Can an old dog learn new tricks? Can a 77-year old man see the light?
I had the pleasure of staying at my friend’s house in Srirangam recently. One morning, I was woken up by a loud exchange. As the debate between my friend and his son raged on, I picked up the subject in bits and pieces: diabetes, credibility, home medical remedy, quacks, gullibility, belief and trust. Not wishing to intrude, I stayed in my room. I found out later from my friend that they were arguing about a YouTube video published on a channel unburdened by repute or qualification, circulated by a person on WhatsApp with an attention-grabbing headline.
The message centred on foods that were miracle home remedies for diabetes, offering drastic reduction of sugar in the bloodstream. The father, a chronic diabetic, believed in the effectiveness of the advice and considered it risk-free because no medicine was involved. The son, concerned about the health of his dad, rightly felt that there is a lot of such news on social media whose veracity cannot be taken for granted.
