Category Archives: General

The tireless promoter of “natural” veterinary medicine (whatever that is) and himself, Dr. Shawn Messonier, has applied his characteristic fuzzy logic and love of strawmen and misleading hyperbole to a recent guest post by Alison Averis on Fooling yourself: An … Continue reading →

I have written about the placebo effect before, but a recent update to a Cochrane review entitled Placebo Interventions for All Conditions has prompted me to revisit the subject. It has been clear for some time that the so-called placebo … Continue reading →

There are many barriers to public understanding of science and scientific research, ranging from low levels of science literacy in the general population to frequently  poor communication skills among scientists. I recently ran across a pithy summary of some common … Continue reading →

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” Bertrand Russell “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” Charles Darwin “It is one of the essential features of such incompetence … Continue reading →

A colleague recently received the following statement, as part of a follow-up report from a board-certified specialist to whom she had referred a case. The pet received a number of alternative medical therapies as well as conventional treatment for its … Continue reading →

One of the most common responses I get when I point out the lack of evidence for particular CAM therapies is, “So what? If it doesn’t do any harm and if people feel better, even just because of a placebo … Continue reading →

Though it’s certainly not an original observation, I’ve begun to see some repeating patterns of behavior associated with unreliable and unscientific medical claims, and I think it might be useful to review some possible warning signs that one is dealing … Continue reading →

My recent brush with the “healthcare choice” concept, as well as a podcast interview I listened to with Dr. Paul Offit on Point of Inquiry put me in mind of an interesting and challenging puzzle in the philosophy of medical … Continue reading →