In the mid-1800s, long before anyone knew germs existed, a Hungarian doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis noticed something strange. Women giving birth in the ward staffed by doctors were dying far more often than those cared for by midwives.

After searching for an answer, he realized the doctors were performing autopsies before delivering babies and weren't washing their hands. He couldn't explain why, but he suspected they were carrying something invisible from one patient to the next.

So he introduced handwashing.

The death rate dropped dramatically.

Instead of being praised, Semmelweis was ridiculed. Without germ theory, the idea that something invisible could spread disease seemed impossible to many of his colleagues. It wasn't until years later, when scientists like Louis Pasteur established germ theory, that the medical world finally understood what Semmelweis had observed all along.

Sometimes, we witness the effects of something long before we understand the mechanism behind it.

I often think about that story.

Not because I believe every unconventional idea will eventually be proven right.

History is full of ideas that were wrong. But history also reminds us that our understanding of the world is always evolving.

As someone who practices and studies Traditional Chinese Medicine, Five Element theory, and qigong, I work with the concept of “Qi” every day. To many people trained exclusively in Western medicine, qi sounds mysterious, unscientific, or even imaginary and as some like to call it, woo woo.. because it cannot yet be measured in the same way we measure blood pressure or blood sugar.

But what if we're asking the wrong question?

Instead of asking whether qi fits into today's scientific model, perhaps we should ask whether there are observations that deserve our attention, even if we don't yet fully understand them.

For thousands of years, practitioners have described patterns of health and illness through the language of qi. Patients often report meaningful changes through acupuncture, qigong, breathwork, and other traditional practices. Modern research has begun to explore some of these benefits, even if it has not confirmed qi itself as a measurable physical substance.

Does that prove qi exists in the way traditional texts describe it?

No.

But neither did Semmelweis have proof of bacteria.

He had observations.

He had outcomes.

He had enough evidence to ask better questions.

Western science has given humanity extraordinary advances, and I am deeply grateful for them. At the same time, science is a process, not a finished book. It continues to refine, revise, and occasionally overturn what we once thought we knew.

Perhaps qi will one day be explained through discoveries we haven't yet made. Or perhaps we'll discover that it is a useful language describing complex biological processes in ways our current models don't yet capture. Or perhaps the truth will be something entirely different.

Semmelweis reminds us that sometimes the evidence comes before the explanation.

Whether qi eventually finds its place within modern scientific understanding is a question for future generations to answer. Until then, I will continue to observe, to learn, to question, and most importantly, to care for the people who entrust me with their health.

After all, every great discovery begins with someone willing to notice what others have overlooked.