Here is the letter I wrote to the Editor of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. It was published yesterday. It concerns an article that was published a few days ago.
Well over 120 years ago in Saranac Lake, NY, Dr. E. L. Trudeau was carrying on experiments using the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. Trudeau was utilizing a technique in the relatively new field of microbiology called the scientific method. Dr. Trudeau did these experiments at a time when a large number of physicians in the USA did not believe in the germ theory of disease. There is no question that he was a man ahead of his time.
Fast forward to the year 2007. Saranac Lake High School Wellness Class students organize a Wellness fair that includes “Chakra” readings. The front page of our newspaper features a picture of a Chakra practioner (?) dangling a charm (?) over a persons body to give them a reading (?). Chakras are an ancient Eastern wellness belief based on energy systems throughout a body. We can only hope that this opportunity was used to educate students about the scientific method. The scientific method is based on gathering observable, empirical, measurable evidence that is subjected to principles of reasoning.
Maybe Chakra is what our system of medicine has been lacking. If so, what is the measurable evidence that Chakra techniques can measure energy systems? What experiments are being done to show that these techniques are actually effective in accomplishing their goals? These are serious questions that can enhance a student’s capacity to think critically.
The National Institutes of Health actually has a center dedicated to investigating alternative and complementary medicine. It’s called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Yes, they are doing studies on “Energy Medicine”. Unfortunately, putative energy fields (such as Chakra) have thus far defied measurement by reproducible methods.
It is of concern that we as a nation are becoming less and less knowledgeable about the natural world. How can people make intelligent decisions in today’s world without an understanding of science? Students should be taught to distinguish between real science and pseudoscience.
Maybe I'll be accused of not being open minded. But being open minded means being open to all ideas, which I think I am. It refers to someone who considers ideas based on their merits and rejects ideas that do not appear to be rational. Being open minded does not mean you cannot reject bad ideas. If you believe all ideas without any basis or proof, you are just being credulous. I think our students should be taught to be skeptical. They should be taught to examine claims in an objective, scientific manner. Skepticism is all about testing ideas for their validity.
3 comments:
I'm open minded about kids learning about alternative medicine as long as they also learn about regular medicine as well.
I think the key is the combination of both, since I'm 90% sure (feel free to prove me wrong) that you can't cure cancer by dangling a charm over the person, but eating better & keeping fit helps to keep your mind & body positive, which in turn keeps your immune system working better.
Well that's my 2 pence for the day
I have, like most people, a lower back problem. I never liked chiropractors so I turned to accupuncture which I swear by.
There is scientific evidence that acupuncture has measurable effects. I'm all in favor of alternative medicine. Just prove to me it works first.
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