trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
Medical Veritas

{{title-italics}}
{{Vax}}
'''''Medical Veritas''''' was an extremely sleazy [[Vaccine hysteria|anti-vaccine]] journal published from 2004 to 2008. Their editorial board included none other than [[Andrew Wakefield]], as well as such luminaries as Boyd Haley (a chemist),<ref>{{wpa|Boyd Haley}}</ref> Harold Buttram (an MD who claimed that vaccination would result in animal-human hybridization),<ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-antivaccine-lie-that-just-wont-die-shaken-baby-syndrome-is-really-due-to-vaccine-injury/ The antivaccine lie that just won’t die: The claim that shaken baby syndrome is really due to “vaccine injury”] by David Gorski (October 8, 2012) ''Science-Based Medicine''.</ref> and Viera Scheibner (a geologist).<ref>{{wpa|Viera Scheibner}}</ref> Their articles tended to rest on the laughable premise that [[Big Pharma]]'s vaccines are all dangerous, and there exists a [[conspiracy]] to keep them out because of all the money involved in selling them. They are heavily endorsed by [[Whale.to]],<ref>[http://www.whale.to/vaccine/medical_veritas.html ''Medical Veritas'': The Journal of Medical Truth] ''Whale.to''. Caution: [[Scopie's Law]]</ref> and frequently cite articles in [[JPANDS]]. They actually offered to republish Wakefield's original, now-discredited 1998 study, and, like JPANDS, are listed by [[Quackwatch]] as a "questionable organization.<ref>[http://www.quackwatch.com/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.html Questionable Organizations: An Overview] by Stephen Barrett (February 6, 2020) ''Quackwatch''.</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.medicalveritas.com/ Their website]
*[http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2010/02/09/wakefields-research-from-the-lancet-to-medical-veritas/ LBRB on Wakefield]
*[http://vaccineconspiracytheorist.blogspot.com/2011/03/medical-veritas-journal-for-quacks.html Medical Veritas: The Journal for Quacks]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Pseudojournals]]
{{stub|pseudoscience}}

Categories: Pseudojournals
Medicine

[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 007.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Autopsies were fundamental to understanding medicine, and also the subject of some religious opposition.]]
{{sciencenav}}
{{cquote| Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there also is love of humanity.|||[[Hippocrates]]}}
'''Medicine''' is a broad term that covers the [[science|scientific]] fields of [[human]] and [[animal]] health and the study and treatment of [[disease]]s. The word is also used to refer to the [[drug]]s used to treat a disease or ailment.

==Origins of medicine==
The medical knowledge that we have today is the result of thousands of years of study of the way humans and animals work; study that was often opposed by those in charge, meaning the [[religious]] authorities for most of recent human history. Many people over the years went against established religious laws and [[taboo]]s to take the mystery out of the causes of disease and physical ailments.

The removal of this mystery was seldom welcomed by the religions of the time, yet few religious people today would forego medical treatment, in spite of, in most cases, a professed belief that it is [[Faith healing|faith that heals]], not the medicine or treatment. Medicine is a key application of the knowledge gained from all of [[chemistry]] and [[biology]].

==Alternative medicine==
{{main|Alternative medicine}}
''Alternative'' medicine is any medicine that lies outside of normal medicine: [[herb]]s, complementary therapies, complete and utter [[crank]]ery and [[woo]] and [[wishful thinking]]. For the most part, alternative medicine has no greater effect than a [[placebo]] or making people feel better because they've done something rebellious and alternative. You know what they call "alternative medicine" that's proven to work? "Medicine."

==Veterinary medicine==
[[File:1Veterinary.jpg|thumb|left|165px|{{wpl|I spy}} with my little eye… a veterinarian!]]
Veterinary medicine is a branch of medicine that focuses on animals. Veterinary medical training is more difficult than human medicine given the great diversity of patients. Like human medicine, veterinary medicine has people who peddle woo and quackery. Veterinary medicine is divided into branches &mdash; general veterinary medicine, small animal care, veterinary dentistry, veterinary surgery and animal pathology. However, there is also a "veterinary chiropractor" branch that practices [[chiropractic]] medicine on animals. Like chiropractic treatments on humans, there are very similar dangers. A person who practices veterinary medicine is called a DVM or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

==See also==
*[[Universal health care]]
*[[Health freedom]]

==External links==
*[https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org Science-Based Medicine.org]
*[http://www.ama-assn.org/ama American Medical Association]

[[Category:Medicine| ]]

Categories: Medicine
Mediterranean diet

{{foodnav}}
The '''Italian paradox''' is the idea that [[Italian]]s live long, healthy lives despite eating lots of carbohydrate-rich food (sometimes referred to more generally as the '''Mediterranean diet''', so as to include other olive-rich countries such as [[Greece]] or [[Cyprus]]).  In practice, on a daily basis one must eat several large meals consisting of bread, pasta and meatballs, but as long as you use olive oil instead of butter and drink lots of red [[wine]], and take afternoon naps, you'll live long enough to become a [[mafia]] [[stereotype|don]]. Mediterranean herbs instead of salt are used to season most dishes.

Of course, the peddlers of this diet would ignore the fact that the number one killer of Italians is heart disease due to high cholesterol levels, which makes [[belief]] in the efficacy of this diet the true [[paradox]].<ref>http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=513</ref>

There are parallels to the [[French paradox]], likely because they both refer to [[Europe]]an countries with large wine production.  The differences in traditional [[French]] and Italian cuisines, even taking into account the variety that occurs between different regions of the countries, however, show that those parallels hold very little water.<ref group=note>Saying all French cuisines or all Italian cuisines are alike would be akin to saying all [[American]] barbecue sauces are the same, or that [[blasphemy|there's no difference between pizzas]] that come from [[Chicago]], [[New York City]] or [[California]].</ref>

Odds of this diet helping you? About 1 in 61.<ref>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23432189</ref>  One thing the French and Italians do have in common is that they tend to walk (and generally exercise) more than Americans, so a more reliable way to get health benefits using them as an example would be to get out more.
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|food woo}}{{foodbox}}

[[Category: Diet woo]]
[[Category:Paradoxes]]

Categories:  Diet woo, Paradoxes
Memory lapse

{{Psychology}}
A "memory lapse" is a 
convenient
 unfortunate inability to recall specific events when asked about them by a [[United States Congress#The Senate|Senate]] (US) or [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliamentary]] (UK) body. These events often concidentally occur in case where the "forgotten" information wold be detrimental to the interogatee or her/his organisation. 

Alternative explanations for inability to answer valid questions include: the unexpectedness of the topic; the protection of other's rights; commmercial sensitivity of the information and "security".

Similar events occur in less formal circumstances, as when being quizzed by television or newspaper reporters, in such cases it is often easier to divert the query or to give [[deceit]]ful answers.

{{stub|psychology}}

[[Category:Psychology]]

Categories: Psychology
Mermaids: The Body Found

{{title-italics}}{{Cryptid}}'''''Mermaids: The Body Found''''', is a 2012 docufiction created by [[Animal Planet]]. It [[Poe's Law|convinced many people that mermaids are real]] and that organizations, such as the [[NOAA]], were covering up the evidence. It is based on the [[Aquatic ape]] theory. At the start of the film a message is shown that says it is speculative fiction. Still, it was so convincing that people [[willful ignorance|ignored]] this. NOAA thoroughly debunked this show as being false and distorting scientific evidence to support a speculation.<ref>http://www.snopes.com/photos/supernatural/mermaids.asp</ref><ref>http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mermaids.html</ref><ref>http://www.npr.org/2012/07/07/156416968/noaa-just-to-be-clear-mermaids-do-not-exist</ref><ref>http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/262368/58/Animal-Planet-show-Mermaids-The-Body-Found-prompts-NOAA-to-issue-statement-saying-mermaids-do-not-exist</ref><ref>http://lite987.com/noaa-responds-to-mermaid-body-found-says-mermaids-and-mermen-are-not-real/</ref><ref>http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/327909</ref>

This is hardly the first time people took a piece of fiction a tad too seriously. Famous examples include [[The Bible]], the [[Quran]], and Orson Welles' 1938 ''The War of the Worlds'' broadcast (although the latter has been greatly exaggerated). Or, more recently, the 1995 film ''Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?)'' which caused many to believe in the whole "aliens at [[Roswell]]!!!" nonsense.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163521/</ref>

There's also a 2013 follow-up: ''Mermaids: The New Evidence''.

==External links==
*[http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/mermaids/videos/mermaids.htm The website on Animal Planet.com]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1816585/ Mermaids: The Body Found on IMDB]
*[http://press.discovery.com/ekits/monster-week-mermaids/press-release.html Mermaids on Monster Week website]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{stub|Cryptozoology}}
[[Category:Hoaxes]]
[[Category:Science fiction]]
[[Category:Television programmes]]
[[Category:Schlockumentaries]]

Categories: Hoaxes, Science fiction, Television programmes, Schlockumentaries
Merneptah Stele

[[File:Merneptah Israel Stele Cairo.JPG|thumb|right|180px|The stele in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.]]
'''The Merneptah Stele''' is something [[Biblical literalism | Biblical literalists]] don't like talking about. In 1896, a black granite obelisk was uncovered in Thebes, dating from around 1213-1203 B.C.E. It bears a very interesting inscription:

<blockquote>"The princes are prostrate, saying 'Mercy!' Not one raises his head among the nine bows.
Desolation is for Tehenu; Hatti is pacified; plundered is the Canaan with every evil.
Carried off is Ashkelon; seized upon is Gezer; Yanoam is made as that which does not
exist; Israel is laid waste, his seed is not; Hurru is become a widow for Egypt! All lands
together, they are pacified."<ref>[http://prophetess.lstc.edu/~rklein/Doc6/Merneptah.htm You can read the full text and some analysis here]</ref></blockquote>

==So what?==
This is the first extrabiblical reference to Israel. No one mentions them before this. Also, the hieroglyph for Israel describes them as a people, whilst the others are described as "lands".<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045731/http://prophetess.lstc.edu/~rklein/Doc6/Merneptah.htm</ref> So this means that Israel wasn't a kingdom yet, so the Stele must date from the time of the [[Book of Judges|Judges]] at the latest. This doesn't fit with [[James Ussher | Usher's chronology]], which claims Solomon ascended in 970 B.C.E.

==External links==
*{{wpa|Merneptah Stele}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|history}}

[[Category:Ancient Egypt]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Biblical archaeology]]

Categories: Ancient Egypt, History, Biblical archaeology
Mesopotamia

[[File:Statue_Ginak_Edin-e_Louvre_AO21406.jpg|right|thumb|165px|A Sumerian. Note the freakishly large eyes, bizarre proportions, and invisible left arm - clear evidence of extraterrestrial crossbreeding.]]{{historynav}}
{{cquote|Six or eight thousand years ago, they laid down the law.|The B-52s, ''Mesopotamia''}}
'''Mesopotamia''' (literally, from ancient Greek, ''meso'', or "(land) in between", and ''potamia'', "river") was an ancient land area in the [[Middle East]] generally circumscribed by two rivers: the Tigris and the Euphrates.  From about 3,000 [[BCE]] to 300 BCE several ancient civilizations flourished there, notably the [[Sumer]]ians and the Assyrians.   

==Fertility==
Early agriculture flourished in Mesopotamia helped by the development of irrigation from the Tigris and the Euphrates. This might have led to ancient myths such as the [[garden of Eden]].  Ironically this irrigation might have been one of the prime causes of the loss of this "paradisical" Eden. Not only was the area often laid waste by enemies, who then did not maintain the irrigation canals, allowing the surrounding desert to recapture the land but also irrigation leads to the build up of salts in the soil as the water evaporates, which renders the soil infertile. <ref>[http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/115CH17oldirrigation.html Ancient Irrigation]</ref><ref>[http://www.learner.org/interactives/collapse/mesopotamia.html Mesopotamia]</ref>

The Arabic name for the region and the surrounding land is [[Iraq]], "fertile," now the name of the modern state that roughly covers the same ground.

==Mesopotamian culture==
A rich variety of cultures, [[religion]]s and languages emerged from the Mesopotamian region. There were two major Mesopotamian languages: [[Sumer]]ian, and the Semitic languages like Akkadian (and later [[Hebrew]] and Arabic).  The religions shared common practices and [[mythology|mythologies]] across four empires and nearly a thousand years.  The proto-[[Israelite]] religion appears to share an ancestor with these religions, as many of the ancient stories in the [[Torah]] closely resemble Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian counterparts.

The commonality of "flood narratives" in the area, found in virtually all of the religions from Mesopotamia, has given rise to several theories of an actual flood of epic proportions that likely happened around 10,000 [[BCE]].<ref>http://ncse.com/cej/8/2/flood-mesopotamian-archaeological-evidence</ref> The [[Bible]]'s own flood story is similar in language and style to the recitation in ''The Epic of Gilgamesh'', a Sumerian religious tale.

==See also==
*[[Anunnaki]]
*[[Babylon]]
*[[Nimrod]]
*[[Semiramis]]
*[[Tower of Babel]]

==External links==
*[http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/ Mesopotamia] Chicago University on Mesopotamia
*[http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.html Mesopotamia] The British Museum on Mesopotamia

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[category:geography]]
[[category:Ancient history]]
[[Category:Iraq]]

Categories: geography, Ancient history, Iraq
Meta

{{fork}}
# ''meta-'', a prefix in loanwords from Greek (e.g. [[metaphysics]]), meaning after, behind, along with, or beyond.
# Together with some word or topic, a related topic at a higher level of abstraction, e.g. statistical [[meta-analysis]].
# In informal discussion, "meta" as adjective often indicates meta-discussion.
# [[Meta Platforms]], Inc., aka. Facebook – the [[social media]] and surveillance capitalism giant.
[[Category:Language]]

Categories: Language
Metabolism

{{biology}}
'''Metabolism''' is the process performed by any living thing in order to continue to live. It includes [[animal]]s' eating, digesting and breathing, plants' [[photosynthesis]] and [[Life#Biological view|respiration]] in both. It is normally a set of [[Chemistry|chemical]] reactions that obtain [[energy]] for [[life]] from the environment, these chains of reactions are termed metabolic pathways and eventually lead to the complete transformation of nutrients into energy or other materials that can be used by the body. 

==Science fiction origin==

The theory of metabolism was first introduced in the 13th century science fiction novel Theologus Autodidactus by Ibn al-Nafis. {{wpa|Theologus Autodidactus}}

==Evolution==

Metabolic pathways are often very similar even in dramatically different [[species]], utilising similar food sources and [[enzymes]] to work. Central common pathways are present in all domains of life from complex animals to simple [[bacteria]]. These pathways can be tracked throughout [[evolution]].

==Metabolic rate==

The speed of someone's metabolism is often to blame for people being overweight or underweight. Although this is partially true, the real cause is that they haven't matched their food intake to their rate of metabolism. Age, [[drug]] intake and time of day are all factors that affect metabolic rate.

===Woo===
Many woo-peddlers describe miracle weight loss plans that center around somehow modifying or rebooting "your metabolism", usually with very little reference to where the actual energy released goes.  A simple search of [[Natural News]] provides a plethora of examples, many contradictory.<ref>[http://www.naturalnews.com/GoogleSearchResults.html?cx=010579349100583850635%3Aw_kzwe9_yca&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=metabolism&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&siteurl=naturalnews.com%2F&ref=&ss=1007j124545j10 just look at all these solutions to your problems with a teaspoon of natural extracts].</ref>
==References==
*http://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/weight-loss/what-is-metabolism-and-how-to-increase-it.html
{{reflist}}
__NOTOC__
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Science fiction]]

Categories: Biology, Science fiction
Metacognition

{{psychology}}
 
'''Metacognition''' is thinking about thinking. Understanding one's beliefs and thoughts, their mechanisms and processes.   

Some examples of metacognition include meta-memory (including recognition of the fallibility of memory), monitoring one's learning/understanding.

Metacognition can act as a therapeutic tool, gifting one with the capacity for criticising and evaluating one's thoughts and beliefs. It holds them accountable to standards: normative and truth-evaluative. The errors people often make in pattern detection and attribution of causality (magical thinking, and pareidolia). Thoughts and beliefs — mental citizens, are the object of scrutiny.  
{{stub|psychology}}

[[Category:Psychology]]

Categories: Psychology
Methaqualone

[[Image:Methaqualone.gif|thumb|right||The molecular structure.]]
{{drugs}}
'''Methaqualone''' is a [[drug]] which was widely prescribed as a sedative in the 1960s and 1970s under the brand name "'''Quaalude'''".

It became a popular recreational drug, used largely by teenagers, leading to it being pulled from the market and reclassified in the U.S. as of 1984 under Schedule I (wide potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use) along with the likes of [[heroin]] and [[marijuana]].

While it is no longer widely encountered in the U.S. it is a popular illegal drug in [[South Africa]] where it is called Mandrax and is usually smoked off tin foil.

[[Ben Stein]] ([[Improbable_things_happen|of all people]]) once wrote a novel on the subject.<ref>''Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug & the Dream'' by Benjamin Stein (1983) Bantam Books. ISBN 0553233556.</ref> 

==As a date rape drug==
{{main|Rape}}
Comedian Bill Cosby has been accused by several women of sexual assault by secretly putting Quaaludes in drinks without their knowledge or convincing them it was medicine (such as a cold pill, for instance) so he could rape them.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/07/us/bill-cosby-quaaludes-sexual-assault-allegations/ Bill Cosby admitted to getting Quaaludes to give to women] by Holly Yan et al. (11:42 PM ET, Tue July 7, 2015) ''CNN''.</ref><ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/27/quaaludes-cosby-s-alleged-rape-drugs-of-choice-were-somehow-even-scarier-than-you-think.html Quaaludes, Cosby’s Alleged Rape Drugs of Choice, Were Somehow Even Scarier Than You Think: Some of Cosby’s accusers weren’t unconscious when he allegedly assaulted them. Many were awake, and unable to do anything about it.] by Jay Michaelson (07.27.15 11:50 AM ET) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> He has since been acquitted, but more due to a technicality rather than any doubt that he was guilty.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Chemicals]]
[[Category:Drugs]]
{{stub|culture}}

Categories: Chemicals, Drugs
Michael Jeshurun

{{christianity|1}}{{sources needed}}
{{cquote|I am not interested in debates and arguments on Bible versions. If you post any comment below against [[King James Only|THIS Bible]] or try to advise me of another then I will be compelled to delete that comment and if you persist even block you!|||Michael Jeshurun<ref>[https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/2017/10/16/the-king-james-version-it-ruleth/ THE King James Version – IT RULETH] Jeshrun's blog, 16 October 2017.</ref>}}
'''Michael Jeshurun''' is a [[King James Only]] preacher who currently resides in [[India]].  He is a former [[Satanist]], [[heavy metal]] guitarist and [[heroin]] addict turned [[Christian]] addict with his very own batshit crazy blog containing every typical [[fundamentalist]] view and a few extreme ones as well (calling [[Billy Graham]] a wolf in sheep's clothing and professional sports an abomination) in the form of articles written by either Jeshurun himself or by his contributors (mostly those who go by the names "A.W. Pink" and "J.C. Philpot", but probably not the famous people by those names, as they are now dead) and photoshops several poorly edited pictures with a Christian message.  Most of his pictures attempt to be humorous, but come across as stupid and/or disturbing.

==External links==
*[https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/ Michael Jeshurun's blog]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{stub|christianity}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeshurun, Michael}}
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Fundamentalists]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Propagandists]]

Categories: Anti-Catholicism, Conspiracy theorists, Fundamentalists, Homophobes, Living people, Propagandists
Michael Ruse

[[File:Michael Ruse photo scruffy Mcgruff and pet human.jpg|thumb|190px|left|Michael Ruse and Scruffy Mcgruff, 2020]]
{{philosophy|1}}
'''Michael Ruse''' {{lived|1940|1924}} was a British-born Canadian philosopher at Florida State University specializing in [[philosophy of science]], philosophy of [[biology]], and [[ethics]].

==Legal and scientific battles against creationism==
He did excellent work as a witness for [[science]] against [[creationism]] in the US courts, appearing as a key witness in the case of [[McLean v. Arkansas]] in 1981.<ref>[http://www.antievolution.org/projects/mclean/new_site/pf_trans/mva_tt_p_ruse.html Transcript of Ruse's testimony in the case of McLean v. Arkansas.]</ref> He also dealt with creationism in a number of publications, debunking creationist arguments as well as documenting the history of the movement such as in his book ''The Evolution-Creation Struggle''.<ref>[http://www.bookslut.com/nonfiction/2005_09_006564.php ''The Evolution-Creation Struggle'': Review by Sarah Statz]</ref>

==Atheism==
Although an [[atheist]] himself, he opposed [[New Atheism]]<ref>[http://blog.beliefnet.com/scienceandthesacred/2009/08/why-i-think-the-new-atheists-are-a-bloody-disaster.html Why I Think The New Atheists Are A Bloody Disaster]</ref> and advocated a more [[Accommodationism|accommodationist]] approach.<ref>[http://biologos.org/uploads/projects/ruse_scholarly_essay.pdf Accommodationist and Proud of It]</ref>

Ruse felt that [[Templeton Foundation]] critics at least sometimes overstate their case. ''"What I do dislike is the suggestion that those of us who are prepared to defend the Foundation and treat it like a genuine organization, rather than little better than Scientology, are therefore dupes and knaves."''<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-ruse/a-scientific-defense-of-t_b_523416.html A Scientific Defense of the Templeton Foundation]</ref>

==External links==
*[https://philosophy.fsu.edu/people/faculty/michael-ruse Ruse's faculty page]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruse, Michael}}
{{stub|philosophy}}
[[category:philosophers]][[Category:Philosophy of science]][[category:atheists]][[Category:British people]]

Categories: philosophers, Philosophy of science, atheists, British people