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Bob Lloyd
You can order a hard copy of
Leaving the Land of Woo
from Amazon or from
www.leavingthelandofwoo.com.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the
publisher's consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it
is published and without a similar condition including this condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Contents
Preface.......................................................................................1
The Land of Woo......................................................................3
But you have to believe in something...................................4
Academic Woo and anything goes.......................................5
Fiction and reality.................................................................7
Summary..............................................................................7
Clearing the ground.................................................................10
How do you dislodge an idea?............................................11
Proof and disproof..............................................................14
Anecdotal evidence............................................................15
Observational evidence......................................................15
Evidence from measurement.........................................16
What's an hypothesis?........................................................17
Controlled, double-blind, randomised trials.......................18
Summary............................................................................19
Medicine and mysticism..........................................................21
The difference between magic and science.........................21
But everything's possible, isn't it?.......................................24
Physical laws and what they mean................................25
If Woo is right, science is wrong...................................27
Alternative medicine..........................................................29
Strange forces and unseen causes..................................30
Pseudoscience, sham theory, and wishful thinking.............35
Scientists have proved........................................................38
Hobby Woo and delusional Woo........................................40
The harm of Woo...............................................................42
How to spot Woo................................................................44
Food Woo................................................................................48
Human nutrition – the basics..............................................49
Oxidation, antioxidants and free radicals............................51
Toxins and detox................................................................52
Can eating things detox you?..............................................53
Cholesterol, fats and fatty acids..........................................54
Colonic irrigation...............................................................57
Chelation therapy...............................................................57
Metals.................................................................................58
Dietary supplements...........................................................59
The essential elements of Food Woo..................................60
Summary............................................................................60
Religious beliefs and theories about the world........................62
Religion and reality............................................................63
Biblical versus geological time...........................................63
The flood............................................................................64
Evolution............................................................................65
Religion and the immaterial...............................................66
Alternative hypothesis...................................................67
People and souls.................................................................68
Meditation..........................................................................70
Prayer.................................................................................71
Spirits, Ghosts, Angels, Leprechauns.................................71
Religion and morality.........................................................73
Do religious people behave morally?.................................74
Where do morals come from?.............................................75
Where do souls come from?...............................................77
The spark of life............................................................77
Evolution gets in the way again..........................................78
Theology is not theory........................................................80
Summary............................................................................81
Psychic Woo............................................................................83
How can we check psychic claims?....................................83
Supernatural apparitions.....................................................84
Explanations for visual apparitions.....................................85
Mediums and séances.........................................................86
Exorcisms and consecrations..............................................87
Psychic abilities..................................................................89
What counts as statistically significant?.............................90
Predicting cards and other random events..........................91
Psychics and the military....................................................92
Psychics and the police.......................................................93
Summary............................................................................93
Rational thinking.....................................................................96
The advantages of rational thinking....................................97
Attitudes to the rational......................................................99
Rational equals unemotional?......................................100
Creativity opposed to rational thinking?......................101
Either artistic or logical?.............................................102
Summary..........................................................................103
A short compendium of Woo................................................104
Acupuncture...........................................................104
Alexander Technique.............................................105
Apitherapy .............................................................105
Applied kinesiology ..............................................105
Aromatherapy ........................................................105
Astrology ...............................................................106
Ayurvedic medicine...............................................106
Bach flower therapy ..............................................106
Chiropractic ...........................................................106
Chromotherapy ......................................................107
Colloidal silver therapy .........................................107
Colon hydrotherapy – colonic irrigation.................108
Crystal healing .......................................................108
Cupping .................................................................108
Dietary supplements ..............................................108
Dowsing ................................................................109
Ear candling ..........................................................109
Faith healing ..........................................................109
Fasting and detox...................................................110
Feng shui................................................................110
Hatha yoga ............................................................111
Herbal therapy .......................................................111
Holistic medicine ...................................................111
Homeopathy ..........................................................112
Iridology ................................................................112
Macrobiotic lifestyle ..............................................112
Magnet therapy ......................................................113
Massage therapy ....................................................113
Medical intuition....................................................114
Naturopathic medicine ...........................................114
Neuro-linguistic programming ..............................114
Orthomolecular medicine ......................................115
Osteomyology .......................................................115
Osteopathy .............................................................115
Polarity therapy .....................................................116
Prayer ....................................................................116
Psychic surgery .....................................................116
Reflexology ...........................................................117
Sclerology .............................................................117
Therapeutic touch, Reiki........................................117
Traditional Chinese medicine.................................117
Conclusion........................................................................118
Leaving the Land of Woo......................................................119
Sniff Therapy – an alternative con....................................121
Taking apart Sniff Therapy...............................................122
The obvious verdict on Sniff Therapy..............................125
What have we learned from this?.....................................128
Summary..........................................................................130
Why this stuff matters............................................................132
Protecting the gullible.......................................................134
Conclusion........................................................................136
In lieu of references and footnotes.........................................139
Suggested reading topics..................................................140
Human Biology...........................................................140
Basic Science...............................................................141
Evolution.....................................................................142
Religion.......................................................................142
History of Science.......................................................142
Personal Note........................................................................144
Preface
Preface 1
Acknowledgements
My grateful thanks go to the many people who have tolerated
and sometimes even encouraged my questioning of their theories
and beliefs, and put up with my annoying questions and
objections. In the process they have helped me to clarify my own
reasoning.
My heartfelt special thanks must go to my wife Claire, who has
by now read the manuscript at least as many times as I have, and
whose remarkable attention to detail has immeasurably improved
it. But her contribution is much greater than that. Over many
years she has engaged with the ideas of the book, countered them,
defended them, challenged them, and found many errors and
omissions, and her path has inevitably informed my own. I hope I
have done justice to the quality of those conversations.
I also acknowledge my debt to my father, Reg Lloyd, who
encouraged me from a very early age to think for myself, to
question theories, to look for and evaluate evidence, and to build
knowledge on secure foundations, always being open-minded and
ever willing to be proved wrong. I had absorbed this central tenet
of science before I even knew what it was called.
Disclaimer
There are many genuine practitioners who honestly believe they
are providing effective care for their customers, whether or not
they are correct in this belief. This book is concerned with the
ideas and theories underpinning those beliefs, and assessing their
rationality, not with claims made by specific individuals or groups.
I have taken every effort to establish the accuracy and fairness
of the information presented here but it is in the nature of the
subject that explanations from Woo practitioners are scarce and
flimsy. In expressing my opinions throughout the book about the
rationality of claims and the effectiveness of the therapies, I draw
on the available evidence but it is for the reader to decide which
practitioners and therapies to trust, if any, and to investigate their
specific claims themselves. The burden of proof ought to be with
them to demonstrate the evidence for their claims.
Preface 2
CHAPTER 1
Summary
We've identified the Land of Woo as a place where we find
extraordinary claims about how the world is, its history, and the
nature of reality. We find extraordinary claims about how the
human body works. We find claims that there are therapies
which, with the minimum of intervention and fuss, can bring
Anecdotal evidence
We've all heard the stories of someone who drank water
from a certain place and suddenly their cancer went into
remission. Or someone who went to some kind of alternative
therapist and reported remarkable improvement in their
condition. That's called anecdotal evidence, it's a report from
an individual of their personal impression of what happened to
them.
Anecdotal evidence is a very fickle type of report. It relies
on the individual faithfully reporting what in fact happened to
them but it is inevitably affected by their opinions, feelings,
perceptions, assumptions and beliefs. All these can and do
affect the quality of anecdotal accounts. For example,
someone who has paid for a treatment and who believes it
works or desperately wants it to work, will be unlikely to report
that it doesn't. Anecdotal evidence, with the best will in the
world is always subject to bias, both positive and negative. For
the account to be considered trustworthy, that bias somehow
has to be removed.
Observational evidence
When we observe events, animals, behaviours, we pay
attention to what we are interested in and record what we see.
That's observational evidence. For example, we watch the
thermometer when we boil water and observe and record that it
reached 100 degrees Celsius. This is a strong form of evidence,
providing that it can be reproduced.
Where an observation cannot be reproduced, we are in doubt
as to whether it is representative of what actually takes place. It
might be an experimental error. Reproducing evidence is an
important part of the scientific method because it eliminates the
likelihood of experimental error (unless everyone is similarly
What's an hypothesis?
When we use the word in conversation, we often just mean
an idea, a suggestion or an opinion. But when we are being
serious about establishing the truth of some claim, it's much
more precise.
An hypothesis is a statement which can only be either true
or false. It is a statement that can be tested and most
importantly, proved wrong not proved right. As an example,
take the hypothesis:
Summary
Where does all this leave us? We know that in the past we
have accepted many of our ideas uncritically and that some of
them will have been wrong. We looked at how we consider
new phenomena, from the believing and sceptical viewpoints,
and we've thought a little about what evidence is. We looked at
the approach taken by science based on reproducible evidence,
and we've thought about how theories are developed to explain
observational and experimental data. We've also looked at why
some evidence is stronger and some is weaker. We looked at
bias and the need to remove it before we take evidence
Reiki:
It is administered by "laying on hands" and is
based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy"
flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If
one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more
likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are
more capable of being happy and healthy.... There is
no need to remove any clothing as Reiki will pass
through anything, even plaster casts.
Crystals:
Each crystal has a unique vibrational resonance
that can be used to restore stability and balance to the
body's energy systems.
Chakra balancing:
Having your chakras balanced is important. Open
and balanced chakras allow your life energy to flow
naturally. An energy medicine practitioner trained in
manipulating the energy flow of energy (sic) can
assist you in getting misaligned chakras back to
functioning properly. It may take one or more
appointments with a practitioner to get your energy
levels up to par.
Ayurvedic medicine:
The five elements - ether, air, fire, water and earth
are the foundations on which the Ayurvedic
interpretation of all matter and life is based, they are
not to be interpreted literally however, each
represents qualities and different types of force and
energy, as well as some form of physical
manifestation. The elements do not act in isolation -
Aromatherapy:
When an essential oil is inhaled, the molecules
enter the nasal cavity and stimulate the limbic system
in the brain. The limbic system is a region that
influences emotions and memories and is directly
linked to the adrenals, pituitary gland, the
hypothalamus, the parts of the body that regulate
heart rate, blood pressure, stress, memory, hormone
balance, and breathing. This makes the effects of
essential oils immediate in bringing about emotional
and physiological balance.
Aromatherapy can be used for a variety of health
conditions, such as allergies, stress, bruises, burns,
diarrhoea, earache, premenstrual syndrome (PMS),
energy, insect bites, relaxation, poor digestion,
headache, menopause, insomnia, nausea, bronchitis,
colds, flu, sinusitis, sprains, wounds, shingles (herpes
zoster), muscle and joint pain, arthritis, nervousness,
restlessness, and scars.
Summary
We started this chapter with a look at the difference between
magic and mysticism, and science. We saw that magical
thinking relies on unjustified claims about how the world
works. It provides theories in the form of stories which are
never tested, often because they are themselves untestable.
In contrast, science derives its theories from data. Theories
are not simply stories or descriptions of how the world is
thought to be, but they also provide means of making testable
statements which can be used to find out if they are true. In
medicine that provides a mechanism for correction. If a theory
is wrong, clinical evidence can show it up and the theory can be
corrected. So medicine can get better and better. Diagnostic
techniques can improve, clinical knowledge can grow.
We explored the idea that everything is possible and showed
how in fact it isn't. Although there are many things we do not
yet know, we have accumulated a great deal of knowledge
which allows us to predict and control the external world with a
great deal of success. Physical laws are established by
scientific experiment and these are independent of the ideas,
values, and beliefs of scientists. For this reason, if someone
finds a new form of energy, then the whole of science is
affected. It isn't simply filling a gap in science, but a radical
challenge to our accumulated knowledge.
We looked at a sample of alternative medicine claims and
looked at the magical thinking behind them, and then examined
how sometimes the vocabulary from science is used to provide
credibility. Sham theory does not provide the predictive
element necessary for the design of experiments which can
disprove them by testing them against the real world. They are
therefore simply fictions. We looked at the difference between
reputable peer-reviewed scientific material, and the sort of
material published by trade publications masquerading as
academic journals.
Food Woo
Food Woo 48
regulation of exacting scientific standards, nutritionist
qualifications are worthless.
There are many foodies foraging in the land of Woo. They
talk about dietary supplements, detox, an enormous range of
diets, and seem to possess arcane knowledge about the
importance of various elements such as Zinc and Selenium.
They offer scare stories about free radicals and the importance
of antioxidants. If they are nutritionists, it is quite possible that
they have little or no understanding of any of this stuff.
Food Woo 49
bacteria are starved of nutrients preventing their growth beyond
a safe level.
The process of burning up those simpler chemicals to
produce energy, also produces bi-products which need to be
removed from the body. These unwanted chemicals are
produced in the body tissues. The lymph system feeds them
into the bloodstream which carries them to the liver and the
kidneys.
The liver will store unused carbohydrate sources of energy
as a chemical called glycogen where it provides a reserve
energy store for use during starvation. The liver does a number
of jobs. It breaks down old red blood cells, makes protein for
the blood plasma, makes bile to help in fat digestion, and it
even makes some hormones. It also breaks down any
chemicals which are toxic. It is the body's very own detox
mechanism.
The other breakdown products are removed by the kidneys
and will be excreted as urine.
The body takes the simple products of digestion such as
glucose, amino acids and simple fats, and makes the larger
chemicals we need, such as proteins. But there are some
chemicals we need which we cannot synthesise inside our
bodies. For example, every red blood cell contains a protein
called haemoglobin which binds to oxygen so it can be carried
around the body. In the centre of the haemoglobin molecule is
an atom of iron. We need to eat that iron in some food or other.
Fortunately iron is available in very many foods such as meat,
fish, poultry, beans, and lentils. Unless we suffer from an
illness, it is hard to produce iron deficiency (anaemia) in
humans. We also need tiny amounts of other chemicals called
vitamins. But if we eat a balanced diet, we get all the nutrients
we need.
Now let's take a look at some of the claims and see if there's
any basis for them.
Food Woo 50
Oxidation, antioxidants and free radicals
We are often told in advertising and the associated articles
that our health is at risk from oxidation and free radicals and
that therefore we need to increase the amount of antioxidants in
our diet. Certain foods, we are told, are rich in antioxidants and
these will prevent the harm caused by those free radicals.
Unless we understand this vocabulary, we only get the
message that we are at risk and should eat something
recommended to offset the danger. For marketers, a little
ignorance goes a long way. So here's the low-down.
Oxidation and reduction are two sides of the same coin –
you don't get one without the other. Oxidation refers to the loss
of hydrogen or electrons, or the gain of oxygen. So for
example carbon can be oxidised to carbon dioxide (addition of
oxygen). Reduction refers to the gain of hydrogen or electrons,
or the loss of oxygen. So for example, an atom of carbon can
be reduced with four atoms of hydrogen to make methane
(adding hydrogen).
Most biological processes involve oxidation-reduction. Our
bodies oxidise glucose to carbon dioxide and at the same time
reduce oxygen to water. That's an absolutely vital process for
all of us. Without oxidation we wouldn't be able to extract
energy from our food nor breathe out our carbon dioxide and
we'd die. So oxidation itself is not a problem, it's a normal part
of human metabolism. Similarly reduction is not a problem
either.
Free radicals are molecules that have an unpaired or spare
electron, which makes them highly reactive. They are looking
for anything to restore themselves to a more stable state. Not
all free radicals are that reactive. For example two atoms of
oxygen together form a free radical that is perfectly stable.
The reactivity of free radicals is essential for some of our
biochemical reactions including those involved in the
breakdown of harmful bacteria and in nerve transmission. But
they can also be a problem if they are not contained. They have
been associated with ageing, with some cancers, with
Food Woo 51
Parkinson's disease, and many others. Uncontrolled, the free
radicals can cause a great deal of harm. And that's where the
antioxidants come in.
The human body has a number of mechanism to control the
actions of free radicals including the enzymes superoxide
dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase as
well as vitamins C and E.
Should we then be worried about getting enough
antioxidants to cancel out the harmful effects of those free
radicals? Fortunately, we can get a plentiful supply of
antioxidants without really trying. They are readily available in
fruit and vegetables.
But does adding additional antioxidants improve our health?
The trials that have been done so far show no benefit in the case
of heart disease and cancer incidence nor with the progression
of existing illness.
But it's worse than that. Trials have shown that people
taking beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E as supplements
actually have worse health. Beta-carotene increased death rates
by 7 per cent, vitamin A by 16 per cent, and vitamin E by 4 per
cent. Check it out for yourself.
Adding extra antioxidants affects the body's own mechanism
for balancing the effects of the free radicals, so it is not even yet
known that it is a safe procedure. Many scientists now believe
the whole hype about extra antioxidants in the diet was
misguided from the beginning and that there is no evidence of
any benefit. But we do know that it's a $20 billion industry in
the USA.
Food Woo 52
food, perhaps pesticides, antibiotics, poisonous metals, or the
products of harmful bacteria, and it is claimed that these too
need to be removed. The assumption is that the human body's
own way of eliminating these toxins is inadequate.
The range of toxins listed in detox web adverts found in just
two minutes include: ammonia, lead, food additives, cigarette
smoke, carcinogens, arsenic, herbicides, fertilisers, plastic
packaging (seriously), aluminium, mercury, preservatives and
hormones. Suggested mechanisms for detoxing your body
included taking pills, changing your diet, wearing foot pads,
colonic irrigation, and a variety of high speed products
including drinks and chewing gum.
But if we have such toxins within us, they will be within
tissues, possibly bound to other molecules, involved in
chemical reactions, having a metabolic effect. When people are
poisoned by industrial chemicals such as fertilisers and
pesticides, there is always an initial process of identification
because without understanding the nature of the poisoning, we
cannot know how to go about removing the poison. The
complexity of the metabolic reaction makes this investigation
essential. Those who offer generic solutions to the problem of
toxins clearly don't realise this, or else believe one solution fits
all.
Food Woo 53
recommended by most detox marketers, is not the same as
removing toxins from the body. The detox marketers claim that
they have dietary supplements that can remove toxins from the
body. If they do not identify the toxins, their claims can never
be tested, and therefore never be disproved. They therefore
avoid the charge of fraud.
If a dietary mechanism for the elimination of toxins is to
work, there must be some agent which gets to the tissues
around the body which can bind to the toxin (a process known
as conjugation) or denature it (through oxidation). If it binds,
then the composite molecule has to be eliminated using the
body's own mechanisms.
These specific claims are testable if and when the toxin is
identified. But there is no scientific evidence for the
accumulation of toxins in the body. So eating something to
eliminate them is a nonsense. They are not there in the first
place.
Food Woo 54
saturated and unsaturated which simply refers to the type of
chemical bonds holding them together. Some fatty acids are
made inside the body, but others we need to get through our
food and we call those essential fatty acids. There are only two
of these: linoleic acid and alpha linoleic acid. All the other
fatty acids we can make ourselves.
The terms LDL and HDL are touted around as well. LDL
refers to low density lipoprotein in contrast to HDL which
refers to high density lipoprotein. All lipoproteins enable fats
and cholesterol to be transported around the water-based blood
system (because they are soluble) but HDL has often been
incorrectly referred to as “good cholesterol” on the grounds that
a high LDL level is often associated with cardiovascular
disease. LDL is sometimes even used as a test for it. The issues
are confused further because it is known that until oxidised,
LDLs are pretty harmless and it's those dreaded free radicals
which can do the oxidation. That led to claims that to counter
the LDLs you needed to eat more antioxidants but the research
is inconclusive. So rather than modifying your diet to increase
antioxidants, by far the most sensible thing to do is to limit the
amount of animal fats and full-fat dairy products you eat.
The term polyunsaturated fatty acid simply refers to the
structure of these essential fatty acids contrasting them with
saturated fatty acids. We also hear the term omega used
frequently, for example omega 6 fatty acid. What this refers to
is the position of an unsaturated chemical bond in position 6 of
the fatty acid chain. There are also omega 3 and omega 9 fatty
acids though we don't need the 9 variety because the body can
make them itself. Omega 3 and 6 are important to us because
they are necessary for the production of biological chemicals
we need.
The language of chemistry is used to describe the structure
of these chemicals but that doesn't stop the advertisers makings
use of them too. Nowadays it is common to see milk enriched
with omega 3, and there are many health products advertising
these supplements. Omega 3 and 6 comes from a variety of
foodstuffs particularly oily fish, but also soya and rapeseed oil,
Food Woo 55
and leafy vegetables.
It is still controversial whether or not dietary supplements of
omega 3 and 6 makes a significant difference to health and
research is ongoing. Nevertheless it is clear that the quantity of
these fatty acids in the diet has declined over the centuries and
some scientists argue that this change in diet may affect the
incidence of inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Research
is continuing into these hypotheses.
Taking omega 3 supplements is unlikely to lead to excess
since the body simply excretes what it doesn't need.
Although cholesterol is found in foodstuffs, generally we get
our cholesterol by synthesising it in the liver. We make around
75% of the body's cholesterol and get the rest from our diet. It
gets recycled with the liver excreting it into the bile that flows
into the small intestine to help with the digestion of fats, then a
lot of it is reabsorbed later in the gut. All foods containing
animal fats contain some cholesterol and it's the continual high
level of cholesterol which is harmful, leading to congestion of
the arteries. Saturated fats are particularly associated with high
cholesterol levels and that means foods like full-fat dairy
products and animal fats.
There is no doubt that high cholesterol levels are associated
with heart disease and that reducing cholesterol is a
recommended good health strategy. It is therefore important to
realise that if you undertake a low carbohydrate diet, your
relative proportion of fats may increase and you are therefore
likely to increase your intake of cholesterol.
So where does all this leave us? Since we can manufacture
internally almost all the cholesterol we need, then as long as we
have a balanced diet containing the two essential fatty acids, we
can safely avoid full-fat dairy products and animal fats, keeping
our cholesterol down to a safe level. There is some evidence
that the omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are helpful but we can get
those through a balanced diet. If we choose to take extra, it
won't harm us unless we suffer from specific medical
conditions so it's fairly safe. Mention of the chemical jargon is
almost always there to increase sales by providing them with
Food Woo 56
scientific respectability but as with other branches of Woo, the
effect is to confuse and cast doubt in order to encourage sales.
Colonic irrigation
This involves pumping water into the large intestine (colon)
through a pipe inserted into the anus with the intention of
flushing out material from the gut. This process will certainly
remove material from the gut, but the Woo claim goes beyond
this to argue that it also removes dangerous toxins which build
up in the body. But there is no evidence that toxins accumulate
in the gut. This is a remnant of a disproved scientific
hypothesis from the nineteenth century.
The gut, by necessity is largely waterproof. Absorption of
water from the gut takes place through a tightly-controlled
biological mechanism. Nothing pumped into the colon will
cause any chemicals in the bloodstream to be flushed out. If
there are any toxins in the blood, they will still be there after
colonic irrigation has finished.
Chelation therapy
This is a routine clinical medical treatment for poisoning
with heavy metals such as mercury or lead, or metalloids such
as arsenic, and it was initially developed to treat gas attack
victims from World War I. The chemicals in the chelating
agent were injected into the patient and they bound tightly to
the arsenic atoms, forming a water soluble compound. Because
it was water soluble, it could then be eliminated from the body
through the liver and kidneys, the body's own mechanism.
Some detox marketers now offer such chemicals as a
possible treatment for coronary artery disease but there is no
scientific evidence to support it. Although chelation therapy is
a recognised clinical therapy for certain forms of poisoning, its
use has been usurped by the marketers of Woo to treat non-
existent poisoning.
There are safety concerns about the introduction of such
Food Woo 57
powerful chemicals into the body as they have the potential
seriously to disrupt our finely balanced metabolism.
Metals
There are many metals that are essential for the body to
function. These include iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium,
sodium, potassium and copper. Each of these metals is ingested
in chemical combinations in food.
Iron is essential for the formation of haemoglobin in the
blood. It is abundant in meat, fish, poultry, beans, and leafy
vegetables. Its level in the human body is self-regulating and
excessive iron leads to toxicity. Unless a person is suffering
from a medical condition, it is difficult to develop iron
deficiency.
Zinc is enormously important to human biochemistry and is
found throughout the body but especially in the brain, kidney,
liver, bones and muscles. It is involved in the regulation of the
nervous system. It is abundant in all red meats but also beans,
wheat and nuts. It is difficult to be zinc deficient but too much
additional zinc in dietary supplement carries the risk of
toxicity.
Magnesium is essential for the production of nucleic acids,
the building blocks of DNA. Magnesium is at the centre of the
chlorophyll molecule, the pigment in all green vegetables.
Although through poor or deliberately modified diet, it is
possible to experience magnesium deficiency, it is abundant in
tea, coffee, green vegetables, nuts, and even spices. It is almost
impossible to produce an excess of magnesium because, since
almost all magnesium salts are soluble, the kidneys will filter it
out very efficiently. High concentrations of magnesium though
have a laxative effect.
Calcium is essential for bones and teeth and is plentiful in
dairy products, nuts, oranges, and even seaweed. It requires
vitamin D for absorption through the gut. However, adding
extra calcium in the form of dietary supplements can actually
slow down the rate of calcium absorption itself.
Food Woo 58
Sodium is enormously important in human biology helping
to regulate body fluids, blood pressure, and in enabling nerve
transmission and muscle contraction. Because of the common
use of salt as a seasoning most people take in more than ten
times their daily requirement and although salt is excreted
through the skin, excess sodium intake can be harmful to
people with high blood pressure. In hot climates, insufficient
sodium intake can result in cramps.
Potassium is a metal very similar to sodium and it too is
involved in nerve transmission and in fluid balance. It is
extremely difficult to generate a potassium deficiency with a
balanced diet because it is very common in fruit, vegetables and
meats. An unbalanced diet, or one unbalanced by design, can
lead to potassium deficiency. Potassium deficiency is most
commonly seen in patients undergoing treatment for renal
failure in which potassium is lost along with sodium. Healthy
individuals need no additional potassium.
Copper is essential to human metabolism and is found in
muscle, liver and bone and it is used in the metabolism of fats.
Copper is common in the normal diet in green vegetables,
potatoes, beans, nuts and shellfish.
All of these metals are self-regulating in the human body,
are abundant in a balanced diet, and far from being toxins, are
essential to metabolism.
Dietary supplements
It is only necessary to supplement our diets when we have a
known deficiency. The blanket intake of additional vitamins
and minerals will not only be filling any particular deficiency,
but may also lead to toxicity. For example, although the B
vitamins are easily excreted, it is possible to produce toxicity
by excessive intake of niacin, pyridoxine or folic acid.
An interesting exercise is to compare the compositions of
typical dietary supplement pills and say, a potato! A medium
-sized potato already supplies 45% of the daily need for vitamin
C (an orange will make up the rest), and a good chunk of all the
Food Woo 59
other vitamins. You also get thrown in calcium, iron,
magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. A balanced
diet is by far the best source of nutrients.
Summary
We need to look at how human nutrition really works and
not trust the self-appointed nutritionists with their fanciful
stories. We now know a bit about the important metals, the
vitamins, the enzymes, how the gut functions, and we know
that claims about toxins are unfounded. We understand about
oxidation and reduction, and what free radicals are, and we
know that the detox brigade are misrepresenting science.
We've looked at some of the science behind the vocabulary
Food Woo 60
of cholesterol and fatty acids and seen that there is some
inconclusive evidence in support of the significance of omega-3
and omega-6 essential fatty acids. But more than anything else,
the clear message is that eating sensibly without recourse to
supplements gives us the best chance of a healthy digestion.
So now we can dispense with the food fads, the nonsense
diets, the supplements, the scares about toxins and free radicals
and trust in a sensible balanced diet.
Goodbye to the land of Food Woo.
Food Woo 61
CHAPTER 5
The flood
It is claimed that there was a flood which covered the whole
of the world around 6000 years ago and that all life after the
flood derives from a very small group of survivors. This theory
was believed almost universally in the Christian world until the
seventeenth century when the accumulated evidence started to
cast doubt on it. So can this claim be refuted? Is it an
hypothesis open to disproof?
Clearly if evidence can be found of life on the geological
time scale, then this contradicts the theory that life only began
some 6000 years ago. The evidence is provided by the fossil
record which, using dating techniques, puts the earliest fossils
at around 2.7 million years old. This is clear evidence of
biological activity. Although some religious critics have
argued that the whole of the fossil record was deposited close to
6000 years ago, in perhaps as little as 150 years, the reliability
Evolution
The doctrine of the Christian church was that all species
were put on the earth by a divine creator, ready-formed and
complete, and that they were immutable. There was a fixed
number of species. This doctrine was taught in all the
universities across England, mainland Europe and America. It
was unquestioned.
It is understandable then that Darwin delayed his publication
of the Origin of Species for more than twenty years because he
feared the reaction from the religiously-committed academic
community. Darwin though had not just incontrovertible
evidence that species did change, but that they were all
changing continuously and that new species arose. This was
dynamite. Not only were species not put on earth by the divine
creator, but as a normal matter of course, new ones arose
naturally. A central doctrine of the church was demonstrably
wrong. But Darwin had gone further and developed a theory
that explained in considerable detail how new adaptations
arose, how survival competition favoured those species best-
adapted.
He lacked the knowledge of genetics that we now have and
yet he had explained in common terms how a simple
Alternative hypothesis
Let us suggest the following utterly unsubstantiated theory.
Meditation
For centuries, people have known about the benefits of
sitting in silent contemplation, relaxing and letting our minds
roam free for a while. Such relaxation techniques are
widespread across many cultures and are often reported to
produce feelings of elation, euphoria, floating, of losing touch
with the body. Such deep relaxation is sometimes described as
getting in touch with that inner essence, but is it really getting
in touch with anything? How do we know?
Deep relaxation causes many metabolic changes in the body
including changes in the levels of the hormone serotonin. A
rise in the serotonin level produces a feeling of light-
headedness. So a simple, reproducible effect (light-
headedness) based on relaxation is explained simply by a
change in hormone levels. But of course that doesn't disprove
the soul hypothesis since relying on the immateriality of the
soul removes it from the scope of any evidence. Nevertheless,
we have a perfectly adequate explanation of the detectable
physical sensation which does not require anything immaterial.
Occam's Razor says not to overcomplicate the theory and in this
case, we can explain the feelings produced in meditation by a
simple reference to the serotonin level. We have no need of
notions of spirituality. There is nothing in the phenomenon of
meditation that leads us to the conclusion that there is some
spiritual essence to be found. Introspection and relaxation,
together with the serotonin effect, is sufficient.
Summary
We've seen how religions make claims not just about how to
behave, but about how the world is. They make claims about
the origins of the earth and life which can sometimes be tested.
The biblical theory of the age of the earth is easily refuted by
dating techniques and the fossil record dispenses with the
theory of the Flood.
We have seen how Darwin's theory of natural selection not
Psychic Woo
Psychic Woo 83
person reports to go on, such as reported sightings of ghosts,
this often comes down to distinguishing between honest belief,
whether or not delusional, and dishonesty.
There are of course large numbers of charlatans who use the
techniques of performance magic to persuade their customers
that they are witnessing paranormal activity, and one way to
illustrate their actions is to reproduce them in the light of day.
To demonstrate that a séance is such a show, it is often enough
to reproduce the effects, but this will not convince people that
spirits do not exist. We repeat that absence of evidence is not
evidence of absence.
So here, we have the same dilemma of proof that we faced
when looking at religious superbeings. In this situation, we
adopt Occam's Razor and look for the simplest explanation that
explains the known facts. If we can reproduce the effects of,
for example, a séance using ordinary commonplace techniques,
then we have no need to believe in supernatural beings for an
explanation.
We have then two approaches we can use: the controlled
trial for specific claims of personal abilities; reproduction of the
events with ordinary techniques for those claiming supernatural
causes.
Supernatural apparitions
When we see something indistinct and strange, perhaps a
vague outline of something in the shadows, we try to figure out
what it could be. We compare what we are seeing with things
we are familiar with looking for a match. If we find a match,
we tend to convince ourselves that that is indeed what we are
looking at. We see something small moving in a tree, we think
it is either a squirrel or a bird. If it seems to fly, we opt for a
bird, even if we cannot make it out clearly. We are predisposed
to rationalise what we see into things we recognise.
If we can't find a match, it stimulates our curiosity and we
are open to a wider range of possibilities, which encourages us
to speculate, even to invent possible objects that could fit the
Psychic Woo 84
image. We are looking for an explanation and don't yet have a
match.
If we already have the belief that human beings once dead
persist in the form of some immaterial spirit, we are open to the
belief that they still occupy some space, and perhaps are also
able to contact the world of the living. This belief is a
necessary prerequisite for the belief in ghosts. We would not
entertain the notion of an apparition or ghost unless we also
believed that there were immaterial essences of dead people
that persist beyond death. Belief in ghosts follows on perfectly
naturally from religious belief although many Christian
churches are hostile to the idea and discourage it. Nevertheless
32% of Americans claim to believe in ghosts.
In order for talk of ghosts to coexist with religious beliefs, it
is necessary to locate the place where ghosts are said to exist,
somewhere in the context of heaven and hell. Many
explanations of ghosts rely on some indeterminate place
between earth and heaven, claiming ghosts are souls that are
trapped and unable to go to heaven because of some emotional
pull from the living. This explanation neatly provides an
emotional link between the person and the apparition and
provides a key psychological influence on the subject.
Visual apparitions then give the subject the impression of a
visit from a person already dead. Similarly, if it is perceived
that some objects have moved, they will be willing to consider
the notion that the cause is some immaterial spirit residue of a
dead human being. Sceptical subjects will search far wider for
a rational explanation than will those who believe in such
possibilities.
Psychic Woo 85
very low muscle tone, essential if we are to avoid thrashing
about during dreaming. We don't want our muscles to carry out
the actions of our dreams. Consequently, when we come out of
REM, sometimes this sleep paralysis persists for a few minutes,
leaving us apparently awake yet still dreaming and barely able
to move. Sometimes we have already partly opened our eyes
and are getting images which are mixed with our dreams. We
may think we are moving when we are not, and we may see
people or faces which are not really there.
This sleep paralysis is well-known and understood as a
natural part of REM, and is also associated with creative
activity in the brain during which we make new associations
between people and events, and refresh our memories. It is
entirely expected that vivid memories should make an
appearance during sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis can be increased by breaking the established
sleep cycle - by staying up very late or getting up very early -
and a common recommended treatment is to adopt a sleep
pattern of going to bed at 11pm and getting up at 7am.
Introducing a regular pattern to sleep greatly reduces the
incidence of sleep paralysis.
It is common during times of stress, when sleep patterns are
significantly disrupted, for sleep paralysis to cause patients to
see disturbing visions, or images of lost loved ones. During
grief particularly, sleep paralysis will bring to the surface
many images and memories which are commonly identified as
ghosts of deceased relatives and friends.
Psychic Woo 86
being lost and needing to complete some communication to
become free, spirits being troubled by unfinished business,
unanswered questions, and the intention is to allow them to rest
in peace, a phrase which resonates with religious beliefs.
There are now many books written by mediums who have
come clean about the nature of the deception and the techniques
used. For example, once the audience are complicit in the event,
they are predisposed to identify themselves with any message
apparently coming through. They themselves drive the positive
reinforcement of the experience. All of the experiences of
séances have been reproduced by the Randi Foundation using
standard techniques of performance magic.
Using Occam's Razor, we therefore have rational
explanations for what are perceived to be supernatural events
and we therefore have no reason to believe in the supernatural
nature of séances.
Psychic Woo 87
include, curiously, many of the so-called psychic abilities for
which there are no explanations, such as knowledge of hidden
or remote things. The Anglican church has its own Deliverance
Ministry which apparently includes some people trained in
psychiatry, presumably to identify the delusional. Once again,
the bishop has to give approval. In both of these churches,
there is a reluctance to go along the path of exorcism because
they claim the most probable cause of the problem is delusion
and mental illness.
Although this seems innocuous enough, some exorcism
ceremonies, particularly among some African fundamentalists,
can involve subjecting children to extreme treatment. In an
effort to cast out a perceived devil, the child can be subjected to
extremes of punishment which threaten their health and even
their lives.
If the irrational belief in possession by devils is allowed to
persist unchallenged, then individuals can be subjected to
mistreatment in attempts to exorcise them. Even if the exorcism
is not violent, the psychological impact of such rituals is highly
questionable. It is interesting to wonder how religious
authorities can claim to distinguish between the irrationality
and delusion of possession, from the irrationality and delusion
of believing in spirits at all.
Consecration is the religious process of dedicating people
and things to the service of a god. People such as bishops are
consecrated in a ceremony referred to as ordination, but so are
things such as altars, chalices and tablecloths. In the Catholic
church, there is a special consecration, called the Eucharist, in
which during a religious service, it is claimed that bread and
wine are literally turned into the body and blood of Christ.
Most Protestants believe this to be symbolic only.
The literal truth of such a claim is easily formulated as an
hypothesis which can be tested and falsified. Following the
religious service, we can test the composition of the bread and
wine and confirm that it is unchanged. Catholics get around this
clear empirical problem by claiming that what changes is not
the appearance of the bread and wine, but the thing itself, a
Psychic Woo 88
deeper, undetectable reality, an essence which we can't
perceive. Of course, such a claim is a perfect parallel for the
notions of Qi, that undetectable energy so favoured by
alternative therapy Woo.
Theology abounds with arcane disputes about when exactly
the change (which is undetectable) takes place. You would get
similar mystification asking a Reiki practitioner to explain
when the change occurs.
Psychic abilities
When people say they possess special abilities such as mind-
reading or predicting the future, they can often be tested to
validate their claims. If someone claims to be able to anticipate
the next card to be turned over in a pack, it is easy to run a trial
to see how successful they are. Let's think our way through one
such trial.
We clearly want to make it objective so we need to be sure
that the subject has no chance of interfering with the pack of
cards, and cannot read any hidden signs on the pack itself. We
would therefore keep them separate, perhaps even in a different
room or separated by a screen. We would also want to make
sure that the person turning the cards is not in league with the
subject in case they pass covert signals. But we need to know
something else as well, and that is the normal incidence of
someone guessing the cards. Clearly if we guess, sometimes
we will be right and we need to know what level of correct
answers we would get by chance alone. That forms our
control. Having both tester and subject kept ignorant of the
other forms the double blind part of the trial, and we could
randomise as well by pairing off testers and subjects at random.
We could even introduce a higher element of random order
into the cards themselves by using equipment to provide the
randomness. A random counter could choose the suit, and
another random counter, the value of the card. That would
remove any influence of the handling of the cards altogether.
Such trials conform to a high standard of scientific
Psychic Woo 89
investigation. If psychic abilities are present, then detecting
higher success rates than our control group would provide
supporting evidence, but not proof, whereas consistent failure
to produce results beyond chance, would be significant
supporting evidence that the claims were false.
We cannot formulate an hypothesis which can be falsified
because failure to detect psychic powers or to demonstrate
them, does not prove their absence. Instead, the hypothesis is
formulated by a statement such as: In a trial X, under
circumstances Y, subject A is able to demonstrate prediction at
a level above chance to a statistically significant degree. That
is a falsifiable hypothesis and would give us a reasonable basis
to reject someone's claim to possess psychic powers. It
wouldn't show that psychic powers didn't exist at all, but it
would show that in those circumstances, that person couldn't
demonstrate them.
Psychic Woo 90
successes, we'd be on to something. Even if they managed
success 1/6 of the time, we'd be on to something.
But maybe that's a really tall order. How about predicting
the score on a die? It has six sides each with a different
number. By chance we would expect to get it right 1/6 of the
time. So a level that is significant for the cards, wouldn't be
significant for the die. But in this case, if someone consistently
scored say a half correct with the die, we'd be on to something.
We use these calculations to identify what someone could
produce by chance alone so that we can see when there is
evidence to support a claim of some predictive ability. We can
also test our mathematical prediction against a control group to
confirm that we are right in our assessment of the chance level.
We use a measure called the P value to indicate what is the
probability of the subject getting that result by chance alone.
For example, we often report scientific experimental results
with a P value of P<0.05 and this means that it is at most only
5% likely that such results arose by chance, so it is 95% likely
that the cause was the one we are testing. If it was P<0.01, that
is even more extreme, not more than 1% likely to have arisen
by chance alone, and 99% likely that it was the cause under
test.
Psychic Woo 91
muddier. This is because there is never a perfect match. We
always have to relate the predicted future to the present real
world since psychics never predict impossible things. They
don't for example predict the freezing of the Atlantic Ocean, or
the disappearance of Australia. They always predict from a
selection of the possible. That means that each of those
predicted events has a probability of occurring anyway. Often
it is very difficult to identify that probability. For example, if
someone predicted that a particular political party was to win an
election, all sorts of polls and pundits would offer evidence one
way or the other. Many would already have calculated
probabilities. Adding another event that a particular person
would get a particular post, is also a matter of probability. It is
therefore relatively easy to create vague scenarios which have
the illusion of prediction but which have a relatively high
probability of some match in the future.
Of course, the ability to predict the future would enable
individuals to make fortunes at gambling and it would also be a
valuable military weapon. This military prospect attracted the
interest of both the Americans and the Russians, who each
spent millions of dollars/roubles testing psychic powers. Both
failed to produce any results.
Psychic Woo 92
bomb him, and to find a missing aeroplane in Africa. After
thousands of failed experiments, eventually the CIA pulled the
plug, finally admitting that there was no possible use for such a
phenomenon that was so inconsistent and unrepeatable that it
couldn't be relied upon, couldn't be learned, and couldn't be
trained into people. Not to mention the fact that after 24 years,
they had no evidence at all to support even its existence. All
they had to show for the quarter century was a collection of
untrustworthy interpretations of vague drawings collected by
experimenters who were committed to proving their beliefs
rather than objectively assessing evidence obtained under
controlled circumstances.
Remote viewing remains fatally short of any supporting
evidence but it has a wealth of evidence of failure.
Summary
Psychic Woo is widespread and latches onto primitive
Psychic Woo 93
religious beliefs. By opening the door to supernatural beings,
religious belief enables believers to give credibility to the
spirits of dead people, to the possibility of communicating with
ghosts, and the possibility of malign influence from
supernatural influences. It is a more primitive form of religion
than is comfortable for the modern churches but it is a perfectly
logical consequence of their beliefs. That is why it is so
difficult for them to shift such mysticism and occultism.
We know that despite massive prizes on offer, extensive
laboratory investigation, major government programmes, and
every opportunity for providing evidence, claims of psychic
ability always fall flat. We have many public exposures of the
activities of mediums. We also have good rational explanations
of the phenomenon of seeing ghosts. Sleep paralysis can be
invoked on demand under clinical conditions and the
phenomenon of seeing ghosts can be investigated. Clinical
medicine and neuroscience explains the phenomenon without
recourse to supernatural causes. The real explanation is both
simpler and testable.
There are clear psychological reasons why people want to
preserve their contact with dead loved ones, and strong
emotional pressures to produce the imagery and vivid
memories. There are excellent emotional reasons why people
would want to pass messages to their dead relatives and it takes
just a little stretching of common religious belief to make them
accept that it is possible. But we know also of the trickery and
fraud used by mediums to convince their willing customers. It
is a callous exploitation of emotional vulnerability on the
grounds that if the customer can be lied to successfully, they
will feel better at the end of it. They are saying “I will lie to you
and con you out of your money but that's OK because I have
fooled you into feeling better.” It's the placebo effect.
When it comes to people making claims of special psychic
abilities such as predicting the future, dowsing, moving objects
by thought alone, reading minds, and the like, all of these
controlled trials have shown the claims to be false.
By measuring their performance against the control group,
Psychic Woo 94
we can avoid being impressed by the occasional chance
success. By using simple mathematical calculations, we can
identify the expected differences if their claims are correct, then
observe what happens. When we do that, we show that the so-
called psychics are just making empty fanciful claims. We don't
need to fall for it any longer.
Whether it's belief in spirits, or someone's ability to predict
the future with a dream, or reading minds, or finding water with
sticks, these extraordinary claims fall apart as soon as you
begin to investigate them. Psychic Woo is Woo just the same. If
you stopped believing in fairies and unicorns, you should also
have stopped believing in spirits and ghosts. We don't believe
that ESP exists until someone can show evidence of it. After
more than a hundred years of trying to find it, we're still
waiting.
Psychic Woo 95
CHAPTER 7
Rational thinking
Rational thinking 96
leaves us with a properly wired plug and a functioning system.
How strange then that in some areas of our lives we are
positively encouraged to suspend our rational thinking. Even
though our social values are derived from our interaction with
people we relate to and trust, we are asked to accept that an
omniscient superbeing is responsible, can read everyone's mind
simultaneously and is able to change the universe and all in it
on a whim. We are expected to change our behaviour because
of some future judgement made by this invisible being.
When we are ill, we are expected to go to someone who
claims extraordinary ability, able to detect undetectable energy
sources, or effect cures with unexplainable techniques based on
theories that they themselves cannot explain.
And many people do just that. It's not that their reasoning
is faulty; it is absent. They are just not applying their rational
thinking to these particular areas.
We have seen in the previous chapters that we can adopt two
different stances: believing and sceptical. We have seen that
knowledge about how the world works is very effectively
obtained by the sceptical viewpoint and that the believing
viewpoint cannot distinguish between fact and fiction.
Consequently, any major decision which affects us should
be taken with the sceptical viewpoint rather than the believing
viewpoint. Even if the ideas about religion and alternative
medicine turn out to have some merit, the sceptical viewpoint is
still the appropriate way to take decisions that affect us.
Rational thinking 97
are more in tune with the progress of ideas and discoveries.
Those who accept the believing viewpoint are
psychologically disposed to defend their beliefs, often against
any and every opposition. They will feel under threat, perhaps
personally, when their beliefs are questioned. For them, their
beliefs are often not just ideas but are intensely personal, define
their very being, and require defence. When their beliefs are
challenged, they feel it as a personal sleight. This is why so
many religious people demand legal protection for their ideas in
the form of statutes against blasphemy.
The rational person justifies their actions by their own
personal values which come from their involvement in society.
They are accountable to themselves and those around them for
their actions, and are responsible for justifying those values
personally. No-one hands them a ready-made morality, and
they have to be involved themselves in each of their ethical
decisions.
When a rational person is faced with an extraordinary claim,
they look for the evidence, reasons to accept it, they have
doubts, they check the consistency with what else they know.
Very many extraordinary claims are relegated to the back list of
“not enough evidence”. Those that get through the filter are
genuinely worthy of consideration. So that initial rational filter
enables them to focus on the truly useful and interesting new
ideas without wandering around dead ends.
By contrast, the credulous, those adopting the believing
viewpoint, are gullible to almost any well-publicised approach,
however inconsistent, contradictory, or unfounded. They will
spend time reading about crystals, energy flows, chakras,
spirits, and the like, without ever finding a reason for doubt
because there never will be any evidence. They are therefore
perfect consumers of Woo.
Rational thinking is what we use as human beings to
negotiate our world. Our brains developed this potential as a
response to the dangers in the primitive environment, and with
that ability came our growing self-awareness as thinking
individuals, able to direct our own thoughts. Returning to a
Rational thinking 98
believing viewpoint is retrogressive, turning our backs on our
own thinking abilities.
A credulous consumer, willing to accept anything he or she
is told, is an extremely important addition to the marketplace.
Those people who are willing to accept supernatural beings
and mystical forces into their lives will also be willing to let
tangible money flow out of their wallets. By contrast, the
rational sceptical individual will be unwilling to spend money
on untested, unevidenced, mystical notions.
For that reason, rationality gets bad press. Thinking
rationally is depicted as being unimaginative, unemotional, and
cold. We'll take a look now at some of the attitudes to
rationality.
Rational thinking 99
might make you fun. It's a powerful argument against being
seen to think for yourself, to be seen to be rational.
For teenagers and young adults eager to be accepted by their
peers, the last thing they want to appear is not-fun! Even if
they were fun, getting involved in discussions and arguments
about why homeopathy is a load of nonsense, will not endear
them to their more fun-loving peers. So they don't do it. They
let it go, and the rational case goes unheard.
Amongst people not used to thinking about theories,
evidence, causes, explanations, the appearance of someone
questioning what everyone else seems to support makes them
very uneasy. The atheist in a workplace with religious
colleagues, may have to accept some hostility from those who
feel their personal values are being attacked, even if they are
not.
Let's take a look at some of these prejudices and what we
can do about them.
Summary
We've looked at rational thinking and why we use it in all
aspects of our lives. We've seen that when we make important
decisions, we insist on rational explanations. We've contrasted
the consequences of rational thinking and the magical thinking
of those who adopt the believing viewpoint. Although magical
thinking is entertaining and has its place, when we are taking
decisions that matter to us, it is potentially harmful.
We looked at the difference between being a consumer and
being a believer and saw why Woo marketers very much prefer
the latter.
We've examined some popular prejudices about rational
people and seen that rational thinking does not imply lack of
emotion, nor lack of creativity. On the contrary, we've seen
that emotional and rational thinking are intimately connected,
and that creative activities always include exercising rational
skills. We've seen how the labels attached to young people,
dividing them between arts and sciences, encourages these
prejudices.
Now we're ready for a critical look at some representative
Woo offerings.
Acupuncture
Based on the idea of energy lines or meridians. An
undetectable form of energy called Qi is encouraged to flow
along undetectable channels, stimulated by the insertion of
needles, sometimes to a depth of 7cm or more. Although side
effects are rare, vital organs and blood vessels can be
punctured. There is no evidence that acupuncture is effective
against any disease. Any effects of acupuncture are due to the
Alexander Technique
A technique of studying the movement of the body to detect
stresses and strains, poor posture, and unnecessary physical
effort. Originally intended as a process of self-education rather
than as a therapy. During instruction, students show better
control and less stress but this is not maintained without
practice. As a self-study method of controlling posture and
tension, it has some benefit. If promoted as a therapy, the
claims are suspect.
Apitherapy
The belief that bee products, honey, pollen, venom, etc, are
endowed with healing powers. Claims have been made that it
can even cure autoimmune disease. There is no evidence
whatsoever that this is the case nor that it cures anything at all.
Applied kinesiology
This seemingly scientific-sounding treatment relies on the
idea that muscle strength is indicative of the overall state of the
body. There is no scientific evidence for this being the case nor
any evidence that the technique can diagnose illness or
ailments. Nevertheless some chiropractors will add this to
their list of services and charge for it.
Aromatherapy
The theory that aromas can influence the limbic system of
the body are correct but the claims of aromatherapy go well
beyond what is evidenced. Claims to any form of therapy are
unreasonable. The anecdotal reports of relaxing massage with
pleasant smells seems consistent with claims of stress
reduction. However there is no evidence of any form of
therapy, or cures of illnesses.
Ayurvedic medicine
Ayurvedic medicine relies on a medieval classification of
elements, typically Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Space. Abstract
metaphysical concepts are mixed with proposed herbal
remedies. Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine are mostly
ignorant of both the active ingredients and their
pharmacological effects. Since herbal remedies contain many
identified and unidentified active ingredients, and since there
are no standards for safety and quality in their production, they
constitute a potential health risk. Despite ancient documents
recommending medicines, their age does not ensure accuracy
nor efficacy, merely belief. There is no evidence to support
Ayurvedic medicine.
Chiropractic
This is a therapy based on the idea that by manipulating the
Chromotherapy
The idea here is that colour can be used to balance some
unidentified and undetectable energy, thus bringing about
improved health. Coloured lights are shone on various points
of the body in the belief that specific frequencies and intensities
provide different healing potentials. This is utterly without any
rational basis and although it is sold as a therapy, one has to
question the honesty of such claims.
Crystal healing
This is based on the belief that crystals have healing
vibrations which are able to affect the body, sometimes through
undetectable chakras, so that the body becomes free to heal
itself. Although there are fundamental frequencies at which all
objects vibrate, this theory is non-scientific and practitioners
are often more concerned with the colour of the crystal rather
than the composition. There is absolutely no evidence to
support the practice of crystal healing.
Cupping
This is the practice of placing containers of hot air on the
skin so that on cooling, the skin is sucked in and raised
increasing blood circulation. Sometimes it is placed over a
supposed acupuncture point, sometimes it is used to draw
blood. Claims that this treats anything are without basis. The
most you will get is a bruise.
Dietary supplements
It is extremely difficult to suffer vitamin deficiency eating
the average western diet. Therefore dietary supplements are
generally pointless unless there is some underlying illness (for
example anaemia) or a grossly distorted diet. Any supplement
Dowsing
This is the belief that a Y- or L-shaped rod held in the hands
can be used to detect subterranean material such as water, oil,
bodies, metallic or other objects. Although it attracts insistent
believers, trials have consistently shown that this is a non-
phenomenon. It doesn't happen.
Ear candling
This is the practice of placing one end of a candle in the ear
and lighting the other end with the belief that this will exert
negative pressure and draw out toxins and wax. It is claimed
that the process can remove impurities and toxins from the
body. It is utterly without basis. Not only are there no toxins to
come out of the ear, but there is also no negative pressure to
draw such toxins and wax out. It cannot work, and does not
work.
Faith healing
This is the religious belief that prayers or rituals can call into
presence a divine entity which will effect a cure. Case studies
of those claiming to have been cured through such an
experience have shown that there were no cures. Prayer has
consistently shown itself to fail. It is also pertinent, although
obvious, to point out that many illnesses are apparently immune
to faith healers such as fractures.
Feng shui
This is really a form of interior design in which mystical
claims are made about the importance of orientation in the
positioning of furniture. More sophisticated practitioners will
use a luo pan, a Chinese compass, to identify the auspicious
directions. Since Qi, the energy flows which the practitioner is
trying to align, are undetectable, it is simply a form of
marketing mumbo-jumbo to differentiate interior designers
from their competitors. There is no evidence to support their
mystical claims.
Herbal therapy
This is based on the idea that herbal remedies used in the
past must have worked and that therefore we should continue to
use them. Neither belief is justified. If they worked in the past,
and we have no evidence other than written anecdotal evidence,
we don't know the active ingredient, nor its concentrations. Nor
do we know what else is in the herbal medicine that may
interact with, counteract, amplify or weaken the effects.
Without any control on the contents of the herbal medicine, we
are trusting in the pre-science beliefs of medieval people.
There are clearly some plant extracts which are effective
medicines, quinine for example from the bark of the cinchona
tree. Extracting that, purifying it, and using it in a controlled
manner proved useful in treating malaria. But most herbal
medicines are of questionable quality, of uncertain content, and
have an uncertain effect. With the possible exception of St
John's Wort, no evidence of efficacy has been found. In the
case of St John's Wort, we know it interferes with more than
half of prescription medicines, including oral contraceptives,
because it inhibits an enzyme needed for uptake from the gut.
Holistic medicine
Holistic simply means whole, complete, total. It is used by
alternative medicine practitioners to imply that conventional
science-based medicine does not treat the whole individual. In
fact, when a doctor takes a case history, that is precisely holistic
Homeopathy
Based on the principle of “like cures like”, and “successive
dilution”, this is a non-scientific theory which contradicts the
wealth of known physical, chemical and biological science.
Like does not cure like. A small amount of arsenic does not
cure arsenic poisoning. A small amount of additional sugar
does not cure a hyperglycaemic diabetic coma. Similarly,
dilution does not increase the strength of a medicine. Despite
massive delusional support brought about by enormous
amounts of marketing, is difficult to distinguish this therapy
from fraud.
Iridology
This is based on the belief that the iris in the eye reflects the
general state of health of the patient and that it can be used to
diagnose systemic diseases. The iris though does not undergo
substantial change during the course of a person's lifetime.
Controlled trials have consistently shown that practitioners
cannot diagnose anything from test irises they have seen. If
they can't diagnose, they can't treat.
Macrobiotic lifestyle
The idea here is that health is maintained by eating grains,
Magnet therapy
This is based on the belief that magnetic fields have
therapeutic properties. Patients are subjected to magnetic fields
or sold magnetic material to wear. The use of magnetism in
medicine as a controlled diagnostic tool has been growing with
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) but this uses a well-
established physical principle in which, at the atomic level,
protons are aligned temporarily by a very strong radio-
frequency electromagnetic field. This allows differences to be
seen between soft and hard tissue. It requires the use of a
massive electromagnet. It has nothing whatsoever to do with
magnet therapy. Studies of therapy involving magnets have
shown no detectable effect. Magnets sold by the practitioners
are far too weak to influence bodily tissue in any way at all.
The sheer size of magnets required for scanning equipment
illustrates the absurdity of these claims.
Massage therapy
Massage works by relaxing muscles and muscle groups by
physical manipulation. By increasing blood circulation and
reducing muscle tension, the patient is relaxed. Claiming
anything further of massage is mystification. For example
claims involving undetectable energies, balancing, detox,
Medical intuition
This is where practitioners claim to use their intuition to
identify the cause of physical or emotional conditions. It is as
close as one can get to the traditional witch doctor looking for
signs of a demon. There is no clinical evidence to support the
use of medical intuition. That is not to say that doctors do not
often have intuitions, simply that when intuitions are trialled,
they fare no better than guesses. Genuine medical practitioners
question their hunches and look for the evidence.
Naturopathic medicine
This is a stress on the body's self-healing rather than the
interventions of modern medicine. Surgery, pharmaceuticals
and radiation are avoided in favour of life-style changes.
Naturopaths may also be opposed to vaccines and antibiotics.
All forms of naturopathy rely on concepts which contradict
known basic science. Since they may offer diagnoses at odds
with clinical science, there is some risk associated with reliance
on naturopathic doctors.
Neuro-linguistic programming
This is based on the idea that we can unlearn learned
behaviours which contribute to symptoms such as depression,
anxiety, and learning disorders. Although it sounds as though it
is related to neuroscience (and therefore pretends to have some
scientific respectability) it is non-scientific and unrelated to any
neurological science. There is no empirical evidence for the
efficacy of NLP.
Osteomyology
These practitioners, who are either chiropractors or
osteopaths, seem to have refused to be regulated by law,
changing their designation to osteomyologist rather than have
to abide by the requirements of their professional chiropractor
and osteopath associations. The UK law required both
chiropractors and osteopaths to be registered and controlled, so
practitioners who designate themselves as osteomyologists can
avoid this limitation. These practitioners have no defining
philosophy except that they wish to practice manipulative
techniques without the restriction of legal control. Anyone can
designate themselves an osteomyologist with no training
whatsoever.
Osteopathy
This was originally based on the idea that the musculo-
skeletal system can interfere with nerve and blood supply
around the body, and that therefore manipulation of the bones
and muscles can remove the obstructions and allow the body to
function. It has moved on from the early days of shaking
children with Scarlet Fever. Now it tends to be concentrated on
manipulating the spine and joints to alleviate pain. Joint
Polarity therapy
This is a form of therapy based on the belief in a form of
energy called putative energy. It uses Eastern mystical
vocabulary and practitioners claim to be able to balance the
natural flow of energy through the body. In the absence of any
means of identifying, detecting, or measuring the energy, it is
difficult to distinguish this therapy from fraud.
Prayer
This is a religious form of contemplation in which believers
are convinced they are being listened to by a supernatural
being, and in some cases also able to receive a response. Prayer
has been consistently shown to have no effect on the physical
world. In a controlled, double-blind, randomised, trial of
cardiac patients, those who had people praying for them did
marginally worse than those who did not.
Psychic surgery
This is the dramatic removal of tissue, pathological matter,
from a patient with bare hands, without leaving any trace of an
incision. It is broadly accepted as a form of medical fraud but
remains an entertaining television example of irrationalism.
Sclerology
This is the belief that, rather than the iris, the sclera or white
of the eye displays the current medical condition of the patient
and can be used in the diagnosis of illness. This is utterly
without foundation and when tested, practitioners could identify
nothing.
Conclusion
I hope that you now see clearly the irrational elements that
infect the Land of Woo; the mystical energies and forces, the
superbeings, the outlandish claims about the human body, the
exploitation of the lack of scientific understanding, the sheer
lack of evidence to support any of them, the reliance on belief
to sell a product.
This brief compendium could not possibly be
comprehensive. It would itself run to thousands of pages, such
is the extent of this differentiated market. But hopefully it has
served as a good indication of the scope of irrational ideas and
their pervasive influence in the Land of Woo. There will be
countless variations on offer, each with their suspicious,
unfounded claims, each with their marketing differentiators, but
it should now be easy to compare them to their generic
equivalents.
We've had a trip around the Land of Woo and seen what's
there. Now, it's time to leave it – for good!
Summary
In this chapter, we have used a fabricated alternative therapy
to illustrate both how easy it is to create Woo, and also to
evaluate it and dismiss it as nonsense. Our Woo therapy is no
less credible than all the others on offer, drawing on scientific
terminology, building on common beliefs, claiming
unevidenced effects, and drawing the believer into the sale.
The mechanism is transparent because we presented it that way,
but it's the same with all the other forms of Woo.
We ended up with a short list of rational questions we can
ask when someone offers us a Woo product, whether it's a type
of massage or belief in a god, a crystal or a chiropractor, so that
we can distinguish between the reasonable statements and the
unreasonable. These are not new questions. We'd ask the same
of someone selling us a new TV, or a car.
We then looked at the thorny issue of fraud. How can we
tell if the Woo business in front of us is acting fraudulently?
We saw how the fact that Woo claims are untestable gives the
practitioner a legal cloak providing they are not knowingly
misleading. And that in turn gives them an important interest in
remaining ignorant of how the human body and the world
actually works. For practitioners of Woo, it is legally safer for
them to remain ignorant of human biology and physics. And of
course, if they can find customers equally ignorant, they will
Conclusion
We started the book with a look at how we change our ideas,
how we question something which we previously believed, and
how we reconcile our beliefs with our increasing knowledge of
the world. We discovered both that we are reluctant to give up
our beliefs and that the believing viewpoint can become
impervious to evidence.
Any theory based on invisible, undetectable forces or beings
remains unaffected by evidence – there can be no such
evidence. But at the same time, such theories, be they religious
or medical, can make no rational claim to any kind of effect on
the real world. Having broken off the link to the material
world, with no tangible means of detecting any influence, they
are therefore making extraordinary claims which they want
people simply to believe. In the Land of Woo, credulity is king.
Those who insist on the existence of these immaterial,
undetectable forces, energies, and superbeings, are insisting that
they do not want to know how the world really is.
Religion openly casts itself adrift of the real world and this
is the problem of theology: how to insist on the relevance of
mythical beings when it is patently obvious that moral values
are social in origin, when it is demonstrable that nothing fails
quite like prayer, when religious books are anachronistic and
contradictory? Religions make use of powerful social
institutions to indoctrinate people, especially young children.
Churches have always focussed on educational institutions as a
means of recruiting into their irrational beliefs. And because
they are not directly selling a product, religions can afford to
rely on more ideological influences. The promotion of faith-
based initiatives in the UK is a tangible consequence of the
Human Biology
In order to avoid being taken in by claims from Food Woo,
we need at least a basic understanding of the main systems of
the human body. That includes the alimentary canal and
digestion, the blood system including bone, the spleen and the
liver, the nervous system including the brain and nerves, the
cardiovascular system including the heart, arteries, veins and
capillaries.
But it also involves knowing a little about the tissues and
organs of the body as well and what they do. The organs of the
human body have specific functions and knowing these helps
you question the bizarre claims of Woo practitioners. When for
example a chiropractor tells you the spine influences all of your
organs, you can ask why a transplanted kidney, which has no
connection to the spine, still functions perfectly?
You also need to know something of the chemistry of the
body. You need to know a little about the main hormones,
what they do, and where they are produced. Then if someone
claims that stroking your feet changes the hormone balance,
you can ask which hormones, and how is the change detected.
You need to know what vitamins are and where we get them,
how enzymes help us digest food and where they come from,
how we fight bacteria and other infections, and how we grow.
These are fascinating subjects and the information is now
available at the touch of a button. Such knowledge stops you
Basic Science
Many of the pedlars of Woo make incredible claims about
energy and forces and without some understanding of how
these really work, you are at a disadvantage. How can you
understand what is implied by energy channels if you don't
know what is meant by energy? If someone is offering to help
you eliminate free radicals, how can you test their claim
without knowing what they are?
But this doesn't mean that you have to go back to school
again and study physics and chemistry (though you might find
it fun). Instead it's worth looking up a few topics online. You
should find out about the different forms of energy and how
they are converted from one to the other. You should
understand how energy is measured and controlled, know the
difference between electricity and magnetism and understand
the different types of forces. This knowledge alone will help
you judge the claims made by people to channel and align
various forces.
It is interesting to look at some of the history of science to
see how our knowledge came to be known in the first place. By
getting an overview of how much we now know we can judge
the claims of others to know extraordinary new things.
Knowing how difficult it was to detect subatomic particles, we
can wonder about how easy it seems to be to detect Qi (unless
you are a scientist of course).
By understanding the use of the scientific method we can
understand why scientists are always cautious about their own
claims and we can be suspicious when we see tabloid headlines
announcing the latest scare.
Religion
If you have never done so, try reading some atheist
arguments against religion. By thinking about the morality of
those who profess religious faith, we can more clearly see how
society generates moral codes and how the responsibility for
ethical judgements are ours. Breaking free of the emotional
link with a supernatural god is an important part of thinking
rationally.
It is illuminating to read the major historical religious texts.
Comparing for example the stories of the Talmud, the Bible and
the Qur'an gives you an understanding of how these myths were
passed down from common tribal sources. Seeing the violent
behaviour of a god approved enthusiastically helps you
understand how religion is used to justify aggression. Seeing
the similarities between religions, helps us understand the
social and political aspects of organised faiths. But reading
these texts also shows starkly how selectively the material is
presented. You will see approving references to genocide and
extreme violence along with entreaties to love and honour.
You will come to see these books as sources for anthropology.
History of Science
Did Isaac Newton really run the Royal Mint? Was Darwin
really a country gentleman? Did they really do surgery in
Personal Note