HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lynne McTaggart (born 23 January 1951, New York City) is an American
alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...
author, publisher, journalist, lecturer and activist. She is the author of six books, including ''The Field'', ''The Intention Experiment'' and ''The Power of 8'', and is the co-creator of the alternative medicine magazine ''What Doctors Don't Tell You''. According to her author profile, she is a spokesperson "on consciousness, the new physics, and the practices of conventional and alternative medicine."


Career

In her autobiography McTaggart reports that after recovering from an illness using alternative medical approaches her husband suggested she start a newsletter on the risks of some medical practices and devised the title: "What Doctors Don't Tell You". In 1996 McTaggart published the book with the same name. She and her husband set up a public company in 2001, ''What Doctors Don't Tell You plc'', later ''Conatus plc'', which published newsletters, magazines and audio-tapes based on conferences and seminars including, ''What Doctors Don't Tell You'', ''PROOF!'', and ''Living the Field''. This company was
wound up Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...
in 2009. A new company, ''Wddty Publishing Ltd'', run by McTaggart and her husband, took over the ''What Doctors Don't Tell You'' website, and ''New Age Publishing Ltd'' for McTaggart's other publishing and public-speaking activities. Publication of their monthly magazine ''What Doctors Don't Tell You'' restarted in August 2012, in a glossy format aimed at newsagent and high-street distribution, instead of using the previous subscription model, and carrying paid advertising, something McTaggart had originally said WDDTY would not do. In her book ''The Field'', McTaggart asserts that the universe is unified by an interactive field. The book has been translated into fourteen languages. In a later book, ''The Intention Experiment'', she discusses research in the field of human
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
which she says supports the theory that "the universe is connected by a vast quantum energy field" and can be influenced by thought.
Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of '' Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientif ...
states that this belief is contradicted by conflicting evidence (e.g.
studies on intercessory prayer The efficacy of prayer has been studied since at least 1872, generally through experiments to determine whether prayer or intercessory prayer has a measurable effect on the health of the person for whom prayer is offered. A study in 2006 indica ...
). McTaggart has a personal-development program called "Living The Field" which is based on an idiosyncratic interpretation of the zero point field as applied to
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
. She appears in the extended version of the movie ''
What the Bleep Do We Know!? ''What the Bleep Do We Know!?'' (stylized as ''What tнē #$*! D̄ө ωΣ (k)πow!?'' and ''What the #$*! Do We Know!?'') is a 2004 American pseudo-scientific film that posits a spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness (as ...
'', (2004). From 1996 until 2002 McTaggart and her husband Bryan Hubbard published the monthly newsletter ''Mother Knows Best'', later renamed ''Natural Parent magazine'', focusing on
home schooling Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...
, environmental and health concerns, including nutrition and
homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...
. They also published related books: ''My Learning Child'', ''My Spiritual Child'' and ''My Healthy Child''. Significant portions of her book about
Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington Kathleen Agnes Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (; February 20, 1920 – May 13, 1948), also known as "Kick" Kennedy, was an American socialite. She was the second daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, a sister of U.S. P ...
appeared without attribution or permission in ''The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga'' (1987), by historian
Doris Kearns Goodwin Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalism, sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of numerous U.S. presidents. Goodwin's book ''No Ordinary ...
. Goodwin eventually resolved the matter with a public apology to McTaggart and a "substantial" monetary settlement.


Criticism

Ben Goldacre Ben Michael Goldacre (born 20 May 1974) is a British physician, academic and science writer. He is the first Bennett Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine and director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science at the University of Oxford ...
has criticized McTaggart for speaking out against the drug Tamiflu, claiming that her concerns about the drug were completely unfounded. While Goldacre is correct that research has shown that Tamiflu can have positive affects on reducing mortality in patients with influenza H1N1, he is not correct in saying that McTaggarts statements are completely unfounded. Medical research does also support McTaggarts statements that there can be harmful effects. ''The Field'' has been characterized by Mark Henderson of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' as
pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
, focusing on her personal understanding of quantum physics as a misconception. McTaggart was reported to have threatened
Simon Singh Simon Lehna Singh, (born 19 September 1964) is a British popular science author and theoretical and particle physicist. His written works include ''Fermat's Last Theorem'' (in the United States titled ''Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve ...
with legal action after he contacted Comag, the distributors of WDDTY, complaining that the magazine was "largely unscientific" and "promoting advice that could potentially harm readers." "Also, many of the adverts appear to make pseudoscientific and unsubstantiated claims," he said. "I even offered to meet with Comag and introduce them to medical experts, but they have not accepted this invitation. When I suggested that I would blog about our email exchange, their reaction was to tell me in no uncertain terms: 'I should inform you that we have sought legal advice in respect of this matter. We would take any attempts to damage our reputation on social media or elsewhere very seriously.'" In the months between first publication of ''What Doctors Don't Tell You'' in magazine form, and February 2013, 54 breaches of the Code of Advertising Practice in 11 adverts were adjudicated and upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority along with a further 11 informally resolved cases, concerning adverts in the first two issues,WDDTY #9 - Taking Stock
''Nightingale Collaboration'', 27 Feb 2013
with more breaches in subsequent issues too. In an interview on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
, GP and author
Margaret McCartney Margaret Mary McCartney is a general practitioner, freelance writer, broadcaster and lecturer based in Glasgow, Scotland. McCartney is a vocal advocate for evidence-based medicine. McCartney was a regular columnist at the ''British Medical Journ ...
stated: "I'm astounded that Lynne thinks this is an evidence-based publication. It's anything but," she said. "The problem with evidence is that it can tell you things that you'd rather not know. A lot of the time medicine does do harm but that's why doctors and scientists are duty-bound to put their research findings out there and to stop doing things that cause harm. What we shouldn't do is abandon medicine and the scientific method and go straight for alternative medicine with no good evidence that that works either." She criticised stories in the magazine as "absolute rubbish" and "ridiculously alarmist". In an article in The Times in October 2013 Tom Whipple, science correspondent, said that "Experts are calling on high street shops to stop selling a magazine that claims that
vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...
cures
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
, suggests homeopathy could treat cancer and implies that the
cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...
vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
has killed hundreds of girls."


Personal life

McTaggart is married to publisher Bryan Hubbard and lives in London with her two daughters.


Works

* ''Kathleen Kennedy: Her Life and Times'' (1983) * ''What Doctors Don't Tell You: The Truth About The Dangers Of Modern Medicine'' (1999) * ''The Cancer Handbook: What's Really Working'' (2000) * ''The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe'' (2003) * ''The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World'' (2007) * ''The Bond: Connecting through the Space Between Us'' (2011) * ''The Power of Eight: Harnessing the Miraculous Energies of a Small Group to Heal Others, Your Life, and the World'' (2017)


References


External links


Lynne McTaggart's umbrella website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McTaggart, Lynne 1951 births Living people Alternative cancer treatment advocates Alternative medicine activists American anti-vaccination activists British health and wellness writers Nautilus Book Award winners Writers from Wimbledon, London Quantum mysticism advocates