The primary thing I got from this semester was the importance of scientific analysis. In other classes like physics and chemistry, you learn how to do tests, but do not need to draw the boundaries as clearly in other sciences as is needed in psychology, to make good scientific findings. The main concept this class taught me was to avoid the flaws that humans have a tendency to make, and to critically analyze such things as weight loss remedies and alternative medicine. I know, based on this class that herbal remedies that are suppose to cure things, have very little reliable results.
One can look at people that claim to have lost 50 pounds on an 8-minute workout. Is it because of a product or should we be looking at a rival hypothesis, like this individual's healthy eating?
Can we believe in energy medicine - the practice of manipulating undetectable energy fields going through our bodies? Since we cannot prove it wrong, how do we know it is real?
In the future I will make the effort to think scientifically about findings when making decisions like whether to go to a physical therapist, or chiropractor, and whether to believe infomercials or not.
I would have to say that I'm skeptical of herbal remedies as well. Often, preparing the herbs is not an exact science and the same mixtures are not always prepared for a set of symptoms. Results are also inconsistent and even if a study showed consistency, the treatment involved was most likely not consistent.
However,I do support research into potential herbal treatments because I think that's always better to put something natural in our bodies instead of artificial drugs that could cause long term damage or dependence.
I agree with what you are trying to explain. I will also think scientifically when mkaing a choice of buying a certain type of product that promotes weight loss or anything relevant. I do it now but i may think about it more in the future.
This section of the class also sent a message to me. Every once in a while I get sucked into an infomercial and start to believe everything they are saying. After taking this class, I have realized that there is a good chance that just about all of the infomercials are phony and they will show you what you want to see in order for you to buy their product.
I agree with this post. I am getting certified in personal training, so I definitely have a different outlook on all of these different weight loss methods and the ways to get "perfect" abs, etc. There is so much more than taking some pill or buying some kind of exercise equipment that ensures perfect results. There are other factors involved such as diet, stress levels, jobs, etc. A scientific method should be applied to these different ideas of how to achieve the "perfect body".
I am not persuaded that herbal remedies are a smart solution because of the lack of concrete information we have. When looking at the 8 minute ab piece I agree with you that what we see on T.V. may not be the entirety of ones weight loss. Like you wrote, we need more information such as diet, other exercise to determine if all of this adds up to the perfect body.
You offer the alternate explanation of healthy eating to the example of someone losing 50 pounds in an 8-minute exercise. Could it perhaps just be a faulty claim? It seems very implausible that such a workout could make someone lose that much weight. They could just be making something up to try and sell a product.