Another week has passed and fun was had by all…
Blogland has fallen a bit flat the past weekend so not much to report (nothing of interest anyway). So I am going to start with a simple observation:
I think it’s really interesting (but I am easily entertained) to notice that there are a handful of people calling themselves “sceptics” (and it really is only a handful of them) and under this guise are professing their views as “critical thinking”. What is surprising is that it has really very little to do with critical thinking. What is even more surprising is that anyone cares…
But we do (the chiropractors, everbody else really doesn’t). We care because we studied hard to become chiropractors, we worked hard to become good clinicians, we worked hard to build up businesses with great reputations and all they have to do is write some ill-informed gumpf on a blog and we think the world has come crashing down. We are a vulnerable breed (clinicians) from a vulnerable profession (chiropractic) in an unsympathetic world (the blogosphere). But we love what we do. Every day we see those patients who have been having problems for years and years, and are now feeling so much better, are greatful for what we do and are happy to pay us for it… but still we feel insecure… even if the source of criticism is ill-informed, biased and bigoted. So why could this be?
In a nutshell:
- because there is some truth to what they are saying, and because as a profession we haven’t really moved ahead to any substantial degree lately (the last century, give or take a few years) we seem to have difficulty identifying what truth they are saying, making it hard to spot that part of it that is bovine excrement.There are reasons for this lack of progress, and none are good.
My personal view is that this is great. This effort, for which it must be said they are not being paid, nor recognised (other than for some inter-geek backslapping down the virtual pub) ought to be seen by the chiropractic profession as a driver for improvement. But we need to stop cowering, rise to the challenge, formulate a coherent theory, test it and stake our claim, integrate in the healthcare spectrum and provide the services of which we are capable and proud. We need to stop believing their fabrications (yeah sure, you did all the work to take homeopathy out of the NHS, the budget and the current economical climatehas nothing to do with that. Sure, the Simon Singh case was a perfect example of why libel laws in England are disastrous) get our heads out of rectal passages and stick them together (although I would recommend a courteous shower prior to doing so) and stop making the same mistakes. That said, should they ever fall out of love with their current role, the function of the skeptic must be celebrated and meditated. As a profession, we need to be our own worst skeptic, without the complex phrasologies hiding vacatious knowledge (it’s a joke) or abuse of power but with courage, determination and humility.
In conclusion:
This is where we must be greatful and pray
at the altar of the skeptic. Repeat after me:
The Ad Hominem Homilie
- it might very well be placebo but you have as much evidence to support your version of events as I have to support mine
- absence of evidence is grounds for doubt, not ridicule
- show me your reference that the original chiropractic theory said that ” all disease is caused by spinal subluxations” before you bang on about it being nonsense
- I can call myself doctor for I am a doctor of chiropractic and people far more qualified to judge my academic knowledge say I am worthy, eat my shorts
- not all GP’s hate us, in fact I see more and more of them liking us, all they need is to see the results but you can never please every one all of the time
- you’re allright really, but it’d be nicer if you were well fit-proper…innit
Amen
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