I’ve been sent a link to a video about the BX Protocol. It’s appalling. The BX Protocol isn’t actually a protocol — there’s nothing that seems to be at all specific about it. It’s a collection of quack cures for everything, daubed with sciencey language to make it sound authentic. If you want to see what I mean, watch this con artist try to bamboozle his audience with his version of molecular genetics.
Ow. That hurts.
First, I’m always suspicious when someone invokes the name of St Tesla. He may have been a clever guy, but he was an inventor, not a scientist, and no, he did not invent a cure for cancer. He’s rightly famous for an engineering solution to the problem of transmitting electricity long distances. But the fannishness surrounding him sounds palpably religious.
But this guy’s explanation of transcription factors is flippin’ nonsense. He claims they “oscillate” and that cancer interferes with the “vibration” of p53, and that the mode of action of transcription factors is dependent on their “frequency”. His treatment for cancer is to basically aim a radar gun at the patient, tuned to wavelengths that will make transcription factors wiggle in such a way that they’ll stop cancer growth.
Nope. Nope nope noppity nope. All lies.
This is going to be a difficult weekend. Maybe you should all pray for me, or vibrate in my general direction, or something.
Dunc says
Oh, I’m so with you about Tesla… Here’s a fun thing to try: look him up in the index of a standard tertiary-level physics textbook. You’ll probably find that the only references are to the SI unit that was named in his honour, because he didn’t actually contribute anything of note to the basic science.
Another fun thing to try is to ask Tesla fans what they think of James Clerk Maxwell… A surprising number have never heard of him.
PZ Myers says
Yeah, the guy who unified electricity, magnetism, and light is nobody, but the charismatic showman with some solid engineering ideas is the hero.
parrothead says
Is it me or did that video sound like something Deepak Chopra could have written?
davidnangle says
Famous for the wrong thing, as with the first kardashian. What he attempted but didn’t do, and what he hinted at without revealing anything of substance, in his case.
Come to think of it, that’s the opposite of what the first kardashian got famous for.
peterchapman says
And the FDA says what………..?! Snake Oil in a fancy package w/big words and Tesla. And you don’t even get a shiny new car.
janiceintoronto says
My vibrator can do that too and it’s a lot more fun.
PZ Myers says
I doubt that your vibrator modifies transcription by wiggling transcription factors.
It’s acting EPIGENETICALLY. Yeah, that’s the ticket. That’s the correct magic buzzword for the 2010s.
schini says
does sound a bit dirty.
opposablethumbs says
OT, except for the beyond-words outrage:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/12/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-gun-auction
Well, shit.
justapurpleduck says
My ears, they bleed of the brain gooooo!
Also, how did they not realize we would just call this the BS protocol?
@parrothead
Totally had the same thought around the time he started mentioning it used vibrations haha
slithey tove (twas brillig (stevem)) says
Not only ineffective but could turn healthy cells cancerous. Tesla, was a wacko, yet did amazing engineering. Actually invented, himself, unlike Edison, who simply managed a team of inventors with occasional suggestions. Tesla was quite a genius and extended his creativity in whacko directions. He invented a great generator of high frequency static electricity in his eponymous coil. He thought he could scale it up to wirelessly power everything world wide. He also made some wacky speculations about radio signals coming from Mars. Still, his no wacky ideas and accomplishments were outstanding and deserving of respect. To hijack his name to try to authenticate another whacko idea is ‘intellect theft’.
pffft. I apologize for being a Teslafan.
ebotebo says
But,…….but,……..vibrations!
Rich Woods says
@parrothead #3:
Sorry, but that’s impossible. He didn’t say the word ‘quantum’ even once, let alone misunderstand and abuse any term it legitimately appears in.
davidgentile says
For LOLZ, or fury, or whatever, google “Charlene Werner”. She could be a special correspondent on the Dr. Oz show.
blf says
RationalWiki has a snarky article on this
BXBS Protocol:Katie Anderson says
So we’re curing cancer patients by putting them in the microwave?
johnlee says
It’s totally outageous that this guy is trying to sell a Telsar Radio Oscilator as a cure for cancer. I’ve got some scientifically proven sugar pills that will do it for half the price!
Marcus Ranum says
I love quack electro thingies!!! Someone tried to sell me one, once:
Me: How does it work?
Him: It uses an unknown energy field that cures stuff!
Me: If it’s unknown how do you know it’s there at all?
Him: ….
For a short shining moment I knew how Socrates must have felt all the time.
ChasCPeterson says
stevem @11:
Do tell, O skeptical non-woo Medical Expert. Do please explain the mechanism and evidence for your claim.
Or, better, shut up when you don’t know what you’re talking about.
unclefrogy says
this guys cure is crap for sure.
Tesla did more than invent 90% of radio and felt he got cheated out of the royalties by Marconi and the courts.
He invented and patented the AC electrical system we use today, the transmission, generation and motors.
He was also treated rather poorly by the political establishment of the time and deserves as much credit and respect as does Edison for bringing in the modern world. This is not to discount his own eccentricity and I suspect the effect of his own Catholicism.
uncle frogy
jimzy says
Tesla’s power transmission was a flop. All inventors fail. As unclefrogy points out, his successes i.e. the AC power system, immensely outweigh his failing at wireless power transmission. He invented the three phase power system that is everywhere. AC motors, generators, transformers, etc. While DC motors were about before, Tesla perfected the math necessary to optimally design DC motors and generators. The only reason wireless power transmission is talked about is because of all the cranks and conspiracy theorists. These wackos cloud Tesla’s legacy. A significant reason for Edison’s legacy is Edison was a PR expert.
Jim
slithey tove (twas brillig (stevem)) says
re 19:
excuse me for propagating my fear of exposure to powerful radiation, assuming damaged (burned) cells could be driven cancerous. Excuse me for dismissing a woo claim without references to support my fears. (and expressing them without adequate disclaimers)
Rob Grigjanis says
slithey tove @22:
Fear not! If I read it right, they’re using radar speed guns. The wavelengths involved are at least five orders of magnitude longer than those of ionizing radiation.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
Slithey tove #22
A cluster of testicular cancer was found with police officers using radar guns, and resting them in their laps. A preliminary study with a bigger cohort needed for a more definitive answer.
No larger study popped within the first five pages of a Google search. So I take the article with grain of salt.
chigau (違う) says
There was a parental unit near me who pulled their kids out of a particular school when the school installed wifi.
not because the kids would be able to access dubious (sex) stuff
but rather because the parent had read the wifi might cause cancer
Ariaflame, BSc, BF, PhD says
@Nerd of Redhead #24
Resting in laps suggests that it’s not the actual radio waves that would be causing any trouble there. Pressure changes? Temperature changes? Localised electrical fields? No idea, and it may just be a statistical aberration. Usual correlation and causation statement applies. But yes, radio waves too damn long to interact on a cellular level.
F.O. says
It’s unsurprising since most people’s understanding of science comes from hollywood movies.
Mrdead Inmypocket says
Couldn’t they also increase the amplitude of transcription oscillations with a Turbo Encabulator?
Mrdead Inmypocket says
One other thing, Tesla was the electric Jesus
Do yourself a favor watch that if you haven’t seen it. “This is hell, I’m in hell”. LMAO
anym says
Sooooo… they’re using radio waves to oxidise their patients?
Azkyroth, B*Cos[F(u)]==Y says
Nikola Tesla: the most brilliant, compelling evidence for the fucking necessity of control groups and double-blinding in human history.
dianne says
@24: I found a couple of later papers that suggested that it was a coincidence, but even if it’s true, it’s only testicular cancer. Meh, just cure it and go on already.
Nick Gotts says
dianne@32,
I’m guessing you don’t have testicles :-p
dianne says
Ah, hum, it’s true that the first step towards curing testicular cancer involves removal of the primary. But, you know, you’ve got a second one.
Nick Gotts says
dianne@34,
Yes, but look at what having only one (allegedly) did to Hitler!
blf says
Well, radar in those days was fairly primitive. I assume the radar guns were quite heavy, and since they used vacuum values (tubes) also quite hot, not to mention large and easy to drop. Ergo, when he tried to put it in his lap, he dropped it, crushing and burning at least one…
jimzy says
I doubt the radar guns are radiating while in their laps. I’m almost certain they are not emitting unless the trigger is pulled. Accidentally pointing a microwave emitter at your eye is a good way to quickly go blind. So leaving them turned on would be a bad idea. Unless, perhaps you were a Black radar gun designer selling them to the police or sheriffs in certain areas. Maybe the police were using them to keep their testicles warm? Or perhaps daring each other – seeing who was more manly (at least at the time) and could keep pointed there the longest?