildings, run around in the dark, and generally scare the hell out of themselves. From <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/27/north.carolina.ghost.train/" target="_blank">CNN.com</a>, there is a story of a group of ghost hunters investigating a 119 year old train crash and 2 were killed. From <a href="http://weekinweird.com/2013/11/23/ghost-hunters-charged-with-massive-blaze-that-destroyed-historic-plantation/" target="_blank">WeekInWeird.com</a> comes the story of a group of ghost hunters that burnt down a historic plantation in Louisiana. There are a lot of stories of ghost hunters being shot at, injured, or killed on a site called Theoccultsection.com.<br />
<br />
Going to a psychic or a medium is just a bit of harmless fun, right? Not quite. There are dozens of stories about so-called psychics being arrested for fraud. On <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/psychic-arrested/" target="_blank">HuffPo</a>, there are several links to stories of these folks being arrested. From the <a href="http://nypost.com/2015/05/27/psychic-cheats-heartbroken-man-out-of-700k-after-girlfriend-dies/" target="_blank">NYPost</a> site, they have a story of a man being taken for $700k after his girlfriend died. And yet another story from the <a href="http://www.theskepticsguide.org/manhattan-psychic-arrested-for-grand-larceny" target="_blank">Skeptics Guide</a> of a poor fellow being taken for a lot of money to remove a "love curse". When it comes to bodily harm and death caused by people going to a psychics instead of an actual medical professional, the CDC and the WHO don't really keep records. However, there are quite a few stories about folks being injured because they heeded the advice of a psychic. The problem with trying to Google these events is that they get buried under dozens of positive results concerning these hucksters. Most skeptical websites, such as <a href="http://sciencebasedmedicine.org/">Sciencebasedmedicine.org</a> and the Neruologica Blog, will have stories about people being hurt by psychic advise.<br />
<br />
Of course, there is the anti-vaccination group. These are the people that will claim that vaccinations can cause autism, cancer, neurological damage, and pretty much any other sort of illness you can imagine. The people that promote the anti-vaccination message are normally the same people that push all the varieties of alt-med B.S. There can be a financial deficit from believing the anti-vaccers, mostly from trying to treat an easily preventable disease. This is definitely a case of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The treatments of preventable diseases are normally many times more expensive than the vaccinations. From the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/vpd.html" target="_blank">CDC</a>, there are a lot of numbers concerning people being hospitalized or dying for vaccine preventable diseases. Of course, there is the infamous <a href="http://www.jennymccarthybodycount.com/Jenny_McCarthy_Body_Count/Anti-Vaccine_History.html" target="_blank">Jenny McCarthy Body Count</a> site. You can also look at the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) for even more numbers. This is one of the most dangerous forms of pseudoscience that is out there. Not only is it dangerous to the people that practice it, but it is actually dangerous to everyone around them, especially the very young, the old, and the immuno-compromised.<br />
<br />
And of course there is homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, crystal healing, and other alt-med treatments. There are so many stories of people spending their life savings on alt-med treatments that I'm not even going to try and link to the stories. There are also a ton of stories that demonstrate the physical dangers of trusting in these quacks. What a lot of these alt-med practitioners either won't tell you or they don't know is that there can be dangerous drug interactions between actual medicine and their so-called treatments. On Tim Farley's What's the Harm site, he lists not only the number of people that have either died or been injured by naturopathy, but also has economic damage listed for <a href="http://whatstheharm.net/naturopathy.html" target="_blank">naturopathy</a>, <a href="http://whatstheharm.net/homeopathy.html" target="_blank">homeopathy</a>, <a href="http://whatstheharm.net/acupuncture.html" target="_blank">acupuncture</a>, and other pseudosciences.<br />
<br />
As I said in the beginning, the simple answer to "What's the worst that could happen?" is death. It's almost always death. Putting your trust in any sort of pseudoscience, especially when it comes to a persons health, is a dangerous proposition. I know that anything I write or say is not going to convince the hard core true believers. But hopefully, if anyone is undecided, some of this will at least get you to do a bit of research yourself. And also make sure that you validate the sites you're looking at. There are a lot of them that are just fear mongering sites. They have their own products they are trying to sell, and will attempt to scare you away from actual science in order to make a few bucks. Even though they aren't infallible, the CDC and the WHO are trustworthy sources. They have no financial gains from saying something does or doesn't work. They are simply trying to get the best and most accurate information out there.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-40678847450309016182015-10-21T13:53:00.000-07:002016-01-25T08:07:17.393-08:00Essential Oils cure everything? Only if it stinks.Ok folks, it's time for another post about something that has been increasing in popularity over the last few years. I have been seeing more and more posts and articles about the healing power of essential oils. I've heard people say that they can help with everything from asthma and sleep apnea to helping with skin conditions and curing cancer. As the hosts of the Sawbones Podcast say, cure-alls cure nothing.So, as usual, I'll start with what essential oils actually are. <span style="color: red;">I am going to say now that the research for this topic was not easy. Almost every search result took me to a lot of naturopathic and alt-med websites. I had to sort through a bunch of bullshit to try and find even a kernel of unbiased truth. There is a lot of misinformation or mis-interpretation in a lot of alt-med, and essential oils are no different.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What are essential oils?:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
From the <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essential%20oil" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster dictionary</a>, essential oils are defined as:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.25px;"><span style="color: magenta;">an oil that comes from a plant, that smells like the plant it comes from, and that is used in perfumes and flavorings</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.25px;"><br /></span>
Essential oils are volatile compounds that quickly disperse throughout the medium they are used in. They are the basic component of most air fresheners, colognes and perfumes, and are very useful in baking. They are normally produced by extracting and concentrating the oils of various plants. Almost every plant has an oil component which can be extracted. As I said, some of these, such as peppermint oil, are useful in cooking and baking as they greatly enhance the flavor of the item. They a large part of any sort of odor based item you use everyday, and they are the major component of aromatherapy.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>History:</b></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The history of essential oils most likely dates back to before recorded history. Various oils have always been used to eliminate foul odors and to prepare bodies for burial, cremation, or for mummification. Of course, they have been used as a means of protecting health or even curing various illnesses. According to an article on <a href="http://crucible.org/oils_history.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">crucible.org</a>, they are one of the oldest forms of medicine known to man. And this is correct, but if you continue reading the article, it quickly devolves into a Woo fest, talking about vibrations, energies, frequencies, and Egyptian mythology. So basically, it becomes a bunch of gibberish. And this is a main problem with researching this sort of thing. You find a bunch of crap with a few nuggets of truth. Of course, I looked to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oil" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> for more history on this topic. According to them, though they have been used all through human history, the earliest written record of how to produce them was from roughly the early 13th century. And that was about it. To be honest, I have not been able to find any dependable information on the full history of essential oils. Most of them start out being sensible, and then quickly dive deep into the quack pool. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Uses:</b></span></div>
<div>
<b>Actual uses:</b></div>
<div>
There are honest, legitimate uses for essential oils. The most obvious are are air fresheners, colognes, and perfumes. Essential oils are what give most of these their distinct aromas. Because memory is strongly linked to the sense of smell, they can invoke a variety of memories, ranging from happy and pleasant to remembrances of sad or terrifying events. This might be part of why fans of aromatherapy believe them to have a curative effect. </div>
<div>
Essential oils are are beneficial to bakers and cooks. They are used to improve the flavor of a variety of foods such as cookies and cakes to roasts and vegetables. Vanilla and peppermint are probably 2 of the most popular flavors commonly used in the culinary arts.</div>
<div>
There might be evidence that there are actual medical uses for essential oils. In a recent article in <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/the-new-antibiotics-might-be-essential-oils/384247/" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a>, they might be able to function as an antibiotic. If these initial studies pan out, then we might have a weapon against antibiotic resistant bacteria. This still has to be more fully evaluated, and the results reviewed. Of course, this is nowhere near what the alt-med folks claim that they can do.</div>
<div>
<b>Alt-med uses:</b></div>
<div>
Proponents of essential oils make a variety of claims as to what they can do. The claims, for the most part, are completely unsubstantiated. The alt-med crowd will often say that essential oils can be used for respiratory problems, skin problems, cancer, and pretty much any other ailment that you might have. If you go to <b style="color: red;">(and I really flamin' hate using this jackass as a reference!)</b> Mercola.com and look up essential oils, he seems to have a fairly comprehensive list of essential oils and there supposed uses. Of course, like so many other claims made by Mercola, these are pretty much unproven at best and completely disproven or dangerous at worst. I have even heard of uses for essential oils in veterinary medicine. I know this is an anecdote, but unfortunately it's not the only time I have heard of people doing similar things. During the course of my day job, I occasionally interact with different veterinarians. During one visit, they had a litter of puppies that were diagnosed with parvo, which is a dangerous disease in dogs. A client came in, saw the sickly pups and informed the vet that she knew what would cure them. She told the vet to rub oregano oil on the stomachs of the pups and they'd be fine. I seriously doubt that rubbing oregano oil on the stomach for a virus is going to have any sort of an affect.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Evidence</b></span></div>
<div>
Now comes the fun part of the research for essential oils. Trying to determine if there is any evidence for the efficacy of their use. I found a website called childrensMD <span style="color: red;">(here, MD stands for Mom Docs, not Medical Doctor and no way in hell am I going to link to them)</span> that starts with an anecdote of a Harvard lawyer being at an essential oils party and promoting the products. They seem to think that a lawyer is going to have an understanding of basic science and medicine. Granted, she went to Harvard, but not to the medical school.Just because someone is highly educated doesn't mean that they are going to have any knowledge in areas outside of their expertise. Not a lot of research here. Looking through PubMeds, the NIH, and the CDC, the most I've been able to find is that there are preliminary studies that show they might be useful as an antimicrobial treatment. Nowhere could I find anything that shows essential oils are useful for treating asthma, sleep apnea, cancer, or most skin conditions. As with most alt-med claims, these can be dangerous, because people will think that they are treating an illness, and forgo actual medical treatment. They will often use <i>The Argument from Antiquity</i>, saying that because essential oils were often used by many ancient cultures that there must be a benefit to using them. They often ignore the fact that in the old texts, different cultures recommended different oils for the same thing. As a matter of fact, the same oils would often be used for exactly opposite conditions in different cultures. They also will use the <i>Naturalistic Fallacy </i>and claim that because the oils are all natural, refined, and purified, they are automatically good for you. (Arsenic, uranium, and meteors are all natural too) Trying to find dependable information requires quite a bit of digging, and a bit of scientific literacy. If you just go off of the first few hits on Google, then all your information is going to come from sites like NaturalNews, Mercola, NaturalMomma, and other New Age/spiritualism/alt-med pages.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dangers:</b></span></div>
<div>
Like most of the alternative medicine modalities, there is a risk of people not using conventional medical treatment and instead using the "all natural, no chemical (major misnomer there) , no side effects etc.." treatments. Which in turn can cause a minor, easily treated illness become a major, life threatening one. Unlike Woo based medicines like homeopathy, there can be very serious side effects from these oils, and some of them are just flat out dangerous if not used properly. Some of them interact poorly with medicines, and can even cause some severe side effects. Even inhaling some of them can cause the lungs to become more permeable to substances like nicotine or cause a drug interaction. If they are used on the skin, they can be absorbed and cause drug interactions with heart medications and a few anti-psychotics, and other prescription medications. On <a href="http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/aromatherapy-and-essential-oils-pdq-complementary-and-alternative-medicine---health-professional-information-nci-adverse-effects" target="_blank">WebMD</a>, they report that citrus based essential oils can cause phototoxicity and that some practitioners develop a contact allergy. Severe allergic reactions have been known to occur. Anecdotally, I suffer from an allergy to cinnamon, which can be an essential oil that is used in quite a few treatments. When my skin is even lightly exposed to cinnamon, I break out in hives. If an aromatherapist were to try one of these treatments on me, I would have a severe reaction which would cause me a good bit of pain. If essential oils are used directly on a baby or people with sensitive skin, they can cause chemical burns to the skin. Also, if a baby inhales essential oils, especially for extended periods of time, they can cause respiratory problems.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span></div>
<div>
Essential oils, while smelling nice, helping to improve the taste of foods, and possibly being able to prevent or at least mitigate bacterial infections, really don't have a lot going for them when it comes to a persons health. They don't cure cancer, won't help with most skin conditions, and may actually cause skin irritation. They can be dangerous to the very young, cause severe and dangerous drug interactions, and have very little science or facts to back the claims that are made about their properties. The <i>Argument from Antiquity </i>and the <i>Naturalistic Fallacy</i> are not proof for any type of medical treatment. There needs to be well controlled, testable, and repeatable studies done before anything can be said to be an effective treatment for anything. So, if you have an illness or condition, go and see an actual MD (Medical Doctor). Otherwise, you may just end up leaving a pleasant smelling corpse.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Please feel free to leave a comment.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-74062289614525458222015-09-27T19:21:00.001-07:002015-09-27T19:21:43.758-07:00Polly wants a psychic reading?Yep, I fell off the wagon again. I know it's been a bit since the last post, and I'm going to promise no more promises about keep a regular publishing schedule. My life is currently too chaotic for such promises, and I really hate breaking my word. So, I will put out new material as often as I can.<br />
<br />
Today, I'm wanting to discuss a really niche area of pseudoscience that manages to combine a lot of New Age ideas with the medium and spiritualism. And they use the same tactics that most psychics and mediums use combined with the love most people have for their pets. Yep, that's right.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Animal Communicators</b></span><br />
<br />
Animal communicators are a special breed of Woo peddlers. These are people that claim they are able to talk to animals, sort of like Dr. Doolittle. They "help" find missing animals, "treat" illnesses, offer counseling and speak to the dead, much like psychics and mediums. I'm going to speak in generalities, and not get too in depth. Every communicator is different, and they all have their own twists on what they do.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tactics:</b></span><br />
Animal communicators tend to use a lot of the same tactics as the psychic crowd, such as cold reading, hot reading, blatant information gathering, and so on. Quite a few also advertise themselves as animal psychics. Most of the time, these people will visit the owner in the owners house. They can normally gain a lot of information just by being there. The sort of person that would utilize an animal communicator is the same type that will have many pictures of their pets on the wall, on tables, etc. Just by looking at the pictures, the A.C. gain get a rough idea of how long they've had the animal, activities they do with it, and places that the animal has been. They will begin to make a series of broad statements about the animal, in the hopes of narrowing down the field until they can piece together a story. These are decent multipurpose methods that work in a variety of circumstances. Combine the "reading" with the fact that people are more apt to remember the hits and forget the misses, and you have a fairly convincing psychic event.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><i>Personal note: I am currently writing another entry on psychics, so a lot of the tricks of the trade will be discussed more thoroughly in that post.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lost Animals:</b></span><br />
Often, Animal Communicators will be hired to help find a lost animal. People that are desperate to find a lost pet are often frustrated that the police or animal welfare don't seem to be doing much for their case. Unfortunately, these groups are often under staffed and have so many more critical calls that lost animals are often disregarded. So, they turn to anyone they think can help. In comes the Animal Communicator. Much like psychics that claim they help the police to find lost and missing people, the A.C. will make some broad statements that could apply to a lot of animals. However, they do have an advantage in this line of work, especially if they are actually familiar with animal behavior. Unlike most people, animals are creatures of instinct and habit. Some of the most common reasons an animal runs off is due to a female in heat nearby, a smaller animal running by, an unfamiliar animal in the area, a change in the owners habits, or even moving to a new location. Also, many animals are scared by loud noises, so the Fourth of July, New Years Eve, or any other holiday involving fireworks can spook them. So can a particularly loud thunderstorm. The A.C. will then extrapolate possible locations the animal might have gone, and make relatively vague references to them. If the customers are able to find the animal, then it's a win. If they can't, it's still a win for the A.C. because they can simply say the animal has moved on, found a new family, or has left their area of influence.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dead Animals:</b></span><br />
Much like psychics that deal with humans only, some of the A.C.s are basically emotional vampires. A person that has lost a beloved pet will go to a pet psychic for closure. They will often go to the owners house. Like I said earlier, the type of person that would seek out this type of service will often have a lot of pictures of them and their pet. The A.C. can use the images, and any other information they can glean from the owner to weave into a very pleasing narrative about heaven, a rainbow bridge, and any other platitudes that will make the customer happy. Once again, they operate much like other psychics, except they are talking to Fluffy instead of Aunt Frannie.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sick Animals or Poor Behavior:</b></span><br />
Often, when animals are ill, they will have behavior changes. If an A.C. is consulted, they will often come to the home and perform a reading on the animal, or they'll offer to do one over the phone. Or you can bring them a picture or something that belongs to the animal. They often start with something along the lines of "Spot is unhappy" Then, using many of the different cold reading tricks, they will then proceed to diagnose the animal. They may say that something doesn't feel right, or that the animal is acting out because of something the owner has or hasn't done. They may prescribe taking the animal to a vet, or an alt med practitioner. They may also suggest changing the furniture around, taking the animal for walks, changing the diet, or other common fixes for behavior problems. Once again, if it works, then it's a win. If it doesn't, then the communicator will invent another problem. Or say that they have fixed the problem, just on a spiritual level, or some other unfalsifiable claim. They also take advantage of the Clever Hans Effect and a form of the Placebo Effect. The Clever Hans Effect is where the animal is reacting to cues that the owner is unaware they are making. I have written more on this in my <a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2015/07/homeopathy-and-hound.html" target="_blank">Homeopathy and the Hound</a> post. The form of the Placebo Effect is where the owners either believe that the animal is feeling or acting better, or they feel better for trying to help. Either way, they are neglecting the fact that illness and behaviors wax and wane. So, after a visit from one of these animal psychics, the problem may naturally improve, at least for a while.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other Aspects:</b></span><br />
There are a lot of similarities between the various animal communicators and psychics. During the course of the reading, many of them will describe what the animals "voice" sounds like, i.e. gruff, high pitched, elegant, deep, and so on. They may also describe the animal as having an accent. They also charge quite a bit for their services. I have seen prices ranging from $100-$1200 for a single appointment. They also very rarely say anything negative. There is never "Tiger says it's hot and he's being bitten by dogs" or "Rex is acting up because he really doesn't like you" or a discussion of the owners personal habits.They are always able to spin a relatively happy tale for the customer. There really isn't a lot of difference between animal communicators and other psychics. The only major difference is that the subject of the reading can't say whether they are correct or not.<br />
<br />
There is absolutely no evidence that there is any form of psychic abilities, so it is very doubtful that these people are capable of performing the feats that they are claiming. There may be people that think they can hear animals speaking to them and choose to try and help the animals. They more than likely have a psychological issue, rather than a psychic ability. Most people that claim they can speak to animals are just exploiting a very unique market to make some money. I personally feel that anyone that claims to be able to communicate with your animals, living or dead, is just a fraud out to make a buck.<br />
<br />
Until next time, Be Good, Be Skeptical, and Be sure to remember the milk.<br />
<br />
The Skeptical Okie<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-34734425831780022482015-09-14T11:44:00.002-07:002016-01-25T08:06:09.119-08:00Letting the other side of reality talk. (Opinion)Before you get too far into this post, I'm going to warn you ahead of time that it is largely my opinion on the matter, and in no way reflects anyone else's views. I have started to put (Opinion) in the titles if the post is in fact an opinion piece and contains very little research. This is so that people that read my posts for the research I put into it don't feel cheated when reading an opinion piece, and the maybe 1 person that reads these because they are interested in my thoughts.<br />
<br />
I have been hearing the murmurs about giving both sides of an issue equal time and press, so that people can have a chance to make an informed decision. (<span style="color: red;">I largely feel that the increased pressure for equal time is due to the up coming presidential race debacle) </span>In some issues, I completely agree. Give all the candidates equal time to make the promises they know they can't keep. Let companies have equal amounts of commercial time to make their claims about how their products can improve your life. This is fine. This is republican democracy and capitalism at work.<br />
<br />
When it comes to the science vs pseudoscience arena however, I don't think that the quacks, hucksters, and other bullshitters should have an equal amount of time to try and convince people that their particular flavor of pseudoscience works. Granted, I do think that it is important to listen to the believers to try and learn how and why they think that crystal healing, reiki, or homeopathy works. I also know that it is important to review and check anyone's evidence, both scientists and pseudoscientists. But to give a homeopath, or any other promoter of pseudoscience an equal, or greater amount of exposure is a detriment to society, as well as being intellectually dishonest.<br />
<br />
For decades, these alternative treatments, quantum whatevers, and ancient or all natural products have often been shown to be at least less effective than actual medicines and treatments, if not more dangerous, especially when mixed with actual medicine. Not just experimentally, but in actual instances outside of the lab. Unfortunately, you often hear about someone forgoing medical treatment and trying some type of alternative medicine, and paying the price, not just financially, but with their health, and sometimes their life. And yet, the stories that make it into the media outlets are the "miracle cures" and "mysterious recoveries" that "have doctors baffled". <b style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">BULLSHIT!</b> The only doctors that might be baffled by these occurrences are the people that are promoting this crap, and their bafflement comes from the fact that it looks like their treatment worked. This is a tactic often used in the media, as well as with the alt med crowd. It makes the article more interesting, and casts doubt on the entire medical establishment. However, you will never hear them admit that sometimes diseases will spontaneously go into remission, regardless of the type of treatment that the patient was receiving. You also never see them talking to actual medical experts to find out if they are actually baffled or if it's just a bit of media hyperbole.<br />
<br />
There are websites, magazines, and television shows that seem to go out of their way to not just denigrate science and actual medicine, but to make people frightened of it. Which in turn drives up sales of their products. I am not saying that every single person that promotes some form of pseudoscience is just doing it for the money. There are a few that actually believe that they are helping people by offering alternatives, though these are far and few between. Most of them have their own things to sell and view everyone else as competition. They will even invent problems that don't actually exist in order to create a demand for something no one thought they needed. All that they manage to do is cause people to believe that scientists have no idea what they are doing, or that they are hiding something. Of course the fact that actual science can be revised or proven wrong while pseudoscience rarely changes adds to that, and the snake oil promoters use that fact also, which in turn gets them more publicity.<br />
<br />
Basically, what I have been trying to say through my little rant here is that the pseudoscientists should <b><i><span style="color: red;">never</span></i></b> be given equal representation to scientists, especially in the media. All this does is muddy what may already be complicated issues, and it gives them a legitimacy that they neither have, nor deserve. If there is anyone associated with the media that reads this, I do have a couple of suggestions. The first is give both sides time<b> equal to the amount of reliable evidence</b>. Not anecdotal, not customer testimonials, not arguments from antiquity or the naturalistic fallacy, or arguments from popularity. Whoever has the most reliably reproducible results from actual testing should get the lions share of media time. I sure as hell don't mean all the "clinically tested" claims that you often see on a variety of WOO based products either. All that means is that they were tested, possibly in-house, and it doesn't say anything about the efficacy of the item. A second suggestion is, if you do a story on some form of pseudoscience, and are looking for balance, don't just give the expert or the skeptic a 5 second sound bite at the end. This doesn't help anything, because people have already heard what they want to, and have stopped paying attention.(I'm looking at you History Channel, Animal Planet, and Dr. Oz!) You can also start with a disclaimer saying that the following story or statements has yet to be scientifically verified.<br />
<br />
With that being said, I would also like to say that it important as a critical thinker, science advocate, skeptic, rationalist, or however else you would like to be labeled, or have labeled yourself, to actually listen to the believers of pseudoscience. This can help you understand why they believe what they do, and possibly give you a way to show them other evidence for a more rational explanation. Not to humiliate or belittle them, but to show them that there are other possibilities that are much more likely. I am also not saying that the pseudoscience crowd can't express their opinions and views. They just need to be aware that when they do, there will be those that demand evidence and have the knowledge and ability to refute their claims.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-20647928594030738962015-09-07T19:42:00.004-07:002016-01-25T08:05:29.311-08:00UFO's for the beginning skepticFirst off, to the loyal readers, sorry for falling off the wagon for a while. I know I said that I was going to try and publish posts more often and regularly, but unfortunately, once again, life got in the way. Partly due to work, partly personal life with a new baby. So, enough about me and on to what you're here for.<br />
<br />
Today's topic is another one I've wanted to write about for a while.UFO's are not something I talk about often. Not because I'm not interested, believe me, I am. I watch almost all of the ancient alien, UFO conspiracy shows on T.V., and I work with a few people that believe aliens have visited (not the same aliens that the Republicans are bitching about). The reason I don't often discuss them is because it's rather hard to figure out a starting point. Do I start, much like the Ancient Alien crowd, with cave paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and the Indian Vedas? Or do I start with Barney and Betty Hill in 1961? Or perhaps Roswell in 1947? I think I should start with describing a UFO.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Definition</b></span><br />
To start, UFO simply stands for <b>U</b>nidentified <b>F</b>lying <b>O</b>bject. There are an incredible variety of phenomenon that have received the title UFO. Strange lights in the sky, odd objects that are caught on video, strange noises, airborne objects that aren't readily identified, and on and on. Most people in the UFO believers camp think that all of these are, in some form, controlled by an alien intelligence. There are a few that will make the claim that these objects are from the future and being driven by humans. I will grant that there are actually UFO's in that there are occasionally flying objects that are unidentified. The likelihood that these are some sort of extraterrestrial craft is minimal.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Before I get any farther, I am going to say now that I am not going to discuss any specific UFO cases in great detail in this post. If there is a particular case you'd like me to take a look at, email me at <a href="mailto:skepticalokie@gmail.com">skepticalokie@gmail.com</a> and give me the details.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Types</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">*Note on the types: There are a lot of descriptions of UFO's. Some of these are singularly unique, while there </span>might<span style="font-family: inherit;"> be many sightings that the descriptions are very similar. I am going to attempt to group them, much like my <a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2015/07/cryptids-for-beginning-skeptic.html" target="_blank">cryptids post</a>, into similar descriptions. Part of the problem with this is that some may fit into several categories while some may not fit into any category very well. I am also going to try and include a more naturalistic explanation for these phenomenon in the category, instead of doing an overall conclusion.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span>
<b style="font-family: inherit;">Lights: </b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These are quite likely the most common of sightings. These are normally sudden lights, usually seen at night, that reportedly act in an odd manner. They might change directions erratically or suddenly, They may also appear to accelerate, raise, lower, stop, hover, flicker, waver, or disappear altogether. The colors can vary, though white, yellow and blue seem to be the most popular. There are occasions of odd lights being reported during the day as well, though those are much rarer.There are several different things that may cause these </span>phenomena<span style="font-family: inherit;">. One possible cause your standard run of the mill aircraft. All aircraft have multiple lights on their wings and under-carriages, as well as the tail. If you're looking at them at a slightly odd angle, you may only see one or two. If the plane banks or turns, it can give the appearance that the lights are moving at speeds much faster than what a "normal" aircraft can </span>achieve<span style="font-family: inherit;">. Plus, as the plane continues to bank, rise, or fall, the lights may suddenly disappear as they are hidden by the planes body. Basically, it's an optical illusion. Another possible cause are flares or fireworks. Some are designed to suddenly ignite after a certain amount of time, and then just disappear, or they could be faulty and not work properly. Another possible cause, which I have recently learned about, is temperature inversion, also known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fata_Morgana_(mirage)" target="_blank">Fata Morgana</a>, which is basically a mirage. And you can never forget that the sighting may be a trick or a hoax.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b>Cigars:</b><br />
There are a lot of reports that seem to make a mention of a "cigar shaped craft". These seem to apply to any sort of tubular or cylindrical shapes objects. Like many sightings of strange objects or creatures, the colors, sizes, and all other pertinent details vary widely. Some of these only seen when someone is reviewing previously shot film. Others are seen during the day, in the open, and by groups. These can be harder to determine their actual cause. Once again, they may be some form of aircraft, seen at an odd angle or elevation. They may be the result of someone perpetuating a hoax. They could be a model rocket or airplane being flown by a hobbyist. The ones that are only seen by carefully reviewing the film are most likely insects. (<i style="color: red;">I have never seen an example of these during the winter</i>) Experimental aircraft also could be a likely explanation. They could also be birds that the witness is unfamiliar with. Another possible explanation are balloons. You can have a balloon made into nearly any shape or size. These more naturalistic explanations don't explain all the sightings, and some are legitimately unknown.<br />
<br />
<b>Triangles:</b><br />
These have become more common in recent history. They are often described as being large, black, and moving in a manner that is not possible for any known aircraft. These are very interesting to me, as I can only come up with a few possible explanations. The first one that comes to mind is misidentifying known aircraft, such as the flying wing. Once again, experimental aircraft are possible, as are gliders and hang gliders. Drones, model airplanes, other types of toys (yes, those are toys. Just really expensive toys) are entirely probable. And much like any other type of sighting, hallucinations are always a possibility.<br />
<br />
<b>Saucers:</b><br />
Of course, I can't leave out the classic "flying saucer" type of UFO sighting. These are the classic type of craft like you would see in a 50's or 60's science fiction movie. They sort of look like an inverted bowl on top of a plate. The term was coined in 1947 by Kenneth Arnold. You will rarely hear a report of an actual flying saucer these days. Most of the original sightings were most likely hoaxes, either for fun or profit. There is some variation is the details of the crafts, but all in all, they have the same basic plan. Basically, think of Marvin the Martians ship from the old Warner Brothers cartoons. These are pretty simple to build, and still fairly easy to produce flying saucer images and video.<br />
<b><br /></b>
I will admit that I have not covered every type of UFO sighting and reported vehicle. There is just way to many minute variations and alterations to include everything. As well, as interesting as the topic is, the likelihood that our small blue dot of a planet is being visited by highly advanced beings is so improbable that it is hard to take any of this seriously. Trying to research UFO's and UFO sightings sends you down so many rabbit holes that piecing together any sort of coherent dialogue requires much more time than I am able to afford to it.<br />
<br />
<b>Things to consider:</b><br />
There are several factors to keep in mind when hearing about, or reading about UFO reports. You will often hear witnesses say that the objects do things that no known aircraft can. One problem with this statement is that modern aircraft can often perform maneuvers that seem unbelievable, and very few people are familiar with every model of aircraft. Not to mention that every government is constantly working on new types of aircraft. Also, there is the problem of mistaken perspective. An airborne object may be farther away than you think it is, as well as larger or smaller. In the air, there are very few objects that can give you a dependable frame of reference for the size. As well, there is always the chance that someone is simply faking either the object or the report, possibly for fun, or to make money and garner attention. Of course, they could also be a normal object in a strange or unexpected context. You will also hear many members of the UFO believer community say that the witness is a pilot, police officer, doctor, teacher, or some other pillar of society. They will say that these people, especially military, police, and pilots are trained to observe things. While that may be true, they are still human (<span style="color: red;">unless the illuminati have replaced them all with robots or lizard people</span>), and humans are not infallible. Even I made a mistake once :).Many of these witnesses may be in a heightened state of stress, which in turn can cause them to hallucinate or misidentify things around them. Not to say that they are lying, but that they are misremembering or misinterpreting information. And of course, there is always the chance that every once in a great while, there is an actual alien intelligence piloting one of the objects that have been seen. But before you conclude that you have actually seen ALF flying by on his way back to Melmac, remember that you have to disprove the more naturalistic probabilities first.<br />
<br />
If you have a question, comment, or request, you can leave a comment here. Please do, I'd like some internet company. Until next time, Be Good, Be Skeptical, and Be sure to set your clocks back an hour.<br />
<br />
the Skeptical Okie.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-80305730634169679672015-07-14T19:01:00.001-07:002016-01-25T08:04:08.783-08:00Cryptids for the beginning skepticHello Folks. It looks like, for now, I'm keeping a regular schedule on the posts. I'm as surprised as you are.I felt it was time for another edition of my world famous "Woo for the beginning skeptic" articles. Today, I'm going to discuss one that I have had an interest in for many years. We're talking cryptids, also known as monsters or unknown animals. Before you roll your eyes and say "<i>Cryptids are stupid. There is no reason any self respecting critical thinker should waste their time on them</i>.", just keep reading. Not only are they interesting in their own right, but many times, they are what initially brought people into skepticism and critical thinking. Just look at Blake Smith and Daniel Loxton. Both are well respected members of the skeptical community. (Blake hosts the Monster Talk podcast and Daniel is the author and illustrator of <i>Junior Skeptic</i> in the back of Skeptic magazine, as well as the Tales of Prehistoric Life trilogy and Abominable Science.) Both of them came to critical thinking via cryptids. Now for the main feature.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Definition:</b></span><br />
According to the <a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/cryptid" target="_blank">Oxford English Dictionary</a>, a cryptid is "An animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti" Therefore cryptozoology is the study of unknown animals. It comes from the Greek word Krypto (also the name of Superman's dog) which means "hide". So basically, it's an animal that people can't find, but as soon as someone legitimately finds one, it can no longer be considered a cryptid.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>History:</b></span><br />
Throughout human history, we have always told stories about fantastic creatures, You have Enkidu and Humbaba from the Epic of Gilgamesh. You have Grendel from Beowulf. You have the gods in corporeal form in pretty much every culture. The Leviathan in the bible would count as a cryptid. There have always been stories of sea monsters and river creatures. Of course, there is the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, Bigfoot, Bat-Boy, Chupacabra, Leprechauns, and MothMan. People have always used mysterious creatures either as a way to explain a natural phenomenon or as a way to make people behave. An example of the former is saying that some large unknown creature creates whirlpools that pull down ships. An example of the later would be that a vicious animal lives in the woods, so you kids shouldn't go in them, lest you get killed by it. Today, a lot of the stories seem to be driven by an honest curiosity mixed with either a poor or misguided understanding of science, or wanting to make a few bucks off of a costume full of roadkill. I know that this is an extremely short history of cryptids, but just going back to Gilgamesh, that's around 4000 years of monsters. That's not including some of the possible stories that were told around the fires of our hunter/gatherer ancestors. One of the most amazing things about this is that people still report some of the same creatures that their ancestors did thousands of years ago.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Cast:</b></span><br />
I honestly had a hard time trying to decide where to start. Should I go chronologically, geographically, culturally, type, or just do it randomly? I'm going to try and break down the huge variety of cryptids by their type. There are serpents, humanoids, avian, and some that seem to be an amalgamation of several other animals rather than a single type, more like a chimera that any single animal. I'm not going to list all of the various cryptids, there are <i>way</i> too many. Each type could be an individual in depth article, let alone all of the various cryptids that people have claimed to exist. These creatures are as varied as the cultures they sprang from. Also, areas that are relatively close to one another may have different names for the same thing, or the same name for very different creatures. As well, I'm not going to include aliens, ghosts, or demons. These will probably have their own write-up sometime in the future. So, to get started lets see who the cast of players are.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Humanoid:</i> This group is possibly one of the most diverse, as well as the one of the oldest. Enkidu from the Epic of Gilgamesh was a wild hairy man. Included in this group, you also have Yeti, Bigfoot, the Kappa, the Orang Pendek, reptilian humanoids, Mothman, GoatMan, and so on. Odds are, if man is in the name, it's probably a humanoid cryptids. Most of these creatures have a generally human appearance in that they walk upright, have 2 arms, with the exception of Mothman who has a pair of wings, 2 legs, though not always human legs, a torso, and a head. Some are covered in hair, others have scales or smooth skin. Most of these are probably misidentified native wildlife such as a bear or an owl in a tree. A sandhill crane is a common explanation for Mothman. Sometimes, they are possibly just people out trying to pull a prank. As I said, these seem to be some of the most common creatures that get reported. A major problem with the existence of these creatures is that the locations they have been reported in are fairly well explored, and most of the native fauna are well known, with the exception of the Orang Pendek in Sumatra and the Yeti in the Himalayas.<br />
<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Sea Serpents:</i> Some of the proud members of this group include Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, Champ, the Lake Champlain Monster, The Kraken, and all those cool looking monsters on ancient maps. When looking at Nessie and Champ, you have to consider their size and the habitat they supposedly inhabit. Even Loch Ness couldn't support a breeding population of very large creatures. There simply isn't enough room or food. And for being a plesiosaur, their respective bodies of water were actually under glaciers when plesiosaurs were alive. Now for the actual sea serpents.Out of all the cryptids, I think that an unknown, large deep sea creature would be the most plausible. (coelacanth or the mega-mouth shark anyone?)There is still a lot of the oceans we haven't explored, and unlike a terrestrial creature, there isn't as much of a hindrance in their movement. Instead of being locked into a specific location, it is much easier for an aquatic animal to travel. That being said, I really think that most reports of sea serpents are previously known animals. Most of the time, these are possibly misidentified animals such as the oarfish, big-mouth shark, or the giant squid. And of course, there are the dead, bloated, and decaying carcasses that occasionally wash up on shore, which spur reports of "Dead Sea Serpent Found Washed Up On Local Beach." I have seen pictures of a variety of animals, ranging from oarfish to sharks and from raccoons to half eaten tuna being portrayed by the media as some sort of unknown sea monster. At some point, a marine biologist will say what the carcass belongs to, but by that time, the media is off to the races on the next fear inducing headline.<br />
<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Avian:</i> These are pretty odd, and very interesting at the same time. You have creatures like the Thunder Bird of Native American lore, the Roc from the Middle East, and stories of pterasaurs surviving into the modern era. Mothman could have possibly fit into this category, but I felt he (or is it a she?) is more humanoid in appearance. There are also stories of extremely large bats and bat-like creatures in various parts of the world, and I feel that they would probably fit into this category the most. There was a bird called the Elephant Bird, which like an emu, an ostrich, a moa, or a cassowary, was a large flightless bird, Of course there are legends about this creature also. Looking at present day reports of large avian creatures, I am of the opinion that most are, once again, misidentified. Some birds, especially the raptors, can get pretty damn big. Have you ever seen a great horned owl? Huge bird. Vultures or condors? Very big birds. Many time, when people are reporting that they've seen something like a Thunder Bird (not the car), they are looking up and see a bird shape in the sky, which makes determining the size very difficult. Or they see it flying by tree, in front of trees, or over the tops of trees. Once again, people normally aren't very good at recognizing when one object is directly over another, which makes trying to determine size or speed difficult. Plus, if there were super large creatures flying around, with all the flights that go on everyday, don't you think someone would have hit one with a plane by now? (<i>I think that the "If it existed, wouldn't someone have hit/killed one by now" argument is a valid one. There are so many vehicles moving on the planet now that surely, someone would have struck some of these creatures.</i>)<br />
<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Animalistic:</i> I am making this category to lump a lot of cryptids together. These would be animals that, in general, look like other animals. The main difference would be in their size, aggression, or intelligence. I am also going to include animals that are supposed to be extinct, and have somehow survived. Alligators or crocodiles in the sewers, which are supposed to be larger and more aggressive than other crocodilians, would be a good example, Large aggressive swine, Dire Wolves, 50 foot snakes, and wooly mammoths are all good examples. So is the infamous chupacabra. Often, these seem to be animals with greatly inflated dimensions, sometimes well beyond what biology says they could ever be. Sometimes, they are real, abnormally large animals, but not to the size that the witnesses make them out to be. For fun, just google <b>Hogzilla</b>. With the reports of a wooly mammoth roaming the Russian tundra, those are normally hoaxes, plain and simple. and not even good ones. The chupacabra is an interesting beast. Ben Radford actually managed to trace it back to the first report in Puerto Rico in his book "<i>Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore".</i>The interesting thing about this creature is that the description of it has changed drastically. Originally, it was bipedal, more reptilian, and had glowing red eyes. (<i>Why the hell do so many of these creatures have glowing red eyes? That's going to be the name of my book!</i>) Since coming to the U.S., it has changed into a quadrapedal animal with almost scaly skin, and may or may not have small tufts of hair. They are also unique in that specimens have actually been caught! At least animals that people claim are chupacabras. They almost always end up being a raccoon, a dog, or some other animal that is suffering from an advanced case of mange. I say almost because there have been a few captured that no one has ever been allowed to do any sort of analysis on the poor creature. The animals in this category either do exist, or have at one point existed. For the extant animals, their size isn't as great as the witness reports would have you believe. For the extinct animals, they are either another case of misidentification or a hoax. And in the case of the chupacabra, it is a real animal, at least in the U.S., but not only is it a case of mistaken identity, but the poor critter is suffering.<br />
<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Fae: </i>These are the fairies of old. Leprechauns, fairies, banshee, and many of the other supernatural monsters from old legends would fall into this category. The reason that I'm even mentioning them is that there are still occasional reported sightings. Think of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Cottingley Fairies.<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Chimeras:</i> These are the hodge-podges of the cryptid kingdom. These creatures are normally described as having attributes from several different animals. Some of the more famous ones would be the Sphinx, the Manticore, the Griffin, the Chimera, you get the idea. The reason that I've decided to include these types is that they are the grand-daddies of all the cryptids that we have today. These are the original monsters that people told stories about. And there is, once in a great while, a report of one of these beasts, Most likely, these are either hoaxes or someone wanting a bit of attention.<br />
<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Oddballs:</i> There are a lot of creatures that really don't fit into a category. That or else I would have to spend a lot more time sub-dividing and sorting everything out. Some examples of these would be the Mongolian Death Worm, Inkanyamba, and Mokele Mbembe. These are, like so many other cryptids, culturally based. They are most likely related to legends that have been told in the areas for untold years. Given the range of their abilities, and the characteristics of these creatures, it is once again, highly unlikely that they actually exist.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span><br />
Even though every culture, region, and religion has at least one story of fantastic creatures, with a little critical thinking, it is fairly easy to demonstrate how doubtful it is that they are real. Most of these are probably the result of a combination of humans being natural storytellers and pareidolia. As I said at the start, these monsters can be an easy way to begin talking to someone about critical thinking. If they believe strongly in some form of pseudoscience, such as naturopathy, homeopathy, vaccine denial, or climate change denial, you can use a discussion about cryptids to show them how to look at evidence. It's also a great way to introduce kids to critical thinking and skepticism. As a matter of fact, I am reading "In Search of Sasquatch" to my son right now. We are going to go through the book and look at what the author presents as evidence. Should be interesting.<br />
<br />
You would think that with all the people walking around in the woods, someone would have found one by now. Seriously, and 8 foot tall hairy creature in the United States? In New Guinea, they found a frog that is .3 inches (7.7 mm for the metric crowd)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_JuQOk9UPl9I84wm-XhZO9W-2LSYLsTScqN9RoElDu_4j5-CWSr0c0N75qfONCu10HxRgqhAFZkkpW3puxJ1Y5Ojz1cK7MlXvxzYXM4J_gwAWwBfLQZoeN44A6ELfqjZpBYXHEF1reo/s1600/frog.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_JuQOk9UPl9I84wm-XhZO9W-2LSYLsTScqN9RoElDu_4j5-CWSr0c0N75qfONCu10HxRgqhAFZkkpW3puxJ1Y5Ojz1cK7MlXvxzYXM4J_gwAWwBfLQZoeN44A6ELfqjZpBYXHEF1reo/s320/frog.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(From Wikipedia) <span style="color: red;">The frog is standing on a dime!</span></i></span></div>
<div>
From Thailand and Myanmar, we have the Bumblebee Bat, which weighs 2 grams and is about 1-1.3 inches (2.54-3.3 cm)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7Vhuv_X387898I2YFL3aJ5A0PeQy8JgrJazrn1aVguUAXLKKxmwhMQjeZMI35KA9jQIXnVMz1-8NZ1AFKlJ-mc0P4KfmWz7Om09JHlGWgHZmpEfiCX6EfB87ElPa47iJ5MBDsJjXeec/s1600/bat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7Vhuv_X387898I2YFL3aJ5A0PeQy8JgrJazrn1aVguUAXLKKxmwhMQjeZMI35KA9jQIXnVMz1-8NZ1AFKlJ-mc0P4KfmWz7Om09JHlGWgHZmpEfiCX6EfB87ElPa47iJ5MBDsJjXeec/s1600/bat.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(From Wikipedia)</i></span></div>
<div>
In Indonesia, they have the Paedocypris, a fish that is .31 inches (7.9 mm) long.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSi8OYp3YXIpEr7z5v0PAyJpAQyKsnceSdadW2W8fRZOPZ-0ZdOlVRGQIS0vUvcT_fusn6Ah6a8x2u7Bf_mcRpwT_mTV_JQKK09ap2g9s3iDTDOQphtHje4eH2KVRSqT98LvYlGckwrE/s1600/fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSi8OYp3YXIpEr7z5v0PAyJpAQyKsnceSdadW2W8fRZOPZ-0ZdOlVRGQIS0vUvcT_fusn6Ah6a8x2u7Bf_mcRpwT_mTV_JQKK09ap2g9s3iDTDOQphtHje4eH2KVRSqT98LvYlGckwrE/s1600/fish.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(From Scholastic.com)</i></span></div>
<div>
Of course in Cuba and the Isle of Youth, there is the Bee Hummingbird, which weighs in at 1.6 grams and is about 2-2.4 inches (5-6 cm) long.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToSeDXe3V8Io9KkQ-ZUNMEA2WCwAox2lS1zu_tm7qpnKR3Jmt4uUfYUFu6B-LvzYnfwaXm9VgSWwl9TYfMEUxzQVqOj2GaY7KCCMvkVhnuFqrE-Uw-ZbbrvhWgM-9kltfqXbG8VhgqR0/s1600/bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToSeDXe3V8Io9KkQ-ZUNMEA2WCwAox2lS1zu_tm7qpnKR3Jmt4uUfYUFu6B-LvzYnfwaXm9VgSWwl9TYfMEUxzQVqOj2GaY7KCCMvkVhnuFqrE-Uw-ZbbrvhWgM-9kltfqXbG8VhgqR0/s320/bird.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(From <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB1qFQoTCMGH24HM78YCFUWTDQodBRoAYw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.softpedia.com%2Fnews%2FWorld-039-s-Smallest-Bird-81742.shtml&ei=Ov-vVcGCEMWmNoW0gJgG&bvm=bv.98197061,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNHQmjLsW5V8mHG0VI490rglLTs4ow&ust=1437683835852071">news.softpedia.com</a>)</span></i></div>
If animals that only a few centimeters in size can be found in some pretty rough and unexplored areas of the world, then why can't anyone seem to find any of the cryptids that have been reported over the years?<br />
<br />
This has been a fairly long article, so I'll just say, if you want to contact me, leave a comment (Please leave a comment. I'm lonely for internet company),<br />
<br />
Until next time, Be Good, Be Fair, and Be Skeptical.<br />
<br />
The Skeptical Okie<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-24258047256697926562015-07-07T13:59:00.001-07:002016-01-25T08:02:33.187-08:00Calling Bigfoot! Bigfoot, the BFRO, Finding Bigfoot and the evidence. (now with sounds!)Hello folks. Recently, C-Webb, host of The Paranormal Skeptic Academy podcast did a show on an episode of Finding Bigfoot. Episode 19 of PSA, to be precise. He did an excellent job of breaking down the episode, and showing the mental gymnastics that true believers will go through for their beliefs. He also provided natural (and more reasonable) explanations of what the crew experienced, as well as their victims. Oops, I meant their witnesses. Yeah, witnesses, that's the ticket. You can find the episode <a href="http://paranormalskepticacademy.com/episode-19-bigfoot-crossing-in-georgia" target="_blank">here</a>. You really should check it out. Like I said, it's really well done. Plus, he's funny as hell. At the end of the episode, he even gave me and the blog a shout out, which I greatly appreciated, and I owe him a few beers, or other drink of choice.<br />
<br />
Something C-Webb mentioned got me to thinking, and as we all know, that's dangerous. He spoke about how it's more than likely that the BFRO crew was confusing cattle calls for Bigfoot calls. I have had an idea for a while to do a write up on the Bigfoot calls. These have become a very popular form of "proof" in the bigfooting community. If you've ever seen the Finding Bigfoot show on Animal Planet, you've probably seen the green night vision scenes where everyone is howling like a mad man. These are supposed to be imitations of the infamous bigfoot calls, which I still don't understand how you can imitate something that you don't have evidence for it's existence. Might as well imitate a unicorn. That actually sounds like more fun. But I'm going to take a look (a listen) anyway.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bigfoot Calls</b></span><br />
For a long time, castings of barely distinguishable blobs or extremely detailed footprints were the best proof of Bigfoot. Then came the blurry photos and shaky videos that were considered the pinnacle of Bigfoot evidence. Now, it's the seems that the mysterious calls that are supposedly made by Bigfoot are the hot new evidence. You can find them all over YouTube. Or if you're like me, you have people send them to you on Facebook. And e-mail. And Google+. And in real life. And everyone wants me to explain them. One of the main issues with trying to figure out these calls is that the video and audio recordings are normally lacking a lot of context I would need to make a reasonable identification, such as time of the year, the geographic location, or even the time of day. For full disclosure, and for those of you that are new to the blog (yes, I do this kind of thing a lot) I am not a biologist, botanist, chemist, physicist, or any other sort of -ist. My main qualification to discuss cryptids is my many years of tracking wildlife, and the occasional person. I do hunt, not for sport, but to supplement feeding my family and to protect my family's livestock. I have tracked everything from rabbits and skunks to wolves and cougars, and if I want to brag a bit, I'm pretty good at it. I have spent a lot of time out in the woods and wilds and I am fairly familiar with what goes on. With that said, a lot of the noises that the Bigfoot researchers claim are from a mysterious humanoid ape are mostly normal woodland animals. If they aren't just pranksters messing with them. These calls, for the most part, seem to consist of low pitched growls and grunts, and the occasional scream. I have also seen them yell "That's a Squatch!" when it's obviously a cow lowing. Seriously, something is going Mooooo, and they think it's Bigfoot. Which makes me think of:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZFhbjVvOXbpfVnItGkchQCbwDtuUqSEHfIKOkerLXcDlv8U_gZbKoshEYPI4P6u2xnGBzIZqJrcXvpXcmUqKYzLZoX63PT2JCX2bxMT8GxYv5jMVkop_XQWQlQPRVYu3OLsGEWbEuKQ/s1600/IMG_0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZFhbjVvOXbpfVnItGkchQCbwDtuUqSEHfIKOkerLXcDlv8U_gZbKoshEYPI4P6u2xnGBzIZqJrcXvpXcmUqKYzLZoX63PT2JCX2bxMT8GxYv5jMVkop_XQWQlQPRVYu3OLsGEWbEuKQ/s320/IMG_0485.JPG" width="47" /></a></div>
<br />
Your typical Bigfoot aficionados tend to mistake a lot of noises for Bigfoot. I'll get into the main issue about this in a moment. First for your listening pleasure, here are some animals that may be commonly mistaken for Bigfoot. I am unable to post the sounds directly in the blog. Instead, I'm going to link to the noises. Enjoy, but as a warning, don't have the volume maxed out on your computer. Some of these are pretty damn loud.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKnqLGED9SQ" target="_blank"><b>Here</b></a> is a good example of some of the odd noises that elk make. Notice that a lot of the deeper noises are very similar to the ones that a lot of bigfooters claim are made by the elusive Sasquatch.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/communication/29-vocalizations-a-body-language.html" target="_blank">Here</a> </b>are some vocalizations made by black bears. Notice the similarities, again, to some of the noises that almost made Moneymaker and crew pee their pants in excitement.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdVmI1IUPX4" target="_blank">Here</a> </b>are some cute noises made by mule deer.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.soundsnap.com/tags/pig" target="_blank">Here</a> </b>are a variety of noises made by pigs. once again, some of them could easily be confused for a larger animal.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVZCAQP6eQM" target="_blank">Here</a></b> are some examples of the sounds made by cougars (<i>No, not those cougars, I meant Mountain Lions!)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=whitetail+deer+sounds" target="_blank">Here</a> </b>are a bunch of videos with a variety of noises made by whitetailed deer. Noisy bastards, aren't they?<br />
<br />
And of course rabbits, squirrels, wolves, coyotes, pack rats, skunks, opossums, raccoons, and everything else that lives in the woods makes some sort of vocalization.<br />
<i><span style="color: red;">(As a side note, I have often wondered why Ranae hasn't pointed out more natural explanations, then I realized that 1) the episodes are probably edited that way, and 2) she seems to have journeyed to the dark side in recent episodes, becoming more of a believer than a skeptic.)</span></i><br />
Keep in mind that a lot of the BFRO investigations occur in rural areas, which means that there are cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, mules, donkeys, various sorts of fowl, rabbits, and other animals that make a wide variety of noises. If you're not familiar with all the sounds that these animals make, it can be easy to mistake them for an unknown animal. As well, a lot of their investigations take place in areas that are inhabited by all sorts of wildlife. If you look at my previous post, which you can find <b>here</b>, you will see where I found that many of the areas that have reported Bigfoot sightings are also areas that have a native bear population. I have been unable to find a map of the locations of the recordings of supposed Bigfoot calls, but given the areas of the sightings, which look like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ1u19PLG1cfYlhjKr38fW6CsZrlObg_uZ79aqTzuAjvGr9Flwol1-Ozrhy1k7WbqHtkdgi5tRna9rtX9HE5KYRRh7aNRelgOnIpHa6hlCIWV5p52GgnmYtxlHfaAGpqyjH7kyXDkNXA/s1600/bigfoot+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ1u19PLG1cfYlhjKr38fW6CsZrlObg_uZ79aqTzuAjvGr9Flwol1-Ozrhy1k7WbqHtkdgi5tRna9rtX9HE5KYRRh7aNRelgOnIpHa6hlCIWV5p52GgnmYtxlHfaAGpqyjH7kyXDkNXA/s320/bigfoot+map.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><i>(the map came from reddit. I am unable to determine an original source.)</i></b></span></div>
<br />
and the areas that have, say elk populations, which look like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptpTYRnjSEmTf7R5D5VPU2UnVd7c2qgxPejQ8Z0sCvDdvNbMgX-DHWsYm_vvbbVlgq4uG2XEiyXfb-S-IY2NmsmrNC2oo3BQqVo4nNdKEUVKdqWAnQ9uPy7Yd6cS9T2ZaghO8wDnJnRc/s1600/elk+range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptpTYRnjSEmTf7R5D5VPU2UnVd7c2qgxPejQ8Z0sCvDdvNbMgX-DHWsYm_vvbbVlgq4uG2XEiyXfb-S-IY2NmsmrNC2oo3BQqVo4nNdKEUVKdqWAnQ9uPy7Yd6cS9T2ZaghO8wDnJnRc/s1600/elk+range.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><i>(map from ar15.com)</i></b></span></div>
<b>(there are pockets of elk living in Oklahoma and other states as well, so this map isn't definitive, but it's the best I could find)</b><br />
and here is an example of the territory of the territory of several large predators in the U.S.:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Q5Om4uzuEZhT9ETcT4LWdxIwkDjA8W4eSRuEW2yAbJqrfUw_omoMwECLN3IvwxRZADdEny_9FX2_E5mfn0JcZtKoQbloGAhkQi2EIm1YjhoVdUOy8y56tjQEuO2sYXgTPrgDJ9rmIfE/s1600/largecarnivores_populationmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Q5Om4uzuEZhT9ETcT4LWdxIwkDjA8W4eSRuEW2yAbJqrfUw_omoMwECLN3IvwxRZADdEny_9FX2_E5mfn0JcZtKoQbloGAhkQi2EIm1YjhoVdUOy8y56tjQEuO2sYXgTPrgDJ9rmIfE/s320/largecarnivores_populationmap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><i>(Map from m.extension.illinois.edu)</i></b></span></div>
<b>(once again, there are pockets of these animal all over the country, so no map can be viewed as definitive. There are black bears, cougars, and wolves in Oklahoma and Northern Texas, for example)</b><br />
and here is an example of the territory of the whitetail deer:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUQ3fU706_21mqsfMzyMhc6XNLFnuT7Xe6-8kzdOrZn8vxAQnxiDLbDtUJJsp5h85aI9tMvjuGAayJPOW_mRaFNnZF4TVlweMJDyGxebFpSWRHPYvqJW4dDBZe0PjyO2tCmdOgbccoRI/s1600/whitetail+deer.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUQ3fU706_21mqsfMzyMhc6XNLFnuT7Xe6-8kzdOrZn8vxAQnxiDLbDtUJJsp5h85aI9tMvjuGAayJPOW_mRaFNnZF4TVlweMJDyGxebFpSWRHPYvqJW4dDBZe0PjyO2tCmdOgbccoRI/s320/whitetail+deer.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><i>Map from Buckbegone.com)</i></b></span></div>
<br />
All these maps, I was able to find using Google and just putting in various animals and territory map.<br />
<br />
You also need to consider wolves, coyotes, deer, pigs, rabbits, birds, and bears all have a wide variety of vocalizations that aren't normally heard on wildlife documentaries. (they still make those, don't they?) These sounds can be unusual if you aren't expecting them. Combine the unfamiliarity of the sounds with the need to prove that the creature exists, and presto! You have a Bigfoot call.<br />
<br />
Another issue I have is the equipment that the various Bigfoot research crews use. (and there are a hell of a lot of these groups, some of them seem to be in direct competition with each other. It's kind of entertaining to watch the insults fly back and forth.) Much like the ghost hunter groups, these people have some pretty serious equipment (FLIR cameras, night vision, super sensitive microphones, audio enhancers, etc.) and a lot of the times, they don't quite seem to know how to use them properly. They aren't as bad as the ghost hunters in that they aren't using an infrared kitchen thermometer to measure the air temperature, but they're close. They have the sensitivity of the mics set to a point where some of the sounds they pick up and record are distorted. Same goes for the hearing enhancers that they use. They also don't seem to take into consideration that noises in the woods are going to be warped. Also, sitting there in the dark, expecting that a creature is prowling around can cause your imagination to run wild at the smallest sound, which when amplified, can easily cause someone to mis-identify the source of the noise. Or you will start to hear sounds that aren't actually there. I'll admit, it's happened to me on occasion while tracking something. I'll be sitting there, and after a while, I will have auditory hallucinations. The thing is, the rational part of my brain kicks in, and I realize what's happening.<br />
<br />
If you've read my previous<a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2013/02/bigfoot-bfro-and-look-at-evidence.html" target="_blank"> Bigfoot post</a> or my poorly written <a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2012/09/cryptids-and-other-interesting-fauna.html" target="_blank">one on cryptids</a> in general, you already know what my major issue with these researchers is. <span style="color: red;"><b>How the hell do they "know" this is Bigfoot behavior?</b> </span>If you watch the show, or listen to any Bigfoot researcher, they will always make definitive statements that "such and such is how a Bigfoot acts". They have no way to substantiate these statements. There are no bodies to test, none of these creatures have actually been studied in the wild, and to be blunt, there is no solid evidence that they exist. Therefore, they can't claim that the sounds they claim are coming from a sasquatch are actually from a sasquatch. They ignore all the plausible explanations and jump right to the make believe. Instead of eliminating possibilities, they simply add another. No matter what, that's not how to science.<br />
<br />
Yes, you do use calls to attract animals. If you're going after a predatory species, you primarily use the call of their prey. I.e., if you want a coyote, you make a sound like a rabbit in distress to attract them. When trying to attract prey species, such as deer and elk, you have several options when it comes to calls. You can use a female call to attract a male, or a male call to attract a male. This primarily works during their breeding season because the males are looking for a mate, and trying to chase off competition. (<i>How do they Bigfoot researchers know when the breeding season is? Does Bigfoot have a season? What do the males sound like? The females? The juveniles? These are questions that I have, as of yet, to hear a consistent answer</i>.) Sometimes it will work out of season because they will come out of curiosity, You can also use the call of a juvenile to attract the females, especially if they live in herds. (Once again, how does a juvenile Bigfoot sound?) With animals such as hogs, calls can work all year long, and in a variety of conditions. But they are a cautious animal, so you have to be pretty damn convincing in order to attract them. (<i>And just standing out there yelling Sooouieee will not work) </i>Calling is a viable tactic to attract a wide variety of animals, but you first have to know about their life cycles, habits, if they are carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores, and you have to know what they actually sound like and be able to reproduce the sound. If you've seen the Finding Bigfoot show, you'll quickly notice that there is no consistency when it comes to the noises that they think the creature is supposed to make. They make a bunch of different howling and grunting sounds, and if anything happens to make a noise, it's confirmation that they are doing it right. The problem with the show is, you don't know know it's edited, so there could be a half hour or more between the initial call and what they claim is a response. Normally, when an animal responds to a call, it happens within a few minutes. Anything longer than that, and it's probably just a random vocalization.<br />
<br />
Real quick, I would like to mention "The Knock", which in the Bigfoot community is another form of communication that sasquatch use. This sound seems to be a solid piece of wood striking a tree. I personally have never heard it, except when watching a Bigfoot show. I imagine it could be several things. The most rational ones would be :<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Something with antlers or horns hitting the side of a tree</li>
<li>A squirrel or other tree based animal throwing a rock against a tree (yes they do that. sit under a tree with squirrels and eventually they'll start throwing things and dropping things at you.)</li>
<li>A crow, raven, or other corvid type bird dropping a rock or hard bit of food</li>
<li>Someone with a wooden baseball bat pranking the bigfooters.</li>
<li>Random falling objects hitting a tree</li>
</ol>
If you watch these shows, you'll see that they never quite look for the source of these sounds. They just go running off in random directions, making a ton of noise, which will scare any animal off or warn a prankster that someone is coming. They should try and pinpoint the direction of the sound, carefully go towards it, and examine everything to see if they can find what might have made the noise. They might be surprised at what they find, and slightly disappointed. Something else that they never seem to take into consideration is that sounds can be misleading in the woods, especially at night. They may be farther off than you think they are, or they may originate from a slightly different direction.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl71aKjLeDXBEW8YuUEgxqoIPSZqz9XotiUfoQW3JONCCQs_mgJlr-JdBz7p-aPyTEo5QHtrWwhujkPOMAkgBkijjP9yjOQsH4bOHcseUgxDQU9Bg11LpWcn37DokN7lnzgYhReKUMlo/s1600/hide+and+seek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl71aKjLeDXBEW8YuUEgxqoIPSZqz9XotiUfoQW3JONCCQs_mgJlr-JdBz7p-aPyTEo5QHtrWwhujkPOMAkgBkijjP9yjOQsH4bOHcseUgxDQU9Bg11LpWcn37DokN7lnzgYhReKUMlo/s320/hide+and+seek.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
It would be cool if Bigfoot and some of the other cryptids actually existed. I would love it. It would be a new avenue of study for biologists, conservationists, environmentalists, and other fields of study. But unfortunately, the evidence isn't there. It sucks, but that's the truth.<br />
<br />
So until next time, Be Good, Be Skeptical, and Be sure to eat your veggies.<br />
<br />
The Skeptical Okie<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-84329763268666370592015-07-01T15:01:00.002-07:002016-01-25T08:01:34.198-08:00Homeopathy and the HoundHello everyone. No long rambling preamble this time, but I am going to ask a favor. If you enjoy this post, or any others I have written, please share it on Twitter, Facebook, or print it out and hand out copies to strangers on the street. Everyone will thank you for it. Now for todays topic. And as a quick aside, I've been working on this for quite a while. I keep getting so frustrated I have to leave it, and later come back and edit out most of the swearing.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Homeopathy and animals.</b></span><br />
Most of the time, when I see articles about alternative medicine, they normally relate to the U.K. or central Europe. This time, it was Oklahoma's Channel 9 news that did a story on people using alt med to help their pets. You can find the article <a href="http://www.news9.com/story/22136723/more-oklahoma-pet-owners-turning-to-alternative-medicine" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here.</span></a> What really gets me is that the people interviewed claim there was an immediate improvement when they began the treatments. I do understand the use of the placebo effect on a human when it's end of life care and all other options have been utilized. But as far as I can find, there are no reputable studies that show the placebo effect has any benefit to animals. I think this is more for the relief of the owners than the animals. Alt med hasn't really been shown to have much of an effect on an animals level of stress, which is about the only way to determine pain in an animal that is unable to talk. If the pet isn't responding well to science based medicine, and the owners decide to go down the alternative medicine path, the owners feel better, because they feel they are doing everything they can to help the animal, which in turn will reduce the stress levels of the pet. So I guess, in a round about way, a placebo does have an effect on pets, just indirectly through their owner. At the end of the article, it says that the dog has the energy of a dog half her age. In an ironic twist, I am going to use an anecdote. I have 3 dogs, all are stock dog varieties, 2 Heelers (which are stock trained) and 1 Australian Shepherd. The oldest is around 15 years right now, (and the 7 dog years to every 1 human year is just an old wives tale.) and occasionally suffers from arthritis. The symptoms come and go. For a couple of days, the dog hobbles around the yard, barely mobile, and then he's running and playing with the others. This is normal, though most of your standard alt med practitioners won't tell you this. Most of these treatments tend to rely heavily on the fact that most symptoms will come and go as the condition continues. And before anyone starts saying "You<i> skeptics</i> have never worked with a homeopath!", I have worked with a homeopathic/naturopathic vet. She was nowhere near as effective at treating the animals in our care as any of the other vets I have had the pleasure to work with.<br />
<br />
I, like most other people in the blogosphere that could be called skeptics, have written on <b><a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2013/06/homeopathy-for-beginning-skeptic.html" target="_blank">homeopathy</a></b>, <b><a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2014/02/wtf-folk-medicine-rant-warning.html" target="_blank">folk medicine</a></b>, <b><a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2013/07/acupuncture-for-beginning-skeptic.html" target="_blank">acupuncture</a></b>, and <b><a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2013/08/naturopathy-for-beginning-skeptic.html" target="_blank">naturopathy</a></b>. (click the words to read some of my previous articles.) We are fairly familiar with these alternative medical modalities, and the placebo effect, and are aware of the fact that they most likely don't work. But I think there is more at work here than just the placebo effect that you normally find in alt med. I really think that the Clever Hans effect is involved. Just in case you aren't familiar with this fallacy (and it's pretty interesting), I will try and give a brief overview of what is.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Clever Hans</b></span><br />
In the later part of the 19th and early 20th century, a German math teacher named Wilhelm Von Osten tried to teach a horse to do math. I have seen a couple of reasons for this. One was that he was trying to show that his teaching methods were so good that he could even teach an animal to do math. Another one I've seen is that he felt that animal intelligence had been greatly under estimated, so he was trying to prove that animals were smarter than people thought they were. Either way, he worked with a horse named Hans, and eventually was convinced that the equine scholar could answer math questions by stamping out the sums. During the training phase, the horse received praise and a treat when he answered correctly. (standard animal training/Pavlovian response) Von Osten began showing off the horse, and of course people were amazed. There was an investigation of the animals abilities, and when they brought in the psychologist Oskar Pfungst, he found that the horse wasn't actually doing math. Instead, he was picking up on subtle body cues and responding appropriately. When his tapping would reach the correct number, his owner would minutely shift his body, and the horse would stop. They even tried having other people ask the questions. His accuracy dropped a bit, but not by much. But if Hans couldn't see the questioner, or if the questioner didn't know the answer ahead of time, he got the answer wrong. Still an impressive ability, even if the horse can't do your taxes. There are quite a few articles on this, including <b><a href="http://skepdic.com/cleverhans.html" target="_blank">The Skeptics Dictionary</a></b>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, and <a href="http://www.damninteresting.com/clever-hans-the-math-horse/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Damn Interesting</a> and they go into a lot more detail.<br />
<br />
So what does the Clever Hans fallacy have to do with alternative medicine and veterinary medicine? Quite a bit actually. Pets can't talk and tell you how they feel. An animal could be in pain and a human wouldn't be able to tell because their body language is different from ours. We can tell if they are limping, not eating, or whining, but minor changes in their body language are difficult for most people to pick up on. Domestic animals, namely dogs and to a lesser extent cats, will normally respond to a humans body language, however. If you're happy, they'll act in a manner we interpret as happy. If you're sad or upset, their behavior will change. When you take your dog to a vet, quite often, you're nervous and anxious, which will affect how the dog is acting. Afterward, if you think the treatment is working, you'll be happy, and your pooch will respond to the change in body language. Combine this with the fact that most ailments wax and wane, and you can see why some people feel that alt med can be effective for treating animals. That's may be why the people claimed that there was an immediate change in their animal. Of course, they are possibly biased towards alternative medicine (it doesn't come out and say it in the original article, so I am making a supposition here) and to prevent cognitive dissonance, they have to believe it's working and they see results, sort of like prayer. That also may explain why they felt that actual vet care wasn't working. Vet medicine, just like human medicine, isn't fucking magic. It can't treat everything, and when it works, it will sometimes take some time before any sort of improvement is noticeable. Whereas alternative vet medicine <b>is</b> just like magic. It's an illusion that is designed to make you feel better about yourself, take your money, and isn't real.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />
So, before spending a large piece of your money on acupuncture, homeopathy, and chiropractic treatments for your furry friend, do some research, preferably through reputable sources (<span style="color: orange;">avoid Natural News at all costs!</span>) and determine 1) If the treatments are actually for you rather than your pet, and 2) Will they really give your animal a marked improvement in the quality of life. To be frank, these alt med treatments don't work. All they do is empty your wallet, and possibly prolong the suffering of an animal. Finally, whenever you are contemplating using alternative medicine, either for yourself or for your pet, remember what Mark Crislip of Science Based Medicine says:<br />
<u style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">S</u>upplements<br />
<u style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">C</u>omplimentary<br />
<u style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">A</u>lternative<br />
<u style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">M</u>edicine<br />
<br />
I'll end here before I go off on an expletive filled rant. As always, until next time, Be Good and Be Skeptical.<br />
<br />
The Skeptical Okie.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-20035206007170836742015-06-24T14:51:00.001-07:002016-01-25T08:00:44.827-08:00The Four Horsemen of Derp!In most peoples everyday life, there are a few websites that they visit on a regular basis. Things like Facebook, Instagram, Pornhub, BuzzFeed. You know, normal sites. In the skeptical world, we have Wikipedia, Snopes, the C.D.C., and PubMed. In the dark realm of pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, and new age weirdness, they have their own flavor of preferred information. And the ones I'm going to talk a little bit about today could possibly be called<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>The Four Horsemen of Derp!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>InfoWars</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This site, along with AboveTopSecret, is one of the primary purveyors of conspiracy theories on the planet. Their tagline is "Because there is a war on for your mind" Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it. If you go to the site, and I highly recommend you don't, one of the first things you'll see are ads for various liver cleaners, anti-fluoride campaigns, and very odd supplements, on top of links to brilliant articles like "Herbicide Resistant Insects are Destroying GMO Crops Like Never Before"(<i>seriously, that one is on there, I thought it was an Onion article</i>) There are also a bunch of conspiratorially flavored "news articles" blaming almost everything on Obama, atheists, and anyone that's brown. It's a deep rabbit warren of actual news stories with a seemingly slightly plausible conspiracy spin to them. (<i>They should use that as the tag line</i>) This site is part of the Alex Jones media empire, and he uses it, just like his radio show, to promote his particular flavor of crazy. It almost feels like an "End of Days" vibe, with everything going to pieces all around us. If you look at a lot of their advertisers, you'll quickly notice a common theme. They're trying to get your money. That and they tend to be geared more towards the survivalist type of consumer. You know the type, guys (and a few gals) with more guns and ammo than some small countries. They also normally have a bunker, which may be an actual bunker or a converted basement or tree-house, full of MRE's and canned food and water and they also seem to have a perpetual nervous twitch. These people also seem to tend towards the sovereign citizen brand of lunacy. I often see very large trucks with lift kits blowing past me on the highway with InfoWars stickers all over them, as well as people wearing their merchandise with slogans like "9-11 was an inside job!" If you hear about a crazy anti-government conspiracy, or that the world is about to collapse and the New World Order is going to take control, odds are, either InfoWars is covering it, or they started it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mercola</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This one is probably the grandaddy of the Alt Med sites. This one was started by Joseph Mercola, who is an osteopathic physician. He just happens to give advise on every other facet of health. His site tends to have articles that basically say "Don't listen to your doctor, listen to us instead!" All over the site you'll find ads for..wait for it....Dr. Joseph Mercolas health products. *<i>gasp</i>*. He sells a variety of supplements, vitamins, and books, all from his company. I know that it's his website and he can do whatever he damn well pleases, But at least he could try and make it look like he was supporting other Woo-mongers. This is just greedy. He also has an ad that claims his is the #1 health website in the world. I'm not going into that one too much. The internet and search rankings is a finicky mess as it is. He has a sitemap at the bottom with a section called "Special Info Sites" that cover all of the following delightful topics:</span><br />
<ul class="ftr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: rgb(22, 74, 120); border: 0px; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://aspartame.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Aspartame</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://cancer.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Cancer</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://fitness.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Fitness</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://fluoride.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Fluoride</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://fructose.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Fructose/Sugar</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://gmo.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">GMO</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://mercury.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Mercury</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://nutritionaltype.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Nutritional Typing</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://healthypets.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Pets</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://vaccines.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Vaccines</a></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; border: 0px; list-style: disc inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://vitamind.mercola.com/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background: transparent; color: white; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Vitamin D</a></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Voice-over: </b>No, I don't think these alt-med folks are trying to scare the shit out of people. These are just topics that are controversial and so people are looking for non-biased, informative and easy to understand data.</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">No, they're trying to scare people. Plain and simple. On top of that, they're trying to make a profit doing it. Some of these guys make me think of the Ferengi from Star Trek. The site is kind enough to let you know that every purchase helps to fund a variety of charities and organizations. Charitable giving, wow! Ok, so maybe he's not as bad as I thought. Let's see, what are the groups that are getting a cut of the money. They include:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Campaign for Mercury Free Dentistry</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">FluorideAlert.org</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">National Vaccine Information Center</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Institute for Responsible Technology</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rabies Challenge Fund </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">You get the general idea. The money from the sales of pseudoscience products are going to fund pseudoscience groups. What really makes me sick about a lot of the alt-med crowd is that they have a tendency to discourage their clients from continuing treatments from an actual M.D. and use whatever snake oil they're selling. This puts people in danger, both financially and physically. Financially because this shit isn't cheap, and you have to keep coming back for more (drug dealer business model) and physically because they aren't actually getting help. Sure, these websites will have anecdotes and testimonials from customers that they helped (the disease or problem either went away on its own, or wasn't there to begin with). The reason you rarely see any negative statements is because the dead don't have anecdotes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Natural News</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mike Adams, Health Ranger!, is the purveyor of the <b>B</b>eautiful <b>S</b>unshine that is Natural News. This one site has it all. Conspiracy theories, health claims, anti-government rhetoric, promotion of alt-med, phrases like Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Brother, and on and on and on. One such headline claimed "The Department of Homeland Security still Controls what you Read" (Ironic, if it's true). There aren't as many ads on here as I've seen on other pseudoscience sites, but there are a damn lot of articles that try and make science sound evil and corrupt, and yet promote themselves as the only truly scientific authority on a variety of topics, ranging from women's health to genetics, and from nutrition to pharmaceuticals. However, this site, like so many others of its ilk, is just trying to scare people into buying their particular flavor of Woo. Mike Adams, Health Ranger!, tends to be a bit more vocal and aggressive than most other supporters of alternative medicine and organic food. As some of you know, not too long ago, Mr. Adams, Health Ranger!, made a comment basically saying it would be fine if someone were to kill proponents of GMOs. Then suddenly, there was a website, putting a hit on various scientists and skeptics. He claimed to have nothing to do with it, but a bit of internet detective work traced the site back to the same computer he used to manage the Natural News site. To be honest, I'm not sure what has been done about this, or if anything can be done. What I do know is, if you piss off Mike Adams, Health Ranger!, you might end up on an actual list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are so many flamin' bullshit loaded sites that choosing only 4 was not easy. I could have used MUFON, CryptoMundo, BFRO, or any number of other sites. I basically decided on my top 4 based on fitting with the 4 horsemen theme, popularity, influence, lack of scientific reliability, and danger. So based on all of this, and the fact that she really pisses me off, I present to you the last of the 4 Horsepeople of Derp!</span><br />
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">Food Babe</b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(<i>Admit it, you knew this one was coming!</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Vani Hari is the Food Babe. Plain and simple. This woman lives the role. She famous for saying "If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it." Also, she has said that chemicals don't belong in food. Apparently, she doesn't realize that if you break anything down, at some point, it's all chemicals. That's basically what your body does. Her site has a lot of ads for her books (<i>she has more than 1, what the hell!</i>) and booklets, as well as a couple of ads for various supplements. It is basically her blog, which admittedly looks a hell of a lot better than mine. I'm not shy. She has a tendency to throw the word "toxin" around a lot. I don't know what toxin she's talking about. She never names it, just that it gets in your body. She is notorious for raising 9 kinds of hell about food additives that she thinks are bad for you, and bringing the full weight of the "Food Babe Army" (<i><span style="color: red;">which makes me want a "Skeptical Okie Army". I'm sure we'd be way cooler</span>.</i>) against any company and using public opinion to make them change their products, all because it scares her. At the top of her page, right below the picture of her holding a magnifying glass looking at a package of...something, she has a few selection for her readers. They include Investigations, Recipes, Travel, Eating Guides, and of course Shops. Her current front page has a recipe for raw coconut macaroons, This simple food can help Acne, Eczema, Digestive Issues and More! and 3 Things Doctors say You Should Do...But Shouldn't. Here again is that distrust of the medical field that seems to pop up in all these sites, except for InfoWars. I will bet you, if any of these yahoos were to break their arm (<b><i>I'm not saying it should happen, and I don't wish them any harm</i></b>), they would be at a hospital in no time asking for a doctor to help them. The Food Babe site is actually a lot cleaner and easier to navigate than a lot of the other pseudoscience pages I look at while doing research for the blog. It's not as cluttered with ads and links, and is pretty straight forward. However, it doesn't change the fact that she is pushing her own brand of B.S. on an unsuspecting public. Ms. Hari says that she researches her claims, and she might. But like most people, both believers and skeptics, she tends to let her bias get in the way. She doesn't want to listen to the other side of the issue, and if someone calls her out and backs up their claim with evidence, she seems to have a tendency to just pull the blog post instead of admitting she was in error. She probably isn't as dangerous as Mercola or Natural News, but due to her influence in main stream media, she does have a tendency to make relatively simple issues way more complicated and difficult than they need to be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">All of these sites, as well as the thousands of others, have a few things in common. They have merchandise they want to sell. They have something they want to say, though I don't know if they actually believe what they are saying or if they are just trying to make an easy buck. They have a very devoted, almost to the point of rabid, following. They all promote some form of junk science or misinformation in a form that makes it easier for large numbers of people to grab onto it and believe it; If you want to keep a bit ahead of what the next weeks conversation at work or when visiting relatives is going to be, take a look at these sites. Just be sure not to read too much at one time. You've seen the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, right? When everyones faces melt. I'm pretty sure that may happen if you spend too much time that far into the Woo side of life. I just thought that I would introduce you to a few of the promoters of the crap that gives critical thinkers and skeptics such headaches. So with that pleasant thought, I shall take my leave. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until next time, Be Good, Be Skeptical, and Be sure your phone is charged.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Skeptical Okie</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-65629151703146593582015-06-22T19:52:00.001-07:002016-01-25T07:57:28.277-08:00Mosquitoes....Natures syringes.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hello loyal readers. The Skeptical Okie seems to be back in business, at least for now. I've got a doozy this time, so lets jump right into it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmu_0zw9mIPDwMBULUX9IWsOwlmgvZUMops3AjrvHUMTTMKzn3E_Jjl_VjiMNn6ytGHeSkRYIEgyY9sHVQltyQ5E7X2MLx392dJCN5lsR0hyphenhyphenZrZISQ5DPVjOE0JjZWbGSLTKGtBs21rI/s1600/IMG_0318+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmu_0zw9mIPDwMBULUX9IWsOwlmgvZUMops3AjrvHUMTTMKzn3E_Jjl_VjiMNn6ytGHeSkRYIEgyY9sHVQltyQ5E7X2MLx392dJCN5lsR0hyphenhyphenZrZISQ5DPVjOE0JjZWbGSLTKGtBs21rI/s320/IMG_0318+%25281%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
This is the topic of the post. Recently at work, I met a very interesting , uh... gentleman? One aspect of my current employment is that I deal with people from every aspect of society. The intellectuals, the uneducated, the rich, the poor, the famous, and the unknown. We had a gentleman come in, and by some odd twist of the universe, I had to speak with him. Actually, there wasn't anything odd about it. He was either scaring or creeping out the other employees, so I got nominated to assist him. Due to the fact that there is a legal matter involved, I can't disclose much information about this person, except to say he was in his 70's, and on a fixed income. (These had no relevance to the case, but are actually fairly important to the reason I'm writing about him.) While I was trying to get all the pertinent information, this fellow began going on a rant about how he doesn't have to worry about any diseases. He said, and I quote, "I take 5 grams of pure vitamin C every day! I ain't got to worry about no damn disease!"<i> I am going to paraphrase the rest of his story, due to the fact he kept repeating himself, and his liberal use of the word fuck, as well as other various combinations of cuss words and racial slurs aimed at the Irish, Germans (which I am a good bit of both) and Hispanics. </i>Now, keep in mind that I am just trying to get his name, age, contact info, and the when, where, and how concerning his incident. He then told me that his doctor told him he had a condition (he tried several times to pronounce it and couldn't. I have no idea what his condition was supposed to be.) He didn't like his treatment option, which was a high level dose of antibiotics. He went to another doctor and got what this guy kept calling a "Super Shot". the doctor then told him to take pure vitamin C and it would cure him. He said he gets it in powdered form, and adds it to his morning orange juice. Something tickled my memory at this point, but I couldn't quite recall what it was. He emphasized that he took 5 grams of vitamin C everyday. I'm looking at him thinking "Why haven't your kidneys shut down yet?" I said that I believe the daily recommended dose is much, much less than that, and that doses that high could have some serious health problems later. I asked if he had spoken to his doctor about taking it, and he told me he had dumped him because he wouldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. Then he told me that he also doesn't have to worry about getting sick because of mosquitoes. I look at him and politely asked him "(What the fuck? was in my head but out loud I said) How does that work?" He informed me that mosquitoes are natures needles. They fly around and they bite someone that's sick. Then they bite someone else and give them just a little bit of the disease. From there, as he put it, "It's science". The person naturally builds up an immunity to whatever the disease is. I asked him what about Malaria, West Nile, Heartworms, Dengue, and Yellow Fever? These are all transmitted by mosquitoes. He then told me that, no, something else does this. What, he didn't know. The only disease that mosquitoes can spread is AIDS. AIDS isn't caused by people humping (his word), or blood, or kissing, it's the damn mosquitoes. I told him I really don't think the virus could live in a mosquito long enough to be transmitted, but he was adamant that it would. While he was saying this, I began sketching the lovely piece of art you see at the top of the page as a way to cope with the massive amount of Woo coming my way. I pressed him for the rest of his relevant info regarding his incident, showed him to the front of the building, and went back to finish my report. I can't understand how one person can know so much wrong. I've been stewing on this for a little bit, partly so I can research it, and also partly due to some legalities and protocols at my place of employment.<br />
<br />
So now I'll share what I've found. Starting with the bit about vitamin C, according to the Mayo Clinic, the recommended daily dose is 65-90 mg per day, with an upper limit of 2,000 mg. I've done the math, and 5 grams = 5000 mg. So he is basically taking 21/2 times the <i style="font-weight: bold;">upper</i> limit of vitamin C. Some of the symptoms of a mega dose like this are :<br />
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 2px 0px 15px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Diarrhea</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Nausea</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Vomiting</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Heartburn</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Abdominal bloating and cramps</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Headache</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Insomnia</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Kidney stones</li>
</ul>
(<i>You can find this info from the Mayo Clinic</i> <b><a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-c/faq-20058030" target="_blank">HERE</a>)</b><br />
The last couple of years, mega doses of various vitamins, especially C, have been the popular thing to be offered by a lot of the Alt Med crowd. The problem is, unless you have a nutritional deficicency due to an illness or a genetic condition, most Americans easily get all the vitamins they need in just their diet alone. No need for supplements. Increasing your daily intake of any vitamin rarely does you any good, your body will just get rid of the excess in your waste. So it is literally money down the toilet.<br />
<br />
The thing that tickled my mind about being familiar finally fell into place. Around the same time, there was a former doctor going around Oklahoma City offering what he called the Jesus Shot for $300 dollars, and former and current military got a discount. He claimed it would cure you from pain for the rest of your life. His description of the shot sounded similar to what other people had described, and I think he got swindled by the same quack.You can read a bit more about it from the Raw Story <b><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2014/03/oklahomas-dr-mike-allowed-to-continue-injecting-miraculous-jesus-shot-for-300-a-pop/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </b>There is also an article from one of our local news affiliates, News9, but I really didn't want to link to it. The comments on the article are very disheartening. Person after person either claiming that his treatments worked for them or someone that they know, or else they are begging, literally begging to know where he is now so they can get the "Jesus shot" to help manage their symptoms. It's pretty damn depressing.<br />
<b><br /></b>
Finally, about mosquitoes transmitting AIDS, Looking through PubMed, I didn't find anything saying that it could be transmitted by this route. From what I could find, outside of a few fringe sites, everyone pretty much agrees that you can not get AIDS from a mosquito. First off, the virus is incapable of reproducing in any arthropod (mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, etc). Secondly, The viability of the virus outside of a human host is extremely short. The virus would most likely die between feedings. You can read the abstract from the NCBI <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10554479" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
So, in conclusion, this guy was severely deluded or mislead, and possibly putting himself at great risk from trusting quacks and hearsay. This is one of the major reasons that the skeptic community and movement exist, to protect people from charlatans, misinformation, and misconceptions. Relying on Woo and pseudoscience can be costly ($300 a pop for a "miracle shot?) and dangerous (not going to real doctors). We need to pick our battles, yes, and I know that if someone is a true believer in some form of pseudoscience, you are not going to change their mind. But I will still attempt to at least give these people some additional information to hopefully get them looking at a more science based approach to their problems.<br />
<br />
So until next time, Be Good, Be Skeptical, and be sure to tip your waiter.<br />
<br />
The Skeptical Okie.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-90371055291369205622015-06-10T14:57:00.002-07:002016-01-25T07:52:27.860-08:00Baby Quackery!<br />
Greetings everyone, I'm back!!!!<br />
<br />
I know it's been a while since I've written anything on here. There are so many things I want to write about that I tend to stress myself out trying to figure out how to approach it, as well as by the time I can get around to it, most of the skeptical and science podcasts and writers have already covered it, so I think "What other information could I possibly add? I'm just a skeptic with a little, poorly written and opinionated blog in Oklahoma." Due to recent developments, as well as a request from my wife, my muse has finally returned. (I hate it when they go AWOL). Something anyone that is expecting a child will notice is all the odd advice and products aimed towards new parents. There are a ton of different things out there, so I won't cover them all. I'm just going to look at a few that have caught my attention recently.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Homeopathic Teething Medicine</b><br />
Recently it was brought to my attention that Orajel is now offering a homeopathic version of their teething gel, with the added label of "Belladonna Free". The name of this product line is Orajel Naturals. The reason for this is because in 2010, Hyland's, a very popular manufacturer of homeopathic baby medication, had a recall of their teething tablets due to"<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">FDA notified consumers that Hyland’s Teething Tablets is being recalled because the tablets may pose a risk to children. The tablets are manufactured to contain a small amount of belladonna, a substance that can cause serious harm at larger doses. For such a product, it is important that the amount of belladonna be carefully controlled. FDA laboratory analysis has found that Hyland’s Teething Tablets contain inconsistent amounts of belladonna.</span> " (<b>From the FDA website. The entire article is<span style="color: red;"> </span></b><a href="http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm230764.htm" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>) This is actually rather ironic in that a homeopathic medicine actually had a detectable amount of a substance in it, other than sugar and water. For those that don't know, belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade, is a poisonous plant that, to be honest, can have medicinal effects in the proper dosages. If the dose is wrong, however, it is extremely toxic, with symptoms including, according to Wikipedia: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mydriasis" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Mydriasis">dilated</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupil" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Pupil">pupils</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, sensitivity to light, blurred </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_perception" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Visual perception">vision</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachycardia" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Tachycardia">tachycardia</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, loss of </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_of_balance" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Sense of balance">balance</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, staggering, headache, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rash" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Rash">rash</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_retention" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Urinary retention">urinary retention</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constipation" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Constipation">constipation</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_confusion" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Mental confusion">confusion</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucination" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Hallucination">hallucinations</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, delirium, and convulsions. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> </span>Death is also a possibility, with a sufficient amount. Of course, the dose makes the poison, and generally, in homeopathic medicine, there are no active ingredients in the final product. (For more information on homeopathy, see my post <a href="http://oklahomaskepticssociety.blogspot.com/2013/06/homeopathy-for-beginning-skeptic.html">here</a>). I have personally had an issue with Hyland's for years because of the homeopathic baby medicine, and now Orajel, which has always had a pretty good product, is jumping on the homeopathy bandwagon.<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> I imagine that if a person were inclined to contact them and ask why are they selling these alt med products, they would probably give the standard line of "People want it". I'm really getting tired of hearing that bullshit line. You know what? People want tanks. People want to set things on fire. People want to do lots of shit that really isn't good for them. We don't, as a society, let them do this things. Why should companies be able to sell products that don't work and just say "</span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">people</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> want it"? I know a few of the readers out there are saying "What about X </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">pharmaceutical</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> company?" With the big companies that actually make real medicine (and yes, I know a lot of them have gotten into the homeopathic and naturopathic products) have years of testing and re-testing before a product gets to market. Yes, there are occasionally bad batches, or </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">unforeseen</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> side effects, but as a whole, they are fairly dependable, and actually do something, other than draining your wallet. A major issue with homeopathic medicines is that there is very little regulation or oversight. The fact that this isn't even close to the first time that actual medicine (or in this case, poison) has turned up in homeopathic medicines should demonstrate the lack of controls. So, to all the new or expecting parents out there (and I know you guys are getting tired of everyone throwing advise at you) stick with the real Orajel or similar products when junior starts teething. Just be careful and use it only when it's absolutely needed.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">I'm going to try and keep it short (if you have a new baby you may not have gotten this far) and only discuss one other topic that I see a lot, and to be honest, pisses me off. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><b>RANT WARNING</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><b>Baby Chiropractic</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Don't. Just fucking don't do it. There is absolutely no reason that a baby or toddler should ever be taken to a chiropractor. (which I plan on doing a stand alone post on soon) Your childs </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">reoccurring</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> ear infections, colic, autism (yes, some do claim to treat autism) or other childhood issues will not be mended by fixing the subluxations in the spine. What can happen is permanent damage to the spine or neck, strokes, or death. As I've said in the past, </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">chiropractors</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> may be able to help with some back pain, but not much else. To top it off, a respectable chiropractor won't touch a baby due to the extreme risk of </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">permanent</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> injuries. There are, of course, chiropractors that </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">claim</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> they specialize in treating children. They always seem to have a ton of clients, and lots of great </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">recommendations that they successfully treated this problem or that. If you want to read some truly horrible stories, just Google the following: Child, Chiropractor, and Injury. There are constantly stories cropping up of children being crippled or worse because a treatment by a chiropractor went wrong. Chiropractic is rarely an answer to an adults problems, and never to a childs problems.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">I'm just going to say Be good, Be Skeptical, and Be sure to rotate your tires.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #252525;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #252525;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">The Skeptical Okie</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-90609626036871265062015-01-27T11:31:00.000-08:002016-01-25T07:50:50.935-08:00Why the skeptical community is important.Hey folks, I know it's been a while, but I'm back, at least for now. There's been a subject that I've heard come up occasionally in various conversations that I've been trying to put words to for a while. The topic basically breaks down to "Why do we even need a skeptical community?" It's been brought up in blog posts, podcasts, and even in casual conversation, so I thought I'd give my opinion on the matter.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On episodes 3 and 4 of "The Blue Ball Skeptics" for example, Damion and Chas spoke to Matt and Sharon Madison, a couple that have been involved in skepticism for quite a while (before the founding of the JREF or CFI). They seem to feel that there isn't really a need for a skeptical community, and during the course of their interview, they state the reasons they feel that way. (To hear the entire interview click <a href="http://blueballskeptics.com/2014/08/04/blue-ball-skeptics-episodes-3-4/" target="_blank">this link</a>). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One of their main concerns deals with a "Cult of Personality" forming around a few key members in the movement (Randi, Shermer, Harris, etc), and dividing the community into various camps for or against various people. I actually agree with them on this fact. We've seen this happen with Rebecca Watson, Michael Shermer, and various other "Skeptical Leaders", for lack of a better term. They become popular in not only the skeptical communities, but also noticed by the various religious and pseudoscience groups, and even main stream media. These people have some very vocal opponents, so any indiscretion is quickly jumped on. By the same token, you have the proponents of these personalities that will verbally rip you to shreds if they think you've written anything disparaging about their favorite skeptic. All I'm going to say on this matter is that skeptics are only human, and we screw up from time to time. I'm not excusing any alleged behaviors, nor am I placing any blame. I do not know any of the major players in our community personally, nor do I have all the information to make an informed opinion one way or the other. I'm simply saying don't elevate someone above reproach, nor reprimand another for speaking their mind, without making sure you know all the details first. Even our heroes should be approached with a skeptical mindset. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another issue that they have is the term "skeptical movement", which they state, and I also agree, sounds like a politically driven group. However, I don't have a problem with skeptics being involved in policy making. We have as much right as any other group of people to have a say in the rules under which we live. Religious organizations, alternative medicine, and other such special interest groups have some very powerful lobbyists working for them to push their agendas to the politicians, so why shouldn't we? At least we have research, critical and rational thought, and science backing our claims, versus their wishful thinking and 2000 year old books. Unfortunately, we don't have the same level of financial backing that they do.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Back to the main point of my post, "Why do we need a skeptical community?" I know that people that are much better writers than I am have written on this topic, but I feel the need to add my 2 cents on the matter. I feel that we need a skeptical community, and a skeptical movement, to help show people that they aren't alone. Growing up in the middle of Oklahoma, where you can see a homeopath next door to a psychic, and both go to the same church across the street, you tend to feel very lonely, and slightly frightened if you would rather trust science than have faith. When looking for others that share your views, you sometimes have to be very careful how you phrase things, especially if you live in a rural area. A skeptical community helps people find others that share common interests and ideas, without the constant fear of being isolated from society. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone that's been through, or is going through, the same things you are. A skeptical community or movement can also show a unified front when dealing with some of the bull that is currently being proposed in the various states legislatures. Normally, there may be a few random people writing to senators or congresspeople to complain about a certain bill, These are usually sent a pacifying form letter and promptly forgotten. However, if there is a group of people that write in expressing similar concerns, politicians will usually take notice. Awareness of the issue may be all that's accomplished, but it's a start, and this is much more easily achieved as part of a group than as a solitary person. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another reason for a skeptical community is the sharing of information. Yes, the internet, journals, and books are great sources, but sometimes just being able to talk to someone that knows information that you don't is the best way to learn it. This allows for the quick and instant exchange of ideas and information that message boards, blog posts, magazine articles, or Youtube videos just can't duplicate.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The community doesn't have to have a strict hierarchy, it can just be a loose association of people with a few common interests that sometimes get together to talk about various topics while enjoying a variety of beverages. A loose organizational structure can possibly prevent, or at least slow down, the development of the "Cult of Personality" that seems to have risen in the larger, more organized groups.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I personally feel that the skeptical community is a valuable part of society, and as time goes on, it will become more important and more influential. It also has a bit of an advantage over many other types of communities in that we aren't as driven for fame or recognition as other groups. If we were, more skeptical bloggers would be using their real names and flashier headline grabbing posts. Yes, fame and/or recognition is great, but from what I've seen, most skeptics do what they do out of a genuine love of humanity.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Until next time, be good, be skeptical, and be sure to finish your brussel sprouts.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Skeptical Okie</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-16903717389584047622014-08-12T14:28:00.000-07:002016-01-25T07:48:57.595-08:00Creation of a skepticNo intro today, figured I'd just jump right into my little rant/opinion piece, but as a warning, it is fairly link heavy. What I want to talk about today is the creation of a skeptic. This one basically comes from my appearance on the<a href="http://blueballskeptics.com/2014/08/29/blue-ball-skeptics-episodes-6-7/" target="_blank"> BlueBalls Skeptics</a>, hosted by Damion and Chas. I'm just going to lightly touch on some of the topics as I've either already written about them, or I'm in the process of writing a stand alone article on them. And yes, this entire article is anecdotal and from personal experience. <br />
<br />
I grew up in a fairly religious family. My parents are a mix of Methodist and Baptist, which are possibly the 2 most popular sects of christianity in Oklahoma. The small town in Arizona I spent the first 10 years of my life was evenly divided between Catholic and Mormon beliefs. We prayed in school before first hour began and we prayed before lunch. It was officially called a minute of silence, but the teacher normally led the class in a prayer. Keep in mind this was a public school in the early 80's, so it wasn't actually that unusual. I went to summer bible school every year, when I wasn't spending the remainder of the summer with grandparents in another state. I went along with everything I was told, like most kids that age. Santa Claus was the deal breaker. I remember looking at a globe in the school library wondering how big the planet was. I've always wanted to know everything, and have been intensely curious about how things worked. I asked the librarian how big Earth was. She very kindly told me it was huge. (Lot of help there, but then again, I was 5 or 6) I looked at the globe and realized there was no way 1 man could get around the whole thing and give a gift to every kid. I realized my parents had lied to me about him, and probably the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Christopher Columbus.(<i>Ok, they got one partially right</i>) I quickly became the most hated kid in class because I had to tell everyone what I'd figured out. Needless to say. it was safer to stay in class at recess than go out to the playground for a while. <br />
<br />
When I was a bit older, I began reading encyclopedias from beginning to end. (This is before the internet, in the early to mid 80's) I really don't know why I did it, except I wanted to learn everything I could about everything, and as I said, it was safer for me to stay in the classroom during recess. I would tell my classmates about what I'd read, and they'd walk off talking about whatever sport was being played at the time. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed sports. I played football, baseball, soccer, basketball, and I was on the wrestling team. I was just more interested in knowledge, which is why I probably sucked at sports. It is also around this time I began paying attention to the things that adults said. When we studied the moon landing, and I told my parents about it, my dad said it was a hoax, and he could prove it. He showed me pictures of Armstrong on the moon and asked me "If he's the first man on the moon, who took the picture?" (<i>Never mind that there were other people on the mission</i>) He also showed me how the shadows were wrong, the lighting was strange, and some oddities in the pictures that he said were from them actually being done on a movie set. He was an amateur photographer, so I thought his explanation was reasonable. He also said that the astronauts couldn't survive the radiation out in space. When we learned about the Kennedy assassination, he simply said there was more than 1 shooter. I have an idea of what he did during his deployment to Vietnam during the war, so I thought he must know what he's talking about. Again, as I got older, his ideas got stranger. He talked for a while about the New World Order, the Knights Templar, and the Free Masons. Once I went to college, and had access to better research material, as well as that new fangled internet, I looked into his claims. That is when I went down the dark path for a while. I began to find a lot of information that normally began with "What they don't want you to know!" in an enormous font with flashy lettering. I believed it all. Then, somehow, I was able to drag myself out when I realized all these conflicting ideas couldn't all be true. I began to actually look into the details. I learned that the astronauts had placed reflectors on the surface of the moon, and you can shine a laser at them and the light will bounce back. They also brought back samples from the moon. Neither are things that can be done on a soundstage. I've seen reconstructions and forensic analysis of the Kennedy assassination that show a single shooter could have done it. I decided that if I want to know something, or find out the truth, I either need to do the research myself, or find an expert in the field and talk to them about it. <br />
<br />
As a child, I was also exposed to water dowsing, cryptids, faith healing,and wearing either magnetic or copper bracelets for pain relief, as well as herbal, all natural, or native treatments. My mother, who always took great pride in stating that her grandmother was "a half-breed" (1/2 caucasian, 1/2 native american), would try anything she heard that native peoples used for medicine. If it worked, she would say it was because natural cures work better than modern medicine. If it didn't, the patient must have done something wrong. Looking back now, when the "cure" would work, it was more than likely either due to the placebo effect, or the natural course of an illness. I was a rather rough and tumble kid, so I had my share of broken bones (left arm twice, right arm once, right leg once, right collar bone once, various fingers and toes, fractured skull once, the nose and ribs too many times to count), and she would actually try to heal them by the laying of hands. Sometimes she claimed the spirit of god would help her heal me, other times she would also claim she could do it because she was Native American. Of course, we'd end up driving to the nearest doctor to get the bones reset and either splinted or put in a cast. She would also try this when I got a severe sunburn, which happens a lot when you haul hay for a summer job. She would claim to be drawing the pain out of me into herself. After a few minutes of being very uncomfortable, I would look at her smile, and lie my head off, telling her I felt great. As soon as I could get away, I would slather on the aloe vera gel to ease my misery, as well as raid the liquor cabinet and for the next couple of weeks, no one in the family would see me without a shirt on. Both of my parents wore copper bracelets to help with their various aches and pains, and as much as I hate to admit it, I did too. I never personally noticed any kind of improvement, but I thought it looked nice. In the late 90's, they'd moved on to magnetic bracelets to help with circulation and other problems. By this time, I'd already looking into things in a more proper, scientific manner, so I've never worn one, though I have been given several of the things. They don't look as nice as the old copper bracelets, though.<br />
<br />
My grandfather was the one that initially exposed me to dowsing. For those that don't know, this is an old practice where you take either brass or wooden rods and use them to locate metals, oil, or water. Grandpa would take me out when he was hired by his neighbors to help them locate water so they could put in a new well. He would walk around with a forked willow stick, and when the tip would suddenly drop down, that's where he would tell them to dig. In high school, I learned that much of Oklahoma sits on top of a major aquifer, and if you dig down about 65-70 feet, you're more than likely to hit water) I later learned about the idiomotor effect, which is basically an uncontrolled muscle movement. I will admit that I have witched water wells for people, mostly to help earn some money to pay the bills. After college, and learning about the idiomotor effect, I have quit doing it, even though on rare occasion, I still have people ask me if I would come out and dowse for water. At $200 a pop, it can be pretty tempting. He's also the one that initially told me about Bigfoot and other local monster stories, which I initially took as the truth. Later, as I looked more into these, I realized the improbability of creatures like this existing. <br />
<br />
As I've talked about previously, my wife is the one that introduced me to the larger skeptical community. It started with podcasts like the Skeptics Guide to the Universe and Skeptoid, and later on the Geologic Podcast, Herd Mentality, and a lot of history and science podcasts. I also began reading skeptical and science blogs and articles. I then began this blog, and began looking for skeptical groups in Oklahoma.<br />
<br />
In 39 years, I've gone from a gullible child, to a full blown conspiracy theory believer, to carefully walking the very fine line between being a cynic and being a critical thinker. It hasn't been an easy journey, and I'm no where near the end (I hope), but it has definitely been worth it.<br />
<br />
Until next time, just take it easy, and have fun, but always be skeptical.<br />
<br />
The Skeptical Okie.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-31151704713007641512014-07-30T16:16:00.000-07:002016-01-25T07:43:32.290-08:00Now taking requests. Please comment.I'm still around folks, just trying to make a living, so unfortunately, the blog had to be put on the backburner for a bit. I do have a question for anyone that is still reading this. What topics are <b>YOU</b> interested in? Cryptozoology, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, urban legends, mythology, or something I've missed? Let me know and I'll start researching and writing. I've got so many ideas that they are just jumbling up and I don't know where to start, so I'm asking for your help. Let me know what areas you're interested in, and I'll start covering them. Thanks, and until next time, be good, be skeptical, and be rational.<br />
<br />
Skeptical Okie<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617874732276424275.post-37312135356504496782014-07-08T15:06:00.000-07:002016-01-25T07:42:09.440-08:00Cured by vibrating jewelry?Hey folks, how have you been. Yes, I'm still alive, just been very busy with work, and family. The list of things I want to talk about has grown to the point I'm having to cull a few items because everyone else has already covered them pretty thoroughly. I do have a topic today that falls under the banner of <span style="color: red;">Project Bullshit!</span> What I want to talk about today are the:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Tuning Element Bracelets </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">TM</span><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span>(dun dun dunnnnn). (The story is a bit long, so if you want, skip down to the claims and background.)<br />
<br />
During a local county fair, I saw this booth displaying a lot of bracelets. It had a very nice background, a pretty display case, and was manned by an elderly couple. I saw this booth for 3 days straight. (I'm not a fair junkie, I was helping my wife with her civic group booth.) By the last day of the fair, I had probably seen 50-75 people talk to these folks, and at least half of them bought things. I went over there and took one of their brochures and looked it over. (I'll go into the details of the pamphlet later) The older gentleman saw me walking around and actually called me over to him. Curious as always, I went to see what he was about. He looked me in the eye and asked if I occasionally have pain in my knees, mainly my left. I answered honestly and told him yes I do. In my head, I was thinking, "Great, he's going to cold read me. This could be fun." Full disclosure, about 2 years ago, I broke my kneecap and femur in a bovine related accident (not like that!), and I've had problems and pain since then with my left knee, including a mild to severe limp. I had been helping my wife with her booth, which was next to the "healing bracelets" booth, for the last 3 days, and my looks are a bit distinctive, so the people had plenty of opportunities to witness me limping around. The fellow that ran the booth sat me down in a surprisingly comfortable chair and began his sales pitch. He told me that both he and his wife suffered from arthritis pain for years until they discovered these bracelets. They were so impressed with them that they became salespeople for the company. I had noticed the woman wearing one, and I realized while talking to him that his watchband was actually one of these bracelets. (I'm not going to include any images because the manufacturer wouldn't give me permission by the time I published this.) These bracelets are "vibrationally harmonized with the Earth" to help with healing. When I asked him what the rate of vibration was, he looked at me and informed me that he wasn't completely sure (honesty right off the bat? Wow!) and even if he knew, it was proprietary information. I did try to find out what the Earths frequency is supposed to be, and most of what I was able to find comes from New Age sites, so they were full of word salad, so as of right now, I just have to saw I don't know. While I was sitting there and this purveyor of Woo was giving me anecdotes and testimonials, he had his wife open the case, pull out a rather attractive black metal bracelet, and he set it right above my knee. He informed me it would take about 10 minutes to begin to take effect. I was fine with this because, as I said, I'm a curious person, so we started talking about the properties of the bracelets. During this conversation, I noticed almost immediately that he was trying to get medical history from me by making statements like <b>"Most people with knee problems have hip and back problems too</b>." and "<b>A lot of guys your age get muscle pain</b>." I'm familiar enough with these tactics that I went along with them to see what he would do. And wouldn't you know it, he basically took the info I gave him and fed it back to me, saying this "scientifically balanced" bracelet could help with my problems. He also mentioned it could help with cancer, but because of the "damned" FDA, they can't actually say it will cure anything. (I'll discuss the actual claims in a bit.) I asked how the bracelets were harmonized with the Earth, how they stayed in this state, as well as asking if there was any documented evidence of efficacy. He informed me, once again that the entire process was proprietary, and the only evidence he could offer was more testimonials. I asked him what they were made from and he told me they were stainless steel. the ones that aren't silver are plated in other metals. I then asked about the prices. The cheap ones, the plain silver ones with no adornments cost about $75. The more elaborate ones, with the different coatings and laser engraved images, cost up to $300. I think I just blinked at him when he casually gave me the prices. About this time, he seemed to feel that the sales pitch wasn't working, so he went the friendly route. He began asking me about what I do for a living, if I have a wife and children, if I have any hobbies, etc. I told him I do animal control, as well as farm work for a living. Yes, I have a wife and child, at which point he asked me if she worked. I said yes, she's a bio-chemical researcher. The look on his face at this statement was odd enough, I had a hard time not laughing. He then asked me about my hobbies. I said reading, writing a blog, outdoor activities, and I'm part of a skeptical group. As soon as I said this, the 10 minutes suddenly finished. (It was actually closer to 20) He removed the bracelet and asked if I had any pain. I told him honestly no at that moment. He then had me stand up. Upon doing so, my knee popped loudly enough to be heard from several feet away ( a normal occurrence if I've been sitting or standing for a while.) He told me that sometimes it takes a while for the effect to be noticeable, and I should go ahead and buy one. I told him I'd have to talk to my wife first, and I left thinking I need to write about this.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Claims:</b></span><br />
<br />
The overall claim of this particular type of product is that can help "bring our body back to it's natural frequency" The manufacturer states that electromagnetic radiation disrupts our bodies natural frequency, which in turn pulls the protons in our cells out of their natural alignment and causes cellular dysfunction. (Waiter, I'll have the word salad with the house dressing, thank you.) The brochure says that the bracelet will realign the protons so they spin or resonate in harmony. It also claims that our "electronic technology" (and I have no idea why they have that in quotation marks) has hidden "pollutants" (More quotation marks) and our bodies absorb these. Care to guess the pollutants that the maker of these bracelets is concerned about? EMF's(Electrical magnetic fields) and ELF's (Extremely low frequencies). According to the brochure, these are emitted from different tech, and when the body gets hit by these waves, to paraphrase them,it just completely fu!&s us up. The top of the paper has the words Got Pain? in 21/2 inch letters, with the following conditions:<br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Arthtitis </li>
<li>Carpal Tunnel</li>
<li>Muscular Pain</li>
<li>Stress</li>
<li>Hip Pain</li>
<li>Knee Pain</li>
<li>Back Pain</li>
<li>Insomnia</li>
<li>Colds/Sickness</li>
<li>ADD/ADHD</li>
<li>Joint Pain</li>
<li>And many More</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Under this, it has Need help with? followed by:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Quality of Sleep</li>
<li>Range of Motion</li>
<li>Better Athletic Abilities</li>
<li>Balance</li>
<li>Flexibility</li>
<li>Less Snoring</li>
<li>Coordination</li>
<li>Better Golf Average</li>
<li>Faster Recovery Time</li>
<li>Strength</li>
<li>Energy</li>
<li>And Much More</li>
</ul>
<br />
And of course at the bottom, it has the usual disclaimers about going to your doctor for health issues, this product has not been evaluated by the FDA, and results may vary. As someone with knee pain and ADHD, if one product could take care of these, I would be overjoyed. The problem is, to quote the Sawbones podcast, "If it sounds like a cure-all, it cures nothing". A lot of the various pains that they list have to do with joints or muscular damage, while balance is controlled by the inner ear, and ADHD is a neurological issue. No single thing can treat three very different systems.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How it works:</b></span><br />
This product is supposed to work based on the principles of harmonic balance. According to their website,(and no, I'm not going to link to them) these ideas were created by <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Georges Lakhovsky and </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">W.O Schumann. Lakhovsky created a machine called the Multi Wave Oscillator in the 30's and Schumann is know for Schumann Frequencies. Both of these men's ideas are popular in alternative medicine as a means to treat people of various problems. They both have too much history to go into here. The companies description of what their product does is overly vague and almost magical sounding. The problems it is supposed to treat, as well as their supposed initial causes are extremely </span>similar<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to the </span></span> T-28 3G/4G Whole House Protection device I wrote about a while back. It's supposed to protect you from EMF's and ELF's, which in turn are supposed to slowly damage every part of your body at the cellular level. Every description of how this item works is so vague I can't tell if they are talking about a bracelet or pasta salad. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's supposed to work by magic and wishful thinking. And your money.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Problems:</b></span><br />
The main problem with this product, much like the infamous Power Band and the T-28 3G/4G Whole House Protection device, is that they just <b style="color: red;">DO NOT WORK!</b> No one item can have a beneficial effect on every system (skeletal, nervous, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, etc.) at once. If you look at actual medication, or medical therapies, while they have a beneficial effect on the given system that they treat, if you look at the possible side effects, they normally effect other systems that have a direct effect on each other.. Wearing something on your wrist will not have a effect on ADHD, unless it's shiny and can actually help you keep your focus. The same product won't help with a cold and give you a better golf average. Another problem is how the hell do they know what frequency the human body is supposed to have, and who determined what is in harmony with the planet? Do things in nature have the same frequencies? Does pumice vibrate at the same rate as uranium, and does that vibrate at the same rate as wood? <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span><br />
Do I really need to say it? Okay, you asked for it, so I'm duty bound to do it. This bracelet, while it actually is good looking, and I wouldn't mind wearing one for aesthetic reasons, it doesn't treat anything except for a heavy wallet or purse. A piece of metal on any part of your body, unless it's a brace for a joint or back, won't treat a single medical issue, let alone everything under the sun. When you consider that in 3 days I saw 30-40 people buying these at a minimum of $75 each, and I found very similar looking items at Wal Mart for $10 the next day, someone made out like a bandit. Granted, I don't know the companies business model, and I'm not 100% positive what the markup is on these, but it's probably still a good chunk of money. <br />
<br />
Until next time, Be Good, Be Skeptical, and Be sure you turned the stove off before you leave.<br />
<br />
The Skeptical Okie</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.cafepress.com/OklahomaSkepticsSociety</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583301116123219760noreply@blogger.com2