09 April 2012 by Dianne Sousa
In their toolbox homeopaths have sugar, water, and oodles of imagination. They tell us they have some science in there too, and they root around in there quite a bit looking for it. Personally, I’ve yet to see a homeopath wield that tool with any competency at all. Oh, and one more thing. They have [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Featured, Skepticism3 Comments
23 March 2012 by Dianne Sousa
Visit the Advertising Standards Canada website and take a few minutes to read through the adjudicated consumer complaints for the last quarter of 2011. You’ll come across this curious report: What could this mysterious, overall-wellness promoting medical device be? I happen to know, because I’m the complainant in this case. The report that appears on [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Medicinal Advertising, Skepticism5 Comments
21 November 2011 by Dianne Sousa
Those of us who attended the Whole Life Expo last year were sorely disappointed to find that our efforts to explore the alternative reality of holistic health were circumvented by eagle eyed holistic gatekeepers. None too happy with our intended presence, the people running the show had some of us followed as we perused the [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Events10 Comments
20 October 2011 by Dianne Sousa
Is the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) ever ethically justified? What about its promotion by advocates? Skeptics have long criticized alternative medicine for its inherent lack of demonstrable efficacy and sometimes serious safety issues. This puts the question of ethics front and centre when we discuss the promotion of CAM, and there are excellent [...]
Posted in Medicinal Advertising, Skepticism3 Comments
30 August 2011 by Dianne Sousa
Yesterday I found my way to fitnessgoop.com, a website for “Healthy and Inspired Living”. They feature articles from “health experts” touting the virtues of homeopathic travel vaccines and other similar topics of dubious merit. The recently posted article that caught my attention was one titled “Could electro-magnetic frequencies be to blame for allergies?” The author, Rich Ralph, [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health, Medical Conditions, Medicinal Advertising, Skepticism11 Comments
11 August 2011 by Dianne Sousa
Some time ago, Skeptic North reviewed an episode of CBC’s Marketplace that focused on homeopathy. The program featured a parent that opted to use homeopathic vaccines instead of real vaccines. I suspected that the parent was genuinely misinformed about vaccines and homeopathy, and noted in the comments that since as a result of the program, [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Featured, Health Policy, Medicinal Advertising, Pseudoscience, Skepticism12 Comments
25 May 2011 by Dianne Sousa
Last week we asked you to consider a list of homeopathic remedies, each more absurd than the last, and identify the one that was faked. In this context, ‘fake’ means “not a remedy available for sale from certain homeopathic retailers”. Sadly, only one was completely made up by us – I wish I could say they [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Announcements, Skepticism17 Comments
17 May 2011 by Dianne Sousa
A year ago we held a simple contest. We gave you a list of homeopathic remedies, and you had to guess the fake one. We continue to be amazed at just what homeopaths make remedies out of. So once again, here’s a list of REAL homeopathic remedies – all but one. Guess the fake. No [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Announcements36 Comments
27 April 2011 by Dianne Sousa
Skeptics are not afraid to take promoters of pseudoscience to task. We are not afraid to direct criticism to those who deserve it or invite it. This is true whether they claim to be psychic, promote a conspiracy theory, or a doctor with a successful television program in a coveted time spot. Of course, here [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Critical Thinking, Health, Pseudoscience, Science, Skepticism9 Comments
19 April 2011 by Dianne Sousa
During elections my ears perk up when law and order issues come up. Are politicians doing business differently this time round? Do they show that they understand what they’re talking about? The claims thrown around in these discussions deserve careful scrutiny because the data that they depend on are often ambiguous or misleading. Surprise! The evidence [...]
Posted in Canada, Critical Thinking, Probability and Statistics, Social Sciences4 Comments
Dianne is currently a student pursuing certification as an addictions counsellor. She holds a degree from the University of Guelph in criminal justice, public policy and social psychology. Her formal entry in the the addictions field is what reignited her interest in all things skeptical. She also crochets extensively and enjoys bad film, usually at the same time. All views expressed by Dianne are his personal views alone, and do not represent the opinions of any current, former or future employers, or any organizations or associations that she may be affiliated with.
