Nick and Tesla Innovate Great Gadgets

Book 3 in the Nick and Tesla series offers great gadget-oriented science and engineering fun from the twins as they stay with their eccentric scientist uncle for the summer. This installment in the series is full of "spies like us" intrigue kids will love!

Science Twins Bring STEM to Life

Nick and Tesla is a wonderful and engaging STEM-based series for middle readers (and their parents!). The team of Science Bob and Hockensmith have kept the energy level high for the twins, and each new book contains an exciting new story of intrigue—and the kid-based science that can help solve it.

See our reviews of Book 1 and Book 2.

In Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab: A Mystery with Electromagnets, Burglar Alarms, and Other Gadgets You Can Build Yourself , book 3 in the Nick and Tesla series (Quirk Books), the twins get paranoid. They think everyone is spying on them. Contrary to the first two books, book 3 keeps the action mostly close to home as the kids try and figure out which of the people visiting Uncle Newt's house—or living in the neighborhood—may be spying on them.

After receiving an aborted phone message from their mother that warns them that they are not safe (and really throws the soybean story out the window), the kids' paranoia grows faster than bacteria in a Petri dish. When the message is erased before they can let their uncle hear it, their fear spikes as they realize danger must be even closer than they suspected. As far as the kids are concerned, anyone and everyone could be the spy, from the cranky neighbor with the garden gnome to the nice one that gets hit in the face with a glider that flies better and farther than they expect when they test it out. Everyone.

With their fear kicked into overdrive, the twins start looking suspiciously at everyone they see. Filtered through their 11-year old imaginations, it is easy to see that Oli, wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora and looking for the jelly, might not really be a scientist apprentice for Uncle Newt like he says he is. Same for the cleaning crew ladies. And the bug exterminator. Or maybe the spy is Hiroko, Uncle Newt's scientist friend from book 2.

When Tesla's pendant, something she and Nick both wear and that they suspect serves as some form of protective tracking device, goes missing, the kids are convinced they are in imminent danger. They set out to try and uncover the spy by rigging a series of small science experiments and traps, including the Fingerprint-finder Powder and Evildoer Identification System, EGBQD OAAX Code Wheels (a simple encoding device made from foam cups), a Rube Goldberg-like spy cam, and a Booby-Trap Balloon Drop.

The fingerprint finder is a cool activity for budding forensics detectives and uses everyday materials (like a nail file, tape, and a pencil). After gathering fingerprints from the scene of the pendant crime, the twins get creative to collect fingerprints from the other people in the house for comparison. When their detective work goes unexpectedly awry, they attempt to set a trap to reveal the spy by laying some bait and rigging Tesla's room with a Ring-a-ding-ding Spy Exposure System alarm system made with a bicycle bell that they hook to a simple circuit and motor. Check out the diagram for the activity. It looks a lot like a mouse trap hooked to an alarm! Their next spy-trapping invention is a Spy-busting Invisicam that uses a disposable camera.

As the story unfolds, the kids hone in on who they think is out of place. With their Uncle's help, they set up a stakeout and the story spirals to its surprising conclusion.

The projects in book 3 feel less hard-core science and more spies-like-us mentality than in the first two books, but these are easy-to-rig gadgets kids will be eager to try. As in the previous books, directions for these science and engineering projects are included so that readers can try them out. All in all, book 3 is a great addition to the Nick and Tesla series, and with new information revealed at the end about their parents and space-based solar power, the groundwork is in place for more mysteries—and plenty more engineering and science innovation.

Books 4 (Nick and Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle) and 5 (Nick and Tesla's Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove: A Mystery with a Blinking, Beeping, Voice-Recording Gadget Glove You Can Build Yourself) are already available, and we are looking forward to checking them out!

from Science Buddies Blog http://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/2014/12/nick-and-tesla-innovate-great-gadgets.php

Book 3 in the Nick and Tesla series offers great gadget-oriented science and engineering fun from the twins as they stay with their eccentric scientist uncle for the summer. This installment in the series is full of "spies like us" intrigue kids will love!

Science Twins Bring STEM to Life

Nick and Tesla is a wonderful and engaging STEM-based series for middle readers (and their parents!). The team of Science Bob and Hockensmith have kept the energy level high for the twins, and each new book contains an exciting new story of intrigue—and the kid-based science that can help solve it.

See our reviews of Book 1 and Book 2.

In Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab: A Mystery with Electromagnets, Burglar Alarms, and Other Gadgets You Can Build Yourself , book 3 in the Nick and Tesla series (Quirk Books), the twins get paranoid. They think everyone is spying on them. Contrary to the first two books, book 3 keeps the action mostly close to home as the kids try and figure out which of the people visiting Uncle Newt's house—or living in the neighborhood—may be spying on them.

After receiving an aborted phone message from their mother that warns them that they are not safe (and really throws the soybean story out the window), the kids' paranoia grows faster than bacteria in a Petri dish. When the message is erased before they can let their uncle hear it, their fear spikes as they realize danger must be even closer than they suspected. As far as the kids are concerned, anyone and everyone could be the spy, from the cranky neighbor with the garden gnome to the nice one that gets hit in the face with a glider that flies better and farther than they expect when they test it out. Everyone.

With their fear kicked into overdrive, the twins start looking suspiciously at everyone they see. Filtered through their 11-year old imaginations, it is easy to see that Oli, wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora and looking for the jelly, might not really be a scientist apprentice for Uncle Newt like he says he is. Same for the cleaning crew ladies. And the bug exterminator. Or maybe the spy is Hiroko, Uncle Newt's scientist friend from book 2.

When Tesla's pendant, something she and Nick both wear and that they suspect serves as some form of protective tracking device, goes missing, the kids are convinced they are in imminent danger. They set out to try and uncover the spy by rigging a series of small science experiments and traps, including the Fingerprint-finder Powder and Evildoer Identification System, EGBQD OAAX Code Wheels (a simple encoding device made from foam cups), a Rube Goldberg-like spy cam, and a Booby-Trap Balloon Drop.

The fingerprint finder is a cool activity for budding forensics detectives and uses everyday materials (like a nail file, tape, and a pencil). After gathering fingerprints from the scene of the pendant crime, the twins get creative to collect fingerprints from the other people in the house for comparison. When their detective work goes unexpectedly awry, they attempt to set a trap to reveal the spy by laying some bait and rigging Tesla's room with a Ring-a-ding-ding Spy Exposure System alarm system made with a bicycle bell that they hook to a simple circuit and motor. Check out the diagram for the activity. It looks a lot like a mouse trap hooked to an alarm! Their next spy-trapping invention is a Spy-busting Invisicam that uses a disposable camera.

As the story unfolds, the kids hone in on who they think is out of place. With their Uncle's help, they set up a stakeout and the story spirals to its surprising conclusion.

The projects in book 3 feel less hard-core science and more spies-like-us mentality than in the first two books, but these are easy-to-rig gadgets kids will be eager to try. As in the previous books, directions for these science and engineering projects are included so that readers can try them out. All in all, book 3 is a great addition to the Nick and Tesla series, and with new information revealed at the end about their parents and space-based solar power, the groundwork is in place for more mysteries—and plenty more engineering and science innovation.

Books 4 (Nick and Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle) and 5 (Nick and Tesla's Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove: A Mystery with a Blinking, Beeping, Voice-Recording Gadget Glove You Can Build Yourself) are already available, and we are looking forward to checking them out!

from Science Buddies Blog http://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/2014/12/nick-and-tesla-innovate-great-gadgets.php

Mary’s Monday Metazoan: I would name him Igor [Pharyngula]

Australian Nature

from ScienceBlogs http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/12/29/marys-monday-metazoan-i-would-name-him-igor/

Australian Nature

from ScienceBlogs http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/12/29/marys-monday-metazoan-i-would-name-him-igor/

Top 10 new species of 2014

Whether they are stumbled upon or searched for in a methodological manner, thousands of new species are discovered each year. This year’s picks for the top 10 new species of 2014 include an Antarctic sea anemone, a gecko with a tail shaped like a leaf, and a furry carnivore that is closely related to raccoons.

The top 10 new species of 2014, in alphabetical order of their scientific names, are as follows:

Olinguito. Image Credit: Mark Gurney.

1. Olinguito (Bassaricyon beblina). Olinguitos are reclusive carnivores that live amongst the trees in the cloud forests of Columbia and Ecuador. They are closely related to raccoons (family Procyonidae).

2. Kaweesak’s Dragon Tree (Dracaena kaweesakii). Kaweesak’s Dragon trees grow on top of limestone mountains in Thailand and Burma. The trees can reach up to about 12 meters (39 feet) in height. Only about 2,500 of these trees are thought to exist in the wild.

Andrill anemone. Image Credit: Daly et al. (2013) PLoS ONE 8(12):e83476.

3. Andrill Anemone (Edwardsiella andrillae). These small sea creatures, which are less than 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in length, were discovered living on the underside of a glacier on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. This species was named Andrill after the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program, which sent out the remotely operated vehicle that first discovered the new type of anemone.

Skeleton shrimp. Image appears courtesy of SINC.

4. Skeleton Shrimp (Liropus minusculus). Skeleton shrimps are tiny marine crustaceans, hence the name minusculus. They belong to a diverse family of shrimps (Caprellidae) that can be found throughout the oceans, but this new unique species was discovered in a cave on Santa Catalina Island, which is located off the coast of Southern California.

Orange penicillium. Image Credit: Visagie et al. (2013) Persoonia 31:42.

5. Orange Penicillium (Penicillium vanoranjei). This new fungus was discovered living in soil in Tunisia. It secretes an extra-cellular matrix that may help to protect it from drying out during times of drought. Colonies of this fungus are bright orange in color. It was named vanoranjei in honor of the Dutch royal family.

Leaf-tailed gecko. Image Credit: Conrad Hoskin.

6. Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius eximius). These leaf-tailed geckos live on rocky terrain in the rainforests of northeastern Australia. Their mottled brown and cream colors keep them camouflaged against the backdrop of rocks and lichens, as does their tail, which is flattened into the shape of a leaf.

Amoeboid protist. Image Credit: Maldonado et al. (2013) Zootaxa 3669:571.

7. Amoeboid Protist (Spiculosiphon oceana). Amoeboid protists are single-celled organisms. The new amoeboid protists are a type of foraminifera that were discovered in an underwater cave off the southeastern coast of Spain. They are unusually long relative to other protists and can range up to 4 to 5 centimeters (1.6 to 2 inches) in length. Amoeboid protists collect stiff sponge fragments from the seafloor and use them to construct a spiny shell that can ensnare prey.

Clean room microbes. Image Credit: NASA.

8. Clean Room Microbes (Tersicoccus phoenicis). Clean rooms are sterilized work spaces that are used in a variety of scientific fields including medicine and space science. Unfortunately, sterilization resistant microorganisms occasionally make an appearance in clean rooms. Such was the case when this new type of bacteria was found in Mars Phoenix spacecraft assembly facilities. It was aptly named phoenicis after the Mars Phoenix lander.

Tinkerbell fairyfly. Image Credit: Huber and Noyes (2013) Journal of Hymenoptera Research 32:17.

9. Tinkerbell Fairyfly (Tinkerbella nana). Fairyflies are one of the smallest types of insects on Earth. They belong to a diverse family (Mymaridae) of parasitoid wasps. The newly discovered Tinkerbell fairyflies top out at about 250 micrometers (0.00984 inches) in size, and they were discovered in a forest at the LeSelva Biological Station in Costa Rica. The fairyflies have feathery looking wings. They were named after the characters Tinker Bell and Nana in the play Peter Pan written by J. M. Barrie.

Domed land snail. Image Credit: Weigand (2013) Subterranean Biology 11:45.

10. Domed Land Snail (Zospeum tholussum). Domed land snails have very small translucent shells. One specimen of this new species was discovered deep within a cave in western Croatia, but several empty shells were found nearby.

The top 10 species lists are put together by taxonomy experts associated with the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE). These experts examine new reports of species discoveries in the previous year and select 10 to feature in their yearly review. The top 10 list is released in May to honor Carolus Linnaeus, the renowned 18th century botanist, whose birthday falls on May 23. Linnaeus devised the first widely accepted system for naming species. I thought it would be worthwhile to mention this list again at the close of 2014.

In 2011, a group of scientists estimated that there are perhaps 8.7 million species on Earth and that about 86% of existing species have yet to be discovered. I can’t wait to see what next year’s list will look like.

Bottom line: Thousands of new species are discovered each year. This year’s picks for the top 10 new species of 2014 include an Antarctic sea anemone, a gecko with a tail shaped like a leaf, and a furry carnivore that is closely related to raccoons. The top 10 species lists are put together by taxonomy experts associated with the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE).

Top 10 new species 2013

Top 10 new species 2012

from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/earth/top-10-new-species-of-2014

Whether they are stumbled upon or searched for in a methodological manner, thousands of new species are discovered each year. This year’s picks for the top 10 new species of 2014 include an Antarctic sea anemone, a gecko with a tail shaped like a leaf, and a furry carnivore that is closely related to raccoons.

The top 10 new species of 2014, in alphabetical order of their scientific names, are as follows:

Olinguito. Image Credit: Mark Gurney.

1. Olinguito (Bassaricyon beblina). Olinguitos are reclusive carnivores that live amongst the trees in the cloud forests of Columbia and Ecuador. They are closely related to raccoons (family Procyonidae).

2. Kaweesak’s Dragon Tree (Dracaena kaweesakii). Kaweesak’s Dragon trees grow on top of limestone mountains in Thailand and Burma. The trees can reach up to about 12 meters (39 feet) in height. Only about 2,500 of these trees are thought to exist in the wild.

Andrill anemone. Image Credit: Daly et al. (2013) PLoS ONE 8(12):e83476.

3. Andrill Anemone (Edwardsiella andrillae). These small sea creatures, which are less than 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in length, were discovered living on the underside of a glacier on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. This species was named Andrill after the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program, which sent out the remotely operated vehicle that first discovered the new type of anemone.

Skeleton shrimp. Image appears courtesy of SINC.

4. Skeleton Shrimp (Liropus minusculus). Skeleton shrimps are tiny marine crustaceans, hence the name minusculus. They belong to a diverse family of shrimps (Caprellidae) that can be found throughout the oceans, but this new unique species was discovered in a cave on Santa Catalina Island, which is located off the coast of Southern California.

Orange penicillium. Image Credit: Visagie et al. (2013) Persoonia 31:42.

5. Orange Penicillium (Penicillium vanoranjei). This new fungus was discovered living in soil in Tunisia. It secretes an extra-cellular matrix that may help to protect it from drying out during times of drought. Colonies of this fungus are bright orange in color. It was named vanoranjei in honor of the Dutch royal family.

Leaf-tailed gecko. Image Credit: Conrad Hoskin.

6. Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius eximius). These leaf-tailed geckos live on rocky terrain in the rainforests of northeastern Australia. Their mottled brown and cream colors keep them camouflaged against the backdrop of rocks and lichens, as does their tail, which is flattened into the shape of a leaf.

Amoeboid protist. Image Credit: Maldonado et al. (2013) Zootaxa 3669:571.

7. Amoeboid Protist (Spiculosiphon oceana). Amoeboid protists are single-celled organisms. The new amoeboid protists are a type of foraminifera that were discovered in an underwater cave off the southeastern coast of Spain. They are unusually long relative to other protists and can range up to 4 to 5 centimeters (1.6 to 2 inches) in length. Amoeboid protists collect stiff sponge fragments from the seafloor and use them to construct a spiny shell that can ensnare prey.

Clean room microbes. Image Credit: NASA.

8. Clean Room Microbes (Tersicoccus phoenicis). Clean rooms are sterilized work spaces that are used in a variety of scientific fields including medicine and space science. Unfortunately, sterilization resistant microorganisms occasionally make an appearance in clean rooms. Such was the case when this new type of bacteria was found in Mars Phoenix spacecraft assembly facilities. It was aptly named phoenicis after the Mars Phoenix lander.

Tinkerbell fairyfly. Image Credit: Huber and Noyes (2013) Journal of Hymenoptera Research 32:17.

9. Tinkerbell Fairyfly (Tinkerbella nana). Fairyflies are one of the smallest types of insects on Earth. They belong to a diverse family (Mymaridae) of parasitoid wasps. The newly discovered Tinkerbell fairyflies top out at about 250 micrometers (0.00984 inches) in size, and they were discovered in a forest at the LeSelva Biological Station in Costa Rica. The fairyflies have feathery looking wings. They were named after the characters Tinker Bell and Nana in the play Peter Pan written by J. M. Barrie.

Domed land snail. Image Credit: Weigand (2013) Subterranean Biology 11:45.

10. Domed Land Snail (Zospeum tholussum). Domed land snails have very small translucent shells. One specimen of this new species was discovered deep within a cave in western Croatia, but several empty shells were found nearby.

The top 10 species lists are put together by taxonomy experts associated with the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE). These experts examine new reports of species discoveries in the previous year and select 10 to feature in their yearly review. The top 10 list is released in May to honor Carolus Linnaeus, the renowned 18th century botanist, whose birthday falls on May 23. Linnaeus devised the first widely accepted system for naming species. I thought it would be worthwhile to mention this list again at the close of 2014.

In 2011, a group of scientists estimated that there are perhaps 8.7 million species on Earth and that about 86% of existing species have yet to be discovered. I can’t wait to see what next year’s list will look like.

Bottom line: Thousands of new species are discovered each year. This year’s picks for the top 10 new species of 2014 include an Antarctic sea anemone, a gecko with a tail shaped like a leaf, and a furry carnivore that is closely related to raccoons. The top 10 species lists are put together by taxonomy experts associated with the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE).

Top 10 new species 2013

Top 10 new species 2012

from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/earth/top-10-new-species-of-2014

Star of the week: Aldebaran is the Bull’s fiery eye

Reddish Aldebaran – the fiery eye of the Bull in the constellation Taurus – is an aging star and a huge star! The computed diameter is between 35 and 40 solar diameters. If Aldebaran were placed where the sun is now, its surface would extend almost to the orbit of Mercury. Follow the links below to learn more about this prominent and fascinating star.

Science of star Aldebaran.

How to see Aldebaran.

History and mythology of Aldebaran.

Aldebaran and sun. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Science of star Aldebaran. This star glows with the orangish color of a K5 giant star. In visible light, it is about 153 times brighter than the sun, although its surface temperature is lower (roughly 4000 kelvins compared to 5800 kelvins for the sun).

Aldebaran is about 65 light-years away, much closer than the stars of the Hyades with which it misleadingly seems associated. The Hyades are about 150 light-years away.

Aldebaran is an erratic variable with minor variations too small to be noticed by the eye. It also has a small, faint companion star, an M-type red dwarf, some 3.5 light-days away. In other words, light from Aldebaran would need to travel for 3.5 days to reach the companion, in contrast to light from our sun, which requires 8 minutes to travel to Earth.

The three medium-bright stars of Orion’s Belt point to reddish Aldebaran. Image Credit: SolarEmpireUK

How to see Aldebaran. Aldebaran is easy to find. Frequently imagined as the fiery eye of Taurus the Bull, Aldebaran is part of a V-shaped star grouping that forms the face of the Bull. This pattern is called the Hyades.

You can also locate Aldebaran using the famous constellation Orion as a guide. Simply locate the three stars of Orion’s Belt. Then draw an imaginary line through the belt to the right. The first bright star you come to will be Aldebaran with its distinctive reddish-orange glow.

Aldebaran is the 14th brightest star, but five of those that outshine it are only barely visible or not visible at all from much of the Northern Hemisphere. Aldebaran is primarily a winter and spring star. At least, that is when this red star is most easily visible in the evening sky. By early December, it rises shortly after sunset and is visible all night. Three months later it is high to the south at sunset, and sets at around midnight. By early May, it hangs low about the western sunset glow – and before the end of the month, it’s lost altogether. It returns to the predawn sky around late June.

By the way, although it appears among them, Aldebaran is not actually a member of the V-shaped Hyades cluster. It is actually much closer to us in space than the actual Hyades stars.

Constellation Taurus. See Aldebaran marked as the Bull’s Eye? View larger.

History and mythology of Aldebaran. Aldebaran is often depicted as the fiery eye of Taurus the Bull. Because it is bright and prominent, Aldebaran was honored as one of the Four Royal Stars in ancient Persia, the other three Royal Stars being Regulus, Antares and Fomalhaut.

The name Aldebaran is from the Arabic for “The Follower,” presumably as a hunter following prey, which here likely was the star cluster we call the Pleiades. The latter was often viewed as a flock of birds, perhaps doves. According to Richard Hinckley Allen in his classic book Star Names, the name Aldebaran once was applied to the entire Hyades star cluster, a large loose collection of faint stars.

In Hindu myth, Aldebaran was sometimes identified with a beautiful young woman named Rohini, disguised as an antelope and pursued by her lecherous father, disguised as a deer, Mriga. Apparently several ancient peoples associated the star with rain. The Wikipedia entry notes a Dakota Sioux story in which Aldebaran was a star which had fallen to the Earth and whose killing of a serpent led to the formation of the Mississippi River. Allen notes a number of other alternate names, but precious little mythology is known for Aldebaran separately.

Aldebaran is the name of one of the chariot horses in the movie Ben Hur.

On a different note, astronomer Jack Eddy has suggested a connection with the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, an ancient circle of stones atop a mountain in Wyoming. Eddy wrote that the ancient Americans may have used this site as a sort of observatory to view the rising of Aldebaran just before the sun in June to predict the June solstice.

Interestingly, in about two million years, the American spaceprobe Pioneer 10, now heading out into deep space, will pass Aldebaran.

Aldebaran’s position is RA: 4h 35m 55s, dec: 16°30’35”

from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/aldebaran-is-taurus-bloodshot-eye

Reddish Aldebaran – the fiery eye of the Bull in the constellation Taurus – is an aging star and a huge star! The computed diameter is between 35 and 40 solar diameters. If Aldebaran were placed where the sun is now, its surface would extend almost to the orbit of Mercury. Follow the links below to learn more about this prominent and fascinating star.

Science of star Aldebaran.

How to see Aldebaran.

History and mythology of Aldebaran.

Aldebaran and sun. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Science of star Aldebaran. This star glows with the orangish color of a K5 giant star. In visible light, it is about 153 times brighter than the sun, although its surface temperature is lower (roughly 4000 kelvins compared to 5800 kelvins for the sun).

Aldebaran is about 65 light-years away, much closer than the stars of the Hyades with which it misleadingly seems associated. The Hyades are about 150 light-years away.

Aldebaran is an erratic variable with minor variations too small to be noticed by the eye. It also has a small, faint companion star, an M-type red dwarf, some 3.5 light-days away. In other words, light from Aldebaran would need to travel for 3.5 days to reach the companion, in contrast to light from our sun, which requires 8 minutes to travel to Earth.

The three medium-bright stars of Orion’s Belt point to reddish Aldebaran. Image Credit: SolarEmpireUK

How to see Aldebaran. Aldebaran is easy to find. Frequently imagined as the fiery eye of Taurus the Bull, Aldebaran is part of a V-shaped star grouping that forms the face of the Bull. This pattern is called the Hyades.

You can also locate Aldebaran using the famous constellation Orion as a guide. Simply locate the three stars of Orion’s Belt. Then draw an imaginary line through the belt to the right. The first bright star you come to will be Aldebaran with its distinctive reddish-orange glow.

Aldebaran is the 14th brightest star, but five of those that outshine it are only barely visible or not visible at all from much of the Northern Hemisphere. Aldebaran is primarily a winter and spring star. At least, that is when this red star is most easily visible in the evening sky. By early December, it rises shortly after sunset and is visible all night. Three months later it is high to the south at sunset, and sets at around midnight. By early May, it hangs low about the western sunset glow – and before the end of the month, it’s lost altogether. It returns to the predawn sky around late June.

By the way, although it appears among them, Aldebaran is not actually a member of the V-shaped Hyades cluster. It is actually much closer to us in space than the actual Hyades stars.

Constellation Taurus. See Aldebaran marked as the Bull’s Eye? View larger.

History and mythology of Aldebaran. Aldebaran is often depicted as the fiery eye of Taurus the Bull. Because it is bright and prominent, Aldebaran was honored as one of the Four Royal Stars in ancient Persia, the other three Royal Stars being Regulus, Antares and Fomalhaut.

The name Aldebaran is from the Arabic for “The Follower,” presumably as a hunter following prey, which here likely was the star cluster we call the Pleiades. The latter was often viewed as a flock of birds, perhaps doves. According to Richard Hinckley Allen in his classic book Star Names, the name Aldebaran once was applied to the entire Hyades star cluster, a large loose collection of faint stars.

In Hindu myth, Aldebaran was sometimes identified with a beautiful young woman named Rohini, disguised as an antelope and pursued by her lecherous father, disguised as a deer, Mriga. Apparently several ancient peoples associated the star with rain. The Wikipedia entry notes a Dakota Sioux story in which Aldebaran was a star which had fallen to the Earth and whose killing of a serpent led to the formation of the Mississippi River. Allen notes a number of other alternate names, but precious little mythology is known for Aldebaran separately.

Aldebaran is the name of one of the chariot horses in the movie Ben Hur.

On a different note, astronomer Jack Eddy has suggested a connection with the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, an ancient circle of stones atop a mountain in Wyoming. Eddy wrote that the ancient Americans may have used this site as a sort of observatory to view the rising of Aldebaran just before the sun in June to predict the June solstice.

Interestingly, in about two million years, the American spaceprobe Pioneer 10, now heading out into deep space, will pass Aldebaran.

Aldebaran’s position is RA: 4h 35m 55s, dec: 16°30’35”

from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/aldebaran-is-taurus-bloodshot-eye

In My Earbuds Lately [Aardvarchaeology]

GOAT: the new groovy weirdness from Gothenburg

Here are some good albums that I’ve been listening to lately.

• Dowling Poole – Bleak Strategies (2014). For all who miss the later Beatles and the Super Furry Animals.


• GOAT – World Music (2012). Eclectic psychedelia with screamy female vocals and bongos!


• GOAT – Commune (2014). Again!


• Mahavishnu Orchestra – The Inner Mounting Flame (1971). Proggy jazz fusion with violin and odd time signatures.


• Nashville Pussy – Say Something Nasty (2002). AC/DC rock with dirty funny lyrics.


• Soundtrack of our Lives – Behind the Music (2001). Classic rock updated.


• Starlight Mints – Change Remains (2009). Intricate queasy-sounding psychedelic studio pop.


• Voodoo Trombone Quartet — The Voodoo Trombone Quartet (2005). Brassy loungy ska funk.


• Voodoo Trombone Quartet — The Voodoo Trombone Quartet… Again (2009). Again!

from ScienceBlogs http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2014/12/29/in-my-earbuds-lately-6/

GOAT: the new groovy weirdness from Gothenburg

Here are some good albums that I’ve been listening to lately.

• Dowling Poole – Bleak Strategies (2014). For all who miss the later Beatles and the Super Furry Animals.


• GOAT – World Music (2012). Eclectic psychedelia with screamy female vocals and bongos!


• GOAT – Commune (2014). Again!


• Mahavishnu Orchestra – The Inner Mounting Flame (1971). Proggy jazz fusion with violin and odd time signatures.


• Nashville Pussy – Say Something Nasty (2002). AC/DC rock with dirty funny lyrics.


• Soundtrack of our Lives – Behind the Music (2001). Classic rock updated.


• Starlight Mints – Change Remains (2009). Intricate queasy-sounding psychedelic studio pop.


• Voodoo Trombone Quartet — The Voodoo Trombone Quartet (2005). Brassy loungy ska funk.


• Voodoo Trombone Quartet — The Voodoo Trombone Quartet… Again (2009). Again!

from ScienceBlogs http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2014/12/29/in-my-earbuds-lately-6/

Flooding tipping points earlier than expected for U.S. coasts

A man walks along cars on Staten Island after Hurricane Irene passed through the New York City area in 1999. Image Credit: Mark Bonifacio New York Daily News

By 2050, a majority of U.S. coastal areas – including dozens of cities – are likely to be threatened by 30 or more days of flooding each year due to dramatically accelerating impacts from sea level rise. That’s according to a study published December 18 in Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

The new study establishes a benchmark for what the authors call “tipping points” for when so-called nuisance flooding — flooding between 0.3 to 0.6 meters (one to two feet) above local high tide — occurs 30 or more times a year.

The study suggests that that these tipping points will be met or exceeded by 2050 at most of the U.S. coastal areas studied, regardless of sea level rise likely to occur this century. According to the study authors, these regional tipping points will be surpassed in the coming decades in areas with more frequent storms, or areas where local sea levels rise more than the standard global projection of 0.5 to 1.2 meters (1.5 to four feet). This also includes coastal areas like Louisiana where subsidence is causing land to sink below sea level.

The new study, used data from NOAA tide gauges to show the annual rate of daily nuisance floods has drastically increased, even accelerating in recent years. This type of flooding is now five to 10 times more likely today than 50 years ago.

NOAA oceanographer William Sweet is lead author on the study. He said:

Coastal communities are beginning to experience sunny-day nuisance or urban flooding, much more so than in decades past. This is sea level rise. Unfortunately, once impacts are noticed, they will become commonplace rather quickly.

The scientists base the projections on NOAA tidal stations where there is a 50-year or greater continuous record. The study does not include the Miami area, as the NOAA tide stations in the area were destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and a continuous 50-year data set for the area does not exist.

Based on that criteria, the NOAA team is projecting that Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.as well as Norfolk, Virginia, Wilmington, North Carolina, and areas all along the Mid-Atlantic coast, will soon make, or are already being forced to make, decisions on how to mitigate these nuisance floods earlier than planned. In the Gulf, NOAA forecasts earlier than anticipated floods for Galveston Bay and Port Isabel, Texas. Along the Pacific coast the earlier impacts will be most visible in the San Diego/La Jolla and San Francisco Bay areas.

Mitigation decisions could range from retreating further inland to coastal fortification or to a combination of “green” infrastructure using both natural resources such as dunes and wetland, along with “gray” man-made infrastructure such as sea walls and redesigned storm water systems.

Bottom line: According to a December 18, 2014 study in Earth’s Future, a majority of U.S. coastal areas – including dozens of cities – are likely to be threatened by 30 or more days of flooding each year due to dramatically accelerating impacts from sea level rise by 2050.

Read more from the AGU

from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/earth/flooding-tipping-points-earlier-than-expected-for-u-s-coasts

A man walks along cars on Staten Island after Hurricane Irene passed through the New York City area in 1999. Image Credit: Mark Bonifacio New York Daily News

By 2050, a majority of U.S. coastal areas – including dozens of cities – are likely to be threatened by 30 or more days of flooding each year due to dramatically accelerating impacts from sea level rise. That’s according to a study published December 18 in Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

The new study establishes a benchmark for what the authors call “tipping points” for when so-called nuisance flooding — flooding between 0.3 to 0.6 meters (one to two feet) above local high tide — occurs 30 or more times a year.

The study suggests that that these tipping points will be met or exceeded by 2050 at most of the U.S. coastal areas studied, regardless of sea level rise likely to occur this century. According to the study authors, these regional tipping points will be surpassed in the coming decades in areas with more frequent storms, or areas where local sea levels rise more than the standard global projection of 0.5 to 1.2 meters (1.5 to four feet). This also includes coastal areas like Louisiana where subsidence is causing land to sink below sea level.

The new study, used data from NOAA tide gauges to show the annual rate of daily nuisance floods has drastically increased, even accelerating in recent years. This type of flooding is now five to 10 times more likely today than 50 years ago.

NOAA oceanographer William Sweet is lead author on the study. He said:

Coastal communities are beginning to experience sunny-day nuisance or urban flooding, much more so than in decades past. This is sea level rise. Unfortunately, once impacts are noticed, they will become commonplace rather quickly.

The scientists base the projections on NOAA tidal stations where there is a 50-year or greater continuous record. The study does not include the Miami area, as the NOAA tide stations in the area were destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and a continuous 50-year data set for the area does not exist.

Based on that criteria, the NOAA team is projecting that Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.as well as Norfolk, Virginia, Wilmington, North Carolina, and areas all along the Mid-Atlantic coast, will soon make, or are already being forced to make, decisions on how to mitigate these nuisance floods earlier than planned. In the Gulf, NOAA forecasts earlier than anticipated floods for Galveston Bay and Port Isabel, Texas. Along the Pacific coast the earlier impacts will be most visible in the San Diego/La Jolla and San Francisco Bay areas.

Mitigation decisions could range from retreating further inland to coastal fortification or to a combination of “green” infrastructure using both natural resources such as dunes and wetland, along with “gray” man-made infrastructure such as sea walls and redesigned storm water systems.

Bottom line: According to a December 18, 2014 study in Earth’s Future, a majority of U.S. coastal areas – including dozens of cities – are likely to be threatened by 30 or more days of flooding each year due to dramatically accelerating impacts from sea level rise by 2050.

Read more from the AGU

from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/earth/flooding-tipping-points-earlier-than-expected-for-u-s-coasts

15 antivaccine tropes for Christmas [Respectful Insolence]

Christmas is over, and we’re in that weird time between Christmas and New Years Day, when, usually at least, I have to work but so many people are out and so few patients seem to want to come in that it hardly seems worth the effort. So it is with the blog, too. The week between Christmas and New Years tends to be the lowest traffic period of the year. Although that’s been true this year as well, I’ve noticed more commenting activity than I usually see. So, I figured, what the heck? There are odds and ends worth writing about, although I don’t plan on doing an epic posts before next Monday. Who knows? Maybe I’ll finally figure out how to do brevity right.

Try not to laugh too hard.



In any case, right before Christmas, a reader sent me a link to yet another brain dead listicle that’s longer than most listicles in which an antivaccine maven tries to warn a hypothetical “normal, socially accepted person” about to become an antivaccinationist like him what to look out for. (Why is it that antivaccinationists can’t seem to keep their listicles short and punchy, as any good link bait listicle should be? Even I can manage that when I put my mind to it.) It’s entitled 15 Things You Should Know Before Becoming An Anti-Vaxxer, and, hoo boy, is it a doozy, so much so that I doubt I’ll be able to cover all 15 items in the listicle.

At least Matt, who describes himself as a “conservative millennial whose greatest wish is that people would just stop and think” is honest and declares himself an “anti-vaxer.” Of course, the very fact that he is an antivaxer demonstrates that, whatever it is he’s been thinking about so much, he’s been going about it all wrong. No surprise there. He’s also useful in that, as a self-declared conservative, he’s a nice counterpoint to the mistaken prevailing idea that antivaccine pseudoscience is primarily the province of the left. As I’ve described many times before, it’s not.

His introduction is a combination of bravado and self-pity that we’ve seen before. In it he declares himself an outcast, but equally declares that he chose this path because, well, I’ll let him him say it in his own words:

For those of you still reading, you read that right. An Anti-Vaxxer.

You’ve seen things about me. The scum of the earth? Disease ridden outcast? The sickie in town?

You’ve read things about me. The idiot. The moron. The child abuser. The ignorant one.

You’ve said things about me. The pseudo science pusher? The health nut? The conspiracy theorist?

Yeah… it sucks. But that’s me. And the worst part is, I did it to myself.

I chose to be an Anti-Vaxxer, even though I knew forsaking my pro-medicine stance wouldn’t be easy.

I chose to keep researching when I had my curiosity peaked. I chose to keep clicking those links.

I chose to delve into forbidden mainstream knowledge; to suckle at the temptingly attractive teat of common sense. I chose to walk this path.

I guess some people have to learn the hard way. I did.

See? He’s a special snowflake, not like all those pro-vaccine sheeple. He kept researching. He kept clicking those antivaccine links on the Internet. Unlike you, he was brave enough to “delve into forbidden knowledge.” At this point, I wanted to ask Matt whether he had given himself a rotator cuff tear patting himself on the back so furiously, but I couldn’t because of the bile rising in my throat due to a profound urge to vomit in reaction to his self-important arrogance of ignorance. However, I have seen worse; so my constitution is strong enough to resist such urges.

Let’s “cherry pick” my favorites among the 15 items. Feel free to take on the leftovers that I don’t bother with or to take a bite out of ones I have.

The first item Matt starts out with is this:

1. Once you go down this road, you won’t go back.

If you really put in the time and research, you’ll eventually see for yourself what the ‘crazies’ are really saying. You’ll also realize that it makes perfect sense. It’s logical. And you’ll see that what you’ve been thinking are anti-scientific ramblings all these years are really the most scientifically valid points in the entire debate.

You’ll see that there really is more risk than benefit, and that there really haven’t been any legitimate safety studies conducted on vaccines or their ingredients.

You’ll see plenty of other things along the way, and if you put enough time in, you’ll realize sooner or later that there’s no going back. It’s ok, though. There’s a growing number of sensible, down-to-earth people who are there to help you along the way. The road is dark, but there’s light at the end. I promise.

To me, this resembles a promise to a convert to a new religion. “Listen,” the priest or imam or whatever cleric we’re talking about will say, “It’s hard. It’ll take a lot of work. People will give you crap. But it’s worth it. There are lots of people doing the same thing.” Whether that’s the case with a religion is pretty subjective. Whether it’s the case “converting” to the religion of antivaccination is easy to assess: It’s not. What Matt is trying to persuade people is that becoming an antiscience loon who endangers his own children and others is a good thing to be.

In fact, consider item #2, which is that “you’ll be forced to ponder certain possibilities you didn’t consider before.” What Matt doesn’t tell you is that the reason you didn’t consider these possibilities before is because you were a rational, pro-science, pro-medicine person before. It’s only by contemplating and embracing (or at least accepting) pseudoscience that you can become an antivaccinationist like him. Oh, well…

Perhaps my favorite is this one:

3. Sometimes conspiracy theories are actually true.

You’ll instantly be branded a conspiracy theorist for questioning vaccines. No, I’m not kidding.

Numerous ‘extremist’ Pro-Vaxxers will descend on you like vultures on a carcass just for asking why the autism rate is skyrocketing, since you’ll discover that there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that autism is a body disease, not a mental disease, and it’s an auto-immune body response. You’ll see how many thousands of kids out there suddenly developed autism after a vaccine(often first noticed after a whooping cough shot). You’ll see that there’s a ton of correlation between vaccines and autism. Doesn’t matter, though. You’ll be a laughing stock. They’ll say that theory has been debunked, and then fail to show you any real studies to back this up. They call you names, and lump you in with other conspiracies that you may even think are ridiculous, just to publicly shame you. Get ready.

But a conspiracy theory is just that: A theory with some sort of compelling evidence that someone is covering up an act of crime and lying about it. Until it’s proven, it remains a theory. Let’s go on to prove vaccines are at the heart of one of the biggest, evidence based conspiracies out there.

Or, far more likely, you really have become a conspiracy monger. After all, contrary to what Matt claims, there is no correlation between vaccines and autism, at least not any that indicates causation. As I’ve described more times than I can remember over the last decade, all the well-designed epidemiological studies that have looked at the question have failed to find a correlation. Yes, autism prevalence has increased greatly over the last 20 years, but that does not mean that it’s the vaccines. Again, as I’ve pointed out before, cell phone use has increased greatly over the last 20 years. Why isn’t it cell phones? Wifi use has skyrocketed over that same period. Why isn’t it wifi? Internet usage in general has also skyrocketed? Why isn’t it the Internet that’s causing autism. But, no. It’s the vaccines. It’s always the vaccines. It’s always been the vaccines. To antivaccinationists, it will always be the vaccines. Always. You can see that by the way that Matt says, “let’s go on to prove vaccines are at the heart of one of the biggest, evidence based conspiracies out there.” Not “let’s see if vaccines are at the heart of one of the biggest, evidence based conspiracies out there” Rather, let’s prove it.

In other words, Matt “knows” vaccines are evil. He’s just cherry picking information to “prove it.”

Which leads to Matt’s warning that you’ll become a “hardened person”:

You’ll become immune to insults after a while. The ‘extremist’ Pro-Vaccine crowd shows up online in large numbers and hurls many stones. They may hurt at first, but if you keep at it, it just toughens your skin. After a while, you’ll probably become so calloused that you may not even care what your friends or family members think of you anymore. There is a time that you reach a point of nay-saying immunity, and it’s certainly not thanks to a vaccine.

As my irony meter melted down, I went on to read:

5. You’ll need to develop an acute sense of civility.

As a battle hardened veteran of the vaccine debate, you’ll be filled with an urge to warn others, yet take the high road in most debates. You’ll see that to win a vaccine argument, you need to be poised and controlled. While some sarcasm is allowed, you can’t overdo it. Once you’ve discovered that vaccines are nothing but a big gamble with your child’s life, you’ll want to make sure those you love have the same information.

And that’s when Matt blew another one of my irony meters. He melted that sucker flat, to the point that all that was left was was a bubbling, pathetic, sparking pile of goo. After all, over the last decade I’ve endured frequent abuse at the hand of antivaccinationists like Matt. Four years ago, antivaccinationists mounted a concerted effort to get me fired from my job. Since then, periodically they mount attacks against me. If Matt really thinks antivaccinationists are (or have to be) more “civil” than their opponents, I respectfully submit that he is on crack.

Reading the rest of Matt’s listicle, which is well over 6,000 words and thus actually beyond even what I, who am known for my logorrhea, usually generate, led me to conclude that I must stand in awe. While it’s true that I do indeed sometimes write 6,000 word posts, particularly for my not-so-super-secret other blog, but for the most part, I keep myself under 2,000-3,000 words here, which is plenty indeed. That’s why I’m not going to march through each and every item, although I must admit that #10 (“you’ll read the ingredients on a vaccine insert”) amused me given the frequently used and deceptive technique of “argument by package insert” so beloved of antivaccinationists. Add to that his liberal use of the “toxins gambit,” and the lulz just keep coming. (If you don’t believe me, read Matt’s hilariously scientifically ignorant “rebuttal” to Dr. Paul Offit.) Ditto Matt’s claim in #11 that vaccines cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They don’t. In fact, if anything, they decrease the risk of SIDS. Then in #6, he proclaims antivaccinationists not “anti-science” while demonstrating quite conclusively in the text that he is, in fact, antiscience. It is, however, very cute to see Matt attempt to justify a “vaxed versus unvaxed” study without understanding clue one about why a randomized, placebo-controlled study of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children would be unethical and without a hint that he might understand the incredible difficulties that would be involved in carrying out such a study. It’s not so cute when he delves into the intellectually dishonest “vaccines didn’t save us” gambit in #7, when he describes vaccines as “one of the biggest hoaxes in human history.”

Perhaps what’s most telling is #12:

12. You’ll start to realize there’s a big problem with western medicine.

The more you research, the more you’ll start to see that modern medicine has some real issues. Ever notice how when you’re sick, you get a prescription for something usually pretty expensive (most insurance covers the majority of cost) that temporarily relieves your symptoms? Most doctors will recommend some kind of medication to mask your issue, not fix it.

The reason is simple: Most doctors don’t know how to fix your problem. Instead, they prescribe man-made medicine that will “help” only to a certain degree, instead of focusing on ridding the body of your ailment. Your time is much better spent with a holistic health provider. They will actually take the time to inform you of the best natural way to cleanse your body of various ailments; with amazing results. Many people roll their eyes when you mention holistic health. This is partly due to the work of Big Pharma, who has put in a ton of subtle work behind the scenes to make sure you think that way. There is potentially a lot of money flushed down their drains for every person that seeks natural healthcare.

Everything you see nowadays is designed to make you think that modern medicine is the best thing since sliced bread. They’ll also tell you that homeopathic medicine and natural healthcare are “dangerous”, and unproven. You’ll discover that this is not true at all. Most of the things your holistic health provider recommends fix the problem fast, with no side effects, are cheaper, and have been proven for hundreds or even thousands of years. There are many things you’ll learn to be able to actually keep yourself healthy and your immune system like an iron horse so you’re less likely to get sick in the first place.

Of course Big Pharma would have a problem with holistic health; it’s a direct threat to their business. As we’ve already discussed, once the pharmaceutical companies are upset, the medical system, government branches, and media are soon to follow. It’s a vicious cycle, so it will come as no surprise to you that many holistic health care providers are targets. The government seeks to shut them down whenever possible and strip them of their medical licenses. They are under intense scrutiny from a very powerful entity.

If you actually put in the time to seek holistic diagnoses, you’ll learn more in an hour about your body than you ever knew before, and you’ll quickly discover it’s far from the quackery you thought it was. It really works; I’ve personally experienced it.

No, the reason I roll my eyes when someone like Matt mentions “holistic health” is because I know that what he means by it is a hodge-podge of quackery. It is, however, amusing to see just how much antivaccine views correlate with quackery. Naturopaths and chiropractors, for instance, are notorious for being antivaccine or at least for giving out advice that, if not blatantly antivaccine, tends to be littered with antivaccine tropes dressed up as “skepticism” and “natural healing.” In the above passage, there are the very common tropes trotted out by quacks of all stripes about “Western” (don’t get me started on the racism inherent in that term) medicine: The claim that doctors “just treat the symptoms, not the cause” (never mind that homeopathy, for instance, is all about treating only symptoms); that “holistic medicine” is somehow a threat to big pharma that pharma must destroy; that “detoxification” cures everything and you can prevent vaccine-preventable disease with diet (expounded on explicitly and in more detail in his incredibly brain dead “rebuttal” to Paul Offit).

The arrogance of ignorance is strong in this one. Very strong. Worse, he’s proud of it and thinks he’s “educated” himself.

from ScienceBlogs http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2014/12/29/15-antivaccine-tropes-for-christmas/

Christmas is over, and we’re in that weird time between Christmas and New Years Day, when, usually at least, I have to work but so many people are out and so few patients seem to want to come in that it hardly seems worth the effort. So it is with the blog, too. The week between Christmas and New Years tends to be the lowest traffic period of the year. Although that’s been true this year as well, I’ve noticed more commenting activity than I usually see. So, I figured, what the heck? There are odds and ends worth writing about, although I don’t plan on doing an epic posts before next Monday. Who knows? Maybe I’ll finally figure out how to do brevity right.

Try not to laugh too hard.



In any case, right before Christmas, a reader sent me a link to yet another brain dead listicle that’s longer than most listicles in which an antivaccine maven tries to warn a hypothetical “normal, socially accepted person” about to become an antivaccinationist like him what to look out for. (Why is it that antivaccinationists can’t seem to keep their listicles short and punchy, as any good link bait listicle should be? Even I can manage that when I put my mind to it.) It’s entitled 15 Things You Should Know Before Becoming An Anti-Vaxxer, and, hoo boy, is it a doozy, so much so that I doubt I’ll be able to cover all 15 items in the listicle.

At least Matt, who describes himself as a “conservative millennial whose greatest wish is that people would just stop and think” is honest and declares himself an “anti-vaxer.” Of course, the very fact that he is an antivaxer demonstrates that, whatever it is he’s been thinking about so much, he’s been going about it all wrong. No surprise there. He’s also useful in that, as a self-declared conservative, he’s a nice counterpoint to the mistaken prevailing idea that antivaccine pseudoscience is primarily the province of the left. As I’ve described many times before, it’s not.

His introduction is a combination of bravado and self-pity that we’ve seen before. In it he declares himself an outcast, but equally declares that he chose this path because, well, I’ll let him him say it in his own words:

For those of you still reading, you read that right. An Anti-Vaxxer.

You’ve seen things about me. The scum of the earth? Disease ridden outcast? The sickie in town?

You’ve read things about me. The idiot. The moron. The child abuser. The ignorant one.

You’ve said things about me. The pseudo science pusher? The health nut? The conspiracy theorist?

Yeah… it sucks. But that’s me. And the worst part is, I did it to myself.

I chose to be an Anti-Vaxxer, even though I knew forsaking my pro-medicine stance wouldn’t be easy.

I chose to keep researching when I had my curiosity peaked. I chose to keep clicking those links.

I chose to delve into forbidden mainstream knowledge; to suckle at the temptingly attractive teat of common sense. I chose to walk this path.

I guess some people have to learn the hard way. I did.

See? He’s a special snowflake, not like all those pro-vaccine sheeple. He kept researching. He kept clicking those antivaccine links on the Internet. Unlike you, he was brave enough to “delve into forbidden knowledge.” At this point, I wanted to ask Matt whether he had given himself a rotator cuff tear patting himself on the back so furiously, but I couldn’t because of the bile rising in my throat due to a profound urge to vomit in reaction to his self-important arrogance of ignorance. However, I have seen worse; so my constitution is strong enough to resist such urges.

Let’s “cherry pick” my favorites among the 15 items. Feel free to take on the leftovers that I don’t bother with or to take a bite out of ones I have.

The first item Matt starts out with is this:

1. Once you go down this road, you won’t go back.

If you really put in the time and research, you’ll eventually see for yourself what the ‘crazies’ are really saying. You’ll also realize that it makes perfect sense. It’s logical. And you’ll see that what you’ve been thinking are anti-scientific ramblings all these years are really the most scientifically valid points in the entire debate.

You’ll see that there really is more risk than benefit, and that there really haven’t been any legitimate safety studies conducted on vaccines or their ingredients.

You’ll see plenty of other things along the way, and if you put enough time in, you’ll realize sooner or later that there’s no going back. It’s ok, though. There’s a growing number of sensible, down-to-earth people who are there to help you along the way. The road is dark, but there’s light at the end. I promise.

To me, this resembles a promise to a convert to a new religion. “Listen,” the priest or imam or whatever cleric we’re talking about will say, “It’s hard. It’ll take a lot of work. People will give you crap. But it’s worth it. There are lots of people doing the same thing.” Whether that’s the case with a religion is pretty subjective. Whether it’s the case “converting” to the religion of antivaccination is easy to assess: It’s not. What Matt is trying to persuade people is that becoming an antiscience loon who endangers his own children and others is a good thing to be.

In fact, consider item #2, which is that “you’ll be forced to ponder certain possibilities you didn’t consider before.” What Matt doesn’t tell you is that the reason you didn’t consider these possibilities before is because you were a rational, pro-science, pro-medicine person before. It’s only by contemplating and embracing (or at least accepting) pseudoscience that you can become an antivaccinationist like him. Oh, well…

Perhaps my favorite is this one:

3. Sometimes conspiracy theories are actually true.

You’ll instantly be branded a conspiracy theorist for questioning vaccines. No, I’m not kidding.

Numerous ‘extremist’ Pro-Vaxxers will descend on you like vultures on a carcass just for asking why the autism rate is skyrocketing, since you’ll discover that there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that autism is a body disease, not a mental disease, and it’s an auto-immune body response. You’ll see how many thousands of kids out there suddenly developed autism after a vaccine(often first noticed after a whooping cough shot). You’ll see that there’s a ton of correlation between vaccines and autism. Doesn’t matter, though. You’ll be a laughing stock. They’ll say that theory has been debunked, and then fail to show you any real studies to back this up. They call you names, and lump you in with other conspiracies that you may even think are ridiculous, just to publicly shame you. Get ready.

But a conspiracy theory is just that: A theory with some sort of compelling evidence that someone is covering up an act of crime and lying about it. Until it’s proven, it remains a theory. Let’s go on to prove vaccines are at the heart of one of the biggest, evidence based conspiracies out there.

Or, far more likely, you really have become a conspiracy monger. After all, contrary to what Matt claims, there is no correlation between vaccines and autism, at least not any that indicates causation. As I’ve described more times than I can remember over the last decade, all the well-designed epidemiological studies that have looked at the question have failed to find a correlation. Yes, autism prevalence has increased greatly over the last 20 years, but that does not mean that it’s the vaccines. Again, as I’ve pointed out before, cell phone use has increased greatly over the last 20 years. Why isn’t it cell phones? Wifi use has skyrocketed over that same period. Why isn’t it wifi? Internet usage in general has also skyrocketed? Why isn’t it the Internet that’s causing autism. But, no. It’s the vaccines. It’s always the vaccines. It’s always been the vaccines. To antivaccinationists, it will always be the vaccines. Always. You can see that by the way that Matt says, “let’s go on to prove vaccines are at the heart of one of the biggest, evidence based conspiracies out there.” Not “let’s see if vaccines are at the heart of one of the biggest, evidence based conspiracies out there” Rather, let’s prove it.

In other words, Matt “knows” vaccines are evil. He’s just cherry picking information to “prove it.”

Which leads to Matt’s warning that you’ll become a “hardened person”:

You’ll become immune to insults after a while. The ‘extremist’ Pro-Vaccine crowd shows up online in large numbers and hurls many stones. They may hurt at first, but if you keep at it, it just toughens your skin. After a while, you’ll probably become so calloused that you may not even care what your friends or family members think of you anymore. There is a time that you reach a point of nay-saying immunity, and it’s certainly not thanks to a vaccine.

As my irony meter melted down, I went on to read:

5. You’ll need to develop an acute sense of civility.

As a battle hardened veteran of the vaccine debate, you’ll be filled with an urge to warn others, yet take the high road in most debates. You’ll see that to win a vaccine argument, you need to be poised and controlled. While some sarcasm is allowed, you can’t overdo it. Once you’ve discovered that vaccines are nothing but a big gamble with your child’s life, you’ll want to make sure those you love have the same information.

And that’s when Matt blew another one of my irony meters. He melted that sucker flat, to the point that all that was left was was a bubbling, pathetic, sparking pile of goo. After all, over the last decade I’ve endured frequent abuse at the hand of antivaccinationists like Matt. Four years ago, antivaccinationists mounted a concerted effort to get me fired from my job. Since then, periodically they mount attacks against me. If Matt really thinks antivaccinationists are (or have to be) more “civil” than their opponents, I respectfully submit that he is on crack.

Reading the rest of Matt’s listicle, which is well over 6,000 words and thus actually beyond even what I, who am known for my logorrhea, usually generate, led me to conclude that I must stand in awe. While it’s true that I do indeed sometimes write 6,000 word posts, particularly for my not-so-super-secret other blog, but for the most part, I keep myself under 2,000-3,000 words here, which is plenty indeed. That’s why I’m not going to march through each and every item, although I must admit that #10 (“you’ll read the ingredients on a vaccine insert”) amused me given the frequently used and deceptive technique of “argument by package insert” so beloved of antivaccinationists. Add to that his liberal use of the “toxins gambit,” and the lulz just keep coming. (If you don’t believe me, read Matt’s hilariously scientifically ignorant “rebuttal” to Dr. Paul Offit.) Ditto Matt’s claim in #11 that vaccines cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They don’t. In fact, if anything, they decrease the risk of SIDS. Then in #6, he proclaims antivaccinationists not “anti-science” while demonstrating quite conclusively in the text that he is, in fact, antiscience. It is, however, very cute to see Matt attempt to justify a “vaxed versus unvaxed” study without understanding clue one about why a randomized, placebo-controlled study of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children would be unethical and without a hint that he might understand the incredible difficulties that would be involved in carrying out such a study. It’s not so cute when he delves into the intellectually dishonest “vaccines didn’t save us” gambit in #7, when he describes vaccines as “one of the biggest hoaxes in human history.”

Perhaps what’s most telling is #12:

12. You’ll start to realize there’s a big problem with western medicine.

The more you research, the more you’ll start to see that modern medicine has some real issues. Ever notice how when you’re sick, you get a prescription for something usually pretty expensive (most insurance covers the majority of cost) that temporarily relieves your symptoms? Most doctors will recommend some kind of medication to mask your issue, not fix it.

The reason is simple: Most doctors don’t know how to fix your problem. Instead, they prescribe man-made medicine that will “help” only to a certain degree, instead of focusing on ridding the body of your ailment. Your time is much better spent with a holistic health provider. They will actually take the time to inform you of the best natural way to cleanse your body of various ailments; with amazing results. Many people roll their eyes when you mention holistic health. This is partly due to the work of Big Pharma, who has put in a ton of subtle work behind the scenes to make sure you think that way. There is potentially a lot of money flushed down their drains for every person that seeks natural healthcare.

Everything you see nowadays is designed to make you think that modern medicine is the best thing since sliced bread. They’ll also tell you that homeopathic medicine and natural healthcare are “dangerous”, and unproven. You’ll discover that this is not true at all. Most of the things your holistic health provider recommends fix the problem fast, with no side effects, are cheaper, and have been proven for hundreds or even thousands of years. There are many things you’ll learn to be able to actually keep yourself healthy and your immune system like an iron horse so you’re less likely to get sick in the first place.

Of course Big Pharma would have a problem with holistic health; it’s a direct threat to their business. As we’ve already discussed, once the pharmaceutical companies are upset, the medical system, government branches, and media are soon to follow. It’s a vicious cycle, so it will come as no surprise to you that many holistic health care providers are targets. The government seeks to shut them down whenever possible and strip them of their medical licenses. They are under intense scrutiny from a very powerful entity.

If you actually put in the time to seek holistic diagnoses, you’ll learn more in an hour about your body than you ever knew before, and you’ll quickly discover it’s far from the quackery you thought it was. It really works; I’ve personally experienced it.

No, the reason I roll my eyes when someone like Matt mentions “holistic health” is because I know that what he means by it is a hodge-podge of quackery. It is, however, amusing to see just how much antivaccine views correlate with quackery. Naturopaths and chiropractors, for instance, are notorious for being antivaccine or at least for giving out advice that, if not blatantly antivaccine, tends to be littered with antivaccine tropes dressed up as “skepticism” and “natural healing.” In the above passage, there are the very common tropes trotted out by quacks of all stripes about “Western” (don’t get me started on the racism inherent in that term) medicine: The claim that doctors “just treat the symptoms, not the cause” (never mind that homeopathy, for instance, is all about treating only symptoms); that “holistic medicine” is somehow a threat to big pharma that pharma must destroy; that “detoxification” cures everything and you can prevent vaccine-preventable disease with diet (expounded on explicitly and in more detail in his incredibly brain dead “rebuttal” to Paul Offit).

The arrogance of ignorance is strong in this one. Very strong. Worse, he’s proud of it and thinks he’s “educated” himself.

from ScienceBlogs http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2014/12/29/15-antivaccine-tropes-for-christmas/