/oss/taxonomy/term/3534/all en /oss/article/infographics/2023-year-review <p style="text-align:center"><img height="1603" width="500" class="media-element file-extra-large no-float" src="/oss/files/oss/styles/wysiwyg_extra_large/public/2023_year_in_review_infographic_0.png?itok=S5m4OctP" alt="" /><!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--></p> Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:32:55 +0000 Cat Wang, B.Sc. 9774 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/who-likely-believe-conspiracy-theories <p>Pre-pandemic, the question I would most often get was, “How do I know whom to trust when it comes to health and science information?”</p> <p>Over three years after a new virus began sweeping the globe, the question I hear again and again is, “Why is it that my husband/sister/aunt/father believes in all this conspiratorial nonsense?”</p> Fri, 28 Jul 2023 13:49:24 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9588 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking/belief-conspiracy-theories-probably-not-getting-worse-over-time <p>A question I am often asked by journalists is if more people believe in conspiracy theories now than before. Sometimes, the question is not even asked; the answer is simply inferred. Of course they are.</p> <p>Even I often feel like it must be true. The COVID-19 pandemic has a twin, an infodemic, which often relies on grand conspiracy theories to be believable. We have all heard the stories that a shadowy “they” don’t want you to know that ivermectin is miraculous and that the vaccines, funded by Bill Gates, are full of tracking devices.</p> Thu, 28 Jul 2022 13:46:51 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9194 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking/doing-your-own-research-little-bit-better <p>The COVID-19 pandemic helped popularize a hair-raising phrase: “do your own research.” Portrayed as a call for self-empowerment, it became the tell-tale sign of someone who didn’t trust public health authorities, an invitation to go digging for “alternative facts."</p> <p>But “doing your own research” doesn’t have to stink of conspiracy ideation: non-scientists have been throwing themselves into the scientific literature for a while, out of a need to understand a new diagnosis or out of sheer curiosity, and it is a process that has been greatly facilitated by the Internet.</p> Wed, 13 Apr 2022 14:22:41 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9082 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/zen-and-art-talking-conspiracy-theorists <p>Imagine if a close family member told you your romantic partner was a bad match for you. Not only is your loving partner being criticized, but you feel personally attacked as well. If your relative is right in their assessment, how likely are you to listen to them? Wouldn’t you rather fight back?</p> Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:21:39 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8634 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/back-away-americas-frontline-doctors <p>Not a day goes by without a video being forwarded to me accompanied by the question, “Is this true?” Invariably the answer is “um..no..there is no evidence,” and that usually ends the discussion. Sometimes, though, I can discern that a video has legs because I get the “Is this true?” query several times a day. An example of this is a recent epic, dripping with pseudoscience, produced by Dr. Lee Merritt an American orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Merritt may be a fine orthopedic surgeon, but when it comes to the science of COVID-19, she is a bumbling neophyte.</p> Thu, 04 Feb 2021 22:06:49 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8607 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-videos/dec-10-2020-covid-more-oss <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"></div> Thu, 10 Dec 2020 18:10:58 +0000 OSS 8527 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/clown-prince-wellness <p>There is a man on the Internet known for satirizing wellness trends who was recently censored on YouTube for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories. JP Sears made a name for himself by gently mocking essential oils and the unbearable demands made on friends by rule-abiding diet enthusiasts. You may remember him from his purple T-shirts, long red hair, and earnest sarcasm.</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2020 20:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8491 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/paper-argues-amulet-may-protect-covid-should-it-have-been-published <p>“It’s not a hoax! It’s not a hoax!” Dr. Moses Turkle Bility, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, told me over Zoom. And I believe him.</p> Thu, 05 Nov 2020 17:25:59 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8474 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience/patently-false-disinformation-over-coronavirus-patents <p>Since the pandemic started, some public figures with a pronounced distrust of authority have gone on a patent hunt. We have seen Mike Adams, the <i>Plandemic </i>conspiracy film, and a recent French video viewed by nearly 1.5 million people claim that a trail of patent applications prove that scientists created the COVID-19 coronavirus in a laboratory. They also apparently decided to protect their intellectual property along the way.</p> Fri, 28 Aug 2020 13:24:26 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8386 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-videos/july-9-2020-covid-and-more-conversations-mcgill-oss-professor-tim-caulfield <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-2"></div> Thu, 09 Jul 2020 17:36:06 +0000 OSS 8332 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience/anti-vaccine-movement-2020 <p>What does an antivaxxer and a far-right activist have in common? If the thought of someone who opposes vaccines brings to mind tie-dye shirts and tree hugging, your answer may be “nothing.” But clearly, some do have a commonality: protesting the COVID-19 lockdowns.</p> Fri, 22 May 2020 15:02:07 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8254 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience-technology/how-distrust-and-coincidences-empower-alex-jones-our-brain <p>We all have a tiny Alex Jones in our brain. When we forget he’s there, it’s easy to mock the belief that 5G waves are causing our current viral pandemic. But with telecommunications masts on fire overseas, it’s a reminder that irrational beliefs can lead to dangerous acts in the real world. Because if you did think that a pandemic that is affecting our way of life was actually caused by cell towers and that politicians were in denial about it because they wanted to please the telecommunications industry, wouldn’t you take action?</p> Fri, 24 Apr 2020 13:39:27 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8227 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience/no-covid-19-isnt-altitude-sickness <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-no-covid-19-isnt-like-altitude-sickness/wcm/63c6ba89-a0d8-4b9e-9368-7dbaf68b9430/">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> Wed, 22 Apr 2020 18:29:54 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8225 at /oss /oss/article/videos/cracked-science-19-conspiracy-theories-and-how-break-free <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-3"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-gorbmwtzkvs" width="640" height="390" title="Conspiracy Theories and How to Break Free (CS19)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/gorBmwTZKvs?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-gorbmwtzkvs&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Conspiracy Theories and How to Break Free (CS19)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Conspiracy Theories and How to Break Free (CS19)</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:02:17 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7467 at /oss