RhiRead t1_j9ewwxo wrote on February 21, 2023 at 12:46 PM

Reply to comment by anachroneironaut in Are there any books that you actually would want to see figuratively or literally burned? by [deleted]

Have you ever listened to the podcast If Books Could Kill? Highly recommend it, they pick different ‘airport books’ each week (non-fiction fad books, often woo woo themed) and discuss them and the impact they had.

On the episode about The Secret, they say that the book influenced a woman to give up chemotherapy because she really thought that asking the universe to cure her would work.

I guess burning books like this would be harmful at this point because we need to use them as examples of exactly how junk science can be harmful, but i can’t help but think how many people might have been harmed unnecessarily by books like The Secret.

lucia-pacciola t1_j9f409i wrote on February 21, 2023 at 1:49 PM

I asked the universe to cure my cancer, and the universe was all like, "I gotchu fam. Check out this chemo shit I cooked up."

isthenameofauser t1_j9fb1nu wrote on February 21, 2023 at 2:44 PM

Scientists are made by the universe, after all.

anachroneironaut t1_j9eygwx wrote on February 21, 2023 at 1:00 PM

Yep, that is one of the books I saw influence someone to make decisions that led to their premature death.

I agree with not burning them, definitely. No literal burning of books for me. But figuratively, I want to burn them.

Thing is, I do agree that adults need to take responsibility for their choices, for the information they consume and make decisions from. And information wants to be free. But having seen the chaos and desperation that some illnesses bring, the people profiting from this makes me sick. I have not heard about the podcast, will check it out.

Amphy64 t1_j9g1cwm wrote on February 21, 2023 at 5:39 PM

I think a further problem is that these books aren't just impacting individual patients who choose to read them, the views spread, they can promote/justify ableism, and it's difficult to get an ableist to take responsibility for the harmful impact of their views/actions.

I'm a victim of medical negligence and have every reason to distrust the medical system itself, but more scientific understanding is definitely the answer, not less. It's not even just the most obvious crystal healing stuff, psychology as a field is horrific for woo, and still, despite a history of medical abuse, holds the influence to be more widely harmful. Having a bunch of misplaced pins through my spinal canal, possibly splitting the cord, and severe life-altering neuropathic pain incl intense burning, I'd at least be tempted to watch the writers of some of these books be added to the pyre and sweetly ask them 'Have you considered that pain is all in your head?'.

boysen_bean t1_j9gbi0r wrote on February 21, 2023 at 6:45 PM

If Books Could Kill is one of my favorites. I haven’t read any of the books they talk about but its still very interesting. I was in elementary school when the internet was becoming more common. Teachers were so big on “can’t believe whats on the internet, use books instead.” Misinformation is everywhere; something existing in print doesn’t mean it’s true.