dana ullman – The Quackometer Blog

On the The Reckless Physicking of Amateur Females.

16th November, 2010 35

It would appear to be important for homeopaths to show how the rich, blue blooded and famous are supporters of homeopathy. One might suggest that in lieu of meaningful scientific evidence for homeopathy, appeals to the beliefs of the influential and celebrities are all that are left. Dana Ullman, America’s chief propagandist for homeopathy, takes this approach to its zenith with his book, The Homeopathic Revolution: Famous People and Cultural [read more…]

The Curious Case of Oxford University Press, Homeopathy and Charles Darwin

15th October, 2010 111

Science is a human activity. And as such, it is subject to the full range of fallibilities of thought and action that people are capable of. Within science you will find sloppy and wishful thinking, error and even fraud. But science, rather uniquely, has methods designed explicitly to minimise human biases, reduce error and correct mistakes when they are found. It is this inherent error correction that makes science a [read more…]

Can Homeopathy Cure Mastitis in Cows?

12th September, 2010 38

A new study has been published in The Journal of Dairy Research looking at if you can use homeopathy to treat mastitis in cattle. The paper fails to demonstrate that you can. And as such, that is not a surprise. These cows will have been given water drops as if it is medicine: homeopathy is a superstitious hang-over from 18th Century ways of thinking about health. Of course it does [read more…]

Why I am Nominating Luc Montagnier for an IgNobel Prize

20th October, 2009 101

Luc Montagnier is an interesting and strange character. Last year he was a shared winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine. A remarkable achievement. However, his latest research can only really be described as quite bizarre and some of his statements, are desperately and deadly worrying. So much so, that I think Montagnier ought to be the first recipient of both a Nobel and IgNobel prize. Let me explain. In [read more…]

A Footnote to Darwin and Homeopathy

17th April, 2008 18

The homeopaths, like Dana Ullman, treat original scientific works like scripture – as a source of truth. Their own Hahnemannian scriptures trump scientific knowledge and evidence at all turns. This fact exposes their pseudoscience. I bet the majority of practicing biologists have never read Darwin’s Origins. Homeopaths like the authority of scientists, celebrities and politicians. It gives them a source of validation that is independent of the reality of the [read more…]

The Homeopathic Revolution by Dana Ullman: A Review

15th December, 2007 116

There can be few comment-enabled web pages left in the world that do not testify to the fact that Dana Ullman has published his latest book: The Homeopathic Revolution: Famous People and Cultural Heroes Who Chose Homeopathy. His claim for the book is that, It is a project that may actually change the face (and the heart) of medicine and may make homeopathy a household word. Dramatic stuff. I have [read more…]

Charles Darwin and Homeopathy

26th August, 2007 76

The Internet is a wonderful thing. It allows you check stuff, like the claims of quacks, in a way that was not possible just a few years ago. This blog entry would have taken many months of library work and correspondence without the web and some of its amazing content, and now I can do it between mowing the lawn and popping down the pub for a pint. Dana Ullman [read more…]