Pandora's Box Should Not Be Opened Too Early
In 1897, scientists discovered the electron, and in 1908, they confirmed the existence of the atom. If the microscopic world of molecules and atoms, as well as the subatomic particles like electrons, protons, and neutrons, had been discovered during Newton's time (1643-1727), he might have plunged into the fascinating world of microscopic particles. However, Newton's laws are only applicable to the macroscopic world; they do not exist in the realm of microscopic particles. The question is: Would Newton, immersed in the microscopic world, still have discovered the great Newtonian laws?In the development of modern medicine, before the macroscopic laws of human physiology and pathology were discovered, it encountered the high-tech and microscopic world of molecular biology and plunged into it. This led to its development falling into the "trap of the microscopic world," where nothing is scientific without molecular biology, seeing the trees but not the forest, treating symptoms but not the root causes. This is actually forcing growth and is a tragedy for a discipline, as I will explain in detail.
Classical Disciplines vs. Modern Disciplines
Generally, the evolution of a discipline inevitably progresses from the coarse to the fine. Through the efforts of many generations, scattered research, data, and experimental results are gradually synthesized into mature laws, which are then widely applied.Before the Industrial Revolution, without the aid of computers and modern high-tech, scholars relied mainly on rudimentary equipment and observations with their eyes and ears, conducting experiments by hand and recording with pen and paper. They used their brains to deduce information collected, arriving at simple conclusions and laws. For example, Newton's laws in classical physics and Mendel's laws in classical biology were developed and accumulated over several generations of research. These are called laws because they are unbreakable and remain true no matter how many times they are verified.
The characteristic of these classical disciplines is that they are macroscopic. Their applicable scale is the macroscopic world visible to the naked eye. Without needing to know the deep structure or detailed composition of the subject of study, macroscopic laws can be deduced from macroscopic characteristics. For example, when Mendel's laws were proposed, DNA was not yet known, but this did not hinder people from using Mendel's laws for selective breeding to improve the quality and yield of agricultural products. The application of Newtonian mechanics is not limited by the material or structure of objects; it can be universally applied in engineering, machinery, architecture, and astronomical research.After the Industrial Revolution, with the invention of many new technologies, the means by which humans observe the world have broadened. For instance, high-powered telescopes can observe more distant stars, and electron microscopes can see deeper structures of matter. Many scientific experiments that were previously difficult to conduct have become possible due to technological advancements, leading to the discovery of new phenomena that classical disciplines could not explain. This gave birth to many new disciplines, such as quantum mechanics, relativity, and genetics.
| Physics | Biology | Characteristics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical | Newtonian Mechanics | Mendel's Laws | Using rudimentary tools to observe and study objects, deducing universal patterns and principles. These are mature disciplines that, even after hundreds or thousands of years, are still widely applied today. |
| ↓ After the intervention of new technologies and tools ↓ | |||
| Modern | Quantum Mechanics Relativity | Genetics Epigenetics | On the foundation of classical disciplines, more detailed or far-reaching exploration of phenomena is conducted using high-tech tools, discovering new laws and principles applicable to specific domains. |
New disciplines do not replace old ones; rather, the former can expand the application scope, depth, and breadth of the latter. For example, the theory of relativity explains mechanical phenomena more accurately than Newtonian mechanics, especially when the speed of the object under study approaches the speed of light. However, for general applications, Newtonian mechanics is sufficient. Even today, various engineering, architectural, and mechanical calculations still use Newtonian mechanics. But in the realm approaching the speed of light, relativity must be used; and at the microscopic level of atoms and molecules, Newtonian mechanics is no longer applicable, and quantum mechanics must be used. Even though it is now known that the primary factor of heredity lies in DNA, and DNA can be arbitrarily cut and recombined, it is still safer to use Mendel's laws for agricultural breeding.
The Pandora's box of modern medicine was opened too early
What about medicine? Every nation in the world has its own medical system. After centuries of survival of the fittest, the current mainstream is so-called modern medicine, while other surviving traditional medical systems are mostly referred to as alternative therapies. Undoubtedly, modern medicine has benefited from the achievements and technological advancements of other sciences. Whether in research methods, experimental techniques, data collection and analysis, or treatment methods, it far surpasses other traditional and alternative medical systems. Therefore, it is no surprise that it has become the mainstream. However, its theoretical foundations are constantly being revised, and the physiological mechanisms of the human body have not yet been studied and summarized into "laws" that remain unchanged for centuries and can be universally applied, as in physics and biology. For various diseases, it can only offer lifelong control, which shows that modern medicine is still a rather immature discipline. It is human nature to learn to walk before running. In physics, there was first Newtonian mechanics, followed by quantum mechanics and relativity, each building on the previous. In biology, there was first Mendel's laws, followed by genetics and epigenetics, each building on the previous. Modern medicine did not inherit a classical "medical law" but directly absorbed the achievements of other sciences and the advancements of high technology, directly entering the microscopic realm of molecular biomedicine.
Every law has its applicable scale and domain. For example, Newtonian mechanics only applies to the macroscopic world visible to the naked eye and fails at the microscopic particle level.
The situation of modern medicine is quite similar. Before the classical, macroscopic laws of human body medicine could be established, the Pandora's box of the microscopic world was opened. Modern medical scientists, as if discovering a new continent, were ecstatic and plunged headlong into it, but the macroscopic medical laws observable to the naked eye were thus missed. Many diseases belong to the macroscopic world visible to the naked eye, such as a blocked and stinking ditch breeding mold, bacteria, and mosquitoes. Should you approach it from the scale of molecular biology? Or should you take a shovel to unblock it? Modern medicine has chosen the former, inventing many antibiotics and killing worms agents to spray into the ditch. The ditch temporarily stops stinking, and the mosquitoes are temporarily eradicated, but the ditch remains blocked. Soon it will stink again, and mosquitoes will breed again. This cycle of treatment repeats, but the root cause is never eradicated.
Classical "medical laws" do indeed exist
So, in other ethnic medicines outside of modern medicine, do "medical laws" with universality and applicability for hundreds or thousands of years, like the laws of physics and biology, exist? Yes, they do. Not only do they exist, but they have also been widely applied for thousands of years and continue to be used today. That is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).TCM possesses many characteristics of classical scientific laws along with its own unique features:
- It is a macroscopic law, capable of operation without the need to know the microscopic details of the patient.
- The operators are limited, the form is concise and elegant, yet their different combinations are sufficient to handle thousands of diseases, akin to F=ma in medicine.
- Having been tempered over thousands of years, it is now a mature law.
- The same set of principles and operations can be applied both to the entire human body and to a single zang-fu organ, embodying the concept of fractals.
- This algorithmic system can even be extended to relationships between people, companies, societies, nations, and even internationally.
The classical medical law that modern medicine has failed to inherit, which is universally applicable to macroscopic human diseases, is precisely the Eastern TCM.
The East, having suffered from western humiliation a hundred years ago, lost almost all confidence in its own culture, leading to TCM also suffering collateral damage, nearly being abolished several times. As long as prejudices are removed and TCM is re-examined from a scientific and rational perspective, it will be found that TCM is more scientific than modern medicine, truly a treasure of the East, now like the precious jade of He Shi, buried in the mountains of Chu. The author believes that it will eventually be rediscovered and bloom again.
