Beaker has alerted me to this Darryl Cunningham cartoon which is critical of homeopathy. (You may have seen his earlier cartoon about the MMR.)
He points out that homeopathy is ineffective, and dangerous when chosen in preference to real medicine, which (surprise!) is the preference that homeopaths will steer you toward. I like how he explains not only why homeopathy doesn’t work, but also why people feel like it does.
He’s also included a bit about Penelope Dingle. I hope this retelling of her story helps to prevent others from following her course of action.
I confess it still puzzles me why Peter Dingle seems to have no particular qualms about homeopathy. If I’d been through what he’s been through, I’d be trashing it even more than I currently do. But then I’m not overly invested in quackery, so that may be where we differ.
1 July 2010 at 7:55 am
I guess only Peter Dingle can answer why Peter Dingle has not lost his faith. Though, of course, he has built up a whole industry of books and seminars and media presentations based around his personal views, so I'd imagine there's possibly an certain economic imperative to some degree.
2 July 2010 at 1:28 pm
Just the other day one of my friends said to me- 'If alternative medicine worked, then it wouldn't be an alternative to medicine.'
2 July 2010 at 4:06 pm
Yes Rebecca. It's like when some people insist that they aren't anti-vaccine, they're just telling "the other side".
But if one side is pro-vaccine, and they're on "the other side"…… 🙂
3 July 2010 at 4:12 am
Andy! Been missing your insights. Hope you'll write again soon.