Don't Believe What You Think: Argument For and Against SCAM

So-called alternative medicine (SCAM*) is largely useless; very few SCAMs demonstrably generate more good than harm. Yet, SCAM is popular and has grown into a huge business. Spending on SCAM in Australia (2016) was estimated to be AUS$3.9bn, in the UK (2008) £4.5bn, and in the US (2012) US $30.2bn. Why is something that is expensive and useless nevertheless popular? One answer is that consumers are constantly being misled about SCAM. Consequently, many of us have come to believe things that...