Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.
Hollywood, CA. —The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) promotes critical thinking through grants for outstanding teachers, scholarships to inspire skeptical students, educational resources for the classroom and general public, and annual conferences showcasing the best of skeptical thought—but every April Fools’ Day, JREF “honors” the five worst offenders who are intentionally or unintentionally peddling harmful paranormal and pseudoscientific nonsense. Since 1997, the JREF’s annual Pigasus Awards have been bestowed on the most deserving charlatans, swindlers, psychics, pseudo-scientists, and faith healers—and on their credulous promoters, too. The awards are named for both the mythical flying horse Pegasus of Greek mythology, and the highly improbable flying pig of popular cliché. These are this year’s “winners.” The Pigasus Award in the Scientist Category goes to Houston biochemist and physician Stanislaw Burzynski, who sells expensive cancer cures by administering “antineoplastons,” costing his customers tens of thousands of dollars, and which have never been shown to be efficacious in controlled trials. His cancer therapy is not FDA approved. Despite his many customers to whom he sells his so-called “cancer cure,” he has never published the final results of a single clinical trial. The FDA has sent his clinic warning letters about their unsafe research methods and is currently investigating possible violations of rules meant to protect research subjects, including children. The Pigasus Award for Funder goes to Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center for their funding and promotion of the spurious “contemporary healing modality which evolved from the process of laying-on of hands” called Therapeutic Touch. This practice is approved by a number of professional nursing associations for continuing nursing education, despite the fact that there is no compelling evidence that it works. Pumpkin Hollow is one of the major sources of training and promotion of this harmful and expensive pseudo-therapy. The JREF is conducting a One Million Dollar Challenge of Therapeutic Touch claims at the Franklin Institute this next month. The Pigasus Award in the Media Category goes to the cable television network SyFy for promoting unfounded paranormal fringe-belief through various shows on its network. While other networks, such as Spike TV, promote the paranormal (for example, Spike TV is to offer a Ten Million Dollar Prize to prove Bigfoot exists through its unscripted TV show 10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty) the SyFy channel gives airtime to many more shows than others, including Ghosthunters, Ghost Hunters International, Destination Truth, Fact Or Faked: Paranormal Files, Haunted Collector, Deep South Paranormal, and many others. This is not to mention the network’s many failed attempts at paranormal-themes shows, including 2012’s School Spirits, Paranormal Highway, and Ghost Mine, or new paranormal-themed shows currently in development, including Buyer Beware, Ghost Town, USA and Deadfinder. The Pigasus Award in the Performer Category goes to entertaining radio host Alex Jones for his continued promotion of quack medicine and unfounded political conspiracy theories. One of the most popular and influential radio personalities in America today, Jones focuses primarily on promoting support for the “Truther” movement, the “Birther” movement, promotion of paranoia surrounding water fluoridation, denial of climate change, beliefs such as that the 2004 tsunami in South Asia and the 2012 Hurricane Sandy were man-made, and various political conspiracy theories, such as belief in a nefarious New World Order, that the Sandy Hook Massacre was a government “false flag” attack to generate public support for gun control, and that the U.S. government engineered the Oklahoma City bombing. His show is also one of the primary promoters of pseudoscientific quack therapies, giving valuable promotion to the complementary and alternative medicine website Natural News, and promoting such quackery like “Supernatural Silver,” a number of expensive water purifiers to remove “poisonous fluoride” from tap water, and dozens of untested herbal and alternative medicine remedies. The Pigasus Award for Refusal to Face Reality goes to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Harvard-trained cardiologist who hosts The Dr. Oz Show on broadcast television, one of the most popular syndicated television shows in America. The only person to have won a Pigasus Award two years in a row, he wins a third time this year for his continued promotion of quack medical practices, paranormal belief and pseudoscience, including pseudoscientific Reparative Therapy to "cure" gay people, the “energy-healing practice” of Reiki as a way to cure disease, various TV psychics and mediums such as Theresa Caputo and John Edward, faith healers such as "John of God," GMO conspiracy theories, and any number of new quack diets, herbal remedies, anti-aging cures, and untested “wonder drugs,” among many other pseudoscientific and paranormal claims. # # # The James Randi Educational Foundation exposes charlatans and helps people defend themselves from paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. The JREF offers a still-unclaimed million-dollar reward for anyone who can produce evidence of paranormal abilities under controlled conditions. Through scholarships, workshops, and innovative resources for educators, the JREF works to inspire this investigative spirit in a new generation of critical thinkers. | www.randi.org
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1996. The list of accomplishments by the foundation and its founder, James Randi is legion, but as we know all too well, in order to keep fighting the fight against charlatans, uninformed media, and as Randi would say “woo-woo”, we need to continue to cultivate support from skeptics the world over.
Perhaps the easiest way to support the JREF is to simply become a member of the foundation. In a very real way memberships are what drive the JREF and it’s critical that we continue to receive the heartfelt support of critical thinkers like you.
Membership funds go to underwriting the JREF’s operations, which include:
Outreach to grassroots skeptics
Regional Workshops on a variety of skeptical topics
Educator Grants for teachers
The Amaz!ng Meeting
The Million Dollar Challenge
Members of the James Randi Educational Foundation enjoy free access to Regional Workshops, access to members-only parties and events throughout the year, a discount for TAM registration, and the pride of knowing that they are supporting a worthwhile organization that is working to further critical thinking the world over.
Becoming a member is a breeze and can be done easily and securely online at www.randi.org site/index.php/support-us.html (click the Become A Member button), and for students is a bargain at only $25, while the Basic membership is only $50. If you are not a member of the JREF but support our mission, why not become an official member today and enjoy not only the benefits of membership, but the knowledge that you are supporting a worthwhile cause that is working to make the world a better and safer place for all of us.
To become a member now, click here. Thanks for your support!
Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo-woo in medicine.
The deceptive rebranding of aspects of science-based medicine as ”alternative” by naturopaths continues apace (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/the-deceptive-rebranding-of-aspects-of-science-based-medicine-as-alternative-by-naturopaths-continues-apace/ Naturopaths deceptively redefine parts of conventional medicine as “alternative” and falsely claim them as their special province. A new study claims to show naturopathic care is superior to routine care, but it didn’t really test naturopathy: it only showed the effects of intensive counseling about lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise. Naturopaths are a poor choice to provide such counseling, since their training is steeped in pseudoscience.
Antibiotics for Low Back Pain (Harriet Hall) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/antibiotics-for-low-back-pain/ A new study showed that antibiotics improved chronic back pain in a select group of patients who had MRI findings of bone edema adjacent to a herniated disc. It was good science, well designed, with a plausible rationale; but it would be premature to accept it before the study can be replicated and confirmed, and it mustn’t be extrapolated to back pain patients outside the limited subset that was tested.
Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.
Hollywood, CA. —The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) promotes critical thinking through grants for outstanding teachers, scholarships to inspire skeptical students, educational resources for the classroom and general public, and annual conferences showcasing the best of skeptical thought—but every April Fools’ Day, JREF “honors” the five worst offenders who are intentionally or unintentionally peddling harmful paranormal and pseudoscientific nonsense.