Taken from the latest SWIFT column:
Source: http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/189/1/#i3
Nothing really groundbreaking, but I figured it was worth posting.
Reader John Lombard is a Canadian citizen who has been living and working in China for fifteen years. He’s been working with a small group of Chinese scientists and intellectuals to promote interest in both Humanist and skeptical organizations in that country. He writes re last week’s item at randi.org/swift-april-18-2007-2.html#i8:
Randi comments: speaking as an amateur on this matter, I can look upon this as an early expression of the idea of fundamental atomic theory, in which all matter is composed of protons, electrons, and neutrons. Though it took John Dalton to strictly codify atomic theory, by the 5th and 6th centure BCE, the Greeks and Indians had expressed this idea... Back to Mr. Lombard’s contribition:
Thank you, John. Indeed, this clarifies our understanding, but brings our attention to the problems still extant in China, as it enters the world area and has to shake off so many traditional ideas and bits of philosophy. Now, if only creationists would look at the facts...
I wanted to add a little more to the discussion on "qi" as it applies to acupuncture. I'm by no means a proponent of acupuncture (and in fact, one of our upcoming skeptical events in Beijing will focus specifically on this question), but as someone who has lived in China 15 years, and done a fair bit of study on Chinese culture, I must express some disagreement with Bob Park's analysis of the origin or meaning of "qi," and its relation to acupuncture.
Much of the problem is that we really don't have any words, or even concepts in English that adequately translate the meaning of "qi"; we must do so by approximations and analogies. However, two key points that I'd like to mention:
1) "Qi" can be translated as "air," "breath," "spirit," "energy," or a number of other words, depending on its context and use. In fact, "qi" can be used in reference to objects that are entirely solid, and have no "air" aspect whatsoever.
2) The meridian lines that Qi energy is supposed to follow bear little resemblance to the circulatory system in the body. Everything that I've seen regarding acupuncture indicates that a general theory of energy moving through the body came first, and that later observations about the circulatory and nervous system were used to support that original theory – not the other way around.
I think that the best way to describe "qi" in English is to go back a long time in Chinese history, to their early efforts to understand and classify the world around them. They saw everything as being made up of something they called "qi," which in this context might best be described as "energy." This "qi" could be divided into various fractions, or densities, so a cloud would have a much smaller “fraction” of qi than a rock would, but both would still be described and categorized using "qi." You might consider "qi" as the fundamental unit of matter, but depending on its form and concentration, it could take on many different appearances, and have many different effects.
Much of the problem is that we really don't have any words, or even concepts in English that adequately translate the meaning of "qi"; we must do so by approximations and analogies. However, two key points that I'd like to mention:
1) "Qi" can be translated as "air," "breath," "spirit," "energy," or a number of other words, depending on its context and use. In fact, "qi" can be used in reference to objects that are entirely solid, and have no "air" aspect whatsoever.
2) The meridian lines that Qi energy is supposed to follow bear little resemblance to the circulatory system in the body. Everything that I've seen regarding acupuncture indicates that a general theory of energy moving through the body came first, and that later observations about the circulatory and nervous system were used to support that original theory – not the other way around.
I think that the best way to describe "qi" in English is to go back a long time in Chinese history, to their early efforts to understand and classify the world around them. They saw everything as being made up of something they called "qi," which in this context might best be described as "energy." This "qi" could be divided into various fractions, or densities, so a cloud would have a much smaller “fraction” of qi than a rock would, but both would still be described and categorized using "qi." You might consider "qi" as the fundamental unit of matter, but depending on its form and concentration, it could take on many different appearances, and have many different effects.
The debate in China about Traditional Chinese Medicine is, in many ways, similar to the debate in the U.S. about creationism. There are many Chinese – including scholars and academics – who hold TCM's beliefs to be an integral part of Chinese culture and history; and therefore, an attack on TCM is an attack on Chinese culture itself. The arguments and vitriol between both sides in the debate is remarkably similar to that between creationists and evolutionists in North America. Chinese doctors who have suggested having TCM tested and analyzed using a proper scientific process have been demonized; some have lost their jobs, others have been physically assaulted or received death threats.
I just hope this alternate perspective might help bring more understanding to the debate.
I just hope this alternate perspective might help bring more understanding to the debate.
Nothing really groundbreaking, but I figured it was worth posting.
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