So, if you check out my new blog description, you’ll see it has the word “woo-free”. I thought I’d better explain that.
What do you mean by woo-free?
Woo-woo is a joke term used for theories and practices that are not within the realm of science. It covers both overtly magical practices like voodoo and practices that look like science but are unproven, such as chiropractic and homeopathy (both of which are not only unproven, but unlikely).
It also covers practices that arise from spiritual traditions such as yoga (including Dance of Shiva, which is not only total woo but obscure to boot) and meditation. So how can I write about these things and still claim this is a woo-free zone?
The answer is simple. A practice with woo roots can have real, measurable benefits, including to people who don’t believe in the woo theory. The ancient theories behind yoga doesn’t really stroke with what we’ve since discovered about the way the human body works, but the exercises and the attitude promoted in yoga do a body good.
Dance of Shiva is not only a fun way to exercise, it is mentally and physically challenging at the same time. I think that has great potential, and I really wish someone would set up some research on it. We already have research on meditation, some good, some middling, some bad, but the picture it seems to be painting is that it does help your mind work better.
There are noticeable benefits for all three, benefits I personally experience. It’s the combination of personal experience and either evidence or a plausible theory that makes these practices worth pursuing for me.
Skepticism is important
This is my position: even if you’re dealing with spiritual or religious practices, you can still take a scientific attitude. And that would be a good thing to do.
Just because something has been practised for 1000s of years doesn’t mean it works. And if it does, that doesn’t mean it works in the way tradition says it does. We know so much more now about the way people and bodies work than the people of 1000 years ago. They didn’t have special knowledge that is unavailable to us, it’s the other way around.
Just because a tradition and its explanation makes logical sense doesn’t mean it’s doing you good. Blood letting makes logical sense, if you work from the theories of the time. Theories need to be tested.
Just because your teacher was right about that other thing doesn’t mean they’re right about this. Traditions and teachers can be right most of the time and wrong some of the time.
Just because things got better after you did this thing, doesn’t mean it got better because you did this thing. You don’t know until you test it.
But who has time for all this testing and doubting and skepticism?
Who has time to follow a path that leads nowhere?
To believe something before it’s been proven can do a real number on your mind. We all look out for things that confirm what we believe already, and ignore the things that contradict them. So if you believe up front, without evidence, you can keep fooling yourself for ages.
The only way to gain real knowledge about the world and ourselves is to ask that theories be tested, and tested again. To humbly assume that we do not know, that we might be wrong, and set out with enthusiasm to figure it out. The truly open mind is skeptical.
{ 1 comment }
Woo!
Ehm…
Woo-hoo?
Anyway, I completely agree with you. ANYTHING can be approached with a scientific mindset. Whether it’s a ‘ok, what happens if I do this instead of this?’ private thing or reading a multimillion dollar research study (although the latter have to be approached with a skeptical mind as well).
And there’s still plenty of space in all this science for tradition, ritual and what have you, because ‘I do this because it reminds me of home and makes me feel loved’ and ‘I do this because it helps me focus’ are perfectly valid statements to a skeptical mind.