Don't Tell Anyone About This...

Via the Campus Crusade for Chthulhu and the Universal Conspiracy Against Everything comes this handy little reckoner to conspiracy theorists and other assorted nonconformists throughout history (anti-vaxxers were missing, but EoR has remedied that):

                   The Devil
                      |
        |---Cain------|---------------------Indo-Europeans
        |             |                                |
      Arabs         Biblical Giants-------Hittites-----|
        |             |                      |         |
        |  Babylonian Mystery Religion       |         |
        |  |   |      |          |           |         |
        |  |   |      |          |           |       Pagans
        |  |---|---Merovingians  |--------Hindus       |
        |  |   |      |       |  |           |         |
        |  The Protocols of the Elders of Zion      Barney
 |------|  |   |      |       |  |           |         |
 |      |  |   |      |       |  |    The Yellow Peril |
 |      | The Illuminatti--|  |  |           |         |      
 |      |  |   |      |    |--|--|-Santa Claus-------Elves
 |--|---|-The Ismailians---|  |  |           |         |
 |  |      |   |      |       |  |           |         |
 |  |      |---|-Rosicrucians-|--|---------Elvis    Satanism
 |  |      |   |      |       |  |    |----| |         |
 | Shriners|   |---Catholics  |  |    |      |         |
 |  |      |   |      |      Easter   |    Space      The
 |  |---Masons |   Cathars   Bunny    |    Aliens-----Pope
 |      |      |      |       |  |    |      |         |
 |      |----Templars---------|  |    |    Rock        |
 |      |     ||   |  |         The   |-----and     Proctor
 |    Mormons ||   Carbonari   Media     |-Roll       and
 |      |     ||      |          |       |   |      Gamble Inc.
 |      |     ||   Protestants   |       |   |         |
 |      |     ||      |          |       |  Evolutionists------Science
 |      | |---The Hell-Fire Club |       |   |         |           |
 |      | |    |      |       Theosophy---Free Love--Golden Dawn   |
 |  YWCA/YMCA  |    Country      |           |           |        Mad
 |      |      |     Music      EST        Hippies     Smurfs  Scientists
Turks   |      |      |          |           |           |         |
 |      |    Promise Keepers Skull & Bones   |           |     Sluggy.com                                                     
 |      |      |      |          |           |           |         |
 |      ||--The World Bank    Foreigners     |       Scientology   | 
 |      ||     |      |          |        Hari           |     |   |
 |  The UN-----Communists      Fascists    Krishnas      |     | Computer
 |      |      |      |          |           |           |     |  Nerds
 |  The Military/Industrial    GM/Ford      TM   |-----Thelema |   |
 |      |   Complex   |          |           |   |       |     | Blogs
 |      |      |      |   Crown of England  UFOs |       |     |   |
 | Eastern Liberal Establishment |           |   | Your Great-Aunt Tillie
 |      |      |      |      Republicans     |   |       |     |   |
 |      | Janet Reno  |          |         Internet  Role Playing Games
 |      |      |      |     Rush Limbaugh    |   |       |     |   |
 | The Medical Establishment     |      Science Fiction--|-----|--Cthulhu
 |      |      |      |         EEC          |   |       |         |
 | The Pyschiatric Establishment |           |   |   Women's Lib   |
 |      |      |      |          |           Gurus       |         |
 |     Homosexuals    |       Nazi Pagans    |   |  |--Atheists----|
 |      |      |   Identity----| |--------New Agers-|    |         |
 |----NAACP    |   Movement      |        |  |  |   |-Abortionists |
Black   |      |             Bar coding   |Anti-|        |  Computer Porn
Muslims |   California           |        |Vaxxers  |      Criminals---|
       NEA---Liberals---Ecologists--Yuppies  |Neo-Pagans |
        |      |                 |           |  |    |   |
      Moonies  |--Animal Rights--|----------Wicca-----Renaissance
        |      |                 |                      Faires
     New World Order     Anybody not in your sect
           |                     |
           |----------THE BEAST 666 ARMAGEDDON
                      (When your sect goes to Heaven,
                      and all the rest of them go to
                      Hell.  Nyahh! Nyahh!)

Bad Journalism. Worse Science.

This week's edition of the Mind&Body supplement to the West Australian newspaper contains a number of gems (or is that crystals?) of woo masquerading as science.

Should EoR concentrate on SolarisCare's manager? SolarisCare is part of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and he comments that

he had seen patients after breast and abdominal surgery who benefited from reflexology and reiki in recovery

Or maybe the report based on comments by a woman described as "a scientist" that even "natural" and "organic" products contain carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens, as well as allergens and irritants? EoR suspects that these are the same sort of chemicals that normal products contain and are just as dangerous if anyone is stupid enough to use thousands of times the quantity in the products themselves. It all goes a bit pear-shaped two thirds of the way through the article though, when it is revealed that the "scientist" is touring the land promoting her own brand of "certified organic" skin care products (so there couldn't be any nasty substances in them at all). Imagine if a "scientist" working for A Big Pharmaceutical Company was to go around commenting on the danger of drugs, and then recommending his own company's better product. Do you think any of the readers of this advertorial would not be up in arms about conflict of interest, at the very least?

Okay then, what about the article on Ayurvedic therapy? Especially since

It is recognised by the World Health Organisation as "the world's most complete, natural, scientific and holistic system of health care" and teaches people the skills to empower their own health.

That's a strange quote. The WHO website returns no results for a search on that phrase, but the quote marks would indicate that the journalist was quoting some source, sadly uncredited. Doing a search for those keywords (such as "complete", "scientific", and "holistic" along with "ayurveda" and "World Health Organisation" returns quite a few sites, such as The Raj where it states:

Ayurveda, the traditional health care system of India, is recognized by the World Health Organization as a comprehensive system of natural medicine.

So, it's not quite the same thing as the journalist is claiming. It seems strange to EoR that the WHO isn't brave enough to admit to its own purported claims, but only ayurvedic sites seem to be able to state the the WHO supports them. The WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005 makes only very brief reference to ayurveda in passing. The only place EoR could find that exact phrase was in a document from the Ayurveda Awareness Centre at the Australian Natural Therapists website (again, without any attribution to the quote). Surely the journalist wouldn't be quoting uncritically from a secondary and biased source like that? Even a trainee journalist would first check the primary source, wouldn't they? Nonetheless, if this journalist is to be believed, putting dough and ghee on your eyes will:

nourish the nervous system, improve eyesight and eye problems, including muscle spasms and itchiness, and will bring a rich lustre to the eyes. It is also said to soothe away wrinkles, promote softness (inside and out) and leave you with a feeling of deep contentment.

Promote "softness" on the inside? EoR isn't even going to touch that!

What about the article pointing out that the "detox" kits you can buy off the shelf are a load of rubbish (something Choice magazine has pointed out over a year ago)? Not because they don't work, but because they're not quality detox.

Naturopath Lesley Oakes said the kits could provide a very basic detox. "Often they just help people clear out their bowels," she said. "Whereas (naturopaths) focus on a deeper cellular level detox."

Obviously, it's better to clear out the contents of your cells, rather than just your bowels. But isn't the cleansing of unclean bowels a fundamental part of altie philosophy?

No: none of those are suitable. This week's most impressive non-fact-based pseudoscience is from Dr Charmaine Saunders' Dream Reader column. In answer to one reader's query regarding dreams of talking to someone he knew twenty years ago, Dr Saunders states (categorically):

Lots of research is constantly being done in dream theory. You'd be astounded at some of the resulting evidence. Telepathy, astral travelling, fulfilling instructions during dreams and such like are now commonplace. So, the short answer to your question [whether communication through dreams by telepathy is occuring] is yes. [...] I remember a woman telling me once she dreamt of a friend in England who appeared like a spirit all in white in her dream one night. She naturally thought he had died but when she rang, found out he was alive and well but had missed her intensely that night and had thought about her for a long time.

Notice how Dr Saunders is convinced that a "telepathic" dream that didn't come true is proof of telepathy? This is the beauty of altie beliefs: if they come true, then that's proof, but if they don't come true, that's equaly as convincing proof.

She tells another reader (who dreams of meeting an ex-boyfriend that she left because of his alcoholism, and making love with him):

I think your ex-boyfriend is in trouble, wherever he is. The car is his life and it's broken. [...] It's probably a metaphor for his life and, somehow, he's communicating with you via your dream.

Look, he's drunk, and his life's a mess. He hasn't seen you for ten years. But he'd really like you to pop round for a quickie... EoR's readers have been suitably warned. Telepathy in dreams had been conclusively proven by scientific research. When you dream of someone (known or unknown, presumably) you're "communicating" with them. Be careful what you say. Or do.

EoR Has A Little Think

EoR has been tagged by Sandy Szwarc at Junkfood Science as a thinking blogger (which is some sort of achievement for a small stuffed donkey).

There are certain requirements:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

Five blogs that make EoR think? What about some unusual suspects? Some not from the usual skeptosphere? Though there are many more that could be in the list.

• Barista


• NHS Blog Doctor


• Stephanie's Pillow Book


• Belvidere, Nebraska Pop. 98


• On an Overgrown Path

Voices In The Head Come From Horse

How do we know whether alternative therapies used on horses work? Should we run studies and trials, even, Cthulhu forbid, double-blind placebo controlled studies? Of course not. We can know simply by asking the horses themselves, as Holly Davis does.

One day Kayleigh was having her Bowen treatment out in the field and wasn’t wearing a headcollar. After the first few moves she walked a 2 metre circle around myself and friend then came back and asked for me. I asked her why she had done this and she told me she was grounding herself. From that day on I have always had their feet on earth and left them untied for their treatments [...] One day during a Bowen treatment Kayleigh made a strong statement. She told me when vibrational medicine was done incorrectly it was like butchery! I later found out that one of the most famous homeopaths of all time had once said that he would rather be butchered by a surgeon with a knife than by a homeopath.

Do any of EoR's readers understand that? Why would a homeopath rather be treated by a surgeon than a fellow believer? Is it because he knew homeopathy is one of the best examples of delusional thinking around? Or is it because a homeopathic butcher would have to use an infinitely diluted blade?

On one treatment, Kayleigh asked me to ask the practitioner to just stand 2 metres from her right shoulder. As soon as she stood on this spot she burst into tears and Kayleigh walked off. I don’t know what was released that day but it seemed to be an emotion she had been clinging to for a very long time. On that same day, Kayleigh kept asking for her seat bone area to be treated in a certain way. But every time the practitioner tried to do it she would walk away... so instead of trying to ‘touch’ Kayleigh she decided to perform the Bowen moves on her energy field from about 5 feet away.

Bowen performs its magic by "cross fibre" manipulation of "energy" in muscles. Though this unnamed practitioner can do that special woo massage without even touching the horse. And just what was this horse thinking, telling the medium to be touched in a certain spot repeatedly, but then not allowing it? Cynical readers might think that the medium was making it all up and not really performing a miracle by talking to a horse. EoR couldn't possibly comment.

I’ve had many conversations with Kayleigh about healing. She tells me that holistic medicine, done correctly, should work on ‘levels’.

EoR also feels that the medium should be taking Kayleigh to the theatre for some intellectual stimulation. This genius of a horse shouldn't be left standing in a paddock munching grass and passing manure. Forget the theatre. She should be enrolled in a university to fulfill her "levels". Preferably a holistic one.

Talking to horses is much more powerful than anything else out there. And it's certainly out there, in the extreme:

Another horse I worked with had a severe problem with napping and spinning in circles in the road to the point he was dangerous to be ridden. He appeared genuinely afraid every time he was out. He communicated to me that he could see black holes everywhere and that when he ‘touched’ them he felt that they would spark and hurt him, as you can imagine he was very frightened. From how he explained things, I took it to mean that the black holes he was describing were in fact negative earth energies so I went in search for a solution to his problem. I asked his owner to attach a piece of rose quartz to his bridle or saddle and to make sure he was wearing it whenever he was taken from his field. From the moment he first wore it he was calm and the erratic behaviour stopped after many months of him not being ridden due to his fears.

More than that, chatting to equines and hanging crystals from them is an almost instantaneous cure for everything:

I have even come across horses who have been diagnosed with neurological problems due to certain behaviours, even ones whose owners have been advised to have destroyed as they are dangerous. Many of these horses actually had problems of an energetic nature which within a few hours were cured.

EoR certainly wouldn't be so curmudgeonly as to demand actual proof of these claims.

This site also sells Natural Horsemanship Rhythm Beads. Why hanging magical beads on your horse to do something with "chakras" and "energies" and "colour healing" has anything to do with horsemanship, natural or unnatural, escapes EoR totally. Of course, that's probably because he hasn't been listening hard enough:

Yes, that's right. The colour pattern was picked by my perfect equine partner! Here is how the colour choices were explained: "I love green, all shades of it because it reminds me of fresh pasture. I also like yellow, the colour of hay, the blue of the sky, and purple. There is a flower I am fond of that is purple."

Sadly, even though the speechifying horse knew what pasture and hay were, it couldn't name the special flower. Never mind.

More Secrets

Though it's hardly a "secret" anymore, now that Oprah's pushing it. Shouldn't we just rename it to something like "The Scam"?

Now, you too can buy the DVD and understand how The Secret works. Actually, you don't even need to buy it to understand how it works, since they're charging $54.83 for it, when the standard price for a new release DVD in Australia is around $28.

This is a perfect demonstration of the tanstaafl principle.

Or it could just be a repackaging of a Gene Wolfe short story from 1987:

God forgive me, I thought it was a joke, a game. I asked, "But this book tells you the secrets of life?"

He nodded solemnly. "Teaches you to read -- thought I knew, hah! Didn't. Music in your head, after you read that. How to tie shoes, write a check. How old before you learned?"

"Seventeen, I suppose."

"Liar! Twenty-five a least. How to get the girl, easy as snapping fingers -- all the ways. Make friends, influence people. Sports -- quarterback -- Olympics. Coordination and balance, that's all -- anything your body can do. Hah! Meditation and exercises. Easy, really."

As Krafty Skeptic points out though, the required mantra is it works every time. Believe that and you'll believe anything:

Also, I implore you to do a bit of research on the individuals they claimed knew about the secret. I IMPLORE YOU! If they knew of "the secret" you’d think they would have more before they died, right? Einstein would have had his "Grand unification theory", Newton would have worked out Alchemy, Beethoven would have been able to hear, and Lincoln wouldn’t have been shot.

Alternative Theraphies

Every now and then there's a new blog that just demands being added to the blogroll, such as: Homeopathy is Not a Placebo Theraphy.

Sadly, EoR couldn't really understand what it was about:

It can be concluded that,

"There is variability in physical and physiological parameters in the natural regulatory mechanisms in the universe."

"The variability in the natural regulatory mechanisms in the universe is similar at a given time."

"Individuals differ due to space or time effect."

So, that's all clear then? EoR would love to see some rigourously designed experiments proving or disproving these claims, but he feels the query "Is time a 'real' dimension?" would have to be resolved first.

EoR also isn't sure what a "theraphy" is, but apparently it's a standard treatment amongst alties: the Well Being Center for Animal Healing offers, among its services, "Alternative Theraphy". So it must be real. Eor feels that one of the main requirements in order for these alternative theraphies to work is:

We find that animals can heal remarkably fast; probably because they do not have to contend with the overriding negative influence of the educated mind.

Intelligence bad. Superstition good. Vaccinations bad. Links to whale.to good.

The practice of vaccinating our animal companions on a yearly basis started many years ago and lacks scientific validation.

Obviously, the whole site is adhering to its stated principle of avoiding education at all costs.

Guest Blogger

Today's guest blogger is Raymond Chandler:

Once I asked a Dominican why, if God were all-knowing and all-powerful, he allowed so much suffering and cruelty, so many abominations to the innocent, so much of the jungle in His world. The Father said: 'He wanted to create man free to mould his own destiny.' I said: 'Well, man has had at least ten thousand years to work at it, and he doesn't seem to have made much progress, if Belsen and Dachau and Buchenwald are still possible, if the Russians can destroy a nation as a political move, if ordinary decent people can be tortured until they lose their minds or 'brain-washed' until they become semi-idiots. And apart from man, what about animals? I suppose God made them too. The very existence of animal life in the wild depends on the killing of the weak by the strong. Is that the sort of world God wanted?'

The Dominican said: 'I don't know. But I must believe.' He wasn't very pleased with me, nor I with him.

Circularity

• Four Stone Hearth 11 at Aardvarchaeology


• Skeptics Circle #56 at Scientia Natura

Meanwhile, Spooner Jenkins follows his own circle, returning to Belvidere, Nebraska (Pop. 98).

Bad Depression Treatments

In a recent edition of the West Australian's Mind&Body supplement Dr Dingle discusses "New Ways Out of Depression".

How we treat depression is of great concern. The drugs we give to our kids don't solve the problem, at best they manage the symptoms. As a result, the underlying problem remains. In addition, these drugs can have many adverse side-effects. Drugs can be effective when used with other treatments that identify the cause but the first action should always be treating the illness through modifications in diet, environment, attitude and lifestyle.

Dr Dingle then goes on about cognitive behavioural therapy, diet (mainly tryptophan rich foods and omega 3 fats), exercise, "relaxation and breathing techniques" and meditation. He concludes:

Medication can be a part of this but only in conjunction with other, safer treatments, along with common sense.

While EoR doesn't disagree that many of those things may help people with depression, the subtle message here is "Drugs bad". Just because medication for depression treats the "symptoms" and not the "cause", why is that a bad thing? Many medications for depression have side effects (including weight gain and lethargy). As an alternative to not taking drugs and suffering suicidal ideation and its potentially fatal consequences, the side effects may be preferable. This seems doubly dangerous advice since Dr Dingle appears to be targeting his message to children (or their parents at least).

Dr Dingle also makes much of SAMe:

More than 100 double-blind studies have shown that supplementing with SAMe (S-adenosyl methionine), a chemical natural to our body, is equal or superior to using antidepressants. SAMe doesn't appear to have side effects and has many potential benefits. SAMe has been shown to increase the levels of serotonin and dopamine in depressed patients.

Dr Dingle has no qualifications to provide medical advice that EoR is aware of, nor to suggest treatment for mental disorders. Real psychiatrists are a lot more cautious:

A 58-year-old man’s condition was stable on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) after 3 major depressive episodes in the previous 10 years. He disliked the idea of taking a drug for a long time and at one point took himself off the SSRI and started taking St. John’s wort. However, the reappearance of symptoms of depression soon persuaded him to go back on the SSRI. [...] [SAMe side effects] were few in the published studies, but all the studies were
short term. There is no systematic evidence about long-term side effects or toxicity. The oral doses used in published studies are most often in the range of 400-1600 mg per day, but there is no evidence about the best dose. SAMe is usually sold over the counter in tablets with a stated SAMe content of 200 mg or 400 mg. A major problem is that SAMe is very unstable at room temperature when exposed to air. It is not possible to know how much SAMe might remain in tablets bought over the counter. [...] Although SAMe and 5-HTP may have antidepressant effects when given in an appropriate way, there
is no evidence that either compound would be effective or safe in the long term using the preparations sold over the counter in the United States and via the Internet. Neither can be recommended.

Indeed, the concern that people with depression may be using SAMe in Australia without regard to advice from a doctor or psychiatrist has led to the Therapeutic Goods Administration issuing a regulatory notice for inclusion on the product:

"Individuals who are using prescription anti-depressants or suffer from bipolar depression should not use this product unless under the supervision of a health practitioner"

Dr Dingle does a disservice, at the very least, not to emphasise this point. It is also concerning that his articles promoting the dangers of various toxins, poor diet and learning problems could not be said to be untainted, since he also promotes "The Dingle Deal" as a commercial enterprise.

This program takes an integrated approach through Diet, Environment, Attitude and Lifestyle (the DEAL) to
provide the participant with immediate steps to reduce stress and the impact it has on health and productivity.

Dr Dingle claims he's been researching these topics for a good long time. Since he was two years old, in fact:

GEORGE NEGUS: [...] Why should we listen to Dr Peter Dingle?

DR PETER DINGLE: One - I've been researching it ever since I can remember, about two years of age.

GEORGE NEGUS: How would you describe yourself academically? Um, a behavioural scientist or what?

DR PETER DINGLE: No, I now describe myself... Are you ready for this one? It's a nutritional and environmental toxicologist.

GEORGE NEGUS: Oh, simple, yeah. But you do actually have qualifications that allows you to sound off and be a soothsayer on this whole issue.

DR PETER DINGLE: Correct, correct. We've got research happening in the behavioural sciences. We've got research happening in the nutritional area. We've got research happening in the environmental area, and the lifestyle too.

Notice Dr Dingle doesn't actually answer the question about his qualifications. He is an Associate Professor in the School of Science and Engineering, Environmental Science, at Murdoch University. EoR was unable to locate any mention of research being undertaken in that school that appeared to match Dr Dingle's claims above, though there is a list on his details page. A search for any publications returned zero results (obviously, Murdoch University does not index the populist press).

Of course, Dr Dingle knows his target audience. He regularly publishes columns in the alternative health section of the West Australian newspaper, has a regular column in the newage Nova magazine, and is clearly happy to associate himself with the "curers" of autism and ADD such as Defeat Autism Now!, chiropracters, craniosacralists, homeopaths and Mr Sichel.

Dr Dingle's aim is to live to 140 (that would make 138 years of research!). He himself describes his presentations as:

personal and memorable stories interlaced with a bit of magic.

Hot Treatments For Autism

Via Liz Ditz EoR is informed about: Hyperbaric therapy for autism.

It's all the usual suspects: "giving new hope to Autistic children", "Parents say they're noticing a huge improvement in their kids" and "While overseas studies have shown the therapy can have a positive effect on Autism, no such research is being done here as Australian doctors are divided on whether the treatment actually works".

In other words, it's yet another unproven therapy being pushed to desperate parents. It's also very telling that googling "hyperbaric therapy for autism" comes up with pages and pages of people selling the therapy or promoting it in one form or another, but very little research (research, of course, is not required to sell something, it is only required to prove it).

In one study, Daniel A Rossignol, MD states (EoR's emphasis):

Our recent retrospective case series demonstrated that HBOT may improve symptoms in autistic children. We recently completed a prospective pilot trial using HBOT in 18 children which demonstrated significant clinical improvements in autistic children on several standardized scales. Most of the scales were parent-rated, although some were rated by teachers. However, parents were not blinded to the fact that their children received HBOT and evaluation of the children was through parent-rated scales, either of which could lead to bias. There was no placebo or control group. Therefore, the improvements found in this prospective study could have been due merely to chance or the natural development of the children. To determine if HBOT improves symptoms in autistic children, a double-blind placebo controlled study is needed.

The Association for Science in Autism Treatment advises:

There have been no studies with strong experimental designs on hyperbaric oxygen therapy for individuals with ASD. The equipment may pose a fire risk, and the intervention may have significant side effects such as damaging the middle or inner ear and raising blood sugar levels.

Dad of Cameron provides a lot more information about the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy hypothesis (which is all it is at this stage).

Unless you happen to be one of the few parents with an autistic child who also has wounds, burns, carbon monoxide poisoning or the bends, sticking your child in a hyperbaric chamber is probably just an expensive way to pass time.

Meanwhile, A Current Affair recently promoed a segment on a "new miracle cure" for troublesome children. EoR missed the show last night, but a quick check of the program's website ("Lachlan's miracle" [sic]) shows it was just some free national advertising for the Dore program. So, it wasn't "new", a "miracle" or a "cure". Prometheus explains why parents fall for these things, even if there's no proof or they've been disproven.

Incidentally, EoR wonders why any child suffers autism since there are so many "cures" out there and they all work (EoR knows, he's read the testimonials). Or is it so that, when one miracle cure fails, the parents have always got another miracle cure to turn to in order to spend more money, before the next miracle cure (repeat ad infinitum)...

"The Discovery of the Hobbit" by Mike Morwood & Penny van Oosterzee

If you have been enthralled by the Hobbit of Flores find - this book is essential backfill. Mike Morwood indulges the armchair paleoanthropolgist. You are transported from a burning clump of spinifex on Australia's north-west coast to the sunbleached central basin of Flores, then onward into the cavern of Liang Bua - a cool umbrella on a steamy hillside of coffee trees.

You will vicariously delight in details of the dig and feel the clay impacting beneath your fingernails and the reverberating hum of the generator. Mike introduces us to people involved, from the feisty PhD student whose state of undress distracted the men, to the ballad singer of the coffee break. We hear of pigdogs and Flores ponies, whipping ceremonies and crimes of passion, and the sweet spiced coffee and coconut milk. And then the tantalising find - a petite skeleton, more like an early African hominid than anyone from around these parts.

The nickname "Hobbit" was inspirational, resembling as it did Tolkien's little people in stature, unusual feet (long - perhaps hairy too), pot belly and, if folklore is to be believed, pointy ears and a legendary appetite: "If food was served to them on plates made of pumpkin rind, they would eat the plates too."

But it's not all "National Geographic". We follow Morwood's trauma of having the team's precious discovery handed over to appease an oldboy obligation - at the cost of scientific fair play and integrity of the specimens.

Morwood wasn't one to rollover. He had a wildcard on hand in the form of Peter Brown, an experienced palaeoanthropologist, who was plucked from Australia at a critical moment. This delayed - but didn't ultimately prevent - the handover. Brown initiated investigations such as estimation of cranial capacity. This was achieved by the startlingly low tech, but efficient, mustard seed method. You actually do use mustard seeds, filling the sealed-off cranium, then pouring out the seeds into a volumetric measure. Technophiles may be reassured to know a CT scan was also performed. The tiny brain size had everyone buzzing. How could such a creature use fire and tools and make the sea crossing to Flores? Furthermore, to prosper for millennia, until recent times, seemed incredible.

It was startling to be reminded how accepted knowledge may be an artefact of the technical abilities of the day. The Hobbit lay dormant thanks to the difficulty of deep excavation, which requires skilful shoring. Sites were prematurely abandoned when the layers became 'sterile', thus missing enriched layers beneath. Morwood boasts his shoring skills were passed on to him by colleagues who attended a grave-digging course. We also learn the commonly quoted date for human colonisation of Australia (40,000 years ago) was the product of a dating technique of the times, and a gross underestimate.

As well as the struggle to retain, and then reclaim, the specimens, Morwood's team had another trial to endure. Dissenters rallied in noisy public denial. Folk were disgruntled for a variety of reasons, from personal to ideological. They spouted excuses as shamelessly as creationists: these midgets must be diseased - microcephalics, cretins - anything but a new species. As Penny Van Oosterzee explained on Radio National: "I suppose people really don't like having their sacred cows jumped up and down on, it causes a bit of flatulence."

Penny Van Oosterzee has an interest in the Wallace line and Island Theory. She describes how isolation and limited resources can mold species. We are served a freaks' parade of island fauna - from mini elephants to monster rodents (both the size of small bears) - as a backdrop to the discussion on how and where the Hobbit could fit into our family-of-hominid album.

Another of Morwood's strengths is his willingness to respect local customs. When the need arose, chickens were sacrificed and entrails consulted, and work continued smoothly. He also pays homage to the Catholic priest Father Verhoeven, who was one of the first to take notice of stone tool remains and made the radical deduction hominids had reached Flores about 750,000 years ago. Liang Bua had served as his classroom before excavation there. Now it has become a classroom to the world.

Why Is God Japanese?

The mysterious, secret symbols used in reiki (that ancient healing therapy that was invented a hundred or so years ago) are well known to be Japanese Kanji symbols (though they can be drawn in the air more or less accurately, and the woo still works):

Usui Reiki symbols are not as mysterious as they might seem. They have actually been created from Japanese kanji which means they are simply words from the Japanese language. Their names can be found in a Japanese/English dictionary.

Or, as Joumana Medlej states:

That's what you least need to worry about. Most of the symbols that are being handed down in the Western world, some of which were published by Diane Stein for the first time, are themselves total distortions of the original symbols. Strictly speaking, they have as much to do with Reiki as a dollar-store dreamcatcher has to do with Plain Indians. The only value of a symbol resides in its efficiency as a trigger. Whether you use these, the originals, symbols you further modify yourself, symbols you make up or symbols you bring in from other traditions, you will not lose efficiency. If you forget how to draw a symbol in the middle of a working, you can still fly on intent, which is all you actually need anyway. Energy flows where your intent is. Everything else is just there to help until the day you can control your energy as naturally as you can move an arm.

Since reiki is a direct line to the energy of god

EoR wonders, therefore, why non-Japanese practitioners of reiki continue to use Kanji characters (debased or otherwise)? Why don't they just trace "heal" or "love" in the air over their intended victim? Is it because it would make them look silly? Exactly the same silliness works for Mr Emoto (according to his own claims).

More importantly, doesn't this mean god is Japanese? Otherwise reiki would be a Hebrew healing art.

What EoR Wants To See On TV

EoR has an idea for a pilot for a new television series.

Medical dramas such as Grey's Anatomy and House are becoming passe, as are shows about psychics such as Medium and Supernatural. It's time to combine the two into Psychic Medical Intuitive!

Each show will follow the familiar formula: a patient with a life threatening condition is rushed to Really Big Hospital (fully endowed by Big Pharma through various Swiss bank accounts). Dr Arrogant and his amazingly well-groomed team will spend most of the show attempting various tests and treatments (all of which will be very expensive and induce various more, life-threatening, complications). At various points our heroine, named Anastasia Starwoman (an Indigo child who dreams of one day being able to run her own crystal shop and healing academy, but who is currently forced to work as a cleaner in said hospital) attempts to point out to Dr Arrogant that she can sense the real problem, and heal the patient. Her claims, of course, are scoffed at.

In the final act, Dr Arrogant writes out the ultimate prescription ("You are hereby officially being Sent Home To Die") when Anastasia Starwoman insists on practising her woo on the longsuffering indigent. Since they can no longer come up with any more tests and complications, and hoping her treatment might lead to further medication being required from them, Dr Arrogant and his team permit our heroine to approach the patient.

Going into a trance, communicating with her angels, and muttering about meridians and qi, Anastasia Starwoman waves her hands over the affected patient's organs as she does a little dance. Almost instantly, the patient arises, painfree, walking, and completely cured.

The patient is eternally grateful to his saviour, but Dr Arrogant clearly now has it in for Anastasia and her remarkable gift.... Roll credits.

Of course, if Psychic Medical Intuitive doesn't succeed as a drama on commercial television, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation could always run it as a documentary.

Wishful Reiki Thinking

EoR appears to have missed all this research: There are now quite a few experiments that validate the usefulness of Reiki and Reiki like healing techniques.. Perhaps EoR's readers could let him know which issue of Scientific American, New Scientist or the British Medical Journal published these findings? Though it appears these scientific proofs are "experiments", not studies as such.

Now, something like reiki.org could hardly be described as independent, so EoR went looking for these studies so he could read the full report and assess the evidence himself (note to trolls: EoR is quite happy to assess the evidence and make up his own mind, rather than accuse people of being "closed minded").

This is the first study:

Wendy Wetzel, a registered nurse describes a Reiki experiment she conducted in her paper, "Reiki Healing: A Physiologic Perspective." In her study, forty-eight people made up the experimental group while 10 made up a control group. Both groups had blood samples taken at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The experimental group received First Degree Reiki training. The control group was not involved in the Reiki training. The blood samples were measured for hemoglobin and hematocrit values. [...] The people in the experimental group who received Reiki training experienced a significant change in these values with 28 percent experiencing an increase and the remainder experiencing a decrease. The people in the control group who did not receive Reiki training experienced no significant change. It is thought that changes, whether an increase or decrease are consistent with the purpose of Reiki which is to bring balance on an individual basis. One individual experienced a 20% increase in these values. She continued to treat herself with Reiki daily and after three months, her increase had been maintained and in fact had continued to improve. This improvement was appropriate for her as she had been experiencing iron deficiency anemia.

There's no actual data there: a "significant change" is what exactly? Over what period? Eleven people experience an increase, 37 a decrease. So, any result, whether an increase or a decrease is proof? Apparently this is because the body "knows" whether an increase or a decrease is needed though there's no indication of whether the increase or decrease was appropriate in each case (note: apparently none of the experimental group were healthy enough to maintain the same values). The control group was also very small.

Nonetheless, EoR expected that all these questions would be answered in the actual published paper. And here it is:

I can't give permission to reprint my study since I don't hold the copyright... you can reference it however.... and back issues of the Journal of Holistic Nursing are available thru many libraries...The citation is Wetzel, W (1989). Reiki Healing: A Physiologic Perspective. Journal of Holistic Nursing 7(1), 47-54.

So EoR's questions apparently can't be answered. Not unless someone with access to an academic library would like to source that particular publication.

EoR was unable to locate the next study, by one Otelia Bengssten MD, but it appears to be similar to the above study. Patients self reported improvements, and there were also "significant increases in hemoglobin values". Self reporting is, of course, notoriously subjective and patients often feel a need to validate their treatment and not upset their practitioners. Such self reporting is one of the commoner forms of "proof" offered that alternative therapies work.

The next experiment:

Laying-on hands healing has been validated by experiments carried out at St. Vincent's medical Center in New York. The experiment was carried out by Janet Quinn, assistant director of nursing at the University of South Carolina.

EoR could not find a "Janet Quinn" at either St Vincent's Medical Center or the University of South Carolina. The claims and data were therefore unable to be confirmed.

The next experiment:

Daniel Wirth of Healing Sciences International in Orinda, California conducted a tightly controlled experiment involving a Reiki-like healing technique. Forty four male college students received identical minor wounds deliberately inflicted by a doctor in the right or left shoulder.

Whilst EoR rather enjoys the idea of a doctor deliberately wounding 44 people, Daniel Wirth is a familiar name. He is one of the co-authors of the infamous and fraudulent "praying to get pregnant" study published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, and his claims to veracity are flimsy.

The next study involves the use of a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device to measure magnetism, conducted by a Dr. John Zimmerman of the University of Colorado. Again, Colorado University shows no trace of this person. Perhaps he's this chiropracter?

Another experiment by a disappearing scientist comes next:

Dr. Barnard Grad of McGill University in Montreal, used barley seeds to test the effect of psychic healing energies on plants.

McGill University has no record of Barnard Grad.

Frankly, EoR was getting sick of trying to confirm these claims by this stage, and couldn't be bothered looking for the published results for the final "proof". For those interested, here it is:

In another experiment involving psychic healer Olga Worrall, Dr. Robert Miller used an electromechanical transducer to measure the microscopic growth rate of rye grass. The device used has an accuracy of one thousandth of an inch per hour. Dr. Miller set-up the experiment in his laboratory and then left, locking the door behind him to eliminate any unnecessary disturbance. Olga, located over 600 miles away was asked to pray for the test plant at exactly 9 PM that evening. When Dr. Miller returned to the laboratory the next day, the test equipment had recorded normal continuous growth of 6.25 thousandths of an inch per hour up to 9 PM. At that time, the record began to deviate upward and had risen to 52.5 thousands of an inch per hour which was an increase of 840 percent! This increased growth rate remained till morning when it decreased but never to its original level.

Unless "psychic healing" has been proven this is just measuring one unknown by another, and unless plants don't normally grow at variable rates, and unless there was a control group of plants, it's probably safe to say that this is yet another case of confirmation bias. Assuming it's even been published. EoR also wonders why an electromechanical transducer was used as a recording device.

So, basically, reiki and its ilk has not been proven scientifically, no more than homeopathy. Though there are a lot of home experiments and lowgrade studies that the believers desperately cling to in order to support their claims. They could, instead, run larger studies with proper protocols and controls and, with all the money alternative therapies generate, EoR wonders why they don't.

Frostisms

Here's some of the advice proffered by the radio nutritionist, Helen Frost, this week:

"If you put any chemical in the body the body freaks out." EoR doesn't know what the answer is to this problem. Presumably, eating and drinking nothing, and ceasing breathing.

Sweets "rot your joints".

"Caffeine is a toxic and addictive substance" without any health benefits, and the equivalent of 4-5 cups injected straight in to the vein can kill you. EoR doesn't know too many people who take their caffeine intravenously. What's the point of this meaningless scaremongering though? Any substance can be toxic. As we've seen recently, drinking too much water can kill you. By Ms Frost's logic we shouldn't be drinking any water either.

"A lot of kids are dying faster than their parents (because of junk food)". Eor has no idea what "dying faster" means. It's just more scaremongering without any science.

"Candida albicans on the tongue can spread right down to your backside." Eeeeww. Erky perky! Of course, Candida albicans is probably all over the skin, along with a vast number of other microbial organisms. Coffee kills off the friendly bacteria in the gut and lets C albicans overrun the body. C albicans "digs holes in the intestine", "burrowing" like rabbits, and runs rampant in the body. The answer is to starve them out: no sweets, white foods or junk foods.

This sounds like the pseudoscience promoted by William G. Crook, M.D, though with the special "coffee is the root of all evil" twist.

Crook claimed that the problem arises because "antibiotics kill 'friendly germs' while they're killing enemies, and when friendly germs are knocked out, yeast germs multiply. Diets rich in carbohydrates and yeasts, birth control pills, cortisone, and other drugs also stimulate yeast growth." He also claimed that the yeasts produce toxins that weaken the immune system, which is also adversely affected by nutritional deficiencies, sugar consumption, and exposure to environmental molds and chemicals. To correct these alleged problems, he prescribes allergenic extracts, antifungal drugs, vitamin and mineral supplements, and diets that avoid refined carbohydrates, processed foods, and (initially) fruits and milk. Crook's concepts are a mixture of fact and fancy.

Returning to Ms Frost: "Rats fed white bread over 7 days get bloated and die". Ms Frost loves her dead rat studies (she mentioned another study last week where rats were fed either breakfast cereal or breakfast cereal boxes - apparently the first group died earlier, though Ms Frost may be misremembering the experiment described here). True Bread relates that:

It has been reported to us that an authentic experiment was done concerning the difference between white and whole grain bread. In 1970, Roger Williams, a biochemist at the University of Texas, fed "enriched" white bread to rats, and within 90 days two thirds of them were dead, the others quite sick.

That's 90 days, not seven. EoR isn't quite sure why this should be described as an "authentic" experiment, but he isn't that surprised that any animal fed consistently on a restricted diet would show signs of ill health or debility. True Bread then extrapolates rather wildly from that authentic experiment to state:

But the True Bread of pure religion still remains unchanged from its original pure, whole state.

EoR doesn't know if there really was a Roger Williams who did carry out such an authentic experiment. The Common Sense Chronicle quite clearly uses the same text, except it begins:

It has been reported to us that an authentic experiment was done concerning the difference between white and
whole wheat bread. Though we have no dates and places - Common Sense teaches us that this is true!

Roger Williams has disappeared, and Common Sense is all the Authority needed. Common sense also tells us that the Earth is flat, that the Earth is at the centre of the universe, and the Sun revolves around the Earth.

Here's another variant on the "we're all dying like rats" urban myth:

It has been found that a group of rats were fed diet of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains from birth grew into completely healthy specimens and never suffered from any disease. They were never ill. They grew rapidly, but never became fat, mated with enthusiasm and had healthy offspring. They were always gently affectionate and playful and lived in perfect harmony with each other. Upon reaching an old age, equivalent to 80 years in humans, these rats were put to death and autopsied. At that advanced age their organs, glands, tissues all body processes appeared to be in perfect condition without any sign of aging or deterioration. A companion group of rats we fed a diet comparable to that of the average American and included white bread, cooked foods, meats, milk, salt, soft drinks, candies, cakes, vitamins and other supplements, medicines for their ails, etc. During their lifetime these rats became fat and, from the earliest age, contracted most of the diseases of modern American society including colds, fever, pneumonia, poor vision, cataracts, heart disease, arthritis, cancer and many more. Most of this group died prematurely at early ages but during their lifetime most of them were vicious, snarling beasts, fighting with one another stealing one another’s food and attempting to kill each other. They had to be kept apart to prevent total destruction of the entire group. Their offspring were all sick and exhibited the same general characteristics as there parents.

This is not a published study. It is an excerpt from "God’s Way to Ultimate Health" by Dr. George H. Malkumu with Michael Dye. Yet again, there is a clear religious agenda to these rat studies. Apparently, rats fed a natural diet live in a blissful, unfallen state of innocence and eternal life (they had to be euthanased). Rats fed an "American" diet suffer all the slings and arrows of Original Sin, living a vicious, short, dis-ease ridden life. Clearly, eat raw foods, find Jesus, and you'll live forever.

If Ms Frost is going to keep quoting rat studies, EoR wonders if she'll mention this 1912 study when rats were fed a strictly vegetarian diet (pretty much what Ms Frost urges on us all):

The vegetarians were emaciated and skinny. Their back arched and more or less stiffened. The fur was harsh and ruffled, and the tail and nose inclined to be more or less covered with dry scale and sores. The attitude presented extreme lassitude and indifference. They remained in a crouched position most of the time, their legs appearing too weak to support their weight for only a short while. They lacked energy...

While EoR is quoting ancient rat studies, it seems from 1921 that it's not so important to be fed whole wheat bread, but rather that it be made with milk:

When even one-half of the water used in bread-making was replaced by milk, and still more when the bread was made entirely with milk instead of water, the improvement in the food value of the resulting breads (containing 5 and 10 per cent of their calories respectively in the form of milk solids) was strikingly apparent in feeding experiments upon growing animals.

Ms Frost's little radio corner is like an amazing fantasy land of alternative "science' and bizarre urban myths promoted as reality. Oh, and it was a quiet week this time: there were only five mentions of her seminars.

Alternative Autism Treatments: An Alternative To Treatment?

The Dore Program likes to run advertisements scaring parents that the "government" is warning about life-threatening consequences of medication (though their latest advertisements are a lot more diffuse - if your children have "tummy upsets" before school, and don't enjoy doing homework, you need to rush to Dore for help - there's not even a mention of any medical condition anymore).

EoR wonders, therefore, if the Dore Program, Mr Sichel and their ilk will rush to notify consumers that the "government" is advising parents:

CHILDREN with autism spectrum disorders need to spend a minimum of 20 hours a week in an evidence-based program to make major gains, according to new Australian government advice.

Furthermore, will they run scare stories about:

Approaches that could be harmful were being heavily promoted, and families were also choosing unproven alternative therapies, the guidelines warned. A literature review conducted for the government found minimal evidence for the effectiveness of exclusion diets and considerable evidence demonstrating that withholding MMR vaccine or treating with secretin or other drugs had no effect. Behavioural intervention produced positive outcomes for children with autism but parents should be wary of "cure" claims by some service providers.

The Federal Department of Health and Ageing provide a booklet on Early Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Guidelines for Best Practice. There is, strangely, no mention of Dore or the Stichel Protocol, and A Review of the Research to Identify the Most Effective Models of Practice in Early Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, which states:

Claims of ‘Cure’ and ‘Recovery’
Although autism is a life long pervasive developmental disorder, treatment programs exist that claim to provide a cure for autism. Howlin (1998) identified a number of such programs including Holding Therapy, the Options or ‘Sonrise’ program, Auditory Integration Therapy, and Facilitated Communication (FC). Despite being the subjects of a range of published testimonials, internet articles, anecdotal accounts and research studies, none of these therapies and the associated claims have been shown to be supported by adequate research (Howlin, 1998). It is clear that there is insufficient empirically sound research evaluating outcomes of programs for children with autism, despite the range of treatments available to parents and the claims made by the exponents of some of these programs.
The cost to families
Currently there is a plethora of interventions for autism available, especially for young children with autism, some of which may be associated with unsubstantiated claims of cure and recovery. Interventions are often available at very high cost in terms of money and time. In addition parents often feel tremendous pressure to provide intensive intervention as early as possible in their child’s life which may then be associated with guilt if they believe they have not provided enough of the ‘right’ early intervention treatment. Families report high levels of confusion, problems with misinformation and desperation arising from this situation.

Again, there is no mention of Dore or Sichel, which you would think is strange if you believe their advertising that they have "cured" autism, as well as so many other conditions.

Look Into My Eyes. Not Around The Eyes. You're Under.

The feature article in the 6th March 2007 edition of the West Australian's science free Mind&Body section is "The Eyes Have It".

If you're looking for a diagnostic tool to help pinpoint problems in your body, visiting an iridologist could be the solution. [...] A practitioner can make inferences about the body areas or organs that will help them make a diagnosis and treatment plan for each client. "While iridologists do not diagnose disease, they do analyse tissue conditions such as inflammation, weakness, degeneration and hypo or hyper activity from the various signs of each iris," Ms Schreuders said. [...] Your first consultation will generally last an hour. "A picture is taken of the patient's eyes and a detailed medical history is taken," Ms Marriott said.

If the detailed and wholly revealing medical answer is right there in the eyes, why do they spend an hour taking a "detailed medical history"? Because, just like psychics, the more clues they get from you, the more accurate they make their guesses seem. And why is it repeatedly referred to as "diagnostic" when these healers-cum-psychics only make "inferences"?

From EoR's observation of an iridologist in full flight, the "consultation" involved asking a lot of leading questions such as "Any health problems?", a bit of mysterious eye-gazing (the equivalent of the magician's handwaving) and then a few comments about some fairly nonspecific conditions that someone of that age and with those health problems could be expected to have.

Iridologists don't believe in green eyes. "Genetically, there are only blue or brown eyes - all other colours result from iris fibre changes or deposits in the eyes which, from a natural therapies perspective, indicate a variety of conditions in the body." Many green-eyed people have blue eyes discoloured by cloudy particles in the iris that could indicate a health problem - often a congestion of the lymphatic system.

Isn't it a wonderfully simple world the iridologists live in? Green is not an eye colour (EoR wonders what nasty - presumably genetically transmitted - health diseases, black, grey, hazel or albino irises "may" indicate). In reality, eye colour is a result of a complicated set of genes determining the amount of melanin in the iris, flecks, rays, rings, and diffusion patterns.

What genes determine eye color in humans? At one time, scientists thought that a single gene pair, in a dominant-recessive inheritance pattern, controlled human eye color. The allele for brown eyes was considered dominant over the allele for blue eyes. The genetic basis for eye color is actually far more complex. Two key genes for eye color are located on chromosomes 15 and 19. The Bey2 gene (also called EYCL3), on chromosome 15, has a brown and a blue allele. A second gene, located on chromosome 19 (the Gey gene, or EYCL1), has a blue and a green allele. Geneticists have designed a model using the Bey2 and Gey genes that explains the inheritance of blue, green, and brown eyes. In this model, the brown allele of the Bey2 gene is always dominant over the blue allele, so even if a person is heterozygous (one brown and one blue allele) for the Bey2 gene, the brown allele will be expressed. The green allele of the Gey gene is dominant to the blue allele of either Gey or Bey2 but is recessive to the brown allele of Bey2. This means that there is a dominance order between the two genes. If a person has a brown Bey2 allele and all other alleles are blue or green, the person will have brown eyes. If there is a green Gey allele and the rest of the alleles are blue, eye color will be green. Blue eyes will occur only if all four alleles are for blue eyes. This model explains the inheritance of blue, brown, and green eyes but cannot account for gray, hazel, or multiple shades of brown, blue, green, and gray eyes. It cannot explain how eye color can change over time. This suggests that there are other genes, yet to be discovered, that determine eye color or that modify the expression of the known eye-color genes. One such gene may be controlling the deposition of the pigment lipofuscin (lipochrome) in the iris and may determine amber, green, and violet eye colors.

In the iridologists' world, there's still only a single gene pair (assuming, which might be a presumption, that they even believe in "genes") and such things as "weak" organs and "congested" systems.

Iridology also practices its own anatomy which bears no relation to anatomy as it is known in all living humans:

The theory is that the iris contains nerve fibers connected to various parts of the body through a previously unknown nerve pathway in the cranial nerves.

From the same page also comes an example of how confirmation bias plays such a large part in this scam:

I soon found that structure "changes" could be created on the video record by changing the angle of the light to the eye. Areas that I thought were dark would suddenly show healing lines when the position of the light changed. Thick white lines would change to thin gray lines when the light moved. More than once during this period an eminent iridologist would call me to his office and show me a change he had recorded in patient's iris minutes after doing a spinal adjustment. After closely examining his recordings, it became obvious to me that his light position and the angle of the camera to the eye had varied from time to time causing the appearance of a change in the iris.

And here's that psychic trick again:

The beauty of not having to provide a diagnosis from the eye is that the practitioner simply uses the iris to create leading questions. Suppose I had a patient who had a mark in his lung area. My first question would be "Have you ever had a problem with your lungs? Something like asthma, pneumonia, or emphysema?" If the patient could remember something like that I was considered a genius, but if there was nothing obvious I would question further. "Perhaps you have had a cold recently?" If the answer was no and there wasn't anything obvious the next step would be to look at the bowel, which is theorized to cause lung weakness.

Is that any different from "I'm getting an M or an A. Does that mean anything to you?"?

Evidence for such a fundamentally flawed hypothesis is also thin on the ground:

Disease diagnosis
There is no proven scientific basis for iridology. Several studies in humans report that iridology is not effective for diagnosing disease.
Hypertension diagnosis
Preliminary research suggests that iridology may assist in the identification of individual predispositions for vascular diseases such as hypertension. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.

In terms of magic, however, and its uncanny ability to generate an income stream, iridology is a marvel of madness.

Not The Secret. Really.

EoR wonders why this guy doesn't get sued by The Secret people: The Power of Thought.

In this section I will explore the power of thought and how thoughts become our reality. What I will be discussing here is revolutionary and may be hard for some people to understand right off. In fact, when I learned and figured out this incredible concept I doubted it too. But after years of putting this to the test I have definitely witnessed the truth in my own life. What follows is how to use your thoughts to manifest what you want in your life.
Thoughts Manifest Themselves. We all witnessed thoughts manifesting at one point but may not have been aware of it. So I will give you some examples and will explain them more as we go along. I will also be expanding on this topic in later sections. The key part in the whole process is that thoughts are manifested through Imagery and Emotions; not by words themselves.

This must be real, there's a flowchart for imagining your new car/girlfriend/lotto win (notice how all this newage thought-is-real woo is just a way of getting material possessions?). For example, if you want a new car, think that thought and, real soon now, you'll see that car on the street, or an advertisement for it. What happens next isn't explained. You certainly haven't actually got that new car by that stage. EoR imagines (positively, of course) that you steal the car.

EoR also wants to know what sort of stores this person has in his hometown, given this flowchart example of the thought-becomes-magic process:

"I want a girl." "You Picture Her Blonde 5'4" Blue eyed, etc." "You WANT her You also picture it like she is already there." "You go to the store and she's there!" "You believe she is for you and you take her OR Pass her by."

EoR guesses if you go down to the local store and "take" some random woman there, you'd probably attract a bit of attention. Mr Knighthawk also has trouble separating science from fiction:

Your emotions channel your energy into your image, which gets broadcast to the Universe or God, depending on your belief system. I believe in God so I chose the latter communicator. Either way this emotion channels this image till it gets sent back to us. Think of it like a Star Trek tractor beam.

Oh, Star Trek. So it's real, then? As for the magic daddy in the sky, EoR chooses to imagine Cthulhu. Cthulhu doing something unspeakably hideous and loathsome, involving gallons of foetid slime, to people who believe this sort of magical thinking. EoR is also a little concerned with another of the examples given:

You picture how your wedding will be
You picture how your wrestling match will be

What, at the same time? Well, it's a form of wrestling, though doing it during the wedding might be a little socially unacceptable. EoR is only half-joking about this strange sexual obsession that permeates this page. The theme is more explicit (pun intended) on his page about The Way of Love when he discusses how to deal with rejection:

First, go some place that no one will know who you are and one you never will go back to soon. Drive to the next town or three towns over. Second, take a deep breath and relax. Now go up to as many girls as you can see and do your best to get rejected. When the one says "No Creep" go right to the next one. It’s tough at first but also gets to be fun and you’ll find out it is actually tougher not to laugh. Do this for as many times as it takes to eliminate the pain of rejections. Do this a couple times if you need to, but once you realize that no is not that bad you won’t worry about it any longer. You first have to reach rock bottom before you go to the top, my friend. How many times did you not try simply for fear of rejection? Imagine that burden and worry gone from your mind forever! Awesome huh!

You could also harass women you don't know until the police come to arrest you, though deliberately inviting rejections like this might be good for psycho-killers in training. So, if some guy comes up to you in the street and propositions you inappropriately, don't be too upset, he's just getting in touch with his inner molester. In a positive, in touch with God way.

That Glow Of Health

Via Barista: Vita Radium Suppositories. A traditional source of energy from a natural substance, to be used rectally by men. And a whole page of radioactive quack cures.

Never have to rely on magnetic underlays again: the Radon Pillow is sure to sort you out. While it's working its magic, you could chew on a bit of all-natural high-fibre Radium Bread.

Luckily, such natural healing products are still available today. No holistic home should be without a steady supply of Kometatsukun. Look! It's got a smiling cartoon egg-man on it! It must be good for you! Who cares about the radiation.

Remember though: electromagnetic radiation, microwave ovens, radiotherapy and (boo! hiss!) mobile phone towers are evil. They cause illness, not cure it like these nice lovely products.

If this sort of stuff was more popular, at least we could easily recognise the alties. They'd be the ones glowing in the dark.

Natural Hypocrisy Is Safe Hypocrisy

Reported in the West Australian's Mind&Body supplement on Tuesday 27th February, 2007 is "Warning on too much St John's Wort":

Doctors at a Melbourne hospital have warned against consuming large amounts of the herb St John's wort after a 16-year-old girl suffered a dangerous overdose and seizures from taking excessive amounts.

Of course, this is because St John's wort is a drug. It may be marketed as "natural" with the implication that it is also "safe", but this is only advertising and not defensible. If such a reaction occurred to someone taking a pharmaceutical drug there would be immediate finger-pointing by the alternative brigade, calls to withdraw the product without delay, accusations of ignoring these side effects, and mutterings about Big Pharma and the evil side effects of drugs. When it happens to one of their own drugs, what do the alternative brigade do? Resort to hypocrisy:

Complementary Healthcare Council executive director Tony Lewis told Mind&Body that this was the first case he had heard of of an overdose of the herb. He said St John's wort was safe - and had shown some success in reducing depression symptoms - but only if the manufacturer's directions were followed. "The issue here is that the girl took quite a substantial overdose and was not using the product as directed," Dr Lewis said.

No. The issue is that St John's wort, and other "herbal" treatments are freely available on pharmacy and supermarket shelves, with little or no quality control, little or no studies of longterm use and side effects, and blaming the consumer for the adverse reaction is uncaring and hyprocritical. And it is clearly not safe. A person has had serious negative health effects from taking the drug.

Should the majority of pharmaceutical drug adverse reactions be ignored because patients "failed to follow directions"? Are they therefore "safe"?

Meanwhile, the Journal of the American Medical Association has published a study, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald:

Popular vitamin supplements designed to prevent disease might actually increase the risk of death, a landmark international study has found. Vitamin A performed worst in the 68-trial review, with the supplement said to lift mortality risk by 16 per cent. A closely-related nutrient, beta carotene, had a 7 per cent rise. Vitamin E supplements were associated with a 4 per cent increased risk, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Danish researchers found the top-seller, vitamin C, had no effect - positive or negative - on survival. The researchers also cleared the trace mineral selenium of increased risks. They concluded "the public health consequences may be substantial" given that 10-20 per cent of Western adults swallow supplements regularly in the belief they're preventing disease. [...] Supplement manufacturers claim these products have an antioxidant effect, essentially eliminating free radical "messenger molecules" that are responsible for the so-called oxidative stress which has been linked to disease. But critics doubt whether oxidative stress even exists, with this research saying that killing off free radicals only interferes with some essential defensive mechanisms which affect survival.

Again, the "natural is safe" quickstep was not long in coming (strangely, from the same person):

The Complementary Healthcare Council (CHC), which represents the industry, said the results were based on old data and included trials which allowed doses of vitamins not accepted in Australia. CHC executive director Tony Lewis would not comment on the study's claims but said the evidence was "weak".

Still They Come

Yet another Miracle Horse Trainer who will Change The Way You Think etc etc, is coming to Australia. If EoR didn't have a pathological aversion to wasting money, he'd go along to see Klaus Hempfling, since he promises:

Give me a horse and I will show you that God really exists...

EoR has been vaguely aware of Herr Hempfling's existence for a while (mainly as the author of books and DVDs such as "Dancing With Horses" and "Coming Together" - something he feels should probably be sold under the counter and not to minors) but wasn't aware of the extent of his claims to magical powers.

The explanation of his teaching principles is rather scant (and more a collection of questions than statements), but this is intriguing stuff:

To understand this, Hempfling teaches the principles of primal life, against the background of both the mythological and the real horse. He emphasises the importance of the persons total honest self-assessment and self-knowledge and encourages both mental and physical self-control. He explains how a misplaced or misunderstood feeling, glance, posture, attitude or movement can make the difference between success and failure in the relationship with a horse.

"The principles of primal life"? "Mythological horses"? Maybe he's got a flying winged horse in hiding.

You could also take advantage of a retreat at the Seahorse Centre, where this miraculous proof is being offered:

Let us and our horses at the SeaHorse Centre be your guides back to an enjoyable life with a strong sense of self, connecting with your intuitive and creative side. The mystical nature of horses have been at the centre of many wellbeing experiences had by our visitors. They provide a healing for mind and body and challenge our ability to go beyond our physical senses into the realm of the intuitive.

It's all mystical, intuitive, creative and, frankly, weird. "Wellbeing experiences"? Why are these people talking a language that EoR has no comprehension of? "A healing for mind and body"? Are they claiming they're a sort of horsey Lourdes?

Sadly, naming this sort of woo "horsemanship" is not an option (they'd probably get sued by Pat) so they call it "manhorseship" instead! At least they've got a sense of humour.

This is a place where we help people and horses to feel accepted and at ease; where they can feel free to explore their thoughts and imaginations without judgment, but with joy, laughter and encouragement.

Sadly, there are no testimonials, paintings, novels, or musical compositions created by the horses who are exploring "their thoughts and imaginations without judgment" while laughing at the foolish humans in a contemplative daze surrounding them.

Joyce Hatto And The Alternative Scammers

Readers of The Second Sight may not be familiar with the current flurry in the classical music world concerning Joyce Hatto. Stephanie Delacey provides a good overview of the controversy.

Joyce Hatto, at the time of her death in July last year, was hailed effusively by the Guardian as:

Joyce Hatto, who has died aged 77, was one of the greatest pianists Britain has ever produced. [...] Her legacy is a discography that in quantity, musical range and consistent quality has been equalled by few pianists in history. Most of her recordings date from the early 1990s, when she had reached an age at which many pianists are resting on their laurels. They include the complete solo works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, almost all of Chopin, huge swaths of Liszt, all the Prokofiev Sonatas, and the complete concertos of Brahms, Saint-Saëns and Rachmaninov - over 110 discs in all. Of her Schubert recordings, one critic wrote: "Think Schnabel and Curzon - and, dare I whisper it, better." Joyce was one of just four pianists (and the only woman and septuagenarian) ever to have recorded commercially the entire 54 Studies on Chopin's Etudes by Leopold Godowsky, still considered to be the most difficult piano music ever written. [...] Unlike most artists, her discs are not performances patched together from a number of takes. She preferred to record complete movements without edits.

Suffice it to say that such a high level of artistry, at such an advanced age, across such a wide range of music, seemed miraculous. It has now been found that those recordings were in part, or wholly, not hers but rather other artists' recordings pirated and rebadged.

The Gramophone, who promoted Joyce Hatto unquestioningly, now has an article where the "creator" of these discs, William Barrington-Coupe, prevaricates at length. Initially he argued that the discs were solely the work of his wife. Now that position has become untenable, Barrington-Coupe argues that the musical plagiarism was justified:

Barrington-Coupe explains that he did indeed pass off other people’s recordings as his wife’s, but that he did it to give her the illusion of a great end to an unfairly (as he terms it) overlooked career.

He argues that the deception was only minor (and hence, by unstated implication, acceptable):

He began searching for pianists whose sound and style were similar to that of his wife, and once he had found them he would insert small patches of their recordings to cover his wife’s grunts [of pain due to the cancer she was suffering].

There's also the argument that he didn't actually make a lot of money from the trickery:

He also claims that he has not made vast amounts of money from what he has done

Finally, when asked to prove which recordings are really by his wife, and which are fake, he responds:

he didn’t want to go down that road, adding, "I’m tired, I’m not very well. I’ve closed the operation down, I’ve had the stock completely destroyed, and I’m not producing any more. Now I just want a little bit of peace."

These are all the excuses of the classic conman: it's real, it was for a good cause, it wasn't a big con, he didn't make a lot of money from it, and he doesn't have the time or ability to prove anything further.

Of course, these are also the classic excuses of psychics, homeopaths, dowsers, purveyors of miracle medical machines and assorted alternative geniuses when they're also asked for proof, taken to task over their claims, told to produce the evidence, or offered a $1,000,000 prize.

Is there a difference? EoR can't see it.

Homeopathy. Faeces. Why Do Those Words Fit So Neatly Together?

Partly because of the ongoing drought in Australia, partly because of climate change in the news, and partly because there are a number of elections happening this year, water and its (non)availability is a big issue at the moment.

Many people want treated sewage used to supplement the water supply. Even though it appears popular in polls, no government has the strength of character to be the first to do this, preferring instead to push the desalination option. Western Australia already has a desalination plant, and New South Wales is now building one as well.

There is, however, a hidden and very real danger in either option, which could lead to health problems that would make the autism epidemic seem like a mild cold. We're talking Spanish Flu or Black Plague here.

Whether the water is treated sewage, or desalinated, it is progressively treated to remove various products (bodily wastes in one case, sea salt in the other). During this process the water is continuously shaken about.

This is exactly the same process by which homeopathic remedies are potentised!

If people drink water from these sources, just imagine what will inevitably happen!

Heart attacks and strokes in the one case from hugely excessive salt intakes. Dysentery in every street in Australia in the other.

This tragedy cannot be allowed to happen. EoR calls on the True Believers of Australia, and all its leading and enlightened homeopaths to speak out loudly now.

Or just admit that their woo is smoke and mirrors and shut up shop now.

55th Skeptics' Circle: The Number Of The Skeptic

This is a significant milestone for the Skeptics' Circle, which not everyone may have realised. The 55th hosting of this circle doubles the vibrational energy of the number 5, and the numerological value of this edition returns us to the beginnings (5+5=10 reduced to 1+0=1).

EoR has therefore bowed to the higher energies of the universe in organising this edition based on the numerological vibrations of the submitters. Numerology is, of course, a science that has been proven by thousands of years of traditional use, dating back to at least Babylonian times. And they probably got it directly from the Atlanteans. Who got it from the interdimensional Martians.

As a leading numerologist has said:

Put simply, Numerology is the interpretation of numbers according to the position on which they are found. A numerologist deciphers the meaning and vibration of letters and numbers in a similar manner that a scientist interprets formulas.

But which numerological value to use? The blog name? The poster's birthdate? The date of the post? The Birthpath number? The Destiny number? The Realization number? The Heart's Desire number? The Personality number? Or the "many other calculations that can be performed"? And which numerological calculation? Babylonian? Pythagorean? The traditional "add up all the numbers"? Who cares? Numerology works no matter which number you choose. EoR chose the poster's nom de blogue since this, being chosen at a subconscious level, represents the true inner symbolism of the blogger on their particular quantum karmic path, and just added the numbers up to reveal the inner secrets of your soul.



Ambitious, independent, and self-sufficient.

• Huw Lynes: Poisonous Potatoes


• Ben Cline: Darwinistic Redoubts


• ChemJerk: Religion and health care


• Clark Bartram: Extra! Extra! Part II: Murderous Rampaging Teens Hunting Down Homeless.....


• Rebecca: Science FryDay Saturday


• Orac: An uninformative "experiment" on dichloroacetate (DCA) and cancer

Supportive, diplomatic, and analytical.

• Robert Todd Carroll: Mass Media Bunk

Enthusiastic, optimistic, and fun-loving.

• Barry Leiba: Another study of "psychics"

Practical, traditional, and serious.

• Phil Plait: Should creationists be able to get PhDs in geoscience? and Religion and PhDs


• AustinAtheist: How Not To Know God

Adventurous, mercurial, and sensual.

• Paddy: Changing your mind and Talking to the Dead

Responsible, careful, and domestic.

• Alon: Religion and Welfare


• Martin Rundkvist: Swedish Skeptical Anthology

Spiritual, eccentric, and a bit of a loner.

• Liz Ditz: Christy Harrison's Advice On Dyslexia: (a) Inadequate and (b) Plagiarized from the Jehovah's Witnesses and Aaargh! Another Woo "Cure" for Dyslexia!


• Bronze Dog: The Myriad Moralities of God and Doggerel #62: "Stop Complaining!"

Money-oriented, decisive, and stern.

• Adam Cuerden: Baraminology, Part I: Defining Terms, For Fun and Profit and Baraminology, Part II: It sounds better in words of four syllables or more


• Thursday: No, It's SIX Bananas!


• Skeptico: The Secret and The "Law" of Attraction (Not)


• Akusai: I Googled "Quantum..."


• Lucy Jr: Refurbishing the Golden Monkey - feng shui or orang poohi?

Multi-talented, compassionate, and global.

• BigHeathenMike: Here's The Secret: Blame the Victim and The Creationists Came


• Sandy Szwarc: The alternative energy bunny....just keeps going and going and Fears of foods, contaminants and modern life


• Lord Runolfr: Born Free?


• Matt: It's Electric (Woo)


• Shalini: When HIV denialists display their stupidity

A master number, and not reduced. Enlightened, intense, and high-strung. (Also read the "lower" vibration of 2 above.)

• Amy Alkon: The Ancient Chinese Art Of Separating Fools And Their Money (and voters in California are strongly encouraged to ring Council-Monkey Tom LaBonge on (213) 473-7004 and demand your money back)

The other master number. Goal-oriented, a global planner, and inspired. (Also read the "lower" vibration of 4 above.)

• No skeptics are goal-oriented, global planners or inspired.

The absolute value of numerology.

EoR urges those who want to explore this powerful method of gaining insight and knowledge to go to Your Lucky Numbers and Symbols immediately.

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The numbers show that the 56th Skeptics' Circle will be hosted at Scientia Natura on March 15th, 2007.