Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in History & Commentary

Seamus O'Mahony writes about the illusion of progress, the notion that more and more diseases can be "conquered" ad infinitum. He punctures the idiocy of consumerism, the idea that healthcare can be endlessly adapted to the wishes of individuals. He excoriates the claims of Big Science, the spending of vast sums on research follies like the Human Genome Project. And he highlights one of the most dangerous errors of industrialized medicine: an over-reliance on metrics, and a neglect of things that can't easily be measured, like compassion.

In January 2020, leading epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse learned of a new virus taking hold in China. He immediately foresaw a hard road ahead for the entire world, and emailed the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland warning that the UK should urgently begin preparations. A few days later he received a polite reply stating only that everything was under control.

In this revelatory study, neuroscientist Helen Pilcher explores the hidden impact of the "nocebo effect"—the placebo's evil twin. Medical studies have proven the nocebo effect to cause pain, nausea, paralysis, seizures, and even blindness. The nocebo effect impacts how we grow sick and grow old, explains why people who don't have food allergies have dietary intolerances, and why adults and teenagers are equally susceptible to catching tics through social media.