More porkies from Nina Knowland

[tolman]

Expressions of disbelief in psychic, repeated as advertising for aforementioned psychic

Further proof that woos lack the irony gene.

But in compensation, it seems like she may have the gene for inventing studies that don't exist, or at least for being oddly vague about which professors don't understand her.

However, continuing the irony theme, I suppose it's somewhat ironic that many believers would be highly impressed by a claim someone was being studied by professors, but seemingly not bother to take the blindingly obvious next step, and wonder what happened to all the same kinds of claims by numerous past psychics.

After all, especially when it comes to healing serious illness, if any past scientific studies had confirmed someone as actually having talent, wouldn't that person be the one to go for, rather than someone just being investigated?

[newatheist]

I would like to know a bit more about her cancer, I don't mean to insinuate anything but I just want to learn a little more about what kind of cancer she has.

[Admin]

With regard to point 2, I think this is a legal thing - some statutory regulated healthcare professions such as drs, dentists, midwives, chiros and osteos are required to make a diagnosis. Non regulated CAM practitioners must not.

I think it is more than not being qualified. A GP who is struck off or chooses not to register cannot legally diagnose. Jack might know more.

I disagree. I think it's all about not being qualified.

Although some GPs get into CAM, most practitioners are like Nina Knowland and are completely unqualified to diagnose illness. So it's not that they aren't allowed to, it's that they couldn't do so even if they wanted to; because they simply can't.

In fact, I think that a major reason that so many alternative medicines are attracted to the idea of 'holistic medicine' is that the concept of 'treating the person as a whole and not as an illness' negates the need to accurately diagnose the problem. Everything just becomes an 'imbalance'.

The reason they're 'balancing and unblocking your energies' is because they haven't actually got a clue what is wrong with you or how to (really) treat it.

[Defender of the faith]

It's impossible to tell from A. Pewsey's testimonial whether or not her condition improved AFTER the chemotherapy began. I do hope no-one with cancer interprets her testimonial as a recommendation to undergo Nina's mumbo-jumbo as an alternative to mainstream medical treatment. Might this be worth bringing to the attention of Wiltshire Trading Standards?

Whilst I understand that a certain amout of skepticism is healthy it would seem that your desire to "dish" Nina Knowland you have mis-quoted the testimonial which, when I read it was from A.Watkins from Pewsey and not as you state from A. Pewsey

Have you actually met Ms Knowland? Is your voracity based on personal knowledge of her or are you one of those skeptics that believes that if it can't be proven by science it can't be true. I'm guessing if that is the case that you are not Christian or Muslim or indeed follow any sort of "organised" religion as that would of course require "faith"

I sincerely hope that you receive the spiritual healing you are so obviously in need of.

Bright Blessings, Love & Light

[bindeweede]

Whilst I understand that a certain amout of skepticism is healthy it would seem that your desire to "dish" Nina Knowland you have mis-quoted the testimonial which, when I read it was from A.Watkins from Pewsey and not as you state from A. Pewsey

Have you actually met Ms Knowland? Is your voracity based on personal knowledge of her or are you one of those skeptics that believes that if it can't be proven by science it can't be true. I'm guessing if that is the case that you are not Christian or Muslim or indeed follow any sort of "organised" religion as that would of course require "faith"

I sincerely hope that you receive the spiritual healing you are so obviously in need of.

Bright Blessings, Love & Light

I don't think Julia has misquoted anything, just a misattribution.

Magic healing, faith healing, psychic surgery and the rest have been tested for decades. If they worked, scientists would be jumping for joy at the massive savings possible in health care. They work as placebos, if at all. And no amount of faith will replace a severed limb.

Faith healing is based on belief and is about as far as you can get from science-based medicine, but it is not exempt from science. If it really worked, science would be able to document its cures and would be the only reliable way to validate its effectiveness.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=3591

[tolman]

What's "dishing"?

I sincerely hope that you receive the spiritual healing you are so obviously in need of.

Do you think I'd actually be more credible as a skeptic if I chose to believe in one deity while simultaneously believing that millions/billions of other believers had got it all wrong despite their justifications for belief being basically the same as mine, or, despite other people's religions clearly being different and incompatible with mine, while somehow pretending that they weren't, just because believing that lie would be convenient?

Do you think that faith is such a good thing that it's still good even when it leads people to believe in things which are simply wrong?

[Pebble]

Have you actually met Ms Knowland? Is your voracity based on personal knowledge of her

I'm not sure I have any appetite for Knowland or anything associated with her, let alone a huge one!

Or is your thinking really tangential? Perhaps you regard our hunger for knowledge as one of our shortcomings. Should we be more like you and rely on ignorance and belief?

[panama]

Whilst I understand that a certain amout of skepticism is healthy...

"a certain amount"? How much? I didn't realise there was a limit on how much skepticism we are allowed to employ.

...or are you one of those skeptics that believes that if it can't be proven by science it can't be true.

Pretty much...

[tolman]

"a certain amount"? How much? I didn't realise there was a limit on how much skepticism we are allowed to employ.

In the case of the bulk of the love and light brigade, I think the allowable amount is 'enough to question the motives of people who doubt you, but not enough to really question yourself'

[Croydon Bob]

I sincerely hope that you receive the spiritual healing you are so obviously in need of.

I sincerely hope that when you are ill you go and get real healing and not mumbo jumbo spriritual nonsense.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

It would be nice if our hit and run visitor was willing to engage in a bit more debate.

[panama]

It would be nice if our hit and run visitor was willing to engage in a bit more debate.

Don't feed the troll?

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

Don't feed the troll?

I'm just interested in what Nina, I mean our visitor, has to say to defend herself, oops, I mean Nina!

[bindeweede]

Well, deffo hasn't returned - yet. But I don't think it is Nina - not enough apostrophe catastrophes.