The Secretary of Health and Human Services recently baselessly claimed that steroids, antibiotics, and cod liver oil yielded “very good results" with measles.
No problem… It’s a big pet peeve of mine because I believe pseudoscience can be dangerous at a societal level.
I used to equate those two words as well before I learned the difference. Given how many people seem to have done the same, they probably conflated them intentionally to muddy the waters.
This reminds me I need to go back and finish Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World because he masterfully eviscerates pseudoscience in it.
I also loved how Philipp Dettmer tactfully addressed the Hygiene Hypothesis in Immune, which I believe everyone in the general population should read. It was profoundly eye-opening to learn about the principle mechanisms by which the immune system so delicately does its thing on the daily. It’s almost beyond my comprehension to appreciate how such an intricate and balanced dance performed by incomprehensible numbers of players can occur with only Brownian motion as the motivating driver (and, you know, many millions of years of fine-tuning through a relentless microbiological arms race for resources).
Gut by Enders and her explanation of the colon’s microbial constituents is another wonderful introduction for the lay person that really could supplant silly-ass homeopathy with something that is actually happening and no less amazing than the otherwise absurd concept of “molecular memory” or an alternative bond angle in water molecules.
Good points. Thanks for the education and setting me straight! I love civil discourse :)
No problem… It’s a big pet peeve of mine because I believe pseudoscience can be dangerous at a societal level.
I used to equate those two words as well before I learned the difference. Given how many people seem to have done the same, they probably conflated them intentionally to muddy the waters.
This reminds me I need to go back and finish Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World because he masterfully eviscerates pseudoscience in it.
I also loved how Philipp Dettmer tactfully addressed the Hygiene Hypothesis in Immune, which I believe everyone in the general population should read. It was profoundly eye-opening to learn about the principle mechanisms by which the immune system so delicately does its thing on the daily. It’s almost beyond my comprehension to appreciate how such an intricate and balanced dance performed by incomprehensible numbers of players can occur with only Brownian motion as the motivating driver (and, you know, many millions of years of fine-tuning through a relentless microbiological arms race for resources).
Gut by Enders and her explanation of the colon’s microbial constituents is another wonderful introduction for the lay person that really could supplant silly-ass homeopathy with something that is actually happening and no less amazing than the otherwise absurd concept of “molecular memory” or an alternative bond angle in water molecules.