I seldom watch TV, but now and then I catch sight of an episode of Dr. Oz. I have long found him amusing, going on about the vital importance of eating this or that, or five signs that you are about to develop rectal cancer or that sort of thing. He neatly embodies the pseudoscience that much of modern medicine has turned into: a highly skilled surgeon with not a flicker of understanding of how science works.
I was less amused yesterday, when he had John Edward as his studio guest, and interviewed the fraudster in a completely uncritical manner. Some lady from some or other psychological association was also there, and also failed to take on Edward. So basically, the notion of talking to dear departed uncle George has now been publicly endorsed by both medicine and psychology.
In short, Dr. Oz is not just a tad ignorant of scientific method. He’s a damn fraud.
Well, ask yourself how a surgeon ends up with his own TV show dispensing medical advice instead of doing surgery in a hospital when the need is much greater for surgeons than for a growing array of asshats on TV.
An overdeveloped sense of self-worth, amply bolstered by Dunning-Kruger fantasies. That’s how.
Remember that Dr Oz is a spin off of Oprah, and one of the main reasons that they are so successful in getting controversial guests on their shows is that they are NEVER CRITICAL. Guests know in advance that they will always receive positive spin. It is a win-win situation, for everyone except an audience that would like to see the issues tackled head on. The target audience does not, it wants feel good warm fuzzies from start to finish.
My GP is a very charming man, he’s also the only man in my life that would give me a kiss (on my brow) and symphatise profusely when I look like something the cat dragged in, he’s also quite willing to book me off for a couple days for “stress”. He’s not hunky, but damn, he can be sexy when he sits there actually listening to your wailing and woes. I find a listening man extremely attractive! ;D
Yup, he’s quite a loon. Some years ago I saw an article about how he had his house “cleansed” by some psychic or something, of items like African masks, because they served as “doorways” for demons that were terrorizing his daughter.
That’s what passes for science on TV nowadays. I guess we can forget about a re-run of “Cosmos.” And I’ll never forgive the late, great Sagan for not having turned “Demon-haunted world” in to a TV series as well.
It explores all kinds of modern science dilemma’s. I find it a lot more refreshing than your average “here’s how a star works ONCE AGAIN” show. They also explore some thoroughly weird theories, etc. I have no idea how scientifically valid some of the claims are, and there are some far-out ones, but the show does clearly state when things are getting “murky” and are uncertain/non-verified.
IMHO Morgan Freeman makes a great host overall. My only complaint is his corny introductory “when I was a kid” stories every episode.
Edit: And did I mention stunning HD visuals if you have the equipment?
I could spit nails at these telly quacks, all being patted on the back by Oprah “Secret-tard” Winfrey.
Oz actually used to spout some helpful medical advice until his fat, heavy wallet started affecting his spinal alignment, which cut off the blood supply to his conscience.
Meanwhile, REAL research doctors and scientists work themselves half to death in obscurity, mostly without much funding, making real progress. But snake oil and Human Specialness are what people want to hear about.
Just found out ol’ Ozzie had neuroscientist (and epic blogger) Steve Novella on his show a while back. I’m a Novella fan and am looking forward to watching this at home later. I can only surmise that Oz is as cheesy and manipulative as ever. Hopefully Steve manages to get some shots in.
So I watched that video (and the followups) from start to finish, I actually had no idea what “Dr. Oz” even looked like or what he said…
“Oz” makes sure he gets the last “definitive” word in on every issue: He dismisses what his opponent is saying outright, misrepresents it, calls his opponent “dismissive”, shuts the argument down to prevent rebuttal, and then moves on to the next set of garbage.
