Quackery Without Scruples

With disappointment I report the existence of the organisation called “Homeopaths Without Borders” . Yes, really. They really do exist. I have to agree with PZ Myers who, given the brazen adulteration of the good name of MSF (“Doctors Without Borders”), thinks that “Quackery Without Scruples” is more appropriate.

The propagation of any practice – especially something that someone does to somebody else – without attending to the evidence of its benefits, associated risks or the alternatives makes me unreasonably angry (especially when it is being brought to the Emergency Department). Thankfully there are some truly amazing people out there fighting the good fight against quackery. I’d like to introduce you to three of the best:

James Randi

Firstly, there is the mercurial James Randi (aka “The Amazing Randi”) who has waged war on quackery on many fronts. A brilliant arch-skeptic and debunker Randi plays a key role in the in the Horizon documentary “Homeopathy – The Test” (watch it courtesy of YouTube), which assesses the scientific validity (or lack thereof…) of homeopathy. Randi’s presence adds colour and a sense of fun combined with a Feynman-like enjoyment of finding things out. Whats more, he has even put his money (one million dollars) where his mouth is…

The Amazing Randi

This documentary makes great viewing for many reasons.

Firstly, it examines the claims of, and possible explanations for, the effectiveness of homeopathy. It takes scientific reports for the effectiveness of homeopathy seriously, and then puts them to the test. The film also provides an excellent introduction to the “double-blind randomised controlled trial” – the study design generally recognised in medical science as the “gold standard”, because it removes confounding factors and accounts for the placebo effect.

I think the documentary helps show why proof of the effectiveness of therapeutic medicines is both elusive and difficult, and how even respected scientists can be fooled by their own flawed experimental designs. The commitment to such rigorous testing is critical to modern medicine, and distinguishes it from quackeries such as homepathy and other untested or unproven alternative medicines.

The documentary has been criticised for “going easy” on homeopathy and for the way it builds suspense. Ultimately, we need to remember it is just a TV programme – an entertaining starting point for further learning.

Ben Goldacre

Another champion of the anti-quackery cause is Dr Ben Goldacre, the author of Bad Science. He wrote a couple of excellent articles on homeopathy that were published in late 2007. “Benefits and risks of homeopathy” was published in the Lancet and concisely reviewed the (lack of) evidence for homeopathy, but it also showed just how homeopathy might benefit a patient. However, I think the placebo effect should be better harnessed by medical professionals rather than left to quacks where it may come bundled with bad and potentially harmful advice. “The End of Homeopathy?” is an excellent piece of popular science writing that covers similar ground to the Lancet article, but spells things out in an easily understandable fashion with less compression. It was published in the Guardian as “A kind of magic?“.

Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin is Western Australia’s very own musico-comedic performance-poetry virtuoso. He champions a rational outlook to life in a uniquely accessible and entertaining way. Check out his fabulous beat poem “Storm”:

(NB. Includes appropriately emphasized profanity…)

(Storm says:)

Why take drugs when herbs can solve it?
Why do chemicals when
Homeopathic solvents can resolve it?
I think it’s time we all return to live,
With natural medical alternatives.

And try as I like,
A small crack appears in my diplomacy dyke.

By definition, (I begin)
Alternative medicine, (I continue)
Is either not been proved to work,
Or been proved, not to work.
Do you know what they call
‘Alternative Medicine’
That’s been proved to work?

– Medicine

So you don’t believe
in any natural remedies?

On the contrary, Storm, actually,
Before we came to tea,
I took a natural remedy,
Derived from the bark of a willow tree.
It’s a painkiller, virtually side-effect free.
It’s got a, a weird name,
Darling, what was it again?
Maspirin?
Baspirin? Oh, yeah -
Aspirin!
Which I paid about a buck for,
Down at the local drugstore.

- an excerpt from “Storm” by Tim Minchin (2008).