the Skeptic Contents Vol 25, No 2 Winter 2005 ISSN 0726-9897 Regulars Editor ♦ 3 – Editorial — — Barry Williams Barry Williams ♦ 4 – Around the Traps — Bunyip ♦ 70 – Letters Contributing Editors ♦ 73 - Notices Tim Mendham Steve Roberts Technology Consultant Features Richard Saunders ♦ 6 - The Amazing Meeting 3 — Karen Stollznow Chief Investigator ♦ 14 - CAM Use in the Elderly — Geraldine Moses Ian Bryce ♦ 22 - Preaching to the Un-converted — Lynne Kelly ♦ 26 - Correction — Psychics Dealt Out All correspondence to: ♦ 27 - My Magnetic Personality — Loretta Marron Australian Skeptics Inc ♦ 31 - Nutrition Myth: Spinach is Good for What? — Glenn Cardwell PO Box 268 ♦ Roseville NSW 2069 33 - Life Membership for Colin Keay — Ian Bryce Australia ♦ 34 - Some Faculty have Lost their Faculties — Jef Clarke (ABN 90 613 095 379 ) ♦ 41 - Anti-Vaccination Ratbaggery — Ken McLeod ♦ 44 - A Bunch of Theocrats — Brian Baxter Contact Details ♦ 48 - Welcome to Science — Phil Plait Tel: (02) 9417 2071 ♦ Fax: (02) 9417 7930 49 - Psychic or Just Sick — Peter Booth new e-mail: [email protected] ♦ 52 - Chemical Warfare — Loretta Marron ♦ 55 - A Skeptics Musical Jamboree — Michael Lucht Web Pages ♦ 56 - Spooked Skeptic — Philip Peters Australian Skeptics ♦ 58 - Homeopathy Exposed - Again — Richard Saunders www.skeptics.com.au ♦ No Answers in Genesis 60 - Forum: Red Light to the Greenhouse — Mark Lawson http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/default.htm ♦ 63 - Review: A Fertile Field for Skeptics — Colin Keay ♦ 64 - Review: Star Dreams — John Sweatman the Skeptic is a journal of fact and opinion, ♦ 65 - Forum: Let the Idiot Kill Himself — Mark Freeman published four times per year by Australian ♦ 68 - Forum: Finding the Truth About AltMed — Iolanda Grey Skeptics Inc. Views and opinions expressed in articles and letters in the Skeptic are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of Australian Skeptics Inc. Articles may Cover art by Charles Rose of Cogency be reprinted with permission and with due acknowledgement to the Skeptic. Skeptics around Australia Editorial consultants: New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Dr Stephen Basser (medicine) Australian Skeptics Inc Australian Skeptics (Qld) WA Skeptics Dr Richard Gordon (medicine) PO Box 268 PO Box 6454 22 Esperance Street Roseville NSW 2069 Fairfield Gardens QLD 4103 East Victoria Park WA 6101 Dr William Grey (philosophy) Tel: (02) 9417 2071 Tel: (07) 3255 0499 Tel: (08) 9448 8458 Prof Colin Groves (anthropology) Fax: (02) 9417 7930 [email protected] [email protected] Mr Martin Hadley (law) [email protected] Qskeptics eGroup (To subscribe send blank message to: Tasmania Dr Colin Keay (astronomy) Hunter Skeptics [email protected]) Australian Skeptics in Tasmania Dr Mark Newbrook (linguistics) PO Box 166 PO Box 582 Dr Andrew Parle (physics) Waratah NSW 2298 Gold Coast Skeptics North Hobart TAS 7000. Prof Ian Plimer (geology) Tel: (02) 4957 8666. PO Box 8348 Tel: (03) 6234 1458 Fax: (02) 4952 6442 GCMC Bundall QLD 4217 [email protected] Dr Trevor Case (psychology) Tel: (07) 5593 1882 Dr Stephen Mostyn (psychology) Victoria Fax: (07) 5593 2776 Northern Territory Dr Alex Ritchie (palaeontology) Australian Skeptics (Vic) Inc [email protected] Darwin Skeptics Dr Steve Roberts (chemistry) GPO Box 5166AA PO Box 809 Melbourne VIC 3001 South Australia Sanderson NT 0812 Mr Roland Seidel (mathematics) Tel: 1 800 666 996 Skeptics SA Tel: (08) 8932 2194 Branch correspondents: Fax: 03 9531 6705 PO Box 377 Fax: (08) 8932 7553 ACT: Mr Peter Barrett [email protected] Rundle Mall SA 5000 [email protected] Tel: (08) 8272 5881 Gold Coast: Mr John Stear ACT Fax: (08) 8272 5881 Borderline Skeptics Hunter: Mr Michael Creech Canberra Skeptics [email protected] PO Box 17 Qld: Mr Bob Bruce PO Box 555 Mitta Mitta VIC 3701 SA: Mr Allan Lang Civic Square ACT 2608 Tel: (02) 6072 3632 (02) 6231 5406 or 6296 4555 [email protected] Tas: Mr Fred Thornett [email protected] Vic: Mr Ken Greatorex WA: Dr Geoff Dean Editorial No Alternative to Medicine Because we are highly vocal in our unchanged by new and better informa- sion, by our friends) as “grumpy old Skepticism about what its proponents tion. Far from being scientific, it more men with beards”, a charge that is not style ‘Complementary and Alternative nearly resembles religious belief — it entirely without foundation (although Medicine’ (CAM) our critics from that is faith-based. grumpiness is not necessarily a wide- sector claim that we are uncritical sup- The alimentary, cardiovascular and spread condition among our leading porters of orthodox (or what they style lymphatic systems can be demon- lights and beards are no longer obliga- allopathic) medical practices. Nothing strated to exist; chakras, meridians tory in the best Skeptical circles). could be farther from the truth; recent and the like cannot. The germ theory This issue might help to dissipate revelations about continuing un- of disease has been established by rig- that impression in that almost half of healthy interactions between pharma- orous scientific inquiry; the law of its content was written by women. ceutical companies and some medical similars and the effects of dilution This is not an indication that we have practitioners, concerns us as much as aided by succussion (at the heart of suddenly been stricken by a plague of they do anyone else. homeopathy) has no such support. political correctness, but simply stands Proponents of CAM like to use such Further potential dangers from un- as a tribute to the skills of a number revelations, or the problems in vari- regulated and untested CAM emerges of very talented and dedicated Skep- ous state health systems and even the not from what their proponents claim tics, none of whom could grow a beard fact that one of the world’s worst mass to know, but from what the clearly do without very large infusions of un- murderers, Harold Shipman, was a not know. More and more cases are natural hormones. doctor, to assert that the world of or- emerging of people suffering serious thodox medicine is incompetent, cor- complications from the interaction * * * rupt or worse. And, of course all these between legitimately prescribed medi- Writing the Editorial is usually the factors do occur within the practice of cations and self-prescribed ‘alterna- most difficult part of producing each medicine, just as they do within the tive’ treatments — people who have issue of the Skeptic*, though this is- practice of complementary and alter- been misinformed about the effects sue, with its concentration on various native medicine — as fallible human and safety of ‘natural’ remedies. methods of promoting good health, enterprises it would be remarkable if This issue contains many items that was not quite as difficult as most. it were otherwise. address these problems and we will Editorial writing can, on occasion, But that is not our argument with continue to be highly critical of com- bring some degree of personal satis- CAM; our concern lies not in the plementary and alternative treat- faction to the writer. Therefore, I fallibilities of the individual practices ments until they are properly regu- would like to thank the many kind or practitioners, but in the underlying lated and their practitioners held to readers who communicated compli- principles and methodology by which the same standards of accountability mentary comments on the Editorial each modality goes about its business. that apply to medical practitioners. In about reactions the Boxing Day tsu- What we now know about orthodox conscience, we can do no other. nami in the Summer issue. medicine comes at the end of centu- I would also like to acknowledge ries of research into physiology, phar- * * * those who drew my attention to my macology and pathology. It has suf- confusion regarding “complimentary” fered from many false starts and trips Eagle-eyed readers will notice some- medicine in the previous issue, when down wrong paths, much has been dis- thing else quite different about this the text showed that I obviously meant covered by trial and error, but its suc- issue. Skeptics are often characterised to say “complementary”. I hope I have cesses have accumulated and, al- by our opponents (and even, on occa- got it right in this one. (I will soon be though it is still a far from perfect petitioning the Department of Lexical science, it is nonetheless a scientific * A task made no easier by being the object of Affairs to have one of these confusing enterprise —it is evidence based. desire of The World’s Most Friendly Cat, whose words excised from our language forth- The path taken by CAMs has been keyboard interpolations can render my most with.) quite different. Usually they begin profound observations into incomprehensible with an idea, often postulated by one gibberish — fortunately Shakespeare and individual, and that idea remains fixed Dickens didn’t have to put up with this sort of at the core of the modality, rigid and thing. Barry Williams the Skeptic, Winter 2005 - Page 3 News and Views Around the Traps Oops! ple of the sort of change in a living Of course, Shaw and Darwin were thing which one would expect to have proposing these hypothetical entities On the AiG web site, in an article dated hundreds of examples of, if bacteria as purely literary devices, not as state- April 12, the Managing Director of the really have turned into basketball ments of belief. At no stage has Pro- Answers in Genesis sales and market- players. fessor Dawkins assumed for himself ing organisation, Dr Carl Wieland, We passed this libellous twaddle to the title of Devil’s Disciple, nor indeed took it upon himself to deliver an Richard Dawkins, the distinguished of Devil’s Chaplain, which is hardly to award winning homily to his faithful Charles Simonyi Professor for the Pub- be wondered at; for an atheist it would flock under the heading “Rushing in lic Understanding of Science at Oxford be highly inconsistent to deny the ex- — where wiser heads might not”.