I see very little evidence of any difference between the attitude of people in Africa or Australia to science. Basically if science seems to support your preconceived ideas then it is wonderful, but if it doesn't you either ignore, abuse or misquote the scientists. In the example of Mary in the article they were happy to accept the science when they thought she was cured, but when it became clear that she was not, neither she nor they were not prepared to change their view point because it was in conflict with their deeply held beliefs. Incidentally when I was in Kenya many years ago, the biggest problem was getting to the doctor in the first place.

In Australia the most prominent example of this problem relates to the issue of human induced climate change where opinions are heavily biased along political lines rather than the evidence.

Rhian, I prefer my analysis and confirmation up front, otherwise I am a guinea-pig in somebody's trial (or guessing game).

I also very much prefer that my tax dollars not be spent on things that defy logical explanation, such as anything to do with religion and all forms of shamanism, which are entirely private pursuits in my book.

JohnBennetts
Yes, I see your point. I think the thing about acupuncture is that it maybe does have a rational explanation. It’s not so obviously loopy as, say, homeopathy.

Often we grope towards a proper understanding of cause and effect through trial and error. In 18th century Britain, it was believed that bad odours caused disease, and people responded by installing better sewage and waste removal systems. The theory was wrong, but the solution was right.

If the Chinese believe that sticking needles in people helps to manage pain then the phenomenon is worth investigating, even if we don’t know how it might work, and can’t accept the “theory” of qi.

I agree that the taxpayer should not subsidise unproven methods, though.

Yes, "bad odours".

a.k.a. Malaria, a disease and subject in which I have some interest.

I’m not sure if we all get the same ads, but there is a certain irony to this article hosting ads spruiking “the secret to stay [sic] asleep all night … a revolutionary secret to help you sleep” and “5 veggies that kill stomach fat”.

Australia’s answer to the man on the bus.

So now, are we supposed to assume that all Chinese herbs are a 'sham'? I mean, we don't know how they work either, do we? (Can the thousands of years of Chinese 'research' involved really only amount to 'placebo-effect'?)

How about acetyl salicylic acid; how does it work to relieve headache, or reduce the potential for stroke, or act as a blood-thinner? Yet we have no trouble taking it (prescribed or otherwise) - see Aspirin.

Maybe we in the West are not so scientifically 'smart' as we would like to think we are - choosing to 'use' some medications while we really have no idea how, or why, they 'work', whilst rejecting the use of others, in spite of their having demonstrated some usefulness, because we are simply too 'baffled' as to how they can possibly be efficacious.

We use the blood of horse-shoe crabs to test donated human blood for the presence of bacteria or whatever, but do we know how those clever little crabs have developed this magical capability? Or, why or how it works?

As for acupuncture: I remember seeing footage of a visit by medical professionals from Westmead Hospital to a Chinese hospital, where the visitors were privileged to view an intrusive surgery performed on a female Chinese patient whose only anesthetic was per acupuncture. The patient remained conscious through the whole operation and confirmed throughout a complete absence of pain. Voodoo, or 'placebo', self-delusion, maybe hypnosis, or pure 'belief'? You tell me.

Maybe not everything is explicable; maybe 'we' should at times have some 'belief'.
(As for Western medicine - I wonder how the inquiry into Lipitor is going.)