Much to my chagrin, BakingWithElectricity has engaged the services of an iridologist. I had never heard of such a thing and didn’t give it much thought but when I started hearing how much this was costing I started to ask questions. It started to sound more like a front for selling a lot of herbal nutritional supplements.
For those of you who are also new to this term, it is the practice of evaluating the human body by examination of the iris. Similar to reflexology, it maps all organs and other parts of the body to parts of the iris.
When I Googled the term to find out what the hell it was I was mildly surprised to find that about half the sites that show up on the first page describe it as a fraud.
I have read several web sites on the topic. Most of the detractors refer to one another or to a couple of studies that showed that the iridologists tested in clinical trials failed to perform diagnoses better than random chance.
I have never studied anatomy but I am doubtful that the optic nerve has any connection to the iris (I thought it just carried the signals from the retina), and I am downright disbelieving that even if such a connection existed it could lead to connections anywhere else in the body, and even if such nerve connections existed could they influence color of the iris, etc.
The problem I have is that iridology doesn’t seem to make any scientific claims whatsoever that can be objectively tested. Another debunking site says
So here are the questions: Is there any claim by iridologists that contains a scientific fact? It appears that their entire basis is, “It seems to work.” Can someone trained in anatomy refute the nerve connection theory mentioned above? What nerve controls the muscles in the iris?
I’m sorry to put this so critically, given the involvement of one of your loved ones, but iridology is such patent and obvious bullshit that I don’t even think it can be debunked. I mean, what evidence against it could be more compelling than a simple description of it? Just tell BWE that you’ve examined his toejam and that its color and consistency indicate that iridology is incompatible with the aura of his thetan field. And that he should put twenty down on Runway Rosie in the third race.
There were a couple of articles on it in Skeptical Inquirer many years ago – debunking it, of course. The obvious question is why such a thoroughly useless mechanism would have evolved (animals can’t look in their own eyes to diagnose their problems).
Animals could look in others’ eyes to see who is sickly so they know who to kill off or shun? I know this isn’t what this iridology business is about, but it does say some illnesses have effects on the appearance of the eye.
I agree. Even the description in the OP is more than enough:
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For those of you who are also new to this term, it is the practice of evaluating the human body by examination of the iris. Similar to reflexology, it maps all organs and other parts of the body to parts of the iris.*
I can think of no reason to give money to a person for performing this “service”.
Naturopaths are reportedly big on iridology in the U.S.
According to this article, there actually are European nations where health plans pay for this rubbish.
A few research studies have been conducted on whether iridology works, with predictable results:
*One hundred ten (110) subjects were enrolled in (a study of whether iridology could detect cancer): 68 subjects had histologically proven cancers of the breast, ovary, uterus, prostate, or colorectum, and 42 were control subjects. METHODS: All subjects were examined by an experienced practitioner of iridology, who was unaware of their gender or medical details. He was allowed to suggest up to five diagnoses for each subject and his results were then compared with each subject’s medical diagnosis to determine the accuracy of iridology in detecting malignancy. RESULTS: Iridology identified the correct diagnosis in only 3 cases (sensitivity, 0.04). CONCLUSION: Iridology was of no value in diagnosing the cancers investigated in this study.
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Iridology is 100% effective in detecting people who will believe anything (Kibo-Sokal Index of 1) and very good at detecting people who will get angry when their beliefs are challenged.
In short, debunking this for BWE won’t forestall the next round and might get you slapped.
Depending on the costs and extent of whatever you are getting treated for, I wouldn’t totally discount the placebo effect. If you aren’t getting hosed down and you’re looking for treatment for say toothache, go ahead and let him have his fun, just make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.
BWE is my wife. She’s not actually registered here under that name but I am the cook of the house and she is the baker extraordinaire.
She is a very well educated, intelligent person with an MBA from Duke and a professional job at a nationally known company. I just don’t get this, though, and am unsure how to explain to her that this is total bullshit and still stay married. When she returned from her first appointment and explained to me what this woman did, I told her it “sounded like snake oil.” But now she’s going again, and I am really concerned this will end up being more than a one-time curiosity.
She was directed to remove all fruit from her diet for two weeks, then just have one serving a day with other food; no wheat flour; start taking these herbal supplements; and two pages of “what to eat/what not to eat” instructions. She is being won over because she’s saying it’s making her feel better (sleeping better, no swollen fingers first thing in the morning, etc.). I asked her if this person was a licensed nutritionist–doesn’t know. My wife will spend days reviewing Consumer Reports before she spends $2 on a box of tissues but has done no background legwork on this practice, has no idea what licensing she has or is legally required to have, drives an hour to the place and has spent at least a couple hundred bucks. All she says is that some acquaintance of hers swears by it.
I am in a quandary. However, I’m not asking for advice in this GQ thread–if you have advice for me post a thread in IMHO, or send email.
I know you’re not looking for advice (other than debunking iridology) but I’ll offer the following observation:
Attempting to debunk someone’s irrationally held beliefs via logic, reason, or evidence is almost invariably a futile effort. If Lady Reason were on the job here you wouldn’t have to summon her to the table, and attempting to force her into the room usually results in an even greater resistance to persuasion via logic or empircal evidence. I’ve noted here, at various times, that adding quantifiable arguments to a strictly technical discussion–say [post=8020473]regarding the feasibility of interstellar travel with today’s technology[/post]–is largely an exercise in futility, at least insofar as persuading the principal claimant is concerned. Aside from the perverse enjoyment gleaned from engaging in vigorous debate, I find it generally better for people to figure things out on their own, provided they aren’t doing harm to themselves or others in the process.
When she returned from her first appointment and explained to me what this woman did, I told her it “sounded like snake oil.” But now she’s going again, and I am really concerned this will end up being more than a one-time curiosity.