Posts Tagged alternative medicine
Skeptics in the Pub: Anniversary Special (formerly Andy Lewis)
Posted by Mike in Skeptics in the Pub on January 17, 2010
Anniversary Bonanza
When: Thu, Feb 18, 2010 8.00 – 11.00 PM
Where: The Vines (aka the Big House), 81 Lime Street, Liverpool
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances our booked guest speaker Andy Lewis is unable to make this event. However, all is not lost – in honour of the first anniversary of the Merseyside Skeptics Society we’ve decided to replace Andy’s talk with a number of short talks on a variety of topics:
- Emotional Freedom Technique, by Allan Callister – a look at the latest craze for face-tapping therapy
- Bad Logic, Mike Hall – examining logical failures, with examples from the world of religion
- PR and the Media, Michael Marshall – how PR gained control of journalism, and where we go from here
- How Science Works, Tom Williamson – what is science, how do we do it and how do we know it works?
Plus, a live recording of the Skeptics with a K show.
I Wonder: Real Medicine
Posted by Marsh in 10:23, Pseudomedicine, science, Skepticism on January 4, 2010
Sometimes I wonder about wonder. I’ll clarify – lately I’ve been hearing the same kind of sentiment expressed in many different ways, and from sources ranging from woo-peddlers to people I love and respect: ‘The thing that gets me about skeptics and skepticism is they take the wonder out of life’. The notion of taking the wonder out of life has never sat easy with me – for one thing, I feel like life becomes more wonderful when you take the mysticism and superstition out of it. What’s more, once you’ve removed those extraneous distractions you’re able to appreciate the world for how it really is, and see the wonder that exists in reality. And in my eyes, somewhat ironically, one of areas where the wonder of a mysticism-free reality is most apparent is the very same area that tends to get the most criticism leveled at it: the defence of real medicine against the pseudomedical.
Right now, here at the Merseyside Skeptics Society, we’re well underway with our plans for the 10:23 campaign – a campaign which will become more vocal in the early parts of this year, and one which has had a somewhat mixed response in some circles. The reason for much of the criticism (excepting that of the predictably irate and irrational homeopathic community), arises where perhaps the intention behind the campaign is misunderstood. Because we’re looking to ‘take on’ homeopathy and the claims made by homeopaths, this is seen by some as an act of aggression and negativity. Plaintiff calls of ‘Leave them alone, everyone has a right to believe what they want!’ and ‘People should be free to choose what they like’ ring out in our general direction. But I think these complaints perhaps miss the point being made – it’s not a case of attacking pseudomedicine, it’s a case of defending conventional medicine from the attacks of those of the alternative industries. While doctors and surgeons and nurses save lives, homeopaths and chiropractors and acupuncturists lambast what they see as the failures of medicine, to the detriment of the reputation of real healthcare. Read the rest of this entry »
Jessica Simpson: Ear-Candling So YOU Don’t Have To!
Posted by Marsh in Ear Candles, Pseudomedicine, Quacks on December 23, 2009
As regular, sporadic or even accidental listeners to our podcast might know, our very own Mike recently discovered ear candles lurking in the murky, unforgiving depths of Chester town centre. Dragged away from the peddler of this particular brand of dangerous crazy before he’d had a chance to a) ask why ear candles are on sale when they’re proven to be ineffective and ludicrously dangerous and b) stop the stupid burning his brain, Mike was left with only one option – rant about it on Skeptics With A K. I suspect being on the show is actually far more beneficial to Mike’s mental health than it is to our listeners’ entertainment levels.
Still, it got me wondering – how many people actually know anything about ear candles? How many people know what they are, what they’re meant to do, what they actually do, and why they’re crazy crazy crazy? Canvassing opinion around colleagues and friends, it seemed to my (entirely un-scientifically-small) survey that the number of people who’d even heard of them was pretty low, and amongst those it was a mixed response on whether ear candles are any good or not. Which is a bit disturbing, because – as I mentioned – they’re actually crazy crazy crazy. So I found myself trying to explain to these lovely folk what an ear candle is, and the potential for harm that it can do. ‘If only’, thought I at the time, ‘I had some kind of video where a well-known yet annoying-enough-not-to-mind-seeing-them-in-discomfort celebrity had filmed themselves using an ear candle, so I could show people how woo this crap really is (and how crap this woo really is), and they could be in equal parts informed and grossed-out’.
Well, this is Christmas after all – the time of the year that wishes really do come true. They do. Ask anyone that’s been on Noel’s Christmas Presents and they’ll tell you. Oh, plus I can tell you they do, because lo and indeed behold what the intertubes have presented us with:
The Aids Denialist And The Homeopath
Posted by Andy in 10:23, Homeopathy, Pseudomedicine, Quacks, Skepticism on December 22, 2009
Associated Press writes:
“South Africa’s former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who gained notoriety for her dogged promotion of lemons, garlic and olive oil to treat AIDS, has died. She was 69.” - Source: AP
This woman leaves a mixed legacy. Despite being applauded for driving reform to get basic healthcare out to rural townships and her involvement in global anti-tobacco actions, she also was derided for her attitudes toward HIV/AIDS.
She denied the link between HIV and AIDS also resisting the use of antiretrovirals, famously culminating in the following quote at a 2005 media conference
“All I am bombarded about is antiretrovirals, antiretrovirals. There are other things we can be assisted in doing to respond to HIV/AIDS in this country.” Read the rest of this entry »
Evidence Check Evidence Check (or; What The Papers Say)
Posted by Mike in 10:23, Government, Homeopathy, Pseudomedicine, Public Health on December 7, 2009
Over the last couple of weeks, the Commons Committee on Science and Technology held a couple of their “evidence check” sessions, looking at homeopathy. Sessions such as this are held to examine whether there is evidence to support government policy.
The oral hearings take the form of witnesses with relevant backgrounds being quizzed by committee members. Witnesses for the first of these sessions included the legendary Ben Goldacre, Edzard Ernst from the University of Exeter, and Tracey Brown from the charity Sense About Science. Speakers in favour of homeopathy included Paul Bennett from Boots, Peter Fisher from the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, and Robert Wilson from the British Association of Homeopathic Manufacturers.
The big thing that came out of this hearing, from a rhetorical point of view, was the admission by Paul Bennett that Boots did not believe homeopathy to be effective – but they sell it anyway because of consumer demand. This lead to us here at Merseyside Skeptics drafting An Open Letter to Alliance Boots, calling upon them to withdraw the product. If you haven’t done so already, or even if you have, please check out the letter. Digg it, tweet it, repost it, write about it. Help up make some noise!
Ahem.
The pro-homeopathy witnesses, when challenged, mentioned a number of studies which they claimed supported the idea that homeopathy has strong effects beyond placebo. So I thought I’d look up a few of the studies mentioned and see what those studies actually say.
An American Homeopath In Dentistry
Posted by Andy in 10:23, Homeopathy, Pseudomedicine, Skepticism on December 5, 2009
In a recent blog post, Marsh posed the question “is there anything homeopathy cannot do?” I think that the homeopathy fans must encounter a blank wall when it comes to physical defects such as cosmetic features and actual anatomy. Can you imagine anyone claiming, for example, that taking a sugar pill would improve your appearance? Perhaps stop you having to get that all important nose job, boob job, pecs whatever?
Well, ladies and gentlemen I give you Homeopathic Dentistry.
Yes with just a few little sugar pills you can, ironically, fix your teeth. Reduce cavities, toughen those canines up and even straighten them!
Fazs.com seems to be a collection of one guys favourite videos. So far so good. But residing somewhere on the same server is the most unlikely and twisted claim for homeopathy so far. OK one among many….but seriously are you expecting us to believe that taking these sugar pills will correct physical damage? Read the rest of this entry »
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