Science

Re “Big Science Isn’t the Only One With Answers,” Commentary, Dec. 29: Laura Nader and Roberto Gonzalez make a good point. There are aspects of non-Western traditions that deserve a second look by science. But they demonstrate a common mistake in assuming that there are other types of sciences.

They are right: Science is defined not by laboratories or men in lab coats, but by the process of discovery. But Francis Bacon, almost 400 years ago, formulated the scientific method, a rigorous system of comparison between experimental and “control” data. That system is the only way modern man can be sure that whatever we learn has a logical basis. The other “scientific systems” out there don’t have such rigorous controls on their findings--which is why they also produced those shamanic rituals that are so clearly nonscientific.

I’ll grant that science has done a woeful job of evaluating benefits of ancient techniques and remedies, but that is the fault of those who practice science, not the process itself.

DAVID LIN

Yorba Linda