@kjdonkers Nah, we live on the same planet. We have the charlatan Dr Ozs and the Mercola quacks too, that feed on people desperate for help and buying into anything. We have those second category or practitioners, we just call them quacks, crooks, or people with good intentions but limited brain cells.
Placebos can work for a while if the illnesses are temporary and not progressive. The quacks pushing their methods have no research proving results... simply testimonials. Sadly, testimonials mean nothing. You can find people who will swear drinking lime water cured their cancer. It doesn't make it so.
Here is what science actually is. If something works, you can set up studies with placebo and actual treatment and prove it worked. And then someone else can duplicate that study and get similar results.
Are there too many single studies that are poorly done? Oh yeah. Or preliminary studies that simply indicate something but need much more work to confirm. You betcha, which is sadly the nonsense pushed by media. (HUGE NEWS!!! Swaddling your baby can cause sids. <the real story so much not such news, admits very limited and they know less than they did before, but that doesn't make NEWS!!!) Which is why you look for responsible research facilities, you look for research NOT funded by the drug being tested, and ones that peers review and hopefully are repeated.
But medicine isn't a crystal ball or magic. We are so far from knowing everything. But that doesn't mean throw it out and flip tarot cards instead. And for those doctors who started out in solid evidence based meds then went over to silliness... follow the money. From Dr Oz on, they flipped over to some quackery they could capitalize on. And when they get called before hearings, they say hey, entertainment, not really medicine! They don't really stand by their quackery. They point out how their "medicines" and "treatments" often carry disclaimers that it can help or treat ANYTHING. I live in this real universe where if something can be proven, they'd prove it, or at least do the research that gives it strong validation. That doesn't mean even those solid doctors aren't willing to try unproven things that have some basis in science... when regular things don't work, you expand what you are doing. But they try off label and other things, not a psychic or useless flower remedies.
When you recommend some nutjob (or most likely not nuts at all, simply an out and out scammer) to telepathically help with a dog that is on the cusp of being euthanized, in my universe, that is absolutely irresponsible. Missing dog? Okay, they help (guess good) or don't help, the dog is no worse off. Your "psychic" tell these people something stupid like the dog needs more hugs or discipline and gets someone seriously hurt, dog killed-- that's a whole other ball game. Spend the money on someone who actually knows what they are doing and can evaluate the dog and family.
So yes, I live in the world where pseudo-science is nonsense, where intelligent research is respected and responsible, and we save the old wives tales and silliness for when there is no harm to be done, or no options left. I let my MIL put a red ribbon under my child's mattress because it made her feel better, in spite of knowing there are no evil spirits and if there were the ribbon wouldn't help. No harm==comforts bubbie. But suspend intelligence to believe in such things.. sorry, no.
