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Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

skeptic.org.uk

11–20 of 172 posts

Re: Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

#12
I have dry eyes, and years ago my optometrist basically ordered me to buy a particular brand of homeopathic eye drops to use every day. All the drops have to do is wash off the surface of my eyes, and we don't want them to do anything but that. His point was that because they're homeopathic, they won't actually do anything, and because they're a reputable homeopathic brand, you can be pretty sure they don't contain anything that accidentally does something. Homeopathy as a way to ensure you're not getting medicine. Interesting way to look at it, I thought.

Re: Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

#13
Two years after Oncology said they'd take the whole thing Very Seriously and Do A Thorough Investigation, Frass's article is still up on Oncology's website - not a single disclosure, notice, etc when it should have been retracted:

https://theoncologist.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10...

He even got caught modifying the procedures of his study part-way through: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9470608/

What infuriates me is that health insurers in my jurisdiction are required to pay for "naturopathy." yet if I ask for the non-generic version of a medicine because the generics only have to deliver between 80% and 120% of what the non-generic does, different non-active ingredients, and different delivery / time release mechanisms...I get denied!

Re: Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

#15
post #10

If homeopathy "theory" says that the water retains an "imprint" of other chemicals it encountered, clearly the tap water coming into your house is horribly contaminated with the fish pee, ozone (from UV purification treatment) and the pipes themselves. I briefly considered selling a device that would "reverse" those consequences so the water from your tap would be homeopathically neutralized. But it just seemed uneth…

> clearly the tap water coming into your house is horribly contaminated with the fish pee, ozone (from UV purification treatment) and the pipes themselves.

But then, the next concept is "like cures like". Why do you think people are so immune to fish piss?

Re: Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

#16

What I don't get about homeopathy is that there's not even a plausible mechanism for it to work. So research into its effectiveness is like studying how well rocks repel tigers[1]. It seems necessary to show that a homeopathic "medicine" is substantially different than plain old water first. [1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4GzMizVAl-0&pp=ygUTc2ltcHNvbnM...

I dunno, I'd make the bold claim that most rocks will repel almost all tigers when deployed energetically enough.

Re: Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

#18
post #10

If homeopathy "theory" says that the water retains an "imprint" of other chemicals it encountered, clearly the tap water coming into your house is horribly contaminated with the fish pee, ozone (from UV purification treatment) and the pipes themselves. I briefly considered selling a device that would "reverse" those consequences so the water from your tap would be homeopathically neutralized. But it just seemed uneth…

You could probably still do it. It'd just have to be a distillation system that's not explicitly branded as a countertop water distiller but still describes its function and effects as such.

You see plenty of examples of this on the market already as-is in different sectors. A part for a Ford GT could cost 500 bucks where the same part for a Ford Fiesta could cost 50.

Re: Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

#19

What I don't get about homeopathy is that there's not even a plausible mechanism for it to work. So research into its effectiveness is like studying how well rocks repel tigers[1]. It seems necessary to show that a homeopathic "medicine" is substantially different than plain old water first. [1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4GzMizVAl-0&pp=ygUTc2ltcHNvbnM...

Many people who are into homeopathy have no notion of "mechanism". They don't know to ask such questions, or perhaps they don't care to.

In the worst case scenario, they accept lack of mechanism because "there are things science doesn't know", especially if their personal experience (random charlatan demonstration) is duped into belief.

Re: Research into homeopathy: data falsification, fabrication and manipulation

#20
Homeopathy is BS, but understanding of edible foraging and plant chemistry is surprisingly helpful for better health and diet.

As an example onions and garlic do nothing to cure or address asthma. They do contain an active chemical that vaporized when they are cut which causes uncontrolled tear production. That same chemical agitates the throat in a way that arrests some amount of night coughing induced by asthma.

Another example is that wild lettuce is a drug like opium. Opium is a thistle, as are artichokes, and thistles are closely related to the lactuca genus that comprises lettuce. The drugs in both opium and lettuce are found in the plant latex containing two analgesics and a depressant. Lettuce drug, lactucarium, is not known to be habit forming and is minor though. It is just recommended as a topical treatment for minor skin injuries.

Another is that common fruits like pears, apples, and citrus contain drug like chemicals that alter the metabolism. This is super potent in grapefruit and has been known to cause fatal drug interactions in people on prescribed medicine. These chemicals are again magnified in commercial fruit juice since commercial fruit juice represents a high concentration of juice than found in actual fruit and without any fiber to slow digestion. If you find yourself mixing gold flakes with liquor and orange juice you might be inducing long term metal toxicity to your body even though gold is inert under normal dietary conditions.

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