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Complementary and alternative medicine Humor Medicine Quackery

Getting to the bottom of reflexology

Reflexology, as you may know, is the pseudoscientific “alternative medicine” modality whose central dogma is that each body part or organ maps to a certain place on the feet or hands and that by pressing on those locations on the feet (for example), the reflexologist can have a therapeutic effect. The question, however, is: Why […]

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Evolution Intelligent design/creationism Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

Dr. Michael Egnor: The gift that keeps on giving

Agh! I say: Agh! Again. Remember how it was just a mere three days ago that I administered some Respectful Insolence™ to Dr. Michael Egnor, the Energizer Bunny of jaw-droppingly, appallingly ignorant anti-evolution posturing based on his apparently nonexistent understanding of what the theory of evolution actually says? Remember how I said how much I […]

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Humor News of the Weird Politics

The Stupidest Things Ever Said, Number 2: The Free Speech Edition

Continuing Orac’s quest for truly stupid quotes from The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said calendar, this time a couple of tasty stupid morsels about free speech: Here’s entry number 1, from the February 17, 2007 entry in the calendar: “We forbid any course that says we restrict free speech!”–Dr. Kathleen Dixon, Director of Women’s Studies […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Friday Woo Medicine Religion Skepticism/critical thinking

Your Friday Dose of Woo: The Color of Woo, revisited

Ah, yes, Washington, DC. That’s where I am right now, deep in the belly of the government beast, attending the meeting of The Society of Surgical Oncology. It’s usually a great meeting, except for the distressing tendency of surgeons here to act, well, too much like surgeons. For example, consider when the very first session […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Got woo?

If not, then American Medical Student Association‘s got it for you, all in a nice, compact 15 page pocket manual. True, there’s some standard advice about diet and some useful information about herbal remedies, but there’s the now usual (from AMSA, anyway) credulous treatment of all sorts of woo, including homeopathy, Reiki, fasting, vitamin supplements, […]