#1730: Martha Herbert

Martha Herbert is a pediatric neurologist and crackpot with her own view of autism, according to which neuroinflammation is a major cause, and molds and other environmental influences trigger it (which, of course, is not supported but contraindicated by contemporary science – that’s why her supporters liken her to Galileo). In fact, Herbert has her own theory of mental disease and disease in general based on systems biology, which in her case appears to come dangerously close to a New Age religious system of life forces. 

Hat-tip: Rationalwiki

According to Herbert “in order to achieve solutions for autism we need to embed it more clearly in the larger set of challenges of which it is a part,” which include “food that is nutrient-poor, chemical-laden, processed and manipulated” (Herbert is anti-GMO, of course) and – more strikingly – “electromagnetic field and radiation exposures”. Yes. Herbert thinks exposure to electromagnetic fields is a potential partial cause of autism, mostly because various stressors [EMF isn’t a stressor] “may synergize in various ways to keep our cellular systems from functioning at their best.” She is careful to point out that a paper suggesting such a link has been published in a peer-reviewed (bottom-feeder) journal. But yes, Herbert thinks wi-fi and GMOs are involved in causing autism.

Herbert supports biomed treatments for autism, though seems to be aware that such crackpottery is not a career booster and accordingly tends to be a bit more careful than general antivaxxers. She has nevertheless become a central figure in the movement and did for instance write the introduction to antivaxx lunatic Robert F. Kennedy’s book Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak: Mercury Toxicity in Vaccines and the Political, Regulatory, and Media Failures That Continue to Threaten Public Health (bets on whether Kennedy got basic chemistry right).

Hat-tip: Destroyed by Science

As mentioned her work has been widely praised by antivaxxers and altmed crackpots (like Mark Hyman and David Kirby) for her revolutionary findings, and has become a respected authority in crackpot communities. Of course, her “findings” haven’t been published in any reputable venues, and a Massachusetts superior court judge summed her work up thusly: “Dr. Herbert’s method is not generally accepted in the scientific community.  Dr. Herbert’s theory of environmental triggers of autism may some day prove true. It has not yet. Her proffered testimony does not meet the standard of reliability required by the case law, and cannot be admitted in evidence at trial.”

She is the author of “Autism: A Brain Disorder, or a Disorder That Affects The Brain?”, which was for instance included on rabid antivaxxer Ginger Taylor’s list of “124 research papers that PROVE vaccines cause autism” (the need to capitalize “prove” should give you a clue), which mostly consist of papers that are completely irrelevant to that (falsified) hypothesis but also rants by other anti-vaxx activists. The list is dealt with here. Herbert’s paper is not a research paper but a review, and it neither says nor suggests that vaccines cause autism.

She is, however, also author of the book The Autism Revolution: Whole Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be (with Karen Weintraub). We haven’t read it, but at least books like that provide a venue to push ideas without the annoying obstacles of peer review or accountability. Apparently it provides recommendations for optimal nutrition, reduction of toxic exposures, how to “shore up the immune system” and reduce stress, and draws from “the newest research, technologies, and insights, as well as inspiring case studies.” If this isn't sheer crackpottery, then at least its promotion strategy is targeted at that community and makes use of all the woo dogwhistles in the book.

Diagnosis: Not one for random capitalization and weird color schemes, Herbert usually comes across as quite reasonable compared to the company she often keeps. She is, however, a crackpot with grand ideas and little evidence to back them up beyond quasi-religious appeals to Mother Earth. Don’t listen to her.

#1729: Daniel Henninger

Daniel Henninger is a wingnut journalist, Deputy Editorial Page Director of The Wall Street Journal – which means that there probably are quite a few people reading his columns – and a Fox News contributor. Most of his columns (we haven’t kept a close tally) seem to concern issues related to economics: He achieved some note for instance with his 2008 column where he blamed the economic crisis on the War on Christmas, and argued that the attacks on Christmas are leading us to a “Mad Max” type environment (yeah, I did, for once, link that one – you really have to go see the crazy on display). It’s almost as if he believes that the War on Christmas is a real thing, rather than just a rhetorical and idiotic ploy to rally the troops, as most wingnut pundits know perfectly well. It is interesting to note that Henninger blamed Obama for the rise of Donald Trump; the fact that he actually believes that there is a War on Christmas would probably get him closer to the correct explanation.

As with so many people of his ilk, Henninger is a climate change denialist, and his climate change denialism has led him to being responsible for one of the most inane arguments we have ever seen: Henninger blames the anti-vaccine movement on climate scientists, because climate scientists have eroded the “credibility and authority of science”. Of course, Henninger tries to make it look like he is saying that the very fact that there is public controversy is what erodes public trust in science, but he doesn’t explore why there is a public (not scientific) controversy, because what he really means is that climate change is fraud and scientists, corrupted by research grants, are being dishonest, thereby eroding trust among those who haven’t done any scientific research themselves that would allow them to legitimately evaluate the scientists’ conclusions – as he points out, climate change can’t be happening because it’s backed by Al Gore, John Kerry and Europe’s Green Party, and Henninger doesn’t agree with any of them on political issues. So, climate scientists are responsible for the anti-vaccine movement. Once again, the reasons that make Henninger distrust scientists and reject global warming would surely get one far closer to explaining the existence of the anti-vaccine movement.

Diagnosis: Wingnut lunatic. The fact that anyone listens to his inane rantings (we’ve only provided two examples here, but they give you the flavor) should scare you shitless.

#1728: Gay Hendricks

Gay Hendricks is a New Age guru and, with his wife Kathlyn, relationship manager. He has written numerous books consisting of motivational speech fluff and platitudes and the occasional piece of pseudoscience. Hendricks is, indeed, a psychologist, and has enjoyed a long career as professor in the Counseling Psychology Department at the University of Colorado, but that does of course not mean that what he and is wife are promoting through their very own Hendricks Institute has anything to do with science or reality. Kathlyn Hendricks also calls herself “PhD”, but her degree seems to be issued by a diploma mill. Gay Hendricks is the author of some 35 books, including numerous apparently popular books of fiction (the Tenzing Zorbu mystery series) and was the producer and writer on the Louise Hay movie You Can Heal Your Life.

The Hendrickses invented Bodymind Centering or Bodymind Centering technique (not to be confused, apparently, with the equally nonsensical Body-Mind Centering®, which is the registered trademark of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, author of Sensing, Feeling and Action; if your health/wellness technique has an ‘®’ behind it …), a form of meditation which in their book In Radiance! Breathwork, Movement and Body-Centered Psychotherapy is defined as “a precise, step-by-step technique for solving life problems through contact with the Inner Self.’ The “Inner Self” is, of course, “the part of us that knows how we really feel,” and Bodymind Centering is supposed to reconnect the “Inner Self” and the “Outer Self.” Yes, it’s New Age religious drivel, nothing else, and while probably not harmful certainly does not have any of the benefits the Hendrickses handwavily and not very committedly suggests it might have. A component of the technique is Radiance Breathwork, which ostensibly releases “unresolved” emotions “held” in the body, increases one’s ability to handle “positive energy,” can “clear” the effects of birth trauma, and ultimately “connect” one to life’s boundless transpersonal dimension. As with New Age therapies in general, it is important to keep the descriptions at a metaphorical level to ensure that no one – God forbid – actually stumbled upon testing the hypotheses.

Radiance breathwork is at least a type of breathwork, a familiar type of New Age practice in which the conscious control of breathing is claimed to influence mental, emotional and physical states and is sometimes claimed to have therapeutic effect. Breathwork can cause distress and has no proven positive health impact other than perhaps promoting relaxation.

They also promote something called Third Way manifestation, which requires: total commitment to serving the “creative force of the universe”; openness to the deepest “energies” within oneself; constant self-development in order to see and feel “currents of energy” and follow them through the universe; telling the truth; and keeping agreements. How this can be taken to be anything but old-fashioned religious dogma beats us. Gay Hendricks is also behind this rather creepy manifesto.

Diagnosis: The thing to notice is really how the Hendrickses’ techniques are nothing but religious creed. But it isn’t promoted as such, and that’s why they get an entry in our Encyclopedia. Probably pretty harmless, though; we’ll admit that.

#1727: Laura Henderson

In a not very surprising turn of events, when two young girls disappeared from Evansdale, Iowa, in 2012 (we don’t know the outcome of the case, unfortunately) and a $50,000 reward was offered, the local sheriff’s department was swamped with calls from psychics who wanted to help (but who were presumably uninterested in the money). Apparently, they received over 80 tips from alleged psychic mediums claiming to know the girls’ location, and, as the chief deputy laconically put it, “no two are having the same vision I guess you could say.” Self-proclaimed psychic Laura Henderson of Cedar Rapids, however, admitted that “no psychic can answer every question,” but “certainly you can get impressions, if someone’s alive their energy comes across stronger and feels different to a psychic in terms of how it comes across.” That would of course help explain the discrepancy between the different wild guesses visions. Of course, we all know that if one of them by coincidence guessed correctly, Henderson would take it as proof that psychic abilities exist and are useful.

In addition to fortune telling, Henderson’s website also offers home inspection and energy cleansing services: “Negative energies are out there! Learn how to protect yourself psychically, as well as how to develop your own psychic abilities and start tuning in to the energy all around us!!”

Diagnosis: One of very many such people across the US and it is only coincidence and misfortune that we found Laura Henderson. Blame it on the negative energies.

#1726: Barbara Helmkamp

Yet another signatory to the Discovery Institute petition A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism. Barbara Helmkamp has a PhD in theoretical physics from Louisiana State University, but is not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, she is teaching physics and chemistry at Credo Academy, a homeschool co-op in Denver.

Helmkamp is a young earth creationist, and has produced some online documents where she argues against “the myth of evolution” aimed at children; after all, creationism is a matter of religious outreach, and doing science or finding and evaluating evidence has nothing to do with it. She also claims that creationism is a much more explanatorily powerful hypothesis than Big Bang or evolution, since God can do anything. Which is not how explanation works.*

Diagnosis: Oh, the stuff the Discovery Institute dredged up for that hilarious list of theirs. Yet Intelligent Design proponents continue to use it. Which doesn’t put them in a particularly good light.

*If you need spoon-feeding: For E to explain p, at least it has to be a prediction of E that p rather than not-p. If God can do anything, then Goddidit cannot even in principle satisfy that constraint (it is equally consistent with p as with not-p); Goddidit can hence not explain anything whatsoever. Similarly: If I wish to know why fire engines are red, I want to know why it is red rather than some other color. Telling me that ‘humans can paint things in all sorts of colors’ is not an explanation for why fire engines are red. (This is not to say that failing this minimum requirement is the only problem with Goddidit offered as an explanation; even if it did satisfy that requirement it would still be the case that it just trades one mystery for another, for instance.)