Doctors? They're all Fascists!

When I first heard about postmodernism I thought this is bollocks. Then I read about how it had been applied in science. And I thought this is bollocks.

Then I actually read some, primarily in cultural relativism. In my case this was looking at how an object's "meaning" is subjective depending on how the viewer perceives it. For instance someone who believes in the guff about crystal healing would look at a crystal of amethyst in a particular way, it would encourage positive thought, ward off gout or something. A room designer would look at the aesthetics of the crystal, the shape, size, colour and texture. A mineralogist would see it through the lens of their training in crystallography and chemistry. Amethyst is purple because of the impurities present in the quartz. In this way the same object can have different meanings to different people, or different meanings to the same person depending on the context of the encounter. This view of postmodernism, that no view of an object or event can be divorced from bias, and that meaning and experience are created by the individual alone, make sense when applied to history, social sciences and cultural studies (where I first encountered it.) 

However when it comes to science anyone with a little knowledge of the subject proclaims themselves an expert (ask anyone who has encountered creationist arguments). The same is true of medicine. Orac, PZ Myers, Ben Goldacre and a fair few others I'm sure have picked up on this little news story...

( Woah! Longer post than I anticipated... )