On a side note it feels great to be back. I should be posting more next week. I have fall break and I will have more time on my hands.

To me it means that I require evidence to believe in something. I need this evidence to meet a certain standard. It has to be testable, it has to be empirical, and it has to hold up to the scientific method and peer review. I am not closed minded. I don’t hate mysteries. I love them. I love learning new things. I wish a lot of these things were true. I just don’t think they are. I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes by Carl Sagan, one that sums up my view of skepticism quite well. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

First up we have what looks to be a diabetes tester. Actually its some kind of Acupuncture device. The article is very vague but the essential point is that it can be used to clear blocked qi passages. It isn’t clear exactly how it works which should set off some red flags for people. Also it doesn’t use traditional acupuncture points instead using only the hand. The basis for this product is a 5,000 year old mummy with tattoos of acupuncture points on it. What concerns me most is how little detail the give you about how the product works. Even if you enjoy Acupuncture I’d be wary of this, especially since it sends “light electrical pulses”. Accessories include: Instruction and testimonial video, Large and small Ear plug, Magnetic Wave Pointer, Guidebook with body chart, AC Adapter, Neck strap and a clip holder. All this can be yours for the low, low price of $180.

Next we  come across a knock-off of Kinoki foot pads, on sale for $15 for 10 and 30 for $40. The list of claims are: relieve pain; improve the immune system, circulation and sleep; reduce stress, soothe headaches, and relieve sore feet. About the only thing these can’t do is cure cancer, but thats just because it would be illegal for them to claim that.

Lastly we have the Q-Ray. Much like a zombie, this product has risen from the dead. In 2000-2001 the Mayo Clinic conducted a study on the effect of “ionized” bracelet. It showed definitively that thee was no statistical benefit in using an ionized bracelet vs. a placebo one. Both groups reported subjective improvement in most areas, but there was little to no difference between the two groups. This study lead to a 2003 injunction by the FTC. This injunction ordered the company, QT Inc, to stop production and marketing of their product. In 2006 a federal judge ordered Qt. Inc. to pay back $22.5 million dollars to its customers. This decision was later upheld in a Seventh Circuit court. So what are they trying to sell it as now? A golf bracelet. They say a lot of pros wear it and even if it doesn’t help, it will make your swing look pretty. I guess if you have a hundred bucks to blow and like the way they look go for it. In the end this is just a defeated man’s last attempt to sell a warehouse full of bracelets.

All right folks, thats all I have tonight. If you happen to be flying take a look at Sky Mall, they have some completely ridiculous stuff that I didn’t cover today. One of my favorites is an “indoor restroom” for your dog.

As I’m sure many of you have heard today (still today here), at 10:28 AM (4:28 AM EST) they shot the first beam through the 27 kilometer long Large Hadron Collider. And it worked perfectly, no black holes or anything of the sort. Although actual collisions aren’t planned until late October (21st) this is till really exciting. The LHC has been in the works since 1995 when it was approved for construction. I can’t imagine they excitement the people must be feeling over in Geneva. In terms of the possibilities for scientific discovery this right up there with the Moon Landing. One of the main goals of the LHC is to discover the Higgs Boson. The Higgs Boson is a hypothetical particle predicted to explain how mass is given to otherwise massless particles. The LHC overall though is an unparalleled opportunity to see what the universe was like moments after the Big Bang.

For further reading and up-to-date reports on the experiments going on I highly recommend the CERN website. They include numerous links to the different experiment stations and press releases dating back to 1993 if you want to get really geeky.

Let’s take a look at each of the principles of homeopathy and see why they don’t work. First, we have the Law of Similars or what’s commonly called ‘like cures like’. Hahnemann thought of homeopathy in the late 18th century, a time when trepanning, or drilling a whole into the skull to release spirits, was still a popular medical treatment. Even though this was the age of reason, we still knew very little in the field of medical science. If we think about the Law of Similars with basic logic, we can see that it doesn’t make any sense. If you have a peanut allergy don’t eat peanuts. But, by the logic of like cures like, if you want to get someone to stop smoking crack, give them some crack, but only a little bit.

Now Hahnemann couldn’t publish a paper stating that like cure like, and nothing else. So he began diluting his substances a lot. At most, an average homeopathic remedy contains as much of the original substance as a grain of sand in all the words deserts. Even at the time he published his paper on homeopathy, it was know in chemistry that there was a limit to how much something could be diluted and still have some of the substance remain. Still. Hahnemann theorized that the less of the active ingredient there was, the more powerful it became. This became known as the Law of Infinitesimals. Once again this defies basic logic. If you go into your doctor and complain that the medication you’re taking isn’t helping, chances are he won’t prescribe a lower dosage to help it work better.

The third and final principle is just as ridiculous as the last two. It states that the substance leaves an imprint in the water which stimulates the body to cure itself. Claims have been made about this ranging from spiritual effects to effects on the molecular level. As most of us know, if its spiritual it isn’t based on science. It therefore cannot be tested and should be treated with caution. As for effects on the molecular level, there has yet to be a well controlled study looking into these effects.

Homeopathy is one of the most researched alternative medicines. SInce its inception people have been skeptical of its validity. One recent and very damning article was by the journal The Lancet. In a 2005 Meta-Analysis of 110 studies, they declared that effects from homeopathic remedies were as effective as the placebo effect. A response to this the UK Society of homeopaths said, “It has been established beyond doubt that the randomized controlled trial is not a fitting trial of homeopathy”. This should raise serious red flags for anyone looking into this form of alternative medicine. When somebody says that their cure shouldn’t be subject to the same testing as all other medications, we should be wary.

One of the most notable problems we face is a method of “debate” as eloquent as a drunkard’s ramblings, the Gish Gallop. The Gish Gallop is named after Duane Gish, a creationist who would bombard his opponents with false claims. The reason this works is because his opponent doesn’t have the time to debunk each claim. This is, for me, the most frustrating part of being a skeptic. It is nearly impossible to definitively debunk even a single claim that may come up in conversation.

The best way we can ease our burden is to educate the public. Improve science education in schools, encourage critical thinking, and never stop our fight. It is our duty to bear this burden, heavy though it may be. We must fight this fight, no matter how hard or vain it may seem.

The core issue however is does this qualify as a violation of Separation of Church and State or is it protecting peoples right to practice their religion. This is a question we face all to often in the skeptical movement. It is a question we face right now with the FLDS. Does religious freedom include the right to molest and trade children. I think the answer there is pretty clear, but what about people who just don’t want pictures on their licenses because they fear it is the “mark of the beast”. This doesn’t harm anybody directly, but what if West Virginia decided to stop producing licenses with pictures on them at all. It isn’t a big leap. It might not seem like a big deal, but not having a picture license can really be an inconvenience. Imagine a parent who wouldn’t allow their child to get a picture license, they wouldn’t even be able to go see an R-rated movie or anything else an 18 year old could do. In the end this shouldn’t be a big deal, but that doesn’t mean we should treat it as such.

For those of you who don’t know what Homeopathy is, it is utter bullshit. Homeopathy was founded around 1792 by Samuel Hahnemann. It is based around two primary concepts, like cures like, and less is more. For example if you have trouble getting to sleep, just take some caffeine, diluted to the point where there isn’t a single molecule of it left. Homeopathic “remedies” come in many different dilutions ranging from 1x to 400x or in other words from 1:10 to 1:0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000. Incase you can count that many zeroes or don’t feel like it, thats 10 to the power of 400. This is Homeopathy. I plan to post a more in-depth review and description of homeopathy in the near future.

The only good thing about homeopathy is that it is basically harmless. You can do as much damage with a homeopathic remedy as you can with water. The problem is that water doesn’t detach people from their money and prevent them from getting scientifically proven medical care. In the end Britain is making the best choice popular for the population as a whole. Overall the population of the Untied Kingdom is going to be healthier.

This is really sad to see. Its just another way for cranks to feel legitimate. This is worse than licensing for woo medicine practitioners, a PhD provides a degree of authority and credibility, something cranks shouldn’t have.