24.1 Critical Thinking with Ken Gillman and the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Renegade Psych

Join myself and Dr. Ken Gillman, MD, as we discuss the inherent problems with modern scientific research, and the lack of emphasis put on building critical thinking skills endemic to our academic institutions. We constantly refer back to the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM), which is the basis of the faux religion called PASTAFARIANISM with FSM as its' primary deity, to illuminate the importance of skepticism and analytics in evaluating the ACTUAL truth and relevance of scientific studies. In our conversation, Ken, THE world expert on serotonin toxicity and the use of MAOIs (the first major class of antidepressants), and I weave through his personal and professional experiences to emphasize how important it is for doctors and healthcare providers to maintain a strong sense of skepticism and rely on multiple forms of research and data to come to logical conclusions, but also be forever receptive to being wrong or adjusting those conclusions. Ken and I are similar in that we both found ourselves being labeled as 'difficult' due to some of the probing questions we raised to our Catholic and Baptist teachers as youths. Ken has an expert knowledge of the history of philosophy, medicine, and psychiatry, and utilizes countless examples of our forefathers and mothers warning us against the control that comes when we accept truths (or propaganda) without question. Or, to summarize on an old quip Ken recycled: "Science is a journey, not a destination." Hopefully we can return to the extremely important philosophical cultural missive in having scientific discussions and debates as opposed to one side dictating which scientific argument is TRUTH and which is FICTION. I hope you enjoy and stick around for the remainder of our conversation in the next 2 episodes. Flip over to YOUTUBE where it will be easier to follow our conversation with graphics and explanations added. Stay tuned for the last 5-8 minutes of the conversation for an extended monologue on David J. Nutt, a friend of Ken's who lost his national post for recommending an adjustment of the UK's drug schedule to reflect the dangerousness of each drug class, which Ken and I did not have time to discuss more thoroughly.

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