Posts

The Common Disease Spectrum of Crazy

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In order to wage an effective war against science and reason, it is important to convince as many people as possible that science and reason are killing them.  This task is difficult because most people realize that science and reason have greatly enhanced life quality and expectancy.  The trick is to misdirect the credulous from the daily examples where science works, and then manufacture risk, connecting an activist target to a familiar disease du jour .  Whether you are trying to sell a book on GMOs, get more invites for your anti-glyphosate rants, sell a t-shirt on your chemtrails site, be the president of your hackey-sack club, or convince local moms to stop protecting their children with immunization, there has to be a looming threat of a physical illness connected to your deadly agent of interest.  Below are cut-n-pastes from various websites or documentaries.  They note the rise in diseases associated with ____________ .  Note that they all are relatively similar lis

Fukushima Radioactivity Making Waves

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Over the last few weeks I've read alarmist posts about radiation in the water in California and how fish are all contaminated with radioactive compounds from Fukushima.  To recap, the massive earthquake off the cost of Fukushima, Japan on March 11, 2011 caused a massive tsunami and strong tremors that damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant.  It stands as an emergency situation, and radioactivity broke containment. But in usual form the anti-nuclear environmentalists seized the opportunity to claim that the whole world is now in jeopardy due to the radioactive emissions from the nuclear plant. The Center for Ocean Studies claims that the graphic shows the range of radioactive waste emanating from Japan after the accident.  Not so fast...    I've seen this colorful map a few times, claiming to be the distribution of radiation from Fukushima.  Several things pop to mind.  First, if you took the raw materials out of Fukushima and dumped them off of the Japanese shore, the

Mother Nature, "An Evil Bitch"

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 I enjoyed an online discussion today and had to share.  Someone must have tinkled in my corn flakes this morning.

Massive Data Do Not Support Huber's Claims

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Dr. Don Huber is traveling North America warning audiences of a mysterious organism that causes diseases in plants, humans and livestock.  He talks to famers and concerned food-oriented audiences.  He does NOT present to scientific conferences, as scientists and their professional organizations do not recognize his claims, and confront him with questions that cannot be answered without invoking hand-waving explanations and elaborate conspiracies. I have a problem with anyone manipulating the gullible for personal or political gain, especially when they use fear to motivate action.  After seeing Huber scare the pants off an audience in Gainesville, FL, I have taken up the mantle of holding him accountable for his bad science and manipulating people for his twisted motivations. Today it occurred to me how we know, conclusively,  that there is no mystery organism.  No doubt. Evidence of absence in this case is tantamount to absence of evidence.  It is just that massive. 

These Ideas are the Thoughts of Folta and May Not Represent...

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Illumination is here to help you separate the science from the junk. The blog Illumination was originally prepared to present my personal thoughts of science and its interface with society.  Carl Sagan said it best; we live in a world filled with science and technology, where nobody knows anything about science and technology.  We live in a world filled with charlatans and scam artists, malevolent activists and dangerous pseudoscientists.  There is a place for scientists to help buffer the public, especially those most vulnerable, from these harmful forces. I’m a scientist and I love to read, learn and then share science.  It is what I do. Full time. I don’t have a family, I don’t have hobbies and have yet to hit a mid-life crisis.  The world is filled with fascination and I’m so fortunate to contribute to it. I like to use the current topics of public scientific discussion to teach about logical fallacy, critical thinking, evaluation of science, and skepticism in gen

A Question from a Hofstra Debater

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I'm glad to report that I received a kind and inquisitive email from one of the anti-GM debaters from the Hofstra event.   Bhavani Jaroff is a food activist, chef and radio host.  I was glad to meet her as we certainly align on the vast majority of food-related issues.  She argued on the side promoting increased GM regulation and her presentation was fear-laden activist talking points without firm understanding of the science. Recently I reached out, offering to explain the science behind her supporting evidence.  She declined the offer and suggested that she'd stay with Jeffrey Smith and Vandana Shiva as sources of scientific information in this area. Of course, that made all of my hair stand on end.  Neither Smith nor Shiva will ever offer to hold your hand and navigate a scientific paper in biotech.  Because neither of them can. Bhavani Jaroff gets huge cred for at least asking questions about biotech. However, times may be a-changin'.  I was delighted t

Demanding a Right to Know

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In discussions around biotechnology and food labeling there have been three recent cases where people have demanded a right to know what's in their food, but then declined a kind offer to learn  when I actually offered to help them.  The right to know is an empty mantra, three words that sound like they are pursuing freedom and information.  However, at their root there is no desire to know-- just a desire to believe. *NOTE 1/4/2014 UPDATE BELOW* Here I'll present Case 1.  Hofstra Debate Follow Up- The debate at Hofstra was quite one sided from my perspective. One side was about fear, Gish gallops and bad activist information, the other side was tethered with science. You can guess the side I was on.  One of the debaters was Bhavani Jaroff, a local chef, radio personality and food activist.  Her debate style was to discuss the most shocking activist statements, parroting garbage science and bad conclusions, following the party line with great precision. She stood firml