10. Astrology
For thousands of years people have been trying to predict the future by the position of the planets relative to the stars. Unfortunately, the stars have moved since all of astrology was made up (a process known as the precession of the equinox), and astrology has failed to account for differences between twins.
9. Reiki or therapeutic touch
The idea of energy fields and other various auras that can be manipulated by touching or through stones has also been around for thousands of years. Still showing no scientific evidence, or theoretical backing, these techniques are readily dismissed by skeptics.
8. Numerology
There are still people today who believe that certain numbers have meaning beyond their mathematical sense. As an example, by converting letters to numeric values and summing the digits, certain insights are supposedly gained into the under meaning of the passage.
7. Divination
There are still many people who think that they have the ability to find water underground with sticks.
6. Psychic powers
Widespread in the media and populous today is the idea that the mind is capable to influence the world outside the physical body (without using your body). There is a fair amount of research on this topic, either failing to show any evidence, or of a very low a calibre.
5. Global Warming Denialism
With a consensus from the IPCC and news articles almost daily about the effects of global climate change on our environment, it is a wonder how anyone can doubt the link between man made carbon dioxide emissions and the rising global temperature. Action must be taken sooner than later.
4. Alternative Medicines
Best defined as treatments that have either failed or not had rigorous scientific testing, many people consider these a viable alternative to tested pharmaceutical drugs. Often claimed as an underdog against “Big Pharma,” some estimate the alt med industry to be over $4 billion.
3. AIDS Denialism
A growing trend today is to claim that AIDS isn’t caused by HIV, despite the vast available literature. Some even go as far as to deny the existence of HIV.
2. Vaccines cause autism
Another growing movement is the “Green my vaccine” movement that claims mercury in vaccines causes autisms and claims that vaccines are overused lately. This movement is supported by Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy. Unfortunately these lies have spread fast via the internet and endanger the future health of many people.
1. Creationism / ID
Well known to the Edger audience, creationism exists in many forms today. From the 6000 year old earth bible believing creationists to the evolution denying intelligent design proponents. Claiming up to half of the American public this is a constant battle for science and secularism.
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#1 makes me think of that crazy woman flipping out on the reality show here.
Oh goddamnit Alan…
#7 I’m pretty sure it’s dowsing, not divination, your referring to.
#2 Some vaccines have mercury in them and mercury is a known poison. If enough of it accumulates in your body, bad things can happen. That said, different people tolerate different levels. Obviously, not everyone who gets vaccinated becomes autistic. Some people can even get sick from eating fish, which has mercury, so I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss this link either. The problem is the benefits of vaccines are tremendous compared to the risks. However, if people are too afraid to look for flaws in vaccines, then they will never get improved.
Actually, I don’t think anyone has ever gotten autism from a vaccine If you have data otherwise, please present it.
I can not present you data showing any particular one person getting cancer from smoking either. I’ll concede the statistics linking smoking and cancer in the population is much more strong than any statistic linking vaccines and autism, but at this point I’m willing to believe certain chemicals used in vaccines may cause irreversable damage to children’s brain/nervous system.
Here’s why…
Do some vaccines contain trace amounts of toxins? Yes.
Does poisoning have symptoms that resemble autism? Yes.
Is it plausible then that some children, who have a lower tolerance for certain toxins, could become poisoned by toxins found in vaccines? Yes, it’s plausable. As unlikely as it is, it could, and probably has happened. Like I’ve said before, some people get sick from eating fish. Heck, people get sick from peanut butter. However, the difference between peanut butter and vaccines is that you are only forced to be exposed to one of them.
There’s a danger here in thinking that everything in the name of ’science’ is good and doctors would not do anything that would put people at risk. There is a risk of developing cancer from taking a simple X-ray, but we still use them anyways. There are risks with over the counter drugs. There are always risks, especially with medicine. It’s silly to think that something can be 100% safe for everyone.
So the issue for me is not that vaccines present a risk to some people and therefore we should get rid of it all together. The problem is that they are mandatory, which I can totally understand why. (You need a very high injection rate to them to work, so governments pass laws to give them to all children
). However, suppose your child gets a vaccine at 1 year (for virus X) and he becomes lethargic. Now at year 2, he get’s another one and becomes even more aloof. You go to your doctor and he says there’s high levels of dangerous toxins in his blood. So you do everything you can, change his diet, give him sterile toys, glass bottles, etc. The symptoms are not getting any worse, now so that’s a good sign. But wait, your child needs more vaccines before he’s 4 years old otherwise the local primary school won’t admit him. What do you do? Do you give him the third, fourth and fifth vaccine that might cripple him mentally for life or deny him access to public education. These are the choices parents with autistic children have to deal with.
Now, that’s not to say that their fear of vaccines is irrational. It may be. Maybe the toxins are at such a low level that it is not possible to cause any harm. If that’s the case, then maybe I’m wrong. But if X-rays, which are widely use AND are linked to cancer, then I’m willing to believe governments could let dangers of vaccines slide as well. For the good of the people, right?
This is true, and I feel inclined to respond more adequately now.
First, there have been numerous studies refuting the link between vaccines and autism.
Here’s a partial listing of studies citing the safety of the MMR vaccine, and setting to rest the conspiracy about vaccines and autism:
Peltola H & Patja A, Leinikki P, Valle M, Davidkin I and Paunio M (1998) No evidence for measles, mumps and rubella vaccine associated inflammatory bowel disease or autism in a 14 year prospective study (Research letters) Lancet 351:1327-8
Gillberg C & Heijbel H, (1998). MMR and autism [commentary]. Autism, The International Journal of Research and Practice; 2:423-424.
Taylor B et al (1999) Autism and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association. The Lancet; 353: 2026-29.
Kaye J et al (2001). Mumps, measles and rubella vaccine and the incidence of autism recorded by general practitioners: A time trend analysis. British Medical Journal 322 :460-3.
Farrington P et al (2001). MMR and autism: Further evidence against a causal association Vaccine 19:3632-5 Volume 19, Issue 27, 14 June 2001, Pages 3632-3635
Black C (2002) Relation of childhood gastrointestinal disorders to autism: nested case-control study using data from the UK General Practice Research Database. British Medical Journal 325 :419-21.
Taylor B et al (2002) Measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and bowel problems or development regression in children with autism: population study. British Medical Journal 324 : 393-396.
Donald A & Muthu V (2002) No evidence that MMR vaccine is associated with autism or bowel disease. Clinical Evidence, 7:331-40
For a more complete reading list check this out.
This isn’t “speculation” about the good of vaccines for the public, but real hard science. The facts are in, there is no debate.
It seems the mercury-related component (thimerosal) was removed from vaccines a few years ago, despite the fact that up to that point, no link had been drawn between its presence in vaccines and any case of autism. So why then, was this decision made? Surely, it could not have been based on the ‘hard science’
Aaaaanyyyyways… I don’t want to keep bugging you, haha. I love my vaccines and am all in favor of them. I was just picking on you including it in the list because I don’t think it’s pseudo-science. If it was, why would there be this many published studies on it? The fact that people are testing the claim makes me inclined to think it is a legitimate hypothesis. Doesn’t mean it’s true, but at least it’s plausible and testable.
Even my mom liked it:))