This is a term proposed by me as an alternative to “complementary and alternative medicine”.  The reason this term seems preferable to complementary and alternative medicine is that the latter suggests that it is an alternative to conventional medicine. This is a fallacy. Some people simply call it “quackery”. While most alternology is indeed quackery, I see this as a derogatory term that stifles an objective and open-minded approach.

There is no such thing as alternative medicine. There is only medicine, and anything that is not part of medicine has either been unproven or has been shown to be ineffective or dangerous.

Alternology, therefore, is a neutral term. It suggests a valid field of study that is not part of medicine. It does not preclude the possibility that some parts of it could become part of medicine, if shown to be effective. The same is true for any other field of study. Chemistry and physics, for example, are not part of medicine. However, when they happen to reveal something that is useful in medicine, it does become part of it. X-rays, or even the chlorination of water are good examples.

Good examples of alternology are ayurvedic medicine and acupuncture. These systems are thought -mostly by westerners- to be based on ancient wisdom, and therefore far more effective than conventional medicine.  This is blatantly wrong.

It is not because something is old that it works, and it is even less true that this implies that it would be better than its modern counterparts. We no longer use magic carpets to carpet around the world. We use airplanes now. The reason seems obvious.

How can we be so sure that much of alternology is useless? Look at the evidence. People in regions of the world where acupuncture is used (e.g. China) suddenly increase their lifespan when they are introduced to modern medicine. The same is true for people living in places where ayurvedic medicine is used, such as India.

I believe it is important, however, that alternology should not be dismissed outright. While homoeopathy has been shown to offer no benefits beyond the placebo effect, the situation for acupuncture is far less clear-cut. The meridian system it promotes is utter tosh, but there is some evidence to suggest that it can be helpful with pain management in certain situations. On the other hand, many herbs are an uncontested and even celebrated part of medicine. Only objective and rigorous tests can show us what should be called medicine, and what should be discarded as quackery.