tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914013211159822274.post3172354309407831757..comments2015-08-25T21:50:36.503+01:00Comments on Violetta Crisis: Bad MOSI, No Biscuit.Vickyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11713978747815185893noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914013211159822274.post-66060116382068245412010-11-06T20:31:58.011+00:002010-11-06T20:31:58.011+00:00I guess I should also mention that we were there t...I guess I should also mention that we were there together and discussed it, so our stories and opinions aren't totally independent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914013211159822274.post-46144920112092720922010-11-06T20:08:45.083+00:002010-11-06T20:08:45.083+00:00It's also worth mentioning the conference post...It's also worth mentioning the conference posters dotted about the room. They give a lovely air of scienciness, but they a stage of dissemination before even informal peer-review and presented outside the context of the vast body of existing research. They're just some guy eulogising his pet project, and putting them in the MOSI exhibit made me feel the NIMH is more interested in the appearance of science than its results.<br /><br />For what it's worth, when I saw the "medicinal plants are endangered" display, my first thought was "so are rhinos".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914013211159822274.post-31612903028066053442010-11-05T20:53:27.313+00:002010-11-05T20:53:27.313+00:00Andrew Taylor of Apathy Sketchpad, who also saw it...Andrew Taylor of <i>Apathy Sketchpad</i>, who also saw it, says much the same. He <a href="http://www.twitlonger.com/show/6qepol" rel="nofollow">posted on Twitlonger</a> that:<br /><br />"[The leaflets were worrying in] A few different ways. Some claimed herbalism treats people rather than symptoms, a completely meaningless statement and favourite canard of homeopaths. One said that the remedies were based on the "balance" between the plants' constituents, thereby avoiding the side-effects of pharmaceuticals made from the same active ingredients — false, dangerous, and contradicting the more laudable claims the main exhibit made. Several of the businesses offer other, even less evidence-based therapies such as acupuncture, and advertised these in the leaflets at MOSI. In short, if the NIMH wanted to use the scientific end of the herbalism spectrum as a means to lend their less reasonable practices credibility, then they could do worse than getting this literature into a science museum, whence it will be taken home and read long after the exhibit is forgotten."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com