follow china's lead

[Guest guest]

It occurs to me that China is usually on the cutting edge of

technology development. One of the things we like about their

medicine is that it was so advanced for its time compared to its

peers in ancient times. And still includes insights that western

medicine is just catching up with. Joseph Needham, the great

historian, documented chinese advances in every area of science

during the middle ages, when europe was stagnating with literally

zero progress in science and tech for hundreds of years. Most of the

chinese ideas filtered to the west eventually and in many ways were

fundamental in the forming an essential foundation of modern society,

the technological aspect. Chinese culture went into a long decline

at around the same time the west had fully extricated itself from

irrational superstition. The chinese made so many advances arguably

because they were the world's first secular rational culture. It was

only when the west also adopted secular rationality that we began to

make advances, too. Now after centuries of decline and stagnation,

the chinese (and asia, in general) are emerging again as the world's

leading edge in technology. America meanwhile has slipped into a

morass of irrational mysticism (either fundamentalist or new age).

Most important advances in technology will not be made here anymore

until we return to secular rationality. Perhaps some of you will

thinks that's for the best. I mean high tech medicine is the bane of

civilization, right? But my sole point is that if history shows us

that when the Chinese are ascendant, they lead the way. So why are

we not following their lead. They developed CM at the same time

westerners were purging and poisoning and bloodletting. And whether

you insist CM is bian zheng and nothing else or have a broader view,

it was all pretty gentle and effective stuff. Now medical science in

the west has made some advances as a result of western mentality plus

technology, but it is mostly lifesaving meds and surgery where they

shine. The chinese did not invent WM. However they have always been

proto-scientists (it is the natural outgrowth of a secular rational

culture). So it would seem to reason that that when the chinese turn

themselves towards the next phase in western medicine, genomics and

biotech and nanotech, that it will have a chinese spin on it. It is

no surprise that the chinese have started an institute of

regenerative medicine as their umbrella org for this plan. That

tells us that the focus is creating health at the root, not attacking

disease. those who dismiss technological medicine need to realize

that all of tech med was developed in the west. We have no idea what

will happen when the chinese grab this ball and run with it their way.