Junk science
The 124th Meeting Of The Skeptics’ Circle
Nov/21/09 08:19 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science | Evidence based medicine | Quackery | Alternative medicine
One of my favorite bloggers on debunking medical quackery and pseudoscience is hosting a little party. Visit, and read some of the best articles on debunking myths, pseudoscience, quacks and anti-science. Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 2
Nov/04/09 16:30 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science | Vaccines | Alternative medicine | Evidence based medicine
A few days ago, I discussed how science works. It's not a belief. It's not a random set of rules. It is a rational and logical process to determine cause and effect in the natural world. Pseudoscience, by its very nature, ignores the scientific process; instead, it pretends to come to conclusions through science, although it does not.
Again, be very wary if you hear someone say, "it's proven." I've heard those words from both alternative medicine pushers and from well-trained physicians. I have previously discussed the ineffectiveness of almost every alternative medicine therapy. But what about your physician? They are, by far, devoted to your health and well-being. But they cannot know everything about medicine (thus, why we have specialists), so they may repeat information that is not valid. Read More...
Again, be very wary if you hear someone say, "it's proven." I've heard those words from both alternative medicine pushers and from well-trained physicians. I have previously discussed the ineffectiveness of almost every alternative medicine therapy. But what about your physician? They are, by far, devoted to your health and well-being. But they cannot know everything about medicine (thus, why we have specialists), so they may repeat information that is not valid. Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 1
Nov/02/09 09:38 Filed in: Pseudoscience | Science | Vaccines | Alternative medicine | Evidence based medicine
I always get suspicious when someone makes an argument with the statement of "it's been proven to work", "the link is proven", or, alternatively, they state the negative. Typically, I hear these kinds of statements from the pseudoscience pushing group. Many of us have debunked the "there is a proven link between vaccines and autism." Or that any number of alternative medicine (CAM) therapies don't actually work. In fact, science rarely uses the term "proven", because the scientific method is not a system to make a definitive answer on any question–scientists always leave open the possibility of an alternative hypothesis that can be tested. If the alternate hypothesis can be supported through experimentation, then it can replace the original one. When an alternative medicine or junk science supporter states "it has been proven" then you can be assured that conclusion is unsupported by scientific research. Read More...