If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me enlighten you. Power Balance bracelets are plastic bracelets embedded with a hologram that supposedly “works with your body’s natural energy field to increase strength, flexibility and overall performance.”
And they are everywhere! In fact, it seems nowadays that every second person you meet is wearing one.
A while ago as a joke I tweeted -
“To all you Power Balance bracelet wearers – I have a ring that repels dragons, and I am willing to send it to you for free!”
- and it caused quite a stir! It seems to me that there are people on both sides. Those who swear by them, and those who say they are a complete scam!
As a physiotherapist trained in clinical reasoning, my initial reaction was “C’mon – you’ve got to be kidding me! Where are the random-double-blind studies? The hard facts proving it works?” And the truth is – there are none. In fact in Australia recently Power Balance posted a retraction and had to apologize to consumers for misleading advertising.
But, despite all this, I am also an owner of the infamous Power Balance bracelet (someone gave it to me I promise!) and, I have to be honest, I’ve worn it a few times surfing and paddling. You see, even though my brain is telling me this thing is just a brilliant and well-marketed money-making scheme – a modern version of “snake-oil” – there is also a small part of me that wants to believe it works.
Because the truth is we all want a magic formula.
Whether it’s to sort out our marriage, increase our business, build our ministry, or get a six-pack, we are all susceptible to taking the quick and easy option. Unfortunately, as I’m figuring out, for the most part there are no magic formulas or quick fixes in life. Relationships, love and financial freedom, like “power, balance, and flexibility” take work. A lot of hard work.
The bible says it like this: “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (Prov 21:5)
So… what do you think about Power Balance? Real-deal, placebo or hoax?
And more importantly, what challenge or problem in your life are you avoiding or looking for the magic formula to fix?
PS: I still have those dragon rings if any of you are interested. I’ll give you a special price 
I think the flaw is this argument has always been one thing…why does one assume they know why a person wears a power balance bracelet? It takes a judgmental character for one to assume they know why without asking that person & the loaded question of “do you think it works?” is just that…loaded for judgment. Unless one is a curious skeptic looking for a quick fix to make yourself feel better by putting others down. Who knows? I suppose it depends what is your intention.
The truth is, you can wear a power balance bracelet for many reasons, maybe for (i) power, balance & flexibility; (ii) because it is a gift that you wear to make someone else happy; (iii) for the placebo affect it affords if you do believe it possibly works; (iv) because it is a fashion accessory. These are amongst many possible reasons. Personally, I wear my power balance bracelet to see the character of others.
Once it has all played out, a power balance bracelet & why people wear it is not such a big deal & will fade as any fad does.
Similarly, and a question I find far more interesting, is “why does someone where a cross around their neck?”
The answer is simple, like the power balance bracelet doesn’t make you “superman” (as some judgmental folk jest), nor does a cross around your neck make you Christ-like. The truth is you have to “walk the walk” and no symbol, ritual, rule or societal norm you display will prove that in you as an individual. Only when you do like Christ would, do those symbols have meaning.
So I rather ask you (the reader) the rhetorical question, why are you wearing your cross?
Hey Daniel – thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you about the cross – a barbaric torture method that early followers of Christ would have found offensive and that only came to be associated with Christianity some 300 years later!
With regards to the bracelets, please don’t misunderstand me. I am not in any way judging those who wear them or seeking to mock those who believe they work – as I said, I own and have worn one myself, and one day we could figure out that they do in fact do everything they say they do! I also truly believe in the power of placebo, and hey, if it works for you, then by all means use it!
My concern is more around the fact that people are so willing to accept it and try it without asking questions or investigating simply because it is an easier option. I guess I just find it interesting that PowerBalance have made millions selling a product that “might” work, and that people are willing to spend their money on something that “might” help, and yet hold on to their money much tighter when it comes to things they “know” will help themselves or others…
Would love to hear your thoughts…
Hey Tom,
I agree completely that all people, and you & I am no exception to this, have or do put hope in things that might give them a “desired” outcome. It is the nature of the human condition. Sometimes those things are worthy and sometimes not. Everyone should ask themselves:
“where that ‘desired’ outcome originates?”;
“what will that ‘desired’ outcome really do for me?”; and
“what makes you think that a certain thing, person or whatever will allow you to achieve that outcome?”
These are questions a person must ask them self and be brutally honest about.
The Bracelet Debate is Insignificant:
On your concern “the concept or idea that people are so willing to accept it and try it without asking questions or investigating simply because it is an easier option”, this is not quite true. Easier than what and who is to say they didn’t ask questions? Possibly they bought it to answer the questions?
You also mention, “I guess I just find it interesting that PowerBalance have made millions selling a product that “might” work, and that people are willing to spend their money on something that “might” help”. This is not unlike many number of products offered that are consumed by both bracelet and non-bracelet wearers every day.
Weighing these things up, I don’t think you are really concerned about the bracelets or the money that company has made.
Judgmentalism & Bracelets:
Next, a person being judgmental of others for a product they bought to possibly help them is actually just letting oneself down. Why? Because that judging person is being contradictory to themselves: they have just substituted the bracelet wearer’s ‘hope/possibility in an object for personal upliftment” with their own “bringing other people down for personal upliftment”. I don’t need to say which is worse, that can be figured out by each person. But again, I would suggest that both folk ask themselves the same questions above, as they are doing the same.
Bracelets versus Crosses:
Critically, does one wear a power balance bracelet because one is powerful, balanced and flexible, does one wear it to get those things or does one wear it to suggest they have those things when they don’t? I guess that depends on the person.
Likewise & more importantly, why does one wear a cross (and I am not talking about the incorrect, literal meaning of a cross as a torture & execution method)? Does one wear it because one is living in a Christ-like way, does one wear it to get those things or does one wear it to suggest they have those things when they don’t? Again that depends on the person.
Wearing which item is more concerning? Both are! It is your motive for wearing the item that is of concern. Hence, the power balance bracelet debate has always been an insignificant topic, as it has never been about the bracelet but about what I have described above.
Fact of the Matter:
The fact is simple: Talent (or blessings) are free, fitness is earned.
Talent (or blessings) are all the awesome things God has given us directly or indirectly through a “fit” person. The ability to be active, ability to imagine, ability to create, ability to share, ability to make others laugh, ability to appreciate, ability to love without knowing someone and so on. All those are talents we get for free & have within us already, but all are potential for one thing…God blessing us with an ability to DO. But one must still do. So if you need to wear a cross or bracelet to activate that potential, go for it!
Fitness like I said is earned , earned from DOING. Fitness can be power, balance & flexibility AND fitness can be a person’s awareness, willingness & subsequent active participation in doing something for the benefit of others or a genuinely worthy cause.
Individual Social Responsibility:
You also said, “I guess I just find it interesting that people…hold on to their money much tighter when it comes to things they “know” will help themselves or others…”. Yes, it is concerning that people are not more prominently aware of their individual social responsibility & should actively be seeking to contribute to their community. This is an issue close to my heart, which you know already. So let’s rather talk about how folks can apply their talents (blessings) in a way to get “fit”.
If you are looking for a way to apply your God giving talents and get involved in exercising your social responsibility to get “fit”, actively pursue a cause. Or look for an existing cause you can contribute towards.
I Care Christian School & You:
Currently, myself and a number of other crazy athletic types are already 5months into training for Ironman in PE. We are doing this race because we like this stuff, but more importantly are applying our talents to raise fund for the I Care Christian School in Lower Illovo, to give street kids a future. We are looking for folks who want to get fit and exercise their social responsibility. So if you can contribute to this project or I Care in anyway, please contact me directly and tell me how you can help. If you just want to get involved, I can definitely suggest things you could do to make a real difference to this cause.
We desperately need pledges per kilometre we complete in the race as well as donations, with all proceeds going to I Care Christian School. If you are a corporate & would like to sponsor the team kit, please contact us too. We options for you to get involved too!
If you make a pledge or donation, please give us your power balance bracelet or a rubber band with your name on it for the race &, as a sign of your support, we will swim, cycle and run with all your bracelets from start to finish covering the whole 226km in under 17hours, after which we will return it to you Full of power, balance & flexibility!
It’s time to get fit, contact me at:
danielforer@hotmail.com / 082 593 4557
Thanks Tom and all who get involved.
Hi Dan
It seems that in both your responses (probably more the first one) to Tom’s commentry, you are very quick to attack a character of judgementalism. I would argue that it is farely safe to assume that someone who wears a Power Balance bracelet does so because of the benefit it supposedly offers. And I dont think it is fare to call someones character judgemental becasue they made a safe assumption. We make assumptions every day. In fact we need to make assumptions to survive and this includes assumptions we make about people. Is it not farely safe to assume that someone who buys a bottle of sunlight dishwashing liquid does so because he wants to wash his dishes? Usually when you buy or use something you do so in the manner for which it is intended, and it is safe for others to assume the same.
On the other hand, the person who wears a Power Balance bracelet in order to “see the character of others” (not sure why this is neccessary, thats not even what its made for) also needs to check himself for the character of judgementalism you talk of. You cannot fairly “see” someones character based on a safe assumption (that might be wrong) that they make. Essentially you end up creating what is probably a warped, inaccurate and unfair “judgement” of what that person is like.
In addition, this all has nothing to do with the heart behind what Tom has written. He’s just used the Power Balance bracelet as an example of the quick fixes we look for in life when in actual fact it is only hard work that will help us improve the way we live, serve others and become better people.
Cheers
Hi James,
Thanks for your reply.
Just to dispel a few of your concerns:
1. I Agree with Tom that hard work pays off & there are more important things to invest your time, money and belief in. So you needn’t be concerned from this perspective.
2. The non-debate of power bracelets has been around for a while, so no comment could be a quick attack and thought around is more involved than just a quick reply.
The debate was extended from the original blog post to one of why people behave the way they do towards people who wear power bracelets, which tackles issues of judgmentalism and incorrect assumptions. This is being discussed further as it is relevant and important in our lives.
So your concerns about the heart of this blog post & comments are not necessary. This is healthy debate from my side & I am helping to paint a more complete picture of what the fad of power bracelets is highlighting to us.
You do dig deeper into an important aspects of this debate…assumptions and perspective of “Safe assumptions”.
I think you are bang on a big culprit in this debate, the idea of “safe assumption”. Safe assumptions are not safe and not, universally valid. They do have a place in certain situations and can be harmless but in others they do not have a place and result in poor behaviour. Lets unpack this further.
Assumption is where misconceptions can & does take place and potentially inaccurate behaviour results. Basically, assuming something to be true without knowing enough about what you are observing, will just lead to errors in judgement. Judgment isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it part of how me make decisions. How one formulates a judgement (this is where “safe assumptions” would exist) and how one acts after making a judgment is of concern.
Sure, there is a likelihood or probability to things, but that is a likelihood amongst many things. The same applies to product use, so lets use your dishwashing liquid scenario and “safe assumption” of washing dishes.
It is not safe to assume someone who buys dishwashing liquid wants to wash dishes for many reasons, as personal perception, personal value, context and other untested assumptions come into play. The following scenarios illustrate how “safe assumption” are not safe. If:
1. You saw a young person buying dishwashing liquid, you would safely assume that person is going to wash dishes with the product. But moments later, you see the person bought a trolley load of it, friends arrive wearing SRC representative t-shirts for a varisty, they help pay & they are talking about “what else they need to get for Orientation week”. Suddenly, your safe assumption is lost. Had you walked away sooner or failed to observe further, you would have left with your “safe assumption” of that person or what their intentions “are”, which would be incorrect. You of course wouldn’t know that you are wrong & would continue to operate with the incorrect perception with it influencing your behaviour.
2. You see a maturer lady buying a single bottle of dish washing liquid. You assume again, she is going to wash dishes with the product. No one else walks over this time, there is no conversation about her purchase and she goes her way. Your “safe assumption” seemingly safe. However, it is in fact that lady’s child’s 6th birthday party that afternoon and she has a boot full of decorations and other fun things, including 20 containers for making & blowing bubbles. Ooops, dishwashing liquid is being used for as bubble making liquid. In this case, you would have had no clue but still, your “safe assumption” is incorrect.
Like I said, dish washing liquid is a trivial example, and the error probably wouldn’t be much of a problem. But when one applies the same flawed process of “safe assumption” to question the intent and motives of others in parallel to beliefs and the faith of that person, you are making a mistake on a number of levels. This has been taking place amongst people regarding power bracelets, so discussing it is relevant.
You see, “safe assumption” is filled with generalizations & multiple, other assumptions that are not factual as one is making assumptions out of not having complete information. If you make assumptions, you need to acknowledge the limitations of your assumptions. Making assumptions is worse when one is unconscious of the fact that you actually need more information & fails to acknowledge limitations of their assumptions i.e. the person is being ignorant. You are right in that assumption is used by an observer to make sense of something as best they can when they have incomplete information, which has its place if used properly. But to act as if one “knows” the truth, based on unestablished “safe assumption” and then act in a way or treat others based on those non-truths, is inaccurate and a problem.
The accuracy of observation is based on many things including testing your assumptions, understanding the context of the ‘thing’ you are observing and fully understanding yourself, as multiple internal factors also influence your perceptions and cognitive processing. This is all standard research methodology stuff and, if safe assumptions were acceptable, no research would need to take place.
Effectively, the “safe assumption” argument makes one, not uncommon interpretation error – the ecological fallacy – while the original argument of many people as to why people wear power balance bracelets makes the opposite, but also not uncommon observation error – the reverse ecological fallacy.
Firstly, by making “safe assumption” you are applying generalized observations as been true of a specific case or person. That is inaccurate and assumes everyone is the same and that person is the norm. This is the ecological fallacy. We know this isn’t true.
Secondly, in the original argument of why people wear power balance bracelets, a person who asked maybe a small handful of people why they wear the bracelet is being applied to the whole. This is the reverse ecological fallacy, where assuming what is true of part is true of all. I have encountered well over 50 people around the bracelets, not on purpose but because these folks couldn’t help themselves but say that they think the bracelets are bogus and in the process assume to know why a person wears one & then enact negative judgmentalism. Yeah, only 50 odd people, so its limited but the observation in each case was effectively the same. They felt having “asked” a couple people why they wear a bracelet, if even they did ask, is sufficient to presume why others wear them. Again, we know this is incorrect.
So, like I said, I am not interested in the debate of scientific evidence proving or disproving the bracelets. Why? Because there really are so many reasons why someone may wear this bracelet and the significance of the bracelets is close to zero. It is a fad in my opinion. I agree with Tom in that hard work pays off, something true of non-bracelet wearing me as well as bracelet wearing me. I said, “The truth is you have to “walk the walk” and no symbol, ritual, rule or societal norm you display will prove that in you as an individual.” Basically, hard work and authenticity is what is required.
Discussing the other side of what power bracelets highlights to us, namely judgmentalism, is part of the authenticity of this discussion and it should not be a problem to discuss the complete context, free of self-consciousness.
Thanks for a great debate & Kudos to Tom for pushing the right buttons to get it going and for some pretty nifty blog topic skills
Over & Out
You’ve got to be kidding me dude! This is the most redundant and illogical argument i have ever read. I honestly can’t remember my life before i started reading this response! Just admit you wear the bracelet coz you think it might help you! no one is judging you for that – but to put forward some lame self-righteous statement that you wear it to see other’s character is preposterous! and then to jump on this whole judgementalism rant is in itself the most judgmental stance anyone has taken! seriously, stop being so defensive, and just be humble enough to admit you wear it coz it works for you and leave it at that!
Jason, you are my case in point.
Thanks Dan
Unfortunately I have to disgaree with your analysis of “safe assumptions”. You say “Safe assumptions are not safe and not, universally valid”. Perhaps you have misunderstood the meaning of a “safe assumption”.
A safe assumption is exactly that, an assumtpion. When we make assumptions we do not adopt the assumption as absolute truth but yes, we behave in a manner that the assumption determines.
What makes a “safe assumption” safe is not its accuracy, no, its the level of consequence of its inaccuracy. For example, an incorrect assumption about why someone buys dishwashing liquid is safe because there is no harmful consequence to the mistake. So you may argue that it is not safe to assume that someone wears a PowerBalance, not because the assumption might be incorrect, but rather becasue the consequense of the incorrect assumption might be hurtful to the wearer.
I’m not convinced people would be hurt by that incorrect assumption. They might be hurt if the assumption is accurate by the conflict of belief and judgement that comes with that.
Cheers
James
Hi James,
I just saw your comment.
The consequence of many peoples’ assumptions with regards the bracelets and those who wear them is to be abusive and condescending towards those who wear them. In that process display a personal air of moral superiority. This is not good & this is my point.
Is this acceptable?
Does being a Christian make this less, more or equally acceptable/unacceptable?
What affect does this behaviour have on the image of Christianity?
We know the answers to these questions. It has been happening and it is not acceptable, Christians are not exempt from the unacceptability of this behaviour. Its just more disappointing behaviour from Christians as it presents a poor image of our faith. That saddens me as I am Christian.
And because we are being transparent, here are answers to possible questions that anyone could have asked me to make a safe assumption & behave appropriately:
- On first hearing of the bracelets, I thought them to be a hoax and very expensive. I was not interested & was skeptical. My opinion of them is unchanged now.
- I bought my bracelet as part of fund raising for an elderly lady who was ill in hospital. They were donated to her cause & I supported it. I still was skeptical of the bracelet as a product, but got it at a hugely reduced price, the money going to help someone and I could now test the bracelet & my skepticism for myself.
- I still do not believe the bracelet works: I had all the same “power, balance & flexibility” with the bracelet as I had before. I never believed it would make a difference & that was the outcome for me. So any placebo effect wouldn’t have applied to me.
- I still wore the bracelet as I wear a number of bands on my wrist: Livestrong band, Red Cross Childrens’ Home band, All-In band. I like them, I also think they look good in a fashion sense and some of them mean something to me.
- I then started to receive a barrage of abuse for the power bracelet from all people, but the Christians who should this behaviour have been the worst & most disappointing to me. It also became a mission for these Christian to talk trash about them as a campaign of sorts, as if maybe their faith was in questions (I don’t know) – you can check out facebook for examples. Sadly, these folks attempted to ridicule the assumed intelligence and faith of bracelet wearers and did so in parallel to their actual intelligence and genuine spiritual belief, in my case Jesus and God. I found this very disappointing to witness. But what this did show me was the judgmental nature of people & sadly the more extreme judgmentalism of Christians on this matter. Thus, I jest & say my band has an unexpected “power”, it “reveals” the character of others. In actual fact, the people putting out the abuse just revealed that on their own, the bracelet just gave them the opportunity to do it. Sure we are not perfect, but shame, it is sad. It is sad that something so insignificant is used by some to force their assumptions on others and act as if they have moral superiority. To be honest, I just laughed & said “you should not be so quick to assume why I wear this or force your opinions on others. You might offend them.” Needless to say this was ignored and these people continued.
There would be no point down playing this as isolated and not a fair representation. If you confront multiple people who put forward the same abuse, they put the abuse out in a public medium and the abuse is based on assumptions which anyone with a conscious is aware is going to offend and/or hurt people, it is a solid observation. How this is interpreted is up to you, I don’t think it bodes well.
Now, we could debate this further but what for. I am strong enough to not have my faith influenced by this behaviour, but what about others? What about those who were curious about Christianity & may have been chased away by this?
There is also merit in the objective arguments put forward from both sides within this mess of comments. Jason, not to single you out, but you should now see how your assumptions of me wearing a bracelet & what I had to say could have been investigated further to make an accurate call & then act accordingly. Don’t worry bru, you thought you were acting correctly & with conviction, which is cool but alas the absolute truth is you didn’t have enough information. No hard feelings.
I just want people to open their minds, properly evaluate the assumptions they make & realize the potential consequences of their actions if based on poor assumptions. As Christians, our actions are often placed under a magnifying glass by those waiting for us to mess up, so that they can “justifiably” knocked back our faith.
Cheers
Hey Dan, just to throw my 2 cents in here.
Your last comment was by far the most sensible one, and for the first time I think I actually get what you’re trying to say. Basically, you had a conversation with some random Christians about your power balance bracelet that annoyed you. Then Tom obviously touched a nerve and you freaked out all over his blog that was ACTUALLY about something else. So kudos to you for finally just saying what was going on behind the scenes instead of waxing (excessively) lyrical about everything from crosses to dish washing liquid!
P.S can’t help but think you either type REALLY fast, or have WAY too much on your hands. sorry dude – its just weird.
Sara, you not quite there.
I am highlighting the discrepancy between how some Christians behave in spite of what they say they are, and how that influences the image of christianity.
Power bracelets is just an example. James liked dish washing liquid. Both are trivial, but the point above isn’t. At least it shouldn’t to any Christian.
I also type fast & I make time for things that are important, like the image of Christianity.
Cheers
Great post Tom – airmed at quick fixes and using power bands as an example of such. There are many examples of quick fixes whether it be weight loss, companionship, financial and the fact is there is no shortcut but if wearing a power bracelet will bring your some sort of comfort while you walk along the path of whatever you need to change then well, at least you are walking towards it and figuring out your options and with experience you will find that it is truelly through hard work etc that you get real true results…perhaps such placebos like the power bracelet offer you mental preparation or inspiration or perhaps a reminder of where you want to be and a motivations and well, then awesome. Thats all part of it and well, its good to hear other peoples views and experiences with these things (you can take them as judgements) but its your individual thought that counts.
I where a cross…not only as symbol of my beliefs, but as a tangible reminder of the Lord when I need it. It makes me feel comforted. Am I the perfect Christian…I doubt it…but it makes me feel encouraged and that I am moving towards something I feel is worthwhile in my life. Its also a very pretty accessory which has value to me.
Thanks Tom for your awesome posts! Nothing like some good healthy discussion too.
Daniel. You’re awesome. I love a good read especially when I’m learning more on such things that most of us go everday without thinking twice about. I just had a question I’d like your opinion on. Do you think having faith can even result in a placebo effect?
Thanks for the comment. With regards to faith having a placebo affect, I would have to say absolutely! But seeing as it is impossible to prove or disprove the existence of God, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether it is placebo or the real-deal…
Before I read reviews on the Power Balance bracelet, I was a 100% true believer. I still am to this day. My first encounter with the bracelet happened to be when I was slightly intoxicated and my cousin told me to stand on one leg and put my arms out, he proceded to push my left arm to make me lose my balance. He then put the braclet on my arm and I still had no clue what it was, he then showed me that I was able to gain balance. At first I didn’t understand what it’s effects were until I asked him and he got me to try it for the second time. To my surprise it actually worked. I’ve done this test on a few others too and it has been successful. Even if you think it just has a placebo effect, at least it is still having a positive effect on you. Quite frankly, even if you’re not a believer, the bracelet still carries positive effects. And if you think that spending money on it is a negative effect, well then you shouldn’t have spent 40 bucks on it in the first place if you are just going to hate on it.
Thanks for your comment! Hey, I’m all for the bracelets if they help you, increase your confidence, etc.
For me, it was simply a controversial topic that became a springboard for me into some other thoughts around people’s desire for quick fixes.
Also, I am a Physiotherapist and often have people asking me about the “tests”. Unfortunately those tests called Kinesiology testing have been around for many years and work with any object whatsoever – anything from an orange to a cellphone and you get the same results using the method…
I can not speak for power balance but I can speak for cprime…cprime bands to have positive effects they pull energy in and allow your body to operate more efficiently, they have actual patent pending technology unlike a lot of other bands that only have patents on their designs. Check out a blog I just posted on the cprime bands and if youd like one for free to try out and see if you can feel the difference in your energy, sleep, balance, and endurance then you can re blog about it. I also have a few tests you can do with your cprime band on that will show you results immediately.
I just bought a powerbalance bracelet today. My friend showed me it, and we and a few other people tested them out in the store. These things really do work. I have no idea how, but even though I was extremely sceptical it worked every time. My balance was way, way better, and my flexibility improved. I even tried a fake powerbalance bracelet sold in the same store (tribalance) and it didn’t do a thing for me.
I can’t fathom whether or why this thing works. I don’t find anything in the design of it to indicate it’s anything more than a plastic/rubber bracelet. But I will say this–I bought it on a lark in a convenience store while I was driving, put it on and forgot about it. That is, until about 15 minutes later when the skin under the bracelet felt warm and tingly. That’s not something I can easily explain because I certainly wasn’t thinking about it at the time the sensation started. Go figure.
Inside, a hinged frame holds 4 photos on adhesive metal discs.
If you aspire to become a technician in this field,
then it is important to find out how it works, what it does, and the many
benefits you can enjoy with its use. This is now added to the list of
other chicken soup treatments.