Are you responding to Bhairitu or to Curtisdeltablues here?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Sharalyn" <homeonthefarm@...> wrote: > > > What you write here not only confuses the issue with a lot of unrelated > fluff, it complicates it with unsubstantiated personal opinion and an > obviously prejudiced agenda. What gives you any authority to make the claims > you make? Have you personally worked in the research labs? I don't want an > answer to that for I can see by your style of writing that you can't give a > focused, non-emotional, objective response. I just wanted to express my > irritation that you used my question as a springboard for an off-topic > personal tirade. > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote: > > > > > On 03/06/2013 01:35 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote: > > > The key is being able to answer the question: " Is there a test even in > > > principle, that could show that the theory is false?". It often involves > > > making the claim more precise. But even your second example: The brain > > > waves of students practicing TM show increased coherence, might be > > > unfalsifiable depending on how you define "coherence". And remember > > > coherence is a mathematical model being applied to the raw data. It is > > > very easy to massage the numbers to show some type of "coherence". For > > > it to be falsifiable it must be possible for someone to go through the > > > test and for them to say "our theory is not valid, coherence does not > > > increase." > > > > > > But that isn't how the movement uses science for marketing. Movement > > > scientists would just continue to manipulate the data using different > > > formulas until something they could call coherence could be found. In TM > > > research, it is never a possible outcome that TM ever does anything bad > > > to a person, or that positive benefits are not "proven". If the > > > experiment doesn't show what they already believe, the frame around the > > > experiment is shifted until it shows something positive. > > > > > > Framing a test in a way that is falsifiable requires a detachment from > > > the outcome. You have to really care enough about the truth to plug up > > > all the loopholes that compromise falsifiability. We have many cognitive > > > biases toward winging it when it comes to our beliefs. Few people really > > > want to go through the hard work it would take to really test something. > > > > > > So yes you need precision in formulating the hypothesis, but that is not > > > enough. You have to understand how each variable affects the test. Our > > > big pharma testing system has the exact same problems movement research > > > has. They are always ready to turn capillary dilators into boner pills. > > > They are not setting up the research with big bucks to find out that the > > > pill does more harm than good. > > > > > > Lots of New Age "medical" practices operate this way. The results are so > > > vague that there is no way for you to conclude that it just didn't work. > > > Every result has an explanation, but the system itself is never tested > > > rigorously. > > > > Of course the problem there is that alternative medical practices simply > > don't have the money to do such testing. And some of those cures are so > > simple including ones that are even "kitchen cabinet" just using herbs > > you may have there. No money in that for big pharma so instead they try > > to destroy alternative medicine so they can sell you expensive cures. > > Unrestrained capitalism is a crime against humanity. > > > > That said, fortunately over the years some of the simple cures do get > > tested. I recall that in the 1970s a dentist in Florida had some > > program to use just baking soda for dental care. Of course he was > > lambasted as a "quack". Now go to your supermarket and take a look at > > toothpaste that includes or advertises baking soda used. Ayurveda > > suggests turmeric or even triphala as a mouth wash to prevent > > gingivitis. I have use Crest's Total Health which I noticed is as > > astringent as those two herbs and would bet that astringency is at the > > basis of the cure. > > >
