{"id":680,"date":"2015-03-30T14:53:15","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T13:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/?p=680"},"modified":"2018-01-10T23:17:37","modified_gmt":"2018-01-10T23:17:37","slug":"irish-times-unscientific-media-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/irish-times-unscientific-media-bias\/","title":{"rendered":"Media quackery – Irish Times and unscientific bias"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"media

Irish Times logo<\/p><\/div>\n

Media Bias<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Here is my response to one of the many of the anti-homeopathy articles and letters in The Irish Times<\/em> this week. Two articles and four letters against (and increasing)\u00a0and one letter for homeopathy show a media bias\u00a0as well as\u00a0an unscientific bias and prejudice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the critic in a letter to The Irish Times<\/em>, Prof Thomas Cotter, is a scientist, it doesn’t follow he’s right. To assume so is to fall into the fallacy of appeal to authority<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

You’ll notice his caricature of\u00a0homeopathy as “voodoo” is typical of the modern witch-hunt in science against whatever doesn’t make sense to “my mind”, as Prof Cotter puts it. It also puts homeopathy into a religious paradigm which makes homeopathy more susceptible to ridicule because, after all, reductionist materialistic science is the new religion.<\/span><\/p>\n

My unpublished response is as follows…<\/span><\/p>\n

“If homeopathy doesn\u2019t work, then medicine is in big trouble! In his criticism of homeopathy Prof. Thomas Cotter<\/span>
\n(Letters, 28.03.15) shows he knows little about homeopathy. Most medicines are homeopathic \u2013 just consult the lists of side-effects – they cause what they treat. Radium is used to treat cancer; Epilem for epilepsy when it causes convulsions; platinum for ovarian tumours which it causes and likewise with Nexium for stomach symptoms; mercury in dentistry; Respiridone for hyperactivity; Tamoxifen and chemotherapy for cancer and with the use of Seroxat and Ativan for anxiety. With skin, Zovirax causes herpes etc. On the contrary, opioids are ‘bad painkillers’ because they aren\u2019t homeopathic; they don\u2019t cause pain.\u00b9<\/span><\/p>\n

“Prof Cotter confuses homeopathy with a separate question of pharmacology. Homeopaths don\u2019t stick to ‘one molecule’ when prescribing. He is also mistaken in thinking there are homeopathic medicines for all sorts of conditions because homeopaths don\u2019t treat disease names. But to answer his question ‘why there isn\u2019t a homeopathic pill for contraception?’ it\u2019s because conception isn\u2019t a disease!”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prof Thomas Crotter’s letter<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n

Sir, \u2013 Dr Muiris Houston\u2019s column<\/a><\/span> \u201cThere is no clinical evidence to validate homeopathy \u2013 and it can even do harm\u201d (Health, March 22nd) is on the money! There is absolutely no credible evidence that homeopathy works. Sure, there is lots\u00a0of unsubstantiated anecdotal evidence, but it is no more than that. Homeopathy is as close to voodoo science as you can get and it still amazes me that people believe in it. The idea that ultra-dilute solutions of a compound \u2013 that are so dilute that we are talking about a single molecule in a volume the size of the Atlantic Ocean \u2013 can have an effect is, to my mind, plainly ridiculous. There is no possible rational mechanism as to how it might work. It is interesting to see that you can buy homeopathic remedies for all sorts of conditions, but there is no homeopathic pill for contraception. I wonder why! \u2013 Yours, etc,<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Prof Thomas Cotter<\/span>, PhD, MRIA,<\/span><\/p>\n

Gerti Magee subsequently had a letter published in The<\/em> Irish Times<\/em> (plus another against). It was the first bit of sense about science and homeopathy in the current debate. Here it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Sir, \u2013 As far as I understand it, a scientist is somebody who, with a clear, open and unprejudiced mind, observes phenomena in the natural world.<\/span><\/p>\n

He or she then examines a particular phenomenon and tries to understand it. As we know from history, many times scientists could not explain or understand a given phenomenon. Yet this didn\u2019t lead them to the conclusion: this can\u2019t possibly exist because we can\u2019t explain it.<\/span><\/p>\n

This would have been poor science indeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because we all know that apples fell from the trees, even before Newton discovered the law of gravity. \u2013 Yours, etc,
\nGerti Magee,\u00a0Oranmore, Co Galway.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In this sloppy reply to Gerti Magee, Neil Barrett (link<\/span><\/a>)\u00a0refers to her as “McGrath” and even though she never mentioned “homeopathy” in her description of the scientific process, he constantly assumes she did. A scientific mind doesn’t assume but is open and examines, as Gerti Magee explained. Obviously, the University of Cambridge isn’t what it used to be!<\/span><\/p>\n

Sir, \u2013 Gerti McGrath (Letters, April 1st) seems to criticise scientists and doctors for not giving homeopathy credit as a phenomenon merely because its proposed mechanism of action contradicts our understanding of the laws of chemistry and physics.<\/span><\/p>\n

She compares our understanding of homeopathy to our pre-Newton concept of the phenomenon of gravity.<\/span><\/p>\n

This would be a technically valid argument save one flaw; gravity is a phenomenon demonstrable in orchards throughout the land.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Australian study of homeopathic effectiveness that began this thread of letters \u2013 which was concerned with efficacy rather than mechanism \u2013 highlighted the lack of effect or effectiveness of homeopathy, ie, that there is no phenomenon. And here the argument, like the proverbial apple, falls down.<\/span><\/p>\n

The simple fact is that if well-controlled trials demonstrated a homeopathic phenomenon that was positive in the clinic, then lack of understanding of a plausible mechanism would not prevent this \u201calternate medicine\u201d becoming \u201cmedicine\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many drugs have at least an incompletely understood mechanism of action, or were a complete mystery in terms of their mechanisms when first used.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is their consistent demonstrable effects that earns them acceptance in the medical and scientific communities \u2013 and not our understanding of their mechanisms of action.
\n\u2013 Yours, etc,
\nDr Neil Barrett,\u00a0University of Cambridge.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Further Reading
\n<\/strong>see my posts: painkillers<\/a><\/span> and opioids<\/a>\u00a0and more on the The Irish Times<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Update<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn May, 2016 research into opioids as a bad\u00a0painkiller now has some new science to back it up: “Opioids like morphine have now been shown to paradoxically cause an increase in chronic pain in lab rats, findings that could have far-reaching implications for humans, says a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder<\/a><\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Media Bias Here is my response to one of the many of the anti-homeopathy articles and letters in The Irish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,12,21,3],"tags":[308,307,302,298,976,977,300,301],"class_list":["post-680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apologetics","category-homeopathy","category-medicine","category-medicines","tag-dr-muiris-houston","tag-dr-neil-barrett-cambridge","tag-irish-times","tag-like-cures-like","tag-opioids","tag-painkillers","tag-prof-thomas-cotter-ucc","tag-scientific-bias"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4mh1I-aY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88,"url":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/sceptics-of-homeopathy\/","url_meta":{"origin":680,"position":0},"title":"Homeopathy sceptics – ignorance is bliss","author":"Stephen Blendell","date":"16\/05\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Sceptics, Real Knowledge\u00a0and Homeopathy So many\u00a0sceptics of homeopathy\u00a0assume more than they actually know and base their comments on hearsay and caricature, regurgitating what they've heard before from biased and prejudiced commentators. Here's my reply to a week of debate in The Irish Times which gave a more balanced airing for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apologetics"","block_context":{"text":"Apologetics","link":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/category\/apologetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sceptics debate homeopathy","src":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/77\/Anton_Laupheimer_Schreibender_M%C3%B6nch.jpg\/189px-Anton_Laupheimer_Schreibender_M%C3%B6nch.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":393,"url":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/genetics-autism-homeopathy\/","url_meta":{"origin":680,"position":1},"title":"TCD school of genetics, autism & homeopathy","author":"Stephen Blendell","date":"05\/04\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\"We thought genetic research was going to change our lives but\u00a0it has turned out to be a false dawn.\" Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of genetics, University College London. Geneticists Expert on Homeopathy! Isn't it wonderful the highlight of a TCD Smurfit School of Genetics student's career is to focus on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apologetics"","block_context":{"text":"Apologetics","link":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/category\/apologetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"genes genetics medicine autism","src":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/2b\/Chromosome_DNA_Gene.svg\/320px-Chromosome_DNA_Gene.svg.png","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":858,"url":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/revisionist-bias-history-medicine\/","url_meta":{"origin":680,"position":2},"title":"Revising the revisionist histories of medicine","author":"Stephen Blendell","date":"29\/12\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Revisionist and Biased\u00a0Medical Histories There are histories and there are histories. Some give a fuller and truer picture than others. It's like the joke about the retired English army officer who was holidaying in Cork. He took a guided tour bus to explore the city. Every 20 minutes the tour\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apologetics"","block_context":{"text":"Apologetics","link":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/category\/apologetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"revisionist history medicine first humane psychiatrist pinel","src":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/25\/Samuel_Hahnemann_1841.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":411,"url":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/homeopaths-wrong-grimes\/","url_meta":{"origin":680,"position":3},"title":"Are homeopaths wrong Mr Grimes?","author":"Stephen Blendell","date":"23\/04\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Grimes\u00a0and his\u00a0Logical Fallacies Resorting to libellous generalisations of an ad hominem nature, with rhetorical ploys such as caricature, here's two possible replies to David Robert Grimes's\u00a0(a science policeman) diatribe\u00a0and The Irish Times which hosted it. But perhaps it wasn't Grimes himself who wrote it..? Sir, \u2013 in his Opinion (16.4.2014)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apologetics"","block_context":{"text":"Apologetics","link":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/category\/apologetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Grimes","src":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/db\/Brain_in_a_vat_%28template%29.svg\/225px-Brain_in_a_vat_%28template%29.svg.png","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":82,"url":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/david-grimes-opinion\/","url_meta":{"origin":680,"position":4},"title":"David Robert Grimes’s ignorant “Opinion” in Irish Times","author":"Stephen Blendell","date":"16\/05\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAn empty vessel makes most noise, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.\u201d Plato Sceptics and Ignorance The obsessive critic of homeopathy, David Robert Grimes, understands little, it appears, about homeopathy (not realising most drugs work homeopathically), its medicines (he plays a numbers game to explain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apologetics"","block_context":{"text":"Apologetics","link":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/category\/apologetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"David robert grimes sceptic science homeopathy","src":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/99\/Mirounga_leonina_cropped.jpg\/193px-Mirounga_leonina_cropped.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":715,"url":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/homeopathy-mayo-sligo-ballina-castlebar\/","url_meta":{"origin":680,"position":5},"title":"Homeopathy in Co. Mayo and Sligo – a reflection","author":"Stephen Blendell","date":"01\/10\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Homeopathy in Co. Mayo and Sligo The Beginning \"I'll give it six months and if it's not working out I'll try something else,\" I explained to a lady in Killala. That was 1993. The rest is history; here's a synopsis of that history. One of my first memories when beginning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Diet & Lifestyle"","block_context":{"text":"Diet & Lifestyle","link":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/category\/diet-lifestyle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"remedies homeopathy Mayo Sligo Ballina Castlebar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/20151001_230703-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mayohomeopathy.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}