[ExI] New Scientist: Quack remedies spread by virtue of being useless

[Michael LaTorra]

Quack remedies spread by virtue of being useless
01 May 2009 by Ewen Callaway

Eating a vulture won't clear a bad case of syphilis nor will a drink made of
rotting snakes treat leprosy, but these and other bogus medical treatments
spread precisely because they don't work. That's the counterintuitive
finding of a mathematical model of medical quackery.

Ineffective treatments don't cure an illness, so sufferers demonstrate them
to more people than those who recovery quickly after taking real medicines.
...
*Read full article at*: http://tinyurl.com/dyluw6
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