Comments for Good, Bad, and Bogus

Comment on Pot causes psychosis? Not so fast… by Michael

Michael — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:21:00 +0000

That’s a good point. It seems like what evidence there is for a link between cannabis and psychosis is all about young people.

Alex Wodak made some predictably sensible comments on the issue. In Australian Doctor magazine, he made the following comments.

“Dr Alex Wodak, director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, said policies regarding cannabis should be based on the assumption that it caused psychosis, even though the absolute risk was very small. However, the contribution that alcohol and amphetamines made to mental illness ‘dwarfs any contribution that cannabis might make’.”

Comment on Pot causes psychosis? Not so fast… by Terry Wright

Terry Wright — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:00:17 +0000

Great article Michael.

What struck me first and foremost was that the report was purely about young people. I think many folks comprehend that smoking dope is probably not healthy for under 21 year olds and the issue is not in contention. The major issue is whether cannabis in moderation is relatively harmless for adults who don’t have a negative reaction to it’s effects. The report does not answer this vital question or even really address it. And that’s the point … it wasn’t about adult cannabis use.

Most of the trash media didn’t distinguish between the two age groups whilst some of the more credible news bureaux did. It seems the bulk of the media are still content to push drug hysteria and moral panic when possible. No wonder the issue is still contentious to the public when their major source of information is the MSM.

Comment on Brain development and snake oil: graphical presentations of science by Michael Slezak

Michael Slezak — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:10:21 +0000

blog post: Brain development and snake oil: graphical presentations of science – http://tinyurl.com/yfwn2z8

Comment on BOGUS: Today Tonight on Fish Oil, Weight Loss and Holograms by Rami

Rami — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:31:10 +0000

to all those who dont believe, i have tried the powerbalance and stand by everything that they do. i was very skeptical at first as all should be however i also have an open mind and dont go bad mouthing something before trying it for myself unlike the publisher of this article who without any knowledge what so ever bar his own opinion has done so. Just the fact that you have know idea about the technology let alone the FACT that the body does has an emf (electromagnetic field) and that this emf can be affected by many outside forces just promotes the fact that you are an uneducated dim wit! go try it for yourself then come back and enlighten us with you all so factual rhetoric.

Comment on Pot causes psychosis? Not so fast… by Michael Slezak

Michael Slezak — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:54:59 +0000

blog post: Pot causes psychosis? Not so fast… – http://tinyurl.com/yg9e669

Comment on Bogus science busting at New Matilda by Michael Slezak

Michael Slezak — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:00:50 +0000

blog post: Bogus science busting at New Matilda – http://tinyurl.com/yd9r3t3

Comment on Fish oil: Bogus or not? by re: health benefits of fish oils

re: health benefits of fish oils — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:07:32 +0000

There’s no doubt that some anti-depressants can alter brain chemistry. For some individuals where a chemical imbalance is the cause there may be a place for anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications. Individuals should have an omega 3 screening done to investigate if there is a need for supplementation of omega 3’s through the use of fish oils. These subgroups of patients may respond positively to adding fish oils to their diet. Of course, there is also the problem of determining the appropriate dose that would bring their omega 3 levels to a more normal level.

Comment on February’s going to be a bit slow here at GBnB by Michael Slezak

Michael Slezak — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:44:18 +0000

blog post: February's going to be a bit slow here at GBnB – http://tinyurl.com/yd9f6a3

Comment on #Nuttsack: A scandal with a positive effect by David Lawson

David Lawson — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:07:14 +0000

@unstableisotope #nuttsack http://www.goodbadandbogus.com/health/nuttsack-a-scandal-with-a-positive-effect/

Comment on Can unconscious brains think? Coma, philosophy of mind, and the media. by Edward Mariyani-Squire

Edward Mariyani-Squire — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:12:38 +0000

Certainly it depends on the responses to the questions – that is surely enough to say whether or not “that’s the sort of response Mrs X gave [or would have given] before going into a coma”. If one can say this, and we’re still going to doubt whether Mrs X is conscious or not, then why not (to me, absurdly) doubt whether she (and everyone else) was ever conscious.

The rest is just a question of method: i.e., what sorts of questions are asked, how many are asked, how many options (in multiple choice style) are there to choose from, is she unassisted? Etc. One could still reasonably have doubts about Mrs X being conscious if, say, the response-options where binary (yes or no). For a large bank of questions, a machine will get 50% of them right. For a small bank – say, 6 questions – getting 83% right is not ‘out of bounds’. If, however, even for a small bank of questions, where there were 10 options to choose from for each question so there was only a 10% chance of fluking it, one would start to feel more confident. The questions need not be about the patients life either. E.g.,

Question: What did you think of the movie ‘Avatar’?
a) I liked it.
b) I hated it.
c) Strawberry jam.
d) It was seriously deficient in character development.
e) I am opposed to blue people, so draw your own conclusions about that.
f) ….
g) ….
h) ….
i) I’ve been in a coma for the last 5 years you idiot, so how could I possibly have seen it? What – you think I dragged myself down to the cinema on Saturday afternoon? How would I get in? I don’t have any money on me. Hell, there aren’t even pockets in this stupid gown they make me wear.