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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 04:46, 9 April 2018
, 04:46, 9 April 2018no edit summary
I've always been doubtful about complementary/alternative medicine, feeling that it was rather like religion - fine if you had faith, but with troublesome undertones - and I picked up Professor Ernst's memoir, keen to see what an academic and skilled research scientist would make of something which excited so much passion amongst its adherents. I'll confess to being just a little nervous as I opened the book - Imprint Academic have a solid reputation for the 'academic' nature of their books (as you might have guessed) and they don't always make for easy reading for the layman.
In the event I needn't have worried. Ernst Isn't isn’t just an academic - he's also an accomplished writer and skilled communicator. He puts over some quite complex ideas without resorting to jargon and I felt informed without ever struggling to understand, despite being a non-scientist. I was pulled into the story of his life and read most of the book in one sitting, so keen was I to find out what happened.
So, how about my scepticism with regard to complementary medicine? Well, I was delighted to find that Ernst saw the chair as a wonderful opportunity to expose these treatments and therapies to the cold light of rigorous scientific testing, in much the same way as it would be applied to mainstream drugs. This seemed only logical to Ernst but not to supporters of complementary medicine who felt that the treatments and therapies should be taken on trust (or faith) and that he should have extended that trust to the treatments.