I started this blog because I was slightly fed up with the state of science communication.
After finishing my masters, I finally had the time to dig into the topics that interest me in public health, epidemiology, scientific uncertainty, and how we know what we think we know. But too much of what I was finding online was either dishonest, dumbed down, or written by someone who had chosen a side and decided their time for thinking critically was over.
I was tired of the conspiracies, clichés, and clickbait. I wanted clarity. So I started writing.
What This Blog Is
This is where I do my best to find out what’s true, what’s overstated, what’s understated, and what’s just nonsense. It’s public health, epidemiology, and scientific bullshit patrol on the surrounding fields.
One week I’m on a nutrition kick. The next it’s autism diagnostic drift. The next it’s why forensics ‘experts’ may not deserve the title.
Each post is my attempt to write honestly about the topics people love to lie about, misunderstand, or mislead people on (intentionally or not).
I usually post 1-3 times a week. Some are a quick read while others are longform.
Who I Am
I’m an epidemiologist with a background in environmental health and neuroepidemiology research. My masters research consisted of air pollution and pre-natal exposure, while I currently am working in migraine research based out of a neurology department.
My blog isn’t part of that work, but it’s where I think out loud and try to clean up (my own and hopefully your) confusion on topics.
Who This Blog Is For
Beyond writing for myself, I write for people who want to think more clearly about science, medicine, and uncertainty in research. It’s also for those who just love going down a rabbit hole on some topic.
Some posts walk through the best arguments from both sides of a debate. Some are just me exploring some weird disease outbreak or a historical puzzle (like the 1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning, post coming soon). And some are straight up debunking pseudoscientific nonsense.
If you’re looking for certainty around controversial topics, you’re not going to find that here. But if you enjoy a bit of nuance and clarity, you’ll be right at home.
Thoughts on my field.
Epidemiology often gets painted with a broad brush. When that happens, people are usually referring to observational studies within the field. Most of these are confounded. That is without a doubt true. But it’s usually not fatal; it just blurs the edges a bit.
I’m not nihilistic about my own field. I’m just skeptical of huge claims built on methods with unrealistic assumptions underlying them. I think people are too confident, too loud, too certain, and way too comfortable speculating without saying that they’re speculating. I laid my thoughts out more fully in this post on epistemic due diligence, but the gist is this: if you haven’t earned your beliefs by understanding the strongest arguments from all sides, you don’t get to be smug about them.
The blog exists to push back against that way of thinking.
Where to Start
If you’re new here, welcome! Here are a few posts that best capture what this blog is trying to do.
Epistemic due diligence: what I think it means to earn your beliefs, and why most people haven’t
My post on why the age of puberty onset has decreased over time, what is actually driving this trend, and why endocrine disruptors aren’t the main story
Why Multiple Sclerosis diagnoses follow the sun. A post on the latitude gradient of MS, vitamin D, and messy causal inference
How accurate is forensic science: about the inaccuracies and error rates of forensic investigation techniques seen on TV
Why I keep writing (and where I hope this is headed)
This blog is still small, and I’d obviously like more people to find it. To that end, if you find my writing valuable, I hope you’ll share it. But I’m not writing in the hopes of going viral. I’m writing because this is exactly the kind of work I’d want to read. I do my best to be clear, grounded, curious, and unafraid to say “I don’t know” when that’s the honest answer.
In a year, I’d like this to be a place more people turn when they want a sharp, honest take on a messy research topic. If you have any topics you think need clarity, please post them in the comments! Suggestions are always welcome.
So, thank you for taking the time to check out my blog. I hope you stick around, because it only gets better from here.