Comments on: From the editors: Evidence and scepticism http://thelinc.co.uk/2009/11/from-the-editors-evidence-and-scepticism/ Lincoln's premier student newspaper Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:09:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Marc Vincent http://thelinc.co.uk/2009/11/from-the-editors-evidence-and-scepticism/#comment-2764 Marc Vincent Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:53:21 +0000 http://thelinc.co.uk/?p=6844#comment-2764 That pesky 'science', eh? Requiring facts and evidence and preventing us from believing in whatever we like. We don't need to be able to test 'Qi', because it, er, demonstrably doesn't exist. I would like to introduce my new product line to believers in 'Qi' - 'Snake Oil'. Snake Oil helps Qi to flow around the body's channels, and thus makes one feel better. Of course, there is no scientific way to demonstrate this happening, which is one of the inadequacies of science - that it gets in the way of my profits. Some people suggest it's just a placebo, but then what do they know? That pesky ’science’, eh? Requiring facts and evidence and preventing us from believing in whatever we like. We don’t need to be able to test ‘Qi’, because it, er, demonstrably doesn’t exist.

I would like to introduce my new product line to believers in ‘Qi’ – ‘Snake Oil’. Snake Oil helps Qi to flow around the body’s channels, and thus makes one feel better. Of course, there is no scientific way to demonstrate this happening, which is one of the inadequacies of science – that it gets in the way of my profits. Some people suggest it’s just a placebo, but then what do they know?

]]> By: Daniel West http://thelinc.co.uk/2009/11/from-the-editors-evidence-and-scepticism/#comment-2741 Daniel West Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:14:11 +0000 http://thelinc.co.uk/?p=6844#comment-2741 Practicing QiGong kills far fewer than modern medicines and techniques (the leading cause of death in the US is going to the hospital, look it up!). Scientific 'testing' doesn't have the corner market on health. However, QiGong and other yogic like systems do promote healthy diet's, stress free living, and physical movement which DOES have a clear and dramatic effect on one's health. Science will never be able to positively prove the existence of Qi (a.k.a. Chi, Chee, Ki, Prana...). That's the downfall of science, if you can't touch it and or show the results, it isn't a fact. Well, no one, with any science can prove the existence of self-awareness, consciousness. But everyone experiences it to be real. Science can speculate, but it has no facts, science can not locate nor quantify consciousness... As science exists today, it never will, science and experiential phenomenon as such that we are talking about, exist in two different domains of reality. To try and fit a square peg into a round whole, isn't all that bright. To be able to test, measure and quantify something like Qi, we must accept a new model which is subjective in nature. I do not believe you have a pink unicorn, no. But you can definitely be shown how to experience things that science can not measure directly. These experiential systems deal with just that, experience. They work, and show results, in one's experience. (isn't that what counts, when we are talking about things like health, and pain?) If you've never set out, with integrity, to experience for yourself the truth of such thing, of course your going to be a skeptic. That is rational. But until science can show proof that it can explain topics like; Empathy at a distance, I'm a skeptic of science as being any form of all-knowing, all-proving system. Regardless of how much rationalists want to push science as a complete system, it's not. Just because scientists say that it's a complete system, doesn't mean it is. That is simply their 'belief' system. <em>Daniel West <a href="http://main.qigong.com/instructors_profile.asp?cid=565935915&n1=10&n2=0" rel="nofollow">is a Qigong instructor</a>.</em> Practicing QiGong kills far fewer than modern medicines and techniques (the leading cause of death in the US is going to the hospital, look it up!). Scientific ‘testing’ doesn’t have the corner market on health. However, QiGong and other yogic like systems do promote healthy diet’s, stress free living, and physical movement which DOES have a clear and dramatic effect on one’s health.

Science will never be able to positively prove the existence of Qi (a.k.a. Chi, Chee, Ki, Prana…). That’s the downfall of science, if you can’t touch it and or show the results, it isn’t a fact. Well, no one, with any science can prove the existence of self-awareness, consciousness. But everyone experiences it to be real. Science can speculate, but it has no facts, science can not locate nor quantify consciousness… As science exists today, it never will, science and experiential phenomenon as such that we are talking about, exist in two different domains of reality. To try and fit a square peg into a round whole, isn’t all that bright. To be able to test, measure and quantify something like Qi, we must accept a new model which is subjective in nature.

I do not believe you have a pink unicorn, no. But you can definitely be shown how to experience things that science can not measure directly. These experiential systems deal with just that, experience. They work, and show results, in one’s experience. (isn’t that what counts, when we are talking about things like health, and pain?)

If you’ve never set out, with integrity, to experience for yourself the truth of such thing, of course your going to be a skeptic. That is rational. But until science can show proof that it can explain topics like; Empathy at a distance, I’m a skeptic of science as being any form of all-knowing, all-proving system. Regardless of how much rationalists want to push science as a complete system, it’s not. Just because scientists say that it’s a complete system, doesn’t mean it is. That is simply their ‘belief’ system.

Daniel West is a Qigong instructor.

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