Abstract
Unfortunately, science has too often been characterized as antagonistic to the field of complementary and alternative medicine. 1–3 In reality, the scientific method does not take sides but is merely a means to understand nature. In the biomedical arena, scientific methodology has contributed to increased longevity and improved health (and therefore better quality of life) for millions of people throughout the world. Instead, what should be considered the enemy (and, thus, the focus of concern) in all health care areas is the corrupt and fraudulent use of scientific methods to advance personal agendas for power, money, and influence. 4–9 Goodstein has produced a short readable text that details the difference between proper science and fraud. Admittedly, his examples tend to be from his own experience as a physicist at the California Institute of Technology. However, the rules of science are the same no matter what field, and Goodstein provides an excellent analysis of good versus bad science. Goodstein points out the fallacy of the idea of the 20th-century philosopher Karl Popper that falsifiability is a mandatory step in science (a thought echoed by Albert Einstein: “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong”). While falsifiability is a philosophically satisfying notion, it is unworkable in practical terms, since no researcher will likely be successful in applying for grant funding merely to repeat another investigator’s experiment. 10 Goodstein even describes his own personal experience of devoting time and efforts to disproving claims, with both his work and the original theory now having long been forgotten. Thus, as Goodstein shows throughout the text, science is predicated on ethical behavior by its practitioners. This book should be read by anyone concerned with the plethora of fraudulent, unethical, and dangerous pseudoscientific ideas being circulated in print and through a various media (including the Internet). Goodstein’s analysis is particularly important for those concerned about fraud in health care fields, where lives are at stake.