What's The Harm is a website that lists cases where a lack of critical thinking has caused unnecessary harm, death, injury, hospitalization, major financial loss, or other damages.


Here are 10 striking examples where pseudoscience and a lack of critical thinking has lead to a great deal of harm.  WARNING:  Some readers might find this content disturbing.

Amora Bain Carson Age: 13 months Henderson, Texas	Died December 2, 2008
They believed the child was possessed and tried to rid her of demons. They allegedly bludgeoned her and bit her more than 20 times. She died. Her mother and a man were arrested and held on $2 million bond.Read more

Isabella Denley Age: 13 months Kew, Victoria, Australia	Died (untreated epilepsy) October 19, 2002
Isabella was prescribed medications for her epilepsy. Instead of using them, her parents consulted an iridologist, an applied kinesiologist, a psychic and an osteopath. She was being treated purely with homeopathic medication when she died. Read more & more

Brittney Dorcy Age: 2 Vancouver, Washington	Murdered by her mother June 12, 2004
Brittney's mom suffered from severe depression. Her medical treatment for this was very successful and lauded in a local news article. But she decided to discontinue medication and treat herself with St. John's Wort. A tragedy resulted. Read more & more

Harrison Johnson Age: 2 Tampa, Florida	Died (untreated wasp stings) 1998
Harrison was stung by wasps while his family was visiting church friends. They prayed over the boy but did not seek medical help because they believe doctors practice witchcraft. When an EMT was called 7 hours later, the boy was beyond help. Read more & more

Pam & Craig Akers Richwoods, Missouri	Told their son was dead when he was not February 26, 2003
The Akers are the parents of Shawn Hornbeck, a child who was kidnapped. Sylvia Browne told them he was dead on national television. Four years later, he turned up quite alive. Read more

The folks over at at www.sci-ence.org have put together a fantastic comic highlighting the red flags of quackery.  It covers the common logical fallacies that tend to fool consumers.  If you come across a treatment or product that seems too good to be true... assume that it probably is too good to be true, and then consult this guide.  Buyer beware...

Sense About Science is a charitable organization that equips people to make sense of science and evidence.  

• Jersey Shore's Snooki's remark that the oceans are salty due to an abundance of whale sperm...  Snooki, that would have to be a lot of sperm to make the entire ocean salty.
• Bill O’Reilly, US TV host and political commentator reference to the tides:   “In my opinion – alright? Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can’t explain that. You can’t explain why the tide goes in.”  Bill, try "the moon's gravitational force."
• Michelle Bachman, member of the US House of Representatives and Republican Presidential Candidate, told journalists: “There’s a woman who came up crying to me tonight after the debate. She said her daughter was given the [HPV] vaccine. She told me her daughter suffered mental retardation as a result. There are very dangerous consequences.”  In reality, there is no evidence to suggest that the HPV vaccine causes mental retardation or that there are dangerous consequences. Cervical cancer, however, does cause deaths. The vaccination program in the UK is forecast to save 400 lives per year.

"Celebrity claims have a particular kind of reach. They boast a large share of high-impact broadcast and social media followed by the longevity of weekly and monthly magazines which then float around indefinitely in doctors' waiting rooms. Once uttered, their views go viral and global, and it is hard to mount an effective response, especially on subjects like vaccine safety.  It’s tempting to dismiss celebrity comments on science and health, but their views travel far and wide and, once uttered, a celebrity cancer prevention idea or environmental claim is hard to reverse. At a time when celebrities dominate the public realm, the pressure for sound science and evidence must keep pace."