During this trip while I was walking in the mall located around 50 meters north east of Treasure Island (don;t really know the exact coordinates) I found this little store in the first floor selling some type of bracelet composed of a very rare mineral.
The seller was telling me how effective the stone was for improving circulation, relieving stress, increasing mental alertness and strengthening the immune system function, she later made me wear the bracelet and extent my arm into 180 degree position. Than pushed down my arm with the bracelet on and after that she did the same thing without it. I realize that she pushed down in different places of my arm, sometimes with less force and other times with more force depending on the point of push on the surface of my arm.
(to tell you the truth I believed that the bracelet worked....shame on me honestly)
This first impression of this pseudoscience got me caught up after that when she was explaining to me how the bracelet worked. I was baffled how the bracelet did have some sense of equilibrium on my body but i asked her how this bracelet exactly worked than I just got skeptic.( She was actually selling me tourmaline with a huge lack of understanding of simple physics).
Let's begin.
Tourmaline is scientifically interesting for being piezoelectric (electricity resulting from pressure) and pyroelectric ( the ability to gain a temporary voltage when heated or cooled). These property of the tourmaline has become very popular in the market and many devices are advertised based on the scientific premise of "Tourmaline generating negative ions" and "Far-Infrared light" (FIR) radiation.Examples like hairbrushes, bracelets and water purifiers.
The hucksters who promote these largely worthless products by convincing people how to find blinks to something that never had eyes, or to make you find platforms to some land that has been ALWAYS a cliff... will guarantee to confuse you! and the LARGE amount of public whose limited understanding of science makes them vulnerable and the perfect target for exploitation.
What they don't tell you is that as far as for (FIR) goes... all materials releases its energy in the far-infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. So when they tell you that tourmaline helps improve circulation, relieves stress, increases mental alertness and strengthens your immune system function; and all of that by the tourmaline to its ability to absorb energy from a variety of sources such as -sunlight, body or room temperature and releases its energy in the far infrared of the spectrum to equilibrate your body...they are just simply LIES! No research has showed that tourmaline has any proven effect on you in any kind of way.
As someone who is pragmatic, I understand where you`re coming from. But a powerful source that people continuously forget to take into the account is the mind itself.
ReplyDeleteIn a world where science is becoming a trump card over many subjects, belief is finding it's way out of the pattern. Although "religion" has no scientific background to it, what makes it powerful is that it has the capability of tricking someone - thus tricking the mind. If you can convince yourself that carrying a rock in your pocket will make you less stressful, guess what? You'll subconsciously take what would normally be a stressful event, less stressing.
Mind over matter is a powerful, proven tool/experience. I agree that the stones have no actual properties, but the belief and meaning behind them can have an affect on the ignorant.
So as they say, ignorance is bliss - good for them!
More fools blabbering about how minerals don't have any properties... and who now are the ignorant ones?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that minerals don't have properties. I'm just saying that minerals don't have any sort of influence on you like improving circulation among other things...
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