Why does Homeopathy seem to irk skeptics the most?

According to every first aid course I've done that's a myth and may make it worse.

 

yes I know that - its good for a whole range of stings and itches - but that doesn't mean I fancy drinking it.

re the abbot scenario ......

(*)(*)(*)(*) on the bastard, or let him suffer in agony ... hard choice .....

 

my understanding is that the acidity can relieve stings.

vinegar or lemon juice works on bites and stings. urine would have a similar effect I would have thought.

you know what is really good for bullant bites?

the sap from young bracken. works wonders.

 

Urine ranges from slightly basic to slightly acidic, with the normal condition being close to neutral.

 

Funny how something that supposedly doesn't work could grow into a multi-billion dollar industry.

What sets Homeopathy apart from the other "snake-oil" medicines in that aspect? Shouldn't there be a bunch of multi-billion dollar "snake-oil" medicine industries if Homeopathy can do it?

 

What can one say but

Black adder returns lol!!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgZ3IssSNts&feature=related"]S2E3 - Blackadder II - Potato Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]

 

And this cultist twonk of an idea was responsible for at least ONE death that I know about but has spread to become a multi-million dollar industry

http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/breathe_light/breatharianism.html

 

One death? Has a better safety record than pharmaceuticals.

 

Because its just so incredibly retarded! I should have been killed three times already - I've taken, as a practical joke, a box of homeopathic sleeping peels and eaten them all within one glass of water - and I've done it three times!

ps. I ripped the routine off from James Randi hehe

 

I think they did that on Today Tonight a few months ago. They had two people and one took proper pills and the other took an entire bottle of homeopathic sleeping pills. I remember feeling worried because who knew what could happen? Nothing did, but I still thought it was wrong - especially as they weren't really clear on what they were doing.

 

Haha, take a photo for us when that happens!

Eucalyptus works amazingly well on bites, stings, and itches. If you don't have any of it, Vicks vapor rub works well, too.

 

In proportion to the number of people that have tried it - that is a disproportionately high death rate. And I found a second person who has been killed through this - but hey! If you think that "living through light" is better than eating - be my guest to try it out

 

Obviously they teach it different in QLD. I have to requalify every 6 months and that particular myth has stayed the same for 25 years that I know of.

 

definiteley would urinate on him. It would be the humane thing to do.

 

I reckon that most active skeptics in the UK are more irked by homeopathy than by other forms of quackery. That is why we have targetted homeopathy above other forms of quackery in recent years, with campaigns like ten23 and the Nightingale Collaboration's orchestrated complaints. The question in the OP seems straightforward enough and I'll try to give a straightforward answer.

Homeopathy is the most objectionable form of quackery not because it is more 'retarded' than any other sort but because:

1. The claims made for it by those who make a living from it tend to be more extreme than the claims made for other alternative therapies.

While it enrages me to see claims that, say, reflexology, aka foot massage, can help with 'fertility issues' - and a quick google will soon reveal just how widespread this claim is - nobody is going to die if they seek fertility help from a reflexologist.

All over the web we find homeopaths claiming to be able to treat everything from asthma to cancer to heart disease to swine flu. There is no robust scientific evidence that homeopathy can treat these or any other conditions but, unfortunately, some people have put all their faith in homeopathy and died horrible, slow, agonising deaths as a result. I will happily provide examples for anyone who wants them.

2. Largely for historical reasons, homeopathy has achieved modicum of respectability it doesn't deserve. In the UK, an estimated £4 million is spent on it by our publicly funded health service. This is a tiny fraction of the NHS budget but, given that the remedies are just sugar pills, it is outrageous that a single penny is spent on it when we have a shortage of nurses, hospital beds and proper meds. Similarly, it is sold widely in supermarket and high street chemists and not because these retailers believe it works; indeed, a Director of Boots the Chemist, which is our biggest pharmacy chain, publicly admitted that he'd seen no evidence that homeopathy works.

I think there are a few more reasons but those are the main two.

 

you are such a compassionate person ....

 

Ya. It's hilarious.

Bernie Madoff was quite the comedian too.

Just because someone is able to sell it, that is not evidence that it works.

 

Nice Apples & Oranges analogy.

So why isn't cupping a multi-billion dollar industry?

And why do you think Homeopaths still do the succussioning to prepare their remedies? I mean if Homeopathy doesn't work, why would they include more labor into the manufacturing process which cuts into their profits? I mean it's all a scam like Prof. Grump, James Randi says, right?

 

Your initial premise was fallacious. In order to be analogous my analogy also had to be fallacious.

You tried to argue that since homeopathic remedies are sold for billions of dollars it must work.

Bernie's ponzi scheme sold for billions of dollars as well, so it must also work, according to you.

You're trying the same fallacy again? The financial success of an industry is dependent on demand. Whether something works or not is a factor of demand, but it's not the only factor. People spend billions of dollars on lots of things that aren't wise. People spend billions of dollars on so called health foods that aren't healthy. People spend billions of dollars on diet plans that don't work. People spend billions of dollars on supplements that can't be metabolized. People spend billions of dollars on lottery tickets that don't pay. Just because it can be sold for billions of dollars, that's not proof that it works.

How do you know they do?

Because they tell you they do?

Are all homeopaths honest?

 

If they were honest they wouldn't be homeopaths.

 

How do you know they do? They could just be selling water and you would not be able to tell the difference

 

This is a thing that just had to be said! If somebody is still wondering read this!

 

Where did I ever say it's "proof" that it works?

In your Apples & Oranges world, maybe.

Not all of any type of doctor are honest. Are you insinuating most homeopaths are dishonest?

 

You have any evidence that don't?

This would be a good reason for you skeptics to infiltrate a homeopathic manufacturing facility to see if they do succussions in their process. Imagine the news coverage you'd get for "exposing" them that they don't do this as they claim. It would rock the homeopathic world.

 

More semantics game bologna. You said:

It had all our sides hurting from all the laughter. Because it was so funny. Just like you said.

Only we were laughing at the false premise that you tried to slip past us. More on that subject in a second.

Apples and oranges are both fruit, are they not? Do you believe that there's no context in which apples can be compared to oranges, or are you just trying to pepper your post with vaguely appropriate idioms in the hopes that you'll confuse someone into thinking you're making any sense?

You made a statement that you thought it was funny that homeopathy was a billion dollar industry. Do you stand by that statement? Is it equally funny that Bernie Madoff made billions with his scheme, or are the two premises "apples and oranges" because you think that the money the homeopathic industry generates is evidence of its rates of success, while Bernie's billions are evidence of some factor that doesn't affect homeopathy at all?

You can't have it both ways guy.

Would mind explaining why you thought it was funny if you weren't trying to set up the conclusion that something that supposedly doesn't work wouldn't sell if it didn't work?

You dodged the question you were asked. Twice. I'll ask it again for you.

How do you know that Homeopaths still do succussioning to prepare their remedies?