It is that time of the year, when I visit my doctor complaining of a stupid throat infection, possibly from screaming and arguing too much about much too trivial topics or from alcohol, so that I can get a prescription from some antibiotics to cure the pain. But as it turns out, this is not an easy task. First you want find a doctor. And a quick search for one online lists the top 3 of 4 doctors to be experts in homeopathy and natural medicine. Leaving aside the question what these people mean by experts, why or how did these chaps even get so high up in the ranking. It is not like they were cured of it. Hence it is a little tough for me to find a normal science-based doctor. Thankfully I did find one around the corner and the next problem was at the pharmacy. Every pharmacy that I know of in Munich has big displays on homeopathic medicines and what not. From ayurvedic medicines to acupuncture, you'll find them all. And the cherry on the pie is when they see I am from India, they want to start a conversation how the Indians alone are braving the capitalistic pharmaceuticals with our alternative medicines. I feel like jumping over the counter and giving them a piece of my mind quite physically. I never saw this exhibited in so open a fashion as here in Munich. I am not saying there should be a correlation, but the south is far more religious and conservative than the north.
But now I am slowly starting to feel that I am losing my temper too often at people. I end up calling them names, and wishing them some very painful accidents. And that is not a nice thing to think of for other people. There is an interesting talk online (i.e. Youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrFRbGjUtJk) given by Phil Plait (aka Bad Astronomer) in TAM 8 (aka. The Amazing Meeting) about how not to be a dick. It is quite spot on. The odds are against people with a skeptical outlook. "Skepticism is a self annihilating message. How do you convince someone they are not thinking clearly when they are not thinking clearly?" or another line from Michael Shermer "Our Brain is not wired for skeptical thinking. It is wired for faith". The message we have as consolation is most definitely not comforting "of no magic, no afterlife, no higher moral authority, no security and no happy ever after!". And almost everyone including myself had to shed off much of our beliefs, before even understanding what it means to think skeptically. It didn't happen overnight. And it didn't happen by people calling me an idiot. It happened because of the discussions we had among friends and the books we read of other views contrary to our own. I personally carry two scars very close to my eyes which my mom swears by was cured by homeopathy. I used to use the term gay for men in a very derogatory way when I was still in school. I used to say my prayers, and actually think that part of my grades were because God was helping me. You hear of haunted houses as kids and how there was a ghost in one of the apartments close to school and some of us boys used to climb over to get a glimpse and run back scared on seeing a moving shadow. But thankfully, whether they intended it or not, and perhaps they regret it now, my parents never objected to me reading books. And asking stupid questions. Such as "If I am sick today, will the birds outside be sad? Or will they keep singing their songs oblivious to my existence?". Or if the elders in history thought that burning widows on the husbands funeral pyre was the right thing to do, is there a chance that current elders have a few things wrong as well? Or why is dowry wrong? Slowly and gradually these questions made me realize that I am more insignificant than I thought I was, and more stupid that I thought I was.
So you start reading on how to think. You start learning the tools of trying to argue the negative, or assuming that everyone will do it. What will happen for example if every single parent killed the daughters, as it is still common in some parts of the world? There would not be any women left a generation later and the whole race will die. Or questioning, when someone says you got better because god is watching over you, did I fall sick because he was not watching over me? Thinking is much harder and scarier than many people think it is. The scientific method is such a boon and such a new tool, but the rationale behind it is derived from reason and from thinking. I hope people do not start forgetting that.
I still need to practise how to react when people I know tell me "girls should be married of when they are 16" or "sometimes a woman needs a few beatings" or that you can't expect men to be loyal to one single woman. I feel like punching these hypocrites, who go to churches and temples every bloody week, and have the audacity to tell me that I am going to hell! I cant take it when people tell me that jesus died for our sins, that adam and ever were the first humans, and that there is a life after this. They can't know that for sure, and they still act like they have more knowledge than is available to everyone else. It is so frustrating.
I am sure I still have a few stupid ideas that still need to be thrashed out of me, but I am open to it. Till then I better start searching for a pharmacy with no homeopathic globules.
But now I am slowly starting to feel that I am losing my temper too often at people. I end up calling them names, and wishing them some very painful accidents. And that is not a nice thing to think of for other people. There is an interesting talk online (i.e. Youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrFRbGjUtJk) given by Phil Plait (aka Bad Astronomer) in TAM 8 (aka. The Amazing Meeting) about how not to be a dick. It is quite spot on. The odds are against people with a skeptical outlook. "Skepticism is a self annihilating message. How do you convince someone they are not thinking clearly when they are not thinking clearly?" or another line from Michael Shermer "Our Brain is not wired for skeptical thinking. It is wired for faith". The message we have as consolation is most definitely not comforting "of no magic, no afterlife, no higher moral authority, no security and no happy ever after!". And almost everyone including myself had to shed off much of our beliefs, before even understanding what it means to think skeptically. It didn't happen overnight. And it didn't happen by people calling me an idiot. It happened because of the discussions we had among friends and the books we read of other views contrary to our own. I personally carry two scars very close to my eyes which my mom swears by was cured by homeopathy. I used to use the term gay for men in a very derogatory way when I was still in school. I used to say my prayers, and actually think that part of my grades were because God was helping me. You hear of haunted houses as kids and how there was a ghost in one of the apartments close to school and some of us boys used to climb over to get a glimpse and run back scared on seeing a moving shadow. But thankfully, whether they intended it or not, and perhaps they regret it now, my parents never objected to me reading books. And asking stupid questions. Such as "If I am sick today, will the birds outside be sad? Or will they keep singing their songs oblivious to my existence?". Or if the elders in history thought that burning widows on the husbands funeral pyre was the right thing to do, is there a chance that current elders have a few things wrong as well? Or why is dowry wrong? Slowly and gradually these questions made me realize that I am more insignificant than I thought I was, and more stupid that I thought I was.
So you start reading on how to think. You start learning the tools of trying to argue the negative, or assuming that everyone will do it. What will happen for example if every single parent killed the daughters, as it is still common in some parts of the world? There would not be any women left a generation later and the whole race will die. Or questioning, when someone says you got better because god is watching over you, did I fall sick because he was not watching over me? Thinking is much harder and scarier than many people think it is. The scientific method is such a boon and such a new tool, but the rationale behind it is derived from reason and from thinking. I hope people do not start forgetting that.
I still need to practise how to react when people I know tell me "girls should be married of when they are 16" or "sometimes a woman needs a few beatings" or that you can't expect men to be loyal to one single woman. I feel like punching these hypocrites, who go to churches and temples every bloody week, and have the audacity to tell me that I am going to hell! I cant take it when people tell me that jesus died for our sins, that adam and ever were the first humans, and that there is a life after this. They can't know that for sure, and they still act like they have more knowledge than is available to everyone else. It is so frustrating.
I am sure I still have a few stupid ideas that still need to be thrashed out of me, but I am open to it. Till then I better start searching for a pharmacy with no homeopathic globules.
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