I sometimes say “I’m taking my car to the vet“, to get its checkup, to cure its problems. Is a flat tire an illness? A disease? Is a bike, a car, or an airplane sick when it has a flat tire? Do we cure flat tires?
We can compare a flat tire to an illness, and its repair to a cure. Why should we make this comparison? Can we learn from it?
Medical cures are, frankly, full of baggage. It is illegal, for example, to market a cure in the USA unless it has been approved by the FDA. The FDA, however, has no guidelines for approval – nor for refusing to approve any cure. The FDA does not even have a complete definition of a cure for most diseases, nor for many cases of curable diseases. Neither does any current or historical, conventional or alternative, medical theory or practice. Perhaps this is the reason many, perhaps most doctors avoid the word cure, are uncomfortable talking about cures with their patients, and advise their staff to avoid the word.
The concepts of the new theory of cure (there is no old theory of cure) are general enough to be applied to any intentional system and to any component or process of an intentional system. Living things are intentional systems. Humans create use, and take advantage of intentional systems ranging from short term creation and use of a stick tool to complex interconnected economic systems of countries. Any physical or process component of an intentional system might be faulty or broken, judged sick and in need of a cure.
The theory of cure applies to intentional systems, not to things. We cannot cure a rock. It dead. It’s not a system, much less an intentional system. We cannot cure the solar system, nor the system of air movement that creates a tornado or hurricane either. We call these systems because of their complexity, but they have no life intentions.
A tire is part of a transportation system, has many components, and is connected to many other components. It might function poorly or fail for many reasons. In each case we can view the problem as an illness to be cured.
By studying flat tire illnesses, their causes and cures, we can better understand many illnesses and their cures, without encountering the contradictions and the baggage of our current medical systems. Let’s begin.
Most illnesses are trivial, easily cured. We get a cold, a cut or bruise, minor indigestion, or the flu – and our body cures it with little conscious attention. We might scratch it, patch it for a while, rest to recover, or exercise to loosen up a stiffness. It is cured. We forget about most of our illness. They are cured so easily we rarely call them a cures. We think all cures are hard, impossible, miracles.
As we study flat tire illnesses, we will learn that most flat tires are also trivial, easily cured. We might even design, or buy “self-healing” tires. Some flat tires cures are more difficult, requiring assistance from our communities, and some require the work of a professional, a tire doctor. Some are only cured by replacement, or transplantation. Some are not worth curing, or incurable. The same is true of our illnesses.
1. Jen’s Tire is Flat: An Illness
Last Tuesday, Jen noticed her front bike tire was flat. A quick examination revealed a thumbtack. Jen, a serious biker, has seen flat tires before.
The Cure – Jen took out a patch kit. Removed the tire and tube, found the hole, roughed it up with the sandpaper, brushed it clean, applied the glue and held the patch to the tire for a few minutes while the glue cured. She put the tube and tire back on the wheel and pumped it up with a hand pump. It held. After a short ride, , no problems. A few days later, Jen had completely forgotten the flat tire and its cure. It was gone. Not important. It was no miracle cure, just a fact of life and bikes.
Discussion:
- Most flat tires, like most illnesses, are trivial, easily cured. Many illnesses are cured by our own actions, often aided by unconscious processes or actions. Unconscious growth is a powerful curative. Jen diagnosed and cured her flat tire illness without a second thought.
- There were many possible cure alternatives. There are manufacturing standards for tire patch kits – or Jen, being resourceful might have made one from an old inner tube and some adhesive from a hardware store. Jen might have decided to use a glue patch, or a non-glue patch, faster but not as effective. Maybe it was time to buy a new tube – a more expensive, time consuming cure – but perhaps more reliable and effective in the long term. Every case of illness has many potential cures.
- The cure is to address the present cause or causes. In this case – the causes were simple, elementary – a tack that caused a hole in the tire. This is similar to a small skin puncture or wound from a thorn or a nail. Remove the tack or thorn, if it is still present, and promote healing. A bodily cure takes longer because it is accomplished by healing, but the process is the same. We clean it off, maybe apply some approved antiseptic, or perhaps vinegar or moonshine, protect it with a bandage while it heals, cures. The injury is the present cause of our problem, the cause of the illness – when the injury is addressed, healed, the illness is cured.
- We might use the phrase “has been cured” when the cure was a result of conscious actions. Many illnesses “are cured” entirely from unconscious actions or processes. Jen didn’t have a self-healing bike tire – so the tire puncture required conscious actions. Even a self-healing tire might require some assistance from an air pump.
2. Jen’s Granddaughter’s Cure: A Sickness
A few weeks later, Jen’s granddaughter, Joey (short for Josephine) had a similar flat tire, but she kept riding the bike, unaware, unconscious of any problem. Jen saw the bike swaying wildly and took a closer look. The tire was deadly flat.
The Cure: Jen took the time to show Joey the problem, the flat tire illness, and how to cure it. First, she asked Joey to find the nail, the cause of the flat tire – which Jen had already seen. She gave Joey a pen to mark the spot and then asked if Joey could pull it out with a set of pliers. Done. Then they took the bike into the garage and Jen explained how to remove the wheel and the tire, and watched as Joey did it herself. Jen explained how track the hole to the tube, and how to find it exactly by rubbing some spit on it. Joey roughed up the tire, picked a patch, and spread some glue, as Jen advised – not to thick, but covering an area wider than the patch. Joey applied the patch – getting some glue on her fingers – not a problem. Tire repair glue is not crazy-glue. She held the tire and patch together it for a few seconds and left it to cure for a few minutes.
Joey already knew how to pump it up. Jen explained the need to check the patch before putting it all back together. It held. Let the air out, and put the wheel back together. Joey was off again, wiser for her tire’s illness. She had hardly noticed the flat tire, and now she understood the symptoms, the signs, and the cure.
Discussion:
- Many diagnoses and cures come from individual actions. Some come from our communities. It’s hard to understand everything by ourselves – our communities bring intelligences together.
- In the theory of cure, an illness is what the individual suffers from and wants cured. A sickness, on the other hand, is an illness judgment by someone else and a disease is an illness judgement by a professional. Joey didn’t even know her tire was flat, much less how it was cured. No mechanic was consulted. Grandparents often cure ignorance – as well as illnesses – with knowledge and vision gained from life experiences.
- Most illnesses are so trivial we don’t go to a doctor. Many cures come from personal and community actions – without assistance from a professional or medical community.
Bob’s Flat Tire: A Disease
Bob learned to ride a bike as a child, but never really spent much time at it. Now, as an adult, he decided to buy a new bike and explore the parks near his home. One day, when he was nearing home, he noticed his rear tire was making a strange noise and dragging. Flat tire. Knowing nothing about bike tires – he took it to the bike doctor at the store. There were lots of people there, buying bikes and bike parts. Bob was asked to leave the bike for repair. He walked a short way home.
The Cure: The mechanic examined the tire, removed a nail, and made a phone call to Bob.
Bob: “Hello?”
Mechanic: “Hey, this is Judy, at the bike store. Your bike tire has a hole from a nail. I’ve removed the nail. I can recommend two alternatives.“
Bob (wondering what’s to come): “Yes?”
Judy: “We can patch the tube, and it will hold up quite well. But patches are not perfect cures. Sometimes they work loose, or stiffen up and cause other problems. Alternatively, I can replace the entire tube and it will be as good as new.“
Bob: “What’s the cost?“
Judy: “Patching is $22. The tube is a bit more expensive, but not a lot. Installed, it’s $25.30 with tax.“
Bob: “That’s hardly any difference. Go ahead with the new tube. Thanks.“
And the tire is cured – good as new, just as Judy promised.
Discussion:
- Sometimes even a simple illness prompts the attention of a professional. This is more likely to occur for problems we haven’t yet experienced or don’t understand.
- Most flat tire illnesses – even those at the bike shop – are trivial, easily cured.
- The bike shop, however, is in the business of selling things. A flat tire has many alternative cures – and some of them are more profitable. By replacing the tube, Judy can make money on the repair and on the tube as well. Replacing a tube is faster than patching a tire, less error prone, and less likely to lead to side effects or remission in the short term or the long term. The sale is easily justified. In Jen or Joey’s case, replacing the tube would have necessitated a trip to the store, some extra expenses, and a longer wait, but for Bob – it’s the best cure.
Summary: Illness, Sickness, Disease
We’ve seen three similar illnesses from three perspectives – an illness (cured by Jen), a sickness (cured by Jen, a grandparent) and a disease (cured by Judy, a professional, a bike doctor). This diagram illustrates the three perspectives – and the agreement reached by different participants.
This diagram helps us to understand that an illness is not a “thing” it is something we observe and judge, which can also be judged cured. In the first case, no agreement was required. In the second, the child came to an agreement with Jen. In the third, the rider and the bike mechanic came to an agreement. If it was a car tire, and Bob had insurance – an additional agreement would be require to reimburse the expenses. Most of our illnesses are minor, not requiring community involvement, never seen by a doctor.
Although the past cause – the nail, and the initial signs and symptoms of these three illnesses were identical – the tire was flat -the perspectives, the specific situations, and the cures varied. In the case involving the bike mechanic, a new cure appeared. In many cases of illness, there can be disagreement about the actual illness and the best cure. Joey, for example, did not consider her bike to have any problems until it was pointed out by Jen.
There were also three different cures for the illnesses. Jen’s tire was cured with a simple patch. Joey’s tire required external advice and assistance. Bob’s tire was cured by a professional, with a new tube. Of course, all three needed to be reinflated as well. These curative actions addressed different causes of illness and different cure expectations.
Theory of Cure
In each case, the cure was to address the present cause and causes. Once an illness, or a flat tire occurs – prevention is of no use, a cure is needed. None of the riders could go back in time and avoid the nail. A flat tire might function badly for a short time, but failure to cure can result in more damage. The cure improved the healthiness of the tire, improving the bike’s functionality.
As we explore 101 flat tire cures, we will see many more types of flat tires – and encounter many types of cures.
to your health, tracy
Author: A New Theory of Cure
this post was first published on Theory of Cure.Com
