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People are by nature, good. Unless given a reason, we readily trust and believe others.
Some skeptics require little more than a few technical and 'sciencey' words. But when it involves one's health and well-being, a little lie brings grave consequences. |
“The idea that ancient equal years of accumulated wisdom is a fallacy. In medicine, 'ancient' also means developed before we understood the causes of disease, before germ theory. It was based on ignorance then, and age makes it no truer. We misguidedly look back to a golden age that never was; ours is the golden age of safe, tested medicine, effective beyond placebo, in which we've cut infant mortality and conquered diseases, then forgotten they existed.” - Richard Dawkins, "The Enemies of Reason" (2007)
We are most fortunate to live in an age where any number of ailments can be easily diagnosed and treated (if not cured). But the once was a day and age where medicine is more of an art rather than a science. Back in these days the scientific methods was yet to be codified, and physicians (if we can call them that) rely on anecdotal evidence, most of them are well known logical fallacies.
But we couldn’t blame them for that, the development of evidence-based medicine was then still embryonic. Much of what was taken as ‘medicine’ relies on Galen’s theory of humors (the body having either a surplus or deficit of blood, phlegm, yellow or black bile), and preparations or methods were taken to ‘balance’ these purported humors. You think these ideas may have been left on the ash heap of history centuries ago; if only that was the case...
Alternative medicine, as a group, can be stacked into three main categories: hypothetical (as no theories were developed to prove their efficacy), traditional (‘wisdom’ passed down through the ages), and supernatural (magical or religious items and practice).
The first of these are a case of pseudoscience and scientific laziness. You can see examples of such in our pharmacies, and they even have ‘clinics’ and ‘doctors’ specializing in them. The most prevalent are homeopathic preparations (not ‘medicine’ by any dignified definition) which are based on the disproven theories of physician by the name of Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th century. Being a medical practitioner himself, he questions the usage of questionable means to treat various ailments; the most popular of which is bloodletting (the deliberate draining of ‘excess’ or ‘bad’ blood), and the use of toxic substances such as heavy metal solutions, animal venom and poisonous plant extracts.
He subsequently (and errantly) hypothesized that substances that causes a particular set of symptoms should be used to treat a disease causing the same set of symptoms, simplified as ‘like cures like’. So if a patient is an insomniac (can’t sleep), he should be given caffeine (prevents sleep) or if a guy is nauseated, give him emetics (vomit inducers).
But we couldn’t blame them for that, the development of evidence-based medicine was then still embryonic. Much of what was taken as ‘medicine’ relies on Galen’s theory of humors (the body having either a surplus or deficit of blood, phlegm, yellow or black bile), and preparations or methods were taken to ‘balance’ these purported humors. You think these ideas may have been left on the ash heap of history centuries ago; if only that was the case...
Alternative medicine, as a group, can be stacked into three main categories: hypothetical (as no theories were developed to prove their efficacy), traditional (‘wisdom’ passed down through the ages), and supernatural (magical or religious items and practice).
The first of these are a case of pseudoscience and scientific laziness. You can see examples of such in our pharmacies, and they even have ‘clinics’ and ‘doctors’ specializing in them. The most prevalent are homeopathic preparations (not ‘medicine’ by any dignified definition) which are based on the disproven theories of physician by the name of Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th century. Being a medical practitioner himself, he questions the usage of questionable means to treat various ailments; the most popular of which is bloodletting (the deliberate draining of ‘excess’ or ‘bad’ blood), and the use of toxic substances such as heavy metal solutions, animal venom and poisonous plant extracts.
He subsequently (and errantly) hypothesized that substances that causes a particular set of symptoms should be used to treat a disease causing the same set of symptoms, simplified as ‘like cures like’. So if a patient is an insomniac (can’t sleep), he should be given caffeine (prevents sleep) or if a guy is nauseated, give him emetics (vomit inducers).
If the patient have red, sore, watery eyes…blast him with a pepper spray?
In a way, this is a gross misinterpretation of how vaccines work, which was not fully understood back then. The therapeutic effects of vaccines comes from its preventative nature, and not in any way effecting full blown diseases or ailments. We can’t therefore blame him for making a flawed conclusion, he was the product of his time after all. Modern evidence-based medicine had evolved from this by imposing rigorous testing and studies on them; alas some people are too stubborn to accept the facts.
The second case involves circumstantial results or anecdotal knowledge. This sort of ‘medicines’ were derived from trial and error, which is a valid method gaining new knowledge, however if they are not coupled with strict and objective scientific method, the results will be affected by the experimenter’s bias.
An example of this would be natural remedies. As our ancestors lack the knowledge in chemistry, they have to rely on testing a herb on a patient and observing the results. More often than not there’s a small chance that the patient recovers, and when that happens the herb is regarded to have therapeutic value. However, more likely explanation would be either (1) the body’s immune system rallies and patient recovers naturally, (2) the placebo effect, the patient expects the herb to work and subconsciously ignores the symptoms, without actually getting better, or (3) the herb alleviates the symptoms, which is mistaken for its effectiveness against the underlying disease itself.
To their credit, some traditional preparations do have therapeutic effect, the most famous of these is salicylic acid, which was first derived from the bark of willow trees. But then most traditional ‘medicine’ are effectively useless, such as rhino horn, or bear bile; and in some cases may even be dangerous. 'Ancient' isn't necessarily 'better'.
The third case is mostly due to superstitious beliefs and crackpots. As a rule of thumb, anything that guarantees ‘holistic’ well-being, couples with words like ‘energy’ or ‘vibrations’ should raise a red flag; more so if the remedies were explained within a spiritual context. Laugh if you must, but there are people who buy into this.
The victims are usually the religious and gullible. Quote a few verses from a sacred scripture as proof, a few prayers from ‘holy’ persons, add some cutting-edge marketing tactics, and you’ll end up with a product that PT Barnum would be proud of. And it could be anything: crystals, auras, exorcism kits, herbs some ancient crackpot wrote about centuries ago; some are even approved by mainstream religions claiming divine knowledge is above science. And when the patient gets sicker, or even die, they and their loved ones are expected take it as a test of faith!
The second case involves circumstantial results or anecdotal knowledge. This sort of ‘medicines’ were derived from trial and error, which is a valid method gaining new knowledge, however if they are not coupled with strict and objective scientific method, the results will be affected by the experimenter’s bias.
An example of this would be natural remedies. As our ancestors lack the knowledge in chemistry, they have to rely on testing a herb on a patient and observing the results. More often than not there’s a small chance that the patient recovers, and when that happens the herb is regarded to have therapeutic value. However, more likely explanation would be either (1) the body’s immune system rallies and patient recovers naturally, (2) the placebo effect, the patient expects the herb to work and subconsciously ignores the symptoms, without actually getting better, or (3) the herb alleviates the symptoms, which is mistaken for its effectiveness against the underlying disease itself.
To their credit, some traditional preparations do have therapeutic effect, the most famous of these is salicylic acid, which was first derived from the bark of willow trees. But then most traditional ‘medicine’ are effectively useless, such as rhino horn, or bear bile; and in some cases may even be dangerous. 'Ancient' isn't necessarily 'better'.
The third case is mostly due to superstitious beliefs and crackpots. As a rule of thumb, anything that guarantees ‘holistic’ well-being, couples with words like ‘energy’ or ‘vibrations’ should raise a red flag; more so if the remedies were explained within a spiritual context. Laugh if you must, but there are people who buy into this.
The victims are usually the religious and gullible. Quote a few verses from a sacred scripture as proof, a few prayers from ‘holy’ persons, add some cutting-edge marketing tactics, and you’ll end up with a product that PT Barnum would be proud of. And it could be anything: crystals, auras, exorcism kits, herbs some ancient crackpot wrote about centuries ago; some are even approved by mainstream religions claiming divine knowledge is above science. And when the patient gets sicker, or even die, they and their loved ones are expected take it as a test of faith!
Oh, you’re still having migraines? Guess you didn’t believe in it enough!
As it was then, consumers today still believe in these practices, no thanks to dazzling marketing strategies to rebrand them as ‘alternative’, 'holistic' or ‘complementary’ medicine.
This return to unproven or disproven treatments is a symptom of a much more prevalent disease. Consumers are too trusting to doubt the efficacy of products, too gullible to suspect the use of religious and mystical elements in them, or too uninformed to tell whether scientific terms that were used are in the right context. It is dreadful that there are those who took advantage of our concerns for the well-being of our family and ourselves, but what is more dreadful is the level of gullibility of the average Malaysian so much so that they can be fooled by these con artists.
In an ideal world, everyone is trustworthy, and I believe all of us would like to live in such a world, but this is not an ideal world. Being trusting is a rare virtue these days, but so is being questioning, skeptical, and analytical. The only reason that these antiquated ideas had survived into modern-day follies is due to our lack of vigilance, it is after all a matter of life and death.
This return to unproven or disproven treatments is a symptom of a much more prevalent disease. Consumers are too trusting to doubt the efficacy of products, too gullible to suspect the use of religious and mystical elements in them, or too uninformed to tell whether scientific terms that were used are in the right context. It is dreadful that there are those who took advantage of our concerns for the well-being of our family and ourselves, but what is more dreadful is the level of gullibility of the average Malaysian so much so that they can be fooled by these con artists.
In an ideal world, everyone is trustworthy, and I believe all of us would like to live in such a world, but this is not an ideal world. Being trusting is a rare virtue these days, but so is being questioning, skeptical, and analytical. The only reason that these antiquated ideas had survived into modern-day follies is due to our lack of vigilance, it is after all a matter of life and death.
Ponder this
How do we determine whether a new therapeutic practice is effective? What analytical methods can be used? What questions should we ask? What experiments can be applied to test them? What warning signs should we look out for to determine whether a treatment is part of this?
As mentioned above, there are three main categories of fake medical treatments: hypothetical, traditional and supernatural. List down ‘alternative’ or ‘complementary’ treatments that you know of that can be found in Malaysia. Try to find a find a few in each of the three categories mentioned.
Discuss
In recent times, faith healing have been a serious concern amongst licensed medical practitioners in the country. Cases such as magical drinking water, spiritual massages and intercessory prayers are quite rampant especially in rural Malaysia.
What had caused the popularity of these practices? Are they sociological or historical? What dangers would result if such practices were to replace modern medicine?
Further readings
The Enemies of Reason - Part 2: The Irrational Heath Service, A two-part documentary based on the book by Richard Dawkins; this episode addresses alternative 'medicine'.
Alternative medicine, at RationalWiki
"No time to see your faith healer? There’s an app for that", read how gullible Malaysians can be.
