HARRIET HALL is a former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and retired family physician. Today, she writes widely on the science and pseudoscience of health and medicine, contributing regularly to eSkeptic, the Skeptical Inquirer, and the blog site Science-Based Medicine. Her column “The Health Inspector” ran in O, The Oprah Magazine, and her “SkepDoc” column appears in every issue of Skeptic. She is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
The kind and practical voice expressed in her skeptical writing reflects the influence of her long, hands-on career in medicine. For Harriet, abstract philosophical issues mean less than the impact poorly-founded medical claims and beliefs can have on people’s lives. That human-centered approach has made her work as popular as it is valuable.
Harriet followed the skeptical literature for years before the prevalence of medical pseudoscience prompted her to act. Encouraged by Michael Shermer and other skeptical activists to share her expertise with the public, Harriet has never looked back.
“I don’t hope to change the minds of ‘true believers,’” Harriet says. “I only hope to make accurate science-based evaluations of questionable health practices available so that the skeptical and the undecided will have the information they need to make rational health decisions.”
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