Dr. Novella is an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine. He is the president and co-founder of the New England Skeptical Society. He is the host and producer of the popular weekly science podcast, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe. He is also a senior fellow and Director of Science-Based Medicine at the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and a founding fellow of the Institute for Science in Medicine.

The NeuroLogicaBlog covers news and issues in neuroscience, but also general science, scientific skepticism, philosophy of science, critical thinking, and the intersection of science with the media and society.

Dr. Novella is also the founder, executive editor, and regular contributor to Science-Based Medicine, a blog dedicated to issues of science and medicine.

If you would like to contact Dr. Novella to suggest a topic for this blog, ask a question, or give feedback, you can e-mail him directly at: [email protected]

Dr. Novella is also available for public lectures, radio, podcast, or other media appearances. Contact him through the e-mail address above to request an appearance.

Dr. Novella has completed two 24 lecture courses with the Teaching Company: Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us and Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills, both available for purchase as audio CD, video DVD or download.

Dr. Novella is also an editor and co-author on a series of e-Books on Science-Based Medicine available here on Amazon, on iTunes, and for the Nook.

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Media and Public Appearances:

Upcoming:

Past:

10/27/2017  – CSICon, Las Vegas, – “How to Survive in a Post Truth World”

10/18/2017 – Medscape: Should Doctors Embrace or Reject Alternative Treatments?

06/30/2017  – NECSS, New York, – “Neuroscience Hype vs Hope”

06/28/2017 – “What Used to be Fraud is Now Alternative Medicine”: Doc-to-Doc with Steve Novella, MD 

08/17/2015 – Big Picture Science: Health Gimmicks

7/27/2015 – Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

05/23/2015 – Big Picture Science: After the Hereafter.

5/2/2015 – Live streaming celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the SGU. Noon to 10pm Eastern. http://www.theskepticsguide.org/sgu-10-hour-podcast-2015

04/23/2015 – Interview on Skepticality

04/23/2015 – Huffpost Live: Is America’s Doctor a Quack?

04/22/2015 – The Science of Snakeoil: The Colin McEnroe show on NPR

09/14/2014 – Big Picture Science interview regarding propellantless thrust

09/10/2014 – Interview for The Humanist Hour podcast.

07/14/2014 – YouTube video, interview with Susan Gerbic regarding Perry DeAngelis

07/10-13/2014 – The Amazing Meeting (TAM) 2014

05/13/2014 – The Prism Podcast interview

04/11/2014 – Intelligence Squared debate, Death Is Not Final

02/14/2014 – Interview on Mother Jones and their  Inquiring Minds podcast on GMO

01/16/2-14 – You Are Not So Smart podcast

11/06/2013 – 60 Minutes Sports, segment on deer antler spray.

10/16/2013 – Monster Talk: The Warren Omission

10/15/2013 – eHow Tech: Internet Hoaxes

10/14/2013 – Goldstein on Gelt, interview about skepticism

09/15/2013 – America Weekend with Paul Harris

07/11-14/2013 – The Amazing Meeting (TAM) 2013

03/24/2013 – Big Picture Science

03/21/2013 – The Skeptic Zone

02/22/2013 – Skeptically Speaking

04/21-22/2012 – NECSS 2012

01/12/2012 – Meet the Skeptic, episode 34

10/27-30/2011 – CSICON, New Orleans

09/02-04/2011 – DragonCon 2011, Atlanta, GA – Presentations in the Science and Skepticism tracks

07/14-17/2011 – TAM9 – The Amazing Meeting, Las Vegas, NV

05/22/2011 – Skeptically Speaking: Science-Based Medicine and the Media

04/26/2011 – The Dr. Oz show: Controversial Medicine: Alternative Health

04/09/2011 – NECSS 2011 – The Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, New York NY

04/04/2011 – Reddit AMA 

03/10/2011 – Interview with Suicide Girls

03/01/2011 – Podcast Squared interview

02/24/2011 – Inside Edition: Power Bracelets

02/22/2011 – NPR: All Things Considered – Cell Phone Radio Waves Excite Brain Cells

02/22/2011 – Live chat on alternative medicine with Trine Tsouderos from the Chicago Tribune

02/13/2011 – Inkredulous Podcast #9

02/5-6/2011 – QED Conference Manchester, UK (YouTube of Keynote)

12/30/2010 – Minnesota Public Radio – The Year in Medicine

11/26-28/2010 – TAM Australia, Sydney

11/20/2010 – SGU Live Show with George Hrab, Vancouver, Canada – sponsored by CFI Vancouver

09/09/2010 – Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour Episode #63

07/08-11/2010 – TAM8 – The Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas (Science-Based Medicine Workshop and SGU Live Show)

05/26/2010 – Skeptiko interview on Near-Death Experiences

05/10/2010 – Reasonable Doubts podcast on Intelligent Design and Neuroscience

04/24/2010 – H1N1, Evolution, and the Public Understanding of Science – 29th Annual Conference of ESATYCB

04/17/2010 – NECSS 2010 – the NorthEast Conference on Science and Skepticism, New York

04/12/2010 – Critical Hit podcast – Interview about Gaming Addiction and Neurological Effects.

03/03/2010 – Monster Talk  –Interview about Ghost Hunting

02/21/2010 – Radio Rounds –Interview with Dr. Steven Novella

02/17/2010 – NPR All Things Considered: Follow up On Rom Houben Case

02/05/2010 – Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – Retracting the Needle from Autism

02/04/2010 – Inside Edition – Follow up on the Desiree Jennings story.

01/25/2010 – Science…Sort Of: Interview about skepticism with Dr. Novella

01/06/2010 – NPR All Things Considered: Autism Clusters Linked to Parents Education

12/22/2009 – Minnesota Public Radio: In the Loop with Jeff Horwich – Year-End Interview: Super- Skeptic Steve Novella

11/30/2009 – Are We Alone: Vaccines: Give ‘Em Your Best Shot

10/11/2009 – Reality Check # 59, interview with the Ottawa Skeptics

09/12/2009 – Nirmukta Radio interview

09/04/2009 – DragonCon 2009: The Neurology of Skepticism, Swine Flu Panel

07/10-12/2009 – TAM 7 – Live SGU Shows and Panel discussion on vaccines and autism.

07/09/2009 – Science-Based Medicine Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada

06/17/2009 – Jefferson Public Radio, The Jefferson Exchange about Alternative Medicine

02/20/2009 – NPR – All Things Considered: Doubting Darwin: Debate Over The Mind’s Evolution

01/16/2009 – Jefferson Public Radio, The Jefferson Exchange about Skepticism (download podcast)

11/21/2008 – The Skeptic Zone #6, the podcast from Australia for Science and Reason (Transcript)

8/29/2008-8/31/2008 – DragonCon 2008 Skeptic Track, Atlanta

7/5/2008 – The Amateur Scientist Podcast: Inside the Amateur Scientist Studio

6/25/2008 – WNYC – NPR Station: Soundcheck – Music Therapy

6/21/2008 – TAM6, Las Vegas

4/28/2008 – Sounds Reasonable WHRW-FM, SUNY Binghamton’s campus radio station

4/17/2008 – Science Skepticism and Superstition in the 21st Century, Guest Lecture – Westchester Community College

1/08/2008 – The Reason Driven Podcast

12/14/2007 – Brain Science Podcast Interview

12/12/2007 – Court TV Radio, Modern Scopes Trial – Evolution vs Intelligent Design, Dr. Novella is the expert witness for evolution

12/8/2007 – New York City Skeptics – Skeptical Activism (Jefferson Market Branch, NY Public Library, 425 Avenue of the Americas)

10/25/2007 – University of CT, 2-4PM – A Debate: Homeopathy – Quackery Or A Key To The Future of Medicine?

10/12/2007 – Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Medical Grand Rounds – Science-Based Medicine

9/24/2007 – Line One KSKA Public Radio – Making Medical Decisions

8/11/2007 – SGU Live Recording – Teaching Science and Skepticism

6/04/2007 – Astronomy Cast – Astrology and UFO’s

5/12/2007 – Beyond Reality Radio – Demons and Demonology

4/21/2007 – The Infidel Guy – Is the Field of Psychiatry Scientific?

1/21/2007 – TAM5 – Dispelling the Natural Myth

11/1/2006 – History Channel – History of Exorcism

7/11/2005 – Penn & Teller: Bullshit – Ghostbusters

6/8/2003 – Capital District Humanist Society – Alternative Medicine: A skeptical look

6/22/2002 – Fourth World Skeptics Conference – Healthcare Freedom and Regulation

4/21/1999 – Central CT Humanist Society – Science and Medicine

2/27/1999 – Science Meets Alternative Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, Sponsored by CSICOP – The Myth of the Hidden Cure

2/12/1999 – CultInfo National Conference – Scientific Skepticism

1999 – Bee Sting Therapy – Exploring the Unknown episode #3 on Fox Family Channel

10/24/1998 – Conspiracies and Hoaxes: A Skeptical Review, CSICOP/NESS Conference, Wakefield, MA

1997 – Spontaneous Human Combustion – The Unexplained on A&E

9/31/1996 – I’m a Real Life Vampire – The Ricki Lake Show

Lectures for the New England Skeptical Society

7/22/2006 – Intelligent Design: An Update

8/13/2005 – Vaccines and Autism

5/15/2003 – The Skeptics Diet: What does the scientific evidence really say about nutrition and weight loss?

11/23/2002 – Intelligent Design: The New Creationism

6/24/2000 – UFO’s: The Psychocultural Hypothesis

11/11/2000 – Iridology, Phrenology and Other Medical Pseudosciences

12/11/1999 – Science and Religion Panel Discussion

7/25/1998 – Alternative Medicine

Mentions in Print and other Media

08/22/2014 – Medical News Today, article on scientific literacy and news reporting.

07/17/2012 – Doubtful News reviews debate with anti-vaxxer.

02/18/2010 – The Chicago Tribune, Coma patient’s communication wasn’t real, neurologist says

02/05/2010 – Los Angeles Times, Health Section, discussing skeptical blogs – mentions SBM, NeuroLogica, and SkepticBlog

07/24/2009 – The Darien News regarding Chronic Lyme Disease

05/19/2009 – The Irish Times regarding Stem-Cell therapy is China

05/10/2009 – Quoted extensively in article for Popular Mechanics on Spontaneous Human Combustion

03/17/2009 – Washington Post article on NCCAM

2008 – Debate in Opposing Views: Does Acupuncture Work?

09/30/2008 – Article on ABCNews.com about Near Death Experiences

09/02/2008 – Article on hyperbaric oxygen for autism in the OCRegister

08/28/2008 – Article about skepticism in Vue Weekly

07/31/2008 – Quoted in article on Autism for sfari.org: Experts slam NIH study on chelation therapy

03/12/2008 – NeuroLogica was listed on Forbes.com as one of the “Go To Blogs” on the autism-vaccine debate

03/08/2008 – New Scientist article on Autism and Vaccines quotes Dr. Novella extensively.

02/2008 – Dr. Novella featured in Cectic cartoon

11/2007 – In the Lyme Light, by Liese Klein in New Haven Magazine

10/26/2007 – To Haunt or Not To Haunt: Two Perspectives, by David Harry and Michael Hartwell

2/18/2007 – Angels Singing Caught on Tape, By Joe Kovacs in World Net Daily

5/3/2006 – Astroseti.org: Interview with Steven Novella

11/28/2005 – Invasion of the Pod People, by Jennifer Delony in CT Business News Journal

10/31/2005 – Skeptical Society Wants Residents to Breath Easy, by Jim Shelton in Register Citizen

10/7/2005 – ‘Skeptical’ neurologist works to separate science from sham, by Jacqueline Weaver in the Yale Bulletin

3/2004 – Standing Up for Common Sense, by Doug Maine in Connecticut Life

8/24/1997 – Taking the Wind from Silly Sails, by Michael Pollak in The New York Times

I lead a rich fantasy life. I love science fiction and fantasy books and movies (current favorite show: Battlestar Galactica – really, if you like SciFi and have not seen it, check it out). I have even written fantasy role-playing supplements. I have always been able to withdraw “inside my head” and just weave a compelling fantasy to pass the time. My favorite sciences have always been paleontology and astronomy – I think because through both I was able to mentally transport myself to a completely alien and exotic time and place. And yet, despite all this, I have also made it a lifelong endeavor to make the line between fantasy and reality razor sharp and crystal clear. The same is not true, apparently, for all members of my own species.

In 1981 Wilson and Barber first identified what they called a fantasy-prone personality (FPP) type (this work actually extended from Josephine Hilgard’s observations of people who were very susceptible to hypnosis). These are people who not only lead a rich fantasy life but seem to blur the lines between fantasy and reality. They identify 14 characteristics of fantasy proneness: (1) being an excellent hypnotic subject, (2) having imaginary playmates as a child, (3) fantasizing frequently as a child, (4) adopting a fantasy identity, (5) experiencing imagined sensations as real, (6) having vivid sensory perceptions, (7) reliving past experiences, (8) claiming psychic powers, (9) having out-of-body or floating experiences, (10) receiving poems, messages, etc., from spirits, higher intelligences, and the like, (11) being involved in “healing,” (12) encountering apparitions, (13) experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations (waking dreams), and (14) seeing classical hypnagogic imagery (such as spirits or monsters from outer space).
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TED is a prestigious biannual conference whose brand is, “Ideas Worth Spreading.” (TED originally stood for “Technology, Entertainment, Design,” but its scope has since expanded.) It has spawned TEDx – regional independent TED style conferences that are allowed to use the TED brand as long as they strive for the same level of quality.

Deepak Chopra apparently thinks that TED’s logo should be, “Let’s throw any crap against the wall and let the audience sort it out.” Of course that is what all self-styled gurus and purveyors of pseudoscience want, no real scientific standards so that they can present their crackpot ideas as legitimate.

This conflict of vision recently came to a head when TEDx directors (Lara Stein, TEDx Director and Emily McManus, TED.com Editor) wrote an open letter to TEDx organizers giving them guidance on how to avoid accidentally promoting bad science. The letter is an excellent primer on pseudoscience and I recommend reading it in its entirety. The letter was a response to several dubious TEDx talks and the backlash that resulted. Early in the letter they make clear its purpose and their philosophy.

“It is not your audience’s job to figure out if a speaker is offering legitimate science or not. It is your job.”

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In an article for Newsweek, neurosurgeon Eben Alexander recounts his near death experience during a coma from bacterial meningitis. This is sure to become a staple of the NDE/afterlife community, as Alexander recounts in articulate and breathless terms his profound experience. His book is called, Proof of Heaven – a bold claim for someone who insists he is and remains a scientist.

Alexander claims:

There is no scientific explanation for the fact that while my body lay in coma, my mind—my conscious, inner self—was alive and well. While the neurons of my cortex were stunned to complete inactivity by the bacteria that had attacked them, my brain-free consciousness journeyed to another, larger dimension of the universe: a dimension I’d never dreamed existed and which the old, pre-coma me would have been more than happy to explain was a simple impossibility.

While his experience is certainly interesting, his entire premise is flimsily based on a single word in the above paragraph – “while.” He assumes that the experiences he remembers after waking from the coma occurred while his cortex was completely inactive. He does not even seem aware of the fact that he is making that assumption or that it is the central premise of his claim, as he does not address it in his article.

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I hadn’t planned for this topic to take over my blog this week, but it happens. Judging by the comments there is significant interest in the issue of consciousness, and Kastrup and I are just getting to the real nub of the argument. So here is another installment – a reply to Kastrup’s latest offering. First, however, some background.

Materialism, Dualism, and Idealism

Philosophers of mind, such as David Chalmers, now recognize three general approaches to the question – what is consciousness? Materialism is the view that the mind is what the brain does. This is often stated as the mind is caused by the brain. Some commenters took exception to this phrase, saying it implies a dualist position, that the mind is its own thing,  but I disagree. The brain is the physical substance, while the mind or consciousness is a process that emerges from the brain. A dead or deeply comatose brain has no mind, so they are manifestly not the same thing. Language here is a bit imprecise, but I think the phrase – the brain causes the mind – is an acceptable short hand for the materialist position.

Dualism is the position that consciousness is something separate from the brain and not entirely caused by it. It may be a separate property of the universe (property dualism) or be something beyond the confines of our material universe. Whatever it is, it does not reduce to the firing of neurons in the brain, which cannot, in the opinion of dualists, explain subjective experience.

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Yesterday I wrote a reply to a science blogger, Bernardo Kastrup, who wrote a critique of an earlier blog post of mine. He has now written a reply to my reply. I find these blog discussions very useful – each side can take their time to compose their argument and we can usually get down to the key issues.  They can also be fun.

Kastrup begins, unfortunately, with a bit of whining.

While I appreciate his having taken the time to reply, I am also somewhat surprised by the sheer amount of space he dedicates to ad homenen attacks on me, which dilutes his argument and the quality of the debate.

Sure, I got a bit snarky in my reply, but I will point out that my criticisms were all valid. Also my two sharpest barbs were direct quotes from Kastrup against me. It’s bad form, in my opinion, to open up a debate with personal attacks and then whine when you get the exact same thing back.  But fine – let’s get past that and focus on the substance of the discussion. His next point, however, is also about form. He writes:

This is correct. So let me take the opportunity to be explicit: I only read the post that was forwarded to me, and my comments were based on that alone. If Novella’s position in other posts was more nuanced, I’ve missed that, since I do not know Novella’s work.

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If you want to see many examples of motivated reasoning, pay a visit to Michael Egnor’s blog, Egnorance. He’s the evolution-denying neurosurgeon that I have sparred with over the last few years, mostly about evolution and dualism. Motivated reasoning is what most people do most of the time – start with a desired conclusion and then find reasons to support it (humans are very good at that). However, the whole point of philosophy is to rise above this tendency and follow strict rules of logic, while the point of science is similar but also to follow the evidence. Egnor can’t seem to do either, as he rants against non-believers, misinterprets study after study, and attacks those who do not share his particular faith.

A few weeks ago he wrote a response to a blog post of mine about materialism. This is familiar ground, but he does nicely reveal his tactics in the article so I thought I should eventually respond. He starts by misrepresenting the very topic of the discussion:

He put together six assertions that he claims are proven scientifically and thus prove his theory that the mind is caused entirely by the brain.

The materialist theory of mind is not my theory – it is the overwhelming consensus of neuroscientists and the result of over a century of research. But Egnor would have his readers believe it is my own quirky “bizarre” theory. This is, of course, nonsense. It is Egnor who is out on the fringe of neuroscience with his antiquated dualist beliefs. But far more important are the actual arguments themselves (I make this point mainly to demonstrate how Egnor constantly rewrites reality).

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New research builds upon the growing body of research into how our brains give us a sense that we are inside our bodies. That is one of the brain’s functions that we take for granted – and do not even realize that it is a function of the brain or that it is necessary – until it is not functioning. When that happens we have an out-of-body experience (OBE).

Prior to modern neuroscience, OBEs were interpreted as mystical or spiritual experiences. In many cultures they were provoked by drugs during spiritual rituals. They have also been reported during certain dream states and in near-death experiences.

Unless one is a neuroscientist or has a keen interest in how the brain works, we tend to think of our mental selves as an integrated whole and not as a collection of independent functions – the latter is more close to the truth. Our brains are more like committees with many different parts carrying out specific functions – some conscious, some unconscious. But since we are our brains we are only aware of the net effect of that part of our brain function that produces our conscious awareness and attention. We are not aware of the bickering committee operating behind the scenes, and therefore we are not aware of all the subconscious tasks being carried out by individual components of our brains.

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NPR finally aired the segment they recorded with me last month. The segment is called Doubting Darwin: Debate Over The Mind’s Evolution, and features interviews with me and Dr. Egnor. The interviews were recorded separately – it was not a discussion or debate. Of course we are each very familiar with the other’s arguments, and readers of this blog will recognize most of the points made.

The segment was well produced and fair (at least from my perspective, I can’t speak for Dr. Egnor) – they used my points in context, chose reasonably representative segments, and did not sandbag me with counterpoints I was not aware of. (These are all risks when being interviewed, especially by lower quality outlets.)

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This is my second entry discussing the issue of persistent vegetative state and Terri Schiavo. Actually it’s the third – the first was a review of a newly published study of the poor news coverage of the Schiavo case. In response Dr. Egnor wrote a blog entry (although he didn’t actually respond to any points I made in the post, it looks like he was just itching for an exchange on this issue), offering to discuss the relevant issues in our respective blogs. I wrote the first part of my response Friday, and here is part II.

In this entry I will review the medical facts of the Schiavo case, as best as I can reconstruct them. I was never directly involved with the case, I never examined her or reviewed original medical documents (except those made public, like the autopsy report). This is a minor problem, of course, as I must depend upon the examination of other neurologists. So to be clear I am not offering a direct medical opinion in this case – I cannot do that never having examined her myself – but rather an analysis of the public documents in the case.

To quickly review the medical history, Terri Schaivo collapsed at her home on February 25, 1990. Her husband, Michael, was home with her and immediately called EMS. Terri had a respiratory and cardiac arrest, although the exact cause of that arrest was never definitively determined. She was revived but suffered a diffuse anoxic injury (her brain had insufficient oxygen for a prolonged period of time) leading to extensive damage to her brain. For the next 15 years she was in a comatose state – a state of decreased consciousness and neurological function. Her case came to national attention over the controversy of her treatment. Her husband claimed that she had expressed the wish not to be kept alive in such a state. Her parents insisted that her religious views were such that she would want to be kept alive. Eventually her husband prevailed. Feeding and hydration were withdrawn and she passed away on March 31, 2005.

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