Why is it that the more ancient a certain alternative healing technique is (or the more Eastern it is), the more “hip” it is to practice it?
Isn’t it well-established that people in ancient times were less smart than we are today? What does this say about the medicinal techniques they employed?
With the advent of modern (“Western”) medicine, the average human lifespan has nearly doubled, numerous diseases have been completely eradicated, and we are well on our way to reverse-engineering the very structure of life itself. This is due only to the fact that all forms of voodoo, magick, and pseudoscience have been eliminated from the medical profession.
For New Age proponents to attempt to reinsert pseudoscientific quackery into medicine and “restore harmony with the ancient ways” is not only counterproductive, but dangerous, and ultimately futile.
February 27th, 2006 at 10:16 am
My view of this won’t win many converts: people who believe in magical cures, unseen and unmeasurable powers, etc. are anti-science, and those who are now anti-science were probably intimidated by the subject at some point in their lives. This is the “comfort” principle — people tend to do, think, and believe those things they are comfortable with, and avoid the uncomfortable. Anti-scientists then seek support from their fellow anti-scientists, and they have a large population from which to recruit (i.e., exploit). Since people want to be comfortable with themselves, a sub-culture develops and become self-legitimizing/self-promoting. Plus, there’s money to be made in it.
There is a certain unassailable safeness in believing in magic — since it can’t be seen (and since the magic evaporates when it is closely inspected – how convenient!) its workings can be asserted but not challenged. We should be teaching about Karl Popper in high school, well before frogs are dissected and definitely before F=ma. We need to be teaching science in a way that makes people feel more powerful, having this knowledge in their arsenal. But we don’t do this, instead, we fill kids with useless facts and dates and formulas, and then we negatively reinforce those who don’t spit back this stuff on their test papers. Our educational system is churning out future new-age hypesters every graduation day.
The peer-review journal process is not perfect or foolproof, and people who are anti-science revel when the media reports on a “scientist” who fudges study data for his/her own purposes. While some may use this as a reason why science should not be trusted, I would argue that these people are probably predisposed against science in the first place. “One day they tell us not to eat toast, and the next day they say it’s good for us”. How often have you heard that? “They” (scientists) are not “us” (normal people who didn’t do so good in science class) and so “they” cannot be trusted, and so neither can science, or logical thinking. So anything goes.
June 23rd, 2006 at 11:54 am
I agree with you on some of these points. Keep the medieval doctors away, we all know that the leeches are not going to remove the evil… Moving on, it’s unfair for someone who practices holistic therapy to be sued for having the word “healing” in their business name. Here is what I think: “don’t let anyone tell you what is and what isn’t”. FEEL EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF, THINK EVERY THOUGHT ON YOUR OWN ACCORD. I think this site is kind of funny, clearly you are scouring the internet for absuridites. They are abundant and ever-replenishing, sort of like this site, hmmm…
March 27th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Where did you get your info? I’m sorry to say but I think you are wrong. I like to remember how doctors used to think washing one’s hands was useless. The only reason lifespan is longer is because of improvements in basic hygeine, it would be even longer and people would be healthier during their lives if there wasn’t so much pollution, in food and water mainly. How do you explain the current epidemic of aids, cancer, and all sorts of diseases that didn’t exist (according to historical documents) before the late 1800′s? Why do you think current doctors are so knowledgeable? You’re wrong. Most main stream medical info is so ridiculously retarded, we are far worse off than 100′s of years ago. Pray you don’t get sick, because there is no help, except common sense and “alternative”s.