Great chart by @UpshotNYT on shifting public opinions:
nyti.ms/1g5tadA
sources: @pewresearch @GallupNews http://t.co/cFfF6hB1O4—
Neil Halloran (@neilhalloran) July 08, 2015
The power of prayer
30 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, economics of religion, health economics Tags: child health, child mortality, conjecture and refutation, modernity
Haven’t blogged on the anti-vaccination movement for a few days
26 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of information, economics of media and culture, health economics Tags: anti-vaccination movement, conspiracy theories, modernity, vaccination, vaccines
Global Warming Was Worth It
22 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, climate change, development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, liberalism Tags: modernity, The Great Enrichment, The Great Fact
- Higher incomes that allow people to make livings that afford them more than merely survival or avoiding starvation.
- A low poverty rate.
- High quality and diversity of employment opportunities. Rather than the choice of being a farmer or being a blacksmith, the average citizen should have an array of careers to choose from, and the ability to be industrious and take risks for profit.
- The availability of housing. On an average night in the United States, a country with a population of somewhere around 350 million, fewer than one million people are homeless.
- Consistent GDP growth.
- Access to quality health care.
- The availability of quality education. (I suppose we could quibble over the word “quality,” but certainly there is widespread free education availability.)
- High life expectancy. Worldwide life expectancy has more than doubled from 1750 to 2007.
- Low frequency of deadly disease.
- Affordable goods and services.
- Infrastructure that bolsters economic growth.
- Political stability.
- Air conditioning.
- Freedom from slavery, torture and discrimination.
- Freedom of movement, religion and thought.
- The presumption of innocence under the law.
- Equality under the law regardless of gender or race.
- The right to have a family – as large as one can support. Maybe even larger.
- The right to enjoy the fruits of labor without government – or anyone else – stealing it.
Homeopathy First Aid Kits – only $54.99!!
22 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of information, health economics Tags: fraying of civilisation, homoeopathy, modern medicine, modernity, Quacks, The Age of Enlightenment
On homeopathy websites you can buy special first aid kits for the car, for hiking and camping, for horses, for pets, for pregnancy, for childbirth, and for travel.
One website sells a first aid kit that “contains all the major homeopathic first aid remedies which work so amazingly well particularly when given immediately after an accident or injury.” Only $99.95, but you’re also advised to buy a book to explain its use, for an additional $18.95. It contains 15 remedies in a 30C potency:
- Aconite (the “queen of poisons): for colds, flu, sore throats, effects of fear, fright, chicken pox and croup
- Apis mellifera (honey bee): for burning and stinging pains, insect stings, swelling of the lower eyelids, edema, swollen joints
- Arnica: after injury, mental and physical shock, before and after operations or visits to the dentist. Stops bleeding, aids in the healing of wounds and reduces bruising and swelling. Good for general healing and shock, exhaustion, muscular pain, sprains from overexertion.
- Arsen alb (arsenic): stomach upsets from food poisoning, diarrhea, vomiting and acute hayfever. Good for some dry skin conditions.
- Belladonna (deadly nightshade): hot flushed face, sore throat, facial neuralgia, throbbing headache, earache, boils, chickenpox, measles and mumps
- Bryonia (a toxic weed): dry chesty coughs, muscular pains, which is better for resting [sic]
- Cantharis (a beetle, Spanish fly): burns and scalds before the blisters form, sunburn, constant urge to pass urine, urine passed drop by drop (cystitis)
…For certain illnesses, it said “Depending on severity, seek medical care.” These included anaphylaxis, animal bites, bone injuries, third degree burns, carbon monoxide poisoning, cuts, drug overdose, electrocution, eye injuries, food poisoning, paint poisoning, pesticide poisoning, puncture wounds, and shock. It’s appalling to think that patients are left to their own assessment and might think these conditions were not severe enough to merit medical care.
It has always been my intention to keep this blog safe for work. In consequence, I can make no further comment on homoeopathic first aid kits.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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