This is a statement of my views about homeopathy, with a focus on the missing links in the evidential chain. Origins Homeopathy is a field that was made up out of whole cloth by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. At the time, conventional medicine was probably more likely to kill you [...]
This tweet from @EllenKramer, a homeopath, neatly demonstrates an ongoing problem: Homeopathy & the Skeptics; a fight for our health freedom and the choice to choose our own healthcare ~> http://bit.ly/j9khvT The article itself demonstrates a total misunderstanding of skeptical activism and our problem with homeopathy. Homeopaths are at crossed purposes*: they do not understand [...]
The ASA have as their remit demands, consistently placed the protection of consumers against false advertising above the demands of advertisers and other vested interests. H:MC21 (Homeopathy, Medicine for the 21st Century, a “charity” which is unusual in having a name that is blatantly factually inaccurate) were slapped down by the ASA for a false [...]
The PBS Ombudsman has responded to criticisms of Colorado Public Television’s airing of Burzynski 2: It’s Still An Infomercial. I have emailed some followup questions: This response leaves me with some unanswered questions. I wonder if you would clarify, please. 1. The issue of promotion. Whatever the status of the pledge drive, the movie is [...]
David Tredinnick, the Hon. Member for Holland and Barrett, has weaseled his way onto the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. This is a problem. It’s a problem because he does not have any respect for or even proper understanding of the scientific method, and it’s a problem because he holds certain beliefs which may be [...]
I know that some people think the term pseudoscience is not useful. I disagree. It points out a useful differentiator between science and the many and varied forms of woo. But it does depend on how you define pseudoscience (and probably science, too). The hallmark of pseudoscience, for me, is that it follows the pseudoscientific [...]
In homeopathy: neither safe nor medicine I ventured the opinion that homeopathy is a religion. I’m not the only one to conclude this, but a homeopath just asked me outright why I think that. It’s worth explaining. Science it ain’tThe only thing on which all homeopaths seem to agree is that science is right only when it finds [...]
Miracle Mineral Supplement is the brand name given by Jim Humble to a solution of acidified sodium chlorite – an industrial bleaching agent used in water purification and other applications. Humble first promoted this through a self-published book ” Miracle Mineral Solution of the 21st Century”, and he touts it as a cure for AIDS, [...]
There are many recurrent themes when debating with apologists for homeopathy; one of these is their repeated assertion that if we (the skeptics) were to read and understand this long list of scientific studies, then we would understand that it works. I am willing to risk a small wager: I bet I know more about [...]
A repeated feature in debate around alternatives-to-medicine is the way proponents react to scientific investigation, and conversely attempt to play the science card themselves. It comes down to: the core tenets of our modality are an eternal mystery which is not amenable to scientific investigation; whereas the effects should have the legitimacy of scientific support [...]
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