Yes, and what I meant to say is this: People who have faith in conventional medicine (drugs, surgery, radiation, etc...) are acting out of faith just as much as people who have faith in alternative medicine (acupuncture, homeopathy, Ayurvedic techniques, hypnotherapy, colour therapy, aroma therapy, chiropractic, etc...ad infinitum).

Somebody, some "authority" whom they decided to trust told them it works. Period.

As for the "evidence"...there is a vast amount of it... both for and against both conventional and non-conventional methods of treatment. It just depends on whom you read, and whose opinion you trust the most.

Furthermore, what is "conventional" in one society may be "unconventional" in another. Acupuncture is a part of conventional medicine in China. That's just one example.

People usually read those authoritative sources which support a viewpoint they are ALREADY prejudiced in favour of...and they avoid reading opposing viewpoints or skim them contemptuously just so they can ridicule them afterward.

That's how the human ego works. And that is precisely what is fueling the vigorous debates that arise on this thread and others like it.

There is much of value in both conventional medicine and alternative medicine, and they would do best to pool their resources and help one another...as the wiser practitioners are doing already.

My prejudice is against the AMA and the main medical establishment... Why? Because they've already got almost all the power, almost all the money, and almost all the perks that go with it. They don't need my help or anyone else's at this point. They run the friggin' show, and they intend to keep it that way.

- LH