[mikeash]

All anyone should care about is results. If a ritual somehow reduces pain then it can hardly be called "pointless."

The problem is when there are no results. From homeopathic "medicine" that's nothing but water to chiropractors claiming that they can treat allergies, there's a ton of alternative medicine that's just completely baseless.

Pain is an area where weird things can help, because it's ultimately a matter of perception. But that doesn't in any way legitimize the sorts of folks who say they can treat cancer by manipulating your spine.

[blacksmith_tb]

I'm happy to heap scorn on homeopathy too, but, as you say initially, if results are what we're after, than placebo effect is potentially just as good as allopathic medicine. But yes, it would be asking a lot of placebo effect to cure cancer...