What a fine mess this turned into. And on my birthday, too.
For the record, GaWd, I think this bears repeating:
I believe that earlier I gave the impression that I (and Quackwatch) was claiming that all Chiropractic was nonsense. This is obviously untrue, as bnorton pointed out. I apologise for any misrepresentation.
Since Lamar Mundane came back but decided not to respond to any of my comments on his last post, I’ll take that to mean he has given up on the debate which started this thread. Too bad.
Unfortunately, it’s TOO big, and TOO ugly, no matter when, and no matter where. I just don’t have the time, or the energy to engage in such nonsense these days. Ugliness doesn’t suit me well.
Good thing, GaWd, because as a student of microbiology and a future something-or-other-of-public-health, I’d be ripping you a new one pretty quick. (I read the “biostatistical train wreck” mentioned above. Hoo-boy.)
However, I am plodding my way through finals week right now. Curses!
Actually, a large number of “alternative medicine” webpages already do that. Often using less truthful examples than the ones you mentioned above. Such sites litter the internet already, so your “how would you skeptics feel” pretty much falls on bent ears.
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These two titles do not seem extreme in the least, and they are very well argued. The other arguements have a large amount of merit to them as well.
Sorry, but blanket dismissals like this do not give you any credibility. The titles and articles you listed have sound reasoning, and when there is merit to an “alternaitve treatment” he says so. Unfortunately, such proven effectiveness is rare.
By contrast, the alternative medice market vastly oversells itself. Things that could be reasonable ideas quickly evolve into solutions for every disease known to man. Without a site like Quackwatch, such rampant overselling would go unchecked.