In the Harry Potter series, the villain Lord Voldemort is known as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.” There’s a similar sentiment whenever someone expresses a heterodox opinion on vaccines.

The long knives are already out for Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. While there are valid concerns among pro-life activists, the most prominent objection is Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism.

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) labeled Kennedy a “denier of science.” Kennedy has pushed “the scientifically discredited belief that childhood vaccines cause autism,” The New York Times wrote.… Continue Reading

We’re clearly living in a time of “doublethink.”

That’s when someone believes two mutually contradictory beliefs. The term comes from George Orwell’s novel “1984,” in which the government ruling party issued absurd dictums such as “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” and “Ignorance is Strength.”

Anyone not going along with this was in for a rough time, including the novel’s protagonist, Winston Smith.

The psychological name for this is cognitive dissonance. One form of it is accepting as reality something that clearly conflicts with reason, sensory perception and common sense.… Continue Reading