Friday, August 13, 2010

Penn and Tellers BS Vaccination

I hope you watched last Thursday nights edition of Penn and Tellers BS. It was excellent review and examination of the anti vaccination movement. From the beginnings with Andrew Wakefield flawed study and dishonesty to the current wackos who promote this stuff; like Jenny McCarthy and her ilk. It was well done right down to showing how Jenny's pediatrician is sort of in cahoots with her. It just goes to show that even with a degree one is not, sorry for the pun, immune from the lure of fame (if not fortune) that compromises one's integrity. I especially liked the logical fallacies that were brought out, like correlation does not equal causation. The real parent with a real autistic child that does not accept the propaganda by the anti-vax crowd was really impressive and has more than all the shallow thinking done by the other side. It even pointed out that no amount of evidence will convince a true believer as their minds are closed. All they got is slogans, celebrities, gadflies and not much between the ears in the area of critical thought. Oh, by the way critical thought to such a person means he will be very critical of everything said by the other side, not what it suppose to mean, that is to say objectively evaluating the evidence. The show will be run in reruns this week. I encourage you to view it on showtime.

Peace
Skeptical DoDo

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