Friday, April 17, 2015

Dr Who?

Actually Dr Oz. What a name. he always makes me think of that other movie, mostly the man behind the curtain. I know Oprah made him famous but I was never very impressed with him. He's too skinny and there's something about his smile that makes me think about a snake-oil salesman.

But anyway, his colleagues at Columbia want to get rid of him - because  he is:

"a fake and a charlatan." Dr. Henry Miller of Stanford University went on to say that Columbia University must be "star-struck and like having on their faculty the best-known doctor in the country."

You can read about the scientific validity of what he does:

"Popular Science and The New Yorker have expressed criticism of Oz for giving "non-scientific" advice. These criticisms include questioning if he is "doing more harm than good".
 
The James Randi Educational Foundation has awarded Oz with their Pigasus Award, an award intended "to expose parapsychological, paranormal or psychic frauds that Randi has noted over the previous year." The award consists of a silver flying pig and refers to claiming something so doubtful that it will only happen "when pigs fly". Oz has been given this award on three separate occasions, more than any other recipient..."

The third time he received it for refusal to face reality for his continued promotion of "quack medical practices, paranormal belief, and pseudoscience".

My favorite part is that:

"Oz has countered that he is a proponent of alternative medicine and has stated that he makes great efforts to inform viewers that he neither sells nor endorses any supplements. He also created the organization "OzWatch" as a way for viewers to report scams. Ozwatch has received more than 35,000 complaints and has issued 600 cease and desist letters."

Really, 600 cease and desist letters? And:

A study published in the British Medical Journal on the effectiveness of Oz's medical advice found that 51 percent of his recommendations had no scientific backing and rationale, or in some cases contradicted scientific evidence.
And didn't he learn from the 2014 Senate hearings on some other quackery? So why is he on TV and teaching medicine?

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