Homeopathy is a method of curing ailments that involves solutions of chemicals that produce the same effect as the symptoms of the disease the patient is suffering from, diluted to such a degree that it is possible that no more of the chemical remains in the water. It is said to work because the “memory” of water allows it to take on the properties of the substances dissolved in it even after the substance is removed.
Personally, I am very skeptical of homeopathy and do not believe it should work. I think that homeopathy as a medicinal cure is not scientifically valid, as it has not been proven to be distinguishable from pure water in an environment where extraneous variables were minimized and large, randomized populations were involved as participants, as was shown in Benveniste’s case. The reason homeopathy works, I believe, is that the receivers of the medicine believe they are getting a legitimate cure for their illness and are optimistic about the possible effects of the medicine that logically should not have any effect on the body at all. To disprove the idea that the positive feelings that the patient feels after receiving the homeopathic treatment are what cause the improvement in his/her condition, one would have to show that a patient who receives a placebo displays different reactions than a patient who receives the homeopathic medicine.
The basic idea of homeopathy is similar to that of injections for disease prevention. Almost everybody has been to the hospital countless times to receive chicken pox or influenza vaccinations, which contain a small amount of the virus itself in order to trigger the body to create antibodies to fight against the disease. However, the idea that water has a “memory” is too hard to believe without any scientific proof. The idea that simple thoughts and words' positive or negative connotations can affect the way water crystals form and the freshness of rice in a jar seems really far fetched. The image shows a picture of 2 jars of rice, one which has "thank you" written on it, which remains fresh, and one which has "you fool" written on it, which appears to have gone bad. If thought alone could have such large impacts on the physical state of substances, then why would we have to further the field of medicine or ever resort to drugs?
Allergies are sometimes treated with drugs that occupy sites that the allergen would occupy, which is similar to the homeopathic idea of treating like with like. There is also the natural alternative to drugs. Some people prefer to take natural treatments made from herbs or plants which work without the side-effects of manufactured drugs. Although natural treatments like herb pills are considered outdated and sometimes ineffective in the modern world, and although homeopathy appears to be a pseudoscience, I believe that if a person feels better after receiving the treatment, whether it’s because of optimism and sheer will power or because of the treatment itself, then they should use the treatment. It never hurts to try, especially when homeopathic treatments, if there really is no such thing as the “memory” of water, are simply be pure water.
Image: http://www.meland.bz/theloveenergy.htm
Personally, I am very skeptical of homeopathy and do not believe it should work. I think that homeopathy as a medicinal cure is not scientifically valid, as it has not been proven to be distinguishable from pure water in an environment where extraneous variables were minimized and large, randomized populations were involved as participants, as was shown in Benveniste’s case. The reason homeopathy works, I believe, is that the receivers of the medicine believe they are getting a legitimate cure for their illness and are optimistic about the possible effects of the medicine that logically should not have any effect on the body at all. To disprove the idea that the positive feelings that the patient feels after receiving the homeopathic treatment are what cause the improvement in his/her condition, one would have to show that a patient who receives a placebo displays different reactions than a patient who receives the homeopathic medicine.
The basic idea of homeopathy is similar to that of injections for disease prevention. Almost everybody has been to the hospital countless times to receive chicken pox or influenza vaccinations, which contain a small amount of the virus itself in order to trigger the body to create antibodies to fight against the disease. However, the idea that water has a “memory” is too hard to believe without any scientific proof. The idea that simple thoughts and words' positive or negative connotations can affect the way water crystals form and the freshness of rice in a jar seems really far fetched. The image shows a picture of 2 jars of rice, one which has "thank you" written on it, which remains fresh, and one which has "you fool" written on it, which appears to have gone bad. If thought alone could have such large impacts on the physical state of substances, then why would we have to further the field of medicine or ever resort to drugs? Allergies are sometimes treated with drugs that occupy sites that the allergen would occupy, which is similar to the homeopathic idea of treating like with like. There is also the natural alternative to drugs. Some people prefer to take natural treatments made from herbs or plants which work without the side-effects of manufactured drugs. Although natural treatments like herb pills are considered outdated and sometimes ineffective in the modern world, and although homeopathy appears to be a pseudoscience, I believe that if a person feels better after receiving the treatment, whether it’s because of optimism and sheer will power or because of the treatment itself, then they should use the treatment. It never hurts to try, especially when homeopathic treatments, if there really is no such thing as the “memory” of water, are simply be pure water.
Image: http://www.meland.bz/theloveenergy.htm
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