For my first blog entry, I wanted to write about something important, and I couldn’t think of anything more important than a recent book by R. Barker Bausell: Snake Oil Science: The Truth About Complementary and Alternative Medicine. If you want to understand how medical research works, if you want… read more "Snake Oil Science"
Popular Fallacies: Ancient Wisdom, It Works for Me, and Natural is Good
Advocates of so-called alternative medicine (i.e. unproven treatments) don’t always use the best critical thinking skills. False assumptions and logical fallacies abound. Three that I encounter constantly are (1) “ancient wisdom,” (2) “it works for me,” and (3) “it’s natural.” Ancient Wisdom The argument usually goes something like this: Our… read more "Popular Fallacies: Ancient Wisdom, It Works for Me, and Natural is Good"
CAM Scam
Book review of: Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All, by Rose Shapiro. London: Harvill Secker, 2008. 296 pages. £12.99. ISBN: 978-1-846-55028-7/ Political correctness has emasculated our language. We walk on linguistic tiptoes for fear of offending someone. British journalist Rose Shapiro refuses to be cowed. With refreshing… read more "CAM Scam"
Andrew Weil: Harvard Hatched a Gullible Guru
Book review of Natural Health, Natural Medicine: The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-care for Optimum Health. By Andrew Weil. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2004. ISBN 0-618-47903-1. 432 pp. Softcover, $14. Andrew Weil’s Natural Health, Natural Medicine is a dangerous book. The preface states: “All the information is consistent with the… read more "Andrew Weil: Harvard Hatched a Gullible Guru"
Three Perspectives on Longevity: Fantasy, Reality and Confusion
A book review of three books on longevity: Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D. Rodale, 2004. 400 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 1579549543. Anti-Aging Medicine: The Hype and the Reality, edited by S. Jay Olshansky, Leonard Hayflick, and Thomas T. Perls. The Gerontological… read more "Three Perspectives on Longevity: Fantasy, Reality and Confusion"
Keeping an Eye on Alternative Medicine
In case you hadn’t noticed, snake oil is alive and thriving under the shield of alternative medicine. As the Baby Boomers approach retirement age and develop health problems, we can expect an even greater boom of quackery, pseudoscience, and misinformation. Even the most critically thinking scientist may think less critically… read more "Keeping an Eye on Alternative Medicine"
LIVING PROOF: A MEDICAL MUTINY
Book Review of LIVING PROOF: A MEDICAL MUTINY By Michael Gearin-Tosh 334 pp. New York: Scribner, 2002. ISBN 0-7432-2517-1, $25.00. The author, an Oxford professor of English literature, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and advised to have chemotherapy. He rejected that advice because of the toxicity of chemotherapy, the uncertain… read more "LIVING PROOF: A MEDICAL MUTINY"
My Response to An Alt-Muddled Friend
I’ve been discussing “alternative medicine” with a friend who is very intelligent but has no training in science. She uses chiropractic, magnets, vitamins, and acupuncture, and she says she doesn’t care what science says because science can be wrong, she trusts her personal experience more, and if something “works” for… read more "My Response to An Alt-Muddled Friend"
Chiropractic Information in a Public Library
ABSTRACT Background: Chiropractic is based on a theory that most disease results from spinal subluxation and interference with nerves. The theory is not supported by experimental evidence nor recognized as plausible by medical scientists. Chiropractic manipulation is known to cause infrequent but devastating complications including death and paralysis. Despite this… read more "Chiropractic Information in a Public Library"
Krispy Kreme Kure, or A Doughnut a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
A KK store opened on June 24th in Tacoma, and people started lining up 12 hours before the 5:30 a.m. opening, with sleeping bags and “the enthusiasm usually reserved for a ‘Star Wars’ film, Oprah or a rock concert.” At midmorning, people were still waiting an hour in line to… read more "Krispy Kreme Kure, or A Doughnut a Day Keeps the Doctor Away"