Quote:What does that mean? Why isn't homeopathy a science? Who does it have to explain itself too? I understand it, is it a science to me?It means that homeopathy has to have a verifiable scientific theory to how and why it works. It must have evidence to support the theory, and it must provide predictions to the results of experiments. To be accepted as a science, it must follow the rigorous procedures of the scientific method. If it does this and passes, it will be classified as science. So far, it has not done so, either through refusal to do so by those who practice it, or by people admitting they have no idea how to test it. The people who do come up with tests have all failed, or have had tests that succeed but then fail later when all bias is removed.
Quote:To call it the opinion of one lonely scientist versus the rest of them is disingenuous. I doubt every scientist in the world disagrees with Ms. Ennis. And scientists are not gods, not even to atheists. I don't hold these fantastic scientists views to be better than mine because of the magical lab coat. Scientists by nature are flawed because they are always trying to control things.Majority opinion of credited scientists wins in this situation. The majority of scientists who actually know what they are doing (have relevant studies in the relevant fields, etc) have done the experiments and have proved nothing. The current accepted explanation is the placebo effect.
Quote:Again, please explain what this means. How and when did Randi 'debunk' homeopathy? I saw him debunk a lot of pseudo-science, but not homeopathy. Unless you think of empirical medicine as supernatural. How does the placebo effect damage the case for homeopathy? I always thought it helped prove it, that if someone thinks they will get better, they usually do. Before medicine and invasive treatment it seems we can just heal ourselves. From certain things, and in certain cases. I would like to hear how you think the placebo effect discredits homeopathic medicine.Randi debunking homeopathy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/200...athy.shtml
The placebo effect damages the case for homeopathy because homeopathic medicine is presented as an alternative medicine, and not a placebo. Homeopathic doctors claim that water has memory, and that diluting things makes them stronger. No test has ever confirmed this. All the tests show that homeopathic remedies have no better success rate than placebos in multiple studies. This points to the very likely conclusion that homeopathy is nothing more than a placebo, and so you are probably better off (both for the sake of your health and your wallet) taking actual medicine...
Quote:Obviously it is somewhere we strongly disagree. I am not at all fond of the medicinal system where we treat symptoms instead of causes, and in doing so create more systems to treat.Erm, we treat the symptoms because they point towards a cause. How on earth would you treat someone if you didn't look at the symtoms? You do realise that homeopathy also "treats" the symptoms right? One of the arguments why homeopathy has a placebo effect is that the doctors spend so much more time talking to the patients, getting to know them, etc. The patient feels like the doctor knows what he/she is doing, and they end up feeling better (and getting better due to the placebo effect).
Quote:Homeopathy, to me, is valid, empirical and much more healthy.Please explain how it is empirical? It is more healthy in the sense that instead of drugs, you get water-coated sugar-pills, but the drugs are designed to actually fix the problem, whilst homeopathic remedies have never been proved to do anything active.
Quote:I mean compare SSRI (school shooting/self shooting) pills with meditation and personal growth in an attempt to learn why you act in such a way as to need SSRI's. I went that route, quit ALL psychoactive medicine and just dealt with the problems. I feel much better than I did on government drugs. My first experience with drugs was at the insistence of my controllers. I had to take speed, oh I mean Ritalin™ or I would be kicked out of school. In retrospect I should have taken the out, school was a bad idea. Treat the actual problem.Drugs are designed to cure. Meditation only gives you the placebo effect. I'd likle to see you meditate your way out of a flu pandemic though. At the end of the day, how can you trust things that have no empirical proof? They might make you feel better, but there is a difference between feeling better and actually getting better. I think you simply mistrust doctors.
Quote:I am interested in what you think, but I know you don't like to discuss or give the benefit of the doubt. So I am inviting you to tear into me like I am an idiot, and not answer my honest questions.Well hopefully I haven't been mean in my responses here.
