Is homeopathy science?

Originally posted by Soothfast
Indeed. I would have preferred the "Satan particle," or even the "Prince of Darkness particle."

Anyway, once the press catches wind of a catchy phrase they won't let it go because it sells.

It's funny how that particle works, it's almost like all the other particles have little hooks on them, some only one, others a few hundred and when they hurl through the Higgs field, the hooks grab on to some of that stuff, some with only one hook can only weigh so and so, like neutrino's and others have hundreds of hooks or thousands of hooks, like a thorn bush and end up weighing thousands of times more.

One wonders if there is some connection between the Higgs field and the increase of mass you see when stuff goes close to c and the change of dimensions that shape the particle when close to c. (Looking pancake like close to c).

Originally posted by Soothfast
Indeed. I would have preferred the "Satan particle," or even the "Prince of Darkness particle."

Anyway, once the press catches wind of a catchy phrase they won't let it go because it sells.

"Prince of Darkness particle."

Hay! Don't give the press ideas!

Originally posted by humy
I wish they ( mainly scientists ) wouldn't keep moronically and melodramatically calling it the 'God' particle.
I hate it when they do that -extremely unprofessional.

I completely agree. The man who invented that term was an idiot. It's bad science and bad religion.

Richard

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
OK, I readily admit I started this thread just to p*** you off but it's still a serious question.

For those that haven't studied homeopathy it's a case of serially diluting a substance until it only has a probability of being within the solvent.

I know what you're thinking. Bunch of donkey ****s. However. Upon the first experimentation it was proved t ...[text shortened]... le world?

I put it to you that homeopathy has more of a basis in science than psychiatry.

OK, I readily admit I started this thread just to p*** you off but it's still a serious question.
Well it seems to have worked!

There are two really good books you should read:
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre - http://amzn.to/OzcuVO
and Trick or Treatment by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst: http://amzn.to/NwlVIr

They each explain how we can best determine whether something actually works (science), and why it is such a powerful tool, and they each have a chapter covering how this mechanism (the scientific method) has been used to assess homeopathy.

The hypothesis of homeopathy depends upon 3 principles:
1. Like Cures Like: Something that produces the same symptoms in a healthy person as an illness will cure that illness when given to someone suffering from it.
2. Less Is More: The smaller the dose of a medicine, the more powerful it will be, hence all the stuff about dilutions.
3. Water Has A Memory: so you can remove all of a substance that has been dissolved in water and the water will retain some 'essence' of the substance.

There is no evidence that any of the above 3 principles has any basis in fact. That wouldn't really matter if it was found that homeopathy worked, it would just mean that we do not fully grasp the mechanism. However, there is also no evidence that it does work (please feel free to provide links , as you have been asked before).

I highly recommend those two books I mentioned above.

--- Penguin.

Originally posted by Shallow Blue
The man who invented that term was an idiot. It's bad science and bad religion.

Why is it called the God particle?
Because it makes all the other particles go to Mass.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Why is it called the God particle?
Because it makes all the other particles go to Mass.

See? Bad religion!

(Yeah, I'm Protestant, howd'ya guess...)

Richard