Why patients want bad medicines - Dr Micheal De Barra

We have teamed up with other Skeptics in the Pub Groups across the UK to deliver online talks during the pandemic....and we are still going strong!

Live event link: https://www.twitch.tv/sitp

For most of human history, an average patient meeting an average doctor was probably harmed rather than helped. This talk will explore how medical treatments can persist for decades - even centuries - despite having little or no beneficial effects. One focus will be on how features of biology and psychology make figuring out what works especially hard without tools like randomised controlled trials. I'll also look at how features of human psychology can make some kinds of treatments intuitive, despite being useless or worse. Finally, I will examine if the benefits of treatments might lie not in what they do to your body, but in what they communicate to others about your need for care.

Mícheál de Barra is a lecturer in psychology in the Centre for Culture and Evolution, Brunel University London. His research focuses on unnecessary treatment and harmful health behaviours.

About Skeptics in the Pub - Online We are a coalition of UK-based Skeptics groups. Formed as the Covid-19 epidemic brought our country to a standstill, we are working to deliver high-quality online events focusing on Science, reason, and critical thinking.

New to Skeptics in the Pub or Twitch or both? We anticipate that Twitch or SitP may be new for some of you so we will have early doors at 6:45 to welcome new attendees and answer any questions you may have. A useful guide to Twitch here: https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-twitch-4143337 You don't need a Twitch account to watch the talk only if you want to take part in the chat. You won't need an account to ask questions in the Q&A though. More details on accessibility, inclusion and safety here: https://sitp.online/online-safety