A still shot taken during the video production of “Massage For Relaxation in 1985 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Yesterday I came across my first suspicious “massage therapist” trying to drum up custom for herself via an association that exists to help and protect vulnerable people.
Background: for those who don’t already know this, I do some volunteer work for the education and health committees of a local LGBT association…
I’m reposting this (with permission) from Sci-ence! A Skeptical Comic and Blog because these warning signs cannot be repeated often enough. Clicky-clicky on the piccy-piccy to read the full post – there’s far more to it than just this comic – and the sometimes weird and wonderful comments from the Want-to-Believers.
Warning: as always, when approaching a comments section infested by woopologists, remember to set your WTFometers to ‘stun’ and keep a box of /facepalms close to hand.
Over at DoubleXScience, the frankly amazing Emily Willingham has posted a list of questions you should always ask yourself when unsure whether what’s in front of you is likely to contain any scientific basis whatsoever. The full article, which I urge you to read, contains an explanation of the thinking behind each question.
Every time a medical or scientific claim fails one of these tests, you should be suspicious. It’s a red flag, indicating possible spurious and/or fraudulent claims.
