Randi in the LA Times

[jimtron]

There have been two James Randi/homeopathy-related articles in the LA Times in the last few days: Feb 5th and Feb 7th, 2011. The later article has been getting a lot of pro-homeopathy comments. Apparently big pharma and the FDA are evil, and that's proof that homeopathy works. Who knew?

Anyhow, I thought some folks here might want to participate in the comments over there.

p.s. I searched to see if there was already a thread on the LAT article but couldn't find one...hope I didn't miss it. Also wasn't sure which forum to post in...

 

[Marduk]

no thread
just the main page
http://www.randi.org/site/

Randi still not asleep then

 

[Bikewer]

I saw that article too; nicely done.

 

[davefoc]

I have wondered about the utility of what Randi does for years.

It serves to entertain people like me so in that regard I think it is definitely good. But do a significant number of people change their mind as a result of what he does and is that beneficial to their lives?

The answer with regards to homeopathy seems to be yes and yes. His approach is creative and skillful and definitely would seem to be a way to make people aware of the bogus nature of homeopathy claims. The fact that mainstream retailers sell them gives homeopathy a patina of legitimacy that is wildly misleading. Putting a little well deserved pressure on the retailers to reconsider their policies with regard to selling sham medications sounds like a win win for almost everybody involved.

I think there are already disclaimers on homeopathic medications such that they don't warrant that there is any medical benefit to them still I wonder if the manufacturers and retailers aren't treading in a legally murky area here. The disclaimers are small and the advertising is big, perhaps there is an opportunity for legal actions that could push the issue along as well?

 

[Dragonrock]

I love how the pro-homeopath people harp on 2 topics: The FDA/Big pharma are evil, and Lot's of people have used homeopathy for a long time so it must be true.