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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Religion Skepticism/critical thinking

“Energy chelation” therapy: Scientific criticism meets common tropes of CAM apologists

It’s amazing how fast six months can pass, isn’t it? Well, almost six months, anyway, as it was five and a half months ago that I wrote about a particularly execrable example of quackademic medicine in the form of a study that actually looked at an “energy healing” modality known as “energy chelation” as a […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Religion Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Placebo effects are “proof” that God exists?

A couple of weeks ago, I made the observation that there seems to have been a–shall we say?–realignment in one of the central arguments that proponents of “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) and “integrative medicine” (IM) make. Back in the day (say, a few years ago), such CAM practitioners and apologists used to try very, […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Joe Mercola: Proof positive that quackery sells

For as many benefits as the Internet and the web have brought us in the last two decades, there are also significant downsides. I could go into all the societal changes brought about by the proliferation of this new technology, not the least of which (to me, at least) is the newfound ability of someone […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Still more evidence that Morgellons disease is most likely delusional parasitosis, 2012 edition

It’s been nearly a year since I last discussed a most unusual malady. Part of the reason is that the opportunity to discuss it hasn’t occurred recently; usually I need some spark or incident to “inspire” me to write about something, and there just hasn’t been any Morgellons news that’s caught my eye since then. […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Humor Medicine Quackery Religion Science Skepticism/critical thinking

$#*! skeptics say

Ha! I must admit, I’ve said probably about 50% of these things at one time or another, maybe more: Hmmmm. Maybe I need to come up with new “shit.” Oh, and, by the way, I’ve been mentioned on PZ’s blog more times than I can remember over the last seven years. So there! (Oh, wait. […]