The whole alterative medicine industry is just one big con, its part of the culture where 'every is an expert' and who needs people who actually study medicine and science

It is incomprehensible to me how these "products" make it onto the shelves, much less that enough people buy it to keep these companies in business.  A high school chemistry book suffices to dispatch homeopathy as nonsense.

The second part to Enemies of Reason tore homeopathy apart.  Sadly homeopathy is a "medical" procedure paid for by taxpayers in England.  Taxpayers in the States pay for it as well when we need to cover the costs of neglected health.

 You know, I just gave myself a Ph.D. in homeopathy.  Anyone can do it.

I'm not really sure what homeopathy is, but I will say not everything about alternative medicine is bad. herbs and stuff are used in Europe with some success (ironic b/c Europe has many more skeptics but they are willing to research more stuff). the problem in this country is the pharmaceutical companies have a stranglehold and they won't allow research into anything that's not one of their drugs. I know many people, including me who have been helped by alternative medicine in conjunction with "regular" medicine.  I'm not talking about faith healing or any nonsense like that. anyways, what does alternative medicine have to do with religion??

As someone that is chronically ill and therefore talks with a few more sick individuals than the average person I think people resort to homeopathy because they are at the point where they will try anything.

However, I think these alternative medicine people are starting to get wise to the skeptism and I don't mean that in a good way...

I once had a nurse push some various massage techniques on me.  It seemed to work but I was also hyped up on narcotics at the time.  Anyway, of course she was pushing advertisements for her on-the-side therapy.  When I questioned her about it sounded like legitimate massage therapy although when I later came home and researched the techniques and 'certification' she presented I found out that it was nothing more than some hyped up magnetic crap.

Correction. Homeopathy takes faith in the disproven.

 

Primarily, Homeopathy is a vitalist doctrine which states that diseases have spiritual causes that imbalance a mysterious vital force unique to humans. These diseases can be corrected by balancing the vital force by means of taking remedy as a substance which is extremely diluted. The reason for the ultra-high dilution is because, according to Homeopathy, high doses of the medicines associated actually cause the symptoms which they attempt to cure. Hence, Homeopaths recommend that the substance be diluted so much that not one single molecule of active agent of the substance remains. The reason for this is because Homeopathy holds to an outdated doctrine of water memory, which is based on an utterly outdated, almost Aristotilean philosophical notion that substances have “essences” which may leave “marks” on those substances which come into contact with them. Hence, water retains a “memory” of a substance so that even though it is diluted to the point where there is no more substance, the water (which is all that is left) is still an effect remedy. Often, Homeopathic remedies are ground with a mortar and pestle, and are then shaken vigorously in alcohol or water, which Homeopaths believe causes a “memory” of the substance or an “essence” to be left upon the water, and that this essence corrects vital imbalances in the body.

The dilutions of Homeopathy are classed by Roman numerals, with the most common being X and C dilutions. A C dilution involves diluting the substance to 1% of the original level, so a 2C dilution would be diluting to 1%, and then diluting that 1% to a further one percent, which means that a 2C dilution results in 1/10,000 of the original concentration. For each level of C dilution, the amount of active agent drops by two orders of magnitude. The most common dilution is 30C, which means that the substance has been diluted by 100^30, or 60 orders of magnitude. Since an X dilution (10% dilution in succession) drops the concentration by one order of magnitude, we speak of X and C in a logarithmic relationship whereby a 2C dilution would be the same as 4X (1/100/100 is the same as 1/10/10/10/10), and so on.

Modern biology and chemistry which renders the idea of this actually working as absurd, however, for now, all that we need to know, needless to say, is that in a Homeopathic remedy there exists not one single molecule of active solution. None. It’s gone. It is just gone. By definition, a Homeopathic remedy cannot contain a single active molecule of the active agent. In a 30C dilution, there is one molecule of active agent per 106 cubic light years of active solution. The number of water molecules needed in a Homeopathic solution such that one molecule of active agent is present rivals the number of atoms in the universe. There are even more absurd dilutions associated with some substances, such as 200C, where a simple calculation reveals that for a single molecule of the active solution to be present would entail the existence of 10^120 universes of this order filled with solution.

Primarily, the laws of chemistry and physics depend on atoms being discrete entities exchanging electrons in chemical reactions. A substance does not have an “essence”, all that specifically differentiates elements is the number of protons in the nucleus, and usually the neutrons as well. Atoms make and break bonds and retain their qualities based solely on the exchange of electrons. Trends in the periodic table are associated entirely with atoms having these properties, periodicity, electronegativity, ionization energies, melting and boiling points etc. all of which can be explained entirely in terms of their atomic structure.

In chemistry, reactions depend on what are called moles. A mole is a unit of measure of substance based on Avogadro’s Constant, where one mole is 6.02x10^23 entities. For example, one mole of sand would be 6.02x10^23 sand grains. In chemistry, we always use gram-moles, since by definition one mole of a substance will be its atomic mass expressed in grams. For example, Carbon-12 has an atomic mass of 12, which means exactly 12g of it contains one mole, which means it contains 6.02x10^23 carbon atoms. Chemical reactions, being discrete reactions depending on the exchanging of electrons by discrete atoms and molecules, depend entirely on moles, and chemical formulas have mole ratios associated. In chemistry, the mole is the most important unit. Consider a simple reaction: 2HCl + MgO ---- MgCl2 + H20. A simple reaction, Acid + Metal Oxide– Salt + Water. Now, as you can see, the ratio between Hydrochloric acid to Magnesium Oxide is 2:1, whilst the ratio between Magnesium Chloride and Water is 1:1. This means that 2 moles of Magnesium Oxide will react with 1 mole of Magnesium Oxide. We can calculate, depending of course on the accuracy of our mass measurement devices, the number of atoms participating in chemical reactions, since moles = mass x formula mass. These calculations are so accurate they are used every day by doctors, chemists, pharmacists, all around the world. They are so accurate we can calculate acid-base titrations to one hundred-thousandth of milliliter. It is the basis of a fundamental principle which flies in the face of Homeopathic idiocy: The Dose-Response Curve.

  One more thing to note. Homeopathic remedies are not administered on standard diagnostic test. Rather, Homeopaths do an extensive analysis of emotional patterns, circadian rhythms and such, and assign the patient a “type”. Apparently, the “constitutional type” is believed to have better affinity with certain remedies. (Again, under the laws of biology and chemistry, that would be meaningless)

What is a type, you ask? It depends on certain parameters, and I assure you, with all of my creative power I could not make any of this up. I am telling no lies about what Homeopaths believe. The “Nux Vomica” type, for example, is angry, vain, and greedy, often hyperactive. The “Pustilla type” is a young woman of perhaps 20, with blue eyes, and quite delicate, emotionally fragile. There are many more “types”. There are the “Sulfer types” for example, and the “Ignatia types”. The Homeopath translates the person’s emotional type, life events, and such into a most appropriate remedy based on the law of similarity.

This is the basis of their diagnosis?

 

Whilst the worst part of Homeopathy, apart from its philosophy, are the remedies used. There are 3,000 listed, and most are reminiscint of an age where we cured “evil spirits” with trepanning. Of course, since there is not any active molecule of substance left in a Homeopathic remedy, the remedy used is immaterial. I could be put chemotherapy in a Homeopathic solution and give it to a skeptical cancer patient and rest assured nothing would happen to the patient. Some common Homeopathic remedies are:

-Essence of Belladona

-Calcium Sulfate

-Fresh Duck Liver

-Sodium Chloride (That’s Table Salt)

-Cobra Venom

-Tarantula Extract

These are not “medicines”, this is the sort of thing that is reminiscent of an Apothecary in Harry Potter.

The last two, obviously, are lethal, and were it not for the fact that there is none of it left in a Homeopathic remedy, it would surely kill the patient.

 

 

 

OK, I do like your word choice better. That makes it even worse. Appreciate the education too.

But in that vein, religion is disproven also. 

 

 

All this talk about types has me curious now. I want to know what my type is. Might make for a cool screen name somewhere.

Actually, it's probably a higher concentration - hard to get a lower concentration than "zero!"

I had a friend who was into homeopathy once. Until one day he drank a glass of distilled water and died of an overdose of everything.

I love that clip of James Randi.  Had seen it before...but he says it all right there.

Thank you for clearing that up!  Obviously the term "homeopathy "has been hijacked-I see it used on herbs and natural stuff all the time-not for what you mentioned but for stuff like vitamins even.  Everything is "homeopathy" now. PHYTOPHARMAKA makes much more sense.  That "diluted" thing really is bs.  Thanks for explaining.

 

Homeopathy has failed scientifically.  If it hadn't, Randi would not still be offering a million dollars for someone to prove that it is anything more than a placebo.

It is clear that placebo's are very effective and there are many statistics that support this.  There has never been anything to suggest that homeopathy is at all more effective than a placebo.

Homeopathy is a scam and nothing more.

That's not necessarily true. There's also a possibility, that science had failed scientifically.  If homeopathics works on such an informational basis, then there's currently no scientific method of researching of these effects.
There's even no exact definition of why and how exactly placebo works, how anyone then can prove anything? I think, the million's quite safe.
"we must broaden our conception of the limits of endogenous human control" - that's what I found searching for the explanation.
If homeopathics would be simply a placebo, then why there are all these latin names, heavy metals, precise dosing in amount and time, dozens of kinds and exact specifications for each of them? A placebo is basically a simple thing, homeopathics isn't. If it would be possible, doctors and producers would gladly skip all the work with variety of kinds and could work only with a few different pills, that would be enough for psychological effect, but for some reason, they won't do it.
If is placebo effect so efficient, then it's really interesting that homeopatics can inflict it without a belief, let's say, on a patient who had never seen homeopathics before. I started getting homeopatics as a very young kid and I had no idea what it is or if it works, all what I cared for was the fact that these homeopatics were sweet. And they worked anyway. If it wouldn't work, my mom simply wouldn't spend money on them.
You may call it a faith, but you see a faith everywhere you don't see.