That “memories are made of piss” story (c. Qoxiivi) got me thinking and now I’ve confused myself.
If a homeopathifist dilutes substance “x” to one part in a million and then divides the resulting liquid into 2 million little bottles (@ £1.79 each), do only half have a chance of having a millionth of x or do they all have one two-millionths?
I suspect that this dilemma only start to occur at the point where x reaches the point where it is divided into its smallest part. What we scientists call a “Memory” or sometimes “Molecule”.
However, diluting a relatively worthless herbal extract can increase its value a million fold. Get the woo right and that’s a powerful business model.
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I think I may be a homeophobe
(17 posts) (11 voices)
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beau-jolly
offlineMemberPosted 1 year ago # -
Homeopathy is based on two propositions:
1. That a substance that causes the same symptoms as the ailment, can cure the ailment. This is known as "sympathetic magic"
2. That diluting that substance through repeated shaking (succussion) and further dilution, makes the effect grow stronger.
Most, if not all homeopathic remedies contain not a single molecule of the original substance. Instead the water is supposed to remember the substance that was in it. Why the water does not remember the poisons that was once in it, and make those more effective, has never been explained.
The dilution limit is Avagadro's number. Once past there, there's nothing but water.
A dilution of one part substance to ten parts water is called 1X. If that is further diluted with another 10 parts water, it becomes 2X. Its the same as 1 part in 100 which is also called 1C
Throwing an aspirin into the Atlantic and letting it dissolve and sampling the ocean in the Pacific would produce a dilution of somewhere around 13 or 14C
That sort of dilution is regarded as too concentrated in homeopathy. Most substances are 30C, 60C or even 200C
200C is the equivalent of taking a grain of rice, crushing it in to a powder and stirring it into a pool of water the size of the solar system, and then taking a sample of that water and diluting it into another pool of water the size of the solar system and continuing until you've done the repeat dilution 2 billion times.
Safe to say that homeopathy is indistinguishable from a placebo. But there are no Placebo hospitals on the NHS, whereas there are three homeopathic hospitals funded by the British taxpayer.
The Queen is a big believer in homeopathy and reputedly takes homeopathic arsenic every day. Unfortunately for republicans, she's far more likely to die from water poisoning than show any effects from arsenic - if it was even there in the first place.
Posted 1 year ago # -
A group of Belgian skeptics did a "mass suicide" by eating entire boxes of homeopathic pills, washed down with bottles of homeopathic liquids. Nothing happened.
James Randi once downed a whole bottle of homeopathic sleeping tablets (original substance: caffeine) in front of a Congressional Committee on Health a few years ago. Despite the obvious sleep-inducing effects of being in Congress, Randi stayed completely awake.
Water has been granted enormous medicinal powers for thousands of years. For the Muslim version, Google "Zamzam water". For Catholics "Lourdes spring".
Yep, hucksters make money because there's an inexhaustible supply of gullible people.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Rowly
offlineMemberI think you are all trying to dilute the homeopathic business model
perhaps Tesco & Safestyle windows should follow with
"you buy one" (which contains F all) "you get one free", (which also contains F all)
the logical conclusion would therefore be "you get F all for nothing".
now to stir up the hornets nest....
you take C1 dilution, contains a measurable amount of original material, further dilutons result eventually in the assumption that C20 has nothing, but obviously the maths does not work like that. it is intuitive that something must be left, so the myth is perpetuated.
JOhnA was incorrect about repeating the process 2 billion times, I think 198 would be more precise, the argumental outcome would be similar, but we should be carefull about description of the actual maths.Posted 1 year ago # -
Ironduke
offlineMemberHow do they erase the water's memory before preparing a new homeopathic remedy, I wonder?
What stops the water remembering the last thing it encountered?
And I return to my previous point...if I wander out into the surf off one of our Cornwall beaches and take a dump, in a few days time will a homeopathic tsunami of shite hit America?
Posted 1 year ago #
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