Let’s say that it’s scientifically proven that ghosts exist. Would they then stop being supernatural and become natural, thus making it impossible to ever have proof of the supernatural?
Let’s say that it’s scientifically proven that ghosts exist. Would they then stop being supernatural and become natural, thus making it impossible to ever have proof of the supernatural?
This question reminds me of Tim Minchin’s observations of alternative medicine. By definition, alternative medicine has either not been proved to work, or has been proved not to work.
You know what we call alternative medicine that has been proved to work?
Medicine.
Great tune, too.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U
That’s kinda what I was thinking of, but not really sure if it was the same thing or not.
On a side note, have you heard his more “serious” songs? I’ll Take Lonely Tonight is so good IMO (not that he was lacking in talent doing comedic songs)
White Wine in the Sun is a beautifully, refreshingly different Christmas song.
Not Perfect is another awesome non-funny song.
Rock & Roll Nerd is borderline humor but another absolutely amazing song thar doesn’t stress the comedy.
> White Wine in the Sun
I’m not crying, you’re crying…
Not this one, thanks for the recommendation, but I’ve heard White Wine In The Sun, and that’s touched me even though I’ve spent all my Christmases in the Northern hemisphere. 🙂
Reminds me of this ships doctor I was chitchattibg with. He said something along the lines of:
"The difference between a doctor and a witch doctor isn’t that big. The main difference is in sticking to what has been proven to work, and discarding what doesn’t
Not related, but I was reminded of this old joke: what’s the difference between God and a doctor? God doesn’t think he’s a doctor.
Sort of. You have things like willow bark which obviously work and are still considered alternative medicine. However, the pharmaceutical product synthesized from and to work like willow bark is one of the most recognizable OTC medicines in the world – aspirin.
Except what we get with the ancient records regarding willow bark were just what we’d expect with folk medicine: anecdotal claims that it treats a wide range of ailments without any proposed mechanism of action.
It wasn’t until willow extract was actually made into a pharmaceutical that it became anywhere near useful. That willow tea you’re imagining ancient people drank didn’t actually exist and if it did, they were not getting enough salicylic acid from it to equal even a single aspirin.
https://theconversation.com/hippocrates-and-willow-bark-what-you-know-about-the-history-of-aspirin-is-probably-wrong-148087
In short, aspirin follows the above rule: alternative medicine was proven to work, and then became medicine. But the end result is far detached from how it was used thousands of years before it was actually shown to work.
Similarly many Chinese traditional medicinal techniques do work. Chinese medicine is undoubtedly “alternative medicine”. You can cure aches and pains using medicinal herbs. They probably aren’t as effective as scientifically synthesised compounds designed specifically for this purpose, but many of them actually work. Others are just placebo. The Chinese government regulates Chinese medicine in China and it is approved for use in many low-level medical applications. But if you have cancer, no herbs will save you and any claims to the contrary are just mere quackery.
Some Chinese medicinal techniques have made their way into “Western medicine”, as it is called in China. The most famous traditional Chinese medicinal practice adapted this way is variolation, which was refined by science and become vaccination.