Kulvinder Matharu's Blog
Posts tagged ‘homeopaths’
Fantastic! This has already been posted at a number of other blogs recently, and I think that this was originally on the BBC. Dara O’Briain explains, with humour, what he really thinks of pseudo-scientists, preachers of woo woo and other modern witch-doctors. Great line "homeopath horseshit peddler". And "psychics, astrologers and priests" all get the same treatment; I would add acupuncturists in that list too.
The Quackometer has an article that describes William Alderson’s (ill-written) response to Ernst & Singh’s book "Trick or Treatment: Medicine on Trial".
The article is at http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2009/04/homeopaths-attempt-to-rubbish-ernst-and.html
The Quackometer has an interesting article about the financial state of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) humorously known as Ofquack:
http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2009/03/will-government-bail-out-ofquack.html
It shouldn’t have surprised me but, in hindsight it now seems obvious, Ofquack is very much dependent upon fees from particular practitioners of pseudoscience…the dreaded witch-doctors known as homeopaths.
Ofquack is a meaningless entity, regulating meaningless practices. Well, that’s not actually true. Some of these practices are dangerous, and I somehow doubt that this council can regulate these practices…rather the council is all up for actively promoting such nonsense.
I recently received some comments from a reader regarding my articles on homeopathy and my criticism of this pseudoscience. The reader asked if I had ever met anyone who had been treated using homeopathy and that I also should temper my vehemence; the implication being that homeopathy provided a valuable service which delivered positive results and comforted patients. My immediate reaction was that any perceived vehemence was misplaced especially in comparison to someone like PZ Myers! But the questions being raised on the value of homeopathy deserved debate.
After much consideration, I can only reinforce my opposition to the pseudoscience that is homeopathy and my exasperation at the idiocy of homeopathy’s support. Despite the claims made by the practitioners of homeopathy, there is no evidence that there is anything but a placebo at work. As a placebo, homeopathy will provide improvements for some patients within a very narrow band of illnesses. Simplistically, the benefits of positive thought. It certainly wouldn’t be able to successfully treat illnesses such as malaria for example.
The statements made by homeopaths explaining the mechanisms of how homeopathy is allegedly claimed to work have been shown to be incorrect. Yet homeopaths are unable to accept this. They have abandoned critical thinking and have deluded themselves into accepting the extraordinary when all credible evidence shows that their claims are without foundation.
So why should I care? Why should we all care? After all, the placebo effect certainly provides some benefits to some people. I’ll tell you why.
By accepting homeopathy we make it difficult to demonstrate to society the benefits of critical thinking. Without critical thinking we are saying that it’s OK to accept extraordinary claims without evidence; that it’s OK to accept pseudoscience, to accept astrology, to accept perpetual-motion machines. In short, that it’s OK to be bamboozled.
Our enlightenment, our knowledge, striving to seek the truth; this is what advances us. And critical thinking is the most powerful tool to achieve that. Without it we will be burdened by superstition and witch doctors.
Copyright © 2008 Kulvinder Singh Matharu – All Rights Reserved
