Steven Novella
[back] Experts
[Steven Novella is an academic clinical neurologist
at Yale University School of Medicine. Works with Orac
on
Science-Based Medicine site. Contributes to
Skeptical Inquirer magazine (see
for a classic propaganda piece) of
CSICOP and is a
contributing editor to Quackwatch.]
See: Psychopathy
Web: Science-Based Medicine NeuroLogicaBlog
Blogs: The Rogues Gallery, the official blog of the SGU.
President and co-founder: New England Skeptical Society
Host and producer: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.
Critique of his writing
[2010 Feb]
Dr. Steven Novella Makes The Case for Vaccine
Autism Link... By Mistake By J.B. Handley
Explaining the Skeptic Guide’s Deception Regarding Autism Diagnosis
[2009 April] Dr. Steven Novella, why is this so hard to understand? By J.B. Handley
[July 2008] Dr. Jon Poling to Dr. Steven Novella: Don't Attack the Moms
"An UPDATED Review of the Doublespeak in: 'Vaccines and Autism: Myths and Misconceptions' By Steven Novella (31 March 2008; 75 pages)"
Thimerosal Causes Mercury Poisoning I - A Rebuttal to Dr. Novella's Views (30 August 2005; 99 pages)
[April 2008] Key realities
about autism, vaccines, vaccine-injury compensation, Thimerosal, and
autism-related research. Medical Veritas 2008 April; 5(1): 1610-1644, with Gary
S. Goldman. The propaganda dispensed by Public health care and vaccine apologists is, at
best, a weak attempt to rationalize the healthcare establishment’s
positions using all the tools of doublespeak or, as George Orwell’s
called it in his book 1984, “newspeak”, to: (a) mislead, (b) distort reality,
(c) pretend to communicate, (d) make the bad seem
good, (e) avoid and/or shift responsibility, (f) make the negative appear
positive, (g) create a false verbal map of the world,
and (h) create dissonance between reality and what their narrative said or did
not say.
Such propaganda often relies on half-truths and/or superficially logical, but
foundationally flawed, phrasing. However, this propaganda is fundamentally
flawed and based on pseudo-science or non-reviewable statistical studies
of medical records, where, contrary to ethical science, the study
design, data selection/rejection criteria, exact approach used to
evaluate the data, and/or the original data itself are kept confidential making
independent evaluation/verification of the published
findings impossible.
His articles
Should We
Study Chelation for Autism?
The
Anti-Vaccination Movement
The
Anatomy of Pseudoscience by Steven Novella, MD
The Media and Vaccines
The Increase in Autism Diagnoses: Two Hypotheses
The FDA Cracks Down on Fake Cancer Cures
Novella quotes
Vaccine critics say the increased vaccine schedule overwhelms
the immature immune systems of young children. However, while the number of
vaccines has increased, they are more targeted due to improved technology and
scientific knowledge. Today’s vaccine schedule contains about 150 antigens
(immune stimulating proteins), which is less than the 200 proteins that older
vaccines contained.
The Media and Vaccines
Er, what about mercury etc?
The “autism epidemic” is likely not real but an artifact of increased surveillance and a broadening of the definition of autism, which is now called “autism spectrum disorder.” The Media and Vaccines
Bollocks: change in diagnosis
The Institute of Medicine reviewed all MMR-autism data and concluded that there was no association. The Anti-Vaccination Movement
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and its report have been shredded.
Proponents of the mercury hypothesis argue that the ethylmercury found in thimerosal was given in doses exceeding Environmental Protection Agency limits. The Anti-Vaccination Movement
It isn't an argument any more, its a fact.
Kirby tells the clichéd tale of courageous families searching for help for their sick children and facing a blind medical establishment and a federal government rife with corruption from corporate dollars The Anti-Vaccination Movement
Cliche? That comment beggars belief. The rest is spot on.
I have already mentioned that the current consensus holds that there is no real autism epidemic, just an artifact of how the diagnosis is made. If there’s no epidemic, there’s no reason to look for a correlation between thimerosal and autism. The Anti-Vaccination Movement
Bollocks: change in diagnosis World Autism Pandemic
Meanwhile, evidence is accumulating that autism is largely a genetic disorder The Anti-Vaccination Movement
Bollocks: Autism and genetics
etc etc