An Elmorite bites back – at last

Well it seems that at last someone has challenged me on the whole elmore thing. See previous articles here, here, here and here. This correspondent seemed to think putting me down was the way to make his point. So as is my prerogative, here’s a point by point review of his letter:

I just want to say that I have been using elmore oil for a few years now and it I think it’s amazing. It’s not just me who seems to think so either, but many of my friends and family (including my wife) also use and love elmore oil. I had terrible pain in my back, as well as crippling arthritis in my hands which made it difficult to hold objects (brought on from years as an electrician). But elmore oil fixed me up like no amount of glucosamine ever did and I swear by it, and so does my wife.

I’m glad you feel better. However, I bet you would feel exactly the same using vegetable oil, and that’s what the experts found.

I stumbled across this blog and I have to say it made me pretty angry to hear somebody slagging off a wonderful product, after doing little more than reading the website and calling it “research.”

Actually I did more that read the website, if you had done your research and read the other blog entries. Yes I checked their website, and the many ‘front’ companies they have set up. I also tracked down what they say passes for testing, and also the CV of each of the so-called researchers. I also tracked down, and interviewed the two researchers here who were approached by the company to do testing.  One tested the product and found no beneficial effect. The other didn’t proceed but gave an opinion based on sound science, which I think is credible. I would stack their credentials up against the famous hospital in the Phillipines, and the bogus doctors there, especially Dr. Bill who is a known snake-oil salesman. Have you followed these up? I’ll give you a starting point – have elmore’s ‘researchers’ published anything else relevant to this topic? The answer is NIL, ZIP. What about our local people, from Latrobe University? They have a long list of prior publications and obviously a keen interest in understanding how things work. So, whom do YOU believe?

Did you even bother to go and get a bottle to try for yourself before you wrote this? And what about the thousands of testimonials from people just like me that use elmore oil and say how great it is? I guess they’re all wrong and you’re the only one who is right? It seems to me that you’re just one of those types who likes conflict, who likes to be on the outer. Why else would you start your own blog and use it to can products you’ve never even tried or tested?

Because that’s not how science works. Here’s some science for you: anecdotes<>data. This means anecdotes are not the same as data. Millions of people swear by homeopathy, but it’s bogus. Millions of people swear by chiropractic, but it’s of limited value other than temporary relief of some back issues. Millions of people use acupuncture – also bogus, (and don’t get me started on religion). This stuff has been tested over and over and over, and still no positive results. What do I make of all the millions who ‘swear’ by it then? And yes, I like conflict, if it exposes the nonsense being perpetuated by the ill-informed.

I understand that you created this blog to “to encourage conversation, not simply be a one-way rant by me” and yet that’s exactly what it is. This post is months old and you’ve only had 4 lousy replies. I’m guessing 3 of them were by a friend or family member who only even bothered to write anything to humour you.

OK, firstly, I’m not in it for the fame. So the stats don’t worry me at all. Secondly, if you would like some data, WordPress provide some good stats, and as it happens, the elmore articles are THE MOST VIEWED articles on the site, and number in the THOUSANDS. The only negative comment I’ve had is, well, yours! Perhaps one other which I suspect came from the elmore marketing people, and who never responded to my challenge to provide evidence for their claims. It seems no one else wants to lynch me. On the contrary, there were many supportive comments, so I guess you got that wrong. By the way, one of those supportive comments was by Professor David Colquhoun. I know his credentials won’t impress you, but go ahead, google him.

But enough about you, more to the point.

Yes, well too late. You’ve played the man already, and displayed a typical tactic of those who are really uninformed and misguided. Yes, I’m the bad guy, not elmore who have lied to your face about their so-called research, and who continue to avoid providing it to me. No to mention sucking up your cash at a great rate. Barry, you’re 61 I’m guessing, you should be saving your $, not splashing it about on over-priced vegetable oil.

You seem to insist that elmore oil only works if it can be proved in a lab by a bunch of white coats in a fancy duble whatever study. Which brings me to my earlier point. Do you actually believe that tens of thousands of people are all lying? Are you calling me a liar?

Nice try Baz. I would never call you a liar but you sound pretty keen for me to do so!. It sounds like you believe what you are saying, and therefore you’re not lying. But I’m glad you got the whole point of the article – that remedy can only be said to work if one can demonstrate that it works in a double blind study. You seem not to know what that even is – am I right?  It’s a study that removes wishful thinking and the placebo effect and all sorts of other biases from the equation, and answers the question: does this provide any beneficial effects? Simple really. And no it doesn’t need to be in a lab, nor done by people in white coats. However, if by white coats you are referring to people who are actually trained in science and know what they’re doing, then sure, why not white coats?(By the way, if I were a betting man, I’d wager that you also don’t believe in human-induced climate change. Right? After all, someone’s got to stand up to all these scientists)

Without this amazing product I wouldn’t even be able to hold my pot glass or bend to tie my shoes. My wife wouldn’t be able to walk up a set of steps. Now I can do what I bloody well like and my wife could run up a mountain if she bloody well chose too. And it’s all thanks to elmore oil. It does work, and there’s a reason why so many people love it and why it’s all over the news. If you want to go ahead and “encourage conversation” then I’d like to see you publish this reply.

I’ve done more that just publish the reply – I’ve made it a feature, as you can see.

Again, I’m glad you feel better, and especially that you can still down those pots. Go for it. Yes there’s a reason “why some many people love it”: wishful thinking and self-delusion. Please read my earlier entry on confirmation bias – but beware, there are white coats involved.

If the fairy dust is working for you, then great! But don’t expect me to share your beliefs without evidence.