Here is Edzard Ernst, a leading critic of homeopathy, making a surprising statement recently:
"The surprising part about homoeopathy which skeptics don’t like to hear is that there are quite a few studies which I cannot fault methodologically. They’re sound studies, and they are showing that homoeopathy works. I’m not saying that the evidence in total shows that homoeopathy works. In fact, the evidence, if you look at it critically and you summarize, the totality of the evidence does not show that it works. If you pick out certain studies, you find very good studies that show the opposite, and this is yet another mistake that skeptics make about homoeopathy when they say there’s no good evidence.
First of all, there’s plenty of evidence. They have got 500 clinical trials. Secondly, some of these trials do show that homoeopathy works, and some of these trials that show that homoeopathy works are actually methodologically sound. (I can only speculate why this is so, there are 2 main possibilities: 1. Pure chance; 2. Fraud.) Again, full of contradictions and fascinating, an absolutely fascinating subject."
I challenge Professor Ernst to be the scientist he claims to be, and accept another possible explanation - that the studies are sound, and therefore, that some science shows that homeopathy works. The two possible explanations he gives are not convincing: chance is ruled out in 'methodologically sound studies' (to quote Ernst himself), and fraud is highly unlikely and such an accusation should be supported by evidence. So here is a second challenge to Professor Ernst - to produce evidence of fraud, or at least to make public the studies he is referring to, to open a public discussion of their integrity.
Here is a useful reminder of what it is to be a scientist. It comes from the famous Italian physicist and author Carlo Rovelli:
"Only by keeping in mind that our beliefs may turn out to be wrong is it possible to free ourselves from wrong ideas." (Book review of Reality Is Not What It Seems in The Guardian, 21 Jan. 2017)
Homeopathy is a minor revolution in medicine and science waiting to come in from the sidelines and contribute immensely to the health of the world.
The Ernst quote above is an extract from an interview with Kylie Sturgess On Homeopathy: The Undiluted Facts—An Interview with Edzard Ernst (January 17, 2017, The Committee For Skeptical Enquiry website)
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/on_homeopathy_the_undiluted_facts_interview_with_edzard_ernst
"The surprising part about homoeopathy which skeptics don’t like to hear is that there are quite a few studies which I cannot fault methodologically. They’re sound studies, and they are showing that homoeopathy works. I’m not saying that the evidence in total shows that homoeopathy works. In fact, the evidence, if you look at it critically and you summarize, the totality of the evidence does not show that it works. If you pick out certain studies, you find very good studies that show the opposite, and this is yet another mistake that skeptics make about homoeopathy when they say there’s no good evidence.
First of all, there’s plenty of evidence. They have got 500 clinical trials. Secondly, some of these trials do show that homoeopathy works, and some of these trials that show that homoeopathy works are actually methodologically sound. (I can only speculate why this is so, there are 2 main possibilities: 1. Pure chance; 2. Fraud.) Again, full of contradictions and fascinating, an absolutely fascinating subject."
I challenge Professor Ernst to be the scientist he claims to be, and accept another possible explanation - that the studies are sound, and therefore, that some science shows that homeopathy works. The two possible explanations he gives are not convincing: chance is ruled out in 'methodologically sound studies' (to quote Ernst himself), and fraud is highly unlikely and such an accusation should be supported by evidence. So here is a second challenge to Professor Ernst - to produce evidence of fraud, or at least to make public the studies he is referring to, to open a public discussion of their integrity.
Here is a useful reminder of what it is to be a scientist. It comes from the famous Italian physicist and author Carlo Rovelli:
"Only by keeping in mind that our beliefs may turn out to be wrong is it possible to free ourselves from wrong ideas." (Book review of Reality Is Not What It Seems in The Guardian, 21 Jan. 2017)
Homeopathy is a minor revolution in medicine and science waiting to come in from the sidelines and contribute immensely to the health of the world.
The Ernst quote above is an extract from an interview with Kylie Sturgess On Homeopathy: The Undiluted Facts—An Interview with Edzard Ernst (January 17, 2017, The Committee For Skeptical Enquiry website)
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/on_homeopathy_the_undiluted_facts_interview_with_edzard_ernst
