Such B.S.*

*As in Bad Science, Ben Goldacre's brilliant blog and column in The Guardian. If you're not familiar with his writing, you should be. And you should certainly take the time to read his recent post about homeopathic medicine. An excerpt:

And there is the rub. Because Winterson tries to tell us - like every other homeopathy fan - that for some mystical reason, which is never made entirely clear, the healing powers of homeopathic pills are special, and so their benefits cannot be tested like every other pill. This has become so deeply embedded in our culture, by an industry eager to obscure our very understanding of evidence, that even some doctors now believe it.

Enough is enough. Evidence-based medicine is beautiful, elegant, clever and, most of all, important. It is how we know what will kill or cure you. These are biblical themes, and it is ridiculous that what I am going to explain to you now is not taught in schools.

Goldacre explains the 'placebo effect', 'regression to the mean', and even 'publication bias', and how all play into the apparent effectiveness of homeopathic medicine. In a few short paragraphs he walks you through the simple logic behind modern medicine, and demonstrates where homepathy diverges from anything that can be called science. It's a powerful bit of writing, because when it comes to health, many people will resort to almost anything in desperation.

Many of my friends and family members believe in this stuff, and I am often offered a homeopathic treatment for this or that minor ailment. These are all intelligent people, who have been sold a bill of goods. And they bought that bill of goods because they haven't taken a skeptical look at the claims of homeopathy. Because modern medical science offers only limited relief for some of their health problems. Because we don't do a good job of teaching the scientific method in school. Or because they are just stuck with a mindset of 'magical thinking' due to their god-belief.

Anyway, go read the column. And add Bad Science to your regular reading list.

Jim Downey