Girlfriend's family

[Alkatran]

Are avid believers in alternative medecine, and I am not. I've already been sucked into a few debates (which I actually enjoy, but can't be good for the relationship)

The girlfriend and mother actually brought up the "They have a cure for cancer and are holding it back." I literally laughed, and said "Do you have any idea how much money you would make OVERNIGHT with a pill to cure cancer?! Not to mention it would be patented so only YOU could sell it for years! Just make the pill cost five thousand dollars and it's still cheaper than the usual treatment.

They also tried to explain the concept of energy flowing through the body "in a circle", which, honestly, confused the hell out of me.

[KelvinG]

I have found in situations like this is best not to say anything. You're not going to change their minds, and you'll cause yourself endless frustration.
Go pound your head against a wall instead. It's funner.

[dann]

Get a copy of this show for them: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathy.shtml
It's a very good start if you want to make the difference between science and wishful thinking in medicine clear to them.

[wahrheit]

The last time I personally was in a situation like this, I asked a few simple questions like "What energy are you talking about?". I didn't get much of an answer, of course.

And then I didn't care anymore and explained my view on all the alternative BS in words not suitable for this forum.

In the recent time, I had more success in personal conversations about these woo topics with poeple who are pretty close to me when I did not try to be nice, explaining and such, but used harsh words to show them how great my disgust is regarding that stuff. Since they know me, have some respect and do know that I am not dumb, they begin to wonder why poeple like me get so outraged when hearing that people I like tend to believe in quackery.

[dann]

Originally posted by wahrheit
I had more success in personal conversations ... when I did not try to be nice, At least they stop talking about it when you are around ... :)

[El Greco]

Don't bother, unless you're going to marry her. In that case, don't bother either.

[Dr Adequate]

Originally posted by Alkatran
The girlfriend and mother actually brought up the "They have a cure for cancer and are holding it back." I literally laughed, and said "Do you have any idea how much money you would make OVERNIGHT with a pill to cure cancer?! Not to mention it would be patented so only YOU could sell it for years! Just make the pill cost five thousand dollars and it's still cheaper than the usual treatment. "Why?" is always a good question to ask conspiracy theorists.

The other good one is "How do you know?" This pill has supposedly a big secret in the pharmaceutical industry, and yet somehow your girlfriend and her mother have found out about it. How? Did they do the industrial espionage themselves? Do they have a "mole" in SmithKlineBeecham? Has a whistleblower come forward and testified?

I'm guessing the answer's "no" to all the above. So how do they know about it?

[DavoMan]

Excellent idea. Putting the burden of proof onto them instead of the likes of you & me on the side of 'anti-bs'.

I'm really into that word at the moment. ********. Shame the language filter doesn't like it. Oh well. :)

[pyewhackett]

Originally posted by Alkatran

The girlfriend and mother actually brought up the "They have a cure for cancer and are holding it back."

Why are they holding it back this time?

My body starts to shut down when I hear conspiracy theories nowadays...

[DavoMan]

Yeah I've made it my mission to whenever asked, descibe myself as a ********/conspiracy theory killer. I had to put up with the 'modern medicine is so ignorant' attitude from my flatmate yesturday.

Its thanks to this book called 'Quantum Psychology'. Give it a google, you'll see what I mean.