You've opened up a very large area of debate that warrants at least one post on its own, which I think would be best in this case. All I can really suggest for the sake of comments if you wish to continue is provide me with some kind of scientific evidence, rather than anecdotal or promises, that TCM is effective beyond placebo.

To be clear, I didn't say all, so of course I'm aware, for example, of TuYouYou's achievements, and I know that, purely through trial and error, superstition and so on that various herbs and such have been found to have some positive effects.

But, when it comes to the crux of the belief, the QI, the meridian pathways, the five elements, and so forth, it's just as bunk as any other scam out there.

Being right sometimes does not make a trustworthy science. It has to go through the correct, rigorous process, and that's where TCM unavoidably fails.

To be creative and demonstrate:

A doctor comes to me with a knife and says:

'according to this ancient chart that was dismissed as false by its own original people for thousands of years but was returned because the authoritarian leader said so to save money, if I stab you in the arm, it might heal your headache. This is because metal and blood clash against skin and pain in the spiritual Blorg. That's what the chart says!'

And then when he does it, it turns out there was a worm under my skin that was releasing headache-inducing chemicals, so the knife stab successfully cured a headache.

From that day on, people know that there is a headache worm that can be stabbed with a knife all thanks to Traditional Knife Medicine, which goes on to make a chart of where Blorg points are, which happen to be locations where the worm likes to breed. So this is evidently scientifically legitimate form of medicine, Right?

Sorry, that's now how it works... except with TCM. For some reason that gets a pass to slip past the scientific process.

Anyway perhaps my 'most is placebo' statement isn't entirely accurate - but perhaps it is, I haven't run the numbers but I think i'll make a post on that very thing. But the bigger issue here is that the very premise of TCM is bunk, and regardless of how many individual occurrences actually have a positive effect, it's not because of TCM, it's because of chance encounters and circumstantial happenings over thousands of years of trial and error through blind superstition. Mostly error. And I want no part of that, and the world could very well do without it, too.