whatstheharm.net is a website that is collecting together information on the harm caused by various non-scientific or pseudo-scientific disciplines like alternative medicine (e.g. homeopathy), paranormal phenomena (e.g. astral projections) etc. This is essentially an answer to the standard question – “Even if you don’t believe in it, what’s the harm in trying it out?” For example, here are the first two entries from their homeopathy page:
Jacqueline Alderslade
Age: 55
Hollymount, County Mayo, IrelandDied (asthma attack)
July 2001
A homeopath told her to give up her asthma medication. She later died of an asthma attack.
Lorie AtikianAge: 17 months
Ontario, CanadaDied (malnutrition, pneumonia)
September 25, 1987
Lorie’s parents, concerned about modern food additives, were advised to give her an organic vegetarian diet. She was also treated with herbal & homeopathic remedies and an energy machine. Her parents were convicted of neglect.
To be fair, I haven’t really looked at this website with a critical eye, and it is quite possible (likely?) that it errs in the opposite direction – by over-representing the problems. But then again, fairness and accuracy have never been my strong points.