4 ms·

It's interesting how we have this cohort of people who don't use TCM, have strong opinions about it, and have no trouble finding sources to back up their claims

It's interesting how we have this cohort of people who don't use TCM, have strong opinions about it, and have no trouble finding sources to back up their claims. I don't argue with them. Because at one time I knew TCM was bullshit too. Then we have this other cohort of people with chronic issues who exhausted, or are unsatisfied with, the treatments offered by western medicine. They go on to discover TCM, are healed and then swear by it. I can't explain this stuff. I think it's weird, but it works. I mean, you could say I'm a hypochondriac or I have some sort of psychosomatic illness... but I have the scans, labs, and diagnosis to prove it. shrug

WalterSear 9y ago
> Then we have this other cohort of people with chronic issues who exhausted, or are unsatisfied with, the treatments offered by western medicine. Except... I'm in that cohort. I've been through the gauntlet too - years and years and thousands of dollars of both real medicine and what I now accept to be fake, that I reached for in desperation. So, I see your anecdata, and raise mine. If only we had some rigorous methodology for determining which conclusion is the correct one, as far as we can tell from the current evidence... Moveover - trying to present evidence for a field that >specifically< shies away from evidence-based conclusions is a rather silly, IMNSHO. It worked for Mao because he wasn't trying to cure anyone: he was explicitly trying to fool people. Western medicine may be incomplete, ineffective and often wrong, but it's not founded in willful bullshit.
icantdrive55 9y ago
And Placebo is still the strongest healer out there. Coming from a very dissatisfied Chiropratic School dropout.
hiram112 9y ago
Never underestimate the power of the placebo. That being said, there are many ailments that aren't adequately treated by Western Medicine - either because we don't know enough yet or are still constrained by the profit motive to find solutions to symptoms, not cures and whole well being.

WalterSear 9y ago

> Then we have this other cohort of people with chronic issues who exhausted, or are unsatisfied with, the treatments offered by western medicine. Except... I'm in that cohort. I've been through the gauntlet too - years and years and thousands of dollars of both real medicine and what I now accept to be fake, that I reached for in desperation. So, I see your anecdata, and raise mine. If only we had some rigorous methodology for determining which conclusion is the correct one, as far as we can tell from the current evidence... Moveover - trying to present evidence for a field that >specifically< shies away from evidence-based conclusions is a rather silly, IMNSHO. It worked for Mao because he wasn't trying to cure anyone: he was explicitly trying to fool people. Western medicine may be incomplete, ineffective and often wrong, but it's not founded in willful bullshit.

icantdrive55 9y ago

And Placebo is still the strongest healer out there. Coming from a very dissatisfied Chiropratic School dropout.

hiram112 9y ago

Never underestimate the power of the placebo. That being said, there are many ailments that aren't adequately treated by Western Medicine - either because we don't know enough yet or are still constrained by the profit motive to find solutions to symptoms, not cures and whole well being.