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Letter: Science v knowledge

Published 30 June 2001

From Rick Walker

Thank you for your excellent articles on complementary and alternative
therapies
(26 May, p 28). Your writers scrupulously avoided repeating the old
“It simply cannot work” rubbish, “it” being anything that is not mainstream
science.

They recognise that some of these issues are not understood by scientists,
and that most users of these therapies are well off, for the obvious reason that
they are expensive. They fail to observe that we are also well and happy.

There has to be something wrong when science in general (from the Latin
“scire”, to know) refuses to know that which is true. It is preposterous, if not
insane, that homeopathy has been shown “not to work”, and that aromatherapy
apparently “does not work”, let alone herbalism, astrology, yoga and so
tediously on. It is evident that too much so-called science is done by
egocentrics, unable to conceive that they may, just possibly, not know all the
answers.

Camborne, Cornwall

Issue no. 2296 published 23 June 2001

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