OMG .. the Homeopaths are Coming!!!

[Kevin Kane]

Talking to skeptics, I discovered that they are alarmingly obsessed with Homeopathic medicine. Yes, homeopathy .. that gentle Victorian folk medicine from long ago.

Gee .. I don't know anyone who has ever tried homeopathic treatments. Don't know any homeopathic practioneers, clinics, storefronts. I'm sure they exist in a big city like NYC, but I've never seen one. I've never seen a news story where homeopathy was an issue, a headline, byline, punchline. And I've been reading newspapers for a long time. I've never heard of a legal case involving homeopathy. Never heard of anyone complaining about homeopathic fraud or abuse. Never heard of anyone disatisfied or felt scammed by it. Never heard of anyone who died or got sick because of homeopathy. Am I missing something?

If skeptics were actually concerned about medical fraud and abuse, or about improving healthcare, wouldn't Pharmaceutical drug abuse be a better place to look? Since more people take pharaceutical cures than homeopathic cures on a magnitude of billions and billions.

Billion$ spent on research and testing of new pharm drugs.
Billion$ spent on marketing and advertising pharm products.
Billion$ spent on lawyers fees defending the products in court.
Billion$ spent on insurance fees covering their asses.
Billion$ spent on settlements, when their expensive lawyers fail.

And Billion$ made from selling dangerous or worthless products. Drugs that barely test better than placebos. Drugs that do the opposite of what they're intended. Drugs that have dangerous side effects. If you wanted to find fraud and abuse .. if you want to be alarmed by dangerous medical practices .. just open a newspaper and randomly pick a drug. Where's the outrage by skeptics at these drugs, drug companies, and medical practices? Targetting children with drugs? Dangerous treatments for superflous conditions? Bribery, dishonesty and disinformation? The list goes on ... There is no comparison to homeopathy. The difference between pharmaceutical abuses and homeopathic ones is like a mountain to a molehill.

What is causing this type of irrational obsession? Are skeptics on drugs? Are they addicted to pharmaceuticals? Is that why they refuse to criticize the obvious fraud and abuse of pharm companies? Because they love their crazy drugs more than their credibility?

I've seen this type of disproportionate reaction to imagined problems before. It's called delusional psychosis. Skeptics are crazed. Obsessed. Delusional. Paranoid. Do they honestly believe that homeopathic medicine is a threat, a problem, a scandal? I'm not defending homeopathy. I don't know much about it. VERY FEW PEOPLE DO! Snakes are not crawling on my skin. Homeopaths are not stalking me. Imaginary problems are under control. Everything is fine .. except skeptics.

Skeptics are like Jehovah's Witnesses --- "Hi, can I interest you in some skeptic literature about the evils of homeopathic medicine?" No! Get a grip, skeptic fruitcakes.

[NinjaPuppy]

[Kevin Kane]

[NinjaPuppy]

[NinjaPuppy]

Now if you want to debate the tactics that skeptic use, we have the perfect place for that, right here: viewforum.php?f=4

Not to mention, if you haven't had a chance to read Winston Wu's Treatise "Debunking the Arguments of PseudoSkeptics and Debunkers", you can check out his thoughts on this subject: http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/Contents.htm

[Kevin Kane]

[NinjaPuppy]

[Kevin Kane]

I just think you're being over cautious with protocol. I'm an adult .. probably older than you.

But since I still need to rant ... If anything, homeopathy stands to gain by the attention that skeptics have given it. Even if skeptic groups did have some funding or bribe connection to pharmaceutical companies, why would they single out homeopathy for greater scrutiny? No one is complaining about homeopathy. Why not Shamwows? Shamwows are claiming a scientific advantage. Shamwows are seen on TV and have sold millions. Shamwows even have the word 'sham' in their name. Thousands of people have complained about the product, feel ripped-off by the product. A defender of science would surely have something to say about Shamwows, but no .. homeopathy is a fraud, shamwows are OK.

[NinjaPuppy]

[Kevin Kane]

Honestly, I don't know why you are overanalyzing my criticism of skeptic priorities.

If skeptics are going to go around debunking stuff like annoying little debunking robots, debunk stuff that people have heard about, that they use, that's relevant to their life.


Hey kids, let's debunk victorian folk medicine, because .. yeah, it's such a big problem.


I'm pretty sure homeopathy isn't a big problem. Trust me on this.


skeptic fruitcakes.

[Kevin Kane]

Allow me to explore homeopathy for a moment. A medical form that's been in existance for well over a century. At the height of it's popularity, homeopathy was regarded as a minor form of treatment.

In worst case scenerios, homeopathic treatments have been found to be HARMLESS. At best, they may produce good. As such, homeopathic medicine abides with the Hippocratic Oath and ethical principles of medicine. It can be regarded as a legitimate form of medicine and should be allowed the same protections as any respectable medical practice.

In the rare event that a homeopathic treatment produces harm, it should be held to the same legal and ethical standards that apply to all medicine. Undoubtedbly, many modern medicines fall below the establishing ethics principles and standards required of good medicine, and any medicine that does so, should be stopped. The skeptic argument that homeopathy should be held to a higher level of scrutiny is unfounded and irrational.

It appears that skeptics are intent on delegitimizing homeopathy as a form of treatment. The only sane, rational purpose for doing so that I can think of, would be for competitive reasons. Homeopathy represents a threat to a competing form of medicine.

[Kevin Kane]

Here's a short list of other pointless things for skeptics to debunk:

Angora sweaters. Angora sweaters make the claim that they are warm and fuzzy, but where is the science that supports these assertions?

Deipnosophists. Are they eloquent table speakers or just gastronomes? I'm pretty sure these deipnosophists are up to no good and need a good debunking.

Dactylic pentameter. Do we really need poetry written in dactylic pentameter? Isn't iambic pentameter good enough for everyone? We need to debunk this dactylic pentameter nonsense!

Pythagorean tuning. No one uses this antique form of musical tuning anymore. Name one pop song written in pythagorean tuning. We need to debunk the practice of pythagorean tuning because it's fraudulent!

[NinjaPuppy]

[Kevin Kane]

[Kevin Kane]

To answer your last reply:

Angora sweaters + Deipnosophists = mysterious entities worthy of greater scrutiny.

Dactylic pentameter + Pythagorean tuning = alternative, antique or lesser used methods that are perfectly legitimate.

Homeopathy has been around for a long time. It's been scrutinized, peer-reviewed and regulated by many professionals over time. But now, a group of pseudo-scientists have discovered how lethal it is.

To paraphrase skeptics; extraodinary claims require extraodinary counter-claims. Haha!