Doing the Luddite Lindy

There is a movement afoot, particularly amongst fundamentalist Christians to disavow science and embrace everything wacky. From acupuncture to goofball ‘nutrition’ to herbs to magnets to magic water the Christian Luddites are on the march. Even some physicians and scientists are not immune, though financial gain may be a factor for them. If people are going to buy into this stuff anyway and it won’t hurt them why not get a piece of the action? But is all of this really harmless? How many people delay getting real medical help for real medical problems because they are detoured by some charlatan or snake oil? While there is no serious science to support any of these products’ claims, the lay literature is replete with anecdotes and personal testimonials that they will cure everything from dandruff to lumbago. And if you just sign up in their business they might even cure your financial woes. Ah, P.T. Barnum would be so proud. If all of these claims were true there would be multiple Nobel prizes awarded, emergency world science symposia in Geneva and news flashes on FOX and CNN. All of the medical and science textbooks would have to be rewritten. Do you see any of that happening? Is that a hint? If it looks and sounds too good to be true… It’s sad and amusing to listen to people untrained in anything scientific lecture real doctors and scientists on why their product is for real and the real science is phony. There's almost a gleeful smugness about their 'in-your-face' ignorance. Now that’ll set us back 200 years. “We don’t need rigorous scientific studies; my grandmother’s warts fell off! You must be part of the grand medical, science, big pharmaceutical conspiracy.” Flush the black helicopters. Wanting something to be so does not make it so. And if all of that fails they resort to the final argument. “Well, this is so advanced that real scientists don’t understand it and can’t explain it, thus it threatens their current positions and beliefs so of course they will try to discredit us. The fact that they are trying to discredit us proves that they are wrong and we are right. And of course the big pharmaceutical companies who control the world won’t let the scientists and doctors tell the truth. If we stop taking their drugs they will lose all of that evil profit. Now please buy our product.” E.T. phone home. Oh well, for them that have ears.