Category Archives: General

Peter Lipsom has written a concise and insightful post at the Science-Based Medicine Blog, entitled The Death and Rebirth of Vitalism. It illustrates why the underlying philosophical position of faith-based medicine is unteneable. Magical entities, such as Ch’i in acupuncture, … Continue reading →

There are many reasons why therapies which don’t actually have a physical effect on a disease may appear to work anyway (an extensive list of which can be found under Can We Trust Clinical Experience? at my website). One of … Continue reading →

The mainstream media has always had a problem covering complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It’s much like the problem they have covering the arguments about teaching evolution or creationism in public schools. The training of journalists to “tell both sides” … Continue reading →

One of the great marketing advantage complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has over mainstream science-based medicine is the appeal of simple explanatory narratives. Sometimes we get to take advantage of this in scientific medicine. Bacteria cause infections, antibiotics kill bacteria … Continue reading →

When discussing the evidence for and against CAM, especially with passionate believers, the issue of “open-mindedness” almost always comes up. Despite my desire to be insightful and original, I can think of no better beginning for discussing this idea than … Continue reading →