AnnoyingPony
Critical Thinker
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2010
- Messages
- 364
Hi fellow skeptics,
I just got back from the Bastyr food and herb festival. My parentals took me.
I saw some... interesting things there. There were about 5 herbalist tents, 1 naturopathy tent, 1 tent that was offering herbal foot-baths, 1 team of acupuncturists, 2 vegetarians, 1 Italian man selling magical orange juice, etc. There were also a lot of jewelers who sold crystal jewelry, but only one of them extolled the "magical properties" of crystals.
In particular, I remember two people:
1. A woman who had a booth on why Americans are fat: Our serving sizes have gotten larger. I suggested that perhaps people should pay more attention to what they eat. She said that it was due to the "food culture" that Americans are fat. When I asked her what that meant, she said it was "commercials" and "mind-control marketing" and that McDonalds was mostly to blame. One display of hers had a bag of jumbo marshmallows next to a bag of "normal" marshmallows, as if they were from two different time periods. They still looked edible, and I highly doubt that she's kept the same bag of marshmallows in her food pantry for thirty years just so she can show us the difference between the wholesome food of yesteryear and the unhealthy lard-gruel of today.
2. A man who was selling some herbal perfumes (aromatherapy perhaps), but was also selling a book by a woman who claims to have received manuscripts from fairies. He had brochures at his tent that read:
I like the part where they couldn't decide how to spell the word "fairy/faery".
At home I discussed why I disagreed with so-called alternative medicine with my mom. I told her that although some practitioners may honestly believe in what they're doing, the lack of scientific evidence supporting it along with the cases of malpractice in the industry made me distrustful of them. She called me an "extremist" and recalled an anecdote of hers.
"A while ago, I had insomnia issues. I would wake up in the middle of the night for no reason, and then I couldn't go back to sleep. As a result of my erratic sleeping schedule, I felt tense and nervous all the time. I was walking around in a fog. Then I went to see the acupuncturist, and as soon as she was done I felt much more clarity and I felt better! Sure, I might have woken up in the awkward hours of midnight anyway, but I felt much better!"
"You said that your sleep disturbances continued despite the acupuncture treatment. Doesn't that show that it didn't help your insomnia at all?"
[ignoring what I just said] "The acupuncture made me feel better!"
"But you believe wholeheartedly in acupuncture! The temporary feeling of relief you felt could be due to a placebo effect."
"It's not placebo!"
"It could be."
"IT'S NOT PLACEBO AND YOU'RE P*SSING ME OFF."
At this point I decided leave because she was getting really mad. On the way out she said, "I don't see why you have to be so anti-alternative. It's extremist and close-minded. How could you be so anti-acupuncture? It helped you when you were younger..." etc. etc.
All I said was, "And then I learned more, so I changed my mind about it!" It was the only thing I could really say.
I just got back from the Bastyr food and herb festival. My parentals took me.
I saw some... interesting things there. There were about 5 herbalist tents, 1 naturopathy tent, 1 tent that was offering herbal foot-baths, 1 team of acupuncturists, 2 vegetarians, 1 Italian man selling magical orange juice, etc. There were also a lot of jewelers who sold crystal jewelry, but only one of them extolled the "magical properties" of crystals. In particular, I remember two people:
1. A woman who had a booth on why Americans are fat: Our serving sizes have gotten larger. I suggested that perhaps people should pay more attention to what they eat. She said that it was due to the "food culture" that Americans are fat. When I asked her what that meant, she said it was "commercials" and "mind-control marketing" and that McDonalds was mostly to blame. One display of hers had a bag of jumbo marshmallows next to a bag of "normal" marshmallows, as if they were from two different time periods. They still looked edible, and I highly doubt that she's kept the same bag of marshmallows in her food pantry for thirty years just so she can show us the difference between the wholesome food of yesteryear and the unhealthy lard-gruel of today.
2. A man who was selling some herbal perfumes (aromatherapy perhaps), but was also selling a book by a woman who claims to have received manuscripts from fairies. He had brochures at his tent that read:
FAIRY & HUMAN RELATIONS CONGRESS
COMMUNICATION AND CO-CREATION WITH
DEVAS, NATURE SPIRITS AND
THE FAERY REALMS
COMMUNICATION AND CO-CREATION WITH
DEVAS, NATURE SPIRITS AND
THE FAERY REALMS
I like the part where they couldn't decide how to spell the word "fairy/faery".
At home I discussed why I disagreed with so-called alternative medicine with my mom. I told her that although some practitioners may honestly believe in what they're doing, the lack of scientific evidence supporting it along with the cases of malpractice in the industry made me distrustful of them. She called me an "extremist" and recalled an anecdote of hers.
"A while ago, I had insomnia issues. I would wake up in the middle of the night for no reason, and then I couldn't go back to sleep. As a result of my erratic sleeping schedule, I felt tense and nervous all the time. I was walking around in a fog. Then I went to see the acupuncturist, and as soon as she was done I felt much more clarity and I felt better! Sure, I might have woken up in the awkward hours of midnight anyway, but I felt much better!"
"You said that your sleep disturbances continued despite the acupuncture treatment. Doesn't that show that it didn't help your insomnia at all?"
[ignoring what I just said] "The acupuncture made me feel better!"
"But you believe wholeheartedly in acupuncture! The temporary feeling of relief you felt could be due to a placebo effect."
"It's not placebo!"
"It could be."
"IT'S NOT PLACEBO AND YOU'RE P*SSING ME OFF."
At this point I decided leave because she was getting really mad. On the way out she said, "I don't see why you have to be so anti-alternative. It's extremist and close-minded. How could you be so anti-acupuncture? It helped you when you were younger..." etc. etc.
All I said was, "And then I learned more, so I changed my mind about it!" It was the only thing I could really say.
