Comments on: Homeopathy Now Trying To Kill HIV/AIDS Sufferers

By: bob_arctor

bob_arctor — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:32:27 +0000

Well the point is effectively it is diluted as if you had taken the original amount then added the no of atoms in the universe, it is so dilute you’d have to have more atoms in the universe in the solution for there to be fair chance of having one atom of it.

Because of the exponential effect of diluting something then taking a small sample of that, say make it up to 1 litre, then take 1ml and make that up to a litre you have already diluted it 1000 times. Repeat it and it goes up exponentially till there is almost 0 chance of there being any atom of the original substance in there.

The hateful thing is that I am being taught to evaluate papers and learn evidence based medicine, but still the bloody sociologists come along and teach the value of alternative medicine and why homeopathy cannot be evaluated. Gah!

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 11:06:01 +0000

my point is: if his description of a 100C solution is correct, then a 100C solution is physically impossible to achieve. He says it’s “diluted by more than the total number of atoms in the universe” implying that there must be less than 1 atom of the ingredient present in the whole universe. Since the quantity of a substance expressed in atoms must be a discrete variable, it is impossible to get less than 1 atom of it.
Therefore since a 100C solution is impossible to achieve, it must be comprised entirely of solvent.
It is important to note however, that the truth that homeopathists are still just filthy hippies selling their snake oil and flower water to the gullible.

By: Thomas Lawrence

Thomas Lawrence — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:30:54 +0000

No, the math is right, and indeed that is the point – a 100C dilution means it is in fact vastly improbable that ANY of the treating substance remains in the treatment. In other words, it is literally just water.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:31:55 +0000

“At a homeopathic dilution of 100C, which they sell routinely, and which homeopaths claim is even more powerful than 30C, the treating substance is diluted by more than the total number of atoms in the universe. ”

errr…. I’m not sure your maths is right there, fella… that would imply that in the whole of creation, there is less than one whole atom of the treating substance. Error.
Before anyone gets too angry… I’m in no way arguing that homeopathy isn’t a pile of festering bullshit… It is. Damn hippies.

By: Mrs Trellis

Mrs Trellis — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:46:13 +0000

“I decided then, in Ethiopia, to create a remedy for AIDS based on resonance to the disease totality gathered from my first 70 cases, by putting the disease resonance in a bottle. I decided to keep the details of how this is done a secret. The basic idea aligns to the work of Tesla and quantum resonance theories.”

Let’s send him to Congo to capture the essence of Ebola.

By: Mrs Trellis

Mrs Trellis — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:38:42 +0000

Nick, it isn’t fair to delude people when they don’t have sufficient information to allow them to know they are being deluded.

It is very possible that AIDS sufferers in Africa are both ignorant and desperate enough to give this man their money (he’s not giving out sugar pills for free).

By: John

John — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:25:01 +0000

Well Rockeye, sadly the explanation you wish for is out of our grasp. From the Vitalremedies.com FAQ:

How does Peter Chappell make these remedies?

He creates a holistic mirror energy/information set to the disease using a special process he does not yet disclose.

By: Nick Mailer

Nick Mailer — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:16:12 +0000

We need no laws. People can read that rubbish, and then they can read Ben and John and the others and make up their minds. If they choose to be deluded, that is theirs to make as antonymous moral agents.

By: Rockeye

Rockeye — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:01:26 +0000

Surely there should be laws against this? If we’re going to start limiting freedom of speech by making laws against inciting racial/religious hatred, surely we can lock people up for this?

I’d love to see an explanation for the mechanism by which a tune destroys a virus, and why the virus wouldn’t be destroyed by the sound waves encountered in every day life. This isn’t fucking Ocarina of Time. You cannot solve the world’s problems by playing specific notes in a certain order.

By: ImperialCreed

ImperialCreed — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:46:46 +0000

Here here John. I love Goldacre’s takedowns – what makes them so sublime is that he doesn’t have to invent anything to make these people sound dangerously idiotic, they supply all the ammunition themselves. As for what Chappell is claiming, well, he’s going to get people killed isn’t he?