The Nature of Science

Showing posts with label Pseudoscience/Quackery. Show all posts

TED Tries to Clean Up Its Act

I claim that the top three criteria for good science reporting are: Accuracy, Accuracy, and Accuracy. Everything else falls into fourth place or lower, including the presentation style.

There have been a number of TED (or TEDx) talks on science that fail the top three criteria [TED: Alexander Tsiaras, "It was hard not to attribute divinity to it" ] [The Trouble with TED].

Apparently the high command at TED has woken up to the fact that they are being bamboozled by pseudoscientists. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy alerts us to a letter that they recently sent out to all TEDx organizers [TEDx Talks: Some Ideas Are Not Worth Spreading]. (I love his title!)

Here's a copy of the letter: A letter to the TEDx community on TEDx and bad science. And here's the opening praragraphs—you should read the entire letter because it contains a lot of information about how to recognize bad science.

Hello TEDx Community,

In light of a few suspect talks that have come out of the TEDx movement — some of which we at TED have taken action to remove, some being examined now — and this recent thread on Reddit [http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1444lm/the_ted_name_is_being_dragged_through_the_mud_in/], we feel it is important to reach out to all TEDx organizers on the topic of bad science and pseudoscience.

Please know this above all:
It is your job, before any speaker is booked, to check them out, and to reject bad science, pseudoscience and health hoaxes.

Vetting your speakers is hard work, and can lead to uncomfortable moments. But as TEDx organizers, your audience’s trust is your top priority, over and above any other personal or business relationship that may have brought this speaker to your attention. It is not your audience’s job to figure out if a speaker is offering legitimate science or not. It is your job.

The consequence of bad science and health hoaxes are not trivial. As an example, Andrew Wakefield’s attempt to link autism and vaccines was exposed as a hoax last year. But while his work was being investigated, millions of children went without vaccines, and many contracted deadly illnesses as a result.

We take this seriously. Presenting bad science on the TEDx stage is grounds for revoking your license.

Apparently TED will take down videos that spread pseudoscience. That explains why I was having so much trouble finding examples.

The Best of Evolutionary Psychology

There seems to be general agreement that many of the papers in evolutionary psychology are less than stellar examples of the best that science has to offer [see Evolutionary Psychology as Maladapted Psychology ]. One way to decide on the overall value of a discipline is to look at its best works rather than its worst. In the past I've often asked for examples of the very best papers in evolutionary psychology. Such requests are usually met with embarrassing silence but Gad Saad once took up the challenge: The Great, Profound, and Valuable Works of Evolutionary Psychology.

It's not a very impressive list. Since the discussion about evolutionary psychology is heating up again, it's time to send out another request. What are the very best papers in the field—the ones you are proud to point to whenever any criticizes evolutionary psychology? PZ Myers also wants to know [αEP: Shut up and sing!. John Wilkins would also like some examples since he's just launched a series of posts defending evolutionary psychology [Evopsychopathy 1. Conditions for sociobiology].

Read more »

What Kind of People Take Vitamins?

"There's a sucker born every minute."

David Hannum
(frequently attributed to P.T. Barnum)For normal healthy people there's no evidence that vitamin supplements are necessary, or helpful, in any way [Good Food, Bad Food]. Megadoses of vitamins may be harmful [A bad week for the nutritional supplements industry].

So, why would anyone fork out good money for vitamin supplements?

Biochemistry instructors should make sure students understand the difference between science and pseudoscience. That's why I inserted boxes like this one in the latest version of my textbook.

Whatever happened to vitamin B4 and vitamin B8? They are never listed in the textbooks but you’ll often find them sold in stores that cater to the demand for supplements that might make you feel better and live longer.

Vitamin B4 was adenine, the base found in DNA and RNA.We now know that it’s not a vitamin. All species, including humans, can make copious quantities of adenine whenever it’s needed (Sections 18.1 and 18.2). Vitamin B8 was inositol, a precursor of several important lipids (Figure 8.16 and Section 9.12C). It’s no longer considered a vitamin.

If you know anyone who is paying money for vitamin B4 and B8 supplements then here’s your chance to be helpful. Tell them why they’re wasting their money.

The 10,000 Mile Diet

This article, Shop locally, eat globally? , appeared in today's edition of our university bulletin. I thought it was worth posting a link because, unfortunately, many of my relatives, friends, and colleagues think you can support a large city by only eating food grown within one hundred miles (161 kilometers).

Pierre Desrochers knows how to serve up controversy. When an acquaintance mentions she follows a 100-mile diet to help the environment, Desrochers calmly asks how much energy it takes to heat an Ontario greenhouse.

When a colleague lauds local food as more nutritious than products shipped thousands of miles, Desrochers politely points out that the diet of a 19th-century German peasant consisted of lentils and peas.

Now, the University of Toronto Mississauga geography professor has published a controversial new book that goes beyond polite mealtime conversation and pits what Desrochers calls the “romanticism” of local eating, or locavorism, against the realities of a global food-supply chain.

Desrochers is the co-author of The Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000-mile Diet, in which he argues that we should stop obsessing about how many miles our food has travelled to get to our dinner plate.

“Three centuries ago most people were eating local food,” Desrochers says. “Why do we think the world moved away from that? There are significant benefits—particularly, environmental and economical—in collaborating to produce food in the best geographic locations.”

Kirsty Duncan MP Objects to "Bias" in the Working Group on CIHR Funding of a Clinical Trial on "Liberation Therapy"

The previous post mentioned a recently published article on "liberation therapy" that referred to it as something akin to faith healing. It criticized the decision by Canada's CIHR to fund a clinical trial on the procedure. One of the authors of that article was Barry Rubin who served on the working group that recommended the trial.

This prompted a letter from Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan to Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR [MP lists concern with CIHR expert]. This is a blatant example of political interference and it should not be tolerated. Duncan should be reprimanded in Parliament.

Dear Alain,

Hello and warm wishes.

I am writing to you in order to bring an urgent issue to your attention. As you know, Dr. Barry Rubin is a member of CIHR's expert working group to study CCSVI. According to CIHR's website, the working group's mandate is: "The scientific expert working group will make recommendations on further studies including, if appropriate, a pan-Canadian interventional clinical trial that would evaluate the safety and efficacy of venous angioplasty in patients with MS, and will provide advice on the protocols to expedite such a trial (e.g. inclusion/exclusion criteria)."

Dr. Rubin is the fourth author on an article, 'The "Liberation Procedure" for Multiple Sclerosis: Sacrificing Science at the Altar of Consumer Demand', in the May, 2012 Journal of the American College of Radiology, Volume 9, Issue 5, Pages 305-308.

Alain, you and I have discussed conflict of interest numerous times before-both at committee and in correspondence. Surely, a member of the scientific expert working group publishing such a paper questioning clinical trials is in conflict with the group's mandate.

It is absolutely imperative that all members of the expert working group be independent, but equally important, be seen as independent, and not to have taken a position. Dr. Rubin can no longer be seen to be an independent judge of the scientific literature, as demonstrated by the conclusion of the paper.

Let me quote from the article, "Although some would agree that a randomized, blinded clinical trial is necessary to settle the issues raised in the controversy surrounding this procedure, others would agree that not all controversial procedures require such an expensive approach. Funding trials of a procedure that has minimal basis in rational, empirical knowledge seems questionable. At this point, the procedure rests in the same category of "medical" management as chelation therapy for atherosclerosis (which failed just such a trial), treatment of breast cancer with laser photodynamics, Laetrile for cancer, and other unproven therapeutics found in the retail sphere. When consumerism and patient advocacy groups pressure the scientific and political establishment, reasonable accommodation is warranted. The question is, What is reasonable? It may be that the operators believe in the therapy as much as the understandably desperate patients. The subsidiary question is, When is healing 'faith healing'?"

I will not comment on the science-or lack thereof-of the above.

It is extremely important to note that the first author of the paper, Dr. Michael Brant-Zawadzki of Hoag Memorial Hospital is being credited with prompting the FDA warning this past week.

There are important questions that need investigation. How did Dr. Brant-Zawadski and Dr. Rubin make contact? Were you apprised that Dr. Rubin was writing the article? Did you read the article pre-publication? When was the article accepted for publication? Were you or other officials at Health Canada and CIHR apprised of the FDA alert, and if so, when? Does CIHR support Dr. Rubin's behaviour? Are you concerned that the FDA alert-and this article-will prejudice/affect the ethical board reviews for CCSVI clinical trials? What action will be taken, as clearly this is a conflict of interest?

There is real concern amongst the CCSVI community that while the government fast-tracked Tysabri-a drug which was known to cause PML, and has now infected 232 people and killed 49 people-, and Gilenya, a drug which has now killed 11 people, and is currently under review in Canada (by the way, I am still waiting to hear from Paul Glover about the process for Health Canada's review of Gilenya)-, the government has been reticent about clinical trials for venous angioplasty, which is performed for Budd-Chiari syndrome, May-Thurner syndrome etc. across this country. Now a key panellist has not only come forward, but also published a paper with tremendous hyperbole, "sacrificing science at the altar", and members of the CCSVI community are concerned that a parallel process is being created-one in which the government says it will undertake clinical trials, while a key player appears to work actively to prevent this.

In closing, Dr. Haacke, Dr. McDonald, and Dr. Zamboni were not included in the August 26th, 2010 joint CIHR-MS Society meeting. The explanation given for their not being included in the meeting was that their work would be discussed, and including them might bias the discussion. Now, we have a member of CIHR's expert working group publishing and questioning clinical trials. Clearly, his position may bias the discussion.

Alain, this is extremely serious, and so, I look forward to hearing from you at the earliest time possible regarding Dr. Rubin's inclusion in the scientific expert working group.

Yours very truly,

Kirsty (Duncan)

Kirsty Duncan does not understand how science works and she does not understand that advocates of quack medicine are the ones who are "biased" against real science. It's not the scientists on the working group who caused the problem.

Canadian Government Allocates Funds to Investigate "Liberation Treatment" for Multiple Sclerosis: Sacrificing Science at the Altar of Consumer Demand

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the main funding agency for health research in Canada. Most of the research in my department is funded by CIHR grants and the number and size of those grants has been shrinking, with disastrous consequences for my colleagues.

Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI or CCVI) is the name of a condition invented by an Italian doctor named Paolo Zamboni. He claims that it is the cause of multiple sclerosis. He also claims to have developed a procedure called "liberation treatment" or "liberation therapy" that will alleviate the symptoms of MS. It involves opening up some of the veins in a patient's neck in order to improve blood flow. He has been treating patients from all over the world for the past few years.

As you might have guessed, the treatment at his clinic is not free.

There has been enormous pressure on the Canadian and provincial governments to fund this treatment for MS patients, who otherwise have no hope of a cure. So far, most provinces have refused to pay for the treatment. In August 2010, CIHR announced that it would not fund research into something that does not exist [CIHR makes recommendations on Canadian MS research priorities].

Ottawa (August 31, 2010) – On Thursday, August 26, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), in collaboration with the MS Society of Canada, convened a meeting of leading North American experts in multiple sclerosis (MS) to identify research priorities for Canada in this area. Today, at a press conference in Ottawa, CIHR President Dr. Alain Beaudet announced the outcomes of the discussions and shared the recommendations he has made to the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health.

"There was unanimous agreement from the scientific experts that it is premature to support pan-Canadian clinical trials on the proposed "Liberation Procedure," said Dr. Beaudet. "There is an overwhelming lack of scientific evidence on the safety and efficacy of the procedure, or even that there is any link between blocked veins and MS."

This is the right decision. Money is scarce and it would be criminal to devote any of it to quackery at the expense of legitimate scientific research.

But there's a catch.

Read more »

The Problem with Psychology

Ed Yong of Not Exactly Rocket Science has just published a scathing criticism of the entire field of psychology [Replication studies: Bad copy]. The fact that this article appears in Nature should be of great concern to all psychologists. Here's the two opening paragraphs.

For many psychologists, the clearest sign that their field was in trouble came, ironically, from a study about premonition. Daryl Bem, a social psychologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, showed student volunteers 48 words and then abruptly asked them to write down as many as they could remember. Next came a practice session: students were given a random subset of the test words and were asked to type them out. Bem found that some students were more likely to remember words in the test if they had later practised them. Effect preceded cause.

Bem published his findings in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP) along with eight other experiments1 providing evidence for what he refers to as “psi”, or psychic effects. There is, needless to say, no shortage of scientists sceptical about his claims. Three research teams independently tried to replicate the effect Bem had reported and, when they could not, they faced serious obstacles to publishing their results. The episode served as a wake-up call. “The realization that some proportion of the findings in the literature simply might not replicate was brought home by the fact that there are more and more of these counterintuitive findings in the literature,” says Eric-Jan Wagenmakers, a mathematical psychologist from the University of Amsterdam.

There's lots more where that comes from. Read the entire article.

One of the most remarkable things about Ed Yong's paper is that he doesn't even mention evolutionary psychology! I think that the absurdity of most evolutionary psychology papers is more than sufficient reason to question whether the entire field is fatally flawed [Boobies and Evolutionary Psychologists].

There's clearly something wrong. Can it be possible that an entire discipline has gone off the rails?¹

1. Saying that there's a problem with a discipline is not the same as saying that there's a problem with every single psychologist. What I'm saying is that the good psychologists don't seem to have the same influence that good biochemists and good evolutionary biologist (mostly) have on their respective disciplines.

The "Reason Rally" Will Have Everything But Reason.

A lot of people are going to Washington next Saturday to stand¹ near the reflecting pool for eight hours listening to short speeches and videos during the Reason Rally.

One of the speakers will be PZ Myers and he is rightly upset about some of the other speakers who don't exactly fit the criterion of "reason." Read what he has to say about Senator Tom Harkin and Bill Maher [The Reason Rally ought to have some standards].

Was Deepak Chopra busy on 24 March? Did Oprah have a hair appointment? Maybe it’s not too late to sign up John Edward — he could channel Ingersoll and Russell and Sagan for us, although of course we’d have to be content with him guessing at their words one letter at a time.

So what's the point of having a "Reason Rally" if you schedule talks from known kooks who oppose reason?

I suspect that a lot of people will be wandering off to look at the cherry blossoms behind the Jefferson Memorial. I hope the size of the crowd isn't an embarrassment.

You can buy a ticket for the seating area in front of the stage if you're willing to pay $500, $1000, or $5000 [VIP Seating].

The God Helmet: Your Brain on Religion

The Centre for Inquiry (Toronto) is trying to get back on track after CFI fired two National Executive Directors and the director of CFI Ontario/Toronto. We've lost our facility on Beverley Street so we now have to meet at various other locations in different parts of the city.

The Freethinkers Skeptics and Atheists (Free[SAY]) at York University have organized a talk on "The God Helmet: Your Brain on Religion" featuring Michael Persinger and his God Helmet. Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia article.

During the 1980s he stimulated people's temporal lobes artificially with a weak magnetic field to see if he could induce a religious state (see God helmet). He claimed that the field could produce the sensation of "an ethereal presence in the room". This research has received wide coverage in the media, with high profile visitors to Persinger's lab Susan Blackmore and Richard Dawkins reporting positive[8] and negative[9] results respectively.

The only published attempt, by a research group in Sweden, to replicate these effects failed to do so and concluded that subjects' reports correlated with their personality characteristics and suggestibility. They also criticised Persinger for insufficient double-blinding.[10] Persinger responded that the Swedish group had an incorrect computer setup,[11] a claim that the Swedish group dispute,[12] and that many of his previous experiments were indeed carried out double-blind,[13] although the Swedish group have also disputed this.[12]

Persinger is also famous for suggesting that "extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information" and for his "1975 Tectonic Strain Theory (TST) of how geophysical variables may correlate with sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) or Marian apparitions." He also claims that women are far more susceptible to his God Helmet than men [Evolution Makes Women Stupid].

To my great embarrassment Michael Persinger won the contest for TV Ontario's Best Lecturer in 2007.

Here's your chance to meet Michael Persinger on Friday March 9, 2012 at York University. The Centre for Inquiry is co-sponsoring the event.

What if we could recreate a religious experience by simply flipping a switch in the brain? What if we could produce the feeling that someone or something is watching over us on demand? According to neuroscientific research conducted with The God Helmet, this may be possible.

The God Helmet, invented by Stanley Koren and used primarily by Dr. Michael Persinger, has forced us to reconsider the neurological basis of religion in the brain. The headgear is controversial because when electromagnetic waves are sent through a subject's temporal lobe, it can create the feeling of a religious experience, or a sense of belonging. “We basically imitate what happens within the brain itself during a mystical experience,” says Dr. Persinger.

In this engaging lecture with guest speakers Trevor Carniello and Dr. Michael Persinger, learn about how The God Helmet works and discover the origin of religious experiences in the brain. Join us in this exclusive opportunity to be able to ask Dr. Persinger questions and find answers to your curiosities about God, the brain and religion.

The lecture takes place on Friday, March 9th at York University. Tickets are available at freesay.wordpress.com. This event is brought to you by Free[SAY]: Freethinkers, Skeptics and Atheists at York in collaboration with the Center For Inquiry.

What's Happening at Centre for Inquiry Canada?

The short answer is, "I don't know." The long answer is, "I don't think anyone else does."

Here's what I know.

Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism (CASS)

CASS continues to meet and there are many projects under way. One of the co-directors, Michael Kruse, resigned because he wasn't happy with the direction that CFI was headed. The other co-director, Iain Martel is carrying on.

Centre for Inquiry Ontario

Right now this branch doesn't exist as far as I can tell. There's no leader and no volunteers are working.

National Executive Director

The acting National Executive Director is Michael Payton. He is struggling to get a grip on the organization after the abrupt departure of Derek Pert a few weeks ago. (Derek was forced to resign when the Board of Directors failed to support him.) The former National Executive Director, Justin Trottier, was fired last September.)

Michael could use a lot of help but there's no room for anyone else in the new office. Don't expect the website to be updated in the near future. Don't expect any memberships to be renewed—and certainly don't expect to be notified if your expires. Don't even expect any email messages from the head office.

Michael is leaving for Singapore in a few months and there's nobody who looks like they could step into his job.

Board of Directors/Associate Members

Three members of the Board of Directors resigned two weeks ago (Carol Parlow, Ian McCuaig, and Michael Gardnier). The remaining Canadian members are: Kevin Smith, Lorne Trottier, Pat O'Brian, and Richard Thain. The representatives from CFI Transnational are Ron Lindsay and Tom Flynn.

The Associate Members elect the Board of Directors. In addition to the current directors and the three who resigned there are six Associate Members: Chris DiCarlo, Jeffrey Rosenthal, Zak Fiddes, Ethan Clow, Bisi Bashorun, and Barry Karr. (Barry Karr is from CFI Transnational.)

As far as I know, only three of these are active: Chris DiCarlo, Jeffrey Rosenthal, and Zak Fiddes.

Sunday Meeting

There's going to be a meeting this Sunday. It was called by a group of Associate Members. The first part of the meeting is between the Board of Directors and the three active Associate Members. The second part of the meeting is a Board meeting.

The main item on the agenda is whether the firing of Justin Trottier was fair. I believe Justin will be at the meeting. There's talk of a plan to re-hire him in some capacity. It's clear that some members of the Board are sympathetic and it's clear that some are adamantly opposed. It doesn't look like the dissention within the Board has gone away after three resignations.

Some of us tried to make the Sunday meeting an open meeting for all members of CFI but that plan met with firm resistance from the Directors.

New Associate Members

There's general agreement that we need new Associate Members. Several people have sent in applications. New members have to be approved by the Board of Directors. They will discuss this at the Sunday meeting.

Rebranding

The rebranding exercise is on hold, and so is everything else.

How Fix CFI Canada

In my opinion, there are two immediate things we need to do to fix CFI.

The first is more openness. To that end I think the December 11th meeting in Toronto should be open to any member of the Centre for Inquiry. The meeting is at 10 am (Sunday). I assume it's at the CFI offices in Toronto.

I expect that several people, including Justin Trottier and the Directors, will want to speak at that meeting. The objective is to explain exactly what's going on and how we got into this mess.

The second thing we need to do is add more Associate Members. Candidates for Associate Membership can send an application to the Board of Directors.¹ The Board must approve these applications. Associate Members elect the Directors. There are only a dozen or so Associate Members and it's not clear how many of them are active in the Centre.

If you have any ideas about what should, or should not, happen next, please bring them up in the comments below.

Check out ...
Ian Bushfield (Vancouver): Beyond CFI Canada–Reasons for optimism

1. You can contact me for the application form.

Is the Burzynski Clinic Full of Quacks?

The Burzynski Clinic is located in Houston, Texas, United States. It charges a lot of money to treat cancer patients and the treatment is probably not effective according to Andy Lewis at The Quackometer: The False Hope of the Burzynski Clinic.

Andy Lewis received a letter from someone named Marc Stephens who claims to represent the Burzynski Clinic. You have to read this letter to understand what's going on [The Burzynski Clinic Threatens My Family].

Le Canard Noir / Andy Lewis,

I represent the Burzynski Clinic, Burzynski Research Institute, and Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski. It has been brought to our attention that you have content on your websites http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2011/11/the-false-hope-of-the-burzynski-clinic.html that is in violation of multiple laws.

Please allow this correspondence to serve as notice to you that you published libelous and defamatory information. This correspondence constitutes a demand that you immediately cease and desist in your actions defaming and libeling my clients.

Please be advised that my clients consider the content of your posting to be legally actionable under numerous legal causes of action, including but not limited to: defamation Libel, defamation per se, and tortious interference with business contracts and business relationships. The information you assert in your article is factually incorrect, and posted with either actual knowledge, or reckless disregard for its falsity.

The various terms you use in your article connote dishonesty, untrustworthiness, illegality, and fraud. You, maliciously with the intent to harm my clients and to destroy his business, state information which is wholly without support, and which damages my clients’ reputations in the community. The purpose of your posting is to create in the public the belief that my clients are disreputable, are engaged in on-going criminal activity, and must be avoided by the public.

You have a right to freedom of speech, and you have a right to voice your opinion, but you do not have the right to post libelous statements regardless if you think its your opinion or not. You are highly aware of defamation laws. You actually wrote an article about defamation on your site. In addition, I have information linking you to a network of individuals that disseminate false information. So the courts will apparently see the context of your article, and your act as Malicious. You have multiple third parties that viewed and commented on your article, which clearly makes this matter defamation libel. Once I obtain a subpoena for your personal information, I will not settle this case with you. Shut the article down IMMEDIATELY.

GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY.

Regards,

Marc Stephens
Burzynski Clinic
9432 Katy Freeway
Houston, Texas 77055

What would a normal person do after receiving such a letter? Ask for more information about the "defamatory" content. That's what Andy Lewis did and here's part of the response.

If you had no history of lying, and if you were not apart of a fraud network I would take the time to explain your article word for word, but you already know what defamation is. I’ve already recorded all of your articles from previous years as well as legal notice sent by other attorneys for different matters. As I mentioned, I am not playing games with you. You have a history of being stubborn which will play right into my hands. Be smart and considerate for your family and new child, and shut the article down..Immediately. FINAL WARNING.

Regards,

Marc Stephens

Yep, that's a threat you see in that paragraph.

Here's a few people who think that the Burzynski Clinic deserves more publicity.

Mike's Weekly Skeptic Rant: Burzynski Clinic - Medical Quacks and Legal Blowhards
Pharyngula: Burzynski Clinic: the domain of scoundrels and quacks
The Quackometer: The Burzynski Clinic Threatens 17 Year Old Blogger
Respectful Insolence: Marc Stephens issues more threats on behalf of the Burzynski Clinic
Science-Based Medicine: Stanislaw Burzynski: Bad medicine, a bad movie, and bad P.R.
Skeptic North: Burzynski Clinic? Meet the Streisand Effect

Whole Life Expo 2011

The 25th Whole Life Expo takes place next weekend in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre [Whole Life Expo 2011].

Skeptics are definitely not welcome as some of them found out last year [Whole Life Expo 2010: A Personal Account]. This year will be different. A small army of skeptics is set to infiltrate the show [Getting Ready for the Whole Life Expo – Toronto, November 25-27].

They're in for a treat. Here are some of the talks you can attend if you have the stomach for it.

Charlotte Szivak, Animal Communicator (Hamilton, Ont.)

Be amazed by some of the hilarious adventures Charlotte has had while talking with animals. Explore through meditation techniques how the language of light will infuse a deeper connection and understanding with your companions. Together, elevate your healing abilities, overcome communication breakdown, and open your heart to infinite possibilities. Charlotte is the producer/host of the radio show “Goddess Alchemy: Divine Magic,” and a spokesperson for the HBSPCA. [I once tried talking to a cat. -LAM]

Dr. Cass Ingram, D.O (Chicago, Ill.)

In the northern forests of Canada are found powerful medicines of nature which everyone can use for better health. Research shows that wild chaga mushroom helps reverse arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, prostate disorders, and more. Wild green extracts are ideal for cleansing the liver, gallbladder and skin. Birch bark reduces obesity and high cholesterol. Wild berries help reverse circulatory disorders, eye diseases, varicose veins, and cancer. Find out how to use wild forest cures to stay healthy forever. [Eat a canoe and live forever. -LAM]

Liala Epstein

Explore the functioning of the human body as a transmitter and receiver of electromagnetic frequencies. Hear why EMF protection and structured water, free of negative energy patterns (from toxins), are vital. Learn about health benefits of water purification and EMF protection that functions using only natural laws. Sample structured water that is rich in bio-photonic energy, endorsed by scientists Dr. Fritz Albert Popp and Dr. Konstantin Korotkov. Sample an Earthcalm Nova Scalar Resonator and feel the difference as you ground to frequencies of the planet’s Schumman Resonance and your body dissipates out stress-inducing electrical currents. [So this is what they mean when they say you're "in tune" with the Earth? -LAM]

Lilly Rahmann (Deux-Montagnes, Quebec)

In this lecture you will learn how to reduce stress using crystals. How to increase your energy flow. How balancing your chakras and aura with crystals can help you keep healthy and happy. Lilly Rahmann is author of “Crystals Healing” and has been teaching and lecturing on crystal healing for many years. She is very passionate about her work on self healing. [Putting salt on my poutine does wonders for my aura. -LAM]

Eminé Piyalé-Sheard (Montreal, Quebec)

Water ionizers have been used in Asia for over 30 years and are certified in Japan and South Korea as an approved medical device. Ionizers produce both alkaline and acidic water that provide numerous health benefits. Drinking alkaline ionized water daily improves hydration, restores pH balance and slows down the aging of our cells. Find out how the quality and quantity of water we drink can have an impact on our overall health and wellness. [This could put homeopathy out of business. -LAM]

Janet Matthews and Alana Hewitt

This talk addresses an awareness of health and healing that is of utmost importance if you are seeking a vibrant and meaningful life. The speakers will discuss healing in its most subtle dimension, as it applies to all levels of your being: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. They will show you how to have unique and profoundly personal experiences of divine presence and guidance through the practice of simple visualization exercises. These techniques are for people of all faiths, and can be used by anyone seeking a more conscious awareness of the healing potential that comes from recognizing the role of divine spirit in their lives.[I guess you're screwed if you're an atheist. -LAM]

Michael Stern, B.A.Biology

Since 1998, when the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded for Redox Signalling, it has become a hot research topic worldwide, second only to stem cell research. With it is realized a new category of cellular communications that promises to make major improvements in health and wellness. A patented product, ASEA, has succeeded in stablizing the body’s native produced Redox Signalling molecules, which are able to replenish those criticial molecules in your cells to restore youthful healing. [Nobel Prize in Medicine 1998 -LAM]

Dr. Andrew Michrowski, PhD (Ottawa, Ont)

How do you cope with the invasion of wireless technologies when dealing with officials, suppliers, school boards, and even your neighbours when confronted with trespasses against you, and the lack of choice. New international government and judiciary interventionss are now on your side, and you can use their support to improve your health. [Do they know that there's WiFi at the Convention Centre? -LAM]

Valery Uvarov (St. Petersburg, Russia)

WHY RUSSIANS ARE BUILDING A PYRAMIDAL COMPLEX IN SIBERIA: In the last 15 years there has been an organized effort in Russia to study ancient technologies from around the globe, especially in Egypt. Studies conducted by top scientists from Russian academia, headed by Mr. Uvarov have made amazing findings. Come and find out why pyramids are being built, how the energy of pyramids and Wands of Horus influence the immune system; how pyramids are antennas and amplifiers of “life force” – energy bands that are beneficial for humans; how the pyramid’s energy field corrects/purifies all materials nearby, especially water; and what will happen in 2012. Mr. Uvarov has published two books about pyramids and the Wands of Horus. [I remember the Wands of Horus ... it's from Zork, right? -LAM]

Paul MacDonald

Would you like to be in perfect balance, physically, mentally, and spiritually? Join Paul MacDonald, preeminent Biontologist in North America, and learn how that balance can be achieved. Every living cell in the body emits biophotonic light. Paul will describe how chaotic light impulses indicate disturbance in the body, and how that light can be neutralized to successfully treat depression, heart disease, migraines, and other symptoms that incoherent light presents. You will also learn how to become a biontologist and set up your own practice. [Does your biophotonic light keep your partner awake at night? -LAM]

I'm tempted to say that you "just can't make this stuff up" but then I realized that's exactly what these quacks are doing! I can see why they they're afraid of skeptics. I wonder if any genuine newspaper reporters will cover this?

Don't Muzzle Our Doctrors

Last summer, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons published a draft proposal on Non-Allopathic (Non-Conventional) Therapies in Medical Practice. It was horrible. As I noted at the time, "The document is flawed from the beginning because it gives credence and respectability to "alternative medicine," otherwise known as non-evidence based medicine or quackery" [Non-Allopathic (Non-Conventional) Therapies in Medical Practice].

Many groups took notice of the draft policy and criticized the Ontario College of Physicians Surgeons for their gutless response to a serious crisis in health. One of those groups was the Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism, a committee of Canada's Centre for Inquiry [Media Advisory: Ontario Doctors Given the Green Light to Promote Quackery]. The members of CASS worked hard to lobby for changes and they co-ordinated their activities with several other groups that are opposed to the weak-kneed position of the College.¹ The College conducted a survey of its members and discovered that 78% of them opposed the draft policy. About one third of the people who filled out the survey were directed to the site by CASS or its allies [Skeptical Activism Sends a Message to CPSO. Very impressive.

Those behind-the-scenes activities had an impact as more and more people voiced their criticism on the FeedBack Site.

All this lobbying convinced the Toronto Star newspaper that something serious was afoot and yesterday, Sunday Nov. 20, 2011, the newspaper published an editorial that sides with science [Don’t muzzle our doctors]. The paper deserves praise for getting it right and giving us hope that science will win in the end..

Patients walk into allergist Dr. David Fischer’s office almost every day expressing interest in trying “natural” therapies. These range from harmless diet changes to the truly bizarre, like applied kinesiology, says the Barrie physician. It’s an experience shared by other doctors. “We’re on the front line of dealing with ideas for which there is often a dearth of scientific evidence.”

Alternative medicine is booming even without much proof it works. A record 20,000 people are expected at Toronto’s Whole Life Expo at the downtown convention centre next weekend. Three-quarters of Canadians regularly use some form of natural health product, opening their wallets to spend at least $4.3 billion yearly. And the herbs and homeopathic tinctures they buy are just one facet of unconventional medicine — a thriving sector encompassing everything from acupuncture to zone therapy (supposedly stimulating the body’s organs through hand or foot massage).

Ontario’s College of Physicians and Surgeons is bending to the trend with a new policy inhibiting doctors’ criticism of unconventional therapies. In doing so it risks encouraging even broader use of dubious and potentially harmful treatments.

Make no mistake — blind trust in alternative cures can be dangerous. An unknown number of Canadians are opting out of science-based medicine to treat even deadly conditions, like cancer, with unproven “natural” approaches.

....

The field of allergy medicine, Fischer’s specialty, is especially prone to alternative approaches. Natural practitioners using applied kinesiology, for example, check for allergy by placing a food item in a patient’s mouth or in their hand. Then they pull down on the person’s free arm to assess its strength. If this “muscle testing” shows notable weakness, the patient is deemed to be allergic.

There is no good evidence that this method works, and no sound scientific reason why it should. Yet patients come in with an interest in that, says Fischer. “I’d like to be able to tell them it’s quackery.”

He may not be in a position to say so much longer under a new policy proposed by the college of physicians and surgeons. It states that doctors are obliged to give a patient their best professional opinion on an alternative treatment goal or decision, but physicians “must refrain from expressing personal, non-clinical judgments.”

....

There’s no denying alternative medicine is immensely popular. Patients are more independent than ever before, often researching their illness and trusting their own solutions. And a host of unconventional “natural” healers has risen capitalizing on that trust — offering unproven therapies with little validity and which, in some cases, are a menace.

The college shouldn’t seek to accommodate that trend or retreat to a neutral corner. Rather it should leave doctors free to punch hard against those peddling dubious cures and to challenge people’s comforting, but irrational, beliefs. Science-based medicine serves patients best. If doctors can’t vigorously defend it, who will?

1. I'm a member of CASS but I had nothing to do with this campaign.

Evolutionary Psychology Crap in New Scientist

Here are the opening paragraphs of an article published in the most recent issue of New Scientist [Domestic violence gets evolutionary explanation].

What can evolution tell us about domestic violence? Two researchers in the US suggest such violence has ancient origins and that establishing evolution's role could help to better identify those at risk. Others argue that the research makes simplistic assumptions, and warn that some people will interpret the research as an excuse for violence.

Each year more than 500,000 women in the US alone report to the police violent attacks by current or former male partners. There is a reason why domestic violence is so widespread, says David Buss, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Texas in Austin: it carries a selective advantage, tied with reproductive success. In other words, men who are violent are trying to make sure that their partner has his child and not another man's.

Let's think about this for a minute.

In order for violence against women to have a selective advantage there has to be an important genetic component. Let's imagine a time back in hunter-gather days when there were two groups of men who differed in their violence-against-women alleles. One group was kind and considerate toward their female companions. They treated them with respect. The other group treated women as property and often beat them in order to prevent imagined infidelity. Somehow the violent group managed to mate more frequently and/or have more children than the kind group so the allele for kindness and respect was eliminated from the population.

Lots of things had to happen in order for this scenario to play out as the evolutionary psychologists imagine. For example, women had to prefer to have children with men who would beat them. (Or maybe they were forced to mate with the violent men.). Furthermore, there had to be no consequences for the men who beat their mates. The other members of the group had to tolerate that behavior even if they found it repulsive.

If the scenario is correct then most men—including you and I—have to carry the violence-against-women allele since it was selected in the past. This seems very strange since most men don't beat their wives.¹ I guess we have learned to suppress the genetic urge. But why would we do that if it's a selective advantage to engage in domestic violence?

There's something seriously wrong with evolutionary psychology. And there's something seriously wrong with respectable science magazines who promote this crap.

There's also something seriously wrong with men who engage in domestic violence. They are assholes who deserve very little sympathy from the rest of society. I suspect they got no sympathy in ancient hunter-gather societies either. There is no gene that makes you act like an asshole. That's all due to nurture and it can be changed if we put our minds to it.

1. At least I think this is true. When was the last time you beat your wife or girlfriend?

Revisiting the Central Dogma in the 21st Century

James A. Shapiro is an interesting character. He claims that he is opposed to both neo-Dawinism and Creationism (upper case "C") and he claims to offer a "Third Way." That "third way" appears to be indistinguishable from Intelligent Design Creationism although Shapiro never admits to being an advocate of intelligent design. Instead, he prefers to let his "science" do the talking and points out that it's science that leads us to the conclusion that life is designed.

Shapiro has published scientific articles with Richard Sternberg who advocates a similar position but who has become one of the poster boys of the Discovery Institute and one of the stars of the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Like Sternberg, Shapiro is admired by IDiots [Non-supernatural ID?: University of Chicago microbiologist James Shapiro works with ID guys, dismisses Darwinism, offers third way].

One of the characteristics Shapiro shares with the IDiots is attacking evolution. In this post I want to review a paper he published in 2009 on "Revisiting the Central Dogma in the 21st Century" (Shapiro, 2009).

The correct version of the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology is:

... once (sequential) information has passed into protein it cannot get out again (F.H.C. Crick, 1958)

The central dogma of molecular biology deals with the detailed residue-by-residue transfer of sequential information. It states that such information cannot be transferred from protein to either protein or nucleic acid. (F.H.C. Crick, 1970)

In other words, the flow of information is from nucleic acid to protein and never from protein to nucleic acid.

The incorrect version of the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology is what Crick referred to as the "Sequence Hypothesis" and what we now know as a simplified version of the standard pathway for information flow from genes that specify a protein product. The incorrect version is often presented in textbooks as the real Central Dogma although that's slowly changing [The Central Dogma Strawman].

None of this should be a problem for someone who is writing a scholarly article for the scientific literature since we expect such a person to have read the relevant references (Crick, 1958; Crick, 1970). They should get it right. Let's see how Shapiro does when he says ...

The concept was that information basically flows from DNA to RNA to protein, which determines the cellular and organismal phenotype. While it was considered a theoretical possibility that RNA could transfer information to DNA, information transfer from proteins to DNA, RNA, of other proteins was considered outside the dogma and "would shake the whole intellectual basis of molecular biology [Crick, 1970].

That sounds pretty good but the first part is a little troubling. Which version does Shapiro actually believe he's "revisiting"?

Read more »

Shame on Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is a non-profit organization charged with the responsibility of collecting and managing the blood supply for Canadians (except Québécois). They have a website called What's Your Type: Find out what your blood type says about you ...

Here are the answers.

Type A: So, you’re an A. You already know that having type A blood suggests that you are reliable, a team player and may benefit from a vegetarian diet*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type A blood originated in Asia or the middle east between 25,000 and 15,000 BC?

Type B: So, you’re a B. You already know that having type B blood suggests that you are independent, a self-starter and may benefit from a wholesome well-balanced diet*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type B blood appeared between 15,000 and 10,000 BC in the Himalayas?

Type AB: So, you’re an AB. You already know that having type AB blood suggests that you are organized, friendly and may enjoy a vegetarian or wholesome well-balanced diet*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type AB blood did not originate until 900-1000 years ago and came into existence when eastern Mongolian invaders overran the last of European civilization?

Type O: So, you’re an O. You already know that having type O blood suggests that you might be competitive, goal oriented and a real meat eater*. Did you also know that anthropologists believe that type O is the oldest and most common blood type, originating in Southern Africa?

I bet there's lots of stuff there that you didn't know. I was particularly intrigued by the genetic data. Did you know that humans were originally Type O—the null allele? Only later did mutations arise that created the active N-acetylaminogalactosyltransferase enzyme (Type A).¹

Theme

ABO Blood TypesI was shocked to learn that Mongolians overran the last of European civilization in 1000 AD. I'm a bit of a history buff, especially European history, and this nasty little fact completely escaped my notice. How come the citizens of Western Europe didn't notice that they were overrrun by Mongolians? And how come the history books say the main Mongolian invasions were in about 1220 AD?

1. All knowledgeable scientists agree that this is the primitive allle, present in all primates. Subsequent mutations created the null allele (O) and the B allele, which is a modified version of the wild-type allele. I assume that Canadian Blood Services must be in possession of very recent information that overthrows all those previous scientific papers.

Non-Allopathic (Non-Conventional) Therapies in Medical Practice

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has produced a draft policy on Non-Allopathic (Non-Conventional) Therapies in Medical Practice. The document is flawed from the beginning because it gives credence and respectability to "alternative medicine," otherwise known as non-evidence based medicine or quackery.

The policy is designed to provide guidelines for physicians who are: (1) tempted to employ non-evidence based medicine, (2) tempted to condone non-evidence based medicine in situations where it might harm patients. We all recognize that front-line physicians face these issues all the time and they often find themselves in a position where they disagree with the choices their patients are making.

However, most physicians don't hesitate to tell you that you should stop smoking. They seem to enjoy lecturing you on the benefits of diet and exercise even when it's clear that a patient prefers a different lifestyle. Why should it be any different when a patient reveals that they are taking homeopathic concoctions or when they refuse to vaccinate their children. Don't physicians have a professional responsibility to inform their patients that they are making unwise decisions?

The draft policy address these issues but it does so in a way that's far too lenient toward quack medicine. To begin with, it defines allopathic medicine as,

Different operative terms have been adopted that were deemed to be value-neutral: ‘Allopathic medicine’ refers to traditional or conventional medicine (as taught in medical schools) and ‘non-allopathic therapies’ refer to complementary or alternative medicine.

This is idiotic. "Allopathic" medicine is NOT a value-neutral term. It's the term used by homoepathic quacks to describe medicine that uses drugs to treat patients. By adopting this terminology, the College of Physicians and Surgeons is playing right into the hands of the quacks.

Allopathic Medicine: refers to the type of treatment, diagnostic analysis and conceptualization of disease or ailment that is the primary focus of medical school curricula and which is generally provided in hospitals and specialty or primary care practice.

Non-Allopathic Therapies (Non-Conventional Therapies): refers to a broad range of procedures or treatments that are not commonly used in allopathic medicine; this includes those referred to as complementary or alternative. Non-allopathic therapies tend to differ from allopathic medicine in terms of diagnostic techniques, theories of illness and disease, and treatment paradigms. The categorization of specific therapies as non-allopathic is fluid: as clinical evidence regarding efficacy is accumulated, certain non-allopathic therapies may gain broad acceptance and thus be accepted in allopathic medicine.

I work in a medical school. The operative phase is "evidence-based medicine" and I suspect that's a term used in most medical schools in Ontario. That's what is taught in medical schools and hospitals and that's how you describe proper medicine.

The opposite of evidence-based medicine is "non-evidence-based treatment." Those are not "value-neutral" terms. They are something different—it's called "truth," and truth is not neutral. The College of Physicians and Surgeons needs to acquire some gumption and stand up for what's being taught in the medical schools and stand up for science. This draft policy is ridiculous, it announces that the College is abandoning science and evidence in favor of condoning quackery.

Here's how the draft policy would read if we substitute the true definitions.

Respect Patient Autonomy

Patients are entitled to make treatment decisions and to set health care goals that accord with their own wishes, values and beliefs. This includes decisions to pursue or to refuse evidence-based or non-evidence based therapies.

The College expects physicians to respect patients’ treatment goals and decisions, even those which physicians deem to be unfounded or unwise. In doing so, physicians should state their best professional opinion about the goal or decision, but must refrain from expressing non-clinical judgements.

Nothing has been lost by using "evidence-based" instead of "allopathic." Now, let's look at the meaning of this policy statement.

It's classic gobbledygook because it confuses "respect" with "responsibility." Physicians are not obliged to "respect" parents who refuse to give their child a life-saving blood transfusion. They aren't obliged to "respect" parents who deny their children vaccinations. They certainly don't "respect" parents who abuse their children. And I've never encountered a physician who "respects" smokers and drug users, have you?

Lots of patients don't earn respect and don't deserve it.

Read the guideline carefully as I amended it. If they were adhered to, then no physician could possibly recommend non-evidence based therapies since that would conflict with their professional opinion (or, at least it should). But later on we read,

Providing Non-Allopathic Therapies

When providing non-allopathic therapies, physicians are expected to demonstrate the same commitment to clinical excellence and ethical practice, as they would when providing allopathic care.

What the heck is that all about? The policy should read ...

Any physician who provides non-evidence based therapies (especially for a fee) will be subject to charges of professional misconduct and may lose his/her license to practice medicine in Ontario.

That's the only sensible policy that's consistent with what's written elsewhere in the document. You simply can't provide non-evidence-based therapies while maintaining "a commitment to clinical excellence and ethical practice." That's oxymoronic.

The Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism (CASS) is very interested in this issue. Read what Michael Kruse has to say on his blog Skeptic North: Ontario Doctors Given Green Light to Promote Quackery.

I would not be writing this if I thought we could do nothing to oppose and change the viewpoint of the CPSO. That is why CASS is calling on members of both the public and the medical field to read the policy and comment on it. There is strong representation in the current comments of supporters of alternative medicine and we do not want all of the feedback to be pro-pseudoscience. Please visit the CPSO policy site above and fill out the comment form available at the bottom of the page. The deadline for this consultation is September 1st 2011, so we must move quickly and let the CPSO know the safety of Ontarians depends upon sound medical opinion based on modern scientific evidence.

Please voice your opinion at Feedback: Non-Allopathic Therapies draft policy. Your response has to sent by email to ThirdPartyProcesses@cpso.on.ca. I have no idea how much censorship is applied to the responses they post—I suspect it's considerable so don't expect criticisms to appear on the website.

Do Not Vote for the Anti-Science Green Party

There is no party platform that perfectly reflects my views on all issues. However, there is one thing I look for when deciding to support a political party and that's how they arrive at a particular policy. Is it scientific? Does the policy depend on evidence, healthy skepticism, and rational thinking?

The Green Party of Canada has outlined their platform in a document called Vision Green. Here's what they say in the introduction ...

Vision Green presents a well-researched analysis of critical environmental, economic and social challenges facing Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and presents practical solutions that can be achieved if there is the political will and leadership to take forward-looking action. It was developed by our Green Cabinet and was informed by experts, activists and citizens who participated in policy workshops held across Canada. Our vision is based on policies approved by the membership of the Green Party.

Sound promising. They don't actually say that their policies are based on sound scientific reasoning but it sounds like "well-researched" might be a synonym for "good science."

As you scan this document you encounter many positions that seem somewhat dogmatic and considerably beyond what the scientific evidence actually says. The Green Party is opposed to genetically engineered organisms, for example, and they propose to, "Phase out the use of genetically modified food products and ‘terminator’ seeds" (p. 74).

The Green Party is opposed to nuclear power and advocates a ban on new nuclear power plants and a shut-down of existing ones. The party proposes to ban uranium mining and refining. While some of their arguments are valid, the overall tone does not sound scientific.

But the real give-away comes when the document discusses health care. Here's one of the promises from page 70.

Provide funds to expand provincial health insurance to cover proven alternative therapies that are less expensive and invasive such as chiropractic, massage, acupuncture.

It is simply not true that these "alternative therapies" are proven in any scientific sense. What this tells me is that the Green Party platform is not based on scientific reasoning.

That's disappointing.

Everybody wants to promote good health. It's a motherhood issue. What's important is whether a political party has a realistic policy to achieve this goal. Most don't but the Green Party actually makes things worse ...

Health promotion is about more than health care or health education. It is about recognizing the profound health impacts of determinants of health outside the formal healthcare system and working with many stakeholders (policy-makers, NGOs, health agencies, multiple levels of government, the private sector, and most important, affected communities themselves) to reduce, eliminate, or overcome those factors that harm health or act as barriers to health enhancement, and to promote those factors that enhance the health, well-being and quality of life of all Canadians.

We will promote complimentary health care – through support of chiropractic, naturopathic, homeopathic, and other non-western practices. The Green Party of Canada recognizes the value of good health as a fundamental human right, and also the key to the most vibrant, inclusive and sustainable Canadian society possible.

I will never vote for a political party that promotes naturopathy and homeopathy in such a prominent manner. Naturopathy and homeopathy are examples of anti-science quack medicine. The fact that the leaders of the party would even include this in their platform tells me that scientific thinking is not part of their worldview and it calls into question their positions on everything else.

The Green Party wants to use my tax dollars to support these quacks.

Expand healthcare coverage to include qualified complementary/alternative health professionals such as naturopaths, acupuncturists, homeopaths, licensed massage therapists, chiropractors, and dietitians.

This is very wrong.

Do not vote for the Green Party. If you want to cast a protest vote then spoil your ballot or vote for some other party that cannot be elected in your riding. Every vote for the Green Party is a vote against science.

[Hat Tips: Zak at Canadian Atheist: The Green Party Platform and Mitchell Gerskup at Skeptic North: Voting Green? Read This.]

The Lost Art of Wit and Sarcasm

PZ Myers on Salon reviews a book that I'm never going to read [David Brooks' dream world for the trust-fund set]. Unfortunately he uses language and style that's probably far above the heads of those who need convincing. But it's loads of fun.

I made it almost a third of the way through the arid wasteland of David Brooks' didactic novel, "The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement," before I succumbed. I had begun reading it determined to be dispassionate and analytic and fair, but I couldn't bear it for long: I learned to loathe Harold and Erica, the two upscale avatars of upper-middle-class values that Brooks marches through life in the story. And then I began to resent the omniscient narrator who narrates this exercise in unthinking consumption and privilege that is, supposedly, the ideal of happiness; it's like watching a creepy middle-aged man fuss over his Barbie and Ken dolls, posing them in their expensive accessories and cars and houses and occasionally wiggling them in simulated carnal relations (have no worries, though: Like Barbie and Ken, no genitals appear anywhere in the book), while periodically pausing to tell his audience how cool it all is, and what is going on inside his dolls' soft plastic heads.

I did manage to work my way through the whole book, however, by an expediency that I recommend to anyone else who must suffer through it. I simply chanted to myself, "Die, yuppie scum, die," when I reached the end of each page, and it made the time fly by marvelously well. In addition, there is a blissful moment of catharsis when you reach the last page and one of the characters does die, although it isn't in a tragic explosion involving a tennis racket, an overdose of organic fair-trade coffee, and an assassination squad of rogue economists at Davos, as I was hoping. That's not a spoiler, by the way; the book is supposed to be all about the happy, productive life histories of Harold and Erica, from birth to death, so it's no surprise that at least one dies. It is incomplete, in that the other one survives ... an unsatisfying ending that I could happily resolve with one more bloody page, and that represents the only case I can imagine in which I'd ever ask David Brooks to write another word.