This was bound to happen, wasn't it? I've read about this before. People go to china to have stem cells injected. They have no idea if they are getting stem cells, no idea if the treatment has been proven two work, no idea if they are submitting themselves or their children to danger, basically no idea about any of this.

This is pure desperation mixed with ignorance. Its exactly the same as any other woo, it just uses a term, Stem Cells, that is in the news with such positive slants. Instead of actually checking, relying on real studies, they do the exact same thing as the victims 'patients' of acupuncture, Zero Balance, chelating, chiropractic, homeopathy, etc.

I fully understand the intense desire to do anything for your child to fix them and relieve later stress. Its the same exact emotional force that drives parents to chelate their autistic children, stick them in hyperbaric chambers, or stick them with needles.

Think of this study when reflecting on how parents are trying to acheive short term rewards (making themselves feel better by trying 'instant' cures for their children - at least they are doing something! right?) and failing to use patience and logic in trying to acheive the long term reward (a true, peer reviewed, proven treatment for an ailment). The big problem is that this reward may not come within their lifetime, or even the lifetime of their children. It may not even be fixable, but only preventable. It may not be either. yes I understand that this is frustrating, infuriating even. It makes you feel helpless. But isn't it better to address the current reality instead wasting time and money endangering your children with nonsense treatments?

It is not only bad because it is potentially harmful to the children, not only bad because junk and pseudoscience spreads because of it, its bad because money and time is not spent on science based medicine, the only method by which we have been able to eradicate many diseases, reduce the suffering from many others, triple our lifespan, and improve the lives of people all over the world.

This is just sad. This is a total failure of our educational system and media to be able to imbue our population with some semblance of critical thinking skills. Why can't people see nonsense as easily as skeptics can? It doesnt take long to check if something is crap.

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Not really surprising

2008-07-20T05:44:00-07:00

Techskeptic

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