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Science activities for parents of babies, toddlers and school children.
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{ 16 comments }
Hmm. I have to agree with this. I struggled to make a decision about vaccinations. The thing I found most difficult was the complete lack of any non-biased information on the subject (The bets I have found is the US Dr Sears Vaccination book).
The AVN site lost me when they complained that the vax site used an echidna (too pointy) as a mascot.
That is hilarious that they would complain about an echidna. I find that the government sites are excellent, especially the immunisation handbook. But I’m aware I have not only a science background but biology, so it’s a familiar format to me. And now I’ve been doing it for a while it’s easy to navigate, when I started it was very confusing to find things.
I find it frustrating that the question even comes up at all. Not frustrated at parents, but because it shows how successful the anti-vaxxers have been. We don’t question our electricity supply or build our own house because we don’t trust engineers or builders. Most of us wouldn’t dream of telling a pilot what to do. So why is vaccination a difficult decision?
I often find the internet can be quite “self-regulating” if you’re willing to look beyond the surface. An example is if I want to buy something. I’ll look around for prices and I might find a site that I haven’t used before. Normally the first thing I’ll do is search the site’s name and see what other people have to say about it. I do the same with any sort of information site – if I think they have something to say, I search it and see what other people have to say.
In these relatively “early” days, I also find the quality of a website can sometimes be an indicator – if people are not smart enough to build a decent website then I question their other abilities though perhaps this is unfair.
Lastly, I guess I do read “critically” – anything that screams conspiracy theory will usually pop out at me. Making broad claims about anything is usually a problem… not very many things are black and white!
Thanks. That’s a great trick to teach my students. I think what you’re talking about is also taking responsibility – not just accepting what you read but actively checking it for yourself. If I could get students to do that I’d be really happy! 🙂
Could you post a link to the ‘Stop the AVN’ please? I can’t find it in a search.
Sorry, http://www.facebook.com/stopavn Facebook doesn’t seem to like the iPad very much.
As a mother of a severely Autistic child I find it backward and offensive when people like Dory use our fear and anxiety against us to gain a flimsy platform against vaccinations. Using Autism for her argument is abhorrent. Real answers need to be found, lies just create a roadblock.
Exactly, Pip. Thanks for sharing, I really hope that answers are found sooner rather than later.
I like the World Health Organisation “Good information practices for vaccine safety web sites”. It provides a framework for assessing information on the internet.
http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/good_vs_sites/en/
A good place to start, and some advice that followers of the AVN would do well to take.
That’s a great link, definitely worth passing it around to everyone.
As a blogger, I avoided the vaccination issue for a while because, frankly, I’m not qualified to offer medical advice. However, I followed the online discussions and began to notice things I was qualified to comment on as they required only high-school level maths and science – and I was advanced in both.
This is when I saw the AVN’s tendency to get even the simple things wrong. Percentages, chemical names, statistics, simple logic (formal logic, not so-called “common sense”) – often wrong. Very often. Then I noticed similar problems with like-minded groups around the world.
So, while I’m still unqualified to debate immune response to pathogens versus response to vaccines, I can see when someone doesn’t understand simple maths and science and I can choose not to trust their understanding of things that are too complex for me to grasp.
Whilst I do sometimes see errors on the pro-vax side of the discussion, they are usually not repeated without correction and they are far fewer than those from the anti-vax lobby.
I guess I apply similar “tests” to other issues. I look for the most extreme silliness and shy away from it.
I have quite a few science geek friends, including some who’ve worked in govt. health departments who KNOW how much a drug company has to go through to get a vaccination on the market these days. My eldest has been involved in a couple of medical trials too, it’s no small amount of effort they go to. Yes, there’s some drive for profit, but there’s also a huge drive to expand our base of knowledge about the human body.
When reading panic driven anti-vax articles I look for the fear-inducing buzzwords. Many anti-vax articles use bold text to draw attention to panic words, something which you just don’t see in well reasoned articles (they use things like logical headings for ease of information finding). The holes in their arguments are usually blindingly clear. I go into them with a level of scepticism because I value scientific method and reasoned discussion. I have little respect for those throwing around fear-tactics to encourage submission (sadly I see this in some doctors too, but it’s part of how I measure good quality care too; am I being scared into submission or guided with educated reason and real stats).
And a friend put together this website, loaded with stats and links to official websites and research, to counter the common anti-vax arguments: http://antiantivax.flurf.net/
One of the parts that strikes me about my friend’s article is the encouragement to do your own research. Education and knowledge squashes fear. If two arguments contradict each other, I’ll go with the one that links to real research and encourages me to research and learn from the efforts of qualified, educated specialists in the relevant area.
I also have the mamamia article bookmarked. Sadly when I guide people to a reasoned counter argument my suggestion is usually met by silence because people are scared and I’m not forcing more fear on them, I’m quietly suggesting varied and educated reading.
I agree that internet is a great source of information. However, I believe that all that is said here is not true. If I am taking an important step or decision then I always ensure that I cross check the information with a reliable source before using it practically. I do not reply completely on the info available on web.
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Very interesting mix of ideas here! I am also passionate about the dissemination of accurate information to the public so I’m happy to put in my 2 cents.
Before becoming a full-time mother, I was a full-time biologist. I’ve conducted research in the biomedical field as well as in evolutionary biology. So when it comes to anything biological, health, or science-related, I am extremely skeptical!
On the open internet, I look for intelligent and honest use of references. I decipher whether someone is writing an opinion or a survey of facts. Often, it is a mix. I also look for inconsistencies in logic, conflicting statements, and false or stretched conclusions. Mainstream media about science is RAMPANT with incorrect conclusions drawn from an incomplete understanding of a study. This is a part of the internet I’d love to take back!
Another critique method I use is to examine underlying assumptions. These are not usually stated, but with a bit of scrutiny I can usually figure out the author’s baseline (agenda or assumptions). When reading something from someone who is clearly not trained in science, I also use some of my own body of knowledge to fact-check. If the author makes a statement I KNOW to be false, I’m a lot less likely to believe what else they have to say.
Thanks for raising such an important issue!
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I actually wish I could understand a lot more about vaccinations in order to understand what the AVN was talking about half the time.
As for deciding what to believe I do my own research & check resources. Although this is probably a downfall for some people because research on the internet will provide so much information and as you said anyone can write anything and some people will believe people who sound credible or who do provide resources. So I guess it’s also how I decifer and process the information.
I think a lot of the time scientific information is hard to read and decifer for people and what people like the AVN do is talk about things in simple, easy to understand terms. I think what is needed is for science to be made more accessible for people..
Like what about statistics on the risk of death and injury from a virus versus the risk of death or injury from the vaccination for that virsus? Which is actually how I base my decision on vaccinations. But there might be other ways to present vaccination information that is more accessible?
It is wonderful to find a place on the internet where people can speak openly about the scientific reasons for vaccination. So many popular sites, even physician centered sites like KevinMD, come under heavy fire from pseudo scientific viewpoints that try to, and succeed in overwhelming any chance at a rational conversation by barraging a given post and suffocating it.
Like all medications, vaccines can and do have some side effects but the environment of fear-mongering makes it hard to discuss these within the context of their overwhelming health benefits.
Thanks for creating a great resource of ideas for parents to introduce their children to science, as well. My daughter is only one but I can’t wait until she is old enough to flip rocks for salamanders, identify birds and learn about the world she lives in instead of being oblivious to it.
I have started to talk about the importance of nature and the outdoors on my website, PediatricianNextDoor.com, but (as my full time practice allows) I want to start creating more resources for parents specifically for reading and science. This is a fantastic website to point parents toward!
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