I recently came across this campaign for homeopathy awareness. Sounds good to me, we could certainly do with a helluva lot more awareness in this area. In fact, one of the more surprising reactions I encounter when I discuss homeopathy… Read More ›
Alternative/Complementary Medicine
Personality goes a long way…toward making you sick
This is dangerously close to “day job” territory, but yesterday evening I was on the wireless talking about the relationship between psychological traits and physical health. This was part of the excellent Futureproof show on Newstalk 106-108 fm, hosted by… Read More ›
One year in: The Science Bit’s greatest hits
I am generally nonplussed by birthdays. And I realise that blog posts about blog posts can sometimes be boring. However, as I’m an obsessive hoarder and a data geek, in this case I am going to make an exception. You… Read More ›
The costs of complementary medicine
Here is an opinion piece I wrote for in this week’s Modern Medicine magazine. The version below is the final draft prior to some very minor typographical edits. The article also appears online at irishhealth.com, where you can also read a companion… Read More ›
Why is this paper still cited?
What’s the most cited academic paper on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)? Is it an evidence-based trial demonstrating the efficacy of a particular therapy? Is it a systematic review of a collection of efficacy literature? Is it a paper that… Read More ›
“Racecardgate” on Storify
This is a slightly unusual format for a post on this blog, but I thought it was worth recording for posterity. It concerns the rather bizarre suggestion made yesterday by some UK-based homeopaths about a good way of defending homeopathy… Read More ›
Skeptics vs. Quacks: Who’s winning?
How many people believe in quackery? In case you thought we were winning http://post.ly/1uofh — ben goldacre (@bengoldacre) April 18, 2011 Last week, the British market research firm YouGov published findings from a national UK opinion survey on complementary and… Read More ›
Towards a quantum Theory of Everything (including dirty dishes)
Perhaps few words in contemporary science have been abused as much as “quantum”. Simply put, a quantum is the minimum amount of an entity that can actually do anything. One example is a photon, which is the minimum amount of… Read More ›
The Babel Fish Dilemma: Talking Science with Non-Scientists
Last night I gave a public lecture in Dublin for the Irish Skeptics Society, entitled “The Babel Fish Dilemma: Talking Science with Non-Scientists“. The Irish Skeptics, under the leadership of psychologists Paul O’Donoghue and Nóirín Buckley, have been organizing a… Read More ›
Reiki, cancer, and the problem of informed consent
Reiki is a complementary therapy in which a therapist’s hands are placed on — or simply near — a patient’s body, with the intention of redirecting what are purported to be vital energy flows in order to enhance the patient’s… Read More ›
The Irish Times: Promoting homeopathy, endangering children?
The Irish Times is the so-called “newspaper of record” in Ireland. It has a reputation for being Ireland’s leading print source of intellectual commentary and political analysis. It is widely regarded as maintaining impeccable journalistic standards and of being one… Read More ›
The BMA’s dodgy claim about British GPs and CAM
Providers of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are always absolutely thrilled whenever real medical doctors claim to support their activities. Such support from authentic physicians constitutes a highly persuasive form of community advertising. Therefore, the fact that an entire organization… Read More ›
“Pregnant thanks to acupuncture”
One of the most troubling aspect of this newspaper story — “I’d lost my baby then somehow fell pregnant thanks to acupuncture”– is knowing quite where to begin discussing it (although I know I should start by thanking @johnbirrane for… Read More ›
“Menopause relief: Do not use if pregnant”
Recently, I came across this product available for over-the-counter sale. It was one of a number of herbal remedies, each targeting different ailments, that were available at this premises. I was immediately struck by the information on the label. As it was… Read More ›
Views on the Homeopathic Emergency Room
Okay, I’m pretty sure that many readers will already have seen this video, presenting a depiction of a “Homeopathic A&E” (i.e., ER) by comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb. After all, at the time of writing, it had accumulated over… Read More ›
On jargon
It is true that science is more about falsifiability, objectivity, and empiricism, and less about white coats, bunsen burners, and laboratories. However, it is certainly the case that the common stereotyped view of most people is that science focuses more… Read More ›
