Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: The Me in Measles
Wondering whether to vaccinate your children? The decision can feel like a shot in the dark if you don’t know how to evaluate risk. Find out why all of us succumb to the reasoning pitfalls of cognitive and omission bias, whether we’re saying no to vaccines or getting a tan on the beach.
Plus, an infectious disease expert on why it may take a dangerous resurgence of preventable diseases – measles, whooping cough, polio – to remind us that vaccines save lives.
Also, a quaint but real vaccine fear: that the 18th century smallpox vaccine, made from cowpox, could turn you into a cow!
It’s our monthly look at critical thinking … but don’t take our word for it!
Guests:
- Paul Offit – Infectious disease specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- Neil deGrasse Tyson – Astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City
- Adam Korbitz – Lawyer specializing in space law
- Andrew Maynard – Professor of environmental health science, director, Risk Science Center, University of Michigan
Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_The_Me_in_Measles
You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.
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