How often have you been sat with friends when someone starts talking about some wacky new therapy, some strange mystical force that can apparently cure all ills, some food supplement that they are taking, or some anecdote about how another friend felt so much better after visiting some Reiki person? That's Woo talk! The Land of Woo is where these outlandish and irrational theories live and thrive.
And how did other people react? Did they ask how reasonable people can ever come to believe in such stuff? Did they ask how it works? How does anyone test it? What's the evidence? Of course not. Some people just go along with it, some add tales of their own, some simply keep quiet.
That's how the wave of irrationalism and Woo spreads, by the inertia and embarrassment of rational people. Rather than upset their friends, or cause an argument, reasonable rational people stay quiet. And in the meantime, an enormous industry selling all manner of outlandish Woo therapies flourishes and takes money from those least able to assess the claims.
But it's not just an inconsequential fiction, fanciful thinking, belief in magic. These businesses are huge, and by encouraging people to believe in irrational theories, they create a market for therapies and products which undermine rational thinking and leave ordinary people confused about their own bodies, and how the real physical world actually behaves.
That's why I've written Leaving the Land of Woo. It's a critical look at the theories behind Woo and covers alternative medicine, food, religion and the paranormal. It shows how these branches of Woo are closely related by a common thread. It explains the facts about human digestion, energy, vitamins, supplements, and looks at the implications of supposed new energy sources like Qi. It explains how scientific knowledge is tested, and grows, how evidence is assessed, how we gather reliable clinical data. But I also provide a strategy for challenging irrational theories and also some practical measures to help us to leave Woo behind.
If you have ever spent any money on Woo, or even been tempted to, this book can save you money. If you avoid just one encounter with Woo, you've saved yourself more than the cost of this book. But more than that, you will be aware of how the ideas of Woo take root, how unreasonable ideas become accepted, and how to question them.
Leaving the Land of Woo is now out and is available on Amazon in both the UK and the US.
Bob Lloyd has studied in four universities and has degrees in Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Computer Science. After a long career in publishing, teaching, and software engineering, he is now retired and lives in Andalucia in the South of Spain with his wife and rather ancient cat.
