Believing the Unbelievable

I love “The X-Files”. I really do. Until today, it still haunts me that I missed the last episode. Sleepy-head! Regardless of that, being an X-Files fan doesn’t turn me into an alien freak. In fact, I’m not interested in extra-terrestrial life, not even intrigued by the possibility of it. Honestly, I find it quite unbelievable.

People have their own reasons for not believing in certain things. Sometimes, it’s because the thing just doesn’t make sense to them, because it’s irrational such in the case of medical doctors who disregard the practice of acupuncture. Sometimes, it’s because of a more personal reason, because they simply refuse to believe in it, because it just doesn’t fit into their mind frame. For Roman Catholic of the Middle Ages, the sun being the center of the solar system (people don’t refer to it as solar system at that time though, you know what I mean ;>) was unbelievable simply because the savior of humankind was born on earth, so it was logical (for them) to assume that earth was the center of the universe, instead of the sun. The heliocentric theory was unfitting to their beliefs; therefore they chose not to believe in it.

Of course, everyone has the right to believe or not to believe in something. The problem is, when our disbelief makes us disrespectful toward others. Interestingly, it’s the ones who claimed to be more modern or more educated who often to show that kind of attitude. Some time ago, I checked out Wikipedia to look up information about acupuncture. I found statement regarding the practice of acupuncture from a private watchdog group in the US, the National Council Against Health Fraud. Here is one of it, which I think quite “disturbing”.

“Its’ (acupunctures’) theory and practice are based on primitive and fanciful concepts of health and disease that bear no relationship to present scientific knowledge.” (Reference: Sampson W and others. Acupuncture: The position paper of the National Council Against Health Fraud. Clinical Journal of Pain 7:162-166, 1991.)

The rest of their statement was acceptable, acupuncture is unadvisable because clinical trials has proven it ineffective. It’s understandable. But saying that it’s based on primitive concept, yada, yada, yada... I must admit, I HATE the word “primitive” because it implies a sense of superiority while in fact, no one is more superior than others.

Concerning the issue of the unbelievable, the wisest thing to do, in my opinion, is by applying the principles of safety, efficacy, and quality. If believing in the unbelievable doesn’t endanger you (safety), if it effectively fulfill your expectations (efficacy), and if it even goes beyond your expectations of them (quality); then please do. If receiving acupuncture treatment doesn’t worsen your health condition and even make you feel better, there’s nothing wrong with it.

In response of the same thing, people may react differently, though. You must be extra careful with that. If believing in extra-terrestrial life turns you into a astrophysicist who intensively doing astronomical research, I have no objection to that. But if the belief drives you to join an alien worshipping sect which followers are ready to perform mass suicide anytime soon, I suggest you find yourself a shrink immediately.

In the end, please open up your mind and always remember that even the most unbelievable has a chance to become the believable. If our ancestors were told that we’d be able to fly, they might’ve laughed at the notion. But look how it is now! Or to sum it all up, just remember the wise words of Fox Mulder, “The truth is out there.”