"I have studied quackery largely as a health behavior model in an attempt to understand not only the victims of quacks but also quacks themselves and why they do what they do. I have found that, contrary to the dictionary definition which implies that all quacks are frauds, many quacks are dedicated true believers in some kind of a cause. Quackery involves a wider scope than simply exploiting sick people and gullible seekers of superhealth. There is also a negative philosophy that constantly attacks conventional, scientifically based medicine and public health practices."
A classic from 1983 that is as timely today as it was then. This article is an excellent summary of harms of all pseudoscience, using antifluoridation as an example.
COMMENT:
My New Year's Resolution is to stop torturing myself by trying to challenge religion and all pseudoscience on their turf. All it does is elicit venomous personal attacks on me. I leave it to future generations to slowly change the culture of magical thinking. My focus from now on will be to support like-minded folks on Facebook and continue to post on this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment