When I read that the jungcirclers admit "no proof" that schizophrenia is a disease of the brain, I get antsy. In my research I have found very strong ties from schizophrenia to neurochemistry, implying that there is a physical and hormonal derangement underlying this disease.
A few years ago I was excited to read about a cure for allergy that entailed eating bee pollen. When I looked into that cure more closely, it turned out to have two unfortunate features.
1) It was not effective.
2) It was a scam, as evinced by the lead researcher's claim of a 100% cure rate.
There is much going on with disease, cure, healing etc. that cannot be grasped by a scientific approach. I have seen strong if anecdotal evidence in friends' lives that the mind and body work with or against each other in sometimes dramatic ways. What I find maddening at times is that these health events, both miraculous and tragic ones, are so very inconsistent. They defy a scientific approach.
I consider modern medicine and pharmacy to be among the great wins that the industrial and scientific revolution have brought us. In a sad odd way, the science of health isn't everything, not remotely. But it is the only thing.
That said, I will never turn away a miracle cure simply because it's capricious. If it works even once, it adds value. And the penalty for not trying (out of sheer intellectual stubbornness, most likely) is high. |
