Circumcision “researchers” aren’t looking for a cure to a disease. While in any other case, science is meant to outdate itself, make itself obsolete, #circumcision “research” seeks to make a contested, ancient ritual permanent and indispensable. In short, it’s pseudoscience. #i2
Interesting you mention results not matching expectations. We must remember #circumcision as medicine is only about a century old; it has been a highly contested superstitious belief for much longer, 6,000 years or so. Religious belief may color expectations. #i2
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A conviction to defend what has been a highly contested religious ritual since the time of the Maccabees presents a conflict of interest with a genuine concern for science, research and public health. Religious convictions may color expectations, hence creationism.
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Just because results don’t match doesn’t expectations doesn’t make research pseudoscience, it’s true. But how do we know the “researchers” are only publishing “results” that fit their expectations? And refusing to publish results that conflict with their religious beliefs?
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There is a problem when the “reported medical results” fail to correlate with reality. (Lack of external validity.) And there is a problem when the most respected medical organizations look at these “results” and find them wanting.
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I come back to my original post; what are “researchers” looking for? Is it to solve a problem? To cure a disease? Or is it to safeguard and protect a contested superstitious ritual? There are already better ways to achieve the “benefits” circumcision is supposed to confer.
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Is the point of science to find newer, better ways to do things? Or to keep things the way they are? It should be obvious by now that the ongoing quest to vindicate
#circumcision is pseudoscience. It’s no different than “researchers” publishing the “merits” of bloodletting.#i2 -
Other questions arise. How would we treat “research” and “trials” to find “medical benefits” in
#FGM? And how would we treat “studies” that actually found them?#i2 http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/does-female-genital-mutilation-have-health-benefits-the-problem-with-medicalizing-morality/ … -
It looks like some people will not have any of it. Yes, talk about “expectations.”
#i2https://allafrica.com/stories/201106280259.html … - 3 more replies
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