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--- en:misc:talk-qa-saine-schwarcz [2013/02/07 12:06]
legatum [QUESTION 5]
+++ en:misc:talk-qa-saine-schwarcz [2013/02/08 08:10]
80.86.255.130 [QUESTION 6]
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 **In the debate, you said of Professor Rustum Roy of Penn State University, "Rustum Roy, who was referred to, is not highly regarded in the scientific community. He is one of those outliers. And there are many such." On what basis do you base your opinion that Professor Roy is not highly regarded in the scientific community? Are you aware that in 2003 the ISI (Phila) rated his lab the #1 in the world on the basis of highly cited scholars[(Roy R. Interdisciplinary materials research: the reluctant reformer of Western science. //Facets// 2005; 4: 18-21. )] and that he has published over 1,000 papers in peer-review journals? Which ones of his results are therefore not trustworthy? How do you decide whether a scientific article published in a peer-reviewed journal is trustworthy, such as the one of Roy in Materials Science[(Roy R, Tiller WA, Bell I, Hoover MR. The structure of liquid water; novel insights from materials research; potential relevance to homeopathy. //Materials Research Innovations// 2005; 9: 577-608.)] in 2005 or the one of Chikramane in Langmuir[(Chikramane PS, Kalita D, Suresh AK, Kane SG, Bellare JR. Why extreme dilutions reach non-zero asymptotes: a nanoparticulate hypothesis based on froth flotation. //Langmuir// 2012; 28: 15864-15875.)] in 2012?**
+Test
+{{anchor:schwarcz_answers}}
+===== DR. JOE SCHWARCZ’S ANSWERS =====
+As far as this second set of questions goes, I'm just not willing to devote any more time to this discussion. I think I have already spent far more time discussing homeopathy than the subject deserves. I'm not going to get into it any more for the same reason I don't get into discussion with Creationists or various conspiracy theorists. Furthermore I have essentially answered these questions either in the attached or in previous writings. I will make just a couple of comments though.
+I certainly do warn about the dangers of conventional medicine when appropriate and have written extensively on the issue. (incidentally the term "allopathic" was devised as a derogatory term by Hahnemann ) But that is not the question here. The question is whether homeopathy is bogus or not.
+Andre is totally unaware that the issues he brings up have been the subject of numerous scientific discussions and that books have been written on them. The claims about cholera and flu and homeopathy have been addressed and the explanation is obvious. "Heroic" treatments were actually harmful while homeopathic ones were just useless. It is true that homeopathic hospitals had better hygiene, but that had nothing to do with the concept of homeopathy.
+To suggest that Edzard Ernst has no credibility is pure folly. His writings are all thoroughly documented. He never claimed to be a homeopath ( why would anyone who isn't one do that? Hardly a badge of honour). He just claimed to have worked in a homeopathic hospital where he was exposed to all the tenets of homeopathy. In any case what does whether he was a homeopath or not have to do with anything? Let the facts speak.
+If Andre claims to have cured a patient of cystic fibrosis with homeopathy he should submit the data to a reputable journal as a case report. If he can reproduce the cure he should be nominated for a Nobel Prize, or at least a Lasker Award.
+As far as consulting fees, the sum total is $0. My salary comes from McGill.
+Andre, as one might expect, is not familiar with chemical history. Avogadro's number was named after him, not by him. Hahnemann could not have had any idea about the number of atoms or molecules in a mole.
+The motive behind the lawsuit is simple. Homeopathic medications are claimed to have active ingredients without any proof that they contain such. Therefore they are mislabeled. The lawsuit is being funded totally by a group of lawyers who initiated it. I had nothing to do with it but of course I do support it because I think all products that make medical claims should be held to the same standards of safety and efficacy. Homeopathic products are getting a free ride.
+Questions like #24 are so puerile and smack so strongly of the ignorance of scientific methodology that they don't merit further discussion.
+As to the final question, we take full responsibility for whatever information we disseminate. The scientific community stands firmly behind the notion that homeopathy is nothing other than an example of the placebo effect. Data can be dredged up to attempt to counter the evidence the same way that Creationists publish all sorts of papers that sound scientific and appear to be so to the uninitiated. But of course Creationism is bogus. How many serious scientists think the Earth is 5700 years old? How many think that homeopathy is more than placebo?
+Anyway, as I said, this discussion has gone far enough and I do not want to devote more time to it. If Andre would like to publicize his ideas further, there is a way to do it. The lawyers are actually looking for a homeopath to include in the lawsuit, and if Andre desires I could put him in touch with them. He could state his case then in a very public forum and get lots of attention.
+===== References =====
+~~REFNOTES~~
+====== DOCUMENT DESCRIPTOR ======
+^ Source: | http://www.homeopathy.ca/debates_2012-11-27_FromDrSaine-to-DrSchawrtz.shtml |
+^ Description: | Questions posted by Dr. André Saine to Dr. Joe Schwarcz as a follow-up on the [[en:misc:talk-saine-schwarcz|Debate held at McGill University]] on November 27, 2012.  |
+^ Year: | 2013 |
+^ Editing: | errors only; interlinks; formatting |
+^ Attribution: | http://www.homeopathy.ca |

Legatum Homeopathicum

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