Mar 22, 2009
Skepticism is generally a healthy thing. Requiring evidence and
questioning other people's claims can help us avoid falling prey to
quacks and con artists of all stripes. It can keep us from throwing
our time, money and hope into a pit from which we can never get it
back. However, the tools of skepticism, like any other tools, can
be misused. They can be selectively and inappropriately applied to
create doubt even where almost no doubt remains. This tactic is
referred to as bogus skepticism, or denialism. It's used frequently
in discussion of politically charged topics, such as man-made
global warming and the very existence of the Holocaust. PalMD is an
internist (a doctor of internal medicine) who has blogged
extensively about medical denialism at White Coat Underground,
Science-Based Medicine and previously at denialism blog. He also
hosts a podcast (or PalCast) in which he talks about many of the
same issues. The contentious topics he's covered include the
dangers of secondhand smoke, claims of a vaccine-autism link,
"alternative" medicine and diagnoses of diseases without any
physiological basis. He'll talk with us about the difference
between skepticism and denialism and how to spot a
denialist.