The 'Bad Science' of quackery , and other sterling TED talks.

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This is a talk from TED.com which discusses the ways alternative medicine gets its way with the public.

Every day there are news reports of new health advice, but how can you know if they're right? Doctor and epidemiologist Ben Goldacre shows us, at high speed, the ways evidence can be distorted, from the blindingly obvious nutrition claims to the very subtle tricks of the pharmaceutical industry.

There are also a number of amazing talks on the same topic, on the right hand side of that video page, including 'Michael Shermer on strange beliefs', 'Eric Mead: The magic of the placebo' and 'Michael Specter: The danger of science denial'.

If anyone has not come across TED before, spend an afternoon (or several weeks) exploring their content. It's all free, streamed quick, and discussed from an open, skeptical viewpoint. There's one wonderful talk which James Randi begins with an overdose of homeopathic painkillers. I'll let you find that yourself...