Extraordinary Evidence?
I am just going to preface this post by saying right now: it may seem controversial. And that is because it's my opinion. But I just had to share it. I received an email today about a "magic wand" that is supposed to heal. Looking at the site, I then learned that in order to buy it or sell it, it is necessary to "join" and become part of what is similar to a multilevel marketing program. So I've seen a lot of this before: products that you drink, eat, play with, watch, or read, that are apparently "so special" that you have to sign up immediately to sell them instead of just buy one.
This makes me skeptical.
I'm going to quote from Carl Sagan: "Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence." It seems to me that if something is really, really good, and it can potentially help millions of people, why the secrecy? Why the extraordinary cost? Now, I am not suggesting a person who has worked on something marvelous and ground breaking for years should not be paid for his or her hard work. But should we pay thousands of dollars for "miracle" juices, grains, wands, meditation, programs to make you lose weight, gain money, or "fix" your relationship for good?
Are these really the key to my happiness or health?
I'm skeptical.
And although I am a great supporter of the holistic arts: yoga, energy work like qigong, eating healthy foods to support healing, etc, etc, I desire a certain amount of scientific evidence to support what I'm doing. I don't think this is unreasonable. Do I believe that modern science has all the answers? No. But do I want to just put my faith and checkbook into something that has no substantial evidence to back it up? Not really. One of the reasons I like yoga, qigong, and healing foods is that there is absolutely proof that these things can affect our bodies in a positive manner. I can feel it myself. I need to feel it myself to believe it. So before I sign up to sell a product for life, can't I just test it out? Can I hear a testimonial from a rational, educated person?
I don't pretend to know the answers. For all I know, there may be a cosmic reason why all that I am saying is true, false, or somewhere in between. But all I know is, I feel a lot lighter when I am in fact firmly sitting on the ground.
This makes me skeptical.
I'm going to quote from Carl Sagan: "Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence." It seems to me that if something is really, really good, and it can potentially help millions of people, why the secrecy? Why the extraordinary cost? Now, I am not suggesting a person who has worked on something marvelous and ground breaking for years should not be paid for his or her hard work. But should we pay thousands of dollars for "miracle" juices, grains, wands, meditation, programs to make you lose weight, gain money, or "fix" your relationship for good?
Are these really the key to my happiness or health?
I'm skeptical.
And although I am a great supporter of the holistic arts: yoga, energy work like qigong, eating healthy foods to support healing, etc, etc, I desire a certain amount of scientific evidence to support what I'm doing. I don't think this is unreasonable. Do I believe that modern science has all the answers? No. But do I want to just put my faith and checkbook into something that has no substantial evidence to back it up? Not really. One of the reasons I like yoga, qigong, and healing foods is that there is absolutely proof that these things can affect our bodies in a positive manner. I can feel it myself. I need to feel it myself to believe it. So before I sign up to sell a product for life, can't I just test it out? Can I hear a testimonial from a rational, educated person?
I don't pretend to know the answers. For all I know, there may be a cosmic reason why all that I am saying is true, false, or somewhere in between. But all I know is, I feel a lot lighter when I am in fact firmly sitting on the ground.
Comments
Post a Comment