This is why I contrasted TCM with fengshui. TCM has been studied by doctors all over the world, and many methods/treatments/drugs have proven effective (for reasons why can understand). If fengshui can rise to that level, I will take it seriously.

Please leave off the Dawkins. The problem with people like him is that they use straw man arguments (most importantly, defining faith as blind belief.).

@Tian. Fengshui as “best practice” is probably right. My sister’s architect was into the Indian equivalent, and she says that a lot of the rules make a lot of sense once you work out the reason for the rule.

Re Fengshui, much of it is superstition.

However one might want to consider that in the ancient past science and magic are interchangeable. Human psychology are often couched in mythical terms. In that light, some of the basic guiding principles of FengShui, such as the arrangement of furnitures, windows and lighting, direction the door’s facing — they do make sense.
Take lighting, I sometimes travel for projects, and as consultant often am stuffed into miserable rat-holes, which made one more acutely aware of need for good office furniture arrangements. I was once with a colleague working in a windowless office jammed with a couple of desks, which sucked the energy out of all of us. One colleague got so depressed he even asked the client to pay for a sun-lamp. FengShui in this context would offer suggestions on where perhaps to add some lights, perhaps a diff arrangement of desks, etc..

I sometimes think of FengShui as traditional best practices passed down. However, generally speaking, because of Chinese’s emphasis on continuity and tradition, and the lack of a western-equivalent of a Renaissance, FengShui has not been updated with modern terms. But FengShui can be argued as a study in human psychology and environmental studies.

Which does not mean there aren’t many scammers out to con willing schmucks out of their money.

I am not a FengShui practitioner btw, nor do I work in the industry. Just wanna toss in my 2 cents (+ inflationary adjustments).

Once the context of religion is firmly in place, the logical bases of such practices fall away, and with the passage of time we are left with increasingly bizarre rituals.