Over at Denialism Blog is chapter of a rather great book by Dr Ben Goldacre – It’s run by Mark Hoofnage who writes:
In order to help spread the word about a dangerous altie quack and HIV/AIDS denier who is responsible for probably hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths from AIDS in Africa, I’m reproducing The Doctor Will Sue You Now, here on denialism blog.
The chapter, removed from Ben Goldacre’s new book Bad Science due to libel litigation from the quack, Matthias Rath, in response to Goldacre’s description of his activities in Africa and around the world. Another profile of a crank, this one goes a long way to show the extent to which denialism can damage a country and even cost thousands of lives.
It’s fascinating reading, and important for people to know about. And make sure to check out Ben’s book!
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You can also get it on Ben’s blog, its a great read and he has allowed free distribution, which is rather nice of him,
Go Ben!
sounds good. X
I’ve heard a lot about this Mathias Rath character, and I think it’s shocking how snake oil salesmen have the gall to sue respectable medics, especially over something this widely acepted.
Kudos to Ben Goldacre for going after him…
With respect to everyone, the “AIDS denialism” topic is much more complex than Ben Goldacre might let you believe. Since 1980s dozens of books were written by different scientists and journalists; “Impure Science”, “Science Fictions”, “When AIDS Began”, “Science Sold Out”, “The Origin, Persistence and Failings of HIV/AIDS Theory”, “The Gravest Show on Earth: America in the Age of AIDS”, “Good Intentions; How big business and the medical establishment are corrupting the fight against AIDS”, “Goodbye AIDS” etc. etc. There is also a fresh documentary called “House of Numbers” currently running in festivals around the US. Should be pretty interesting.
I don’t know the details of Matthias Rath’s story. I think it’s likely that there might be a profit factor involved as a motivation, but this doesn’t mean that there is nothing wrong with HIV/AIDS science, or the AIDS policies in Africa.
I know for certain that the parts of Goldacre’s text criticizing Thabo Mbeki, the former South African President, and Anthony Brink is terribly biased and flawed. Needless to say, it’s the same with the accusations about the how many deaths were caused by “denialists”. It’s bad science, to put it simply. And is horribly misleading.
If anyone really cares about this topic, I can give many references about how pathetic the “AIDS science” really is. Let me also remind you that as I’m writing this comment, the latest blog post in this blog is about this scientific fact:
“…Decades of research show people tend to go along with the majority view, even if that view is objectively incorrect…”
I believe this is what “AIDS science” suffers from, and Ben Goldacre too, at least when it comes to Mbeki’s position.
Since I doubt that any reader or any of the blog administrators will ask me for more information or bother to do their own research on such a risky* topic (am I wrong?) here’s a small glance into the real reasons for all the propogandaishly-named “denialism” (could be called critical thinking or questioning if one is objective): http://www.tig.org.za/pdf-files/debating_azt.pdf
That is a 194 pages long pdf document. If that is too long for you try this shorter one, 12 pages: http://www.tig.org.za/Mbeki%20Eng%20new.pdf
Of course you don’t have to click on those links and really read all that heresy, but I just wanted to make it a bit easier for you to think for yourself and take a critical look at the “common wisdom” surrounding HIV/AIDS policies. It’s up to your brain cells what you’ll do with this information now… Ben Goldacre’s brain either had no access to this information or it failed to take it in for some other reason.
*: You wouldn’t want to risk finding yourself belonging to a minority would you? Brrrh… Horrible thought! It makes life terribly complicated. Best to avoid it and live a relatively trouble-free life… No?
I’ve just started reading Bad Science and am so pleased that it has made it onto these pages already as I was about to post regarding it. As well as the HIV/AIDS chapter, it also has chapters on Brain Gym (I am a teacher and I refuse to teach this nonsense), homeopathy, bad stats and the MMR Hoax. It is an enlightening book and I can’t recommend it highly enough.