I have been reading Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos. This book is an excellent exploration of how many people misunderstand numbers, probability and scientific process. It has a section on Fraudulent Medical Treatments, which is worth quoting from:

Medicine is a fertile area for pseudoscientific claims for a simple reason. Most diseases or conditions (a) improve by themselves; (b) are self-limiting; or (c) even if fatal, seldom follow a strictly downward spiral. … To take advantage of the natural ups and downs of any disease, … it is best to begin your worthless treatment when the patient is getting worse. In this way, anything that happens can be more easily attributed to your wonderful and probably expensive intervention.

A personal acquaintance was once diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Before exhausting mainstream medical treatment, she decided to start drinking banana leaf tea. She had to get truckloads of banana leaves shipped in from Queensland. She wasted time, effort and money when she had better things to do. And her palate probably made a more important sacrifice for her decision.

I understand that people given a death sentence are willing to waste money on small and unproven chances. But it is depressing for family and friends to see them chasing fairies, when they could be chasing Butterflies.

Innumeracy is worth chasing down. It debunks many common mathematical myths and misunderstandings, as well as pseudoscience. It’s certainly an enjoyable way to improve your critical thinking skills.