I have had discussions about homeopathy with a lot of people in the past. Perhaps some of you here too. So perhaps there is nothing new here. Still, two articles on the amazing Yahoo India columns this week are worth reading. The first one by Girish Shahane says everything that needs to be said, and then changes everything in the final paragraph, like a good (even bad) Shyamalan movie. Read it here.
Amit Varma then posted his own views yesterday - and I'm sure it is that last paragraph of Shahane's article that made him do it. He has done this before on his blog, but this one has a nice collection of links that make it a worthwhile read. Here.
Where do I stand? Almost firmly behind Amit. I actually even somewhat agree with the last paragraph of Amit's article, except that I perhaps often lack his restraint. That is probably an effect of reading too much Dawkins (the title of this post says as much). Or perhaps it is the effect of not meeting many people who don't go out of their way to try and explain their faith and prove that it IS the truth, not just that it has its advantages. Then again, perhaps the advantages work only when you treat it as a truth. well... perhaps the thing to blame is not the faith itself, but the instinctual need to spread it around too. After all, that is why I am posting this in the first place....
Friday, June 4, 2010
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I hope this isn't the "controversial post" that SS has been fearing all along. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Rahul .. Very informative :) .. I never thought they would dilute is 10^30 times. I agree in that case, this is a huge placebo hoax.
ReplyDeleteI did try it for allergies. But it didnt work for me. But my mother seems to think it works. Well that is just representative of what a good chuck of Indians think.
interesting posts.
ReplyDeleteMy mother is one step ahead of homeopathy. She often says ki "doctor ko visit karne se hi 50% bimari door ho jati hai" :) and at times I do agree with her. She meant that the shear confidence that you are in safe hands give you a strength to fight disease. So you feel better, look better and others notice this change if they are careful. hence there is a difference between mental condition of patient before and after visiting a doctor (be it homeopath, allopathy or any other), forget about taking medicine and placebo effect.
Interestingly Allopathy was the term coined by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. Just read this info on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopathic_medicine
oh, but that is part of placebo effect, no? while objectively testing the effect of mind on alleviating the diseased condition can be tested by giving placebos, ultimately "going to the doctor and having the confidence that you are in safe hands" is the same thing psychologically as "thinking that you are taking a medicine" when you are actually only taking a placebo.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. No this is not so controversial for me (maybe because I don't know or think much about homeopathy at all!) :)
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