Refuting "metaphysical" properties of rocks
In “refuting "metaphysical" properties of rocks” at:
http://lists.drizzle.com/pipermail/rockhounds_lists.drizzle.com/2013-November/002098.html
Kitty wrote:
“Can anyone direct me to a good source for refuting
"metaphysical" properties of rocks? I have a friend
who is very intelligent, but not especially well educated,
and he's all excited about something he heard about
"healing" gems. He's recovering from cancer surgery
and I'm afraid he may be thinking about using "treatment"
through crystals instead of further medical care. I don't
want to appear to laugh at him or "talk down" to him,
but I also don't want to just say, "we don't believe in
such stuff," and change the subject.”
I would suggest having him read:
1. Steve Jobs' Cancer Treatment Regrets by Alice
G. Walton, Forbes Magazine, October 24, 2011
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2011/10/24/steve-jobs-cancer-treatment-regrets/
and 2. Steve Jobs 'regretted trying to beat cancer
with alternative medicine for so long' by Jon Swaine,
The Telegraph, October 21, 2013
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8841347/Steve-Jobs-regretted-trying-to-beat-cancer-with-alternative-medicine-for-so-long.html
Some web pages specifically
Crystal Healing Considered Dangerous by Jeffrey Shallit
http://recursed.blogspot.ca/2006/05/crystal-healing-considered-dangerous.html
Debunking Crystal Healing by Jeffrey Shallit
http://recursed.blogspot.ca/2006/05/debunking-crystal-healing.html
Quackwatch at http://www.quackwatch.com/
Of course there is nothing the prevents a person from
doing both regular medical treatments and “crystal
therapy” at the same time. That way your friend has
the benefits of medical science and, if nothing else, the
psychological comfort of having either a few pretty rocks,
gemstones, or fossils, to look at, meditate on, and think
about. Just do not get scammed by paying obscene
prices for rocks that are completely lacking in any
medical benefit as touted on the Internet.
Yours,
Paul H.
