“Dr Dixon took offence to a review [by David Aaronovitch] in The Times of Mark Henderson’s new book, The Geek Manifesto… This excellent review evidently upset Dr Dixon, because on 20th May, his letter appeared in The Times…This letter seemed remarkable to me. It is very close to being an admission that alternative medicine is largely placebo…We have been here before. Many people have discussed the dubious ethics of deceiving patients by giving placebos while pretending they are no such thing. There is wide agreement that it is not only unethical, but also unnecessary.” Professor David Colquhoun, DCScience (26th May 2012)