A Handy Conspiracy Chart

I think alternative medicine can work, depending on what you mean by "work".
Can it make patients feel better? Something like acupuncture certainly can. Can it solve the underlying problem? No. By the same token, elements of conventional medicine (e.g. analgesia) don't solve the underlying problem either; they just make the patient feel better.

I'm not going to argue with that - the placebo effect is perfectly valid and if someone feels better because they think something has worked, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Totally fair comment. But I also feel that this kind of stuff is too often given a place at the big boys' table instead of being more widely reocgnised as an "alternative".
 
I'm pleased to say I've barely heard of anything in the top couple of tiers - well, I've heard several of those words or phrases in passing, and I can vaguely work out what most of them are supposed to be about, but I have no belief or interest in any of them.

I'm very sceptical and one of my biggest bugbears is stuff like essential oils, reiki, healing crystals and any kind of alternative medicine. I know a few people who seem otherwise quite normal and will then suddenly come out with the most absurd nonsense. Psychics/mediums is another one - they should be arrested for fraud. And don't even get me started on the sky fairy o_O
Alternative medicine is an interesting one to me. It's either stuff that has been proven not to work or stuff that has not been proven to work. 9f it does get proven then it gets called medicine. Therefore Alternative medicine is rubbish.
But
I have seen studies which suggests the placebo effect works and I do belive in that. So therefore if you belive in an alternative medicine, then it does work...
 
Where do you live? I love finally, although have only been twice and both times to the capital so maybe not representative. I've managed to convince the other half to have a winter trip to Rovaniami in a couple of years!
You're right in thinking that Helsinki doesnt represent the rest of finland! It's huge compared to everywhere else.

I live in Lappeenranta (hence the avatar), which is in south karelia next to the russian border. It's a great place to live, but despite it being the regional capital, there are only about 80,000 people living here.

Congrats on persuading the other half to visit Rovaniemi! i hear it's a nice place, although i havent been around that neck of the forest yet myself.
 
I'm not going to argue with that - the placebo effect is perfectly valid and if someone feels better because they think something has worked, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Totally fair comment. But I also feel that this kind of stuff is too often given a place at the big boys' table instead of being more widely reocgnised as an "alternative".

I think some of it is more than placebo. Between placebo and cure lies a an area of symptom control: again, I'd use the example of pain killers. That said, I accept the point that once a treatment is recognised as actually having an effect, it becomes mainstream rather than alternative. Thus, most of whatever is left over under the term "alternative" is bunkum.
 
My favourite is Polybius. An arcade game that appeared in 1981. Players began committing suicide. It was then removed from arcades by mysterious men in suits, and has been linked to MK ultra experiments. They really need to make this into a TV series stranger things style.

 
I know what you mean about alternative medicine, I really dont believe in it.
However I was once persuaded to go to a homeopath when I was suffering from stress, the lady did a consultation and gave me a small pill to swallow, which I did whilst not thinking that anything would happen. The nest day I was in pieces for a couple of days, bursting into tears and not being able to cope. got my life together on the third day and felt much better for a while. Never had that effect again, but I couldnt believe the effect.
My daughter is a chiropractor, she certainly fixes a lot of people who have muscoskeletal problems. I guess this is still alternative for some.
 
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