Acupuncture is still a load of bull to me.
I’ve been having a hard time dealing with my thoughts on acupuncture (or alternative and complementary medicine for that matter). And I believe it’s all stemming from the fact that most people view the medicine we usually study in school as just one of the many “schools of thought”. That there is, “Western medicine”, “Chinese medicine”, or “Ayurvedic medicine”. I feel sad seeing how people think Science is just a subject, or just a means to get a job. It’s not. There is only one Science, and this Science, helps us live and make decisions. Science is a means of understanding the world we live in. It helps us deal with problems, and helps us learn to help other people too. I hate how I feel like I make Science sound “elitist” by saying all of these things, but really at the end of the day, there is only one Medicine, and it’s medicine that works and helps people! Everything that does not work is not medicine. Why do we have to make it so complicated? And I’m not being close-minded at all. Right now, we have conflicting evidence for acupuncture, but none with the best evidence yet, and this does not mean we throw it all away. It does not mean, we furnish it with fancy titles, and use it in place of conventional medicine (for the lack of a better term. uggh. It’s all these labels.) either. It only means, we don’t stop, and we work harder to find out what acupuncture has in store for us. It’s not yet medicine. The same way when penicillin wasn’t medicine yet when Fleming just saw some weird growth on dirty dishes. Subscribing to unproven “medicine” is dangerous, for obvious reasons. Our society needs more of this constantly questioning, and learning attitude to be better human beings.
That Stupid Inter-MedSchool Chorale Competition
I was so pumped up and ready to give my all, and sell what remains of my dignity to MedChoir to win APMC. But that Sunday afternoon debacle was just the last straw. The last straw that seals the deal. The competition is pure crap. The inexistence of organization by the “organizers” is incredible. I could fill this whole entry, speaking like this — my Negatron accent.
I do want to join. I suuper want to join a fucking competition because I haven’t in the longest time. I haven’t had the chance to join APMC in the past either because I wasn’t good enough for that certain flapping-shrieky choirmaster.
But I don’t want to join this APMC. Not this APMC 2012. Because I refuse to subject myself to pure crap. I get incredibly frustrated when the rest of the people just don’t see how crappy it is. Yes, it is frustrating!!!! We are not being picky and arrogant by not joining this APMC. We are being smart enough to not fall for their claptrap. It’s not like TRP 37 because in this case, we have a choice. We’ve seen them put up crap, and we can decide to live with their crap or walk away and do more awesome things. This isn’t the only way to grow. The moment they started getting crappy is the moment where this APMC 2012 doesn’t prove itself to be great opportunity for anything anymore. I do not understand why we’d have to put up with them when we have a choice! By joining the competition, we subject ourselves to the system (or anti-system in their case), and the way things are moving (delayed release of mechanics, contest piece, vague rules, apparent ignorance of choral singing by the “organizers”, the recent contest piece changes) anything could happen. And when anything happens, and we’re part of the system, we won’t be able to do much about it.
Gawd. My hypothalamus and my adrenals know how much I’d love to join a competition. I do. I do. I do!!!! But I also know that by joining this APMC 2012, we are condoning the system (or anti-system) they made. And it’s a system that we don’t trust! What then is the worth of joining?
