Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

How does a scientist or doctor become a crank?

As a physician and scientists who’s dedicated his life to the application of science to the development of better medical treatments, I’ve often wondered how formerly admired scientists and physicians degenerate into out-and-out cranks. I’m talking about people like Peter Duesberg, who was once an admired scientist thought to be on track for a Nobel […]

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery

More on legalized quackery in Arizona

Yesterday, when I wrote about a death in Arizona caused by a homeopath doing liposuction, what amazed me the most was that homeopaths are licensed in Arizona. Although I alluded to it only briefly in yesterday’s post, I was truly astounded at what homeopaths are allowed to do in Arizona. It piqued my curiosity–and horror. […]

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine History Holocaust Holocaust denial Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Dr. Lorraine Day’s at it again

You may recall Dr. Lorraine Day, the former Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital in the 1980’s who, after developing breast cancer, became a consummate altie, selling various dubious “natural, alternative therapies for all diseases, including cancer and AIDS.” Somewhere along the line, sadly, she also became a rabid anti-Semite and Holocaust […]

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Gotta have more woo in my medical school!

Another one has fallen. Yes, another prestigious medical school has given in. First I lamented the decline in basic science education in medical schools. Then, I lamented even more the infiltration of woo into the curricula of far too many medical schools, spurred on by patient demand, a desire for a nice, high profit cash-on-the-barrelhead […]

Categories
Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Politics

In which my words will be misinterpreted as “proof” that I am a “pharma shill”

I would have written about this one on Friday, except that Your Friday Dose of Woo had to be served up. (You did read last week’s YFDoW, didn’t you? It was a particularly loopy bit of woo, with a bad computer interface grafted on to it, to boot!) The reason I wanted to write about […]