Mother Bear kills cub then self at chinese farm - Page 8

On August 12 2011 15:37 Empyrean wrote:


While I suppose I somewhat agree with you on the principle that people should embrace rationality and science over traditional beliefs steeped in mysticism or superstition, there are examples of times when "traditional" medicine is efficacious (for example, boiling willow bark for pain relief; the acetylsalicylic acid in the willow bark is the main ingredient of aspirin).

People are remarkably good at finding patterns: "oh, you had a fever and some soreness but you drank some willow tree and it's better? Next time someone has a fever, let's try giving them that." This type of behavior is the basis of the scientific method. That is, you observe a phenomenon, form a hypothesis, and test the hypothesis to see if it conforms to your expectations. If not, then you discard it. Native American populations repeatedly saw the efficacy of willow bark in treating mild fevers and pains, and thus correctly "prescribed" it for those same conditions in the future.

As for bear bile, it is efficacious for certain conditions, notably gallstones, because of the ursodeoxycholic acid in the bile itself. It's (the acid, not the bile) also the only FDA approved treatment for primary biliary cirrhosis. Obviously, people suffering from these conditions would benefit from consuming bear bile products. However, since modern medicine has found ways to humanely (and cheaply, might I add) synthesize the active ingredient, traditional extraction is no longer necessary for production of the ursodeoxycholic acid.

That being said, Chinese people are incredibly superstitious, and will stick to tradition like nobody's business. I've had many medical doctors subscribe to the theory of "heat" in terms of things like "oh you shouldn't eat that. It'll increase your heat." This, from physicians trained in Western medicine as well. It's something deeply ingrained in the culture, and any attempts to eschew traditional practices in favor of modern science will be met with criticism (gonna go with some wild speculation here and attribute it to an inferiority complex). This is also why you have people continuing the incredibly cruel extraction of bear bile instead of simply paying grad students to chemically synthesize ursodiol.

So no, not all of traditional medicine is bullshit, but it's backwards and detrimental to blindly cling onto traditional practice in the face of scientific advances. For the record, if I were ever offered the choice, I'd take modern medicine in a heartbeat. But that doesn't mean that none of its discoveries were engendered by traditional practices.

EDIT: minor grammar. oops.

On August 12 2011 15:50 Kh0rne wrote:
I'm curious how the bear extract is meant to work.

I know its going to be traditional magic / hype, but i wonder how they try to explain it?

On August 12 2011 15:51 Ownos wrote:


Whoa dropping some knowledge bombs.

Now that I read it twice... this is all based off 1 witness. I'm not so sure anymore now haha.

On August 12 2011 15:04 Hypemeup wrote:
She killed herself running into a wall headfirst? I realise they are heavy and all but dont bears have super thick skulls?

On August 12 2011 15:59 nalgene wrote:
That "heat" thing is actually more ingrained in their language... since they always use the word "hot"+"air" or something... whenever they talk about things relating to fried food of any sort...

On August 12 2011 15:58 Daniel C wrote:
I doubt the mama bear deliberate killed the cub and then itself. Most likely, it was raged/crazed due to the treatment it was receiving and hearing the cry of her cub, so killed her cub accidentally, then in another fit of rage/craze ran into a wall and died.

On August 12 2011 14:53 travis wrote:
Bears have very thick skulls. I doubt it could run into a wall and kill itself.

That said, is what is attested to here actually legal?

On August 12 2011 16:05 BearStorm wrote:
Does anybody know if bear bile can actually be used as some kind of remedy or is it some superstitious belief? Also how credible is this source? I mean the mother could have killed the cub while trying to free it.