About
gimpy can be contacted at gimpy.gimpy at hotmail dot co.uk. Corrections of spelling and grammar especially welcome.
I reserve to the right to publish any emails, in part or in their entirety, unless specifically requested otherwise.
Due to a slip of the keyboard I mistyped my email address above, it’s fixed now.
PS I know I am often arrogant, self-righteous and strident so there is no need to continually point this out to me.
PPS Any off topic comments will now be deleted from this page as of 03/02/2009 (that’s 3rd Feb American readers). The only permitted comments will be sycophantic flattery or outrageous abuse.
PPPS Hello homeopaths *waves* – I blog anonymously, google will not help you.
SciencePunk said
I’m sorry, the position of irascible witty science blogger is already taken!
gimpy said
Sir, I challenge you to a duel. There can be only one.
Ian McNulty said
PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING
The gimp says “Corrections of spelling and grammar especially welcome.” But if you’re foolish enough to take him at his word you’ll find yourself being called a troll and all sorts of other nasty names.
Which begs the question, can you believe a word he says about anything?
Norbury said
He didn’t call you a troll until sometime later, when you started seriously trolling, from what I can see of that.
Ian McNulty said
Norbury,
Anyone who follows the link and looks at the comments for themselves can see that my first ever post to this forum, which dealt only with spelling and grammar, was on December 20, 2007 at 10:43 am.
Gimpys post in which he used the word “troll” comes only 8 mins later and immediately after mine.
What you can see is therefore 180 degrees out of phase with the truth.
When I discover so many people harping on about evidence-based medicine who can’t even assess straightforward evidence sitting right in front of their noses, then I start to think that the homoeopaths might well be right.
nash said
Gimpy
Your bad grammar is something up with which he will not put.
phayes said
“Your bad grammar is something up with which he will not put.”
Which doesn’t “beg the question”: why does Gimpy put up with this kook (not troll)? If nothing else, his worthless posts are making it harder to follow what’s going on by looking at the Recent Comments column.
projektleiterin said
I like to point out that people are wrong. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings of moral superiority.
sebastian larsen said
I love you!
brucehood said
Hi Gimpy (it just seems so wrong to call you that!)
I thought you might appreciate looking at this book when it comes out in June in the UK.
http://brucemhood.wordpress.com/about-supersense/
No matter whether you are a believer or a skeptic, it has something really important to say from the world of child development about the origins of adult belief.
Best
Bruce
mary said
As someone who has been helped tremendously by Homeopathy when other mediations failed, I am so shocked and dissapointed to see this attempt to bash Homeopathy.
i have been healed from Poison Ivy, Arthritis, IBS and poor energy.
If you are claiming that there is nothing in Homeopathy, then why these extreme measures to squelch it.
I feel it is very complimentary to Allopathic meds in many cases also, I’ve seen it palliate the ill effects of Chemotherapy and Steroid use in general.
Mary
Chris said
Mary there is an old saying: The plural of anecdote is not data.
Come up with some real studies that have been reviewed and approved by people who are not biased and not homeopaths of homeopathy actually curing a non-self limiting condition, and then you might convince us. Because while you are on some very strong and very real medication, any comfort you felt was more than likely a placebo effect.
ccollins said
well, it doesn’t matter to me who says what! those who oppose homeopathy are just losing out and have to resort to *mostly innefective, suppressive drugs which result in side effects. causing more need for*
need i say more???????????
Jean said
Been a Medic for 48 years, a homeopath for 20. Homeopathy is so often the treatment of choice . A homeopath should be part of every Health Care Team . Does require quite a brilliant intellect experience and study to practice well but such job satisfaction and happy clients .
Also a way to go for those prone to nasty side effects of many drugs.
Chris said
Jean said “Does require quite a brilliant intellect ..”
Are you guys so intent on following Mr. Sherr’s call to post willy-nilly on Gimpy’s blog that you don’t even read which post you are dumping on?
Do you have a clue as to how stupid it is to claim to have a “brilleant itellect” when you cannot even find the offending blog posts?
Chris said
(oops, forgot to spellcheck on a post where I question the iNtellect of a homeopath… very embarrassing, sorry)
Paul said
Hehe… Been a man of ≤ mediocre intelligence for 28 years; droolingly, knuckle-scrapingly moronic for 20.
Goldacre fan said
Couldn’t see your email address so guess I’m going blind. A hyperlink contained in your BACP note has been moved – do you have a copy?
Toxdom said
Always worth being open minded. Just because certain treatments cannot be explained at the moment, doesn’t mean that they have to be dismissed as a placebo effect. How paracetamol work is still unknown, isn’t homeopathy part of the same? What is inexcusable, is attempting to explain how it works without having a f**king clue.
Toxdom said
‘work*s*’
Nash said
“How paracetamol work is still unknown,…” The exact mechanism has not been determined, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol
“.. isn’t homeopathy part of the same?”
Not really. Suggested mechanisms are frankly rubbish.
Beermonkey said
Paracetemol is a COX 1/2 antagonist, isn’t it? Just not a terribly effective one, which is why you have to take a gram of it before anything starts to happen. Find me a single cellular receptor turned on or off by a homoeopathic remedy and I’ll start to take it seriously.
Not counting ones involved in lactose digestion.
draust said
Paracetamol is not a COX 1/2 inhibitor. This is why its painkilling effects are not the same as those of the NSAIDS or aspirin, and also why paracetamol does not have the unwanted effects (like gastrointestinal bleeding) associated with NSAIDS/aspirin. The latest view is that paracetamol inhibits a different COX enzyme, COX-3, which was discovered later than COX 1/2. See e.g.:
http://www.pharmweb.net/pwmirror/pwy/paracetamol/pharmwebpicmechs.html
Because of the lack of GI side effects, paracetamol tends to be the first-line recommendation for mild to moderate pain, e.g. for people with bad backs.
draust said
PS Because paracetamol and (e.g.) ibuprofen act by different mechanisms, you can actually take them together for more serious pain, as long as you stick to the recommended dose of both. The major problems with paracetamol in use tend to be if people take it at the same time as taking “branded” / over-the-counter products which are really paracetamol, of which there are many. Of course, the same problem of brand-name products containing the same drug as prescription pills also arises with ibuprofen and aspirin.
BTW, it almost goes without saying, but always bears re-stating, that the main difference between “mainstream” medicines and the herbal ones is not so much unknown mechanism, but proper TRIALS and TESTING.
Beermonkey said
Fair enough, I stand corrected.
Dr Aust said
Sorry if I was lecturing. Occupational hazard.
Warhelmet said
Suppositories.
Toxdom said
I think for paracetamol the Cox-3 theory has been generally discarded. My point being that whether for a drug or a homeopathic remedy, the likelyhood of one being specific (NOT selective) for a single receptor/ ion channel etc is extremely unlikely. Give me an eg. of a drug that hits 1 protein and nothing else….
draust said
Fascinating story on the paracetamol mechanism. Have just been having a brief trawl of the recent literature
Of course, the difficulty of working out what is going on with just one chemical compound highlights the likely problems when giving “herbal” remedies containing tens or possibly hundreds of bio-active compounds, often given in imprecise and variable amounts.
And neither conventional medicine or herbalism are in the least bit like homeopathy. There is a “parsimonious” and straightforward explanation of how homeopathy appears to work that is consistent with all the published literature. Namely that homeopathy is a placebo, or a kind of “stealth psychotherapy” if you are talking classical homeopathy with multiple sessions with the guru-healer-homeopath.
Indi said
What continues to astound me is all that ‘water has a memory so there doesn’t need to be an effective dose present as the water molecules still resonate with the properties of the active ingredients’. Haven’t these people ever studied the water cycle?! All the water around has been recycled through the bodily fluids of countless organisms – what about the memories of the faeces that the water was once in contact with! Have you heard of Mitchell and Webb, British comedians – google or do a youtube search for their names and homeopathy, what you will find is pure genius. Good luck with trying to overcome all this misinformation!