 | |
| Abbreviation | GTS |
|---|---|
| Formation | September 2012 |
| Founder | Simon Singh |
| Type | Nonprofit organisation |
| Legal status | Registered charity [1] |
| Purpose | To encourage curious minds and promote rational enquiry [1] |
Region served | England and Wales [1] |
Chairman | Simon Singh [2] |
| Johnnie Shannon, Michael Marshall, Laura Thomason [2] | |
| Website | goodthinkingsociety |
The Good Thinking Society is a nonprofit organisation promoting scientific scepticism established by Simon Singh in September 2012.
The society aims to raise awareness of and fund sceptical projects. [3]
During the 2014 World Homeopathy Awareness Week, the Good Thinking Society set up a website at homeopathyawarenessweek.org with the purpose of giving a factual scientific view on homeopathy. [4] They also ran Psychic Awareness Month in October 2014, during which they handed out leaflets to audience members before a psychic's shows in the UK. [5] In April 2015 the organisation threatened legal action against the Liverpudlian Clinical Commissioning Group over its spending of £30,000 per year on homeopathy, with Singh saying "Homeopathic treatments when paid for by the NHS are a waste of crucial resources". [6] [7] Thereafter, Singh and project director Michael Marshall called on all remaining homeopathy-funding CCGs in the UK to follow the example of Liverpool to reconsider their funding policies. [8] [9]
In June 2015, the Daily Mirror reported that Marshall had investigated the curious case of Freeman's, a NHS-supplying pharmacy that, amongst other products, sold "homeopathic owl", apparently meant for people with sleeping problems or who "pick up the characteristics of [an owl]". Marshall commented that "Around £3-5 million is spent each year [on homeopathic products by the NHS] and it's completely worthless. People are being told that it works when there's no evidence that it does." [10]
In May 2015, GTS obtained video footage from the Spirit of Health Congress, where, according to Marshall, claims were made about health that 'appeared illegal and could cause serious harm': "The dangerous misinformation at the Spirit of Health event is shocking, particularly with regard to serious conditions such as cancer." [11]
In September 2015, Marshall showed how American televangelist and self-proclaimed prophet and faith healer Peter Popoff – previously exposed by James Randi – was trying to persuade people to send him money on promises of "fabulous extreme fortune" and "miracles". Moreover, at a recent London gathering, GTS filmed how Popoff supposedly 'healed' a woman 'who said her body was wracked with pain', but who Marshall and his colleague believed could have been planted in the audience as part of Popoff's team: they saw she was handing out pens and a questionnaire at the start of the event, and quietly left the room soon after the alleged miracle. [12]
In November 2015, following a threat of legal action by the Good Thinking Society, the British government stated that the Department of Health would hold a consultation in 2016 regarding whether homeopathic treatments should be added to the NHS treatments blacklist (officially, Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004), that specifies a blacklist of medicines not to be prescribed under the NHS. [13] [14]
In November 2017, the British Homeopathic Association (BHA) filed suit to overturn NHS England's 2017 guidance which advises GP's not to prescribe homeopathic remedies. In June, 2018, BHA lost that case, [15] in a decision characterized by Edzard Ernst as the result of "4 years of excellent work by the GOOD THINKING SOCIETY". [16]
In June 2019, the Good Thinking Society filed a Judicial Review claim to challenge an earlier decision by the Professional Standards Authority to re-accredit the Society of Homeopaths' register. At the time of filing several (GTS alleges it to be over 50) Society of Homeopaths members were still offering CEASE therapy for autism. [17] In October 2019 the High Court gave permission for the judicial review to proceed. [18]
The Good Thinking Society also promotes mathematics education, through projects like "Who wants to be a mathematician?", "Top, top set maths", and the "Parallel Project". [19]
In March 2020 the Good Thinking Society announced their collaboration with Richard Wiseman to set up The Good Magic Awards. These awards recognize and reward performers that use magic tricks to improve the lives of people like disadvantaged groups, charities, community groups, hospital patients and others struggling with physical and psychological challenges. These awards were announced on March 17, 2020, [20] and were awarded the first time on May 5, 2020. [21]
The society runs a number of awards including the Golden Duck award, given for a 'lifetime achievement of quackery', awarded to Andrew Wakefield in 2012. [22] The society also awarded a joint Science Blog Prize to Suzi Gage and David Colquhoun in 2012; Ben Goldacre and science writer Mark Henderson were among the judges, choosing from over 100 entries. [23]
The society was given the 2016 Ockham Award for Best Skeptic Event/Campaign by The Skeptic magazine. [24]
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a disease in healthy people can cure similar symptoms in sick people; this doctrine is called similia similibus curentur, or "like cures like". Homeopathic preparations are termed remedies and are made using homeopathic dilution. In this process, the selected substance is repeatedly diluted until the final product is chemically indistinguishable from the diluent. Often not even a single molecule of the original substance can be expected to remain in the product. Between each dilution homeopaths may hit and/or shake the product, claiming this makes the diluent remember the original substance after its removal. Practitioners claim that such preparations, upon oral intake, can treat or cure disease.
Bach flower remedies (BFRs) are solutions of brandy and water—the water containing extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s. Bach claimed that the dew found on flower petals retains the supposed healing properties of that plant. Systematic reviews of clinical trials of Bach flower solutions have found no efficacy beyond that of a placebo.
Simon Lehna Singh, is a British popular science author, theoretical and particle physicist. His written works include Fermat's Last Theorem, The Code Book, Big Bang, Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial and The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets. In 2012 Singh founded the Good Thinking Society, through which he created the website "Parallel" to help students learn mathematics.
Edzard Ernst is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. He was Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, allegedly the world's first such academic position in complementary and alternative medicine.
Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required.
The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) is a regulatory body in the United Kingdom which provides a voluntary register of complementary, rather than alternative medicine, therapists. The key purpose of CNHC is to act in the public interest and enable proper public accountability of the complementary therapists that it registers.
The 10:23 Campaign (stylized as 1023) is an awareness and protest campaign against homoeopathy organised by the Merseyside Skeptics Society, a non-profit organisation, to oppose the sale of homoeopathic products in the United Kingdom. The campaign has staged public "overdoses" of homoeopathic preparations.
Homeopathy practice is unregulated in New Zealand and homeopathic remedies are available at pharmacies, although there are calls to have them removed from sale.
Edinburgh Skeptics is a nonprofit organisation that promotes science, reason and critical thinking in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland. It was founded in 2009. The Society hosts regular social and educational events in Edinburgh and has campaigned against the use of homeopathy and challenged claims of ghost sightings.
The Merseyside Skeptics Society (MSS) is a nonprofit organisation that promotes scientific scepticism in Merseyside and the United Kingdom. Founded in 2009, the society has campaigned against the use of homeopathy, challenged the claims of psychics, and hosts regular events in Liverpool, podcasts, and an annual conference in Manchester, QED: Question. Explore. Discover.
The Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften (GWUP) (English: Society for the Scientific Investigation of Pseudosciences) is a non-profit organisation promoting scientific skepticism, headquartered in Roßdorf, Germany. Its estimated membership in 2016 is 1300 who are scientists or laypersons interested in science. The GWUP annually hosts a conference with varying key subjects.
Glasgow Skeptics is a skeptical organisation based in Glasgow, Scotland. It aims to promote public understanding of science, critical thinking, and freedom of expression.
Michael "Marsh" Marshall is a British skeptical activist, freelance journalist, public speaker, podcaster, author, blogger and, since September 2020, the editor of The Skeptic magazine. He is the co-founder and vice-president of the Merseyside Skeptics Society and co-host of its official podcast, Skeptics with a K, project director of the Good Thinking Society, and has occasionally written for The Times, The Guardian and New Statesman. As of 2022, Marshall is a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Bristol Homeopathic Hospital was a hospital in the city of Bristol in south-west England, specialising in homeopathic treatments. The Hampton House building, designed by George Oatley, is a Grade II listed building. Hampton House is now being used as the student health service for Bristol University, offering a range of services to the students of the university.
Britt Marie Hermes is an American former naturopathic doctor who became a critic of naturopathy and alternative medicine. She is the author of a blog, Naturopathic Diaries, where she writes about being trained and having practiced as a licensed naturopath and about the problems with naturopaths as medical practitioners.
Natalie Grams-Nobmann is a German physician and author. Formerly a practicing homeopath, she became known throughout Germany as a whistleblower for her 2015 debut book Homeopathy Reconsidered – What Really Helps Patients in which she criticized homeopathy. In 2016 she joined the Science Council of the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences. From January 2017 to April 2020 she served as Communications Manager for the GWUP. She also serves on the advisory board of the humanist Giordano Bruno Foundation since May 2017, and as vice president of the Humanist Press Foundation in Germany since October 2017. In October 2017 her second book, Gesundheit – A Book Not Without Side Effects, was published. It was followed by her third book, What really Works – Compass through the World of Gentle Medicine, in February 2020. In 2021, Natalie Grams was awarded the Fellowship of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. This award is given for "distingued contributions to science and skepticism and for commitment to rational inquiry and public education".
CEASE therapy is a pseudoscientific practice used by naturopaths who claim that it can treat or even cure people with autism, claims which have been adjudicated by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority as "bogus". It involves a mixture of supplements, high-dose vitamin C, 'orthomolecular support', dietary restrictions, and homeopathy. The therapy was developed by Dutch doctor Tinus Smits, who claimed to have used it to treat over 300 children with autism. It became more notable in 2017/2018 because of regulatory action taken by professional bodies in The Netherlands, UK, and Canada following a series of complaints about unfounded claims.
The Society of Homeopaths (SoH) is a British private limited company formed in 1978 by "a small group of homeopaths who were keen to work together for the development of the profession and to ensure high standards in the practice of homeopathy" and at September 2018 had 997 members on the Society's register who can refer to themselves as RSHoms. The SoH's register was first accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) in September 2014 allowing members to display the Accredited Register's logo at the time. In January 2021 the PSA suspended the society's accreditation for failure to meet standards the PSA had set.
The infinitesimally low concentration of homeopathic preparations, which often lack even a single molecule of the diluted substance, has been the basis of questions about the effects of the preparations since the 19th century. Modern advocates of homeopathy have proposed a concept of "water memory", according to which water "remembers" the substances mixed in it, and transmits the effect of those substances when consumed. This concept is inconsistent with the current understanding of matter, and water memory has never been demonstrated to exist, in terms of any detectable effect, biological or otherwise.
Homeopaths Without Borders (HWB) is a nonprofit organization based in Hebron, New Hampshire, which was founded in 1996 by Nancy Kelly. Modelled after Doctors Without Borders, it sends practitioners to developing countries to administer the pseudoscience homeopathy, in an attempt to gain traction in countries where it does not already have a foothold. It has several different national associations, including Germany and North America.