If someone gave you information identical to information you already have, how much would you value the information given? Well, you might put a small value on it because it confirms your knowledge and maybe helps you feel more secure. But it is unlikely that you would pay much for it.
It follows that the most valuable information could be the most different from the information you already have.
But there is a problem: New information could be different and useless or different and useful. We apply our minds to decide.
If you decide to dismiss new information summarily, then you are using the Semmelweis Reflex. The Semmelweis-reflex is the automatic rejection of the obvious, without thought, inspection, or experiment.
Even if initially you object strongly to new information, you may find that your objections are satisfactorily answered later.
ORIGINS OF THE SEMMELWEIS-REFLEX
Dr Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician who discovered in the 1840s that puerperal or childbed fever could be virtually abolished if doctors washed their hands in
a chorine solution.
In the 1840s puerperal fever typically caused a 10-30% mortality rate in maternity hospitals throughout Europe. Semmelweis reduced the mortality rate in the division of the obstetric clinic where he worked in the General Hospital of Vienna from 18 percent to 1 percent. But he failed to convince his colleagues and superiors.
Instead of listening to him and disinfecting their hands, they hounded, persecuted, and fired him – for daring to suggest that they wash their hands properly. In the autumn of 1860, after the dismissal of Semmelweis, in the same ward where he had demonstrated how to virtually eradicate childbed fever, 35 out of 101 patients died.
In a book published in 1861, Semmelweis presented his statistics and findings. He sent copies to medical societies and to leading obstetricians in Germany, France, and England. Despite his copious and undisputed statistics, he was completely ignored.
Thirty years after Semmelweis’ discovery, Lister and Pasteur succeeded in convincing doctors that they should disinfect their hands.
The Semmelweis-reflex is the automatic rejection of the obvious, without thought, inspection, or experiment. The results that Semmelweis produced made it obvious that his possible discovery needed to be inspected, experimented with, and thought about.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Researchers at Michigan State University are finding that many women who are receiving chemotherapy while in the late stages of breast cancer are turning to a complementary therapy known as reflexology to help them cope.In a pilot study, researchers from MSU’s College of Nursing tested three different complementary therapies – reflexology, guided imagery and reminiscence therapy, in which women recall times in their lives when they’ve met and overcome challenges. Of those three, reflexology proved to be the most effective.“Reflexology is the one people stuck with the most during the eight-week protocol,” said Gwen Wyatt, a professor in MSU’s College of Nursing who headed the project. “It’s also the one that had the most positive outcomes.”Women who are receiving chemotherapy for late-stage breast cancer face myriad physical and emotional issues. Reflexology – which is a specialized foot therapy that applies firm pressure to certain parts of the sole of the foot – helps women adjust better to their treatment. Reflexology can be used to support patients through treatment such as chemotherapy or for enhancing well-being for cancer-free individuals.“We see things like a decrease in depression and anxiety, and improvements in spirituality and emotional quality of life,” Wyatt said. “Overall, they have an improved quality of life.”
A diagonal crease across your earlobe at a 45 degree downward angle toward your shoulder may be an early warning sign of a potentially fatal heart attack, according to reports in Modern Medicine (57,10:126) and British Heart Journal (611,4:361).
Somatotopical relationships between cortical activity and reflex areas in reflexology: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study.
British newspaper, The Guardian, and she wrote about how reflexology once again saved her life. She describes her experience of the migraine from hell.