[Avodah] Chazal accept medicinal treatments

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Aug 20, 2019 at 09:08:26PM +0000, Rich, Joel via Avodah wrote:
> Clarke's first law states that any sufficiently advanced technology
> is indistinguishable from magic. If so, how did Chazal accept any
> medicinal treatments from non-halachic sources (since no one knew how
> these treatments actually worked [and in the end they didn't])?

Lehefekh...

Chazal didn't have double-blind testing or a field of statistics. Instead,
something that worked three times was considered effective.

And anything effective is exempt from derekh Emori. (Also, from muqtza.)
See Shabbos 67a, starting at the mishnah. For that matter, Abayei and Rava
seem to exempt anything fone for refu'ah, even without a chazah that it
works. Kemie'os, objects and lekhchishah are included in the discussion.

So long as it's not real AZ. Top of amud beis, R Yehudah's ban on
using the idioms "gad gaddi" and "danu danei".

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 You will never "find" time for anything.
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   If you want time, you must make it.
Author: Widen Your Tent                        - Charles Buxton
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