Exuberant stupidity
Monday, 8. October 2007, 06:04:48
I watched a documentary on Chinese acupuncture on and off tonight. On and off because every few seconds came a stupid remark from the presenter.
The highlight, which comes near the end, is that MRI or cat-scan shows that acupuncture has an effect on the activities of the brain, which explains why it can help reduce pain. With this 'evidence' as understood in western medicine, came the repeated use of such words as "exciting", "amazing", and "astonishing", which were accompanied by the narrator's exuberant facial expressions that could only be described with the same words.
This itself is irritating. But the first two thirds of the film is even more so, because she acted as if no other westerner had explored and shed light on the subject before, not to mention the smile she wore when uttering stupid things or the studied nonchalance with which she walked down the street, supposedly doing some research 'ground work' with an inquisitive mind.
It is all very well to be skeptical in the name of science, but ignoring existing literature is not the way to go where research is concerned. I read a well-written book that covers the subject thoroughly about twenty years ago. It was in English and authored by a journalist from the UK, where she is from.
The long documentary could have been a fairly good "public understanding of science" film had it been less preoccupied with the presenter's many preconceptions and doubts, which are obviously liberally used to accentuate a later finding.
The ERI episode, fankly, is the only thing worth reporting. It is the only thing that can be considered new, in the sense that before neuro-imaging became available we could not show visully the actual functioning of the brain when acupuncture is applied. The 'evidence' is, however, not "surprising" for anyone who is familiar with the essence of Chinese medicine and the cognitive difference between Chinese and western medical theoretical frameworks!
The highlight, which comes near the end, is that MRI or cat-scan shows that acupuncture has an effect on the activities of the brain, which explains why it can help reduce pain. With this 'evidence' as understood in western medicine, came the repeated use of such words as "exciting", "amazing", and "astonishing", which were accompanied by the narrator's exuberant facial expressions that could only be described with the same words.
This itself is irritating. But the first two thirds of the film is even more so, because she acted as if no other westerner had explored and shed light on the subject before, not to mention the smile she wore when uttering stupid things or the studied nonchalance with which she walked down the street, supposedly doing some research 'ground work' with an inquisitive mind.
It is all very well to be skeptical in the name of science, but ignoring existing literature is not the way to go where research is concerned. I read a well-written book that covers the subject thoroughly about twenty years ago. It was in English and authored by a journalist from the UK, where she is from.
The long documentary could have been a fairly good "public understanding of science" film had it been less preoccupied with the presenter's many preconceptions and doubts, which are obviously liberally used to accentuate a later finding.
The ERI episode, fankly, is the only thing worth reporting. It is the only thing that can be considered new, in the sense that before neuro-imaging became available we could not show visully the actual functioning of the brain when acupuncture is applied. The 'evidence' is, however, not "surprising" for anyone who is familiar with the essence of Chinese medicine and the cognitive difference between Chinese and western medical theoretical frameworks!
WIDGETIZE