I read a really good article in Forbes on the subject of the trend toward "natural" health remedies, "There's Nothing Special About Alternative Medicine". It can be found at the link below.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2013/02/28/theres-nothing-special-about-alternative-medicine/
I am really quite skeptical in general. But even I have fallen for things like Echinacea in the past (mentioned in this article). All I can say is that anecdotal evidence is powerful to a creature as social as a human being. And the placebo effect is real so that can make it difficult to tell if your alternative meds are actually working.
But even though "natural" products are super trendy right now and i have sometimes really hoped that they would work like the magic they sound like, I just wanted to publicly declare my love of the scientific process. It is sturdy and honest and fair. This article is a very excellent summation of my beliefs.
The end.
Amen!
ReplyDeletehear hear!
ReplyDeleteScience is the process of discovery of the unknown by using facts which we have previously learned by doing repeatable, well documented studies. Building upon these previous facts, we test an assumption against this knowledge base. Controlled (often double-blinded) studies help erase the powerful "placebo effect" which convinces the unscientific that some "product" is OK. The studies which the "natural" remedies lack are expensive and time consuming, hence they are not done. There are many "snake oil" remedies out there and a lot of people are throwing their money away because of ignorance. The scientific method of discovery is misunderstood by most people today and in some ways the world is not much more informed than people were in the dark ages. Yes, I also, believe in science.
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