#97: John A. Davison

Internet kook with his own idea on evolution (“Anti-biotic resistance is not evolution because it is reversible. No evolutionary event has ever been reversed. Besides evolution isn't even going on any more”). In fact, his idea is only a regurgitation of an old crackpot idea and his references are usually to papers from the 1940s and earlier. A clear case of delusions of grandeur; his is apparently “the most important battle in the history of mankind”. Conservapedia seems to like him (as does Dembski), though the semi-creationist, bottom-tier journal that actually published his stuff apparently wants nothing more to do with him (he has completely lost it, as can be seen from this interview). He did have a publication, though, and that is the main reason why he deserves an inclusion here, despite the fact that he is, for the most part, an Internet kook.

Davison is actually legendary for his Internet trolling (“you have a John Davison infection” has become a diagnosis for especially newly started, science oriented blogs that draw the attention of Davison or his acolytes) and he is banned from several Science-oriented blogs, including Panda’s Thumb. He is known for setting up multiple blogs himself; each one consisting of a single post, inviting comments. Most of the comments are from himself, however. When he feels like that blog is "full", starts another one.

Also famous for trying to have blogging academics fired from their institutions for being critical of his work, or – since that doesn’t work – trying to spam them.

Diagnosis: Extraordinarily attention-seeking kook who seems to have gone completely insane. I almost feel sorry for the guy.

#96: John Davis

Brace yourself for the utterly unhinged: John Davis, originally Canadian, is a Tennessee-based flat earth, well, scientist. Yup. John Davis believes the earth is flat, and complains that "[p]eople are definitely prejudiced against flat-earthers". Poor John. You can read an interview with him here.

Of course, flat earth is the ultimate conspiracy theory (it obviously entails the moon-landing conspiracy theory as well), which can be seen from this exchange from the FAQ on their website:

Q: "Why do the all the world Governments say the Earth is round?"
A: It's a conspiracy
Q: "What about NASA? Don't they have photos to prove that the Earth is round?"
A: NASA is part of the conspiracy too. The photos are faked.
Q: "What is the motive behind this conspiracy?"
A: The motive is unknown although it is probably money
Q: "If you're not sure about the motive, why do you say there is a conspiracy?"
A: Well it's quite simple really; if the earth is in fact flat, then the governments must be lying when they say it isn't.
Q: "How are the world governments organized enough to carry out this conspiracy?"
A: They only appear to be disorganized to make the conspiracy seem implausible.
Q: Why hasn't this site been shut down by the government?
A: Doing so would prove that the government is hiding something.
Q: "What's underneath the Earth?" aka "What's on the bottom?" aka "What's on the other side?"
A: This is unknown. Some believe it to be just rocks, others believe the Earth rests on the back of four elephants and a turtle.

This has “Poe” written all over it, but it is apparently genuine.

"I came to realize how much we take at face value," Davis says. "We humans seem to be pleased with just accepting what we are told, no matter how much it goes against our senses." In other words: wishful thinking and intuition triumphs scientific evidence and authority, and that, according to Davis, is a principle of good reasoning.

Davis currently believes "the Earth is flat and horizontally infinite - it stretches horizontally forever. And it is at least 9,000 kilometres deep". Thus, there is apparently some scientific disagreement within the society, insofar as fellow flat-earther James McIntyre (who will have his own entry) believes it is disc-shaped and 24,900 km in diameter. I am sure the discussion is backed up by carefully conducted experiments and meticulously obtained data. The disagreement is touched on here.

Diagnosis: Unnecessary; Davis is totally lost. He’s probably perfectly harmless, however.

(ed. note - I don't know if that image is actually of John Davis. I couldn't find any other images, and he uses that one as a profile photo, so it will have to be good enough for our purposes here, at least for the time being.)

#95: Kimberly Daniels

In a previous post we mentioned Daniel Cameroon and his campaign against Easter eggs. Cameroon was a spoof, however. Christian Broadcasting network’s Kimberly Daniels is not, and though her selected target is Halloween rather than Easter her screed is frighteningly redolent of Cameroon’s. CBN took down the original article after public responses made the responsible people dimly aware that it was perceived as kinda silly – it can still be found here, though.

Daniels asserts that "most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches" and informs us that she does “not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store.” Apparently what goes on behind the scenes of the Halloween celebrations includes (but is not limited to):
- Sex with demons
- Orgies between animals and humans
- Animal and human sacrifices
- Sacrificing babies to shed innocent blood
- Rape and molestation of adults, children and babies
- Revel nights
- Conjuring of demons and casting of spells
- Release of "time-released" curses against the innocent and the ignorant.

Daniels’s official website is here.

Daniels tours the country in a 30-foot Winnebago dubbed "The Demon Buster" as she teaches others about deliverance ministry and performs Christian rap music to bring deliverance to homosexuals, HIV/AIDS victims, drug addicts and convicted felons (she has also written a slew of books, including ”Delivered to Destiny” and ” Clean House, Strong House: A practical guide to understanding spiritual warfare, demonic strongholds and deliverance”); a biography can be found here. A more objective assessment is here.

She is viciously anti-gay and points out that Obama, by supporting equal rights, is clearly not a Christian

Diagnosis: As unhinged as it is possible to become; utterly, irrevocably lost to sanity and reason. More entertaining than dangerous, though.

She operates with her husband, Ardell Daniels, who isn’t a single notch better than she is.

#94: Peter D'Adamo

Food woo is potent stuff, and Peter D’Adamo is one of the most influential. Now, there is some evidence that his suggestions are, indeed, partially founded on Eastern (more closely Japanese) superstition (many remedies that claim such background are not), though it must, for obvious reasons, be a relatively new kind of superstition. The Eastern connection does, of course, not make his crackpottery more likely to be correct.

So what’s D’Adamo’s thing? D'Adamo's schtick is the Blood Type Diet (a.k.a. blood type astrology), in which the members of each of the four main blood type groups are assigned their own regimen of foods to consume and avoid. D’Adamo’s book, Eat Right 4 Your Type, was on the bestseller lists for a long time, despite (or, the cynical may suspect, because of) a complete lack of scientific evidence to support the central idea, namely that our body's immune system reacts differently to different foods, and tht those reactions are determined by the various antigens specific to the blood types. Apparently he is putting a lot of effort in capturing the Japanese market, as seen from his website.

Throughout his books D'Adamo cites the works of various biochemists and glycologists who have actually researched blood groups, implying that their research supports his ideas. The consensus among dieticians, physicians, and scientists, however, is that the theory is unsupported by scientific evidence. Remember that the Galileo gambit is a fallacy, if you were ever attempted to go down that route.

The wikipedia article is rather overly evenhanded. A more neutral and comprehensive evaluation is found here. (It might, by the way, look like the idea was dreamed up by his father, a naturopath named James D’Adamo – it is not quite clear).

His self-written biography is here.

Diagnosis: Frighteningly common type of crackpot who confuses anecdotal evidence and confirmation bias with science. Some of his advice may actually be harmful, so he must be considered moderately dangerous.

He is of course not alone in peddling this kind of woo. Obstetrician-Gynecologist Steven M. Weissberg, M.D., and Joseph Christiano, a personal fitness trainer, have co-authored a book making similar claims – the slogan being “You are what you eat, but you should ‘EAT WHAT YOU ARE.’ This means each of us should eat the optimal diet compatible with our blood type.” As with D’Adamo’s work, theirs is backed up by a multitude of anecdotes and tenuous correlations.

#93: Brad Dacus

President of the Pacific Justice Institute and common-style theocrat of the vocal and paranoid type. Dacus thinks that policies set up to secure the equal rights of gays and lesbians are (by default) discriminating against Christians (because it limits their ability to act out their bigotry, apparently) – and Dacus predictably uses completely overblown language to assert it.

Dacus actually thinks that stopping same-sex marriage in California is exactly like stopping Hitler and the Nazis.

He is also a big fan of David Barton.

Diagnosis: Paranoid, vocal wingnut and loon; impact uncertain – there are lots and lots of these people out there, and they’re all loons.

#92: Rebecca Culshaw

This might in some sense be another long shot for our encyclopedia. Culshaw is definitely Canadian, but she works at and is affiliated with the University of Texas at Tyler. I guess that is enough to count. Especially since the world really needs to be informed of this truly dangerous, misguided and ignorant nutjob.

Rebecca Culshaw is an HIV-denialist who knows math but very little epidemiology or the necessary biology. That does not prevent her from, without qualms, claiming that it is OK for HIV-positive mothers to breastfeed their children, refuse HIV tests or special care for their children and so on. This is not just innocent kookery.

Culshaw is the author of “Science Sold Out: Does HIV Really Cause AIDS?” wherein she uses mathematics to show that HIV was never an epidemic and that therefore it doesn't exist. Or something along those lines.

Here’s a useful guide to HIV denialism. For a good scare, you might try the comment section here.

Diagnosis: Seriously deluded (confirmation bias, double standards and arguments from ignorance abound) and extremely dangerous, to the extent that she should possibly be held accountable for several deaths already.

#91: Ken Cuccinelli

This is a difficult one. Vileness and punditry would usually not be sufficient for inclusion in our encyclopedia, but when the vileness is bred by ignorance, denialism and a general anti-scientific stance, I suppose it should – possibly – qualify.

Ken Cuccinelli is the Virginia Attorney General, and is most famous for his persecution of scientists who obtain results he does not like, trying to threaten them into silence by issuing groundless subpoenas. Described and discussed here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (and many other places). Even other denialists, such as MacIntyre, thought Cuccinelli’s stunt was over the top. That tells you something.

In my eyes, this counts as lunacy, and should be sufficient for inclusion. If you disagree, then Cuccinelli also led a rabid, flailing attack on Virginia’s state seal since it depicted the goddess Virtus with a bare breast. That should do the trick in any case.

Cuccinelli also argued extensively that universities in Virginia were not allowed to prohibit discrimination against gays. Apparently gays aren’t protected by the 14th Amendment since the people who wrote it didn’t like sodomites.

Diagnosis: Bigoted asshole and ignorant, anti-science nutcase. He is, however, frighteningly powerful – a real threat to science, rationality, liberty and civilization.