personstatingtheseideaswantstoputthemforthas“facts”or“reality”orconsidertheseideasas
“proven,”thenamorerigorousprocessofsupportingthoseideasmustbeundertaken.Theevidence
mustbeaccurate,availabletoallinvestigators,anditshouldbeprimaryandnotsecond-handconjec-
tures.Therefore,theopinionsofotherscholars,nomatterhowreputabletheymaybe,mustbebased
onprimaryevidence,andthatevidencecannotbesubstitutedbythescholarsconclusionsoropinions
aboutit.Therefore,scholarlydictums 256 areworthlessifthescholarcannotordoesnotsupportthem
withevidence.Otherterms,oftenusedsynonymouslyinscientificdiscussionsare“postulate”or
“axiom.”
Anaxiomis a self-evident or universally recognized truth; a maxim.
Adictumis an authoritative, often formal, pronouncement.
Apostulateisastatementorpropositionthatistobeassumedtobetrue
without proof and that forms a framework for the derivation of theorems. 257
Many times scientists or others relying on them treat corollaries as proofs.
Acorollaryisapropositionthatfollowswithlittleornoproofrequiredfrom
one already proven, A deduction or an inference. 258
Socorollaries,postulates,etc.,arealsouselessinapresentationofscientificfindings.Theyshould
notevenbediscussedbecausetheyhavenomerit.Sometimesmeritisplacedondictumsorcorollar-
iesduetothereputationofascientist,orforpolitical,socialoreconomicreasonsbutthesehaveno
placeinascientificdiscussion.Thus,ifascientistisnotdispassionate,anunconsciousorconscious
alternativeagendawillbeputforth.Further,ifnoevidenceisproducedtosupportacontention,then
ascientistmightbeindangerofappearingbiased,promotingapoliticalorsocialpointofvieworex-
pressingpersonalbeliefsandsentimentsaboutaparticularissue.Overtime,theythemselvesbeginto
believeinthoseopinions.Thisisthepoweranddangerofthehumanmind.Aprimeexampleofthis
isthebeliefindrugs.Somedrugshavebeenhelpfulbutusuallyonlywhenthebodyhasbeenmis-
treatedsomuchthatitneedsdrasticmeasuresinordertosurvive.Almostweeklynowwehearof
drugsthatwereoncetoutedassafeandhelpfularebeingremovedfromthemarketasunsafeor
dangerous.
New Diseases and the Economics of Drug Therapy
Everyyeartherearemoreandmorenewdiseasedbeing“discovered”orbeing“recognized”asneed-
ingtobetreated.Theprimarymeansofthistreatmentisthroughdrugs.Profitsareincreasedwhen
someconditionisdiscoveredtowhichdrugtherapycanbeapplied.Therefore,drugcompaniesare
constantlysearchingfordrugsthatcanbeusedtotreatdiseasesandconverselydiseasedthatcanbe
treatedbydrugs.Manytimesdrugshavebeendevelopedbyaccidentandthereisnopurposefor
them.Thedrugcompaniesmaynotwanttolosethetimeandmoneyputintoitsdevelopmentsothey
searchtoseeifthedrugisusefulinthetreatmentofanydisease.Wehavealreadyseenhowthevery
theoryofdrugtherapyisflawed.However,thesearchfornewdiseasesorfindingnewconditionsthat
canbeconsideredasnewtreatablediseaseshasreachednewandridiculousheights.Thisisnottosay
thatnewconditionshavenotariseninhumanityduetomodernsociety’sunparalleleddeteriorationof
theenvironmentanddevelopmentofunprecedentedlevelsofstressandtoxinsinthebody.However,
thenamingofnewdiseasesisnowbeyondtherationalandstillthepredilectionistoseekoutdrugs