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A Scientist in Wonderland: A Memoir of Searching for Truth and Finding Trouble by Edzard Ernst (view source)
Revision as of 16:34, 21 July 2022
, 16:34, 21 July 2022no edit summary
Ernst was determined that he would not be swayed from what he felt to be right and refused to accept the woolly thinking that plant-based drugs are benign and would do no harm. (Hemlock, anyone?) It wasn't simply a matter of whether or not the treatments worked - but that people could well be taking these treatments in preference to ones which ''would'' work - and, in some cases which could save their lives.
Supporters of complementary medicine are quick to accuse 'Big Pharma' of denying the efficacy of complementary treatments to protect their own profits, but they have a big gun on their own side in the form of Prince Charles, who has been outspoken in support of complementary medicine. Ernst stays ''just'' this side of being vitriolic about the views and actions of the Prince of Wales, but makes clear that the Prince's advocacy of alternative treatments and therapies could cost lives if they prevent people from obtaining appropriate treatment for serious illness. I was left relieved that the Prince would eventually become monarch rather than the head of government. (If you'd like to read more about this subject in relation to Prince Charles, we can recommend Ernst's [[Charles, The Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography by Edzard Ernst|Charles, The Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography]].)
I was impressed by what Ernst had to say and the way in which he said it. It's one of the obvious drawbacks of a memoir that you only hear one side of the story, as I would love to have heard how others might have refuted what he had to say - purely in the interests of rigorous scientific enquiry, of course. I'd like to thank Imprint Academic for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.