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Alternative Therapies

Is magnetic therapy beneficial to maintaining health?

Magnets have obviously had a long-lived pull on the human imagination. Legends of early fascination with the magnetic force date back to the first century B.C in the writings of Lucretius. In the 1800s magnetite was discovered to not only attract objects made of iron, but when made into the shape of a needle and floated on water, magnetite always pointed in a north-south direction creating a primitive compass and led to the eventual real science of magnetic fields.

Magnetic elements and their powers have been surrounded in superstition and considered to possess magical powers, including the ability to heal the sick, frighten away evil spirits and defeat enemy armies and navies. I should restate that - they are still imbued with superstitious powers today in that they do brisk business for those who advocate their use in the naturopathic treatment of certain health disorders.

The biggest reasons to be skeptical about this claim, other than seeing it in its obvious context of belief in superstition, is that the overwhelming majority of the time when people put their trust in 'naturopathic' remedies of this nature, both through history and in the present day, it is because of the psychological tendencies that human beings often have that prevent them from putting their trust in science and good information in favor of what amounts to superstition and rumor. These psychological phenomena that encourage us to throw our faith in just about any old snake oil there is are the following:

1. Trust in anecdotal evidence

For instance, on the 'pro' side of this argument there is the statement 'I believe in magnets, though all I have to prove it is anecdotal evidence.' This is essentially the same as saying 'I believe that magnets work, even though I have NO evidence.' It is easy as hooey pie to collect anecdotal evidence in favor of ANYTHING. All the purveyors of these devices and substances need do is sift through thousands of cases until those favorable to his product materialize. And it turns out, as has been demonstrated in countless studies, that as human beings we have an emotional tendency to be more moved by these case studies than a mountain of evidence to the contrary. We should all learn to better beware of anecdotal evidence in our own reasoning and in marketing campaigns.

2. The 'file drawer' phenomenon

This is the way by which most of us reinforce whatever inclination or predilection to believe what we want to believe. Those putting their hope, trust and faith in magnets can rely on the convenient fact that when using them seems to have helped, they will remember it, and when they don't they won't.

Similarly, there is a tendency in this crowd when they use magnets or take echinacea or some such to say to themselves something like 'well this time it worked' when they happen to get better, and 'I guess it didn't work this time' when they don't. This would certainly precude that the treatment is actually doing something consistent each time it is applied, but it also allows chance and spontaneous healing to assume the status of absolute proof of what they have already concluded.

3. Statistic clustering.

The principle of statistic clustering is a refutation of one of the sneakiest tactics of some of those who advocate for these products. It is taking the sense that one has as a lay statistician, or when we try to evaluate what could be chance vs. what could be proof, and using it against us.

Clustering can best be explained by taking a handful of marbles and throwing them on the ground. If you try this, you will notice that the marbles do not evenly disperse themselves. Some will be quite sparse, and some will land very close together, in a cluster. This fact can also materialize in the pseudo-studies of advocates of naturopathic medicine. They will do a bunch of 'studies' in various populations and find one of them that represents a cluster. They will tell you that in such and such nursing home, 90 percent of those who used magnets beat cancer naturally, etc. But if they neglect to tell you how many such studies were thrown out in other nursing homes in the process, watch out - for your health and your wallet.

Before concluding, I would encourage those who are determined to seek healing through magnetic forces to ask themselves the following questions:

1. By what principle or mechanism is this procedure helping you?

We ourselves are not largely composed of charged elements or metals, nor is it demonstrated that there are unseen magnetic forces or poles at work in our bodies. So if there is not any actual avenue such as this for our bodies to be helped by magnets, our body CANNOT be helped by magnets. It seems painfully simple to me, but obviously people often think and act in ways that aren't exactly simple.

2. And if magnets can help you, could they also harm you?

There seems to be the pernicious tendency for those who advocate that 'natural is best' mantra (even though the distinction between what is natural and not natural is stubbornly elusive) to convince the faithful that at the very least, something natural could not be harmful. But potential users should ask themselves why that would be. If something could have a positive effect on the body, why is it that it couldn't also have a negative effect? And if it could, how is it that we are to know the difference with a certainty that would prevent us from doing ourselves unintended harm?

After all, some of the world's most harmful substances, including cyanide, arsenic, cocaine and heroine are 100% natural. And even things like radiation were initially used in medicine with promise until the horrendous side effects were eventually discovered. Ultimately it must come down to some type of epistemology to determine what EXACTLY something does to us before we should throw ourselves at its mercy. I think the best candidate for that is the modern medical tradition, based on enlightenment thinking rather than superstition, copious research and history rather than anecdote and personal experience, and above all the scientific process rather than a shingle put up by whoever comes through town to sell us something.

All this being said I believe in the freedom of individuals to shape their destinies, even if they want to do it in foolish ways. So people, those of you who want to get some magnets and wave them over yourself if you want, go for it. But please, if you are really sick, don't do this to the exclusion of actual medicine, which has the benefit that some of its methods and procedures have actually been reasoned theoretically and demonstrated scientifically. For the benefit of your loved ones at least, use your magnets if you must, but please be open to a remedy with prospects that are a little more 'iron clad.'