Quackery
Elvira Brunt is a mysterious figure, born in Backa Palanka on the banks of the Danube in 1957. She allegedly claims to be able to cure cancer by redirecting blood flow through massage. People have told of the eerie power she holds over people, convincing them to believe in her work.
To tell Elvira’s story, you don’t have to back to Backa Palanka, but you do have to go back to a day in 2009. It was one of the strangest days I’ve ever had in a newsroom – and trust me, they can be pretty bloody bizarre places.
This day, though, stands out. I was covering an inquiry into Bogus, Unregistered and Deregistered Health Practitioners. It was mostly about quacks offering dodgy cures for cancer, and people poured out their tales of loved ones frittering away their savings in vain hope.
Continue reading "A tragic tale from a mysterious massage clinic" »
Babies freak me out a bit. The really little ones, anyway. It’s the way their heads bobble around like a puppy doll on a dashboard, unsupported by protective muscles. They’re so breakable.
It’s one of the great paradoxes of the human body. On the one hand, it seems miraculous that these old bags of skin and bone and mucous somehow work together to keep a human going.
On the other hand, we’re unbearably fragile. Sometimes hearts stop beating, lungs stop breathing, we just stop working. It’s amazing that so many defenceless babies grow up with all their bits intact.
Continue reading "Oh baby. What are the chiropractors thinking?" »
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AMc says:
Medico, I have a solution for you re: chiro education - please be a little more scientific in your approach and don’t rely on a blog to gain evidence. Look it up. Leelee, please do your own research as well it is not that hard for those who have had… Read more »
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AMc says:
Sean and Susan, Come back to the table once you actually have any idea what the facts are. Have you even asked a chiropractor how they adjust a newborn or older pediatric patient? If you knew then you would realise how absurd your statement was Susan. A newborn may have… Read more »
From August till the end of the year is the season for science awards. Eureka Prizes, Prime Minister’s Prizes, State Awards for Science Excellence, The Unsung Hero of Science Award, The State Scientists of the Year, Nobel Prizes … on it goes; the glittering array of rewards for those who have truly advanced knowledge and improved the lot of mankind.
Predictably, most of the speeches that laud the winners will mention something like the growing number of Australia’s Nobel laureates in science, how this is a time when science is paramount, how our lives are dependent on science and technology and how virtually every benefit we now enjoy - from better health and longer lives to the internet and safer cars - is the product of scientific processes, improved technology and their application.
Why, then, is this era in which we live apparently the most superstitious and anti-science period since the Middle Ages? Pseudoscience and non-science not only abound, they are actively embraced by thousands who subject themselves and (worse) their children to a variety of nonsensical alternative “treatments” that at their best cause no harm, but at their worst cause serious disease, disability or even death.
Continue reading "This is the dawning of the new Age of Superstition" »
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Djoser says:
Thus, myth is already enlightenment; and enlightenment reverts to mythology. (Dialectic of the Enlightenment) Read more »
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marley says:
And I call BS on this entire comment. I had moderately high cholesterol at my last check-up. Doctor’s prescription? All lifestyle related - exercise and diet. No prescriptions, nor suggestion of same. And I doubt he’s been “penalized out of the system” for giving common sense advice, as he’s been… Read more »
If I’m going to subsidise your homeopathic treatment, I want you to subsidise my red wine. At least there is some evidence the wine may have health benefits.
Insurance is basically a controlled gamble. I pay my monthly fees and hope one day I get a terrifically chronic disease that makes it all worthwhile. Then all those suckers I’ve been subsidising with my rude good health will get what’s coming.
We all hate paying insurance, so more people should be incensed that a portion of the money goes on… well, incense. Aromatherapy, along with other feel-good, do-nothing therapies. (Actually, compared to homeopathy, aromatherapy’s practically penicillin.)
Continue reading "Yet another whack at those dastardly quacks" »
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Marian says:
A very insightful and well iroenmfd piece. Congratulations to Carrie on her continuing work in promoting mental health awareness, and for sharing her own experiences with such honesty. Her suggestions regarding further provision of counselling in schools is one that the government would be unwise to overlook. These kind of… Read more »
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Peta says:
I totally agree with this article, not all natural therapies have proven benefits. But you are free to choose your own health insurance. If you don’t need glasses, pick a plan with a lesser eye care allowance. If you don’t want iridology and homeopathy pick a plan that doesn’t include… Read more »
Welcome to a new regular Punch piece – I Call Bullshit!
(We’ve used this one before, but it really is supremely funny)
It’ll be dedicated to all the quackery, bullshenanigans and bogus science out there, everywhere.
Today’s was going to be all about psychics. Then I saw this piece in The Australian about a homeopathy clinic offering remedies for radiation sickness. They thoughtfully spruiked their wares at a time when so many people in Japan are scared out of their wits as the radiation threat worsens.
Continue reading "ICB: Using homeopathy for radiation poisoning" »
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braunman says:
Richard, I would like to point out that in that last message you’re basically saying “I don’t need facts, all I need is my opinion!” I don’t normally like to put words in peoples’ mouths but…really, that sums up your entire post. Read more »
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acotrel says:
@Faz The other day someone on this forum picked up the line thast ‘Rachel Carson was a misanthrop’. They said that her campaign to ban DDT led to millions of deaths due to malaria. They neglected to mention that every insect species which has been almost killed off by pesticides… Read more »
The world is full of quacks. Legislation won’t work. Time for MyQuack.
Sorry, scrap that, bad connotations.
Time for a one-stop easy-access online information source where you can click on the name of the healer you’re visiting and see where they sit on a bullshit-barometer. This week the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission lawyers allege a man has claimed he can cure cancer with diet and exercise. The court has heard he claimed this treatment was more effective than surgery, chemotherapy and pharmaceutical drugs.
Continue reading "Crack down on quacks and make them pay the bill" »
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St. Michael says:
I don’t need to or want to look up Google. The burden of proof is on you. Cite some sources or verifiable studies ... for the third time. Third strike, dear. Your Latin also gets a D minus. “Ad hominem” is shorthand for “argumentum ad hominem”, which is an attempt… Read more »
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Michelle says:
St Michael. OK, I admit it, you’re right: my self-esteem is wrapped up in free-thinking. Call it a crime, if that’s what it is from your padded cell of “controlled studies is all there is, la la la I can’t hear anything else”. Ad hominem = appealing to personal considerations… Read more »
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