tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5104479.post113421404754193563..comments2023-05-27T23:20:32.194+10:00Comments on Marco's Blog: Non-scientific medicine and healingMarco Parigihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702055111711651319noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5104479.post-1134452312391120162005-12-13T15:38:00.000+10:002005-12-13T15:38:00.000+10:00Well, yes but you have to objectively demonstrate ...Well, yes but you have to objectively demonstrate that they are loopy. They are at an advantage, politically, because in a sense we have to prove to the powers that be that they are frauds (scientifically) but within their peers, they can be "qualified" as following correct doctrine and procedures as proscribed by their loopiness, much as an outsider has to trust scientific peer review, without being capable of understanding what is being reviewed.Marco Parigihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00702055111711651319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5104479.post-1134445216844260892005-12-13T13:40:00.000+10:002005-12-13T13:40:00.000+10:00Jenny has it right- if you pretend to be scientifi...Jenny has it right- if you pretend to be scientific in order to get your method accepted, and prove that you are a clueless nitwit by doing so, then the appropriate technical adjective for you is indeed, 'loopy'.Dr Clamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14985493422534275997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5104479.post-1134435529270950092005-12-13T10:58:00.000+10:002005-12-13T10:58:00.000+10:00The argument that say, Chinese medicine, or homeop...The argument that say, Chinese medicine, or homeopathy doesn't belong in a science degree is very strong. However, the corollary that one or another group of non-scientists "is loopy" doesn't necessarily follow and in some instances can't be proved one way or the other. The fact that non-scientific medicine is "popular" is being twisted around into politically based decisions to associate it with scientific medicine. I am not sure of the best way to attack this trend.Marco Parigihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00702055111711651319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5104479.post-1134333890831733022005-12-12T06:44:00.000+10:002005-12-12T06:44:00.000+10:00There was a report of a study done at some german ...There was a report of a study done at some german university a little while ago where they found that acupuncture did have a positive effect, but it was completely independent of the whole network of force lines and pressure points- they saw the same thing whatever random location they stuck the needles in.<BR/><BR/>"See! Statistics show it works!' is not science. <BR/><BR/>"This is why it works, and these are the experiments we have done to test the mechanism," - that is science.<BR/><BR/>Anything that works belongs in a Medicine degree; things that have some rational explanation belong in a degree with 'Science' in its name.Dr Clamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14985493422534275997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5104479.post-1134295221913046282005-12-11T20:00:00.000+10:002005-12-11T20:00:00.000+10:00From my own experience in a health related field, ...From my own experience in a health related field, the biggest problem most of the people here have is when one of those in the alternative medicine field try to use the scientific method to show their practice works - ie statistically based experiments - and either use very poor methods/data/analysis and say "See! it works!" or use good science and come to completely different conclusions to any scientist who looks at their data. <BR/><BR/>Theres a good example I've heard of someone who was vaccinating chickens with water from a container banged on the table "with feeling". All the chickens died when challenged with a virus, and the vaccine vaccinated ones didn't. The researcher claimed the results showed that the water vaccinated chickens were protected. What the?<BR/><BR/>But I'm willing to consider that alternative medicines may work (even disregarding the placebo effect) until and unless thorough scientific examination proves they have no effect. My very sceptical father had acupuncture for his back after the doctor ran out of other things to try and he was very surprised to find that it worked. That wasn't a placebo effect or the things he'd tried first that he thought would work would have given him the same effect.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12909466417710679436noreply@blogger.com