001. at HuffPo, in "Ather Ali: Goodbye, My Friend" (2017-12-03) [2017 archived], MD Katz writes:
"[link] In Memoriam: Ather Ali, ND, MPH, MHS [...] Ather is gone from us appallingly too soon, a victim of a
rampaging esophageal cancer at the age of 42 [...] his tragically foreshortened career [...] he leaves behind his wife [...] and their two children [...] what a beautiful human being he was [...] he
was the first naturopathic physician ever to join the faculty of the
Yale School of Medicine. At the time of his death, he was Medical
Director for the program in Integrative Medicine at the renowned Smilow
Cancer Hospital [...] Ather was at first my student and protégé, and then my partner and colleague [...]";
those two Masters are from Yale per "two masters degrees from Yale, one in chronic disease epidemiology, the other in patient-oriented research." The ND is from Bastyr. Now it is Bastyr that falsely claims as science what is hugely NOT. And, of course, the familial effects are truly sad. And Yale, of course, has bought ALL-IN. But I still think it's horrible judgment. It's like saying 'he was the first astrologer to join NASA.' Now who benefits from that? NASA? It's just a very bad idea. A renown bad idea IMHO.
"for a span of many years, I was an inveterate PC user [...] I converted some years back [...to Apple computers] my personal tech guru, Ather Ali, advised me [...] Ather's guidance on the matter of tech was impeccable [...] I never needed Apple tech support; I only ever needed Ather on speed dial. The naturopathic Zen master of 21st century tech’s most Byzantine conundra? Yes, that was Dr. Ather Ali [...] maybe Ather was the alter ego of a superhero all along [...] in his absence, we have that empty space of loss and legacy, purpose and possibility to fill together [...] we can pass the torch [...] I keep hearing his voice in my head [...]";
so WHAT. Tech skills. What about epistemic integrity? How HEROIC was the ND therein? Or Katz? And is that a call for new potential ND apprentices?
"the friends, family and colleagues of Dr. Ather Ali have established a fund at the Yale School of Medicine in his honor and memory. The Dr. Ather Ali Commemorative Fund for Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine
will support Ather’s vision and honor his contributions to the field of
patient centered, evidence guided, holistic and genuinely caring care. Our
collective contributions are intended to create an endowed fund at the
Yale School of Medicine where Ather’s legacy will be permanently
established [...]";
oh Yale, have you SO
FALLEN from grace. But, $$$ talks. And, of course, "evidence based"
here is being applied to grossly what we know to be
science-unsupportable or -ejected.
"he was analytically humanistic and holistically reductionist - if such things can even be. In Ather, the parts of disparate parties gave up their restive discord, and took their quiet places in a decisively greater whole. What a beautiful thing that was [...]
he was an unapologetic advocate for holism and patient-centered medicine [...and an] unwaveringly committed to embracing the tenets of evidence-based medicine [...]";
an argument for nebulousness, wherein 2+2 is whatever. Blending science with nonscience and calling it 'the same thing' is what I take from this. That' s not beautiful, it's crazy. Now, the fake crisis too is to stipulate that only through introducing crap into medicine is there a "patient-centered" relationship.
he was an unapologetic advocate for holism and patient-centered medicine [...and an] unwaveringly committed to embracing the tenets of evidence-based medicine [...]";
an argument for nebulousness, wherein 2+2 is whatever. Blending science with nonscience and calling it 'the same thing' is what I take from this. That' s not beautiful, it's crazy. Now, the fake crisis too is to stipulate that only through introducing crap into medicine is there a "patient-centered" relationship.
"like no one else I have ever met, my friend, Ather Ali, was a bridge over those troubled waters. I met Ather nearly a decade and a half ago, not long after his graduation from the 4-year, natural medicine program at Bastyr University. His native predilections for holistic, patient-centered care were implicitly obvious. He had chosen the ND degree, not a MD degree. He grew up with an appreciation for the traditional medical practices of India, Ayurvedic medicine in particular [...]";
I find myself struck by the idea that this "troubled" is a fake crisis. And the bridging, of medicine, modern medicine, and the "holistic patient-centered" is a bullshit polarity. What's being argued for is the crisis of 2+2 =5. It's a fake crisis. Ayurveda, after all, claims to often to be science even at Bastyr which claims all its programs are "science-based" including naturopathy, and it's so easy to show how that's NOT true. Bridging science and fake science is not a crisis, it's an AGENDA. It's an agenda of EROSION of integrities.
"Ather epitomized the possibilities in the still rarefied space where care is scientifically careful, intellectually robust, and profoundly humane [...]";
this is Katz's fantasy: the scientific packaging of crappola. Not intellectually robust, because when you strip away the veneer, you have a polished turd.
"the best memorial to this man [...] to that end, a dedicated fund has been established at the Yale School of Medicine [...which is] a means for us to address our sense of loss by taking action in Ather's honor and the chance to advance the field to which he dedicated his career [...] the first $10,000 of contributions will be matched by an anonymous donor [...see] https://giving.yale.edu [...] checks should be made out to Yale School of Medicine: Yale School of Medicine Office of Development Attn.: Charles Turner PO Box 7611 New Haven, CT 06519-0611 [...] Yale is a tax exempt charitable organization and all gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please direct any questions about supporting the fund to Charles Turner, Associate Vice President for Development, Director of Medical Development: charles.turner@yale.edu 203-436-8560 [...]";
oh Yale. $$$. Let's institutionalize this. The 2+2 = 5 field.
"Ather and I secured NIH research funding together, more than once. We published our first peer-reviewed paper together more than a decade ago. Ather went on to publish dozens of peer-reviewed papers, playing a lead role in NIH-funded research demonstrating the effectiveness of massage therapy for osteoarthritis [...] just a month before his death, Dr. Ali and colleagues published results of an important study of individualized diets for irritable bowel syndrome, which garnered high profile, and well-deserved media attention [...]";
what's so alternative about massage? The ruse of course is that they can't published things supporting homeopathy with rigor though they'd imply that 'it integrative to include that', and when they do publish something, it's mundane. In other words, they promise to produce 2 + 2 =5 as their project, but instead they give you simple legitimate math.
"two currents predominate as modern healthcare navigates its tortuous channel toward an uncertain future. One is the rising standard of scientific evidence in an era of advanced technologies, meta-analyses, and ever more powerful means of probing and parsing. The other is the rising standard of patient empowerment, if not entitlement, ironically also a product of technology [...this] patient preference [...]";
so here's the false conundrum that Katz has created: first and foremost, please that patient no matter what kind of connection their preferences have with reality. And also, do science. But don't disempower the patient by contradicting their preferences. They are entitled to their delusions. He's like a child caught between two divorced parents, except the marriage was epistemology.
"to the one side are those who see only the most stringent interpretations and applications of science as reliable defense against our misperceptions, misguided hopes, and bias. To the other are those favoring the time-honored over the t-tested; prioritizing kinder, gentler treatments and the precautionary principle; inclined to remind that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence [...]";
ah, the EROSION. And the false elevation.
"the roiling currents of modern medicine, between the separate banks and disparate factions, over the turbulent eddies of art and science, evidence and empathy, responsible science and responsive humanism [...]";
well, the solution to this is not to lower standards, but naturopathy is inherently an unethical sectarian pseudoscience [USP]. How else do you explain the AANP still claiming that homeopathy is a "medicinal science" and the board exam claiming its a "clinical science"? That's quite irresponsible, not science, and in employing the inherently USP-ic, Yale and its agents do quite a disservice. In NO WAY do I consider that humanistic and empowering.
"we examined the evidence for every treatment modality considered, and were ruthlessly honest with ourselves and one another when that evidence was deficient [...]";
again, why no words regarding the falsehoods of the national naturopathy apparatus? I don't sense ruthless honesty therein. What I see is the elevation of dishonesty and lies of omission.
