On Friday, I received an unsolicited E-mail advertising something called the “Original Power Balance” for only R110. This is what it looks like:
The E-mail continues as follows:
WHAT IS POWER BALANCE Power Balance is Performance Technology designed to work with your body’s natural energy field. Founded by athletes, Power Balance is a favourite among elite athletes for whom balance, strength and flexibility are important.
HOW DOES IT WORK
Power Balance is based on the idea of optimizing the body’s natural energy flow, similar to concepts behind many Eastern philosophies. The hologram in Power Balance is designed to resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body. ONLY R110 PER BAND
Oh, OK. The omission of question marks is not my own, and I feel that it would be unsporting of me to draw your attention to it. Some fruit hangs too low.
Some fruit is just at the right height, however, so I’d be interested in finding answers to the following questions.
- Does strapping an updated What Would Jesus Do to your wrist really help you play games more adeptly? What about a regular What Would Jesus Do? What about a rubber band? Have any comparative studies been done and, if so, by whom?
- Which Eastern Philosophies are similar to the idea upon which Power Balance is based? Are these actual East Asian philosophies, or just East Rand philosophies? Achieving success through putting a gaudy bracelet around your wrist seems pretty East Rand to me!
- You do know that holograms don’t have any special powers, don’t you? Even the new age philosophers who use the term aren’t saying that holding a handy hologram will optimise your energy flow. They are, instead, advancing the theory that the universe is holographic in nature. They are not advancing the theory that the universe is a hologram, which it cannot be by definition, or that holograms themselves are magic in any way.
I’m not discouraging you, Dear Reader, from believing in or purchasing Power Balance products at all. What I would like to do, however, is point that that of all of the talismanic health products I have ever encountered, this one should be the most easily testable. If this product works, there should be reams of scientific papers containing the results of double blind tests indicating that the Power Balance causes you to hit balls further, run faster, jump higher, punch with more force and decrease your lap time. If these results existed, there would be no doubt. Every athlete, every pedestrian walking through a dangerous neighbourhood and, for that matter, every mugger would have one.
If you can’t find these scientific results, then its a fair bet to say that the Power Balance doesn’t work. Do not be fooled by anecdotal evidence. How can you spot anecdotal evidence? Read this.
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Dear Andrew,
As you well know, I am not one to buy into crazy Hippy-crap (I can say Crap, right?) such as the re alignment of energies and Aura-stroking, etc, but at a recent sports event, I was approached by someone marketing the Original Powerband (Beware of Fakes and other imports!!).
I was skeptical, at best, and disinterested as a rule.
The guy showed various people how it work and it definitely had some kind of effect. I was simply forced to try and it worked….! I have no clue how, but it works. I have since bought one and tried the test on several other people and it continues to work.
I honestly believe that the all of the explanations are BS and I suspect that the guys that made it don’t really know how it works either, but hey.
That said, I still am not to sure what effect is is having, but I do feel more balanced when playing Soccer and Golf.
I will continue to monitor for side effects and advise should any occur, but for now, Praise the Hippy-Crap !! (I can say Crap, right?)
AHC
Hey AHC… Welcome.
What, specifically, does the demonstration entail and what results show that the Original Power Band actually does something?
Of course, there are many more questions but this is the main one for now.
adcza
You finding it working was probably just a plesibo effect ( it seems like its working and you preform better because you want it to do so). If 100 people where given power balance and 100 where given rubber-bands that LOOK like power bands ( and they where all told they are) the improvement would be around the same. If you where to eat a sugar cube every day and truely beleive that it would make you stronger you will see an improvement. Studys have proved its a subject of “mind over matter” that makes it seem its working, so still power balance bands are BS!!.