Chiro

I grudgingly believe that chiropractic can offer real value & benefit to sufferers of back-pain. While it never did anything for me when I had back troubles, others swear by it. So, I concede there is probably something real going on, whether it's the relaxation of 'subluxations' or something else.

What I find to be complete quackery are those assertions by some that chiro has benefits far beyond the spine & vertebrae. There are claims for fixing sleep apnea, the common cold, allergies, Erectile Dysfunction (which by the way is a serious issue for many men - normal every-day young healthy men who should not be mocked) etc.

When I hear these claims for chiro, I think to myself 'They're over-reaching', i.e. attempting to apply a therapy beyond a valid & justifiable scope. Ultimately, these claims do more harm than good, tainting the reputation of the profession for more legitimate applications as they do.

I think the same thing when I hear OpenID described as possibly appropriate for high-value applications like banking - it's over-reaching, claiming scope that is unsupported by the security characteristics that the protocol affords (irrespective of how the user was initially registered or subsequently authenticated). And ultimately, like for chiro and cancer, the reputation of the valid application is damaged.

Kim seems to agree (on the over-reaching thing, I'm not sure where he stands on ED). Stefan clearly thinks that even claims that OpenID can help mitigate back pain are quackery.