Quick Facts
Biography
Gunnar Roland Tjomlid (born 3 August 1974) is a Norwegian skeptic, secular humanist blogger, and author.
Early life
Tjomlid was born to a Norwegian father and English mother in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, where he lived until he was two years old. He then mostly grew up in Tonstad in Sirdal municipality. In December 2009 he moved to Oslo.
He was a Christian and a believer in some pseudosciences before becoming a skeptic and an atheist.
Skeptical activism
He started his blog 'Unfiltered Perception' in 2006, which changed name to 'Saksynt' in 2013 after he started to cooperate with Nettavisen. He was one of the co-founders of the Norwegian skeptical podcast Saltklypa, and was on their panel from 2010 to 2012.
In 2013 he published the book Placebodefekten (The Placebo Defect) which is about alternative medicine and how easy it is to fool oneself.
Tjomlid has been a persistent critic of alternative medicine and opposition to vaccination. Persons within that community have threatened him with a lawsuit and tried to portray him as a defender of pedophilia. In January 2015, one of the most active participants in that campaign was convicted for defamation.
In December 2010 he received the award "Tordenbloggen" and in January 2014 he received the award "Årets sterke mening" in Vixen Blog Awards 2013, for the blog Saksynt.