Comments on: Homeopathy and the Natural History Museum http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/homeopathy-and-the-natural-history-museum/ Scotty, The Naked Time, stardate 1704.3, Episode 7 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:26:56 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: apgaylard http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/homeopathy-and-the-natural-history-museum/#comment-695 apgaylard Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:03:43 +0000 http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/?p=453#comment-695 draust: Thanks for the clarification - I misremembered the blurb on Milgrom's website. The PhD is interesting as it marries an entirely proper discipline with nonsense. I would question whether respectable scientists need to be a bit more circumspect: is classifying the contents of the recipe for pixie dust really science? draust:
Thanks for the clarification – I misremembered the blurb on Milgrom’s website. The PhD is interesting as it marries an entirely proper discipline with nonsense. I would question whether respectable scientists need to be a bit more circumspect: is classifying the contents of the recipe for pixie dust really science?

]]> By: draust http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/homeopathy-and-the-natural-history-museum/#comment-694 draust Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:24:06 +0000 http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/?p=453#comment-694 I think Loopy Lionel was her PhD External Examiner, AP, not the supervisor; the info is in Lionel's homeopathic bio <a href="http://www.galahomeopathy.com/ArticleView.aspx?hidden=y&id=822" rel="nofollow">here</a>, which I guess is the source you were referring to. The two supervisors mentioned for her PhD are both very respectable scientists in plant systematics (classification); Barnett has now retired from Reading and is an Emeritus Prof, while Humphries was a long-time Nat Hist Museum (NHM) bod and a very big cheese in systematics. I think he too may now have retired, as he is not listed on the NHM's staff list and the <a href="http://www.systass.org/news/" rel="nofollow">Systematics Association has just held a <i>Festschrift</i> for him</a> (presumably to mark his retirement). Humphries is a past President of the Systematics Assocn. Personally I would hazard a guess that this was a part-time "external" PhD self-funded by the student (who is, of course, a practising homeopath). The two supervisors presumably took it as a problem in plant systematics and thus independent of whether homeopathic remedies actually contain any plant matter from the plants in the "homeopathic formulary". The NHM is next door to Imperial (where LL used to work in his latter day "proper scientists" incarnation) so I could believe he would seem an obvious choice as a "sympathetic" examiner for what might have been a rather thin sort of a PhD thesis. I think Loopy Lionel was her PhD External Examiner, AP, not the supervisor; the info is in Lionel’s homeopathic bio here, which I guess is the source you were referring to.

The two supervisors mentioned for her PhD are both very respectable scientists in plant systematics (classification); Barnett has now retired from Reading and is an Emeritus Prof, while Humphries was a long-time Nat Hist Museum (NHM) bod and a very big cheese in systematics. I think he too may now have retired, as he is not listed on the NHM’s staff list and the Systematics Association has just held a Festschrift for him (presumably to mark his retirement). Humphries is a past President of the Systematics Assocn.

Personally I would hazard a guess that this was a part-time “external” PhD self-funded by the student (who is, of course, a practising homeopath). The two supervisors presumably took it as a problem in plant systematics and thus independent of whether homeopathic remedies actually contain any plant matter from the plants in the “homeopathic formulary”.

The NHM is next door to Imperial (where LL used to work in his latter day “proper scientists” incarnation) so I could believe he would seem an obvious choice as a “sympathetic” examiner for what might have been a rather thin sort of a PhD thesis.

]]> By: apgaylard http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/homeopathy-and-the-natural-history-museum/#comment-693 apgaylard Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:48:21 +0000 http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/?p=453#comment-693 pleick: Thanks for your comment. During my googling I came accross a reference to Bharatan having a background in chemistry; but the quality of the source wasn't very good. I did find out that one of her PhD supervisors was one Lionel Milgrom. That probably says it all about the value of her PhD. pleick: Thanks for your comment. During my googling I came accross a reference to Bharatan having a background in chemistry; but the quality of the source wasn’t very good.

I did find out that one of her PhD supervisors was one Lionel Milgrom. That probably says it all about the value of her PhD.

]]> By: pleick http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/homeopathy-and-the-natural-history-museum/#comment-692 pleick Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:31:09 +0000 http://apgaylard.wordpress.com/?p=453#comment-692 That a reputable museum would hire somebody whose main qualification seems to be a PhD in homeopathy as a research associate is worrying in itself. You could just as well give the zoology deparment to a leading expert on unicorns. I suppose that it would be mentioned in your quote if Bharatan had a degree in a real scientific discipline... That a reputable museum would hire somebody whose main qualification seems to be a PhD in homeopathy as a research associate is worrying in itself. You could just as well give the zoology deparment to a leading expert on unicorns.
I suppose that it would be mentioned in your quote if Bharatan had a degree in a real scientific discipline…

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