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[...] came across this video today on Unreasonable Faith, and I have to say I come across a lot of what this guy is talking about. It ranges from people who [...]
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[...] Allegedly there are more rational people who associate themselves with the TP, but that seems like an oxymoron to me so I’m not sure I buy it. We could talk about the education aspect of this: did our education system fail these people, why have they no critical thinking skills, what must they be teaching their children, etc. But I’d rather discuss the cultural aspect, which by no means falls solely on the TPers’ shoulders—it’s our fault, too. We give them air time, we treat their baseless arguments as valid opinions. I can respect that there are people that genuinely feel scared for our country, but genuine feeling doesn’t mean that feeling that way is valid. The news media feel obligated to treat any ridiculous fringe freak-out as an actual point of view. It’s kind of like this (via Unreasonable Faith): [...]
There are such things as nutritionists who aren’t quacks. They work with dieticians in hospitals a lot.
Yeah, nutrition is kind of important to get right. I’m not sure where they ended up saddled with an image of being unclean, I mean, unscientific.
He says this though. He does say “what they’re saying might be perfectly true.”
The problem with being a nutritionist is that can’t get to sell your very own branded super-foods when it happens to be the likes of broccoli and carrorts … and on the same type of subject a story about Gillian McKeith’s honesty …
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jul/18/ben-goldacre-gillian-mckeith-twitter
That woman is *such* a dick….
The problem is that some of what she says is actually good advice – bascially have a healty diet – but she then has to dress it up with lashing of pseudo-science.
‘Bad Science’ has a complete chapter dedicated to ‘Doctor’ McKeith. One of the most complete deconstruction jobs I have ever seen – a real delight.
LOL! Dweebs unite!
Is this the guy from “Mock the Week” on BBC?
Dara O Briain, yes. Very funny guy.
I’ve been showing this clip to people for a few months now. The whole routine is on Youtube. This man is brilliant.
At least the Brits are putting up some fight against homeopathy and the detox scammers. Here’s a link to a helpful pamphlet you can download and give to people who are blowing their money on foot pads and the like. http://www.dcscience.net/?p=766
Finally, standup comedy that doesn’t talk about ex-girlfriends or drunken adventures.
Anybody know some good comedians who talk about.. important things?
“Anybody know some good comedians who talk about.. important things?”
George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Lenny Bruce, Jon Stewart, David Cross, Bill Maher, John Oliver.
and some who occasionally talk about important things (mixed in with less important things),
Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Mitch Hedberg, Eddie Izzard, Richard Pryor, Billy Connolly, Dennis Miller.
Sadly all the best ones are dead, but you can still find some hilarious and intelligent comedy by searching for any of them on youtube/googlevideo.
Dont’ forget Tim Minchin!
I have a bunch of Richard Pryor on DVD and every recording that Bill Hicks ever made :-)
Where’s Lewis Black? You can’t forget his bottled water rant.
Patton Oswalt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55h1FO8V_3w
That Mitchell & Webb look on Homeopathy (with apologies if it has been posted already):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0
Yes, much of this crap is ridiculous i don’t disagree. But nutritionists, in the state tend to work in hospitals. Most of them have medical degrees of some kind.
I agree. Homeopathy is a load of piss. But, herbalism, is not entirely crap. In that, the plants contain chemicals. Which can and in many cases do cause reactions in the body. A great example is nightshade… Yeh, that isn’t the perfect cure for a miserable life oh no, it just contains chemicals that kill you. Or valerian root which is one very very minor chemical process away from being valium. Which is where valium comes from and how it got it’s name. Willow bark, is essentially in tylenol just cooked up in a lab and enhanced. The list goes on and on.
Then ofcourse the other factor he is ignoring is that our modern western medicines, are wreaking havoc on our immune systems and diseases are mutating and ceasing to react to our antibiotics by dissipating. Ahhh evolution, thou fickle scientific fact that even the science savvy seem to like to forget about when it does not suit the purpose of their legitimate rant.
Yes, i do agree fair and balanced is not interviewing a witch doctor for medical advice. But a well trained herbalist, or a doctor of asian medicine maybe. Just because some forms of medicine are based ona different principle does not make them garbage. Eastern medicine for example, the idea is to fortify the body so that it does not break down. If it does… Well then time for some herbs that work if it is something minor and if it is something very major time for the western antibiotics.
Sounds to me that this guy is selling about as much snake oil as he is declaring new agers and religious fundies rightfully full of crap. I think he needs to get in the sack also.
“I agree. Homeopathy is a load of piss.”
But it’s been diluted so much that you probably won’t notice.
“Sounds to me that this guy is selling about as much snake oil as he is declaring new agers and religious fundies rightfully full of crap. I think he needs to get in the sack also.”
Don’t forget that he’s a comedian. He’s not trying to bring a discussion and make it look “balanced”.
You’ve missed the point by a fuc*ing mile. No one deny that some plant contain active ingredients that can be used in medicine, and you have mention a few that are. The difference between real and “alternative” medicine is that in the first you actually required to prove your treatment actually work. All that crap about eastern medicine and it’s helping the body deffend itself is just that, crap. If you look for treatment that use the body’s own defense why don’t you look at the recently approved cancer treatment where the immune system is trained to attack the cancer instead of some magic spells to balance the invisible energy centers or some other load of bovine excrement. And antibiotic resistance has nothing to do with this subject.
“bovine excriment”
I believe the scientific term for that is “stercus tauri”.
LOL!
This article might help clear the confusion;
http://www.healthline.com/blogs/diet_nutrition/2008/05/nutritionist-vs-dietitian.html
By the way, there is no “Eastern Medicine” or “Western Medicine”. There is only “Medicine That Works” and “bullshit”.
Another gem by Dara– “God Moments”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0123R6vjIoE
It is obvious that Dara does not like nutritionists because he would actually have to change what he eats (or at least decrease how much he eats). His attacks on homeopathy are funny but foolish. He is obviously a person who has no real understanding of science or healing…
Oh great Sophia, please explain to us your deep wisdom in the science of homeopathy!
I bet it has something to do with quantum whatevers.
http://depletedcranium.com/how-homeopathy-supposedly-works-illustrated/
Your defense of homeopathy is foolish.
If you think that homeopathy is even remotely defensible, then you have no real understanding of science or healing.
Well, Sophia, I (and at least two other readers I know of) really do have a very good understanding of both science and of healing. I would be delighted if you could expand it by showing me how homeopathy is anything other than placebo effect (which, by the way, it has the EXACT same success rate as) when it consists of drinking pure water!
To be fair, it’s a (very) lot of water and a (very) little piss (see my comment above).
“But there is more to life than evidence”
“I would be delighted if you could expand it by showing me how homeopathy is anything other than placebo effect (which, by the way, it has the EXACT same success rate as) when it consists of drinking pure water!”
Sometimes, that’s all it takes. Mind over mater.