ABSTRACT
Both of my grandmothers came from “the old country”—one from Poland and the other from Romania. I recall stories from my childhood about their dislike for each other, which was always kept as an unspoken but open secret because despite their mutual dislike, my maternal grandmother had a skill that was needed by my paternal grandmother. Because of this need, they had to at least feign liking each other. My maternal grandmother practiced the ancient art of cupping. Many people, including my grandmothers, believed that cupping cured a variety of illnesses. My maternal grandmother would light a match inside a small cup, then after burning off the oxygen in the cup, she would put out the match and place the hot cup on the back of the person seeking the cure. The cup would create a suction so that when it was removed, circles of red welts would appear on the skin where the cup had been placed. The theory behind this treatment was that when the cup was pulled off the body, it would suck out the illness. Did some people who sought this cure feel better afterwards? Anecdotal evidence suggests that they did, but were improvements caused by the sucking action of the cups or the belief that it would work? More importantly, why should we care if at least some people felt better after this treatment? These are all central questions for our discussion of critical thinking.
