On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I’ve been thinking about intolerance and bullying. My town puts an amazing celebration that my daughter was part of today. It’s quite the celebration of diversity for our small town, and includes kids from the schools, students from the university, people from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, local artists, etc. For all the talent displayed, the most amazing thing is how supportive everybody is of each other.

I’m not saying that we all have to agree with everybody’s choices or opinions, or even enjoy being around everybody else. And I know that we all justify ourselves in various ways so that we all think we’re on the side of good. But when that feeling of being on the side of right turns to bullying—where people who think they are superior try to intimidate, belittle, and/or oppress those that they believe are inferior—how do those bullies reconcile their actions with all the stories?

Since I’ve been writing about evidence, it’s difficult to find examples in our stories with admirable bullies. Even when there was similar behavior in real life, they don’t portray it that way in the movies. In Westerns, the cowboys don’t bully the indians. They … (more)

I often read this kind of statement in articles about homeopathy: “They claim that a smaller amount is therapeutically stronger.” There are two problems with this kind of statement.

One, it’s not the smaller amount that counts. What counts for healing is 1) the similarity and 2) the succussion. Why shaking the remedy during the dilution process matters I don’t know. But I do know that a small amount alone does not produce the effect. Where the small amount does count is in avoiding toxicity, which makes it safe and avoids negative side effects. But the similarity is the most important factor, not the amount or lack of amount.

Two, “stronger” is the wrong word to use with homeopathic remedies. A homeopathic remedy should not be considered stronger than a toxic dose of a substance. I would rather say something like “more profound” or “acts more deeply.” It’s like comparing a bulldozer and a song. Which is stronger? A bulldozer can knock your house down, but a song can have a profound effect on people, maybe even change the world in the extreme. A bulldozer can’t do that. But I wouldn’t say the song is “stronger” that a bulldozer.

That’s the real problem … (more)

I left off before the holidays writing about how we believe in science. People have written on this blog that anecdotal evidence is never reliable while putting scientific research on a kind of pedestal. I say both have their place. Moreover, one good thing about analyzing your own experience is that you train your mind to ask questions, and about everything, not just those things that you don’t like. I think that blind faith in scientific research is a bigger problem that most woo-woo beliefs. We aren’t actually making the observations or doing the experiments, and usually not even reading the studies, but rather trusting in what some scientists say, as reported in the media, without a critical enough eye. I find that the media likes to quote scientists saying things that aren’t very scientific and aren’t supported by the data.

For example, today there was a news item about a study in California that found counter-evidence for the theory that there is a link between autism and the vaccine preservative thimerosal. The study claims to refute this link because autism rates have continued to rise despite thimerosal being removed from some childhood vaccines. I don’t think I have a problem … (more)

I recently read something from the BMJ claiming to bust the myth that turkey makes you drowsy. And I thought that it would make a good example of the error of implied causation and how that is not what I’m talking about with homeopathy.

Then I realized that, at least for me, this wasn’t that kind of error: it was the error of believing what somebody told me was the science on the subject. I do not have the experience of turkey making me drowsy. I do like to relax after a big meal, but I don’t recall feeling especially sleepy. I usually don’t eat so much turkey anyhow, so maybe it’s just that. In any case, before I heard that turkey was high in tryptophan which makes you drowsy, I never would have said that. I might have said that eating a big meal makes you drowsy.

I’m glad that article put me straight. But wait a minute. Am I not just repeating the mistake? Before I heard that turkey makes you drowsy. Now I’m hearing that it doesn’t. When I read the article in detail it says that turkey doesn’t have higher levels of tryptophan than other meats … (more)