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Sanitation guided by germ theory might never have been explicitly called "alternative medicine", pre-dating common use of the term, but when Miasma Theory was d
by EliRivers 6y ago
Sanitation guided by germ theory might never have been explicitly called "alternative medicine", pre-dating common use of the term, but when Miasma Theory was dominant germ theory was just that.
Does rely on accepting "cleaning things" as medicine. It's certainly a great way to prevent disease. Does it count as "alternative preventative medicine"?
- mehrdadn 6y agoBy "alternative medicine" I'm not talking 19th century views here, especially given the comparison to AI. Can you pick something from like the past half-century or so? Which people called alternative medicine but which now they call medicine?
- waterheater 6y agoThe modern medical field has authorities who largely determine what is medicine and what is "alternative medicine." I can't imagine anything which today is considered "medicine" that isn't approved by the FDA; can you? AI doesn't have such an authority. New AI methods can be deployed without asking for permission from a governing body. 19th century views on medicine is actually a better comparison than something from the last fifty years, because advancements in modern medicine is largely shaped by governing authorities.
- esperent 6y agoThe FDA is a US body, so if you take a global perspective I'm sure you'll find lots of examples of things that are 'alternative medicine' according to the FDA but just 'medicine' according to the equivalent bodies in other countries. Someone brought up St. John's Wort as an example above, apparently now legitimate in some European countries.