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Use Astrology To Save Britain's Health System, Says MP
An anonymous reader writes: An MP from the governing Conservative Party has said that using astrology could radically improve the performance of Britain's National Health Service and that its opponents are "racially prejudiced" and driven by "superstition, ignorance and prejudice." David Treddinick even claims he has "helped" fellow legislators through astrology.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/aortic-aneurysms-caused-by-movement-of-saturn-admits-nhs-2015022595714
Is...is this real? Not some wayward story from The Onion?
"Ninety per cent of pregnant French women use homeopathy. Astrology is a useful diagnostic tool enabling us to see strengths and weaknesses via the birth chart."
At first, I have failed to see the common ground between homeopathy and astrology - these two sentences sounded completely unrelated. But they are actually related - it says
"90% of French women are gullible enough to fall for homeopathy. This means that most of them are stupid enough to also believe astrology crap, so market is ripe"
Tredinnick's a nut who has form for this kind of statement.
Still. At least he's not on the House of Commons Health Committe or anything. What's that? Oh...
I had a dream, bright and carefree, but now there's doubt and gravity
I'd like to remind David Treddinick, and any other non-US citizens contemplating similar actions, that we in the US take our intellectual property rights seriously. We believe that we and we alone enjoy the right to use or sell crackpot politicians. Unless Mr. Teddinick has a license for our technology, he's set himself up to be on the receiving end of some very strongly worded letters from our attorneys.
but what else would you expect from a capricorn...
-- Make America hate again!
That's what 'conservative' means - living in the past. Its a bit like being amish but you can have serfs work the land for you.
"Astrology is a useful diagnostic tool enabling us to see strengths and weaknesses via the birth chart."
Doctor: Hmm, I've consulted the charts and I'm afraid you're in for a difficult birth. It would seem that on the due date your Sun will be in Uranus.
Seriously.
I did consult a homeopath in the 90ies and early 2000nds, mostly because my mother was all super-pushy about it and I wanted her to quit pestering me. He would question me on the phone for 40 to 60 minutes. His anamnesis was the best I ever had. I don't recall if I even opened the package that came a week or so later containing the "LM Potence" of some obscure Homeopathic substance, i.e. a water and alcohol mixture in a small important looking flask. But I do remember being way calmer and way more educated on my condition. I thought I had heart problems and he pin-pointed reflux after the extensive questionaire and talk on the phone.
I've never spoken to an doctor for that long and I'd be suprised if any doctor had time or could afford such a thing. I would like to have such a medical expert to talk to that does not push obscure 'treatment' on me, that would be optimal.
I treated my reflux with healing-earth, baking soda, meditation/relaxation excercise and a change in diet and told my MD who wanted to sell me a "heart and lung condition" diagnosed in the record time of 2.5 minutes to fuck off. Never had problems since.
The point is: Good Homeopaths are actually quite well medically educated and can be terrific "anameticists" (wording?), because their main job actually is to talk to the patient, find out what's bugging him and - ideally - do a solid diagnose. That they only prescribe sugar-pills is a minor nuiscance from that perspective.
If astrology would lead to a new occupation in which the main purpose is talking to the patient and find out what exactly the condition is, it could be a good thing. Wether the professional in question would be a homeopath, an astrologer, magician or whatnot wouldn't really matter. Only treatment then, of course, would need to be decided upon by a different party.
Modern medicine need a profession specifically for anamnesis. Until that happens, homeopaths and perhaps even astrologers will fill that gap. Poorly at time perhaps, but they'll fill it.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
In those instances, why bother with homoeopathy? Why not go straight to sugar pills/water?
And THAT is the problem with his claims.
It isn't important whether reading YOUR horoscope makes YOU "feel" better about YOURSELF.
It's whether reading someone else's AND BELIEVING IT IS YOURS makes you "feel" better about yourself.
So ..... do we foster an anti-science belief system because some people can self-invoke the placebo effect? Or do point out that it is nothing more than the placebo effect?
When applied correctly, Xanax is a safe and effective palindrome.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Ask any police officer or health care provider how people act during the full moon. They will almost always tell you that they are busier and people are crazier around that time of the month - consistently - although they can't quite explain why.
Confirmation bias. I've heard the same thing from nurses, but the fact is, no correlation has been found.
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