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Pseudoscience, common sense, and the problem of scale

Scientists are increasingly frustrated by laypeople’s willingness to embrace pseudoscience. In an age of extraordinary technical achievement, the persistence of nonsense beliefs like creationism, vaccine rejection, and homeopathy is difficult to fathom. But Scott Lilienfeld, a psychology professor at Emory University, argues that we should be anything but surprised. Explaining Why Scientists Shouldn’t Be Surprised […]

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Pseudo-knowledge

Alternative health advocates, regardless of their specific beliefs, are all supremely confident about one thing. Whether they are vaccine rejectionists, natural childbirth advocates or aficionados of vitamins and supplements, they are absolutely sure that they are more “educated” than the rest of us. They are not “sheeple” who blindly follow whatever advice their doctor offers; […]

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Choosing mothering vs. mothering choices

Since the subtext of the natural childbirth and attachment parenting movements is the notion of the good mother, it’s worth asking what makes a good mother. My whole approach to writing about childbirth and mothering choices is based my rejection of currently popular beliefs about good mothering. Simply put, I believe that good mothering is […]

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Orgasmic birth and other fairy tales

With apologies to Hans Christian Andersen: Early in this century there lived a Mother who was so exceedingly fond of feeling superior to other mothers that she was constantly searching for ways to distinguish herself from them. She claimed to be the best, most natural, most authentic mother in the world. She took no interest […]

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I am so not judging you

How many times have we heard this? A lactivist, birth activist, attachment parenting proponent who insists: Honestly, I don’t understand why other mothers think that I am judging them. If they want to raise their children by doing whatever is easiest for them instead of what’s best for their babies, that’s their decision and I […]

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How many homebirth advocates does it take to change a light bulb?

Ten: One to teach the course “Empower yourself by changing your own light bulb.” One to whisper affirmations encouraging the light bulb to be in the correct position. One to photograph the event. One to twitter the event live. One to fill the fishy pool. (Note: professional electricians claim that standing in water while changing […]

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The body is not a perfectly designed machine

There a new branch of medicine that is providing startling insights into health and disease. It’s called evolutionary medicine and, simply put, it means analyzing health and disease from an evolutionary perspective. Central to “natural” childbirth advocacy, and, indeed, most forms of “alternative” health is the notion that the human body has been “designed” for […]

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Toxicophobia, fear of poisoning

Believers in pseudoscience appear to suffer from a free floating fear. What unites vaccine rejectionsists, organic food devotees, and consumers of “alternative” health? They are united by a pervasive fear of being poisoned. And not poisoned accidentally, either. They are united by a fear of being poisoned surreptitiously, deliberately, and as part of a giant […]

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When did B movie starlets become medical experts?

I’m dismayed to discover that I apparently wasted 8 years in medical training. Four years of medical school and four years of residency were over-kill (pardon the expression). It seems that in 2009 the most important requirement for a medical authority is to be a former B movie starlet. That’s right. Ricki Lake is evidently […]

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Big Placebo says Medicine never cures anything

Kudos to Lindsay Beyerstein of Majikthise for coining a new phrase “Big Placebo.” Big Placebo is the alternative health counterpart to Big Pharma. Both are special interest groups designed to promote their products, whether they are worthy of promotion or not. There is one big difference between them: Big Pharma makes products that usually work […]

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