>This isn't really fair -- as there's no real "they" to
>be the object of your jab. One of the problems with
>"alternative medicine" is that it's a category that
>simply tosses together everything that's not a part of
>the standard allopathic toolbox. As a result,
>proponents of acupuncture or homeopathy (systems for
>which there is some legitimate evidence of efficacy),
>are lumped with people who make and/or believe amazing
>claims about psychic healing or magnets (for which
>there is no compelling evidence of efficacy).
Yes, there really is a they. Null is a major figure in the alternative medicine racket; he hawks books, tapes, nutritional products, and blesses other practitioners with his endorsements. People dose themselves with all kinds of unknown and untested products and greet the claims of healers with not the slightest doubt or skepticism. They pay hundreds of dollars for IV vitamin C, which is very cheap, to treat "cytomeglovirus infections," which are ubiquitous. They believe they have all kinds of allergies they probably don't; the symptoms of yeast allergies (which were the fashion a few years ago, don't know if they still are) read like the symptoms of depression and stress.
Like I say, I don't doubt that there are a lot of valuable therapies in the "alternative" universe. They should be scrutinized like any orthodox therapy. I know there are plenty of incompetent doctors, and that medicine is corrupted by profit and egoism. But so is the alternative crowd, which isn't shy about setting fees.
Doug