/oss/taxonomy/term/3334/all en /oss/article/pseudoscience-history/looking-iridology <p>Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, a young Hungarian boy, Ignatz Pecely was attacked by an owl. A fight ensued and as Ignatz managed not only to fend off the attacker but to break its leg. Probably feeling somewhat remorseful, he took the bird home so that it could be restored to health. When he looked into the eye of his captive he noted something that apparently surprised him. He saw a dark stripe in the colored part of the bird's eye that surrounds the pupil, and somehow from this surmised that it was a consequence of the broken leg.</p> Thu, 30 Dec 2021 19:34:19 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8968 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health/medical-error-not-third-leading-cause-death <p>In the first episode of the television show <i>The Resident</i>, a nurse tells the young protagonist that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States after cancer and heart disease. “They don’t want us talking about that,” she adds.</p> Fri, 27 Aug 2021 16:54:50 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8822 at /oss /oss/article/health/refusing-medicine-and-dying-early-when-complementary-medicine-actually-becomes-alternative-medicine <p><span>Olivia has breast cancer but refuses medical care, opting instead for natural herbs. This is alternative medicine.</span></p> <p><span>Olivia has breast cancer and follows the recommendations of her oncologists, but also consumes natural herbs. This is complementary medicine.</span></p> <p><span>While the refusal of medical treatment to pursue an alternative can be clearly understood as dangerous, we may ask, “What’s the harm?”, if medicine is not replaced but simply complemented.</span></p> Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:00:21 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7185 at /oss