Ann Coulter, Radiation, and Hormesis

So, you probably already know about the Ann Coulter column and interview, where she says a large number of Coulter-esque things about radiation. For a thorough takedown of her argument, check out this Pharyngula post.

For a takedown that is based on ad hominem attacks rather than evidence, but contains pictures, keep reading.

Original image at Darwin Eats Cake.

URL for sharing: http://www.darwineatscake.com/?id=9
URL for hotlinking or embedding: http://www.darwineatscake.com/img/comic/9.jpg

Calabrese, E., & Baldwin, L. (2003). Hormesis: The Dose-Response Revolution
Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 43 (1), 175-197 DOI: 10.1146/annurev.pharmtox.43.100901.140223

Update: Wow. In the original post, I spelled “radiation” wrong. Now corrected.

4 thoughts on “Ann Coulter, Radiation, and Hormesis”

  1. Interestingly, homeopathy also operates on this principle: take a (much) smaller dose, get much better results. I suspect it also has the same validity as homeopathy, which is to say none. Obviously just saying it’s a small dose of something that’s toxic at high doses doesn’t mean a thing so far as whether or not it’s good for you.

    I found this page while investigating a national columnist here in Canada who just spewed out a similar line of nonsense. I suspect his source was Coulter.

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