Quackery has thoroughly infiltrated medical academia in the form of “integrative medicine.” So what’s worse than Harvard offering an acupuncture course? It might be Duke offering a reflexology and reiki course.
In the US, there is an unfortunate attitude that the parents own their children. When the parents are religious zealots belonging to a church like the Followers of Christ, which believes in prayer instead of medicine, the results are tragic. Unfortunately, we as a society value religious freedom more than children.
A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by the a reporter from the Georgetown student newsletter about its integrative medicine program. It got me to thinking how delusion that one’s work is science-based can lead to collaborations with New Age “quantum” mystics like Deepak Chopra. “Integrative medicine” doctors engaging in what I like to refer to as quackademic medicine all claim to be “evidence-based” or “science-based.” The words apparently do not mean what integrative medicine academics think they mean.
Nearly six years ago, I learned of parents who treated their children’s autism by feeding them “Miracle Mineral Solution”—or even giving it to them in enemas. It turns out that MMS is a strong bleach. I had thought this cult of bleaching away autism had gone away. I was wrong. Incredibly, parents are still giving their children bleach enemas and tearing up their colons.
Cranks, quacks, and pseudoscientists favor ad hominem attacks against scientists over arguments based in science. Unfortunately, new research suggests that ad hominem attacks against scientists making a scientific claim can be as effective as attacks based on science and evidence.