Quackery


Here is a funny story

Stephen Barrett is an avowed quack buster. He has had nothing but negative things to say about reflexology. It is interesting how he picks out the studies that do not show positive results for reflexology.

I was lead to his page through a series of links and found our names prominently displayed. We are the bad guys you know. Stephen is the white knight dashing the bad guys up against the rocks.

He is also "the man" when it comes to the media. They call him to "balance" a story on alternative medicine. He is not a scientist but plays the role well.

A few years ago I received an email from a gentleman who declared that if I was sincere about reflexology research I would join Barrett's discussion group. I agreed to do it and signed up.

The response was immediate. I was attacked from the beginning. So I fought back. I actually enjoyed myself. I found one member I agreed with on certain studies.

I admit to baiting the group. I said that the foot was a part of the brain. That set off the fireworks. It was great fun for a while. But then they turned to personal attacks since their other arguments weren't working.

They even brought in a neurophysiologist to prove me wrong. He couldn't. He guessed that the air between you and the computer screen could be called part of the atmosphere. But he didn't see the practical value.

If the foot is a sensory organ like we have contended for years how do you separate it from brain. Does the brain stop at the spinal cord or is it the brain and the spinal cord? Does the brain stop at the tips of the toes? Where do you separate the sensory organs from the brain?

It reminds me of the three buddhists monks watching a flag and trying to determine if the flag is flapping on the outside of your mind or is it flagging in your mind. The third monk says it is just flapping. (I probably hatched that story.)

But then a very strange message came through from Stephen. He stated that as of midnight on such and so date the discussion on reflexology would end. And it did. No further messages went through.

So these folks were too upset to handle my arguments. Stephen who has always been selective in his information decided to shelter the folks from the disturbing idea that they didn't have all the answers.

Of course, I also ticked off Randy, the magician but that is another story. Very intense man.



Posted: Wed - November 19, 2003 at 07:51 AM        

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