Medicine has been a crucial part of human society since we first came down from the trees and started to bang the rocks together. As civilisations grew medical knowledge became concentrated among a few specialists. Many lay people, however, practised and continue to practise medical care, often guided by folk tales, tradition, and intuition. In countries such as South Africa traditional or “Shamanic” healing is part of the state healthcare system. The Root-Bernsteins attempt to explore the scientific basis of many of …