This Week

Simon Singh - Trick or Treatment

January 2, 2009

Simon Singh is an author focusing on science and mathematics for the general public. His books include Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem, The Code Book, and Big Bang. He has produced a number of documentaries for television on science topics, and is a trustee of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, and the National Museum of Science and Industry, both in the United Kingdom. He is currently being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association for comments he wrote in a column in The Guardian. His newest book, co-authored with Dr. Edzard Ernst, is Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine.

In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Simon Singh talks about being an open-minded skeptic regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). He discusses the efficacy of various CAM treatments, such as detox programs, homeopathy, and acupuncture. He examines the origins and claims of chiropractic, whether it works, and how it may be dangerous. He talks about the limits of scientific inquiry, and when a CAM claim might justifiably be dismissed. He discusses the funding of research into CAM versus the funding of its marketing. He explores the reasons why people continue using such treatments despite the lack of scientific data showing that it works. He explains the placebo effect and its legitimate therapeutic uses, and details the harm that some CAM treatments can cause even if they do work. He shares his opinions about why passions among skeptics and believers regarding CAM are so heated, giving advice to both the CAM and scientific communities. And he gives reasons for speaking out regarding CAM despite the possible negative repercussions from various quarters of the CAM community.

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Comments from the CFI Forums

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Haven’t had a chance to hear the podcast yet, but I cannot recommend the book highly enough! An outstanding resource for anyone interested in the evidence for and against specific CAM therapies.

Posted on Jan 02, 2009 at 10:08pm by mckenzievmd Comment #1

Haven’t had a chance to hear the podcast yet, but I cannot recommend the book highly enough! An outstanding resource for anyone interested in the evidence for and against specific CAM therapies.

And I recommend the Code Book
http://www.simonsingh.net/The_Code_Book.html

Posted on Jan 03, 2009 at 2:51pm by Jackson Comment #2

Podcast ahead!  From pop religions to pop medicines, CFI casts a long shadow over the collective shoulders of these various self-serving entrepreneurs.  But is there true hope for elightenment of the masses?  It’s much like the “war on drugs”, fighting the growth of addictions when two pushers pop up for every one busted.

Posted on Jan 04, 2009 at 8:44am by gray1 Comment #3

In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Simon Singh talks about being an open-minded skeptic regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). He discusses the efficacy of various CAM treatments, such as ..... homeopathy…

In the Jan-Feb edition of [ Free Inquiry magazine] 
Gregory S. Paul discusses why the United States appears to be more ‘religious’ than the liberal democracies in Western Europe, which apparently are more secularized. One common hypothesis is the “free market” in the U.S. enshrined in the Constitution. Paul seems to argue that no, it’s the socialized policies of Western Europe which eradicated the need for religion and it gradually withdrew.  I am really skeptical of this argument.

In this interview Singh discusses homeopathy in detail. This superstition appears to be more widespread in Europe than the U.S., and yet Singh notes it is a superstition held by otherwise educated and intelligent folks. He gives a number of explanations—the first being “marketing” which is surprisingly similar to the common explanation for religion in the U.S.  As to why homeopathy isn’t more common in U.S.—any good reasons?

Singh referred to a homeopathic hospital - ??— a Google search turns up over a millions hits to “homeopathy hospital”, including The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. If socialized medicine rids you of religion (as Paul suggests!),  does it have a side effect of these other supersitions?

Posted on Jan 06, 2009 at 5:29pm by Jackson Comment #4