Posted by apgaylard on May 6, 2011
I’ve heard it said that, unlike the medical world, there is no such beast as alternative physics. Whilst it’s true that made up* nonsense hasn’t penetrated physics education and practice in the same way as it has medicine, there is no shortage of people indulging in fantasy physics. Perpetual-motion dreamers are prone to do this, as are advocates of so-called ‘energy medicine’. In the case of the former, they are looking for excuses to support their claims for so-called ‘over-unity’ devices that are claimed to produce more energy than they consume. The latter are looking for ‘explanations’ for how homeopathy, reiki etc. ‘work’. Of course, neither of these communities actually have meaningful effects that require explanation. This is about having some superficially ‘sciency’ prose to sell their wares, or reassure their devotees.
I’ve recently been pointed** at a cracking example of ‘energy medicine’ advocates indulging in some fantasy physics. It’s hosted on the PositiveHealthOnline website and is called, Spirals and Energy in Nature, attributed to Robert McCoy. It’s worth a look as an exemplar of the desperate nonsense that elements of the ‘energy medicine’ community dabble in. It’s so rich a vein of fantasy physics that I’m sure that I’ll end up overlooking some howlers. If I do, please feel free to point them out in the comments.
From Academic to Quackademic
First, I’d like to start by looking at one of the key authorities cited in the article, one Dr Valerie Hunt. She retired as Professor of Physiology at UCLA in 1980; to quote her web biography:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in bad physics, Fluid Mechanics, Impossibe Machines, physics | Tagged: auric emission, bad physics, Dr Valerie Hunt, Robert McCoy, scalar waves | 25 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on August 28, 2010
I really hope that this is the last post I write about the homeoprophylaxis campaign against Leptospirosis in Cuba during 2007 – 2008 (Bracho et al, 2010). Deep down I know that this uncontrolled, un-randomised poorly-reported trial published in a terrible pseudojournal, dealing with a highly variable disease which is amenable to personal protective measures, a real vaccine and antibiotic treatment is going to get thrown at me again and again.
Homeopathic propagandists will not worry that real medicines were also used in the treatment region, a media campaign raised awareness of the disease and the homeopaths intervened at the peak of a multi-year problem. Neither will it bother them that the net outcome was a return to the same infection rate as the rest of Cuba or the Intervention Region in 2004, or that the paper was rejected by proper journals.
However, before I move on I think that the accompanying guest editorial by Roniger and Jacobs (2010) deserves some additional scrutiny. It’s entitled, “Prophylaxis against Leptospirosis using a nosode: Can this large cohort study serve as a model for future replications?” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in homeopathy, Leptospirosis, Logical Fallacies | Tagged: homeopathy, homoeopathy, leptospirosis | 4 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on August 12, 2010
These days scientific papers are often accompanied by a press release. It gives the journal or institution at which the work was done a chance to highlight what they think the main message from the work is. Some might even see it as applying some PR spin. The recent paper on a trial of homeopathy on a Leptospirosis outbreak in Cuba (Bracho et al, 2010) has its own accompanying press release. It’s from the Faculty of Homeopathy, the representative body for the UK’s medically qualified homeopaths, whose stated aim is to promote, “… the academic and scientific development of homeopathy. It ensures the highest standards in the education, training and practice of homeopathy”.
It’s instructive to see what message the UK medical homeopath’s representative body is trying to get into the minds of press and public.
First it’s no surprise that they welcome this apparently successful trial with open arms. Homeopathy, is the journal of The Faculty of Homeopathy. The paper appears to confirm the view of The Faculty and provide some justification for its work. So what message do they want people to take away from this publication? Is it an accurate reflection of the work? Let’s have a look and see: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in homeopathy, Science Journalism | Tagged: Cuba, Faculty of Homeopathy, homeopathy, homoeopathy, leptospirosis | 5 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on August 8, 2010
So, the much-trailed* paper on the homeopathic intervention in an outbreak of Leptospirosis in Cuba during 2007 has finally been published (Bracho et al, 2010) along with a very useful companion editorial (Roniger and Jacobs, 2010).
The editorial claims that, “the size of the population treated and the dramatic decrease in disease incidence compared to previous years make it difficult to dismiss these results as spurious or occurring by chance.”
Before finding it quite easy to dismiss these results, some background information on Leptospirosis is in order. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in homeopathy, Leptospirosis, The Memory of Water | Tagged: homeopathy, homoeopathy, leptospirosis | 25 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on August 2, 2010
Neem [Azadirachta indica A. Juss] is a tree of the mahogany family. Various claims have been made for its health-giving properties. As the Abha Light organisation seems keen on neem as an anti-malarial, I decided to do a brief review of the literature. What follows is a commentary based on searching PubMed for ‘neem and malaria’, and doing some additional searches.
I don’t claim that this is exhaustive and I have not been able to locate any information on some of the papers cited*. For articles behind paywalls, I have only been able to consult the abstract.
A Review
One of the first things that I look for, when I’m researching a new topic, is a review article. A recent publication by Anyaehie (2009) seemed to provide a good starting point. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in herbs, homeopathy | Tagged: Abha Light, homeopathy, homoeopathy, malaria, neem | 4 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on July 31, 2010
I recently stumbled across a paper describing the work of the Abha Light organisation – a group of particularly dangerous homeopaths treating malaria in Kenya with homeopathy, and disparaging proper medicine for good measure.
It should go without saying that malaria is a serious, potentially fatal, disease that should not be treated with untested remedies – especially the sugar pills and magic water of homeopathy. So committed are the homeopaths of Abha Light that they believe that their magic works and that it is superior to proven medicines.
These themes shine through the paper presented by Didi Ananda Ruchira at the Cuban Nosodes 2008 International Conference, entitled, “The Use of Homeopathic Prophylaxis and Treatment For Malaria in Endemic Areas Of Kenya: Part 2“. It provides some alarming insights into the surreal world of Abha Light. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in homeopathy | Tagged: Abha Light, Didi Ananda Ruchira, homeopathy, malaria | 7 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on June 2, 2010
I had never come across the baffling concept of “reproductive reflexology” until a local practitioner had a leaflet popped through my letterbox. They rather fetchingly style themselves “foothold reflexology”. The leaflet’s major theme is to suggest that reflexology can help with pregnancy and sub-fertility.
Given that a glorified foot massage is massively unlikely to offer help beyond relaxing someone and generally making them feel nice, I thought that this was worth a bit of investigation. My main concern with this pitch is that issues around fertility can be profoundly distressing. Though I am sure that this reflexologist is sincere and well-meaning, peddling false hope is cruel. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in reflexology | Tagged: CAM, fertility, reflexology | 11 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on November 1, 2009
I have recently returned from an excellent holiday in sunny Spain. Predictably, my first Monday back at work was a bit of a trial. It was a training day to support the implementation of a new performance management system. Not the most enjoyable part of my working life, but fair enough.
However, after an excellent introduction from our CEO, the trial began in earnest when the following two words were projected onto a screen at the front of the auditorium:
“BRAIN GYM”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Pseudoscience | Tagged: Brian Gym, Pseudoscience | 12 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on September 25, 2009
In the third part of my series examining an attempted refutation of the critics of homeopathy (Milgrom, 2009) I look at the claim that homeopathy has a serious scientific foundation.
Dilute Science
This part of the essay starts by outlining a common criticism levelled at the most common form of homeopathy practised in the US and UK. This calls homeopathy unscientific because:
“[…] in many homeopathic remedies, the original substance has been diluted out of molecular existence, detractors claim belief in homeopathy has no basis in science as ‘nothing cannot do something’.”
So, can apologists for homeopathy point to serious scientific work which shows that nothing can do something? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in homeopathy | Tagged: homeopathy, homoeopathy, Lionel Milgrom | 14 Comments »
Posted by apgaylard on September 13, 2009
This post is the second in a series examining the claims made in a recent essay that seeks, in part, to refute common criticisms of homeopathy (Milgrom, 2009). I have already examined the empty assertions about evidence for clinically useful specific effects. Now, I would like to move on to examine an attempted refutation of claims that, “Homeopathy is deadly”.
How deadly is homeopathy?
Milgrom starts with a bit of distraction: “The claim that homeopathy is deadly has never been substantiated, primarily because it cannot be proved anyone has died as a direct result of taking a homeopathic remedy.”
This is entirely irrelevant; no critical discourse that I have come across has made the claim that the remedies themselves are toxic*. As I pointed out in my last post: the problem is not in the pills, but in their uselessness; and the attitudes of some homeopaths. He then moves to the actual concerns of sensible critics:
“The claim arises over concerns that those taking homeopathic remedies might forgo ‘life-saving’ drugs. This is a false perception: many who come to homeopathy do so only after conventional treatments have failed.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in homeopathy | Tagged: homeopathy, homoeopathy, Lionel Milgrom, patient safety, Prozac | 29 Comments »
I’ve heard it said that, unlike the medical world, there is no such beast as alternative physics. Whilst it’s true that made up* nonsense hasn’t penetrated physics education and practice in the same way as it has medicine, there is no shortage of people indulging in fantasy physics. Perpetual-motion dreamers are prone to do this, as are advocates of so-called ‘energy medicine’. In the case of the former, they are looking for excuses to support their claims for so-called ‘over-unity’ devices that are claimed to produce more energy than they consume. The latter are looking for ‘explanations’ for how homeopathy, reiki etc. ‘work’. Of course, neither of these communities actually have meaningful effects that require explanation. This is about having some superficially ‘sciency’ prose to sell their wares, or reassure their devotees.
