re iridology any credence to it in article aa dpw com jprice dpw com janice price writes i saw a printed up flyer that stated the person was a licensed herbologist and iridologist what are your opinions how much can you tell about a person s health by looking into their eyes its bogus see the sci skeptic faq i edit it you can diagnose some things by looking at the eyes glaucoma is the classic example but there are probably others iridology maps parts of the body onto the irises of the eyes by looking at the patterns striations and occasional blobs in the irises you are supposed to be able to diagnose illnesses all over the body the two questions to ask any alternative therapist are how does it work what evidence is there the answer to question takes a little knowledge of medicine to evaluate i don t know about iridology but i ve read a book on reflexology which is a remarkably similar notion except that the organs of the body are mapped onto the soles of the feet there are supposed to be channels running down the body carrying information or energy of some sort anatomists have found no such structures always beware the words channel and energy in any spiel put out by an alternative practitioner the answer to question is rather simpler if all they have is anecdotal evidence then forget it ask for referreed papers in mainstream medical journals ignore any bull about the conspiracy of rich doctors suppressing alternative practitioners studies are done and papers are published some of them are even positive the word licensed in the flyer is an interesting one licensed by whom for what it is quite possible that the herbology is real and requires a license you can kill someone by giving them the wrong plants to eat and many plants contain very powerful drugs foxglove and willow spring to mind it is not clear whether the license extends to the iridology and i suspect that if you ask you will be told that it means licensed herbologist and iridologist btw the usual term is herbalist why use a different word paul johnson paj gec mrc co uk tel ext these ideas and others like them can be had gec marconi research is not for each from any reputable idealist responsible for my opinions
