RTFA: http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/the-pseudo…
Welcome to a special edition of Nobel Intent. Beyond keeping you familiar with the comings and goings of modern science, we have consistently expressed concern regarding science education and the public understanding of science. Key to that understanding are the basic features of science, such as how scientific concepts are formulated and tested and why they typically produce a better understanding of the natural world than alternative approaches.
But science can be a tricky thing to define, and it’s sometimes easier to contrast it with some of the arguments that pose as science. Unfortunately, most of those issues are entangled with implications that keep the basic question—is this science?—obscured by emotional responses. Thus, the science of climatology has become entwined with political, economic, and policy issues. The science of evolution conflicts with the political and religious goals of some individuals. Even basic scientific questions about the nervous system get embroiled in family and personal health issues when topics like autism and radio frequency radiation are broached.
That’s why a special edition of the journal Homeopathy appears to be a gift, allowing us to look at science and psuedoscience without getting entangled with politics and religion. Homeopathy claims to be a form of medical practice that’s based on the principle that “like cures like.” Given a set of symptoms, a homeopath will identify an herb or chemical that causes similar symptoms. Following a predefined ritual, the homeopath performs a series of dilutions of that chemical that continue well beyond the point where there should be no molecules of it left—the final solution is essentially well-shaken water.
Totally cool - these folks usually review computing gear.
older post
No, though it's a kindof funny thought. I figured I'd make a note here: I replied about this to...
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