In this day and age, it is necessary to second guess every information source. So much "information" goes by that it becomes difficult to sort out what is advertising and what is not. Even reporting about scientific research can completely skew the issue. It doesn't pay to be gullible.
The problem is that we are wired to be gullible. We humans would much rather trust in some comfortable authority figure and believe what they say, than to do all that research and work ourselves. Figuring out the truth takes time...and sometimes the truth is elusive. We just don't know everything yet. We'd rather just believe.
Modern first-world culture is divisive and argumentative. People agree to disagree more often than agreeing in substance. As in other parts of our public arena, in the healthcare debate the shouting overwhelms reasonable conversation. Conventional treatments espoused by governments and establishment medical business may not be supported by the research. The policy came about when someone had to make a decision by a deadline using the best information available. We all do it. We have to go on what we know, even if it is incomplete or incorrect. More information comes along, but established policy stays the same. This is the downside of bureaucracy. Proponents of established methods will say that this must work because it is the rule, and don't worry about finding out the truth.
Alternative treatments are espoused by a wide range of practitioners and patients. Often alternative treatments have little or no science backing them up. Proponents say this works because they have seen it work, and maybe it did. Just because there is no science doesn't mean it isn't true. Proponents also commonly claim that the science backs them up when it does not.
The Skeptic doesn't believe anything just because an authority said so. The Skeptic asks questions, and studies the important questions, so as to be able to know if someone is speaking from a position of knowledge and perspective, or blowing a lot of hot air. The Skeptic realizes that real information or falsehoods can come from any side, and runs every morsel through an internal fact-checker. The truth is a moving target, and the skeptic is ever on the hunt.
The problem is that we are wired to be gullible. We humans would much rather trust in some comfortable authority figure and believe what they say, than to do all that research and work ourselves. Figuring out the truth takes time...and sometimes the truth is elusive. We just don't know everything yet. We'd rather just believe.
Modern first-world culture is divisive and argumentative. People agree to disagree more often than agreeing in substance. As in other parts of our public arena, in the healthcare debate the shouting overwhelms reasonable conversation. Conventional treatments espoused by governments and establishment medical business may not be supported by the research. The policy came about when someone had to make a decision by a deadline using the best information available. We all do it. We have to go on what we know, even if it is incomplete or incorrect. More information comes along, but established policy stays the same. This is the downside of bureaucracy. Proponents of established methods will say that this must work because it is the rule, and don't worry about finding out the truth.
Alternative treatments are espoused by a wide range of practitioners and patients. Often alternative treatments have little or no science backing them up. Proponents say this works because they have seen it work, and maybe it did. Just because there is no science doesn't mean it isn't true. Proponents also commonly claim that the science backs them up when it does not.
The Skeptic doesn't believe anything just because an authority said so. The Skeptic asks questions, and studies the important questions, so as to be able to know if someone is speaking from a position of knowledge and perspective, or blowing a lot of hot air. The Skeptic realizes that real information or falsehoods can come from any side, and runs every morsel through an internal fact-checker. The truth is a moving target, and the skeptic is ever on the hunt.
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