> Steve,
>
> > ... fairy stories ... such as homeopathy.
> ... Homeopathic remedies are made by taking a substance, often the toxic
> factor or antigen thought to give rise to the malady,
Incorrect. The concept is that by administering a substance which creates the
same symptoms as those accompanying the malady, this will provide a cure, when
done in dilute doses. I myself do not claim the concept is valid, nor
invalid; nor does the concept make much sense to me personally and in fact
homeopathic remedies have not provided positive results for me on those
occacions I've tried them. It's also true that different persons who
prescribe homeopathic remedies can prescibe vastly different remedies for the
same malady - but I supose the same can be said for allopathic doctors in some
(probably fewer) instances. None of this matters in relation to the point
being made here. Please read on.
> and diluting it, a lot. When homeopathic remedies say "30X" on the label,
> they mean the material was subjected to 30 sequential (serial) 1/10
> dilutions. So the
> substance in that case is diluted by a factor of ten to the 30th power!
> That is pretty dilute!
>
> Committed homeopaths believe that something like a ghost, or essence of
> the substance is transmitted through the dilution, and produces efficacy
> in the remedy. Finding people who feel they have benefitted from such
> remedies is not difficult, since even placebos are known to produce 10 -
> 20% positive responses in many trials.
Some years ago Scientific American magazine published an article that
substantiated the fact that dilutions far too low to "work" according to known
scientific principles, in fact do work. The proofs were not health based, as
health is a complex field with a myriad variables and many unknowns. The
proofs were therefore more clearcut (in the context of chemical reactions, I
vaguely recall).
This post has nothing to do with the value of homeopatic medicine, nor do I
have an opinion beyond that just given - if it works for (generic) YOU, that's
enough. And if it doesn't, at least it's likely to cost less and less likely
to do harm (unless an more effective alternative is supplanted as a result).
I invite anyone interested to search for the article mentioned above.
--Douglas Hinds dmhinds@acnet.net
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