Originally Posted by Flyingmouse
I actually wish that the moderators would delete threads where individuals strongly advocate for unproven treatments.

I agree completely.

As I noted, I understand the frustration people feel when facing medical uncertainty. However, as someone who understands the damage caused by pseudoscience, I get very upset when I see this kind of stuff being promoted and accepted so willingly. The ironic thing from my perspective is that, when I post on this topic, people get irritated or angry with me, even though I'm actually trying to help. I'm not trying to be mean. I know it hurts to hear someone question something you have so much faith in. The thing is, many pseudoscience practitioners use frustration with mainstream medicine to prey on people. They know that parents/adult patients are justifiably unhappy with the system, and they use the situation to their advantage. But they're nice about it. They smile and nod sympathetically and relate to scared people way better than most harried MDs do. But it's often an act designed to get your credit card.

I'm sure that some pseudoscience types actually believe this stuff. That's just as bad, due to stupefying levels of ignorance about science and medicine. One of the most frustrating things in this regard is that the woo is just so obvious to life scientists/clinical types, and yet we can feel completely impotent about getting the message out.

Put another way, I'm a grownup gifted kid who was lucky enough to get an education that lets me recognize this stuff...and I kind of thought that teaching kids to be able to think critically was the whole point of this forum.

Last edited by Val; 09/15/15 11:08 PM.