The Secretary of Health and Human Services recently baselessly claimed that steroids, antibiotics, and cod liver oil yielded “very good results" with measles.
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.
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.
I LOVE The Demon-Haunted World.
I think it should be required reading for every adult on the planet.
And yeah, I’m constantly amazed that the human body even functions at all, let alone non-stop for 75 years or whatever. It’s actually insane.