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Jan-Maat's Reviews > Bad Science
Bad Science
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Jan-Maat's review
bookshelves: 21st-century, british-and-irish-isles, politics-and-polemic, science, society
Jun 16, 2011
bookshelves: 21st-century, british-and-irish-isles, politics-and-polemic, science, society
A readable romp through the misuse and abuse of health related science in the media. The analysis of homeopathy, mrs McKeith and the brain gym seemed like shooting fish in a barrel, but then I remember that people make a lot of money marketing that kind of nonsense.
Although it is all very entertaining a book is perhaps not the right tool to use against such a Hydra (unless the edition is so very big and heavy that it requires a Hercules to wield it in battle), this is perhaps an example of the move from blog (view spoiler) to book being in the wrong direction. Every season will bring its own quackery.
Although it is all very entertaining a book is perhaps not the right tool to use against such a Hydra (unless the edition is so very big and heavy that it requires a Hercules to wield it in battle), this is perhaps an example of the move from blog (view spoiler) to book being in the wrong direction. Every season will bring its own quackery.
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Finished Reading
June 16, 2011
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Hmm. Where I live all the doctors are homeopaths and homeopathy is reimbursed by the state. I wonder if Ben Goldacre knows that....
·°²¹°ù±ð²Ô· wrote: "Love his column.Should be required reading."
when are we going to do all the required reading!
Fionnuala wrote: "Hmm. Where I live all the doctors are homeopaths and homeopathy is reimbursed by the state. I wonder if Ben Goldacre knows that...."There is a homoeopathic NHS hospital in my parent's town which they have thanks to the Royal family who are fans...
Fionnuala wrote: "Hmm. Where I live all the doctors are homeopaths and homeopathy is reimbursed by the state. I wonder if Ben Goldacre knows that...."All of them?!
Cecily wrote: "Fionnuala wrote: "Hmm. Where I live all the doctors are homeopaths and homeopathy is reimbursed by the state. I wonder if Ben Goldacre knows that...."All of them?!"
Many GPs have a Homeopathy qualification as well as being fully qualified doctors. They give a lot less antibiotics than in other places, preferring to treat the less serious ailments homeopathically. All pharmacies are well supplied with homeopathy preparations and pharmacists will sometimes offer homeopathy as an alternative to other o.t.c. medications. Nearly everyone would have tubes of homeopathic granules in their medicine cabinets and would be as likely to propose such remedies to a guest with the sniffles or a tummy ache as they would be to propose paracetamol/lemsip.
Fionnuala wrote: "Cecily wrote: "Fionnuala wrote: "Hmm. Where I live all the doctors are homeopaths and homeopathy is reimbursed by the state. I wonder if Ben Goldacre knows that...."All of them?!"
Many GPs have ..."
thank goodness that the placebo effect is powerful
Jan-Maat wrote: "thank goodness that the placebo effect is powerful..."Are you calling half the population of eastern France dummies, J-M? They will not be easy to placate when I tell them...
Fionnuala wrote: "Jan-Maat wrote: "thank goodness that the placebo effect is powerful..."Are you calling half the population of eastern France dummies, J-M? They will not be easy to placate when I tell them..."
Not at all - the placebo effect is excellent, people get better, it causes no harm, its cheap. How wise of a truly great country to make such effective use of it
Jan-Maat wrote: "Not at all - the placebo effect is excellent, people get better, it causes no harm, its cheap. How wise of a truly great country to make such effective use of it ..."I passed on your message and they are all feeling better. Amazing what a diluted message can do..
Fionnuala wrote: "I passed on your message and they are all feeling better. Amazing what a diluted message can do.."Very good.
Did you hear about the mass homeopathy overdose protest, a few years ago?
Fionnuala wrote: "Jan-Maat wrote: "Not at all - the placebo effect is excellent, people get better, it causes no harm, its cheap. How wise of a truly great country to make such effective use of it ..."I passed on ..."
if I water it down some more it could be even stronger
Cecily wrote: "Fionnuala wrote: "I passed on your message and they are all feeling better. Amazing what a diluted message can do.."Very good.
Did you hear about the mass homeopathy overdose protest, a few year..."
if I had, I'd forgotten, but I don't know, I feel that is too wide a field - in a sense the whole economy relies on us earning money in order to spend it on things that don't have the effects that are claimed for them. Less a demonstration in my view, more a piece of conceptual performance art maybe?
I hadn't heard about that ridiculous-sounding protest, Cecily, but someone should have done a study of exactly what they took and how they felt in the following months and years. What a wasted opportunity - though there's no homeopathic remedy against anger so I'm guessing they'd still be angry people today.
Jan-Maat wrote: "if I water it down some more it could be even stronger ..."Unless you administer by injection when the opposite can sometimes be the case.. And your point about false advertising is quite an injection of truth into the situation.
Should be required reading.