Comments on: Pseudoscience's "Awful Poo Lady" can't flush twitterings

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Think you missed some sarcasm there.

By: coop

coop — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I think phisrow’s initial comment was meant as satire –

“Homeopathic education is more authoritative and effective when extremely dilute….”

coop

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

@underh1 is worthy of some investigation as well. If you look at the link from anon #5, the last tweet on the page is a RT from him claiming to have lost a large amount of weight on GM’s diet plan and thanking her. At time of writing, it’s the penultimate tweet still up on @gillianmckeith, right before the one claiming she isn’t really herself.

When this all kicked off, @underh1 looked a lot like a fake account with only two tweets; one from a year previously, and the strange one @gillianmckeith retweeted before she went crazi(er). There was a Facebook account listed in the profile, but it was a dead link.

As of this morning @underh1 has become mysteriously active and suddenly the Facebook account works. I smell a rat… it may be in a Tupperware container…

By: Notary Sojac

Notary Sojac — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have a vial of water which contains a dollar bill, minced, and diluted six times.

Every time I try using it to buy a million dollars’ worth of homeopathic products I get turned down for some incomprehensible reason.

By: mbdrake

mbdrake — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The only bachelor’s this lady has is probably a Cup A Soup (for those not aware of this product: http://www.cupasoupmoments.com/).

I was also amazed to find that my laptop’s NVIDIA graphics drivers decide to stop working PRECISELY the time I decide to visit McKeith’s web site to check out the Twitter links disappearance. That’s some awesome power she has. Hasn’t happened anywhere else. That’s the power of McKeith.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Anyone who has a legitimate PhD in the US will have their thesis deposited with Dissertation Abstracts (now via ProQuest). If an institution does not participate in the program, such that its PhD awardees are not depositing their thesis in DA, then it is highly suspect. In fact, I do not know of any legitimate PhD theses that are not there. Bill Cosby’s is there. Martin Luther King’s doctoral thesis is there. Shoot, even Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s thesis is there (“EFFECTS OF INSULIN ON 3-O-METHYLGLUCOSE TRANSPORT IN ISOLATED RAT ADIPOCYTES” – it’s classified under Anatomy and Phys). Mine is there ;-) PZ Myers’s is there (“MORPHOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPINAL MOTONEURONS OF THE ZEBRAFISH (SEGMENTS, AXOGENESIS, GROWTH CONES)”)

Needles to say, a search for Gillian McKeith comes up empty. That is a primae facie reason to dismiss her PhD out of hand. Can she explain why her thesis is not deposited with Dissertation Abstracts?

(btw, that’s all rhetorical. I know the reason her thesis isn’t there, I just wonder if she could come up with something)

By: billstewart

billstewart — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

There used to be a radio-show nutritionist in the US called Dr. Carlton Fredericks. His doctorate was from a legitimate university, but it still wasn't medical; he had a doctorate in Communications, with a thesis about people learning nutrition from call-in radio shows, i.e. about how his listeners were learning from him.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The problem with homoeopathy is that there is simply no logic to it’s principles. Someone simply just made it up, basing it on no research, logic or known scientific principles (probably because there were not many at time of invention). It is also fundamentally flawed since all homoeopathic that has been used for people in a given country will be in the water supply at extremely high strengths if the principles of homoeopathy are correct. Since the active ingredient will supposedly leave an implant on the water. When the water is taken in it will be expelled in urine, in it’s diluted and supposedly stronger form. The urine will then enter the water system and subsequently enter sewage treatment plants where the water is recycled back into the main system. Thus there is NO need for anyone to buy any homoeopathic “medicine” since it’s already in the water supply.

By: mdh

mdh — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

and people who can’t pick up well laid sarcasm… what a burden to society those poor saps are too.

By: Felton

Felton — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Did she “attend” the University of Phoenix? Their ad keeps popping up on boingboing today.

By: phisrow

phisrow — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dear #42,

Please take your sarcasm meter to the nearest dealer or licensed technician for recalibration at your earliest convenience.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

You can get a better threaded view of the back and forth on twylah: http://twylah.com/gillianmckeith

By: Nescio

Nescio — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Should anyone doubt that Clayton College (now defunct) had questionable academic standards, check out Robert O. Young. His qualifications were also acquired, or possibly “bought” might be a better word, from Clayton College and like Gillian McKeith he calls himself a doctor. He claims that all diseases are caused by excess acidity in the body. Others of his claims include:
Our stomachs are designed to alkalise acid foods. Our bodies do not naturally contain sugars. Our brains run on electrons, not glucose. Cancer is a liquid response to excess acidity. Red blood cells are made by the intestines, not the bone marrow and can transform into bacteria and back again. He claims he can cure type 1 diabetes with diet, and many other utterly ridiculous things that fly in the face of modern medical knowledge. If you want a laugh, take a look at his live blood analysis video on YouTube where he claims that diabetes is caused by the fermentation of red blood cells. He sells lots of supplements and potions, of course. He calls this ‘The New Biology’. You can check out his blog for more of the same. No wonder McKeith hasn’t much of a clue about science.

By: kyfho23

kyfho23 — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a good take on homeopathy: http://xkcd.com/765/

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Felton (#18) – believe it or not, the Univ of Phoenix is among the legit places. If my last comment ever comes through moderation, you will see where I discuss Dissertation Abstracts. Indeed, Univ of Phoenix theses are found there. If Gillian McKeith had gotten her PhD there, it would be a very different story.

There are no theses at all from any school with the name “Clayton”

By: mistertumnus

mistertumnus — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Is there something wrong with ‘distance learning’? Lots of people take vocational (and other) degrees via distance learning courses at established universities. Could the author of this post possibly see fit to remove the words ‘distance learning’ which, in context and also because of the use of inverted commas, make it sound as if the distance learning aspect to Gillian McKeith’s phd was somehow something to do with its lack of credibility.

By: Robert Williams

Robert Williams — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Now I’m looking at her website, and I see on the front page a lady in Uganda and her children reading one of her books.
So a woman with 9 children really needs to know how to look sexy for her summer holiday by the beach, by eating more herbs?

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Is there something wrong with ‘distance learning’?

There is if you’re passing yourself off as a medical doctor.

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nationally syndicated radio host “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger does kind of the same thing in reverse. She has a doctorate in physiology but doles out “expert” advice on air as if she’s a psychiatrist.

By: Weston Renoud

Weston Renoud — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m so very tempted to post in the comments on her facebook page politely asking for clarification. Curious how long it will last.

By: Felton

Felton — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I see your point. I’m a University of Georgia student, and I have a part-time job troubleshooting online courses here. I personally don’t like online classes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be a valid means of education.

That said, I don’t have a problem with this post. The point is that she has a PhD from a non-accredited college, and in a field that has nothing to do with the one she presents herself as an expert in.

By: Michael Who

Michael Who — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thank you Dr Ben for the day’s best read and phishrow for the best response. I’ve now got a spring in my step (and a fake degree in my back pocket)!

By: EdWatkins

EdWatkins — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hi Dr. Ben,

Just wanted to say I recently finished your book, it was excellent.

I am reccomending it be added as a core text to my MFA program in Science & Natural History Filmmaking along with “Don’t be such a Scientist” by Randy Olson.

The more media savy scientists there are in the world, the less they will put up with nonsense like McKeith’s.

By: mistertumnus

mistertumnus — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Not disputing the lack of credentials of her course/college. Still think that putting ‘distance learning’ in inverted commas in this context makes it seem like there is something wrong with distance learning in general. Distance learning institutions like the Open University in the UK work very hard to maintain a high standard of education through courses which are as widely recognised as they are in any other university.

By: phisrow

phisrow — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cynics like Ben just don’t understand the value of homeopathic education: Unlike your fascist, allopathic, University/Industrial complex education, where you have to do more work in order to acquire a more authoritative knowledge position, Homeopathic education is more authoritative and effective when extremely dilute….

By: Felton

Felton — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In defense of Anon, internet comment boards can wear out a sarcasm meter in less than a week these days. I just leave mine off and assume everybody is being sarcastic. It’s cheaper and less stressful. ;-D

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

How about if the scare quotes in this case were around “college” instead?

By: bengoldacre

bengoldacre — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This article is why @gillianmckeith called me a liar:

http://www.badscience.net/2007/02/ms-gillian-mckeith-banned-from-calling-herself-a-doctor/

I expanded on it in my book, Bad Science.

Gillian McKeith herself is a highly litigious millionaire, as I have documented at length. Obviously nothing in my book is “lies”, and in general, calling someone a liar is regarded as undefendable by the UK libel courts.

But I’ve campaigned long and hard for libel reform in the UK (more at http://www.libelreform.org ): the costs are so extreme that only the rich have access, and the most important remedy to my mind, in most cases, is a clarification of the facts.

This is why the remedy I’ve only requested one simple remedy from @gillianmckeith.

I’d like her to tweet “Bad Science by Ben Goldacre is not lies”.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask…

By: Nelson.C

Nelson.C — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I think the phrase ‘distance learning’ is in quotes because it’s doubtful that the awful poo lady actually did any learning.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yeah, but at least Dr Laura actually HAS a real doctorate. PhD in 1974 from Columbia, here thesis title was “EFFECTS OF INSULIN ON 3-O-METHYLGLUCOSE TRANSPORT IN ISOLATED RAT ADIPOCYTES.” Yes, it is physiology and she goes on the radio with psychiatric advice, but I consider that a world of a difference from idiots like McKeith.