Help me debunk iridology

[Alan_Smithee]

@CookingWithGas

BWE is my wife.

Oops, sorry!

@Derleth

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.

The who index? Googling for Kibo-Sokal got me exactly 0 hits.

Or is it a test to see if I believe there really is such an index?

[rowrrbazzle]

Kibo Kibo - Wikipedia

Sokal Alan Sokal - Wikipedia

“Or is it a test to see if I believe there really is such an index?”

A meta-whoosh?

[Bryan_Ekers]

@Alan Smithee

Or is it a test to see if I believe there really is such an index?

Yes, just like the Voight-Kampff. You’re clearly a replicant and need retiring.

[Valgard]

@Stranger On A Train

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.

Stranger

Seconded. A very sharp friend of mine (who applied to med school back in the day) became convinced that his acupuncturist’s method of detecting allergies works. This involves touching him with a jar of “substance x” and then trying to pry his fingers open. If it’s easier to pull his fingers open then he’s “allergic” to “x”. I forget the name of the method (applied kinesiology or something) but it’s ten tons of screaming crapola. It drives me absolutely insane whenever I hear him talking about it. But there’s no convincing him otherwise and it’s not worth messing up our friendship over.

He has been found to be “allergic” to things such as “radiation”. That’s a quote. His quack told him to stop wearing his wristwatch to avoid radiation. She also diagnosed him as being allergic to vitamin C.

I hope that you can convince your wife otherwise but if that’s not happening, so long as she isn’t spending tons of dough or doing herself any harm by following the advice then you may just want to grit your teeth and bear it as best you can.

[Contrapuntal]

@Valgard

Seconded.

Thirded. I have a very close friend (an ex, actually) who is an educated , successful businesswoman. Consumer Reports is her bible about, you know, stuff. But if it has to do with “Health and Beauty,” she is a homeopathic, ear candling, Dr. Weill/Chopra hugging convert. I could be very wrong about this, but I suspect that as she ages, she becomes more conscious of appearing old, and gravitates toward those people who promise Youth! and Beauty! and Health! beyond reason. She is constantly on the diet of the month, even if it completely contradicts the diet of last month.

If standard medicine offers little hope, some people can make themselves believe anything.