Way back in February I sent a letter to a company that makes homeopathic products, in particular a homeopathic “sleep aid” which, of course, contains caffeine as the active ingredient. (Although whether or not any molecules of it actually made it to the final concoction is more questionable.) I recently got a few communications about this communication, asking me whether I had ever heard back. Not surprisingly, no. No, I never heard back from the company. It’s been six months and I never heard a thing.

Of course this is not surprising. The questions are pretty obvious but equally impossible to answer. It goes to show that not only is homeopathy completely unsupported by evidence, but you only need to do a few simple thought experiments to realize that it’s so full of paradoxes and nonsensical that it reaches the point of absurdity. That’s because homeopathy is stupid. That’s right. Not just invalid or illogical or unsupported, it’s downright moronic and completely idiotic on every level.

Disrespectful? Perhaps, but that’s because homeopathy deserves no respect. It’s not an issue of debate. It’s an issue of idiocy.

To recap, here’s the letter I never got a reply for. I sent it has an email and physically mailed it, but nothing:

To whom it may concern;

I had a few questions about your product so I am hoping you can clarify some apparent paradoxes. The product in question is “Nelson’s Natural Sleep Aid.”

Since your product is diluted to improve it’s potency, is it necessary that I continue to buy your product for each use or can I dilute it more myself and therefore have an infinite supply from one tablet?

If I dilute it myself will this improve it’s potency such that it will be more effective if the standard dose is not enough?

Is there any danger of diluting it too much? I do not want to make the preparation so strong that I could overdose. Do I run this risk if I start diluting it myself? I want to sleep but not be put in a coma!

Does this dilution matter if it’s in my mouth or stomach? For example, if I first drink a large glass of water such that the preparation is diluted before it gets absorbed will this help? Does this run the risk of an overdose? Or does it not count once it’s past my lips?

If I take half a tablet will it work twice as well?

What if I feel I do not need the full dose and I would like to moderate it? Should I take two?

On the other hand… if the principle of homeopathy is that “Like cures like” or in another manner of speaking “causes the opposite effect when diluted” will further diluting your preparation cause it to do the opposite? Your preparation helps people stay asleep, so I’m afraid if I dilute it or if I drink too much water with it will transform from a sleep aid into an alertness aid!

I’m worried about inadvertently introducing other products to the mix. I have some copper and iron in my water and I believe the city also uses fluoride. Is it possible that these would cause some problems in the dilution? Or are there too many atoms present for it to reach homeopathic strength? I certainly do not want to accidentally introduce a fluoride molecule and end up making my teeth fall out!

I know that the chances that the tablet will actually contain a molecule of the active ingredient are small, but if I should happen to get that molecule how will I know? Do you offer a refund if I do? Or is that considered a good thing to get the one molecule?

Best Regards,

Steve Packard

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Bad Science, Not Even Wrong, Quackery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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