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These aren't "finding loopholes in the question". Most "alternative medicine" things that work aren't new information. Humans have had literal millenia to figur

These aren't "finding loopholes in the question". Most "alternative medicine" things that work aren't new information. Humans have had literal millenia to figure out how to deal with ailments. The easiest methods that people can think of to try to solve a problem have been done by someone, and were passed around when they worked. There's things like "gargle with salt water to cure a sore throat". That's commonly done remedy that was done forever and we now understand the science behind it. This page[0] labels it under an "alternative medicine" tag, as does this page[1]: [0]: https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/does-gargling-wlth-salt-water-ease-a-sore-throat#1 https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/does-gargling-wl... [1]: https://www.sharecare.com/health/alternative-medicines/article/home-remedies-mom-right-about https://www.sharecare.com/health/alternative-medicines/artic...

mehrdadn 6y ago
The entire premise of this discussion was that modern medicine currently has a flaw/double-standard/whatever about what it considers alternative medicine. Bringing up examples where medicine was flawed a century ago is very much finding a loophole and missing the point of the question.
- biddlesby 6y ago
  I'm not so sure. I think the task is to find a treatment and a point in time where the treatment was considered alternative medicine, was then proven to work, and thereafter was considered medicine. The conclusion then is that there are things we consider medicine today that used to be alternative medicine.
  - mehrdadn 6y ago
    > I'm not so sure. I think the task is to find a treatment and a point in time where the treatment was considered alternative medicine, was then proven to work, and thereafter was considered medicine. That would imply examples from 400 BC would have the same relevance as examples from 50 years ago. I assumed it was obvious that that's not the case, but it seems I was wrong.
    - the_jeremy 6y ago
      One that is relatively modern is everything cannabis, though depending on your perspective the "alternative medicine" or "medicine" stages may be questionable.
- jrumbut 6y ago
  I don't think the quote meant that "modern medicine currently has a flaw/double-standard/whatever about what it considers alternative medicine" just as there is no flaw (necessarily) in what is considered AI. I think it says that many of tomorrow's treatments are considered fringe today since they have not yet been fully examined. As long as pain and death exist our medical knowledge is incomplete. That doesn't mean it isn't the best we have or that the process isn't the best we are capable of, it just means the job isn't done (or, in some cases, mistakes or oversights occurred). The saying is also intentionally provocative, and in my interpretation is meant to promote curiosity and open-mindedness rather than an interest in any specific alternative therapy. An example of an alternative therapy gone mainstream (among many others in the thread that I think fit) is folic acid supplementation for those who many become pregnant. It was not universally practiced even after some physicians had linked it to spina bifida prevention (this is my layman's understanding of history, not medical advice or judgment): https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/825 https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/825 I would say many alternative therapies revolve around some supplement or another. Only rarely does the medical community agree that it is of high importance (if they do, again, I'm not a doctor I might be very wrong) and the previously alternative therapy become mainstream.

mehrdadn 6y ago

The entire premise of this discussion was that modern medicine currently has a flaw/double-standard/whatever about what it considers alternative medicine. Bringing up examples where medicine was flawed a century ago is very much finding a loophole and missing the point of the question.

biddlesby 6y ago
I'm not so sure. I think the task is to find a treatment and a point in time where the treatment was considered alternative medicine, was then proven to work, and thereafter was considered medicine. The conclusion then is that there are things we consider medicine today that used to be alternative medicine.
- mehrdadn 6y ago
  > I'm not so sure. I think the task is to find a treatment and a point in time where the treatment was considered alternative medicine, was then proven to work, and thereafter was considered medicine. That would imply examples from 400 BC would have the same relevance as examples from 50 years ago. I assumed it was obvious that that's not the case, but it seems I was wrong.
  - the_jeremy 6y ago
    One that is relatively modern is everything cannabis, though depending on your perspective the "alternative medicine" or "medicine" stages may be questionable.
jrumbut 6y ago
I don't think the quote meant that "modern medicine currently has a flaw/double-standard/whatever about what it considers alternative medicine" just as there is no flaw (necessarily) in what is considered AI. I think it says that many of tomorrow's treatments are considered fringe today since they have not yet been fully examined. As long as pain and death exist our medical knowledge is incomplete. That doesn't mean it isn't the best we have or that the process isn't the best we are capable of, it just means the job isn't done (or, in some cases, mistakes or oversights occurred). The saying is also intentionally provocative, and in my interpretation is meant to promote curiosity and open-mindedness rather than an interest in any specific alternative therapy. An example of an alternative therapy gone mainstream (among many others in the thread that I think fit) is folic acid supplementation for those who many become pregnant. It was not universally practiced even after some physicians had linked it to spina bifida prevention (this is my layman's understanding of history, not medical advice or judgment): https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/825 https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/825 I would say many alternative therapies revolve around some supplement or another. Only rarely does the medical community agree that it is of high importance (if they do, again, I'm not a doctor I might be very wrong) and the previously alternative therapy become mainstream.