Is homeopathy the most braindead of all quackery, or is there anything even more ridiculous?

Question

Michelle: anecdotal evidence is next to useless.

Answer 1

If Anecdote means nothing Darren I hope you will be advising all medical students to question their professors when being given instructions on procedure for anything non standard and ask them for research. Of course years of experience and pattern recognition count for nothing and we should just rubbish these learn-ed people because all they are offering is anecdote.

Darren, Anecdote is what drives research and development. Thinking outside the box and pursuing what doesn't fit into the model is how discoveries are made.

Ps. You wouldn't make it as a Chamelion David G /Darius /Morton /AngelHill /whatever you are calling yourself these days:~)

Edit:

Hiya Angelhill / Kalos, Whatever you are calling yourself these days.

Last time you asserted that  only help 1 in 10 people, now you are saying that homeopaths only succeed 1 in every 100 times.

Have you ever run a business mate?

if you have a success rate of 1 /10 you go broke very quickly because that 1 in 10 that sings your praises gets very drowned out by the 9/10 that you didn't help.

If I couldn't help 1/10 of the people that come for treatment it would seriously harm my reputation.

Unlike medics people have a real choice to come and see us and quickly vote with their feet if we can't cut it.

And no Anecdote doesn't count for nothing. It should always be taken with a pinch of salt but should never be completely ignored.

Answer 2

Try it it works. When I used to shelter battered women, they would often come to me beaten beyond recognition and with homeopathic arnica tablets their inflammation and bruising would be gone within 3 days.

Also my ex boyfriend was a tournament fighter and I would give him arnica for his bruises, they healed within about 1/3 the time with arnica that it took without.

I have also had good success with other homeopathic remedies, most recently one for stomach sickness.

People who make these negative statements about complimentary medicines usually have never tried them.  

Answer 3

Crystals and pyramids often associated with groups like the New Age Religion.  Basically you're sick because of a power flow problem and colored crystals will fix it.  Pyramid shaped structures (no matter how big or how it was constructed) do much of the same thing.

Answer 4

yeah I get to correct lightning again,

Anecdotal evidence IS statistically irrelevant. If one out of a hundred people who take a homeopathic pill get better and he's the one who is telling you the story does that prove anything at all? of course not. that is why you must be VERY wary of anecdotal evidence. That is very different from sharing an experience with students about querks in a procedure. every skill set has knacks that are hard to teach but come with experience.

To answer the question At least homeopathy tries to offer a theory but does that make it better or worse than say Raiki where they just say "yeah the spirits did it". what is tragic about the homeothealogicpathists is that the really cling hard to their two guiding  main ideas

For those that don't realise this is the theory behind all homeopathy

1. If substance A causes a condition or symptom then if you see those symptoms else where than A will cure it. i.e LIKE cures LIKE

(it doesn't that's silly)

2. The more you dilute something the stronger it's effects are. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA thats just pure dumb.

Come on then old cat lady or lightnong or some other beleiver just come on here and say that either 1 or 2 are true OR that 1 or 2 are NOT the key principles of your "trade"

answer the questions directly, you always dodge them.

A. when you dilute something does it get stronger or weaker??

Answer  the question dammit?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?1

ADDED   yeah nice one puffy but......

when you dilute something does it get stronger or weaker??

Answer the question dammit?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?

ADDED:

hey family practice homeopath: are you refering to me? was it you and your gang that made a complaint? I emailed ANSWERS and got an apology after they actually read it. they must just go on numbers initially. morphed user form? explain.

tell you what, why don't you have a go then because your friends can't answer my little question, it's multiple choice, only two possible answers, go on have a go

when you dilute something does it get stronger or weaker??

I love that you guys never commit. just say it! just say "diluting stuff makes it stronger" that's what you beleive no?

ADDED: For Lightning.

Yeah see here's the problem. It's easy to take an exaggerated form of my arguement and knock that down instead. I made no reference to what I thought the true success rate of homeopathy was. did I? no I was simply refering to the dangers of listning to mere anecdotal evidence. If someone gains a perceived benifit from a treatment they are far more likely to tell their story and you're far more likely to hear it. Obiously a high number of people who go to an ALTMED place are pre desposed to beleive it works. Do you at least accept that if I set up an elaborate sham treatment in an office in a town centre some people would report positive results, be happy and tell people that my horse tail-whipping treatment was the answer to flawed medical science. You know full well that would happen. I mean that's essentially what a clinical trial is. This has happened with homeopathy several times in large double-blind trials vs horse whipping (placebo). All you can offer is meta-analysis and studies. Great for seeing what should be investigated further but as the tests get tougher the results fade.

And as for my split personality? first decide which people I am then I shall invite you and my alter ego's round mine for a cup of tea and sugar pills.. (you get my point) I promise if it means anything that of all the users you've mentioned I am only ANGELHIL.  

ps you should really have a go at answering my question above....,. (you know the water one)

ADDED: wow karen a personnal attack. well then homeopathy must be true

Answer 5

Yes--more ridiculous are people who make judgments about things of which they are totally ignorant.

Answer 6

More Ridiculous? Yes You

lol at Angelhil "calm down" you will end up killing the rest of your brain cells off.

Answer 7

I think the only thing that beats it, is a witch doctor with his bones.

Answer 8

Oh, you're back, in morphed user form, given your community violations. I actually started to miss you.

Answer 9

Brain-dead? It takes one to know one!

Thanks for the 2 points! :-)

Answer 10

homeopathy is bullshit ,

Answer 11

yes...people who take the mick out of things they are too ignorant to understand.

have respect for others opinions!!

Answer 12

I'm amazed at people who defend homeopathy and their 2nd grade knowledge of statistics when it comes to anecdotal evidence (as well as their knowledge of what the term 'anecdote' even means).  

As to whether or not it's the MOST ridiculous... That's a difficult question.  The proposed mechanisms are obviously aimed at people with no scientific understand whatsoever, but that can be said for a lot of alt med.  At least with homeopathy the chances of direct harmful side effects are pretty low because of the total lack of active ingredients.   Whereas something like ear candle treatment is equally useless but has more potential direct side effects.