Re: Quackery - Significant difference between Alt Med and Scientific Med

I sometimes wonder why people argue over these matters of "sci med" vs. "alt med". Both of these each have their successes and failures. One distinction is that when sci med has a snafu, it can cost the lives of 50,000 people or more before its discovered, whereas I can't recall any deaths from so-called alt med. Then again, sci med may save more lives than alt med does annually. There are indeed many more factors which get little air in some places without a peeing contest erupting, unfortunately.

And as far as your buddy reporting this site is full of whatever type of people they mentioned, I'd agree. By its very nature, CZ is a website to which ill people are drawn. Accordingly, given the wide range of maladies which affect humans, one ought reasonably expect to see "anything goes" on CZ and indeed this has been the case. It is a good thing you don't belong here !!

At a fundamental level, I don't have a sense of sci med v. alt med. For me, any alternate or "sci med" treatment, drug, or device must have some sound scientific basis behind it or at least a powerful preponderance of circumstantial and anecdotal evidence and must at least be reasonable, i.e., there is essentially zero downside or some calculable and knowable risk. I hold sci med and alt med equal in this regard and each merely a branch of us all trying to find remedies for what ails us.

At a more practical level, sci med is based on profit-generation as must be all businesses, whereas alt med is free. Therein resides the rub because the most educated rarely have motivation to associate with non-profit alt med. Those going into alt med for profit ( Colloidal Silver , zappers, etc.) generally have less education but still have a large market. There is probably more quack med present in alt med than there is quack med present in sci med, although some might debate that.

But I've seen too many instances where something someone would call alt med worked better than what was done by sci med for me to ever doubt anything based on its classification. Ozone is used in dentistry in Europe but would be considered "alt med" in the US by some. Shall one's decision of whether to use ozone treatment in dentistry or other examples some consider as alt med be tied to their political allegiances ? Such a policy would certainly be unAmerican.
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