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Health effects of traditional medicine
Form of pseudoscience
Health effects of traditional medicine
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Pseudoscience Paper In today’s world, where every person has an outlet to voice their opinion, the public often falls prey to a practice that is known as pseudoscience. Pseudoscience can be defined as a belief or process which masquerades as science in an attempt to claim a legitimacy which it would not otherwise be able to achieve on its own terms. Another thought that comes alongside of the belief in pseudoscience is naïve realism which is the belief that we see the world exactly as it is (CITE BOOK) If a person believes in a scientific product or belief not proven true by science, then they have become subject to naïve realism. These two work together to endeavor to convince the consumer of their false hypothesis. Many people fall into …show more content…
The claim is that they are made to access the “fourteen meridians” of the body. It also makes mention of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the effects that has on the human body as opposed to modern medicine. Throughout the entirety of the Q-Ray website, there is no solid mention of what the bracelet actually contains that will aid in health and wellness. The company suggests that the bracelet has the same effect as acupuncture if worn correctly. Since there is no solid explanation of what the bracelet contains, the hypothesis that it will aid in all areas of the body’s wellbeing cannot be proved. There is not substantial scientific evidence to make the claims that it will access supposed meridians that allow the body to harness “natural energy.” The Q-Ray website uses personal testimonies for it’s sources. While many consumers appreciate previous customer’s opinions on the product, it does not prove its scientific merit. All scientific experiments should be peer-reviewed by highly qualified professionals. The Q-Ray offers reviews from consumers, and also claims that certain high ranking celebrities have also bought the product. This makes the whole reviewing system sensationalized because many people will buy products solely based on a celebrity endorsement. Scientific research should always, only be factual, and not …show more content…
This product, not only does not use the scientific method, but also does not give any way for such a method to be performed to prove its validity. The scientific method is performed on all hypotheses, and if a positive theory can be made, then the public should accept it as verified. However, if no such test can be performed, then it should not be trusted. The Q-Ray brand makes extraordinary claims that it will aid in wellness because there is not enough evidence to prove its truth. The product Q-Ray also violates the correlation does not mean causation concept. In order to find high correlation between two occurrences, a proper experiment should be executed. A proper experiment would include an experimental group who wore the bracelets, and a control group who were not given the bracelet. The company, however, makes claims that cannot be verified. The consumer should never trust a company that eludes to correlation meaning
The woman who sprained her ankle mentioned that after seven weeks she felt a major decrease in pain and could walk normally once again, but the MagnaSoles inserts had only been released for one week. It continues with more scientific jargon and goes on to talk about the “healing power of crystals to re-stimulate dead foot cells with vibrational biofeedback… a process similar to that by which medicine makes people better.” the logic in this statement can easily be proven wrong because dead cells cannot be brought back to life, and crystals aren’t a real form of medicine. These two examples comes to show how inadequate and naive customers actually are, they’re baited with false information and advertisement, but because scientists are quoted, and scientific literature is being used, they aren’t
In today’s world there are always people trying to come up with a new way to explain something. There will always be people trying to pedal a new product or story about an innovative new way to look at things. Some of these ideas will really be ground-breaking, but many of these will be false ideas. Many of them will just be honest mistakes, but just as many will be ideas from people trying to trick other people. Carl Sagan recognizes this and writes about it in his article The Fine Art of Baloney Detection. Within it he describes how he has been vulnerable himself wanting to believe things that people have told him that didn’t seem true, but was what he wanted to hear. He then goes on to talk about how people need to be skeptical about what they are told/read. He has developed a system using the scientific which he calls “Tools for Skeptical Thinking.” These are things that people can do when evaluating a situation or idea to check for “baloney.” I have picked six of these tools to explain in further detail.
The author writes with diction composed of scientific jargon that is never explained as well as quotes from seemingly “credible” people, but again, these unknown people are never explored in detail. For example, the product is supposed to “convert pain-nuclei into pleasing comfortrons” while increasing the effectiveness by matching “the Earth’s natural vibration rate of 32.805 kilofrankels.” The scientific-sounding words, comfortrons and kilofrankels, give the appearance of credibility because they sound true to someone uneducated in science, but in reality, they are completely fictitious. Also, people like “Dr. Wayne Frankel, the California State University biotrician...” and “Dr. Arthur Bluni, the pseudoscientist…” are quoted, but they have no well-known significance. Scientific jargon and quoted “scientists” are expamples of false science and authority used in advertisements to scam customers into thinking the product is credible. People have become oblivious to these things and take so many things as fact just because they sound true even though they are actually
1. Video “Here Be Dragons” by Brian Dunning (4/15/14) is a fresh and critical overlook on the huge variety of so called “dragons” which exist in abundance even in our civilized society. This video promotes critical thinking and demonstrates the “red flags” that one has to look out for in order to detect pseudosciences. A pseudoscience is an idea that claims to be real but is not backed by any real science or evidence. For instance, hair analysis, feng shui, psychokinesis, homeopathy, numerology, aura analysis, the list could go on forever. The warning signs for such “sciences” are - appeal to authority, ancient wisdom, confirmation bias, confuse correlation with causation, red herring, proof by verbosity, mystical energy, suppression by authority, all natural and ideological support. The one “red flag” I have always been skeptical about and this video confirmed it for me is “appeal to authority”. It is hard for me to understand how people actually trust advertisements that are simply screaming “we are specialists, look at our white lab coats and and all the certificates and the celebrities that support our product”. It is simply pathetic. As Brian says - “Good science presents good data, it does not aim to impress”. However, the one “red flag” that I have to be careful about myself is confusing correlation with causation. It is the natural human tendency to assume that, if two events or phenomena consistently occur at about the same time, then one is the cause of the other. Our weakness for this tactic is often exploited by scammers and bogus scientists when they want to persuade us that a relationship exists between two variables without providing supporting evidence. In order to secure ourselves from falling for all the nonsense...
Humans have inhabited the Earth for thousands of years and it is perceived by many that we are among the most intellectual species on this planet. Although having lived on this planet for so long, being able to distinguish fact from fiction has escaped the minds of many. People of today’s society are easily influenced by what is told to them instead of what can be proven. Believing in something that has no scientific evidence is not only absurd but can be classified simply as ignorance. Many of the erratic ideas that are believed by many today have originated in a time where superstition was more popular than science. These beliefs appear to be proven by science, but in reality are not valid and frequently confused with true psychology, this is called pseudoscience or psuedopyschology. These beliefs remain intact for many years primarily because those who choose to believe these psuedopyschologies are the ones who try to prove that they are in fact valid, and tend to ignore the evidence that proves them wrong.
All things found in the universe are thought of as a balance of the two opposite but complementary forces yin and yang. Organs in our body can be predominantly yin or yang but the body still manages to maintain the overall balance because of the total sum of yin and yang in the body. Traditional Chinese medicine states that diseases are caused by an imbalance of yin and yang. When trying to restore the balance and the person’s health, practitioners look for the nature of the imbalance and use acupuncture as a method to correct the imbalance.“However, despite more than 3,0000 studies into acupuncture since the 1970s, there is no evidence that any force qi ( yin and yang) exists or that it flows along invisible energy lines.” ( “Why acupuncture is giving sceptists the needle”, David Derbyshire)Therefore the whole system acupuncture is based on can’t be reliable.
The roots of the practice of acupuncture can be traced back to about 2000 years in Chinese medicine where it was used as a major traditional healing method (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). It is classified as an alternative medical system that involves the use of imperceptible networks/channels all through the body. Along with acupuncture, other forms of alternative medical systems include Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine. These networks are referred to as meridians, by which energy streams through the body (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). The energy is referred to as Qi (pronounced “chee”). It is believed in traditional Chinese culture that Qi holds a dynamic life force, and when there an imbalance of this energy; illness as well as symptoms cultivates.
The third explanation is the ancient Chinese explanation that the acupuncture points are doors to energy channels and that by inserting the needles into these points, one can open and close these doors. This brings about energy circulation and harbors energy balance, resulting in improved health (http://www.acupuncture.com/Acup/Works.htm).
Their first criterion deals with the testability of the therapy or treatment. Valid scientific treatments have the ability to be thoroughly examined. If a therapy or treatment cannot be tested, it is not credible. Many pseudoscience therapies claim to have proven and verifiable results. However, the claims are not founded on experiment based evidence (Fin, Bothe and Bramlett, 2005, p. 173). In their second claim, Fin, Bothe and Bramlett (2005) address the adaptability of a treatment method when conflicting evidence is presented (p. 173) . This claim, much like the first claim, deals with the evaluation of the therapy. In true scientific treatment, the goal is to provide valid therapies. Thus, any scientific evidence that differs from the original research is thoughtfully analyzed and, changes or corrections are made when necessary (Fin, Bothe and Bramlett, 2005, p. 173). The third criterion deals with verifiable evidence. It is important for treatments to be assessed in a way that allows for the possibility of failure and, when contradictory evidence is discovered, it cannot be ignored. Pseudoscientific treatments often ignore contradictory evidence and base their claims solely on confirming evidence. (Fin, Bothe and Bramlett, 2005, p. 173). Criterion four offers insight on narrative based evidence. The positive claims associated with pseudoscience are...
In this new age there are many alternative medicines that help in the healing process. The new age healing practices shifts religious traditions as a sign of divine healing which is more the western’s use of scientific medicine to metaphysical movement. Some of the alternatives to healing include, ’’chiropractic, twelve-steps programs, therapeutic touch, crystal healing, and sundry holistic therapies.’’ Because of the slow decrease of physical healing from the church, the use of New Age Metaphysics has increased. New Age Metaphysics, New Age Energy Medicines, and Holistic Heath have given us alternatives in healing and medicine.
Living in a world where many prefer to believe what is shown to them, rather than doing some of their own research, can lead to consequences. (Figure 1) Some people believe electronic cigarettes are a safer and healthier alternative to the actual cigarette because of how they are advertised. “Because they [e-cigs] deliver nicotine without burning tobacco, e-cigarettes are purported to be safer and less toxic than conventional cigarettes. Despite these claims, there’s still no real data on the effects of e-cigarettes (positive or negative), yet marketing materials still bill them as a healthy choice” (Worthington emphasis mine). Drug advertisements normally show the beneficial side of
Pseudoscience is called fake science because the word “pseudo” means fake science. In order to spot what is pseudoscience, the earmarks of pseudoscience must be known. It displays a remarkable and characteristic indifference
much research we can assume that it has been successfully proven that the benefits truly do
On ResultsRNA’s website the testimonial evidence provided is from Dr. Loomis, MD, who took the product and saw effective and quick results.5 Dr. Loomis states that ACS 200 relieved his heart valve infection.5 The manufacturer also cites that their product is endorsed by doctors from fifteen countries.5 The data cited by the manufacturer used data, was that ACS 200 “Kills pathogens 1,000,000 times more effectively than competing brands based on independent laboratory research.”, also stating “Silver has been shown to enhance the efficacy of antibiotics by 1,000x.”. 5Both statements are backed by considerable data and analysis which are referenced at length on the manufacturer website rather than simply testimonies from users of the products. There are twelve studies published on the ResultsRNA site; seven of the studies publish the kill times, one comparison of products, three are the uses of the product, and the final one are case studies on individuals. One of the studies done by the manufacturer was a case study of twenty different patients, conducted by Genova Diagnostics.5 However, there has been much criticism about Genova Diagnostics. Sciencebasedmedicine.org states that Genova sells “bogus tests” and has a “cozy relationship” with Michael Murray, a neuropath highly involved with natural remedies. 6 According to BodyBalance “ Dr. Murray is one of the world’s leading authorities on natural medicine”. Genova has not only been accused of having bogus tests but could also be guilty of being bias when testing ACS 200, which is known to be a natural remedy solution. Because Genova has investment and ties to natural remedies and supplements, there neutrality when testing ACS 200 cannot be relied
Acupuncture in Gale Science in Context it explains that Acupuncture is a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is also considered an Ancient type of therapy and it first began in the eastern part of Asia around 2,000 years ago. In Chinese philosophy the body energy is called “Qi” and its pronounced “Chee.” Qi is the body energy and it travels