Ayn Rand Inst. on Prayer Studies

The other day I blogged the recent study that showed prayer didn't aid heart patients' recoveries. I later saw the following press release from the Ayn Rand Institute:

"The Harvard medical study showing that prayer has no effect on recovery from heart surgery is shocking," said Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute. "It is not shocking that prayer has no medical effects--what's shocking is that scientists at Harvard Medical School are wasting their time studying the medical effects of prayer." "Science is a method of gaining knowledge by systematically studying things that actually exist and have real effects. The notion that someone's health can be affected by the prayers or wishes of strangers is based on nothing but imagination and faith. Such blind belief represents the rejection of reason and science, and is not worthy of serious, rational consideration. What's next? A study of the medical effects of blowing out birthday candles?" "Every minute these doctors spend conducting this sort of faith-based study is one minute less spent on reality-based research--research that actually has hope of leading to real medical cures."

I kind of think they have a point though of course I don't share their perspective that imagination and faith are equivalent and both are associated with things that don't "actually exist." I can see why it would seem pretty silly to try to test the possible effectiveness of expressions of faith via the tools of science.