Steven Novella

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Steven Novella
Steve Novella 715 Cropped.png
Born Steven Paul Novella
(1964-07-29) July 29, 1964 (age 60)
Residence Hamden, Connecticut, US
Nationality American
Alma mater Georgetown University
Known for Editor of Science-Based Medicine
Influences Carl Sagan, Paul Kurtz
Spouse Jocelyn Novella
Children Julia Novella
Autumn Novella
Website
http://theness.com/neurologicablog
Medical career
Profession Neurology
Field Clinical Neurology
Institutions Yale University School of Medicine
Specialism Botulinum Program, ALS/Myasthenia Gravis and Neuromuscular Disorders, General Neurology, Neurophysiology
Research ALS, myasthenia gravis, neuropathy, and erythromelalgia

Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American clinical neurologist and assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine.[1] Novella is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement, both as the host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast and as the president of the New England Skeptical Society. He is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Professional background

Novella's academic specialization is in neurology, including more specifically, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), myasthenia gravis and neuromuscular disorders, neurophysiology, and the treatment of hyperactive neurological disorders.[1][2]

Novella received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1991, did a year of residency in internal medicine at Georgetown University Hospital/Washington Hospital Center, completed his residency in neurology at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1995,[3] and was board certified in neurology in 1998.[4]

Growing up, Novella did not always want to be a physician. In an interview for the Books and Ideas podcast he said,

I think I entertained various career ideas. When I was growing up I thought about being a lawyer for a while and then by the time I went to college, I knew I wanted to go into a science background and I did premed in undergraduate school. So certainly by then I had decided that that’s probably what I wanted to do. So I would probably say in my late teens is when I really decided to go into medicine.[5]

Regarding a career in medicine he said,

The good thing about medicine is that even late in the game there's lots of career paths open to you, even after your residency. After you're basically done with your training, you could decide to be basically clinical or to do mainly research or to even go into industry or to do public health.[5]

Skeptical movement

Novella is a prominent figure in the skeptical movement. In response to an editorial in The New York Times in which Paul Davies concluded "until science comes up with a testable theory of the laws of the universe, its claim to be free of faith is manifestly bogus,"[6] Novella said,

It's not actually true because science is not dependent upon faith in a naturalistic world. It just follows the methods as if it is naturalistic... it is not a system of beliefs. People often ask me and they will ask you as skeptics what do you believe? Well, it's not about belief. Do you believe in ESP? It doesn't matter if I believe in ESP. The only thing that matters is what is the evidence for ESP? ...It's very important I think to present skepticism as a method of inquiry not a set of conclusions, not a set of beliefs.[7]

In 1996 Novella, his brother Bob, and Perry DeAngelis founded The Connecticut Skeptical Society.

As Evan Bernstein tells it, "One night sometime in late 1995, Perry was over [at] Steve's condo, casually flipping through a copy of SI (Skeptical Inquirer). He was reading through the list of local groups, and commented to Steve: 'There's no local skeptics group in Connecticut. We should start one.'"[8]

The group later joined with the Skeptical Inquirers of New England (SINE) and the New Hampshire Skeptical Resource to form the New England Skeptical Society (NESS). Novella currently serves as president of the NESS.[9]

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"There is no skepticism without science and the scientific method. It's about how we know what we know."

—Steven Novella[10]

Paranormal investigations

In the early days of the New England Skeptical Society, Novella participated in investigations of various paranormal claims. Sometimes these were part of the screening process for the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation. Novella investigated such claims as Ouija boards (when the couple claiming they could operate one were properly blindfolded, their powers vanished), the ability to control the flipping of a coin (the claimant turned out to be making some common logical errors in thinking), a mind reader who got zero out of 20 correct, and many dowsers (typically found to be experiencing the Ideomotor phenomenon). Novella and the NESS also examined some phenomena described by people who were not competing for the One Million Dollar prize, such as haunted houses, the ability to communicate with the dead, and recording the voices of ghosts, known as electronic voice phenomenon, or EVP.[11]

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

In May 2005, Novella started the The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (SGU) podcast with his friends Perry DeAngelis and Evan Bernstein, and his brothers Bob and Jay. In July 2006, Rebecca Watson joined the podcast as a regular. Novella both hosts the show and does the editing and post-production. In an interview for the Books and Ideas podcast he said,

I am ultimately responsible for the content and prepping it and I do all the post production which I know, as you know is a lot of work. So you know, it's a good 20, 30 hours a week that I put into putting out this podcast, it is almost like having a second job. And, you know, it’s a labor of love.[5]

When asked about the purpose of the podcast Novella said,

We deal primarily with controversial topics or topics on the fringe of science, although sometimes we do just straight up really interesting science news stories, whatever captures our interest. But we deal with the paranormal or conspiracy theories, or health fraud, consumer protection type of issues. And our goal is to give our listeners the tools to look at science in the news, science in society and have some way of navigating through all of the claims and all of the hype and basically have the tools to figure things out for themselves more than anything else.[5]

Internet

In 2007, Novella started a blog, Neurologica,[12] for which he writes three articles per week on a wide range of subjects generally related to science or skepticism. He is the executive editor of the blog Science-Based Medicine[13] for which he is also a regular contributor, and he is a medical advisor to Quackwatch,[14]

In 2008, Novella was one of the first 200 to sign the Project Steve petition,[15] a tongue-in-cheek parody of the list of "scientists that doubt evolution" produced by creationists.

E-books

Novella is the editor of a series of e-books composed of articles collected from the Science-Based Medicine blog.[16] Each book focuses mainly on one topic such as critical thinking; herbs, supplements and nutrition; chiropractic; vaccines; homeopathy; etc.

Print

Novella is an associate editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine,[17] and writes the monthly Weird Science column for the New Haven Advocate newspaper. Novella is also author to several Dungeons and Dragons campaign and expansion packs.[18][19][20]

Television

Novella has appeared on several television programs, including Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Episode 3–10: "Ghostbusters.", The Dr. Oz Show,[21] and Inside Edition.[22]

IN 2008, he filmed a pilot for a television series called The Skeptologists[23] along with Brian Dunning, Yau-Man Chan, Mark Edward, Michael Shermer, Phil Plait, and Kirsten Sanford. The series has not been picked up by any network.

The Dr. Oz Show appearance

Novella appeared on The Dr. Oz Show segment, “Controversial Medicine: Why your doctor is afraid of alternative health", where he was introduced as "an outspoken critic of alternative medicine." Novella claimed that the term "alternative" creates a double-standard. "There should be one science-based common-sense standard to figure out what therapies work and are safe." Novella made the point that herbs are medicinals and have been used that way for thousands of years, but the problem is in re-branding them as alternative, marketing them as natural, and therefore arguing that they don't need evidence that they are safe and effective. "At the end of the day, the public was sold products that the evidence shows doesn't work."

On the subject of acupuncture, Novella stated, "I've spent a lot of time reviewing the acupuncture literature ... and the evidence overwhelmingly shows that acupuncture, in fact, doesn't work." In response to Dr. Oz's complaint that Novella is dismissive of an idea that the "way we think [about acupuncture] in the west is that it can't be possible effective." Novella replied, "I didn't say it couldn't possibly work, I said when you look at it, it doesn't work."[21]

Latest JREF fellows. Tim Farley, Karen Stollznow, Steven Novella and Ray Hall. Portrait taken at The Amaz!ng Meeting TAM9 from Outer Space July 16, 2011
On Kylie Sturgess's podcast panel during Skeptrack at Dragon Con

Other work

Novella has created two courses for The Great Courses, "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".[24]

In 2009, he was the board chairman when the Institute for Science in Medicine was founded.[25]

In January 2010 Novella was elected as a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[26]

In 2011, Novella was appointed Senior Fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation, and Director of their Science-Based Medicine project.[27]

Tobinick Lawsuit

On June 9, 2014 Edward Tobinick filed a civil action in Florida Southern District Court naming Novella, Yale University, Society for Science-Based Medicine, Inc. and SGU Productions, LLC as defendants.[28] The main allegations of the action are that "in violation of the Lanham Act, Novella has and continues to publish a false advertisement disparaging Plaintiffs entitled 'Enbrel for Stroke and Alzheimer's', ('the 'Advertisement') and implying that the INR plaintiffs' use of entanercept is ineffective and useless;" and "The Advertisement is extremely inflammatory and defamatory in nature as it contains multiple false and misleading statements of fact regarding Plaintiffs." "The Advertisement" referred to in the action is an entry for the Science-Based Medicine blog that Novella wrote and posted on May 8, 2013.[29]

On July 14, 2014 Novella's attorney, Marc Randazza, filed an "Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary and Preliminary Injunctive Relief."[30] The filing states that Tobinick is "highly unlikely to prevail in this matter . . . as Defendant's statements range from provably true to opinion," that a preliminary injunction "would impose an unlawful prior restraint of speech," and that "an injunction would result in far more harm to Defendants and the public than Plaintiffs' claimed injury."

On July 23, 2014 Novella posted a response to the lawsuit on Science-Based Medicine in which he said, "In my opinion he [Tobinick] is using legal thuggery in an attempt to intimidate me and silence my free speech because he finds its content inconvenient".[31]

United States District Judge Robin Rosenberg ordered the case closed on September 30, 2015 and found in judgement for Novella. Tobinick was unable to show that Novella had profited from his blog post or that it was in anyway an advertisement. "... It is hereby ORDERED and ADJUDGED that defendant Dr. Steven Novella ... is GRANTED. All pending motions are DENIED AS MOOT, all deadlines are TERMINATED, and the Clerk of Court is directed to CLOSE THE CASE.[32]

Adventure and role-playing games

Novella, along with some friends, owned a local live action role-playing (LARP) game for about 5 years. It was during this time that they wrote seven d20 books.[33]

Novella has coauthored several adventure gaming books including Twin Crowns,[19] a naval and travel expansion for Dungeons & Dragons and Broadsides!, a role-playing game (RPG) based on the d20 system.[18] Novella also coauthored Spellbound: A Codex of Ritual Magic, which features "a complete system of magic suitable for any campaign setting" using the d20 system.[20]

Notes/Further reading

Novella often writes about and attacks a variety of topics in areas of alternative medicine, the new age movement, parapsychology, and pseudoscience. Topics addressed in his writings include:

  • Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)[34] – Alternative medicine is any practice that is put forward as having the healing effects of medicine but is not based on evidence gathered using the scientific method. It consists of a wide range of health care practices, products and therapies.[35] Novella has often said, "CAM is CAM because it is not science-based. If it were, it would not be 'alternative' medicine, it would be medicine."[36]
  • Vaccines and Autism[37] -There is no evidence of a causal relationship between vaccinations and autism.[38][39] Despite this, many parents believe that vaccinations cause autism and therefore delay or avoid immunizing their children under the "vaccine overload" hypothesis[40] even though this hypothesis has no scientific evidence and is biologically implausible.[41] Novella sums it up, "With regard to vaccines, the data is there, published in the peer-reviewed literature. Many professional groups have thoroughly analyzed the literature and independently concluded that vaccines are safe and effective."[42]
  • Homeopathy[43] – Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, based on the doctrine that like cures like, according to which a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people.[44] The remedies are prepared by repeatedly diluting a chosen substance in alcohol or distilled water, followed by forceful striking on an elastic body. Dilution usually continues well past the point where no molecules of the original substance remain.[45] Novella wrote, "I would like people to be aware of the fact that homeopathy is a pre-scientific philosophy, that it is based entirely on magical thinking and is out of step with the last 200 years of science. People should know that typical homeopathic remedies are diluted to the point that no active ingredient remains, and that homeopaths invoke mysterious vibrations or implausible and highly fanciful water chemistry. I would further like people to know that clinical research with homeopathic remedies, when taken as a whole, show no effect for any such remedy."[46]
  • Near-death experience – A near-death experience (NDE) refers to personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of a light. In an article for ABC News, Novella is quoted as saying, "That NDEs occur is not controversial—many people report remembering experiences around the time of cardiac arrest from which they were revived. . . the question is how to interpret them. ...The burden of proof for anyone claiming that NDEs are evidence for the survival of the self beyond the physical function of the brain is to rule out other more prosaic explanations. This burden has not been met."[51]
  • Hologram bracelets – A hologram bracelet or power bracelet is a small rubber wristband fitted with a hologram. Manufacturers have said that the holograms "optimise the natural flow of energy around the body, and so improve an athlete's strength, balance and flexibility".[52] Appearing on an episode of the television show Inside Edition Novella was asked if he believed the claims of makers of power bracelets. He replied, "Not for a second. That is based upon nothing. That is literally made up marketing hype."[22]
  • Intelligent design[53] – Intelligent design (ID) is the view that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection."[54][55][56] Of creationists' world-view, Novella writes, "it is not about evidence or logic, it is about authority. The debate is framed as God’s authority vs man’s authority, not in terms of logic or evidence."[57]
  • Conspiracy theories[58] – In June 2014, Novella conducted a written debate with Michael Fullerton, "who believes that the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11 was not due to the official story of damage from the impact of commercial jets, but rather the result of a controlled demolition."[59] In Novella's first response he concluded, "Michael’s core logical error in making his case is depending on the claim that the towers fell in a manner that looks like controlled demolition, in that they fell fast and mostly straight down. These are not, however, features specific to controlled demolition. They would be true regardless of what initiated the collapse of such structures."[60]

  • Dr. Steven Novella at TAM 6 in Las Vegas in 2008

  • Steven Novella and Richard Saunders at TAM13

  • Bill Nye the Science Guy, Skeptics Guide to the Universe, and George Hrab. April 10, 2015 at F.I.T Haft Auditorium New York City

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Neurologica Blog http://theness.com/neurologicablog/
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  24. ↑ Your Deceptive Mind http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=9344
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  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Vaccines and Autism
    • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  38. ↑ Fombonne E, Zakarian R, Bennett A, Meng L, McLean-Heywood D. Pervasive developmental disorders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada: prevalence and links with immunizations. Pediatrics. 2006;118(1):e139–50. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-2993. PMID 16818529.
  39. ↑ Gross L. A broken trust: lessons from the vaccine–autism wars. PLoS Biol. 2009;7(5):e1000114. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000114. PMID 19478850.
  40. ↑ Hilton S, Petticrew M, Hunt K. 'Combined vaccines are like a sudden onslaught to the body's immune system': parental concerns about vaccine 'overload' and 'immune-vulnerability'. Vaccine. 2006;24(20):4321–7. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.03.003. PMID 16581162.
  41. ↑ Gerber JS, Offit PA. Vaccines and autism: a tale of shifting hypotheses. Clin Infect Dis. 2009;48(4):456–61. doi:10.1086/596476. PMID 19128068. Lay summary: IDSA, 2009-01-30.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Homeopathy
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  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Intelligent design
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    • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Conspiracy theories
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  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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